Inspiration Point...

Hello everybody!  Today, we woke up in a campsite...no rangers knocked on the van, we weren't scared because we were sleeping in some random place, and we were able to take our time waking up, and getting ready for the day...It was VERY nice.

Last night, we ate dinner, and then made our way down to the lake...the ice-cold lake...Adam was definitely more brave than me, but I did jump in...after a while.  : )  We headed back to camp, got dressed, started the fire, and stayed up late talking about the trip over hot cocoa...it was relaxing, and something that we definitely needed after two nights in a hotel parking lot..  :p  After waking up, we headed to Jenny Lake to do a hike Debbie told us about.

We hiked all around the outside edge of the lake, and up, up,up to Hidden Falls, and then to Inspiration Point...honestly, the point was better...It took my breath away...Once there, I quickly found my way to a desolate rock, where I could dangle my feet over the point.  I saw everything.  The mountains, the people, boats, animals, waterfalls...it brought tears to my eyes.  Sometimes in life, we are so caught up in ourselves, or the things and people that surround us, that we forget what the view is like from the top of a mountain...We are so small in the scheme of things, and for me, the hike was a bit of a reminder.  You know, it gets rough out here with people you don't know, not knowing if you'll find a place to sleep, the van stalling all the time...it's easy to think "poor us...", when really, we are SO blessed...everyday is an adventure, and there is so much in this world...The roadtrip is just a small adventure when compared to our entire lives, and this morning I was reminded of that.. : )

Snow in July?

We came back down from the mountain, and made our way to Yellowstone!!! The drive was beautiful, winding around the edges of massive cliffs, like you see in the old cartoons : )  Big waterfalls, streams, rivers, and of course all of the geysers.  We stopped briefly at one of the geysers, as we were in a hurry to try and find a campsite in the park.  However, we had no such luck...we had gotten off to a late start and all the campsites were full.  So, we drove into Montana, to the National Forest Lands, and  found an extremely cheap campsite.  We had some buttered noodles for dinner, and we are planning to hit-the-hay quite early, so we can book it into Yellowstone, get a campsite, and explore all day long!  It is HUGE!  And we want to try to see it all! : )

Goodnight!!!

-Sierra

There was no cell service....we like didn't even know how to use it...

Only the adventurous...

The fireworks at Jackson Hole were amazing. I've overheard, more than once, people talking about how it' ranked 5th in the Country...not sure if thats true...but they were really good. We sat with our new found friend Debbie. After the show we took a couple pictures of us all, and then said our good byes...it was like saying good bye to an old friend. Debbie made us promise to stop by her place on the way home when we go through Kentucky.... She's sooooo nice.

This morning we woke in a hotel parking lot...again... We hit the road for Yellowstone at 9 o'clock sharp. We didn't make it quite to Yellowstone however. We got caught up in the beauty of Grand Teton and decided to stay the night. We broke down and got a camp site, but also bought a 40 dollar backpacking tent, so in the future we can stay in the back country for free. It will be nice to sleep somewhere besides the van tonight. The camp site is really nice. While gathering firewood behind our site in the woods, (which took us an hour), we got off track and followed a barely visible trail deeper into the woods...about 2 minutes later this is what we found:

Not exactly mentioned at the camp ground gate...or in the brochure..definitely bathing here tonight...We drove around in the park for a while listening to music...Sierra doesn't appreciate my love for Johnny Cash... But it's okay, I don't appreciate her Beiber Fever. We also drove back to Jackson about an hour ago for a 5 gallon pail. We are still seeing plenty of elk and bison. Now, Sierra is making hamburger helper and we are just relaxing. 

Tomorrow morning we are doing a short hike around Jennie Lake, (in the park), and then off to Yellowstone. 

Enlarge the above photo...

-Adam

Happy Fourth of July!!!!

From Jackson Wyoming I now sit in the van typing to you...Happy Fourth everybody!  Today has been an exciting day, to say the least, and here, it's only 7pm!  We woke up around 8, reorganized a bit, found a place to park, and headed to the parade, which was very exciting!

