We made it to the Olympics!

Kalaloch beach

Tide pool at low tide on Beach #4

Hanging out in the Olympic Mountains

We were fortunate enough to spend 4 days exploring Olympic National Park.  What a unique and amazing place!  95% of this park, located on the Olympic Peninsula, has been designated wilderness area.  For this reason, highway 101 runs along the outskirts of the park with a few spur roads leading into the park, but most of the park is untouched by any kind of development.  This is awesome!  The coast, forest, and mountain ecosystems work together to create a diverse and impressive place.  The Olympic Peninsula is home to Native American tribes – Hoh, Makah, Quileute, Quinault, Skokomish and several others.  It was really interesting to learn about how these tribes built such a rich culture using all that this land has to offer.  We started off on the western-most part of the park on the coast called Kalaloch (pronounced clay-lock).  The campground was right on the ocean and provided us with great access to the beach.  Unfortunately we had no access to showers!  So we went our longest stretch yet without a shower – 3 days.  We had baby wipes and good deodorant! J  This campground was the first place people really seemed shocked by our South Carolina license plate.  It ended up being a wonderful conversation starter.  We met a grandpa hippie named Randy from Ohio who was traveling the country with his wife in their van.  We met a Twilight fan and elementary behavior specialist from Seattle traveling the Peninsula with her mom.  We met a nice gentleman from Charlotte who loves the Outer Banks as much as we do.  In fact, he was headed to spend a week in Buxton with his brother.  Everyone was so interested in chatting with us about our journey.  We woke up early in the morning to meet a park ranger at Beach #4 (apparently they need some help coming up with more creative names for their beaches – they have beach #1, #2, #3, and #4).  The ranger led us on a journey through the intertidal region at low tide.  It was AWESOME!  We learned so much about the coast ecosystem and got to see some really cool creatures.  The ranger was new to the area but already knew so much.  I had fun chatting with him about his journey to becoming a park ranger and all of the fun places he has traveled.  Later that day we headed to the Hoh Rain Forest.  This part of the park is sandwiched between the coast and the Olympic Mountain range and receives 140 inches of rainfall per year.  It was filled with 200-300 foot trees covered in ferns, mosses, lichens, and fungi.  Everything was really green and really fuzzy.  It was fascinating to learn about this temperate rain forest and all of the unique plants and animals that inhabit it.  It started raining while we were in the rain forest (big surprise, right?) and continued raining for the next day.  This didn’t stop us though.  We had a good day exploring and headed to the Kalaloch Lodge to grab a drink.  I had a nice warm latte while Jake warmed up with some microbrews.  We enjoyed chatting with the bartender who was born and raised in Forks.  She said the Twilight series upped their number of summer visitors from 40 per month to 30,000 per month.  She also told us that Stephenie Meyer (the author) Googled “the wettest, most depressing town in America” and Forks is what she found.  You have to drive through Forks on highway 101 to get to the other side of Olympic National Park.  I stopped to take a picture at the “Welcome to Forks” sign for my co-worker Wendy and that was about it for Forks.  The next day the rain stopped and the clouds cleared just in time for us to head up to Hurricane Ridge – named for the 120 mph winds they often get.  On our way up we stopped at a pull-off and could see the Port Angeles waterfront, the Strait of Juan De Fuca, the San Juan Islands, and Victoria, B.C.  It was beautiful!  After a steep drive up a very curvy road we were rewarded with a 180 degree view of the Olympic Mountain range.  It was unbelievable!  The park rangers said it was the first time the mountains had been visible in a few days because of the weather.  We met a ranger to learn about the endemic species of the park – animals that only exist in Olympic National Park – so cool!  Then we met another ranger who took us on a short walk on Hurricane Ridge and shared her wealth of knowledge about the ridge, its trees, and its wildlife.  I really enjoy park rangers and I love learning everything I can from them.  Unlike Jake, Friday, and those close to me who think I ask way too many questions, the park rangers LOVE my questions and they always have an exciting answer for me.  (I love Jake and Friday dearly and admit that I do ask a LOT of questions.)  After a couple hours on Hurricane Ridge we headed down to Lake Crescent to meet another ranger for a walk to Marymere Falls.  The veteran ranger at Lake Crescent couldn’t believe how enthusiastic we were (I was) about the park and all of the cool things it has to offer.  He said he was going to take us on the road to promote the park.  The walk to the falls was a lot of fun.  It was pouring rain so we got to wear our rain gear.  Jake was really excited about this.  Our rain gear is so great that I think we could have actually jumped in Lake Crescent and still stayed dry.  We were joined by a very sweet retired couple from Wisconsin.  The ranger entertained us well on the hike and the waterfall was beautiful.  She even taught us the waterfall trick – you stare at one spot in the falls for 30 seconds and then move your eyes to the rock wall.  The wall and all of the ferns growing out of it look as if they are crawling.  It is so cool!  Give it a try next time you hike to a waterfall – it is sure to provide at least a good 5 minutes of entertainment.  On the walk back we got to see a HUGE banana slug!  This was way more exciting than it sounds when I type it.  Maybe you had to be there!  Olympic National Park was one of the most unique places we’ve ever had the opportunity to explore.  I get to come back with mom and Diane for a couple days in July and I’m really looking forward to it.  Now we’re off to Orcas Island (in the San Juan Islands) for a few days.  We hope all is well where you are!

