Alaska to California: The last chapter

 After Yellowstone we were off to Utah. Because we were so close to the Grand Tetons, and because a friend had recently posted about their trip through the area, *someone* had the fabulous idea to visit there on our way to Utah. Did you know that there is no major highway between Yellowstone and Utah if you go through Jackson, WY? Me neither. Oops. We took the LOOONG way to Utah, but oh my! What a drive! Once we got past Jackson, the mountains gave way to hills and then farmland. We even had to stop on the road to let some cows cross! Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of pictures because it was raining most of the drive.

After spending a couple of days in Utah, catching up with friends from Alaska and Virginia, we finally made our way to Fort Irwin. We survived 3 years in the frozen tundra. Time to see if we can survive 2 years in the scorching desert.

 Alaska friends! 

Virginia friends!

41*C for my metric using friends.

Alaska to California Part 6: Idaho and Yellowstone

Anyone who knows anything about US geography knows that the best way to get to California from Oregon is to go through Idaho and Wyoming, right? Okay, so maybe we didn't take the most direct route to California, but we did manage to cross two more states off our list: Idaho (for Husband) and Wyoming (for both of us). We have driven through these states before, but we can't cross a state off the list unless we do something specific in that state (we don't even count an overnight stay if we just stay at the hotel). We must visit something--anything--in order for it to count. We were going to go to Craters of the Moon but we ditched that plan in favour of visiting a friend we hadn't seen in about 10 years. As luck would have it, we spent the night in Twin Falls, where Shoshone Falls is located. We made a quick stop before leaving the city. 

When we were planning our move, I really wanted to go to Yellowstone. It has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember having a bucket list. I was so excited to go there, and it did not disappoint at all. I had a hard time deciding which pictures to post because I wanted to keep them to a minimum here but also show you the beauty of the park. Here are some of my favourites from the 2.5 days we spent there.

 

We headed straight to Old Faithful our first night in the park. We definitely did not want to miss out on seeing the geyser. Going in the evening turned out to be a great idea. It wasn't very crowded and we were able to get an unobstructed, up close (ish) view. We went back the next afternoon because we happened to be in the area, and there were so many people everywhere! 

 

We drove through an INTENSE hail storm while in the park. It was crazy.

Those bubbles on the water are because the water is boiling! The ground underneath is so hot it makes the water boiling hot.

The smell of the sulfur pools was so nasty. Rotten eggs for days.

Mud volcano!

We don't like repeating experiences. We are more of the one and done kind of travelers, but I hope we get the chance to go to Yellowstone again in the future. Even though we spent 2.5 days in the park, I feel like we just barely scratched the surface of things to do there. 

Alaska to California Part 5: Oregon (and a bit of Washington again)

One of our travel goals is to visit every State. We decided to check Oregon off our list during this move. It made sense, especially since we were so close. A friend recommended we go to Multanomah Falls, and it turned out to be a fantastic suggestion because the falls are absolutely beautiful.

The desk clerk at our hotel suggested we drive the Fruit Loop, a scenic drive through the Hood River Valley that takes you past orchards, farms, and wineries, and gives you unbelievably gorgeous views of Mount Hood. There are farm stands all along the way, although not many were open yet because it is just the beginning of the growing season. We did stop at one farm stand, where they mostly had jams and syrups made from last year's harvest. I bought a jar of strawberry rhubarb jam (for $7, much to Husband's shock, but then again he has never had strawberry rhubarb jam so he doesn't know that you can't really put a price on good jam). The farm stand had some goats in a pen nearby so of course we had to stop and say "hello" to them. Words and pictures do not come close to describing the beauty of this area. I want to live here. 

Doesn't this look like the most beautiful spot for a farm stand?

Once we finished the Fruit Loop, we drove along the Columbia River Gorge. You have a couple choices when driving along the gorge: you can take the new highway, which runs along the bottom of the gorge near the river, or you can take the old highway, which runs along the top of the gorge. I recommend taking the old highway. The views are better, and you can go at a more leisurely pace since it doesn't have a lot of traffic.

We crossed back into Washington, and on the recommendation of the same friend who suggested we visit the falls, we made a small detour to the Maryhill Stonehenge. This replica of the Stonehenge in England was completed in 1929 and is the first monument in the United States to honour those who were killed in World War I. 

We finished this portion of our travel by spending the night with some dear friends from Virginia who now live in Washington. It was great to be reunited with them for a few hours. They gave us same tips on visiting Yellowstone National Park, which you will read all about in the next post. Stay tuned.