37 Days on the Road: Follow Our Cross Country Journey Here...

I can't believe this day has finally come. My friend John and I have been planning a near 40 day road trip across the country for a little over a year now and I can't believe today is day one! We have spent countless hours, days, and nights planning out our route, itinerary, and our packing lists. I've gone six to seven months without taking one single PTO day at work and picked up a few extra work days here and there to help stash away some cash for the trip. Our hard work has finally paid off and we have hit the road. My goal is to chronical our travels and update this post daily (as frequently as I can depending on wi-fi connectivity and our daily schedules.) I hope you enjoy following along on our adventure!

DAY 1 (Wednesday, June 09): Cleveland, OH to St. Louis, MO

The alarm went off and 6:30 AM had arrived! Time to get up and finish packing the last of my items before heading out to pick up John and Alex. John and I had met the night before to pack up most of our bags and belongings to help save time this morning and get us on the road a little sooner. Alex is tagging along with us for the first few days (today through Sunday) then will fly back to Cleveland from there while John and I continue our trek westward. After I finished loading up the car I picked up the guys and we headed off!

Our first stop of the trip was for lunch in Indianapolis. While doing some research we found a place called the Rathskeller, a German restaurant and beer garden offering all your typical German fare. We ordered some appetizers and I had a delicious bratwurst sandwich with potato salad and a beer. We all enjoyed our lunch as the food was delicious! The pretzel was phenomenal and the potato salad was authentically German. We didn't stay long and off we headed after lunch.

From Indianapolis we continued on to St. Louis. Here we stopped at a few breweries and dinner before heading to the Indians-Cardinals game at Busch Stadium as the Indians happen to be in town for their second of two game series against the Cards. For more details on our St. Louis adventure click here to link to my post "Around Town: 24 Hours in St. Louis."

DAY 2 (Thursday, June 10): St. Louis, MO to Colby, KS

The next day we woke up fairly early, packed the car, and then headed on over to the Gateway Arch National Park to check out the park lands as well as the famed Arch. This was our last stop in St. Louis before getting back on the road. We bought tickets ahead of time so had to be there for our reserved time slot at 9:10. Prior to going in we walked the park and took in it's surroundings. All said and done we spent about an hour walking around the park premises and the St. Louis Riverwalk in addition to the approximate 1 hour it took us to get into the Arch, go through security, ride up the tram, take in the views, and then head on out of there. It was a fairly smooth process at the Arch and we were in and out quickly. To learn more details about our Gateway Arch visit click here.

We left St. Louis around 10:30 AM or so and took off for Kansas City for lunch. We looked into some local KC food spots when we were originally planning out our trip so we wouldn't have to waist time figuring out where to stop. We had a few options based on recommendations and such; however, we settled on Joe's Kansas City BBQ. We went to their original location which is located in a gas station (yes, you heard me right on that... a gas station!). The food was phenomenal and I will probably be stopping by there every time I go through KC.

After lunch at Joe's we ventured over to Boulevard Brewing Co. to check out their main operations and sample a few beers. Their facilities spread across a massive campus and the highlight is a rather large brewery and bar with ample space both inside and outside on their patio. For more details on both Joe's BBQ and Boulevard, check out my "#1 Beer and BBQ Spots in Kansas City" post here. Following Boulevard we hopped back on I70 and made a quick pit stop in Topeka where we stopped at a small brewery called Iron Rail Brewing. Sitting in the heart of charming downtown Topeka, the vibe at Iron Rail was similar to that of a sports bar but with a little small town feel. The food was unbelievable and their beers were OK. The beers didn't stand out much for any of us. Coming from Cleveland where the craft beer scene has grown tremendously over the last decade, I feel we have all become somewhat of beer snobs and compare all other beers and breweries to the Great Lakes, Platforms, Mastheads, and Saucys of Cleveland (but who can argue with that, Cleveland has some of the best craft beers around.)

After our dinner and beer at Topeka, we finished the last leg of our trek for the day ending the night in Colby, Kansas. We didn't do anything here other than just sleep and rest up for the next day's adventure!

Day 3 (Friday, June 11): Colby, KS to Denver, CO

Our original plan for this day was to wake up in Colby and head to Colorado Springs for the day where we had a reservation at a Super 8 by Wyndham; however, as you will see later these plans changed as the day went on.

After Trinity we made our way to both Pikes Peak and then later Garden of the Gods as they were both in good proximity to one another. If you want to hear more about our adventures to both Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods check out my related posts on each here for Pikes Peak and here for Garden of the Gods.

After both Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods we went to check into our motel. This is where the fun began! We thought we had booked a relatively descent hotel in a respectable part of Colorado Springs; however, once we rolled up to the motel it was nothing like what we imagined and even looked different than the pictures online. We attempted check in but the place was a total dump with broken glass in the lobby and people just loitering both inside and outside. After much debate we decided as a group that although there were additional things we potentially wanted to see and/or do while in Colorado Springs, we had to find a different hotel/motel.

We ultimately decided that we accomplished the main two parks that we wanted to see and instead of venturing around town trying to fill our time with other local attractions (click here to see our full list of things to do in Colorado and some of the additional attractions we did not get to this day) and find new accommodations that we would adjust our itinerary a bit and just drive on up to Denver for the night (driving to Denver was our original plan for the next day) and just call and get an extra night added on to our already booked hotel which we had reserved for tomorrow.

Heading out of Colorado Springs earlier than initially planned and getting to Denver a night earlier in the end was a huge help and saved us a lot of time the next two days. We checked into our hotel, unpacked, and then ventured out in downtown Denver as none of us three had ever been to Denver before. It also was my birthday this date so we bar hopped a bit around town to a few areas of downtown that were walkable to and from our hotel. We stopped at a few local spots including Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, Wynkoop Brewery, Hayter's (an interesting mix of a sports bar with a nightclub feel due to the fact that they had a line to get in, a bouncer at the door, a rooftop patio where the wait was more than 30 minutes, an area for dancing, and even their own beer pong tables. The crowd was young and we didn't stay long but was an interesting spot to explore while we were out. Lastly we stopped at Otra Vez Cantina, a modern, Mexican style bar with a great atmosphere and good drinks. One thing we did notice while in Denver was that most places (restaurants, bars) started closing at 10 PM and it was rare to find anything open past midnight, even on a Friday night! After exploring the streets of Denver and a few of their local spots we picked up our friend Jessica (in town for a couple days to join in on our adventures in Denver) from Union Station on our walk back to the hotel. We all crashed pretty hard since we had been out until the bars closed this night and we had yet another early morning wake up call to ensure that we made it to Rocky Mountain National Park the next day (more on that next!)

Day 4 (Saturday, June 12): Denver area & Rocky Mountain National Park

Now that we picked up Jessica last night we now have four of us for the day as we venture out to Rocky Mountain National Park (our 2nd National Park of the trip.) We left the hotel in Denver at 8 AM and stopped on the way at Black Eye Coffee, a quaint little local shop in the LOHI neighborhood of Denver, to help wake us up.

Once at Rocky Mountain National Park we drove along the Trail Ridge Rd scenic highway and stopped along at a few overlooks for some spectacular views and photo opportunities. We did a few hikes including the Ute, Bear Lake, and Alpine Falls trails. Overall we spent probably close to 8 hours total in the park driving and exploring on foot. To read further details about our experience at Rocky Mountain National Park click here. There you will find more information about the drive, our hikes, and the park itself. After our time in the Park we we stopped in Estes Park for dinner as we were all starving after the long day in the Park. Estes Park sits at the eastern entrance to the park and is a nice, small town with a lot of restaurants, shops, and local attractions. We stopped at Estes Park Brewing where we were especially surprised at how amazing their beer was. Almost every beer that we all had sampled were extremely well crafted. Some of the favorites of our group were their Trail Ridge Red (Red Ale) and both their Bear Lake Blueberry Wheat and Long's Peak Raspberry Wheat (both fruit beers.) The food was on par for brewery style food. The service was ok but the biggest perk was upon entering the brewery a bartender immediately offers you a flight of 4 samples of any of their beers FOR FREE! You can't pass that offer up. It allowed us to sample a few options before ordering our own at dinner which was helpful.

Following Estes Park we continued back on our way to Denver where we then passed through the small, but extremely charming town of Lyons. Here we stopped and walked along their main street (unfortunately at this time of day all the local shops were closed but they too have a nice and relatively new brewery in town called Mainstage Brewing. We decided to stop here to try some of their unique craft beers and were pleasantly surprised to find out that they had live music on the patio. The band was fantastic and the environment was extremely charming. Everyone we encountered here form the patrons, the staff, and the band themselves were extremely friendly and welcoming. We listened to the music and sipped a few samples of beer here for about an hour or so then continued on our adventure back to the hotel.

Before ending the day back in Denver we did make one final stop in Boulder at a local Brewery there called Upslope. At this point it was already just past 9PM and the brewery was closing at 10 so we didn't' stay long but just enough time to sample another beer or two and enjoy the rest of the night on their patio before finishing our trek back to the hotel for the night. Overall this day was filled with a lot of adventure. From the scenic drive up to Rocky Mountain National Park to the amazing views and scenery that surrounded us inside the park as well as the hikes we conquered and the brief stops in the cozy Colorado small towns of Estes Park and Lyons as well as Boulder. Rocky Mountain National Park was more than I ever thought or dreamt it would be. This Park by far surprised me in many ways. It may not be one of the most popular and well-known National Parks in America; however, it definitely can compete with the Yellowstone's, Yosemite's, and Grand Canyon's out there. I would highly recommend a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. We unfortunately only had one day in the park but I am hopeful to return in the future and spend a few days in and around the park exploring more trails inside as well as more of the small towns that surround the park.

For more information on Rocky Mountain National Park and read more detail about our time in the Park click here. To see more photos from our time in the Park check out our gallery here.

Day 5 (Sunday, June 13th): Denver, CO to Dead Horse Point State Park & Canyonlands National Park

After leaving Denver in the morning, we made our way out to Utah for the next leg of our journey.

On our way to Moab, UT we stopped for lunch at Breckenridge Distillery in Breckenridge, CO for one last taste of Colorado before departing the state. Here we found an extremely welcoming environment as well as friendly staff. We arrived right as they were opening at 11AM so we had most of the place to ourselves at this point. The staff and the few other patrons there at the time were all very friendly and chatted with us about nearby attractions, things to do in the area, and pointers for our upcoming destinations in Utah (Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Arches, and Zion.) The bartender was especially helpful in giving us some tips on some of the best trails in the aforementioned parks. We sat on their patio which was outstanding as it was already turning out to be another beautiful, but hot, day. The food was great and it was a plus that it arrived very fast. I tried their bourbon/whiskey sampler and really enjoyed their regular bourbon as well as their high proof. We bought a few bottles before we left to take back home to enjoy down the road.

From Breckenridge we continued our drive for another few hours to Moab where we checked into our hotel, the Red Stone Inn, before heading out to Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands National Park.

Dead Horse Point State Park is situated just 9 miles north of Moab in the state of Utah where it encompasses over 5,000 acres of desert terrain at 5900 ft of elevation. Interestingly the park got its name due to the sites history of being used as a natural horse corral by cowboys in the 19th century. Legend has it that one time these horses were corralled out through the neck and onto the point where they were then left stranded and eventually succumbed to the heat and dehydration, hence the park's name.

From the park you can see amazing views of both the Colorado River and Canyonlands National Park. Amenities include a visitor center, coffee shop, picnic areas, and a small campground which includes a couple yurts, ample space for RVs, and a few spots for hike-in-tent only sites. The park consists of 8 miles of hiking trails and 17 miles of mountain biking trails. We were here a little bit before sunset so the scenic views were a bit more colorful due to the sun being closer to the horizon. We spent about an hour or so walking around parts of the park before heading around the corner to Canyonlands.