Rainy hike to Marymere Falls

A BANANA SLUG!!!!

In Search of the ROGUE One-eyed Willy

Yaquina Harbor in Newport



JOY!

Exploring the tide pools at Cobblestone Beach

We left Crater Lake on Saturday and spent the next 5 days traveling the Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy. 101) up the coast of Oregon.  I had high expectations for this leg of our journey and I’m happy to say that the Oregon Coast lived up to my expectations.  The Pacific Coast Highway is really amazing – it runs between the ocean and the string of coastal mountains.  Hugging the coast, it offers awesome views of the Oregon Coast and the Pacific Ocean.  The coast is dotted with volcanic formations called sea stacks that make great homes for lots of sea animals.  We stopped at Cape Perpetua for lunch overlooking the coast.  We continued on to our campground – Beachside State Park.  From our campsite we had just a short walk to the beach.  The sand here is more like Charleston’s – not black like the northern California Coast.  We were both so excited to have the sand between our toes!  We went for a nice walk, relaxed, listened to the waves, and threw the football for a bit.  Falling asleep to the sound of the Pacific Coast waves was really calming.  The next morning we made our way to Newport.  I planned most of the trip because I enjoy doing things like that.  I asked Jake for his input and he is so go-with-the-flow that he said he was fine with anywhere and anything.  I came home one day after school in early May and Jake was beaming.  He said he did find a place he wanted to visit and he found a place for us to stay.  Newport, Oregon was his choice – and our housing – an apartment right above the Rogue Public House.  Rogue is one of Jake’s favorite micro-breweries and he was ecstatic about the possibility of staying there.  “We even get to check-in with the bartender!  And we get Rogue beer in our fridge!”  So we found ourselves in Newport 5 hours before check-in time.  It was so easy to find things to do to fill the day.  Newport is a fishing village.  We grabbed a bite to eat at a little coffee shop overlooking Newport’s fleet of fishing boats.  We walked along the bay and were drawn down a pier by the barking of sea lions.  We spent about 30 minutes watching them interact with each other – funny creatures.  Then we headed over to the ocean side of Newport to take a look at the beach.  We took a long walk on Nye Beach and went to explore Newport’s 2 lighthouses – Yaquina Bay and Yaquina Head.  Both offered lots of information, excellent views, and fun climbs to the top.  Yaquina Head also offered access to amazing tide pools.  This is where we met Walt and Judy - a nice couple from Delaware volunteering at this park.  They come to Newport every other summer and spend their spring volunteering in Pisgah National Forest back in North Carolina.  They had their scopes set up for us to see loads of seals and coastal birds.  We hope to see them in April when Jake will complete a pharmacy rotation on the Cherokee Indian Reservation not too far from Pisgah.  We walked down to the tide pools on Cobblestone Beach – named for the black lava stones that adorn the beach – no sand.  We explored the tide pools with bright green anemones, deep purple urchins, and 12 inch sea stars.  My mom would have LOVED it here – after all she is the best “touch tank interpreter” in all of North Carolina!  This was like a real life touch tank…so much fun!  After a full day of exploring it was time for the highlight of Jake’s trip – he got to walk into the Rogue Public House and check into our home for the next 2 days.  The employees at Rogue are very friendly and helpful and our apartment was clean, spacious, and had a FREE washer and dryer!!!!  We REALLY needed to do laundry – we had about 5 loads.  We spent the next 2 days exploring the port town of Newport, driving to nearby Lincoln City to get our Subaru checked out and ready for the next 4,000 miles of our trip, and getting to know everything Rogue.  We really enjoyed the brewery tour at Rogue and learning about their community-based company.  When they made their home in Newport, the land-lady promised never to raise their rent if they followed 3 important rules:  1.They had to keep a naked picture of her in every Rogue brewery (there is a picture of her at age 65 in a bathtub in France).  2. They had to provide housing above their public houses (the apartment Jake found).  3. They had to “feed the fishermen”.  Like I said, Newport is a fishing village – some years are really good and some are really terrible.  Rogue took this to mean that they needed to support the community and they take this very seriously.  Jake enjoyed trying Rogue’s beer and I enjoyed their homemade root beer.  We really fell in love with Newport and hope to return one day.   We told one of the local shop owners that we were heading to Astoria next and she told us that Astoria was a “magical” place and we would love it there.

