Oregon Pour it on.

Before getting to Oregon, while passing through Washinton, we visited Palouse Falls. It was off the beaten path but it was pretty cool and I'm glad we went. We didn't stay long before continuing on to our most anticipated city...

Portland! The city with more brewhouses per capita than any other city in the world! We had a lot of fun in Oregon. Upon arrival we stopped at the Washington Park rose test garden. It was very relaxing and colorful. We stayed with some of Celine’s extended family, Jackie and Allan (and Jelly). They were just the best. Jackie cooked us some of the best food we have had all summer! They took us into the city so we could walk around one day. Of course we decided to check out some of the brewhouses and taste as many different beers as we could! There are so manny good local beers it is nearly impossible to pick a favorite. Another day they drove us up to see the hotel on mt Hood that is shown in the classic movie The Shining. We took the time to stop at the mountain resort down the road and try the “alpine slide”, which was a winding track down the mountain that you ride down on a little cart that you sit on. It was a lot cooler than I thought it was going to be (they actually go pretty fast!) I honestly can’t thank Jackie and Allan enough for all they did for us. They took us in like we were their own kids and it was so great to have had the chance to stay there. If you guys log on and see this, we thank you guys so much for everything you have done !!

Our next stop after leaving Portland was Crater Lake National Park. I have always wanted to see this geological wonder and was not disappointed upon arrival. The size of this crater is enormous and the fact that it is the deepest lake in all of the north America makes it pretty impressive. There was only one way we could get down near the crystal blue water and that was by a strenuous hike down into the crater at Cleetwood Cove. The hike drops over 700ft in elevation in just one mile. When we reached the bottom we found a nice area where people were all hanging out and jumping off a small cliff into the water. Of course we all had to jump! How often do you get the chance to leap into the second deepest lake in the world? The water was a little chilly but it was so clean and crystal clear. You can see rocks underwater way down deep yet it looks like they are just right beneath the surface. After a couple of hours at the water we began our accent to the crater rim. The pamphlet says the hike out of the crater is equivalent to walking up 65 flights of stars. We were a little tired when we reached the top, but I think that with all the hikes we have been doing, we aren’t too phased by a hike of this difficulty. 

 

After Crater Lake, we found a camping spot still within the parks boarders but outside the main gates of the National Park. The spot was basically a parking lot with a small cabin that is used in he winter for snow mobile riders to crash at and hang out. It was extremely quiet and peaceful. The only visitor we had was a young deer passing through our campsite while we were hanging out drinking by the cars. 

Our next stop is going to be the Great Redwood national Forest in northern California! Before leaving Crater Lake National Park, we decided to stay a night at the free “snow lot” that is in the park. It’s basically a big parking lot that has a few buildings in the woods for when people come in the winter to ride snowmobiles. Very cool place. At night we were amazed at how absolutely silent the woods are. There were no crickets or any other creatures making noise…until a deer came meandering into our camp while we sat drinking some beers.

Made it through Montana!

Big sky was great! Its was really nice to see some familiar faces. We hung out there for a week. It was nice to spend time with our friends while meeting new ones. It was a good change of pace to be in one place (other than wisconsin) for a longer period of time. We did a lot of cool stuff during the week while our friend Fisher had his days off. We went hiking to Ousel Falls, floated down the Madison river on inner tubes, checked out some local music, shot some sweet guns, went to the movies, and hung out, relaxed and drank beers. Fisher's roommates both had dogs which ended up being a big source of entertainment a lot of the time because they never wanted to stop playing. Joanie was so funny. She is a springer spaniel and her hair made her look like she was wearing a toupee. Bailey was the sweetest pit bull with the coolest coloring. The town of Big Sky is such a nice tight knit community. Everyone is so friendly and most things were within walking distance of the house. 

Super Moon!

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Since leaving big sky, we headed to northern montana to Glacier National Park. On the way up I unfortunately got stung by a bee while driving causing my hand to swell up pretty badly. It’s very uncomfortable and annoying but I wasn’t going to let it ruin my time in Glacier. Before entering the park, we found a campsite for the night right outside the east entrance called St Mary’s Campground. It was a nice place with amazing views of the mountains. We met a really cool guy named Hawkin who worked in the park doing guided hikes. He pointed out some great hikes that we could do given the distance we were willing to walk. We were super thankful to have met him because we would have never ended up on the hike we took without his advice.

 The next morning we packed up, had breakfast and headed into the park on "Going into the Sun road". It was a beautiful day for the park. It was sunny but not too hot. Our first stop in the park was Siyeh Bend, which is the location of the head of the trail Hawkin suggested we take. This hike was by far the most amazing hike I have ever done. The views were absolutely phenomenal. It was overall the perfect weather to hike in. When we started off, the forest provided us with shade too keep us cool while the sun was highest in the sky. By the time we got out of the forest into the higher altitudes of the high alpine forest, there was a sufficient breeze and light cloud cover to keep us cool while we headed up the mountain. I have never seen an actual glacier before so it was really cool to not only see one but to hike over them! We also saw our first mountain goat grazing near a small stream of glacier water coming down the side of the mountain. We stopped at the top for a brief break to have some snacks and take in the view before heading back down the other side. The total hike was 10.3 miles. We were a little tired by the end but more pumped up at how awesome the whole experience was. Once we got to the end on the other side of the mountain there is actually a shuttle to take you back to the cars (which was sooooo nice lol) 

Shaking her ass to the wind!

 After the hike we drove around glacier on some of the coolest cliffside roads I have ever been on. We were going to each campground along the rout trying to find one that had an open tent site we could grab for the night. All the ones within the park are first come first serve, so by the time we were done with the hike, it was late in the day making it a bit harder to find one. We drove through one called Apgar Village at the bottom end of Lake McDonald. The sign out front said that it was full but we were determined to check anyway. Luck for us we spotted an open one in the perfect location! After grabbing the site, we headed over to the village center for some dinner and to take an ice cold dip in Lake McDonald to wash up. 

I took a bunch of Panoramic's of the hike and figured I would bunch them together.

Since leaving Glacier we have headed onto Portland OR!!! ( Celine is most excited about this city! )