Canyonlands National Park is a massive 527 sq mile area encompassing over 300,000 acres of deep red rock canyons, sections of the Colorado and Green Rivers, and many smaller, but still magnificent arches as well as many spectacular hoodoos. The park is split into 4 distinct districts each with their own characteristics. The Island in the Sky district is the most popular and where we spent our evening. The four best trails throughout the park are the Mesa Arch Rim Overlook, Pothole Point Trail, Peekaboo Trail, and Chesler Park Trail. Each vary in degree of difficulty so choose what best fits your capabilities and liking. We did not do any significant hikes while at Canyonlands, instead we stuck to a few of the main overlooks and focused more on relaxing and watching the sunset. The views across the park as the sun sets below the horizon and above the canyons brings out amazing color both in the sky as well as bringing out the vibrant colors of the red rock canyons.

Sunset was sometime between 7:30 and 8:00 PM. Following sunset we hung around for about another hour to watch the colors continue to change throughout the canyon views as well as to watch the sky turn to night. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable way to end our day. By the time we left the park and got back to the hotel it was pretty late so we went to bed to prepare for our early morning the next day at Arches National Park.

To check out a few more photos from our time at both Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands National Park click here.

Day 6 (Monday, June 14th): Arches National Park & Bryce Canyon National Park

Today we got up around 4:30 AM to get ourselves ready and make our way over to Arches National Park from our place in Moab, UT. The goal was to get out there and in the park before 6 AM so we could ensure we obtained a parking spot in the lot and to get a good head start on the hike up to Delicate Arch in attempts to avoid big crowds. Rumors have it that the park parking lot has been filling to capacity some days by 7, 8, or 9 AM many mornings so we wanted to ensure we did not miss out. Delicate Arch is by far the most famous and popular arch at the park so we started here and began our hike around 6 AM.

It took us about 45 minutes or so to reach Delicate Arch, a 3.5 mile round trip to the top and back. The climb up is moderately challenging as it is a pretty consistent ascent up to the end point. It was fairly crowded already at this time in the morning but luckily starting the hike by 6 AM did help keep the crowds to a minimum at least on the hike up which was helpful once we were at the top. There was a small line of people already waiting to go get their pictures taken with the arch so we stood in line for about 5-10 minutes at most before our turn was up. Delicate Arch is a beauty to take in. The views of the canyon around you while standing under this sweeping archway is mesmerizing. We stayed at the top to take in the sights and views before heading back down the trail to the parking lot. By this point there was a steady flow of folks slowly working their way up the trail while we were making our descent back down.

On the hike back to the lot we stopped by the Wolfe Ranch site which sits at the base of the trailhead to Delicate Arch right next to the parking lot. Here you'll find a set of two cabins that belonged to the Wolfe family who settled in this area around 1898 from Ohio. Beyond Wolfe Ranch, you can see evidence of even earlier human activity in the area. A short walk across a small bridge spanning the Salt Wash leads you on a short trail over to a nearby petroglyph panel. The stylized horse and rider surrounded by bighorn sheep and dog-like animals is typical of Ute rock markings. These figures were likely carved between 1650 and 1850 CE (Common Era).

From the parking lot we then drove around the park and stopped at a few more trails and landmarks including the Landscape Arch Trail and Devil's Garden Trails to see the Tunnel Arch, Pinetree Arch, and Landscape Arch. The hike to these arches is not difficult at all and mostly flat with the exception of a couple small elevation changes. You are in the sun a lot for most of the hikes out in Arches so be sure to protect yourself from the sun and stay hydrated with lots of water too! On our way out of the park we stopped at Balanced Rock which you can easily drive up to and get out to walk the small loop that surrounds the rock. We spent maybe about 15-20 minutes at Balanced Rock and that was more than enough time to enjoy this unique natural phenomenon that appears to defy gravity and all laws of physics.

All said and done we were able to accomplish everything detailed here in just under 4 hours. Having arrived and started our first hike by 6AM allowed us to be done and out of Arches around 10AM. This was perfect timing due to the fact that we were also trying to then drive over to Bryce Canyon which was about a 4 hour drive. This gave us plenty of time to adventure around Bryce for the entire afternoon and evening too before heading to our hotel for the night. To view more photos from Arches, click here.

From Arches we then left and made our way over to Bryce Canyon National Park. This park surprised me. It is not the most popular park in Utah as Arches and Zion often claim fame to the number 1 and number 2 parks in the state; however, I was surprised by the immensity of the park as well as the gorgeous views from all over the park. We drove out to Bryce Point which is the furthest point out. At Bryce Point the views are unbelievable! From here you get wide, sweeping views of the canyon from over 8,000 ft of elevation. We then made our way back down the main road and pulled off at Inspiration Point which allows for another opportunity of more sweeping views of the canyon. Both Bryce Point and Inspiration Point were by far my favorite overlooks at the park and would highly recommend both spots.

From Inspiration Point we then made our way to Sunrise Point, another spectacular overlook spot, where we trekked down the Queens Garden Trail all the way around to Sunset Point. This hike is another moderately challenging hike especially the last stretch before reaching Sunset Point as it has a series of multiple, steep switchbacks which were not the easiest to complete after having hiked the nearly 3 mile stretch prior and following our earlier hikes this morning over at Arches National Park. Although a bit exhausting, the Queens Garden Trail is by far worth the effort and the sweat. You gain massive views from deep down into the canyon of what's known as the amphitheater as well as Queen Victoria and Wall St. All told here, we probably spent between 5-6 hours at Bryce accomplishing everything detailed above. For more photos from our trip to Bryce Canyon, click here!

We stuck to our itinerary pretty well for these two parks and were able to see everything we wanted to see and trek the few hikes at both and got it all done in one day! It's a great way to knock two National Parks off the list in the same day. If you want to take your time and may not be as experienced of a hiker or if you have additional hikes you hope to accomplish then you may need to split them each up into their own days depending on your goals and your schedule.

By the time we were done at Bryce it was already getting late into the evening and we still had about a two hour drive to check into our place at the Gooseberry Lodges in Apple Valley, UT. When we arrived to Gooseberry Lodges we were pleasantly surprised by the quaint little community which consisted of approximately 24 or 25 small cabins each set about 20 ft or so apart from one another and lining both sides of the road. The Lodges sit a bit off the highway but besides that it feels you are miles away from civilization with exception of your new neighbors. Each lodge had a small fire pit in the back and parking for 1 vehicle. Additional parking was available in a small lot behind the community. Our cabin had bunkbeds with a bed on top and a futon on the bottom. A refrigerator and microwave were included as well as a small desk. Community style bathrooms and showers are easily accessible and just a quick walk across the road. Each bathroom and shower are single occupant so still allowing for privacy. Overall this place was my favorite place we stayed thus far. I would highly recommend it to anyone staying around the Moab area.

Day 7 (Tuesday, June 15th): Zion National Park

To ensure we got an early start at Zion today we woke up around 4/4:30 AM got ourselves together, packed our day bags, and headed over to Zion National Park. When we arrived to Zion there was already a lengthy line waiting for the shuttle. Zion currently does not allow any vehicles into the park beyond the entrance point and visitor parking lot; therefore, you must utilize their shuttle system. The line was already in the hundreds and from what we heard people began lining up around 4:30 or 4:45 AM to try and be on one of the first shuttles over to Angels Landing.

John and I lucked out as we had bought shuttle passes a few months ago when the park was utilizing a pass system (only cost $2 per person.) However, the park is no longer utilizing the pass system but still honoring any passes that people had bought previously. This was a HUGE help for us as we arrived to the line around 5:45 or so and was able to go directly to the front of the line allowing us to catch just the 2nd shuttle that headed out towards Angels Landing. This was a big win as it helped keep the crowds to a minimum during our hike out and up to the top of Angels Landing.

The hike itself is a 5 mile round trip trek through some rugged Zion Park terrain. Since the heatwave that has been torturing the Southeast was still in high gear we made sure we packed plenty of water and some Gatorade as well as some salty snacks including some sea salt chips and some beef jerky to keep us hydrated and give us some energy throughout the hike. The hike progressively got more challenging as we moved further and further into the trek. The initial period is a rather gradual ascent but nothing too strenuous; however, you do get glimpses already of Angels Landing towering way overhead as you start your ascent through Zion Canyon. The elevation gain throughout the hike was ~1500 feet. Throughout the first ~2 miles you gain about 1000 ft or so, but it's that last half mile where you encounter the final ~500 ft of elevation which leads to steep, towering climbs that can be daunting.

We made some friends along the way as everyone hiking up with us this morning were great company. Everyone is supportive of each other and very helpful. Most everyone were extremely pleasant and considerate when having to pass by one another on some of the narrow stretches. As more people began to start their journey back down and more people were joining the trail to hike up it did become quite congested at times. Once we began our trek back down from the top we did get slowed down a bit at times because at this point more and more people had taken the shuttle over to the trail to begin their journey.

The final ascent to reach the top is a bit nerve-racking. As you trek through that last stretch there are sections where you have some steep climbs up the rocky terrain. A big portion of the final stretch has chains at least on 1 side to help give you something to grip as you navigate the rough and narrow terrain. Some of the sections of the trail are only a couple feet wide with a thousand or two thousand foot drop offs on either side of you! Once reaching the top, the views from Angels Landing are undeniably gorgeous.

At the top we took in the unbelievable views, sat down for a bit to re-energize and rest, and made some friends with others who made the climb. We had conversations about the hike itself, others' journeys to the park, and gave and received some advice from other park goes regarding some of our past hikes and pointers for our future hikes. After conquering such a feat as making it to the end of Angels Landing hike, we wanted to enjoy our time at the top before heading back to the trailhead so we stayed at the top for around 30 minutes or so.

The trek back down was challenging at first due to increased crowds and more people hiking up so there were multiple congestion points along the way where on our way down we would have to step aside (best we could on some of these narrow patches of rock) and allow lines of others to come up. There were multiple sections during that first half mile or so descent back down where we or others coming up had to stop and allow others to pass through some of these narrow stretches. Once we got past the chains and that first half mile the rest of the return trip was pretty easy from there on out.

Following the completion of Angels Landing we then decided to catch the shuttle over to the Narrows and try to hike a few miles out and back. But first, we had packed subs for lunch so we found a bench back at one of the parking lots and ate our sandwiches before taking the shuttle out to the Narrows.

The Narrows is quite a unique hike. We arrived to the Temple of Sinawava via the shuttle where we trekked along the Riverside Walk for about a mile before coming to the point where the paved trail ends and you must make the decision to either turn back here or continue on through the water and down into the Narrows. To hike any further past the paved portion of the Riverwalk you must wade through the Virgin River itself which then curves its way through the narrowest part of Zion Canyon (hence the name "Narrows".) Since having done Angels Landing already this morning we decided to just hike as far as we felt comfortable before turning back. The crowds by this point around 11:30 or so had built and the first mile or two down into the Narrows looked like a herd of cattle attempting to make their way down a long and narrow corral. The crowds slowly thinned but the hike was pretty packed throughout a majority of our hike.

We made our way all the way down to where the narrows split off and you can choose to go left or right at this point. We decided to venture off right where a little ways down you encounter more rocky terrain and a few small waterfalls. The climb up and over gets more challenging and we hit a spot where we really couldn't go much further unless we wanted to get really wet and the terrain was becoming a bit more treacherous. From here we turned back. Once we reached the fork in the river again I veered off to the section that went left and hiked about another half mile to mile that direction before turning back. Once back at the fork we then made our way back through the water and back to the Temple of Sinawava where we caught the shuttle back to the truck. In all we probably hiked a total of 8 miles round trip through the Narrows. This is such a unique hike since you get to wade through the actual river for a majority of the hike. Depending on the time of year, snow melt, and rainfall the water level will vary so check on the latest conditions before making your journey to ensure you are dressed appropriately and prepared for the river conditions.