Morning coffee on the Astoria waterfront

Seastacks at Cannon Beach (from Goonies)

Sunset over the Pacific Ocean

So off we went further north on the Pacific Coast Highway until we reached the mouth of the Columbia River.  This is where the quaint town of Astoria sits.  Astoria has a beautiful river walk that follows the bank of the Columbia.  A lot of the shops and restaurants are out on piers overlooking the water.  It is such a lovely spot.  We walked the riverfront and met the “official greeter of Astoria” who told us about Astoria, asked if we were enjoying it, took a picture of my “lovely face” (in his words), and gave me a dollar to remember him and spread the word about the magical town of Astoria.  Haha…you never know who you’re going to meet.  We drove to the Astoria Column – the highest point in Astoria that provides a cool view of the city and the 4.5 mile bridge across the Columbia River.  Then we headed up 38^th street to the Goonies house and did the Truffle Shuffle just like Chunk.  We also drove to Cannon Beach to check out one of the best beaches in the area that also happens to be home to the sea stacks featured in the Goonies – the ones that match up with the Fratelli brother’s restaurant to lead the kids to One-eyed Willy’s ship!  We had a blast exploring Astoria and even kept our eyes peeled for pharmacies because we both agreed we could live in this magical little town.  Our campground was across the Columbia River in Washington State at a park called Cape Disappointment.  We settled in and went to watch our first ever sunset over the ocean – can’t see that on the east coast!  It was a beautiful end to our trip up the Oregon Coast!  We’re off to Olympic National Park to camp on the beach for a couple of nights.  We hope all is well where you are!

Crater Lake Trippin' and Wine Sippin'

Crater Lake - looks like we're photo-shopped...but we're really there!

So much snow!

