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

Water Water Everywhere

I only drink water from the finest sources :-)

Beth Ann's house near Portland, OR

Winery

Winery stop in southern oregon.

Shasta

Mt Shasta in northern california. Another long drive from San Fran to Portland

Mill Valley

Our amazingly awesome hosts in San Francisco!  Such a cute family

Coast

Driving the California coast via Route 1. Boy is it windy!

Perty

So beautiful! CA coastline

Early bird gets the Worm

Our fabulous Los Angeles host Judith!  We look very chipper considering it's 7am :-)  Judith was Emily's mom's first semester roommate at Smith.

Toys

Mattel HQ in El Segundo, CA (outside LA).  Emily's friend Sarah works there and gets 50% off toys!  We forgot to get a picture with her :-(  But we had a great dinner at Brew Co in Manhattan Beach.

Bonnie at the Beach

Our San Diego hostess Bonnie!  Tim and Bonnie were physics friends at JMU