To do the Narrows hike you must have a solid pair of water proof shoes as the rocky terrain throughout the Virgin River is slick and rugged. You often are in the sun depending on the time of day and if the sun is sitting just over the canyon the rays radiating down into the towering walls can do some damage if you don't use some sunscreen. And as with all other hikes, especially in this heat, be sure to have plenty of water and stay hydrated.

My biggest advice for anyone attempting to conquer Angels Landing or the Narrows in the future is to arrive to the park as early as possible. Without the shuttle pass system it is a pretty big cluster in the morning with everyone trying to get out to the most popular hikes (Angels Landing and The Narrows.) So if you don't arrive early and get on one of the first couple shuttles be prepared for lines, crowds, and congested trails. Ensure you have plenty of water, rest when needed, and pack snacks and/or lunch depending on your day plans throughout the park.

After finishing the Narrows hike it was now evening and we had worked up quite the appetite after hiking both Angels Landing and the Narrows today so we stopped at Zion Brewing for some hearty and delicious burgers and a beer to celebrate our accomplishments. After dinner we were beat and headed back to the Gooseberry Lodges where we were staying the night again. We prepped for our journey to the Grand Canyon the next day and got our rest for the night.

Day 8 (Wednesday, June 16th): Grand Canyon North Rim

From the Gooseberry Lodges in Apple Valley, Utah (just outside of Springdale and Zion National Park) we made our way south towards the Grand Canyon. On today's agenda was a trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon then make our way around and down to the South Rim where we were staying for the night at the Red Feather Inn.

We made our way through some very scenic stretches of highway including route 389 through the Kaibab Indian Reservation in Arizona before splitting off onto route 89A once we reached Fredonia. From there it wasn't long before hitting the Kaibab National Forest which comprised the remainder of our drive until we reached the Grand Canyon National Park. We arrived through the North Entrance and came across a herd of bison which greeted us on our long drive in through the park. The drive in from the entrance is rather long but enjoyable as there are plenty of points to pull off and enjoy the views, stretch your legs, and capture some photos of the local wildlife. Overall the drive from Apple Valley to the park was around 2 hours only.

We arrived to our first stop at the North Rim around 11 AM. We drove all the way into the park down Cape Royal Road which lead us to the furthest point out in the park which was a beautiful scenic overlook called Cape Royal which offered us our first stunning views of the Grand Canyon. Here you get views of what's called Angel's Window which is a natural window, or opening, in one of the large rock formations offering you views beyond and below into the canyon.

From here we ventured back towards the North Rim Visitor Center by way of the Cape Royal Road. Our next few stops included Walhalla Overlook (also situated next to an old Native American ruins site), Roosevelt Point, and Vista Encantada, all of which offered varying views and stunning scenic photo ops of the canyon deep below.

After Vista Encantada we continued just a bit down Cape Royal Road again until we hit a fork in the road which led us down Point Imperial Road where we diverted down again another wonderfully scenic drive to Point Imperial. Here we were graced with views of the eastern edge of the northern rim of the canyon, which sits east of the Walhalla Plateau, offering us a very different vantage point of the canyon than that of Cape Royal and Roosevelt Point.

Lastly we turned again back towards the main road in the park and ventured towards the Visitor Center. From here you can make a small, ~half mile or so round trip trek to Bright Angel Point from the Visitor Center parking lot. It's here that you get some of the best views from the North Rim down into the canyon. You are able to have more than 180 degree, unobstructed views from this point. If you have never been to the Grand Canyon this is where you will start to really get a grasp of the size and pure majesty that is the Canyon and the Park.

After spending time enjoying the small hike and views at Bright Angel we walked over to the Saloon for a beer at the Grand Canyon Lodge-North Rim where they had a few Grand Canyon Brewing craft beers on tap. After enjoying our cold and crisp beer at the Saloon, we headed back to the truck and made our way out of the park. We came across the same herd of Bison again on the way out but this time the herd was slowly meandering across the road to the other side. This was a prime opportunity for some great pictures of the herd before sneaking out prior to the majority of them crossing the road and blocking us in for a bit. We then made our way out and around the park and veered south via routes 89A/89 where we then turned right at Cameron onto route 64 which led us back into the Grand Canyon National Park, but the South Rim side.

We stayed tonight and the next night at the Red Feather Inn at Tusayan, just south of the Grand Canyon Village. We grabbed a late dinner at the Plaza Bonita Mexican restaurant which had an amazing tequila sunset (their take on the tequila sunrise but with the addition of rum) and both outstanding queso as well as their fajita. Following dinner we settled in for the night and prepped ourselves for our journey across the South Rim.

Day 9 (Thursday, June 17th): Grand Canyon South Rim

Today we took our time getting up and getting moving. We stayed in Tusayan just south of the Grand Canyon Village overnight so it was a quick and easy drive up the street to the Village. Before heading out to hike and check out the South Rim for the day we stopped at Foodie's, a nice casual, fast paced food spot offering up sandwiches, pizza, chicken, and more.

After lunch we made our way to the Village and parked near the Bright Angel Trailhead by the Bright Angel Lodge. We decided to do the Hermits Rest Trail which runs west along the southern rim out to a point called Hermits Rest. The hike from the Village to Hermits Rest is comprised of 9 overlooks and totals about 7.8 miles each way. We had all intentions to complete the entire stretch; however, by the time we reached Mohave Point, which was about half way down the trail, we were feeling a bit drained and with the continued heatwave we've been encountering during our journey we decided to take the shuttle from Mohave Point down to Hermits Rest. The park offers shuttle service to each of the points along the trail so you are able to hop on and off the busses at anytime while heading out on the trail westward. To head back east the shuttles only stop at 3 of the overlooks so be sure to plan ahead and know which points you can jump on the shuttle at when heading back towards the village if you do not plan to hike the entire trail out and back.

The hike is a beautiful, scenic walk winding along the western side of the southern edge of the rim allowing for amazing views of the canyon throughout the trek. The hike itself is not too challenging as its relatively flat and does not present much change in elevation since you are hiking the rim. A few spots have a couple short ascents and descents but nothing most amateur hikers will have no problem navigating. The more challenging part of this hike, as has been the case with most of our hikes on this trip, has been ensuring that you stay hydrated and protect yourself from the sun due to the high heat and intense rays of the sun during this time of year.

In addition to more stunning views, once you reach Hermits Rest you have the opportunity for restroom breaks as well as to pop into a small gift shop offering drinks, coffee, snacks, and of course souvenirs. From here we hopped back on the shuttle and made our way back to the Village. Before leaving the area we stopped over to the Yavapai Tavern where we enjoyed a beer and made friends with a few fellow travelers discussing past travels and future hopes and plans.

After enjoying our beers and the company, we drove back to the hotel and walked back over to Foodie's again for dinner. Having done the North Rim yesterday and the South Rim today we headed back to the hotel and called it a bit of an early night today and used the rest of the night to get caught up on some odds and ends and get a good nights rest before the weekend adventure to Las Vegas the next couple days.

Day 10 (Friday, June 18th): Hoover Dam and Las Vegas

Friday morning we woke up around 6:30 AM and tried to hit the road by 7 AM so we could swing by the Hoover Dam on our way to Vegas. Our goal was to get into the Vegas area around 11 AM for lunch and a bit of brewery hopping on our way to the Vegas Strip before we could check into our hotel at 3 PM.

We made our way to the Hoover Dam and arrived around 10 AM. The temperatures all throughout our trek across the Southeast have been well into the 100's in most places, and today was no exception. The temperature was already reaching 100 degrees by this time in Boulder City, where the Hoover Dam is located; therefore, we did not spend much time outside once reaching the Dam. The heat was pretty miserable if outside for more than just 10 minutes or so at a time. I did a short walk about half way across the rim of the Dam before turning back. I took a few photos along the way and just took in the engineering marvel that is the Hoover Dam. I read up on a few interesting facts from the educational kiosks and signage before returning to the car to cool back off. We did not do the museum or any other things of that nature. Once you see the Dam for yourself that's about the highlight of this stop, it is absolutely amazing to see for yourself and interesting to learn a few facts about the entire endeavor and it's current use and function, but we were pleased with what we saw and after about 30 minutes were back on the road towards Vegas.

We had about four hours to spare before check-in at the hotel so we stopped first in Boulder City just a few minutes drive from the Dam where we had lunch and a beer at the Boulder Dam Brewery. Lunch was enjoyable and the beers were not bad. From here we ventured off to Henderson, just outside Vegas (you can see the strip from here already, you're that close.) In Henderson we stopped at Lovelady Brewing and Crafthaus Brewery where I tried a flight of each of their beers. I was very pleased with both of these breweries as they each had a rather large offering of craft beers to choose from. The service was extremely nice at both and the environment of both was very welcoming. My favorite though if I had to pick was by far Crafthaus Brewery. The beers here were overwhelmingly satisfying, the bartender was extremely helpful and friendly, and the vibe all around at the brewery from an environment standpoint was great! Everyone from the bartender to the patrons you could tell just really enjoy good tasting beers and that made our time there extra special. I bought a few beers from here to take back home with me (as long as they survive this heat throughout the rest of our journey.)

After finishing up at the last brewery we then made our way to the Lynq which is where we were staying for the weekend on the strip. We parked the car, checked into our room, and then ventured out to the casino floor for our first round of some slots and table games. We ventured first to the Lynq itself then went off to Caesars and Bellagio across the street. I stuck mostly to the slots for this first trip out and didn't do too bad. We spent about 2 hours or so walking around and dabbling here and dabbling there before returning back to our room.

John napped a bit while I worked on my blog for a little while. Our big goal of the night tonight was to see The Chainsmokers, as they are headlining at the XS Nightclub at the Wynn/Encore hotels. So once 7 or 8 PM rolled around we got ourselves all dressed up (XS does have a pretty strict dress code) and began making our way over to the Wynn to see if GA tickets were available or if we needed to buy our tickets online. We walked back and forth a few times from this place to that place trying to figure out where to go before stumbling upon a bouncer who gave us some good pointers. He told us it is not worth it to stand in line to buy tickets as there were no free or discounted GA tickets since it is the Chainsmokers (a headliner) performing tonight. He also said that although the doors open at 10PM that we did not need to get there quite that early. He recommended just buying the tickets online and to be sure that we return before midnight to ensure that we got into the venue without having any issues or concerns about not being let in due to max capacity or due to long lines.

We bought our tickets online and then went over to the Wynn/Encore where we grabbed 2 rounds of drinks and a little more gambling while we waited. Once 11PM rolled around we made sure we started working our way to the entrance for XS. This was no easy feat as there were a few different lines depending on if you had table/bottle service, were considered "guest list" which basically meant you hadn't bought tickets yet, or if you already had your tickets like we did. We eventually were directed to the right line where thankfully we did not have to wait in line but for only like 15 minutes or so, but we did have to wait in three different lines so it was a bit of a cluster at first, but again the lines moved pretty quickly. Once we made it through security, we were in!

We made our way inside briefly to check out the venue (XS has an indoor venue with an open air backside that spills out into the Encore pool area) before finding a rather close spot outside right between the DJ stage and the outdoor pool. We camped out here basically the whole night. The Chainsmokers did not even come on stage until around 1-1:30 AM so we had a lot of time to kill. We listened to the DJs that were on stage leading up to the Chainsmokers while intermittently making friends and talking to others around us. The Chainsmokers eventually started their show and they KILLED IT! The music was raging and the vibe was unbelievable. Everyone was having the time of their lives, including us. We made lots of friends throughout the night and danced the night away. The drinks unfortunately were not cheap but hey, when in Vegas right?