We left the Redwood Forest on Thursday and headed north to Oregon.  We arrived at Joseph Stewart State Park and were very pleased with our campsite.  It was a huge tree-covered spot right on the bank of Lost Creek Lake.  Oregon has such an extensive offering of state parks and recreation areas – it’s impressive.  You really can’t even drive 15 miles without running into another state park.  We set up camp and headed to a cute little town called Shady Cove on the bank of the Rogue River.  For the first time this whole trip it actually felt like summer – 75 degrees and sunny – so we treated ourselves to some Umpqua River Valley Ice Cream at Phil’s Frosty and enjoyed the weather.  We returned to camp and hiked to the other side of Lost Creek Lake to the marina.  The nice ranger warned us that the lake shore is adorned with a lovely plant – poison oak.  So we were very careful and watched where we stepped.  It's nice to end a travel day with a hike.  We woke up early Friday morning and headed to Crater Lake National Park.  As we climbed into the Cascade Mountains we started passing more and more snow.  All of the road signs are on very tall poles so they reach above the many feet of snow.  The roadside is also lined with ten foot wooden poles every 20 feet or so.  These mark the edge of the road for the snow plows.  Obviously they get a LOT of snow!  In fact, upon further research we learned that Crater Lake is the snowiest inhabited place on earth.  Our travel book says “Few people forget their first glimpse of Crater Lake” and we soon understood why.  We made a stop at the visitor’s center and couldn’t wait to get our first look at the lake.  We walked to an overlook and were in awe of the size and color of the lake.  It is SO huge – and the most beautiful deep blue color.  The air looked and felt so clean.  Crater Lake was formed when the dome of Mt. Mazama collapsed.  Subsequent eruptions filled the cracks with lava and formed a solid floor.  Years of rain and snow melt then filled this floor creating Crater Lake.  There are no creeks or streams that flow into the lake so the water stays unusually clear.  There is a road around the lake called rim drive that is actually closed for most of the year due to HUGE amounts of snow.  During our visit the east rim was still closed but we were fortunate enough to get to travel along the west rim enjoying stops at several overlooks with fantastic views of the lake.  We visited the Crater Lake Lodge (built in 1915) and ate lunch with a great lake view.  The area was still covered with large amounts of snow – well over our head in some places.  Because most of the hiking trails were closed (open for snowshoeing and cross country skiing) we finished at Crater Lake earlier than expected.  So we headed back to the quaint town of Shady Cove and visited the Crater Lake Cellars to do some wine tasting.  We were joined by a group of 8 ladies enjoying a bachelorette weekend of wine tasting.  They were from various places around Oregon and had lots of good information to share about the area.  We had a blast hanging out with them and joining their celebration for a bit.  The owner of the vineyard was happy to allow us to taste his wine.  As you know I don’t drink and Jake is more of a beer connoisseur but we enjoyed enough sips to choose a bottle for mom.  The owner recommended that we try a couple other vineyards along the Rogue River Valley.  We took his advice and headed down Nick Young Road to Agate Ridge Vineyards.  What a beautiful little spot!  They had their tasting room set up in a little farmhouse adjacent to fields of grapevines as far as we could see.  The vineyard is set against a backdrop of a huge oak tree and Mount McLoughlin (this image appears on their labels).  We met the vineyard dog, Piper (a golden doodle), walked through the vineyard, and tasted enough wine to pick out a bottle for Ian and Amanda.  Jake and I have never been on a wine tasting adventure before and we both really enjoyed it.  We’re excited for the next leg of our journey – a trip north on the Pacific Coast Highway.  We hope all is well where you are!

Wine tasting at Crater Lake Cellars

Exploring Agate Ridge Vineyards

Big Hugs for Big Trees

Tree hugging a giant coastal redwood

Whale watching on the Pacific Coast

A WHALE!!!!!!

Exploring Stout Grove - a section of old growth coastal redwoods

The Pacific Coast sand

On Wednesday we arrived at Jedediah Smith State Park  - part of the Redwood National Forest.   We set up camp beneath the gigantic coastal redwood trees and made our way to the ranger station to learn about the park.  We were greeted by an awesome older gentleman who was more than happy to tell us about the plethora of adventures available in the area.  We were eager listeners.  It was late afternoon, but we just had to explore a little bit.  We headed down a dirt road to Stout Grove – an area of old growth coastal redwoods.  Jake insists that I mention that Stout Grove is where they filmed the Ewok portion of Return of the Jedi.  We were surrounded by the biggest trees we’ve ever seen.  My dad often jokingly calls me a tree-hugger because of my “save the world” mentality.  But this place really does make you want to hug some trees!   They are just so amazing.  So in the grove we explored, hugged trees, and chatted about how incredibly fortunate we are to be on this journey together.  Dad and Tom Biggs…I’m sure you’ll have a field day with the tree hugging. J  I’ll even post a picture for you.  We returned to camp and attended an evening event entitled “campfire with a ranger”.  The ranger, Adam, was so knowledgeable, funny, and entertaining.  He did a presentation on the history of and wildlife in the Redwood Forest.  We both learned a lot.  The next day we woke up early so excited to explore.  We drove south on route 101 and made a stop to dig our toes in the sand on the Pacific coast.  It was really cool to touch the other coast!  It was so different – cold, rough water and black sand.  We continued further south to Lady Bird Grove – a great hike through old growth coastal redwoods and a spot that was dedicated in Lady Bird Johnson’s honor because of her love for the outdoors and the Redwood Forest.  We also made a stop at the 14^th largest coastal redwood tree appropriately but dully named “Big Tree”.  When we arrived at its base it was anything but dull – estimated 1500 years old, 304 feet tall, 68 feet in circumference.  Sometimes when Tillie is too lazy to turn around to look at me she looks straight up and backwards to the point where she almost tips over.  This happened to me when I looked up at Big Tree.  We headed back north towards Crescent City, CA to take another peek at the Pacific Ocean.  We drove to a spot recommended by the kind park ranger called Klamath Overlook.  When we arrived we could not believe our eyes – there were so many gray whales in the water!  We had to get a closer look so we took a ½ mile hike labeled “strenuous” to another lookout.  It felt like it went straight downhill – not strenuous at all until Jake reminded me that we would have to go uphill to get back…haha.  It was well worth the trip.  We spent an hour at this little overlook just above the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Klamath River watching seals and whales (including a mother and young).  It was beyond exciting and it made my day.  We drove through Crescent City just to see a spot where the ranger told us sea lions like to hang out.  We enjoyed watching them from the edge of the harbor.  It was a day filled with lots of new experiences and we enjoyed every second of it.  We hope all is well where you are.

