End with a Bang.....and a Boom

After 6 weeks and 10,527 miles, our road trip has come to an end.  Thanks to everyone who housed us, gave suggestions of things to do, or became fans of our blog.  We had a blast and can't wait to do it again!

We made it home for the 4th of July - celebrating America is a good way to end a cross-country road trip :-)

Last night

Last night on the road :-( Celebrating Casandra's golden birthday at Susan's house.  Apparently your golden birthday is when the day of your birth matches your age.

Zero

We lived up to the title of our blog! 10,000 miles hit the day we get home. The car, however, doesn't read 5 digits so it said we went back to zero.

Weeeeeee

We were getting ancy in the car so decided to go play on the swings at this rest stop in Illinois.

Anita

Lake Anita State Park in Iowa - favorite camping spot of the whole trip!  Beautiful green scenery, nice bathrooms, good price ($11), and quiet. Too bad we were only there for 8 hours.

Sierra Trading Post

Why can't we have one of these back home??  They always are in the middle of nowhere - in this case Cheyenne, WY.  Sierra Trading Post is an outlet for outdoor stuff.

Almost Home!

Well, not really almost home but we are making a mad dash back east. We unfortunately need to be back home so we are skipping the Midwest :-(  Note that it doesn't say 1 hr 5 minutes, but rather 1 day 5 hours.

KOA

Our campsite in Rock Springs, WY. We apparently selected a "deluxe" site which meant $5 more for a covered picnic table we didn't use or care about. That's what happens when you pick a site at midnight.

Lake Jenny

Panoramic view of Lake Jenny in Grand Teton.  Emily hiked this in flip-flops because the volunteer at the visitor center told us it was a flat 2 miles. What he didn't tell us (or know) what that the flat trail was closed for maintenance and we had to take the rocky horse trail instead.

The Watering Hole

We didn't realize the lake would be this popular. It looks more like a page from Where's Waldo than a national park.

Snake River

The supposed location of Ansel Adams 1942 photograph of the Grand Tetons and Snake River. Time definitely changed the landscape.

Bear Jam

You know it's something good when a park ranger is directing traffic.  If you look realllllly close you'll see a mamma bear and her two cubs on the right.

Mammoth

Most rocks take millions of years to form...Mammoth Hot Springs can grow as much as a 1/4" a day.  That's light speed in geology terms!

Sapphire Pool

Doesnt this look soooo inviting??? Yes, except for the fact that it's about 198° F and would boil you alive.

Bison (not Buffalo)

Why did the bison cross the road???  To create a wildlife traffic jam!

Classy Camping

What better way to enjoy a 9 year old bottle of wine than red solo cups and camp fire.

Mud

Mud pots. Such a cool sound!

Big Spring

Biggest springs in Yellowstone and there are over 10,000 geothermal features in Yellowstone.

Old Faithful

The mob of people waiting for Old Faithful to erupt.

Color Thermometer

You can tell the approximate temperature of the water by the presence and depth of photosynthetic life.  Stuff actually lives in this crazy hot water!

Bug Graveyard

5 weeks of driving will do this to your grille. We promise we will clean this mom!

Continental Divide

To the left of this monument, which signifies the Continental Divide, water drains to the Pacific, and to the right water drains to the Atlantic. Who knew the divide was so far west??

Can you find Sulley?

Many Glacier

This is right before we saw some bears :-)

Foot

Look! I can hike in the rain AND take a picture of my foot. I'm so talented.

Bridge

There are waterfalls everywhere in Glacier.

Summer?

Yes, it's summer despite the snow. This road, called the Going into the Sun road, only opened a few weeks ago.

Green Glaciers

Glacier National Park

Pack

Completely repacking the car in Kalispell, MT.  We packed too much stuff.

Chips

Can you tell why Tim bought these chips??

Wagon

Going for a wagon ride in rainy Spokane, WA

6,829 Miles

6,829 miles traveled as of Spokane, WA

Howdy

Winthrop, WA after driving through the Cascades. Stopover at the Old Schoolhouse Brewery.

Got Lake?

Emily contemplating a swim in the cascades.

Eerie

Low clouds and spitting rain in the park. Still beautiful

Cascades

North Cascades National Park - scenic route to Glacier.  One of the few free parks.

REI

Flagship REI store. It's huge!

Tremonkey

Good to see Emily's childhood swim friend, Matt, and his wife Annie!  Tim and Matt got to talk about JMU and home brewing.  Such a great couple to hang out with :-)

Fish

Fish ladder. For salmon who are going upstream to spawn before dying. 21 man-made "ladders" built to allow the fish to go upstream due to the dam.

Locks

The Ballards locks. They allow boats to move from one body of water to another when there is a dam. Learned something new! (At least Emily did)

Dinner with a VIEW

Dinner at the top of the Space Needle with Kat and David! The floor moves 360° in 45 minutes.

Space and Glass

Chihuly garden with the backdrop of the Space Needle

Chihuly

Chihily Garden Center.  So cool!

Fluffy Dogs

Bernese mountain dogs - fluffy huge dogs! If only they would fit in our car. At Gil's farm outside Seattle.

Boeing

Boeing plant tour. For a mere $350 million you can purchase a 747 and that doesnt even include the engines or interior!

Apple

Emily's version of beer - cider! at Bushwhacker Cider

Water Fall

Multnomah Falls in Oregon. So refreshing!

Portlandia

Beth Ann! So much fun....We learned Vancouver, WA is actually near Portland.  Not Seattle or Canada.

Voodoo

Voodoo doughnuts!!! Maple bacon and vanilla Oreo.

Chocolate

European style hot chocolate. Emily is in heaven.
Portland, OR