The vibe of Encore is one of my top two nightclubs in Vegas that I have been to. XS is likely my favorite due to the outdoor and poolside environment but Omnia in Caesars would be my second favorite as I previously had seen Calvin Harris there and it was a night I will never forget either. If you are an EDM fan or just enjoy the Vegas nightclubs then XS and the Chainsmokers is a night you don't want to miss. We eventually closed the place down sometime around 4 or 430 AM and found our way back to our room where we both passed out I'm pretty sure within seconds of hitting the bed.

Day 11 (Saturday, June 19th): Las Vegas

Day two in Vegas was what you would expect following a night out at XS. I slept til about 3 PM! When I finally woke up in the afternoon I slowly got myself together, showered, and then John and I ventured out for round two! This day we were taking it slow! We started our day out taking a trip on the High Roller Ferris Wheel on the promenade. We bought happy hour tickets which include all you can drink in the bar car for your entire ~30 minute trip. Our bartender was extremely nice and she made a wickedly good raspberry rum and vodka drink of some sorts which I really enjoyed! After our trip in the High Roller we then went over to the Favorite Bistro where I indulged myself in their famous Bloody Mary which came served with a burger slider, 3 onion rings, 2 fried pickles, a chicken wing, and 2 mac n cheese balls! What more can I say, this was dinner and a drink all wrapped into one, literally! It was the most amazing Bloody Mary I have had to date, and will likely be difficult to beat.

After dinner we then just headed over to a few more casinos nearby the Linq where we spent most of the rest of the evening/night playing blackjack at a few different tables until about midnight or so. We stopped by the Cromwell, Flamingo, Harrahs, Paris, and Planet Hollywood to round out our night. I ended up down a couple hundred dollars and John broke about even so overall for a weekend in Vegas it was a win-win in my book. I may not have won what I had hoped, but I also didn't lose more than I had budgeted for myself. We were also smart and took advantage of the free drinks at the tables whenever possible as well as took advantage of the all you can drink affair at the High Roller which was helpful so we did not spend anything on drinks the entire Saturday with exception of our dinner and 1 round of drinks. The Chainsmokers made this Vegas trip something truly unbelievable and will be a night I will never forget. Now back to reality and the rest of our road trip...

Day 12 (Sunday, June 20th): Death Valley

We began today's adventure by sleeping in a little bit. After the last two nights in Vegas it felt extremely good to not need to get up at the crack of dawn. It felt good to sleep in to about 8 AM and get a solid 8 hours of sleep last night before checking out of the Lynq around 9 AM. With Vegas in the rearview mirror it's back to hitting the open road again. Today's agenda includes a drive through death valley. The drive out to Death Valley was not too exciting as it was a pretty boring drive with not much to look at; however, once we got closer to Death Valley, the scenery actually was quite surprising. We began to see mountain ridges which began to fill with color as we approached. As it has been recently it was extremely hot again today and knowing we were venturing into one of the hottest places on earth we prepped ourselves with lots of water and Gatorade for the day. We also ensured we topped off the tank before heading into the Valley.

As we entered Death Valley it was a 13 mile drive up to Dante's View where you get stunning views of the Death Valley Basin as well as Telescope Peak (the largest mountain in the park.) From Dante's you can mostly just get your views in from the overlook at the parking lot; however, there are 2 small unmarked paths where you can hike out a bit and have uninterrupted scenic views for miles and miles. The temperature dropped around 15 degrees from entry to the park to once we reached Dante's View and the breeze up there was a big help as well to make it not seem as hot as it was. It was actually somewhat bearable at the moment to be in Death Valley (although the temperature was still in the upper 90s.) Reminder, don't forget the sunscreen cuz there is nothing in all of Death Valley to shade you from the sun.

We then left Dante's View and headed back down the main road. There are a couple pull off points along the side of the road at random spots where we pulled off and got a picture or two as the contrast of colors between the varying mountain ranges was too good to pass up. We then made our way to Twenty Mule Team Canyon, a 2.5 mile one way drive on a dirt road through the canyon. It does get narrow at times driving between some of the rock walls but we were driving our Ram 1500 and did just fine. It's a very unique drive and will likely never encounter anything like that again so it was worth the 15 minute drive through.

From here we ventured just down the road to Zabriskie Point. Here you will have some breathtaking views of the sand dunes that surround you. It's a short walk up to the overlook but don't let that fool you. I'd say it's about 100 yards up and back each way but with the temperature today in the 120s in the valley, walking up the small hill to the overlook will challenge your breath on the way up and you will feel like your skin is literally burning from the heat. Be sure to take plenty of water and fluids and again don't forget the sunscreen if you are crazy enough to stay outside for extended periods of time. Also located here is the Badland Loop trail, 2.5 mile round trip. No way on earth we were going to be doing any hikes on this day other than a little walking here and there.

We then took a left at the visitor's center and continued on our drive through the Badwater Basin where it opens up to a vast dry, barren desert landscape with the backdrop of mountains on either side of you as you drive through the basin. A little further down Badwater Rd. we stumbled upon the Devil's Golf Course which is one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. It's a quick half mile or so drive down a dirt road and back. From there we stopped at the Salt Polygon trail head which allows you to walk out into the Badwater Basin and walk across the white salt covered ground. Surprisingly there was actually a little spring water at this location which is the only area you'll find water in Death Valley during this time of year.

At this point the temperature reached 128 degrees in the heart of the valley. We then started to make our way back towards the Visitor's Center and stopped both at the Natural Bridge pull off (.3 mile hike to natural bridge and another ~.25 mile to the natural waterfall.) We did not do either hike as the temperatures were too hot for hiking today, We definitely would have made the hike if it were more bearable.

Next we went down the Artist's Palette drive., a few mile stretch of terrain with ample areas to stop, pull off and take in some beautiful array of colors against the mountainous backdrop. We walked about 200 ft or so to an amazing overlook, a little steep climb and not easily done in flip flops which I had on at the time. I would recommend tennis shoes for most of the walking around Death Valley due to the rocky terrain. The main overlook is a few miles down the road but well worth it. The colors that come out of the rocks are beautiful and inspirational.

From there we went over to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. It was extremely interesting coming upon these desert sands out of nowhere. The sand was so fine and it was a neat experience to walk out onto the dunes. If it weren't so hot we would have ventured out further as there is a 2 mile round trip hike you can do as well. That pretty much ended our trek through the valley before heading back out and making our way to our next hotel for the night.

Death Valley was not totally what I was expecting. I honestly didn't expect much from this park and it actually kind of blew me away with the uniqueness of the landscape and terrain as well as the variety of colors providing for some amazing scenery. We also survived nearly 130 degree temperatures so I would say this day was a win! If I were to come back to Death Valley in the future I would definitely avoid the late spring and summer months and try to come when temperatures aren't so deadly so we could try and enjoy a couple of the hikes that we did not get to do today because of the excessive heat. It was a long, lonely road through the Death Valley desert as we made our way to Ridgecrest, CA about an hour or so outside the park where we camped up for the night and grabbed some dinner at Kristy's Diner before checking in to our hotel.

Day 13 (Monday, June 21st): Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park

From Ridgecrest, California this morning we hit the open road heading up to Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park. It was about a 4 hour drive to reach the southern entrance of Sequoia National Park. We stopped at the Foothills Visitor Center and Park Headquarters for a bathroom break, water refill, and park information.

Our first stop was Tunnel Rock, which was honestly not much to look at. We got out briefly but hit the road quickly to move on to some other points of interest in the park next. We drove up the main road through Sequoia, Generals Highway, and continued on to Moro Rock, Tunnel Log, and Crescent Meadow before finishing with General Sherman Tree. We had a long drive to get to our night's accommodations outside the park so after General Sherman Tree we made our way up the rest of Generals Highway towards Kings Canyon National Park. We made a stop at the Kings Canyon Overlook for some pictures then headed just past the Kings Canyon Visitor Center and Grant Grove Village to General Grant Tree and Panoramic Point. The drive all the way back into the Canyon was a pretty long drive so we unfortunately did not have time to get all the way to the end of the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway but made it as far as about Junction View Overlook before turning around and making our way out of the parks to continue our drive to The Branded Calf Bed and Breakfast in Squaw Valley, CA where we were staying for the night. We did not want to get behind on our schedule because since we were staying at a B&B we had to ensure we checked in by 9 PM at the latest which limited our flexibility with time in the parks today.

Overall, Sequoia National Park was exciting but not totally what I was expecting. The giant Redwoods were obviously amazing to see and you can't find trees like that anywhere else in the world outside of this part of the country. I do wish though that we would have spent less time driving through and sightseeing in Sequoia and more time dedicated to Kings Canyon since we unfortunately were unable to make it to the end of the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway. From what we heard from multiple other people, the drive to Muir Rock in Kings Canyon National Park at the end of the road has some of the best views you'll ever have and should definitely be on your list if you plan on doing a trip out this way. I don't think I have the need to ever come back to Sequoia but would likely come back to Kings Canyon for a day sometime in the future to accomplish that drive to Muir Rock. Kings Canyon had a little bit of everything to see which made it perfect for a day trip!. You get to still see the Redwoods, there are some gorgeous creeks and rivers, Boyden Cave, and stunning views of Kings Canyon!

The rest of our drive into Squaw Valley was scenic at this time of day as we drove through cattle farms and horse farms on the way to the Branded Calf. Once arriving at the Branded Calf Bed & Breakfast, we checked in with Connie, our amazing host! The B&B itself was stunning. It was extremely authentic in it's décor and layout. Connie was absolutely amazing and so polite and friendly! She had a lot of recommendations for us and told us that we missed out not having gone all the way down to the end of the road at Kings Canyon to Muir Rock for the views. The property the B&B was on was great! We were surrounded by horses, cattle, hummingbirds, and she also raised dogs on site and had a few puppies which were extremely adorable. The ambience of the property was perfect and provided for stunning views as the sun was setting for the night.

Day 14 (Tuesday, June 22nd): Yosemite National Park

The crow of the local rooster could be heard in the background.. it was time to get up again. It was around 630 when I finally rolled out of bed. Intermittent barking from the dogs on property could also be heard throughout the morning. It was a natural wake up call, no alarm necessary!

We got ourselves together for the day and headed out to the kitchen where our host, Connie, was making some delicious omelets made with fresh vegetables locally grown. The table was set with ornate plates, fresh fruit, toast, coffee, juice, and water. The food was amazing. Connie sat with us for awhile chatting about the B&B, the animals, and her hobbies as well as our continued travels.

After breakfast we hit the road heading out to Yosemite National Park. We came in from the south via Wawona Rd through the Mariposa Grove Welcome Plaza. After traveling up north on Wawona for awhile we split off down Glacier Point Rd where we drove out to Glacier Point and then Washburn Point during the trip back for some scenic overlooks and amazing views of Yosemite Valley.

After Washburn Point, we stopped at the Taft Point Trailhead where we trekked about 5 miles round trip around the trail past Sentinel Dome, Roosevelt Point, and Taft Point. Doing the full round trip hike will include Roosevelt Point; however, many people just hiked the 2 mile or so round trip hike out to Sentinel Dome then back to the trailhead and out the opposite direction to Taft Point (another approximately 2 mile round trip trek) then back again to the trailhead. This route will skip over Roosevelt Point. Personally after having done the full round trip route I would highly recommend doing the full hike. It's only about an extra mile all said and done and Roosevelt Point, I thought, was significantly more beautiful with more expansive views than Taft Point anyway.

After finishing the hike we went back down the rest of Glacier Point Rd to Wawona Rd where we continued the drive north towards Yosemite Valley. On the way to the Valley we passed through Tunnel View which is a cool drive through the natural tunnel setting up stunning views of the valley as you come out of the tunnel. Once through the tunnel it's a nice, scenic drive down the Southside Rd to Yosemite Valley where we were staying at the Yosemite Village campground.

Once in the Village we checked in to our canvas style tent, packed away all of our food, scented belongings, etc. into our bear proof locker, and then walked down to the Village Center where we grabbed some pizza and a beer for dinner.