Camping on a Volcano

After leaving Jackson we continued to make our way west for a quick overnight stay in Wendover, Nevada.  We stopped on the way to get an oil change at Jiffy Lube.  As you know this service usually takes about 20 minutes.  We were eating our sandwiches in the Jiffy Lube lobby when the manager of the store came to tell us that they had a new guy working in the pit and he accidentally drained our transmission fluid instead of the oil…oops!  They did not have our transmission fluid in stock so he left to hunt some down.  He was very apologetic and we told him that we understand there is a learning curve in every job.  Jake was ecstatic because he found a 7-11 next door to the Jiffy Lube.  7-11s were a norm growing up in Virginia, but for some reason we don’t have them in South Carolina.  Jake treated us to a Slurpee and we hit the road an hour and a half later with a Subaru in tip-top shape with a free transmission fluid exchange.  The drive through Utah was the windiest drive yet.  We crossed the barren Bonneville Salt Flats with winds blowing 40 miles per hour.  It was a workout just holding the steering wheel (Patti…I think that counts as working off the Slurpee!)  We were supposed to tent camp in Wendover that night, but due to the high winds we upgraded to a cabin.  After a good night sleep we headed out early Sunday morning to continue west.  The day got off to an if-y start when Jake was pulled over by a Nevada State Trooper for exiting a gas station through the entrance.  Neither of us saw the sign.  Thankfully they were friendly officers and just issued Jake a verbal warning.  They asked him to please be more aware of signs.  The day only got better from there.   We drove straight across Nevada to Reno.  We were entertained by all of the dust devils – little dirt tornadoes that swirl around in the flat spaces at the foot of the mountains.  We soon crossed into California welcomed by the $4.20 gas. 

walking to Manzanita Lake for a beautiful sunset

kayaking on Manzanita Lake with Lassen Peak (volcano)

The Crags and Jumbles - a result of a volcanic dome collapse

geothermal hotspot - mudpot

We soon arrived at our destination -  Lassen Volcanic Park.  The park surrounds the 10,457 foot Lassen Peak  - an active volcano.  We camped at Manzanita Lake campground at the foot of the volcano – elevation 6,000 feet.  Lassen is in black bear country so upon arrival we set up our camp and had to secure anything with a scent in the bear box provided.  We walked down to Manzanita Lake to watch a beautiful sunset before returning to our campsite to relax after a long drive.  We slept well in the tent despite the cool weather (35 degrees).  Jake brewed some coffee and cooked oatmeal for breakfast.  We headed out to explore the park.  Volcanoes are so fascinating.  They look like totally different mountains than any I’ve seen before.  Lassen’s last big eruption was in 1915.  We hiked through the “devastated area” where you can actually see the path of the mud, ash, and melted snow that roared down the mountain.  Resulting avalanches moved a lot of the volcanic rock miles from Lassen.  Reports say that the rocks were still sizzling hot several days after the eruption.  The park just received an 11 inch snowfall a week prior to our arrival, so a lot of the ground and roads were covered with a TON of snow – above our heads in some places.  Many of the lakes were still frozen and a lot of the hiking trails were closed.  We still enjoyed getting to see Lassen and the surrounding volcanoes from many different spots.  We stopped on the south side of the park at Sulphur Works – a geothermal area with bubbling water and mud heated by the earth.  It was such a unique sight and such an awful smell.  We met a sweet couple from Redding, CA with a dog named Diesel.  We spent some time chatting with them and giving Diesel some ear rubs and scratches.  We returned to Manzanita Lake for a picnic lunch.  The water looked so beautiful that we decided to rent kayaks and go out for a paddle.  We were so glad we did.  The view of Lassen Peak from the lake was amazing.  There were lots of fishermen fly fishing as Manzanita Lake boasts some of the largest trout around.  The lake is for catch and release fishing only.  This lake was formed 300 years ago when a nearby volcanic dome collapsed and millions of tons of rock sped across flat land before smashing into a mountain and veering into a creek.  The damning of this creek formed the lake.  The lake is still surrounded by an area called Chaos Crags and Jumbles – rocky, churned up land as a result of the volcanic dome collapse.  We enjoyed exploring the lake via kayak.  After we docked the boats, we hiked around the lake for a different perspective.  It was a good day spent outdoors.  We enjoyed our campfire back at the site and we were surprised by Diesel and his owners on a walk.  They were staying just a few sites from us.  So of course we gave Diesel some more ear rubs and scratches.  We even shared our picture of Tillie with them (we keep a picture of her on the back of our sun visor).   We were glad to chat with some dog lovers.  We miss our Tillie.  We’re now headed west again to Redwood National Park.  We can’t wait to see the trees!  We hope all is well where you are!

