And we're back!

Hi everybody! Sorry we've been out of touch forever...we've been doing a little driving. You know, going from Seattle, WA to Ocala, FL in less than two weeks...no big deal. I've missed blogging and will probably never cover everything that I'd like to, but I'll try to get the best highlights out there for your reading pleasure. 

Since Seattle, we've been to:
Portland, OR
Mt. Hood
Crater Lake National Park
Redwoods National-State Park
San Francisco, CA
Yosemite National Park
King's Canyon and Sequoia National Parks
Route 66
Grand Canyon National Park
Four Corners
Omaha, NE
Nashville, TN

During most of this time, not only was internet coverage hard to come by, but cellular coverage was spotty at best. Also, during this time, our "punch buggy" game has gotten out of control (Tim: 24, me: 2), and I've gotten a lot of studying done.

The highlights:
Portland: We decided it was a slightly rougher, slightly dirtier, slightly smaller version of Seattle. I loved it. We only spent an afternoon there, but we managed to find the perfect picture for Tim and went to the best donut place in town:

Why, yes, that IS a voodoo doll donut.

Mt. Hood: this was only a stopping place for us overnight. It was very foggy and drizzly, so the campground was deserted. I think it was just us and the campground host. It was a good night to go to bed early and catch up on some sleep.

Crater Lake: SO COOL! We weren't planning on going there until I got an excellent recommendation from some friends who went. When we first arrived, it looked like this:

What you can't see here is all the SNOW on the ground!!!

This was actually the lowest temp we had seen on the trip thus far: 33 degrees. When we were getting ready to leave, the fog lifted and we got incredible views of the lake and the crater:

Next up: Redwoods and San Fran! Love, Bonnie

Doin' laundry

Hi everyone! It's been an amazing, tiring, unbelievable and incredible week. We are just outside of Seattle, Washington doing our laundry! We're lucky enough that our campground has both internet access AND laundry (the dirty clothes situation was pretty critical). Since we last posted, we've gotten our first oil change of the trip, I've dug myself into the "punchbuggy" hole (Tim: 5 me: -3. I don't want to talk about it.), and we've both seen some amazing stuff. The highlights:

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming: Stunning and picturesque. We spent the afternoon driving and walking through the park and we tried to take some pretty pictures. We saw our first bison there, stopped in Jackson to check the place out. I could probably live there...if there was some kind of body of water around.

Grand Teton from Signal Mountain, I believe.

Grand Teton overlooking Jenny Lake.

Timmy points out the extremophiles in Yellowstone.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming: Intriguing and special. We spent three nights at the campground, so I feel like we got our feet under us and really got to relax some. I learned so much here about glaciers, volcanoes, earthquakes, hydrothermal features, extremophiles and forest fires. We saw Old Faithful, but Timmy and I both preferred the less busy Steamboat geyser in Norris Geyser Basin (not to mention all of the other geyser just sitting by the side of the road). The most anticipated spot for me was the Grand Prismatic Spring; it was awesome, but we couldn't REALLY see it well because of the placement of the boardwalk and all of the steam coming off the top. However, there were many other smaller springs that had the same prismatic effect (heat loving microbes that use the sun for energy cause the different colors) that were much more easily seen. We hiked a 3/8th mile trail to the tallest waterfalls in the park, which doesn't sound like a lot, but when you change elevation 600 ft, it's a little more difficult. We enjoyed it, and the view was DEFINITELY worth the trip. We saw a lot of bison. A lot. We were stopped by bison crossing the road numerous times and I think we both became a little desensitized to the coolness of seeing wild cows.  We also saw elk, coyotes, possibly a wolf, a black bear and two cubs, but no grizzly bears.

I was impressed with the education centers at Yellowstone and it's obvious that they have a lot of programming for families and children. In terms of camping, Tim and I didn't shower for 5 days because the campground didn't have showers, got real used to bear precautions (no food outside, anywhere!) and started to get real comfortable cooking over the fire using various instruments. It was fun. 

Traffic jam, caused by bison.

At the end of one of our hikes.

Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone.

Old Faithful. How many times has this geyser's picture been taken?

This cartoon cracked me up!