The rest of our night was lowkey this day as we did not want to overdo ourselves the day before hiking the famed Half Dome. We chatted with a few people during dinner and while sipping our beers then headed off to the tent to get some sleep as we planned on waking up around 5 AM or so to get an early start for our hike.

Day 15 (Wednesday, June 23rd): Yosemite National Park

5:00 AM came fast! Probably was not the best of sleeps on our cot style beds, but we made it work for the night. We packed up the truck, gathered our gear for our day hiking, and began our walk from the campground out towards the Half Dome trail head.

We made our way to the Happy Isle Bridge which was our starting point. From there we began our 8.4 mile trek up to Half Dome. There is nothing easy about this hike! It starts off somewhat flat and fairly easy for the first quick stretch, but then quickly you reach your first glimpse of some good size elevation change and begin your ascent up multiple switchbacks and what seemed to be never ending climbs.

Throughout the hike you pass by both Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls which are each gorgeous in their own right. Vernal Falls can be seen from a few different stretches throughout the first 1/4 or so of the hike anywhere between the Vernal Falls Bridge up until you get to the overlook which is right up next to the falls themselves which also provides for a nice refreshing mist. Nevada Falls you encounter more from a bit of a distance but do get two or three good views of these falls as well between the first 1/4 to 1/2 part of the hike out. Each viewing opportunity provided for a nice rest break to catch our breath and hydrate while taking in the views. We made sure we packed plenty of water, some Gatorade, a sandwich for lunch, and some salty snacks for the day's hike too which was a must since round trip we were expecting the full hike out and back taking between 10 and 12 hours.

The hike itself is beautiful and extremely scenic the entire way. There are many stretches where you are in the sun with no shade which provide for some great views of the valley and half dome; however, it does mean you are exposed to the sun for long periods of time over the course of the day so pack that sunscreen and stay hydrated.

After the falls, you continue your journey on mostly uphill climbs with an occasional flat stretch here or there which provides for intermittent breaks. We took plenty of short rest breaks for water and to just enjoy the views along the way up.

It took us about four to four and a half hours to reach Sub Dome. At Sub Dome you greet the Park Ranger who checked our permits (you must have a permit from the Half Dome lottery to be able to go any further past this point.) From Sub Dome you begin to get a feel for what lay ahead of you as you stare up beyond Sub Dome and make visual contact with Half Dome and the climbers in the distance who are attempting the final stretch up the cables.

The climb up Sub Dome is a challenge in itself. It is a steep, narrow climb almost the entire way up until it flattens out at the base of Half Dome. You don't have any cables or anything like that to hold onto, so take your time and watch your step as you navigate the terrain. Once at the top of Sub Dome you then are at the base of Half Dome. From here you are up close and personal with the beast and this is your final chance to turn back or muster the strength to carry on the final leg. We chatted with a few others before climbing up Half Dome ourselves; talking about the hike so far, the cables up Half Dome, and helping one another with any remaining fears or anxiety. Everyone was extremely nice, friendly, and supportive.

Finally it was time! John and I stepped up to the cables, put on our gloves, grabbed a hold, and began our journey up the side of the rock. This part of the climb is obviously the most challenging. At times you are walking up an approximately 45 degree angle on a smooth, curved side of a rock so shoes with great traction is a must. My feet still intermittently slipped a bit here and there but that's what the chains are there for! The gloves were also a necessity as you want to protect your hands because you will need the hand support and upper body strength to help you at times.

My biggest advice is to take your time! Also, be considerate when needing to pass others either on the way up or back down. Everyone was great during our journey up and down Half Dome and again everyone is very supportive of one another as it is one of the most challenging hikes in America so it is a big feat to accomplish this hike.

We finally reached the top after about a 15 minute climb up the chains. Personally, I was beat at this point! My legs were getting tired, my arms and hands were beginning to fatigue from the brute force you needed to help pull yourself up some stretches of the chains, and I was extremely hot and sweaty. At the top we spent about 45 minutes or so just relaxing, recouping, and most importantly enjoying the unbelievable views! The feeling of accomplishment at the top is like nothing I've ever felt before! Half Dome was the most challenging thing I think I've ever done in my life and I was extremely proud of myself for accomplishing the climb.

Now that we were at the top and enjoying the views, at some point we had to begin the journey back down. We eventually gathered ourselves and prepped for the climb back down Half Dome. The climb down took about the same amount of time as the climb up. We descended down backwards as it was the easiest way to get back down, but were stopped at times when needing to navigate past others that were climbing up. This slowed us down a bit on the way down. We eventually made it back down to Sub Dome and then made our climb down to the base of Sub Dome back to where the Park Ranger was stationed and checking those permits.

From here we rested again for a few minutes before making the rest of the journey back to the Yosemite Village. All said and done, it was almost a 17 mile hike round trip with another approximately mile or so walk to and from the trailhead each way to and from our truck. This ended up being our longest hike of the trip (close to 19 miles all together)and although at times during the hike I was having internal regret, in the end I was both relieved to be done but also overly proud of myself for conquering such a feat.

After we returned to the Village we grabbed some dinner and a beer to celebrate our accomplishment then made our way to the truck and ventured out to our nights new accommodations where we crashed early as we were both exhausted from the day's activities!.

Day 16 (Thursday, June 24th): San Francisco

We made our drive today west towards San Francisco! Coming into the city we drove across the Bay Bridge giving us some great views of the city on our way into town. Once in town we made our way to the Cartwright Hotel where we were staying for the night.

After checking in, I parked the truck in a nearby parking garage and then we quickly ubered over to Fishermans Wharf. We had ticket reservations for the Alcatraz Ferry over to Alcatraz Island. Our Uber driver was very friendly and we talked a lot about Canton, OH and the Football Hall of Fame weirdly enough. We convinced him he needed to make a trip sometime to check the museum out for himself.

Once at Fishermans Wharf we stopped in at Budin's Bakery where I had their crab salad sandwich. We sat outside to eat and listened to a man playing music and singing on the street corner. After finishing lunch, we walked over to pier 33 where we had the tickets to catch the ferry over to Alcatraz Island. We waited at a nearby table for our time to board, boarded the ferry, and grabbed a seat on the top deck so we could enjoy the beautiful day that it was turning out to be while gaining some great views of the island, the city, and the Bay and Golden Gate bridges.

Once on Alcatraz Island we walked around the property checking out the warden's mansion, enjoyed the first half of a guided "phone" tour of the cell house including the inmate quarters, solitary confinement, dinning hall, and a few other smaller areas of the main building. Later we then walked more around the outside of the prison past the guard tower, flower gardens, and the recreation area. We also enjoyed some of the native bird species which now make the island home, as there were hundreds all around the grounds. We then went back to the boat and made our way back across the bay to pier 33.

After returning to the mainland we ubered out to New Belgium Brewing Co. for some flights of beer. While at New Belgium, our bartender gave us some recommendations for a few wineries to check out for once we get to Napa tomorrow. After New Belgium we made our way over to the Civic Center area where we met up with some of John's family that lives in San Francisco (Mark and Stephanie). We chatted for a while, caught up, sampled a few beers and then went out to dinner.

We ubered over to Puerto Alegre where we started with some pitchers of margaritas and enjoyed some delicious Mexican food for dinner. I had their famous burrito which did not let me down. From dinner we then bar hopped around town for a couple of hours before ending the night. Our first stop was Vesuvio Cafe which is a historic San Francisco cocktail bar. It was a popular spot for Jack Kerouac decades ago. We enjoyed our drinks outside on their patio, appropriately named Jack Kerouac Alley. From Vesuvio's we walked over to the Lipo Lounge for a round of Mai Tais, which is what they are most famous for! After our round at Lipo Lounge, we ended our night at Tunnel Top Lounge and Bar, an intimate 2 story bar that sits atop the Stockton Street Tunnel.

After finishing the last of our drinks at Tunnel Top, we walked back to the hotel where we called it a night. Overall, San Francisco was a blast! Although we did not do everything we had hoped to do throughout the day, we did get to see a good amount of the city considering we were only in San Francisco for one day and one night. Our goal in the morning is to drive over to the Golden Gate Bridge to get some better looks at the iconic bridge and hopefully get a few good photos as well. I would happily come back to San Francisco again for a long weekend in order to spend more time exploring the city, it's landmarks, the food scene, and the local arts and culture.

Day 17 (Friday, June 25th): Napa Valley

We started off our drive out of the city this morning with a quick stop over near the Golden Gate Bridge for some better views and a photo op. We pulled off at both the Golden Gate Observation Deck and Golden Gate View Point each on Conzelman Rd. which can easily be reached from just off the second exit after driving across the bridge heading north over the bay.

After taking in the sights and sounds of the bay as well as getting some great photos of the bridge, we then headed north towards Napa Valley. It was a quick approximately one hour drive to Napa which was where we were staying for the night. Our room at the hotel was not ready yet so we parked the car and walked just a couple blocks down through town to Downtown Joes Brewery for lunch. The food was phenomenal and was a great start to the day. We sat outside on their patio which sat just atop the river bank overlooking the Napa River.

We did not have any reservations for any wineries in the Napa Valley area so during lunch we did some research and called a few places to see which wineries would give us the best shot at driving up and getting lucky with either tastings or at least able to stop in, by a bottle of wine, and sip for a bit. We got lucky with two locations: V. Sattui Winery and Raymond Winery.

Our first stop was V. Sattui where tastings were booked for most of the day so instead we went to their market and bought a bottle of wine to take out to their outdoor patio area and enjoy. It was yet another gorgeous day out so enjoying the outdoors while sipping on a nice dry Riesling was quite enjoyable. From V. Sattui we ventured just down the road to Raymond's. Raymond Winery did have an available tasting so we jumped on it. They offered a variety of tasting experiences but we just opted for their Limited Tasting Experience which cost just $25. It included 5 tastings, but due to our tasting guide having multiple tables he was assisting with, the tasting took longer than anticipated and due to our longer than average wait our guide poured us two additional samples at no extra charge including their house Cabernet which was $145 a bottle. Overall it was a win-win on the day. We didn't have time for any additional wineries as it was already 5 PM by this point and all the wineries were closed or closing.

We ventured back towards Napa where we now could check in to the hotel. We stayed at the Napa Valley Hotel and Suites which was perfectly located in the heart of downtown Napa. After unpacking the truck and checking in we ventured out to dinner. We stopped at Bounty Hunter where we enjoyed yet another fantastic dinner and another drink. After dinner we walked over to Stone Brewing which was a quick walk across the Napa River Bridge and enjoyed a flight of their house craft brews.

Finally from Stone Brewing we walked just a couple more blocks over to the Archer Hotel Napa where we went up to their Sky & Vine Rooftop bar. The wait was a little long, but only took about 20 minutes to get seated. The wait was definitely worth it though as we had stunning views of the Napa Valley sunset as the sun lowered behind the valley area mountain ranges off in the background. Our waitress was extremely friendly and you could tell that she really enjoyed her job and interacting with people. We had a couple cocktails before ending the night and making our return trek back over to the hotel for the night.

Staying in the heart of Napa was undoubtedly the right decision for us. Everything was extremely walkable which was great considering the wineries all close between 4-5PM so it was easy to fill the rest of our evening and find some things to do at night. Next time in Napa I will definitely make sure I pre-reserve some tastings at a few of the wineries well in advance, I will likely spend a full weekend in the area, and I would happily stay downtown Napa again as it was extremely convenient and much cheaper than staying further up north into the valley.

Day 18 (Saturday, June 26th): Lake Tahoe

After waking up this morning we gathered our bags, jumped in the truck, and began to make our way north to Lake Tahoe. It was a relatively quick and easy drive, only taking about two and a half hours.