Soaking It All In



A section of regrowth from the 1999 forest fire. 

Stopping to enjoy the view of the lower falls



Hiking through the snow



Cascade Canyon

Inspiration Point overlooking Jackson Hole and Jenny Lake

We planned to head to Yellowstone on Friday, but we decided our feet needed to hit the dirt instead.  The drive to Yellowstone from Jackson and then around the HUGE loop in Yellowstone would have put us in the car for 5 hours drive time (not including any stops).  We decided to head back to Teton National Park for a hike.  It was an AMAZING day!  The sunny and 65 degree weather made it a perfect day for a hike.  We decided to take some time to soak it all in.  We headed to Jenny Lake as recommended by the friendly park ranger we met at the visitor's center (who happened to be from Fredericksburg, VA).  We started from the String Lake trailhead and hiked down the edge of String Lake and around Jenny Lake.  This part of the hike went through a large section of regrowth from a 1999 forest fire.  It was filled with burnt trees, downed trees, and tons of new, tiny pine trees.  When hiking in the Tetons, it is advised that you talk loudly, sing, clap, etc. to avoid surprising any members of the large population of black and grizzly bears in the park.  We followed the trail until it connected with another trail to Hidden Falls.  As we hiked we could hear the rumbling of the falls long before we could see it.  We were soon rewarded with a view of the 200 foot falls.  We stopped to soak it all in.  The air was so cool and crisp at the foot of the falls.  We left the falls to head to Inspiration Point.  This part of the trail was steep and rocky, but was well worth it at the top.  Inspiration Point offers a spectacular view of Jenny Lake and Jackson Hole from an elevation of 7,200 feet.  (Jackson is the name of the town we stayed in.  Jackson Hole is the name of the entire valley including several other towns like Wilson, Moose, etc.)  We spent some time here soaking it all in.  A little chipmunk joined us at the point.  It was obviously very comfortable around humans.  (Made me remember when Ian and I used to watch Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers).  He looked like a little cartoon character - so lively and animated.  After enjoying the view at Inspiration Point, we continued our hike to Cascade Canyon.  As the elevation increased, we hiked across snow covered ground and it started to smell just like Christmas (because of all of the pine trees).  Jake stopped to peg me with a couple of snowballs - what a gentleman. :)  When we made it to Cascade Canyon the land opened up into meadows with astonishing views of the high peaks.  There were just too many beautiful sights to take in at once.  Again, we took some time to soak it all in.  We turned around and enjoyed all of the sights on the hike back just as much!  We saw chipmunks, deer, and yellow-bellied marmot.  The rodents in the mountains are such funny and entertaining creatures.  I LOVE watching them.  We wore ourselves out with 6 hours of hiking.  It was one of our favorite days of the trip so far.  With so much to see in so little time it's tempting to travel a lot by car because you cover so much more ground.  However, we are so thankful we changed our plans and spent some time closer to nature.  We also spent some time the last couple of days exploring the amazing town of Jackson.  Jake and I have both decided that we could live there - beautiful scenery, friendly people, yummy food, and TONS of things to do outside.  Our day ROCKed!  We hope things are great where you are!