At the parade, there were your typical floats, police cars, fire trucks, old fashioned cars, etc...but we did find one float very amusing.  We began hearing the screams of fellow watchers from a little ways down the parade line...soon it was upon us!  Adults, and children, covering their heads in terror, trying to protect themselves from the...Ears of Corn!!!!  They were being thrown, chucked, shot at us from one of the floats! In fact, a little boy next to us got whacked in the head with one.  Of course, it was quite funny, as well as confusing... : )

After the parade, we wandered around the old western town of Jackson, and enjoyed some funny little shops, and lots of art galleries.  There was a photo gallery, in particular, where we met the photographer, and found his pictures very enticing and beautiful...He shared with us how he had captured his wild-life photos by becoming familiar with the animals, and studying them...It was very interesting.  From the little shops, we made our way back to the van where we fine-dined on hot dogs, mac n' cheese, and then we may have gone and gotten an ice-cream, but hey, it's the fourth, right?!  After lunch, we meandered a bit more, and then found ourselves driving across town to a music festival where local bands preform.  When we parked, Adam decided to rest up a bit, and so I headed down to the field, and found myself meeting a new friend, Debbie.  Debbie is from Kentucky, and after a few hours, Adam and I had a place to stay there!  Thanks Debbie! : )  When Adam awoke, Debbie also shared with us the secrets of the area; good hikes, beautiful water, hidden barns...It was awesome!  We left a little while later, as we obviously wanted to be back in the town square for an old west shootout!  Though, we didn't have a good view, the gun shots, music, outfits, and other "old west" things, took us back in time to dirt streets, indians, and cowboys...very fun!  And so, here I sit, in a Kmart parking lot, writing to you all back home : )...Today has been so much fun, and from what we hear it gets better!  Be ready to hear about some awesome fire works : )

-Sierra

Sierra chillin with Abe...

Rocky Mountain Way

Sorry for not blogging last night, we found ourselves tucked away in a hotel parking lot with no where else to park, so we didn't want to have the computer light shining through the curtains making it obvious there were stowaways in the lot...Also, it was midnight, and blogging takes a lot of time and effort, uploading and resizing pictures, then writing our masterpiece...give us a break.

Yesterday started off in Casper, Wyoming in the all too familiar Walmart parking lot. We woke up, gathered ourselves, and hit the road towards Yellowstone. On the way we decided to take a 2 hour detour and head up to a town called Thermopolis, home of the worlds largest mineral hot spring. We found ourselves once again carving through huge cliffs on either side of us, this time 2500 feet tall, some dating back 500-600 million years. The snakelike road led us along the wind river and through indian reservations until we finally reached Thermopolis.

Thermopolis State Park, located on the outskirts of town is like a hot spring theme park. There are dozens of pools anywhere from 105 to 135 degrees chalked full of "healing" minerals. We didn't partake in the soaking, but still cool to see...We know where the secluded, tourist free ones are hidden later on in the trip. Before we left town, we splurged once again, (last time till at least San Francisco we promised), and stopped at A&W Lanes, a old fashioned diner with a bowling alley and arcade.

We entered the diner behind another group of people and shared in the confusion when there was no one there to seat you and also no window to order at... We shared a confused look and then picked a table. At the table there was a bright orange phone that says pick up and press button to order; we made our selections and did just that. Minutes passed, and our food arrived and the waitress told us how much it was, we paid her and that was it. After we ate our food...and ordered a strawberry malt for Sierra and cherry malt for myself... we got up and just left...no check, no closure, nothin...kinda cool.

From Thermopolis, we cut our way back through Wind River Canyon and kept on truckin for the Yellowstone area. On the way we researched 4th of July celebrations in Wyoming, and decided on Jackson Hole, about and hour south of Yellowstone.

Sorry for the quality, pretty dark when taken.

We drove west slowly getting closer and closer to the majestic snow covered rockies in the distance. Before we knew it the sun was setting behind the Rockies and turning the rolling green hills next to us a golden color. But, the Rockies had more surprises in store for us. As we climbed high into Togwotee Pass, we found ourselves at 9600 feet above sea level...with peaks to our left and right 2000 feet above that. It was getting dark when a car stopped in the middle of the road in front of us. As we slowly passed Sierra spotted our first grizzly! About a mile down the road we spotted more, a Momma Grizzly and two cubs. At this point, our mind was pretty much made up that for now on we would hike with bear mace....