Once arriving to South Tahoe we hit some fairly significant traffic heading westward towards the Pope Beach area and Emerald Isle. It was around 11:00 AM so we decided to stop at the Beacon Bar and Grill situated just west of Pope Beach in the Camp Richardson area. The food was actually really good and the drinks were even better. Collectively we had some cocktails and beers while sampling some bites to eat. After lunch we walked down the beach for a bit people watching and scoped out the lake a bit (the water temperature was fairly cold so we did not swim;) however, we did enjoy the sun and the beautiful weather by returning back to the Beacon after our stroll down the beach and enjoyed a few more cold beverages.

Following the Beacon Bar and Grill, we then made our way to our hotel which tonight was the Econo Lodge Inn & Suites Heavenly Village right on Lake Tahoe Blvd. It was conveniently located within walking distance to many bars, restaurants, shops, as well as the casinos just across the border into Nevada.

After checking in, we slowly made our way down the main road with the ultimate goal of ending the night at a casino or two. Our first stop was Azul-Latin Kitchen which offered some amazing chips and guac to munch on while sipping a few drinks. We did do one round of tequila shots which helped get the night going in the right direction!. From here we headed over to Stateline Brewery & Restaurant for one round of beers. From there we made one last stop prior to finding our way over to the casino area. Our final stop was Lake Tahoe AleWorx which was situated right next to Harrah's Casino. Here we enjoyed some pizza, another drink, and then a shot-ski to round things out.

We ended our night with a trip to Harrah's, Harveys Lake Tahoe, and Montbleu Resort, Casino and Spa; each of which were located all within the same block and very accessible. Here we attempted our luck at a few slots, a roulette table, and a couple black jack tables. Had some luck intermittently, but as the saying goes.. the house usually always wins.

After spending a couple hours casino hopping, we made the long walk home back to the Econo Lodge sometime around Midnight. It was a rather long day since getting up around 7:00 AM so we all crashed pretty quickly once hitting our beds. Overall our experience in Tahoe for the day was outstanding and more than I was picturing. Lake Tahoe itself is beautiful and quite the site to take in. In addition to the views, the sunny and warm weather helped make the day extra enjoyable while the busy Lake Tahoe Blvd helped keep us entertained as the evening turned into night. Similarly to Napa, I would like to come back to the Tahoe area for a long weekend so that I have more time to explore the northern end of Tahoe, Emerald Bay more, the beaches, and more of what Lake Tahoe Blvd has to offer. We also wanted to kayak a bit; however, we changed those plans as the day went on since it was already pretty busy and packed by the time we arrived to Beacons earlier in the day.

Day 19 (Sunday, June 27th): Crater Lake

Today we woke up fairly early because we had our longest drive since beginning this trip almost three weeks ago ahead of us today. We began our morning by driving out to Emerald Bay and enjoying some views from a couple overlooks along the drive out of South Tahoe and around the western rim of the lake.

After departing the Tahoe area it was a long and exhausting drive up to Portland, Oregon which is where we stayed for the next night. To help cut up the drive, we made a trek to Crater Lake along the way. It took us about 6 hours to get from South Lake Tahoe up to the main entrance of Crater Lake.

Once arriving to Crater Lake, we were each stunned by the beauty of the lake. Once there you are in awe of the pure blue color that reflects up to you from the lake below. The Lake is one of the deepest and most blue lakes in the world. We stopped at a few overlooks including Discovery Point and The Watchman. The views looking down will amaze you as you stare down beyond the rim of the canyon into the great blue abyss, My mind was blown by the colors of blue that stare back up at you from the water below. We hung around for just a short period at each location to take in these breathtaking views as well as capture a few pics. I have never seen water this blue anywhere within the continental U.S. that I have been before. It was a really neat experience.

After spending about an hour total at Crater Lake we continued our journey the rest of the way up to Portland. We grabbed a quick breakfast earlier today and something to go for dinner later in the day to help us save time due to the length of the drive today and to help us arrive to Portland at a reasonable hour. Thankfully in Portland we stayed with one of my best friends, Heather, and her wife, Chantell, while in town which was great because it allowed me to catch up with old friends, while also catching up on some laundry opportunities and also helped to save a little money on hotel costs.

Once arriving in Portland we made our way to Hillsboro, just outside the city to the west, where my friends live and unpacked the essentials for the night. I stayed up for awhile catching up with my friends and telling them some stories from our travels thus far. We planned out the day for tomorrow and all went off to bed for the night.

Day 20 (Monday, June 28th): Portland, Oregon

Monday morning seemed to come quickly! We all woke up, I finished some laundry, and then we gathered ourselves for the day ahead. We filled our water bottles, had a quick bite to eat, packed in the car, and then headed off for an adventure. Portland was expecting to break a record for hottest day on record for their 3rd straight day (115 degrees) so we made sure to pack plenty of water to stay hydrated throughout the day.

Because of the heat we decided to keep our hiking to a minimum today and attempted to find some well shaded trails to enjoy for the day.

We started our journey heading out to Multnomah Falls. It's a scenic drive out east along the Columbia River Gorge as we made our way to the falls. We pulled off at the Multnomah Falls parking lot. From here you can already see the towering falls. Its a quick and easy walk over to the first overlook spot just across from the parking lot. I really enjoy Multnomah Falls because you can view it from three distinct vantage points. The first is the spot across from the parking lot at the base of the falls. The second is a short quarter mile or so trek up a couple quick switchbacks to a bridge overlook which allows you even more stunning views from about a quarter or so of the way up the falls. And the last spot is at the top. You can continue your trek up the trail to the top of the falls; however, from there you can't see the falls itself. Here though you can sit along the banks of the creek that flows over the falls. The final spot is rather relaxing and is a great place if you pack a lunch to hike up and sit along the rocks and have a little picnic before making the return trek back down. The entire hike to the top and back is a 2.4 mile round trip journey.

From Multnomah we headed back towards the city stopping just a few minutes and couple miles down the road at Wahkeena Falls. If you don't want to drive down you can hike over from Multnomah as well via a trail that will lead you right to Wahkeena. Wahkeena is not as spectacular or well-known as Multnomah Falls; however, the great thing about waterfalls are that they are each so unique in their own ways. With Wahkeena you can get much closer too the falls but it is much smaller and shorter in comparison to Multnomah. The other big difference is that Wahkeena Falls has a more subtle, cascading flow as it finds its way down through the rocky walls it flows between. The hike from the parking lot to the bridge overlooking the falls is only a quarter mile each way so this is a pretty easy hike for just about anyone. I have seen both of these waterfalls before (this is my third time seeing Multnomah and second for Wahkeena) and what is interesting is that the landscape of Wahkeena has changed slightly since the last time I was here (see photos for comparison.) Can you tell what has changed? The beauty of nature is that it is an ever changing landscape.

Lastly, we made our way again just a little further down the road to Bridal Veil Falls. To get to Bridal Veil Falls you must take a short hike up as this one sits back in the forest a bit which was nice because it provided us with mostly all shade throughout a majority of the hike. The hike is about a mile round trip and is a pretty easy hike as well. It has a few small ascents and descents but nothing of any real difficulty. The final stretch brings you right up to the bottom of the falls. You can hike right down to the water below the falls and dip your feet in.

After visiting these three waterfalls we called it a day with the hiking as it was approaching lunch time and the temperatures were already around 110 degrees. We continued our journey back towards the city where we ventured downtown to find some lunch and grab a cold beer. We first stopped at Deschutes Brewery; however, due to the heat today it was closed. We thought about trying Backwoods Brewing across the street: but their line was well out the door, likely since Deschutes and many other locations were closed today. We eventually made our way over to 10 Barrel Brewing where we did have to wait for ~45 minutes but at least it was open, and had air conditioning. We ate lunch and had a 10 flight taster of beers before venturing out to try and conquer a couple more breweries before heading back to my friend's house on the west side.

We called ahead to about 10 different breweries to try and find any that were still open for the day, which was not an easy task as most places we soon found out throughout Portland had closed for the day due to the heat or were already normally closed because it was a Monday. We eventually did find a couple that we stopped at. Both Gigantic Brewing Company and 13 Virtues Brewing Co. pulled through for us and were just the perfect little spots that we needed to help fill the rest of our late afternoon.

After the breweries, we headed back to Heather's place and grabbed Chantell, who had to unfortunately work all day, and ventured out for dinner. We stopped at a Mexican restaurant called Margarita Factory in Beaverton. The food was good, but the drinks were even better. I would highly recommend their Margarita's and other specialty cocktails as they have a huge menu including a wide variety of margarita variations.

After dinner it was already pretty late so we headed back to the house and regrouped. We discussed our plans for the next day and recapped our days adventures. Huge shout out to both Heather and Chantell for putting up with us for two nights and being such amazing hosts!

Day 21 (Tuesday, June 29th): Mount Rainier National Park

After our day in Portland yesterday it was time today to venture back out into the wilderness! Today's adventure included a trip out to Mt. Rainier National Park. But before making our way out to the park we had to make one final stop this morning in Portland before leaving town.. Voodoo Doughnut!

Voodoo is a staple of any Portland visit and I'm pretty sure I have stopped by one of the Voodoo locations each time I have been to Portland. If you have never been to Voodoo, you absolutely need to go the next time you are in Portland! The consistency of the donut, the flavor of the frostings, and the unique designs and combinations of toppings are all very uniquely Portland!

After our trip to Voodoo, we hit the road with destination Mt. Rainier in our sights! It was a relatively quick drive (only two to two and a half hours) until we hit the Park entrance.

Once in the park we made our way down the main road to Narada Falls. This was a short quarter mile or so trek to and from the falls from the parking area. This stop is absolutely worth your time and attention. Probably one of the coolest waterfalls we've seen to date. Narada Falls is a rather wide but not extremely tall falls. As you make your way around and down to the falls you get the opportunity to get super close to the water and if you venture to the very end of the trail you will get right in the wet zone as the cloud of mist blows over you. It was actually super refreshing since the weather today continued to be on the excessively hot end. For being so close to the parking lot and not requiring much of a walk down, I would highly recommend stopping by and checking out Narada Falls for yourself.

After leaving Narada Falls, we finished our trek down Paradise Rd to the Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center which is where you will find the trailhead for the Skyline Loop Trail. This trail was one of my favorite hikes thus far on this entire trip. It is very unique especially at this time of year as a majority of the trail was still completely snow covered. Obviously depending on the time of year you trek this hike you will likely have different scenery and landscapes. Today 90-95% of the trail was still covered with snow. I took along my hiking poles to help with some stability as we maneuvered through the wild terrain. At times you were walking on 4-6 ft high snow packs. It was a bit difficult at times especially with the heat and rapidly changing snow melt some areas were melting faster than others and many areas became rather slick. The biggest dangers of this hike were potential risks of snow bridges collapsing or potentially falling through thin areas of snow and being swept underneath where there were many areas of underground water flows running through from the snow melt up the mountain.

We took our time throughout the hike and followed the trail markers that were lining the trail every so often. All together we did not complete the entire loop as some portions of the hike were fairly challenging under these conditions; however, we did finish somewhere between 3-4 mile round trip journey which took us longer than most hikes again due to the snow cover which slowed us down a bit. The views along this hike were so unique and unbelievably stunning! There were a few small spots where some portions of the trail emerged from under the melted snow where we stopped, rested, and enjoyed the views for a bit before continuing on.

A good pair of true hiking boots and the hiking poles definitely helped us complete the hike safely and in a reasonable time. The temperatures were in the 90s which made for a surreal experience since I was hiking in shorts and at times sweating but still trudging through snow for almost the entire hike.

Since we were traveling to Seattle tonight and staying downtown for the night, after finishing this hike we did not have much time left in the park and we made our way back out of the park and towards Seattle. Mt. Rainier is definitely thus far one of my top 3 parks and this was definitely one of my top 5 hikes of this trip. I am looking forward to hopefully coming back to Mt. Rainier in the future and spending more time in the park exploring this trail again and some of the other trails the park has to offer.