Traveling with the tumbling tumbleweeds

Exploring the Black Hills

Curious burros sticking their heads in the Subaru

Enjoying the view of the Tetons

A MOOSE!!!!!

We've done a lot of exploring since my last post.  We spent a day going through the Black Hills of South Dakota.  We traveled along the Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway where we saw some amazing rock formations and enjoyed some beautiful views.  We visited Custer State Park where we explored the grassy meadows in the valley beneath the Black Hills.  We saw pronghorns, a herd of bison, prairie dogs, and some curious burros.  We stopped for lunch at beautiful Sylvan

Rafting trip on the Snake River

Lake.  We were tempted to go for a swim, but that mountain water is freezing!  So we enjoyed the view from the lake shore.  We spent a couple of windy South Dakota nights in the tent.  The sound of the tall pine trees blowing in the wind above the tent is a little scary at first, but eventually it's very peaceful.  We met lots of friendly people at the campground.  Papa from the pancake tent taught us a lot about the Black Hills.  We enjoyed his positive attitude and delicious breakfast each morning.  We were bummed to leave South Dakota because we enjoyed it SO much.  We hit the road early Wednesday morning to drive all the way across the state of Wyoming.  Papa from the pancake tent told us to expect land more rural than South Dakota (which we didn't think was possible) and a lot of wind.  That's exactly what we saw for 300 miles after we crossed the state line into Wyoming.  At one point we went 81 miles with nothing but open spaces, fences, and tumbleweeds - no animals, no exits, no gas stations, no bathroom - nothing.  We traveled through Casper, Wyoming - a city that pops up in the middle of nowhere.  It was just the city - no suburbs - and then right back to open spaces, fences, and tumbleweeds.  We passed a couple of "towns" in Wyoming like Lost Springs that had a sign giving us the following information:  elevation - 4,997, population - 4.  Four people live in Lost Springs surrounded by open spaces, fences, and tumbleweeds.  The scenery changed dramatically as the Teton Mountain Range came into view on the horizon.  We could see the snow capped peaks and our excitement built as we drove closer and closer.  We were soon awestruck by the amazing view ahead of us.  It was a fantastic finale to our 10 hour drive.  We crossed the continental divide at Togwotee Pass at an elevation of 9,500 feet.  Then we descended into Jackson Hole surrounded by magnificent views of the Tetons.  They are gigantic, snow-covered, ragged, and absolutely gorgeous!  We arrived in Jackson and checked into our cozy room at the Angler's Inn (thanks Mom!).  We quickly changed and visited a local brewery for dinner.  Jake does some home brewing so he always gets excited to try new microbrews.  He enjoyed Snake River Brewery very much.  After dinner we walked a few blocks to the Jackson County rodeo.  This was my first rodeo and I was really looking forward to the experience.  About 10 minutes into the rodeo I had tears running down my face and Jake was cracking up laughing at me.  You all know that I am an animal lover. There were parts of the rodeo I just couldn't watch.  I did enjoy the excitement and tradition surrounding the rodeo.  I'm glad I went but I will never go again.  Jake really enjoyed the rodeo.  We returned to Angler's Inn, slept very well and woke up the next morning ready to explore Grand Teton National Park.  We traveled all around the park, ate lunch at a beautiful spot overlooking Jackson Lake, and ended the day with an awesome rafting trip down the Snake River.  Our guide, Scott, was super fun and knowledgeable.  He was in his 22nd year as a river raft guide.  We were on the trip with 4 older couples and they were all very excited that we were on our honeymoon.  The view of the Tetons from the river was spectacular.  We saw bald eagles (male, female, and young) and 2 moose!!!  I LOVE MOOSE!  We plan to head to Yellowstone National Park tomorrow to see more amazing new things.  We hope all is well where you are!

Badlands...more like RADlands!