As we corkscrewed out of the pass and towards Jackson, we had snow on either side of us. We also saw well over 30 elk on the side of the road.    

In Jackson we searched and searched for a place to park, no such luck. It was interesting to find that Jackson has a pretty hoppin night life. Neon lights and people at cowboy bars everywhere. As I said earlier we finally settled in at the Hotel parking lot.

Stay tuned for tonights blog detailing our 4th festivities. We will try to blog early tonight but we are two hours behind most of you.

Dinosaurs in Wyoming!

-Adam

"Where the deer and the antelope play..."

Good Morning Everyone!!!  It is a beautiful morning in Casper Wyoming :)  James Taylor is in the CD player and we are off, once again, on the open highway with no idea what to expect...but first, let me tell you about our interesting evening a couple nights ago and then our 'special' day, yesterday.

Well, as Adam had said, I was among the barefoot locals as he was writing the last blog, and we had anticipated heading out from there straight to a place to camp, however, on the road trip, nothing ever seems to go along with what we are anticipating..So from there we headed out on some dirt roads looking for the trail head to Crows Peak, a Mountain in Spearfish.  We drove, and drove, and drove...The roads weren't marked correctly, and by the time we reached what we thought was the trail, there were no signs so we felt a bit uncomfortable just sleeping there.  So we drove back into town and then back onto the dirt roads, making a complete circle, and just pulled off into the woods.  We had just pulled in, and were enjoying the stars when a truck came raging into the same little area...Adam had me roll down the window, because thankfully, it was just a ranger.  I wasn't sure what to say, so after fumbling my words around and sounding like an idiot, Adam simply said, "Is it okay to sleep here?"...The ranger was very nice, and told us that it was fine if we slept there.  We then asked him about the trail head, and a few other things, and as he was heading out, he made sure to tell us not to have any "open containers" while driving, we assured him we didn't and he then pointed his flashlight at my feet and said, "Really?  Because I see some right there."...They were old fashioned root beer bottles...After we told him this, he blushed a bit and quickly left.  As we were finally buttoning up, we found ourselves laughing pretty hard about the whole situation.

The next morning we headed out much later than we had originally planned, but we still made our way to the trail head, eating breakfast, and then heading up the mountain.  Adam led the way, as I was much slower than him : ) But, Adam being the good friend he is, stopped nearly every five seconds so I could catch up, and catch my breath : )  When we got halfway up the mountain, I was feeling very sick with chills, a tummy ache, and other 'flu-like' symptoms.  So we headed down from there, Adam gave me some medicine, and I fell asleep for the next few hours while he drove.  I awoke to a buttoned up van, a sleeping Tudela, and a massive storm.  Adam woke up as well, because the wind, thunder, and rain were so bad.  There were several tornado warnings, so we decided to leave, but not before my fingers got shut in the sliding door to the van...it's fine.  We were on the road after some ibuprofen and laughed about our reactions to the situation, while also marveling at the tumbleweeds blowing across the road.  We made our way towards Casper from there after seeing tons of antelope!  Yes antelope!!! : ) So awesome!  We also found ourselves driving in silence as a hazy sunset took place over the prairie on our right, and the Rockies created a shadowy blanket on our left...it was breathtaking, just like everything else we experience on the road trip.  We decided to go eat at Olive Garden upon arriving in Casper, because we felt we deserved it. : )  And after some delicious dinner, we made our way next door to the Walmart, and went to bed...and that, my friends, was our 'special' day yesterday, I hope it makes you chuckle to yourselves as it does us! : )

-Sierra

P.S.- Not tons of pictures, but we will upload some later!

Antiques

Movement started around 8:30 a.m. We repacked the cooler with ice from the travel plaza we slept at, grabbed a coffee and ventured back into the Black Hills. Before long we were surrounded by the giant walls of Spearfish Canyon. As we rounded the endless corners, we ducked down in the van trying to observe the thousand-foot pink, gold, and gray cliffs in their entirety...it felt as if it were too much to take in. Even going through a second time later today, we still found ourselves saying "oh wow!"...