After Yellowstone, we drove many, many hours up to Glacier National Park. It was very remote and outside of the park seemed kind of rundown. But the views and wildness of it can't be beat. Unfortunately, it seems as though before Glacier became a park, the land that makes up Glacier was part of a treaty between the United States and the Blackfeet tribe. There was a misunderstanding and this very holy land to the Native Americans was sold to the United States and they no longer had access to it for hunting, fishing, and living. It appears as though some fences are starting to mend, but there's a long way to go. We spent two nights there in two different campgrounds (one on the East side and one on the West). This first campground was nothing to write home about, but the second one, that was amazing. We went there on Sunday afternoon, and the ranger that checked us in was like, "oooh, you got the Presidential Suite! That's the nicest campsite in the park!" I thought she was pulling our leg(s?), but it turns out that George Bush, Sr. actually stayed at the campsite that we were in and it really had an excellent view. We had decided before arriving at the campsite that we wanted to take the afternoon to relax and rest up before traveling again the next day, so it was especially nice to have an awesome site with a great view of Lake McDonald. 

The next day (Monday, 6/11), we left Glacier and headed west on route 2 towards Lake Wenatchee State Park, our next stop. It was a long day of driving, but fun while we were in the mountains and boring once we got into the farmland (who knew Eastern Washington had so many farms?!??). This morning we left the park and continued on route 2 to Seattle. I loved Seattle last time I was here, and I love it again. We went up the Space Needle and to the Pacific Science Center and tonight we're having dinner with some friends of Tim's. It was raining when we arrived (typical), but by the end of the day, it had turned into a beautiful, sunny day. 

Okay, that's all for now. I'm sorry that was a lot to read. Next up, Mt. Hood, Crater Lake, Redwoods, Yosemite, Sequoia, and Grand Canyon. Love, Bonnie

Travel day(s)

The Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD!

We left Wisconsin on Sunday (6/2/13), drove for a couple of hours, and made it to Minnesota (beautiful driving there; lots of trees followed by lots of pretty farms). Crossed over the Mississippi River! We drove for a couple more hours through the southern part of Minnesota and then crossed into South Dakota. SOUTH DAKOTA IS HUGE. It seems like we drove forever (there were something like 400 miles to get to the other side of South Dakota). Also, it’s really boring. The most exciting thing to look at are the billboards. We stopped at a couple of tourist traps and really enjoyed ourselves before continuing onto our intended stop for the night: the Fort Pierre National Grasslands. 

Our campsite at the Badlands

We arrived at the Grasslands around 7:30 or 8 PM (still light out, though, especially since we were getting closer to the time zone change). The Grasslands offers dispersed camping where you just pull off the road and pitch a tent for free, no permits or fees necessary (also important to note: no amenities, either). We get there, it's huge and it's beautiful in a desolate sort of way. But there's also a lot of private farm lands. Because it's a dispersed area, there's not as many clear signs about what's public land and what's private land. We drove around for awhile, saw a lot of wildlife, getting more and more uncomfortable with the fact that we were driving through people's backyards. Finally, we decided that we would be uncomfortable with the idea of getting woken up in the middle of the night at gunpoint asking what we're doing there. We really couldn't tell what was the national grassland and what wasn't. We drove on further down the road (about 200 miles) to the Badlands National Park and pitched our tent there. It was actually a very fortunate decision as highway 83 (where the grassland is) got severe thunderstorms that night, with major damage to crops and vehicles. At the Badlands, however, it didn't even rain. The coolest thing was that 200 miles down the road, we could SEE the thunderstorms because the land is so flat.

The next day, we drove through the scenic loop at the Badlands, went to Wall-drug (another tourist trap), saw Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse, and drove another 8 hours to get to Dubois, Wyoming for the night. Tim and I both really enjoyed driving through the Badlands and would recommend it to anyone. It's unlike anything I've ever seen before. Wall-Drug was so much fun because it owns its cheesiness and does it well. We played a game in the shooting gallery and saw a T-Rex! Tim and I both preferred Crazy Horse to Mount Rushmore. I think it's because there is a lot of emotion and cultural significance to the Crazy Horse monument. Again, I would highly recommend it to anyone in the area (you know, if you're just passing through). 

 

Driving from Crazy Horse in the Black Hills of South Dakota to Dubois,Wyoming was a very long trip. Everything is SO spread out here. We stopped in and had dinner with Tim's sister's husband and then drove on for another 5 hours. We arrive at our hotel right before midnight. The driving was unlike anything I had ever done before. We were 6000 feet above sea level, it was dark, and there was not a soul (car or building) in sight for a good 200 miles. It was weird. I'm glad Tim stayed awake while I drove the last leg. 