Exploring the Badlands National Park



A PRAIRIE DOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A bighorn sheep and her little one

Elizabeth in the middle of the Badlands

Our cozy campsite in the Black Hills

We spent today exploring one of the most unique places we've ever visited.  Per Uncle Willy's (the kind older park ranger we met at Mt. Rushmore) advice, we took scenic route 44 through Buffalo Gap National Grasslands to the entrance of the Badlands National Park.  We stopped at the visitor's center and chatted with some more park rangers about all there is to know about the Badlands.  Park rangers are some of the friendliest people around.  We spent the next 3 hours exploring the park.  I don't even know if I can describe it well.  The Badlands are so strange - ugly and beautiful at the same time.  They have so many different layers and colors that tell the story of their formation over the last millions of years.  The temperatures were in the upper 80s but it felt so much hotter in the Badlands because there is absolutely no shade.  It almost felt like we were hiking on another planet - with terrain unlike anything we've ever seen before.  In the Badlands they've found tons of cool fossils - three-toed horses, saber tooth cats, and other prehistoric animals.  You have to watch out for rattlesnakes - they like to hide in the nooks and crannies in the rocks.  We heard some rattling, but didn't see any.  However...we did see PRAIRIE DOGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I was so excited to watch these silly little critters.  I think Tillie would love to have one as a buddy.  The prairie dogs pop out of their holes, wag their tails, eat some grass, raise up on their hind legs to check out what's going on, and generally look like they live a very happy and satisfying life.  Watching the prairie dogs was one of the highlights of the trip so far for me.  Jake was not nearly as amused with them.  We also saw bighorn sheep and mule deer on our drive through the grasslands.  We wore ourselves out and returned to our lovely little campsite for some dinner and s'mores by the campfire.  It was an awesome day.  We hope things are great where you are!

Cows, bison, and prairie dogs - Oh My!

Jake in the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands.

At Mt. Rushmore

Mt. Rushmore jumpy pic...thanks Susan!

We enjoyed our long haul across the state of South Dakota.  Lonely Planet told us it would be a boring drive along I-90 but we disagree.  We saw miles and miles of farmland and grassland with an occasional silo, barn, and gas station.  When we hit Chamberlain, SD we had an amazing view of the Missouri River Valley and soon after we started to see the Badlands in the distance.  It's crazy how the strange rocky formations seem to pop right up from the miles of flat grassland.  We made a quick stop in Rapid City to pick up some goodies for dinner and then we made our way to the campground in the heart of the Black Hills.  Our campsite is perfect - quiet, shady, and a beautiful view of the wooded mountains.  After relaxing in the hammock for a bit we headed up to the night lighting ceremony at Mt. Rushmore.  We weren't expecting to be as impressed with Mt. Rushmore as we ended up being.  I didn't think there was any way a man-made landmark could be so wondrous...but it was.  We met a sweet park ranger named Uncle Willy and he spoke with us for 30 minutes about Mt. Rushmore and other must-sees in the area.  He was very interested to talk with Jake about pharmacy - specifically compounding.  We visited the museum to learn about Gutzon Borglum and the hundreds of other men who worked to create this monument to honor our country and its leaders.  We walked all around the grounds, took a few jumpy pics, and headed to the amphitheater to watch the lighting ceremony.  It was very patriotic and ended with a nice tribute to our U.S. military.  We arrived back to our campsite at 10:00 and we were so tired that we skipped dinner. (Y'all know I NEVER miss a meal!) We slept so well in our cozy little tent and woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed only to look at the clock and see that it was 4:45. Ooops!  We are headed to another pancake breakfast for charity and then off to explore the Badlands National Park and the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands.  Fingers crossed that we'll see a prairie dog in its natural habitat.  That would just make my day!  Hope all is well where you are!

1,400 miles in 2 days

The St. Louis arch as seen from I-64 crossing the Mississippi.



Jake enjoying a burntends sandwich at Gates BBQ in Kansas City.

We've had a long couple of travel days and have arrived safely in North Sioux City, South Dakota. We had a blast driving through so many places we've never been before.  We traveled through South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota.  The Midwest is exactly how we thought it would be...miles of wide open spaces with green fields as far as you can see.  We loved getting to see the St. Louis arch and the Mississippi River from the interstate. 
We stopped for lunch at Gates BBQ in Kansas City.  Jake LOVED that!  Our Subaru has been doing so well - it survived 1,400 miles with an onslaught of bugs and even managed to dodge the pea-brained birds who seem to enjoy the thrill of flying in front of us while we travel at 70 mph.  We plan to get a good night sleep in our cozy cabin tonight and we'll wake up early for an all you can eat pancake breakfast - proceeds go to a local kids camp - great excuse to eat as many pancakes as possible!  :)  Tomorrow we head to Rapid City for a few days to explore Badlands National Park, Black Hills National Forest, and Mount Rushmore.  Thanks for keeping up with us!