We stopped and had a picnic by a stream and then continued on to the town of Spearfish. In Spearfish, we found our way to the visitor center and picked out some activities for today and tomorrow morning. We then found ourselves meandering into two antiques shops. We spent an hour and a half exploring 100 year-old items and books in the shadows of the 60-70 million year old cliffs we explored earlier.

A dinner site with a sink...

We took a gravel road deep into the National Forest and to a lake with a campground. From there we visited Rough Rock Falls one of the most photographed places in Black Hills. We made dinner at a picnic table hugged by a stream on one side, and thousand foot cliff face on the other. On the way back to Spearfish we made one last stop at Spearfish Falls...also gorgeous.

Now, I sit on Main Street in Spearfish with live music softly leaking in through the van as Sierra intertwines with the barefoot locals at the festival in the street.

Hiking in-store for tomorrow, then off to Wyoming.

-Adam

Well would you look at that...we need an oil change...

Where to begin?  Yesterday was one big adventure, honestly one of my favorite days so far.  We woke up at Sage Creek, to a beautiful sunrise in the Badlands…needless to say it was breath-taking.  The beauty of this Nation is unfathomable.  So often we hear of traveling to Europe, or some island on the coast, and maybe for some that is perfect, but waking up someplace new everyday is a real adventure.  Not only did the sunrise give us an exciting start, but as we brewed coffee, and made some oatmeal, we observed some bison and prairie dogs not far off.  The wildlife didn't end there either…

We decided to backtrack through where we had come Wednesday so we could take more pictures, and explore a bit more.  On our way out of camp, we had to stop not once, but three times to allow bison and cows to cross the road, directly in front of us…it was insane!  They were SO massive!!!  Driving along, stopping at different viewpoints and little trails, we saw bunnies, goats, and, of course, the gorgeous Badlands.  As we drove through the gates, we found ourselves quiet in the bittersweet moments of leaving a piece of the beauty in the world.  Of course, we know this is just the beginning, but we also realize that this trip is an adventure…maybe a 'once in a lifetime' adventure, and leaving, though we are excited for what's ahead, still puts a wave of sadness through the van because, we'd much rather continue to look at the beautiful adventure through the windshield, than watch it get smaller in the rearview…

We hopped onto 90, stopping to look and learn about the Minuteman Missiles, it was incredible to learn about how many people drove by, and probably still continue to drive by, missile launch sites containing warheads that could travel to Russia in 30 minutes.

Our next stop we were extremely excited for, as we had been seeing signs for it since way before the Badlands…A place called Wall at the end of the 240 Badlands loop, and their famous 'Wall Drug'….it is like a town inside, with tons of old west shops and such, it was SO fun!  They had everything you can imagine…a chapel, bookstore, giant animals to climb on, food, and of course their famous 5cent coffee, homemade doughnuts, and fudge.  We spent quite a bit of time there, and found ourselves leaving, (after a yummy lunch), with renewed and happy spirits.  : )  We continuously were saying; "Wall Drug is a happy, wondrous place.."  And we were just giggling!   : p

From Wall Drug we drove down to Hot Springs and decided to come North to the Crazy Horse Memorial...We had to pay 20 dollars at the gate, and we figured we might be able to hike to it, but no...we got the same view inside as we did from    the road...it was a rough time.  From there, we drove towards Mt. Rushmore, hoping to find camping along the way with no such luck.  So, eventually, we found ourselves standing at the base of a huge mountain, with American legends carved into it...It was incredible.  To think that people actually made that happen, is...amazing.  After taking many pictures, we, and many other tourists, found ourselves caught in a massive thunderstorm.  After it passed, we watched the sun stretch back over the Mountain, and then headed to the van.  We decided to look for a place to stay, and ended heading towards Custer State Park, and getting lost for about an hour and a half on cork screw turns weaving up, down, and all around the Mountain...It was frustrating, but eventually we got enough of a signal to turn on the GPS, and get directions to a Travel Plaza.  At the plaza we showered and ate dinner and finally were tucked in at about midnight.  It was a long day, but it was so much fun!  There is so much to see, who knows what today will bring?!

-Sierra



More pictures on Adam's Facebook.