Now, we're here in Dubois, well rested and ready to head into Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. It will be awhile before we can update again. Lots of love, Bonnie

Wall-drug!

Wall-drug!

Wall-drug!!!!

Madison, WI

We stayed with Tim’s sister in Madison all weekend. She was incredibly generous to put us up for three nights, and I (surprisingly) enjoyed Madison a lot. It feels like a small town, but has things to do like a big city. People are so friendly, and seem like they want to enjoy themselves. I especially love the culture surrounding the dairy economy in Wisconsin. It's cute! So, Friday night we arrived late and just visited for a few hours before venturing out into Madison on Saturday.

 

Saturday morning, we slept late (it was glorious) and then got up and went to the Madison farmer’s market. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. There were not only fruits and vegetables, but baked goods, art, crafts, musicians, and dairy. Tons of dairy. It was the first weekend in June and apparently June is dairy month in Wisconsin, so there was a big kick off at the farmer’s market. We saw cows (and baby cows!), Tim bought fresh milk, and I tried spicy cheese bread. There was even a tractor, driving down the street right next to the State House. Ahh, Wisconsin, you rock. There were also a couple classic cars that Tim might tell you about, but really they didn’t interest me all that much. The only one that mattered is pictured here. 

 

Look at those lashes!

Then we went back to Tim’s sister’s place, took a nap (we like our sleep, okay?), and then went to tour Tim’s sister’s work. At first, I was like, really? But once I got there, I had to eat my words because this place is incredible. It's clear that they want their employees to enjoy going to work, because there is art everywhere and the design of the place is very silly (there's a treehouse conference room, no lie). I didn't get good pictures because I was having too much fun. It employs something like 5000 people and is partially responsible for a housing boom in Madison.

Part of the Epic Tour.

Sunday we kept it low key. We played games, visited, and just relaxed. Tim won Carcassonne. Again. Tim also won Galaxy Trucker…again. It is now my primary goal in life to beat Tim at a board game...someday.

Epic Tour.

Epic Tour.

And, Monday (June 3), after lots of fun in Madison, we were off for South Dakota and the Grasslands. Love, Bonnie

Part of the tour at Epic.

Mini golfing with Tim and his sister!

Tim

Because the world needs to see this. 

Love, Bonnie

Chicago

I hadn't showered in.....3 days?

Made in MA for 1893 Chicago World's Fair. About women's rights. Yeah!

We went through Chicago on Friday (May 31). It was a very short visit (we had both been there before, and we were excited to get on to Madison to see Tim’s sister). Our only goal was to find the best deep dish pizza in Chicago and eat some lunch. We also had a couple of hours to kill before Tim's sister got out of work, so we decided to walk around the Navy Pier. For people who have never been there, it reminds me a little bit of Faneuil Hall in Boston, but newer and a smidge more touristy. It was a lot of fun. We saw the stained glass museum (so cool!), a lot of boats, and a very interesting garden inside of a glass building (the Crystal Gardens). The stained glass museum had really interesting pieces from medieval times to present day. It occurred to me that Chicago is known for its architecture, so it would make sense that they would really appreciate stained glass and its use as art. 

We still hadn’t had lunch, so when we left, we were on our way to Lou Malnati’s, a Chicago pizza joint (many locations, we were going to the one outside the city). It was only 2 o’clock by this time, so we were surprised to see that traffic was piling up going into the city. Now, if any of you have ever driven in Chicago, please tell me what you thought of it, because Tim and I got lost and quite frustrated. We got outside the city (probably 20-30 minutes) and then turned around inadvertently and drove ALL THE WAY back into the city—in awful traffic—for two hours (although, I fell asleep for part of this…oops!). Needless to say, we got to Madison later than we were hoping; and we saw some more of the city…without really wanting to. BUT, we STILL did not use the GPS to get us out of our jam! Maps all the way; Tim called me the map boss and said that he should listen to me more because then we wouldn’t get lost so much. :-)

I especially love the socks.

Pizza was delicious and totally worth the long wait. We had so much leftovers that we brought it to Wisconsin and had it for breakfast for the next three days.

Love, Bonnie