The trip back to Seattle wasn't too long, but we were hungry since we actually had skipped out on lunch today and it was already getting late, so we found Airways Brewing Company in Kent, Washington which was still open. We grabbed some late dinner and a beer of course before finishing our trek up to Seattle where we were staying at the Westin Downtown.

Tomorrow we had another busy day ahead of us which included catching one of the first ferries over to Bainbridge from downtown Seattle so we could get to Olympic National Park and spend the day there. So, at this point we checked into the hotel and not long after hit the hay to get some rest before tomorrow's adventures.

Day 22 (Wednesday, June 30th): Olympic National Park

Today was another one of our super early days. We woke up around 5 AM in order to get down to the Ferry around 6/6:30 AM so that we could catch the 7:00 ferry to Bainbridge Island. John and I made extra room in the truck and picked up our friends Lisa, Kim, and Erin who were all in town but staying at a different hotel. We then ventured off to the docks and waited for the ferry.

The ferry ride was about 30 minutes with some extra time for loading and unloading. The views from the deck of the boat of the city were great!. Once off the ferry we headed towards Olympic National Park.

Olympic is a massive park, one of the largest in the country! It took us a few hours from the time we left the hotel to the time we got to the Park due to the ferry ride and the distance it takes to get to the area. We grabbed some coffee once we got off the ferry to help perk us all up for the long day ahead of us.

Our first stop was the Hoh Rainforest where we unfortunately had to wait for about an hour or so to get to the parking lot area as it was full and the line from the entrance station was rather long. Once finally through and able to park, we found 2 short hikes through the rainforest. It was a pretty hike through the moss covered trees and the weather was thankfully nice and cool. This was my first time walking through an actual rainforest and it was quite different. Everything was so green and extremely lush with color. Since we had to wait longer than expected in the traffic to get into the rainforest we did not stay super long and instead after the two hikes made our way out of the rainforest and over to Rialto Beach.

It was actually a mildly miserable day overall while at Olympic as it was cloudy, intermittently rainy, and cold at times. It was our first day we saw rain since day 1 of this trip around Indianapolis so that part was somewhat welcomed by John and I.

Although the weather wasn't the greatest for the beach and limited our photo opportunities, we still spent a little time walking the beach and enjoying the famous sea stacks in the distance, the rocky coastline, and the fresh air!

After the beach we then headed back towards the main towns on the island and stopped at Port Angeles for dinner at Next Door Gastropub. We had a wait of about an hour but the food was definitely worth it. I had both the blackened chicken mac n' cheese and the Nashville Hot Chicken which were both top notch. I would highly recommend this place if in the area, just try to call ahead if able to and put your name down on their wait list as they are always busy from what we heard.

After dinner we decided to not take the ferry back to Seattle but instead drive around through Tacoma and back up into Seattle as it was not much different in our ETA between the two routes. Once back in Seattle we all went our separate ways to each of our hotels and settled in for the night.

Overall, Olympic National Park was a bit underwhelming for me personally as I was expecting a bit more than what we saw. Maybe it was because of the weather today, or maybe we just didn't go to the right places or spend enough time in the park; however, I don't know if I would make a return trip back to Olympic anytime in the future. I would put it low on my rankings of National Parks that we have visited so far on this trip. Perhaps if I'm ever in Seattle again in the future and the weather is better, maybe if I have the time I'll spend another day or two over in Olympic and see if it presents itself differently then compared to our experience this day.

Day 23 (Thursday, July 1st): North Cascades

After our disappointing day at Olympic yesterday, I was really looking forward to our next adventure today to the North Cascades National Park! We left the hotel in the morning and picked up Kim who was tagging along with us for this leg of the trip. The three of us then made the 2 hour or so trip out towards the Cascades. We slept in a bit this morning and didn't head out until around 9 AM putting us near the park around 11.

Our first stop was food at Mondo's for lunch. A quaint little stop that was half diner and half mini convenient store. Our waitress was very sweet and the food was outstanding! I had the Mondo burger which included a teriyaki beef patty, and my god!!! It was delicious! I also picked up a handful of unique craft beers that they had in their coolers to take back home with me for my beer exchange group back in Cleveland as they had a wide variety of beers from some very small breweries throughout the region.

After lunch we checked in across the street at the Buffalo Run Inn where we were staying for the night. The Buffalo Run Inn is a hostel style lodge that has about 15 rooms. Our room had 3 twin beds for the 3 of us. There were 2 shared bathrooms for the guests to utilize. The place was very clean and welcoming. The common area was authentically decorated and very cozy as well.

After checking in we headed out to Cascades. Our first stop was a few overlooks around Diablo Lake. We ventured down the Diablo Dam Rd which led us to stunning views of the Dam and lake. The dam was releasing water down into the river which provided for amazing photos and a unique viewing experience. It was a beautiful day and the water gushing out of the dam down into the river below created an amazing double rainbow which made for an awesome experience. After the Dam Rd and a few other points around Diablo Lake we continued on to Rainy Lake where we did the Rainy Lake Trail (A 2 mile round trip hike) which leads to the lake itself and stunning views of the Cascades Mountains and Glaciers in the background. You also get a few gorgeous waterfalls along the hike as well as at the end once at the lake from the ongoing snowmelt off the mountain range.

After Rainy Lake we headed back past Diablo Lake and stopped at the Gorge Creek Falls which was another stunning falls.

We originally were going to do the Cascade River Rd and Cascade Pass Trail; however, due to the park having received increased snow fall this year much of the road and trail were still closed as they were not passable yet. We did get to see some amazing variety of lakes, waterfalls, forests, mountains, and accomplished one good hike today so after all of that we decided to head back to the Buffalo Run Inn and call it a night, but before settling down for the night we needed dinner.

For dinner we found one of the only other open restaurants in the town of Marblemount called the Marblemount Diner, which was situated just next door to the Buffalo Run Inn. They are known for their burgers, pies, and shakes! I ordered their South of the Border burger which was so savory. Their homemade spicy sauce and the jalapenos together made for just the right amount of spice! We each also settled on a milkshake with dinner as well. I had the Raspberry shake which was made with real Raspberries and was one of the best shakes I've ever had! The service was great and our waitress made us feel like family! I would absolutely go back here as this was one of my favorite diners we have come across so far on this trip!

If visiting the North Cascades I would highly recommend pretty much everything we did this day! From the hike, to Diablo Lake, to Mondo's and the Marblemount Diner! You will not be disappointed in the views throughout the park and although not many food options in Marblemount, you will absolutely not be disappointed by either of those options!!! I will definitely be staying again at the Buffalo Run Inn if back here in the future and can't wait for more burgers and shakes from both Mondo's and Marblemount diners.

Day 24 (Friday, July 2nd): Seattle

Today we woke up from our hotel in the North Cascades and made our way back to Seattle where we were spending the rest of the weekend. We tried checking in early at the Crowne Plaza downtown but the room was not ready yet so we checked our bags at the front desk and parked the truck. We then called an Uber and ventured out to the Ballard neighborhood where we stopped at Ballard Coffee Works first. From there we walked down Ballard Ave, a trendy little stretch of road with multiple little shops, boutiques, bars, and restaurants. Once we reached 15th Ave we then looped around a few blocks north and south while stopping at a handful of neighborhood breweries including Obec, Maritime Pacific, Trailbend Taproom, Reubens, and Great Notion. Of all these breweries, Trailbend and Reubens were by far our collective two favorites of the day. We sampled many beers along the way and grabbed lunch while at Trailbend Taproom. After our brewery hopping through Ballard we ventured back to the hotel to finally check in. After check in, we ubered back out to the Fremont neighborhood where we met up with one of John's college friends, Shannon. We started out with dinner at Red Star for some tacos, Mexican fare, and drinks. After dinner we walked over to The Backdoor, a speakeasy serving up amazing cocktail selections. And finally, we ended the night at LDT, a bar and nightclub with a DJ and dancing outside on their patio. After LDT we were exhausted from the long day so we ubered back to the hotel and crashed for the night.

Day 25 (Saturday, July 3rd): Seattle

After our late night out last night, we did sleep in just a little bit this morning before waking up around 8 or 8:30 AM. After getting ready for the day, we ventured over to Pikes Place around 10:30 or so. Once there, we tried to grab a quick lunch so we found a street vendor selling some hot dogs for a quick grab and go.

After grabbing the hot dogs we walked over to the Columbia Center building where we ventured up to the Sky View Observatory and Bar. This is the cities tallest skyscraper which provides for the best views in town of the city and surrounding area. There was little to no wait to go to the top. We had already purchased reserved tickets ahead of time which helped as well. Once at the top there was not much of a crowd which was really nice. We spent about 30 minutes or so at the observation deck enjoying the views and learning a little history about the building and the city of Seattle.

After the Sky View Observatory we then walked over to the Westlake Center Station at 5th Avenue and Pine Street for the monorail. We took the monorail over to Seattle Center Station at Seattle City Center, adjacent to the Space Needle. Here, we waited for our 2:15 PM time slot to go up to the top of the Space Needle. The Space Needle was very touristy compared to the earlier Sky View Observatory. Even though we had reserved tickets for the 2:15 PM time, we still had to wait in like for approximately another 30 to 45 minutes before reaching the elevators to take us to the top. Once at the top the views, although not as great from a height standpoint as compared to the Sky View Observatory, were much more unique. At the Space Needle, you can get full 360 degree views from behind a fully glass wall, and if you venture down 1 story you can walk out onto the rotating glass floor with direct views below you. This provided for a unique experience that was different than the other view from Columbia Center. We also grabbed a beer to sip while at the top as they have a bar inside.

Following our time at the Space Needle, we then ubered over to Kerry Park which has stunning views of the city and Mt. Rainier in the background. Kerry Park is an extremely small park but is one of the more famous parks in the city and sits in a very beautiful neighborhood of Seattle. After Kerry Park we ubered back downtown to the Elephant and Castle, a British style pub, where we enjoyed some appetizers and drinks on their patio.

Once we left the pub, we headed back to the hotel where we got ourselves ready for the rest of the evening. We had dinner reservation plans at Mbar for tonight, so we cleaned up and put on some nice clothes. Mbar was a swanky, rooftop patio with great views of the city. The prices were a bit high for both dinner and drinks; however, you're paying for not only the food and drinks but the views and the vibe as well. It was worth it and we had a great dinner. The sun had set and we finished up our dinner and drinks. We then headed over to Havana, a Cuban style nightclub in the Pike/Pine neighborhood, for some music and dancing for the rest of the night.

Day 26 (Sunday, July 4th): Seattle

Even after a late night out last night, we still had to get up early this morning as we had early morning reservations for a whale watching expedition off the coast of Seattle.

We had reservations through Puget Sound Express based out of Edmonds, Washington. We boarded the boat around 9 AM and grabbed some seats inside. The captain and crew were unbelievably phenomenal! The boat ride was a little over 4 hours long. During the ride they offered coffee and hot chocolate, as well as blueberry buckle for dessert.

The weather was crisp and cold with some dense fog at times initially during the first part of the cruise. We attempted to stand outside for a bit on the deck; however, due to the speed of the boat and the weather, we were not able to withstand the wind and mist for more than about 10 minutes before having to go inside to warm up. I had a couple cups of hot chocolate and a blueberry buckle to feed my appetite for the morning. The blueberry buckle was homemade and it was absolutely amazing!

Before long, we were out through the Puget Sound to the open sea before returning back through the Skagit Bay back down to the Seattle area. During our journey we were lucky enough to see some Puffin, a seal and it's pup, two bald eagles, and a family of 5 Orca. It was all very exciting, but the most exhilarating part was seeing the family of Orca. We were lucky enough to follow along with them for about a good hour or so due to the fact that they were swimming south at the same time that we were returning south on our way back to the harbor.

After returning to the harbor, we walked over to Anthony's Beach CLub where we grabbed some lunch. The service wasn't the greatest to be honest, but the food was good and at this point we were just hungry for anything after nearly 5 hours on the boat. After lunch we made our way back to the hotel where we napped for awhile to catch up on some sleep after the late night last night and the early morning today.

Later that evening, John and Kim ventured out to Bellevue to meet up with some friends and for Fourth of July fireworks. I decided to stay back at the hotel and continue to catch up on my rest and with this blog. It was actually nice to relax for an evening and catch up a bit since most of our days on the trip have been nothing but go, go, go day after day.

Overall, this day was fantastic! We were extremely lucky to have seen the wildlife that we did today, especially the family of Orca for as long as we did. Additionally, what better way to celebrate the Fourth of July than hanging with a couple of bald eagles throughout the morning! Personally it was very nice to relax and catch up on some rest throughout the rest of the evening. We have not had much downtime on this trip so resting up this evening and getting a good nights sleep tonight was extremely beneficial heading into our last 10 days of this trip!

Day 27 (Monday, July 5th): Seattle to Whitefish, Montana via Sandpoint, Idaho

Today was our final morning in Seattle before heading back out on the road again to continue our road trip back east across the northern states. We slept in a bit but was up and hitting the road around 8 AM. A majority of this day was spent in the truck driving across Washington state and into western Montana.

During our drive across eastern Washington, we came across a burning wildfire near Cheney, Washington just south of I90. According to local news, the fire started some time earlier today and grew quickly due to the dry conditions and low humidity levels. Surprisingly, this was our second wildfire we've come across during this road trip (the other earlier in Utah.)

The first stretch of our drive was around 5 hours. This got us all the way out of Washington and into the small town of Sandpoint, Idaho. Here we stopped for lunch and a beer at Matchwood Brewing. They were pretty busy and had run out of a handful of food items already, but I was able to get one of the last spicy chicken sandwiches which was actually fairly spicy thanks in part to the sweet and spicy bacon as well as their homemade spicy sauce. The beers were above average as well and I bought a 4 pack of their new Spruce Tip to go to take back home with me. Their outdoor seating area was spacious and very welcoming. The staff was friendly as well which made for a great spot for lunch!

After lunch in Sandpoint, we continued our journey further east into Montana. We made it into Whitefish, Montana around 7 PM. We stayed at the Stumptown Inn which is currently going through some remodeling. We were lucky to have one of their newly remodeled rooms and they were surprisingly much nicer than we were anticipating. The bathrooms were well done, the beds were very comfortable, and the place overall was very clean (accept for some dust and debris occasionally in the halls and other parts of the hotel from the construction.)

After checking in we ventured out to the Montana Tap House for some dinner and a drink. The bar & restaurant is in a cozy building styled much like a ski lodge with a fireplace in the middle across from a long wrap around bar. It's likely a popular spot around town as it was very busy and is likely very popular in the winter with skiers. Since they were extremely busy there was a pretty long wait for most of all their food offerings so we all decided to just get salads as we figured the wait time should be pretty low with those. They offer 30+ beers on tap from many local and regional breweries around the area. The service at the bar was not the greatest, but considering how busy they were in the kitchen, the service from the kitchen staff and waiting staff was actually really good. Our salads came out pretty quickly, we sipped our beers, and then we made our way back to the hotel where we settled in for the night looking forward to our next couple of days in Glacier National Park!

Day 28 (Tuesday, July 6th): Glacier National Park and Whitefish, Montana

Today we woke up around 5:30 with the goal of being out the door of the hotel by 6AM. We woke up early today to try and beat the rush into the park at Glacier National Park this morning. Rumors have it that the parking lot at Logan Pass Visitor Center (where our main hike trailhead sits) fills up quickly and unfortunately the park just instituted a new shuttle pass system for their shuttles beginning July 1st. Due to the new shuttle pass system, which we were not aware of over the past couple days, we were unable to get access to a pass as they were already sold out for this week by the time we found out that we needed such a pass. This changed our original plans quite a bit.

Our original goal was to get to Logan Pass and hike the Highline Trail to Granite Park Chalet (7.6 miles) then possibly branch off from there an additional 2 miles or so to the Grinnell Glacier Overlook before heading back to Granite Park Chalet and completing our journey over towards the Loop Trailhead (another 4.2 miles) for a total of about 14-16 miles; however, we were not able to do this hike today because we were expecting to be able to take the shuttle back to the Logan Pass parking lot from the end point at the Loop Trailhead (because the Highline trail is not a round trip hike we were banking on the shuttle for our return trip.)

Instead we hiked out on the Highline trail to Haystack Butte and back which was 7.4 miles round trip. In addition to the hike itself, we unfortunately had to park about 1.25 miles away from the Logan Pass Parking Lot because it was already full when we arrived around 7:45 AM this morning. All together we ended up hiking about 10 miles round trip including the walks to and from the truck to the trailhead and the hike itself. The hike was outstanding! It was a fairly mild hike for a majority of the trek with exception of a few long, but gradual switchbacks once you get closer to Haystack Butte. You do trek literally through a handful of small waterfalls along the route which are created by the ongoing snow melt from the mountain tops creating these cascading and long flowing creeks that run down into the valley below. Many stretches are also very narrow and do require some care when navigating through.

Take extra care when allowing others to pass by during the narrowest of sections as it can be a little tricky at times. Everyone again, as has been mostly the case everywhere we go, has been extremely friendly and considerate when hiking most of these trails we've been on. Along our hike today we had some great views of Glacier as we trekked along the edge of the mountainside. We also came across some beautiful sections of blooming flowers in the meadows and along the path which provided for some variety of colors popping up around every corner. In addition to the natural beauty of our scenery we were lucky to come across a variety of wildlife including some rather large mountain goats, big horn sheep, deer (including a mom and her two babies), and like a hundred little marmots running all over the place!

After the hike we made it back to our truck and headed out of the park for the day. We went back to check into our cabin just outside the park, showered, and then spent the rest of the evening exploring the town of Whitefish.

Once we reached the town of Whitefish, we parked downtown in the free parking garage. Here we walked up and down a few of the main streets in town checking out the local shops, restaurants, and bars. We stumbled across a Farmers Market at the local park where we checked out the local vendors and grabbed some ice cream from Sweet Peaks Ice Cream Truck while listening to some live music.

After enjoying our creamy ice cream we walked back down the street and attempted to grab some dinner at a few spots, but one was booked and another had no available open tables and also smelled pretty smoky. We eventually settled on Casey's where the food was top notch, their lemonade was delicious, and the service was fantastic!

From dinner we headed back to the cabin where we called it a night and tried to get to bed rather early as our plan for tomorrow was to get up at 3 AM (we have a near 3 hour drive to Many Glacier Hotel in the park) and did not want a repeat of what happened today with having trouble finding parking.

Day 29 (Wednesday, July 7th): Glacier National Park and Kalispell, Montana

I fell asleep around 10 PM last night and surprisingly it was still slightly light out, as the sun sets late up north here. 3 AM rolled around pretty quickly and we were back up and at it for the day! We brushed our teeth, got our essentials together for the day, and then headed out in the truck.

I slept on and off during the ride while John drove. About half way into our drive we were in the park and came across a handful of mountain goats along the side of the road. The rest of the drive in we were able to watch the sun rise in the distance which made for a beautiful drive into the park. Another half an hour or so went by and we made it to the entrance road for Many Glacier Hotel where we ran into road construction which delayed us for about 40 minutes. Once through the traffic and construction we were finally nearing the Many Glacier Hotel when we came across two black bear cubs along the side of the road which held up traffic briefly as they were walking into and eventually across the road.

Shortly after passing the bears we arrived to the Many Glacier Hotel. From the hotel we grabbed some coffee, filled our water bottles at the water fill station, and then enjoyed the views of Switchcraft Lake, which the Hotel overlooks. The views of the lake at this time of day (7:30 AM) were unbelievable! The reflection of the mountains and the surrounding scenery in the water were clear as day. I have never seen a reflection as pure as this anywhere before in my life. We enjoyed the almost cloudless day and the view around the lake before taking off for our hike.

We did the Grinnell Lake Trail hike which started at Switchcraft Lake and the Many Glacier Hotel and led you through the woods around Josephine Lake and eventually up to Grinnell Lake where you get sweeping views of Grinnell Glacier and the lake. The hike is fairly mild in difficulty with not much change in any elevation along the way. There are plenty of warning signs about bringing bear spray due to many black bear and grizzly bear sightings in the area and overall at the park. In addition to the gorgeous views of the three lakes along this hike, you pass over a creek via a rope bridge which adds some fun to the trek. Additionally, you can take a quick .4 mile round trip hike off of the Grinnell Lake Trail to the Hidden Falls which is also a nice, little waterfall that sits back in the woods and is quite peaceful.

Beyond the beautiful views of the lakes, creek and waterfall, we did not see much wildlife. We did eventually encounter a black bear near the trail; however, by the time we reached the area he had already disappeared into the woods and didn't get any good glimpses.

The Grinnell Lake Trail is 6.8 miles round trip. Add in the other .4 miles from the Hidden Falls and we completed about 7.2 miles this morning. We arrived back after the hike to the Many Glacier Hotel where we grabbed some lunch from the dining hall. Afterwards we ventured back out onto the road and stopped at a handful of overlooks along our trek back out of the park enjoying the varying views and beautiful scenery.

Once we returned back from the park to our cabin, we changed and cleaned up briefly before heading out to the town of Kalispell. Here we stopped at a liquor store and found some Whiskey which we can't easily get back home. We then stopped by three of the local breweries in town including Kalispell Brewing, Bias Brewing, and Sunrift Brewing (the latter of which we ate dinner at.) I enjoyed a flight at each brewery which allowed me to sample a good amount of beers throughout the evening.

After dinner we then stopped at two of the local Montana style casinos including Windigger Casino and Glacier Gold Casino. Each casino was a small, no frills building with only about 20 or so machines in each with options for video poker, keno, or reels. John ended up $10 and I ended up $20 by the end of the night so we called that a win! I also was able to enjoy free drinks while playing so that added to our win for the night.

After the two casinos we stopped to fill up the gas tank so that we were ready for our drive again tomorrow and then headed back to the cabin to get some sleep.

Day 30 (Thursday, July 8th): Boseman, Montana and Yellowstone National Park

Today we woke up between 6 and 6:30 AM to get ready for the day. We hit the road around 7 and began our long journey off towards Yellowstone National Park! The drive through Montana was just absolutely stunning. We enjoyed breathtaking views of the scenic drive for nearly 5 hours before stopping in Boseman, Montana for lunch at MAP Brewing where we met up with one of John's college friends, Alynn.

The view from MAP Brewing's patio was stunning. It sits right on the banks of Glen Lake which was hopping with activity both on the beach as well as in the water. I had their BBQ burger which was delicious and prepared to perfection with locally sourced, grass feed beef. The beers were not bad either, I had a flight and sampled a variety. Their mainstay IPA was great and I actually didn't mind their sour either. The service was great as the staff was very friendly and extremely nice. Big props to MAP Brewing!

After leaving MAP, we continued our trek off towards Yellowstone. After about another hour and a half we reached the North Entrance of the park. We were staying at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel right inside the park so it was just another 10 minutes or so drive to the hotel where we then checked in. Upon arrival to Mammoth we almost immediately drove upon a small herd of elk which was amazing to witness. The elk were walking around nonchalantly in and out of traffic, between the parking lots, and just lying in the grass around the many buildings. The most spectacular sight was a magnificent, male elk with a nice set of antlers coming in which was just lying right next to one of the buildings about 20 ft or so from the main sidewalk.

After taking a few photos of the resident elk and checking in at the hotel it was now around 5 PM. We decided to drive around the park a bit before calling it a night. We drove over to Mammoth Hot Springs, since they were only about a half mile from the hotel, and walked around the Terraces. You have two options: walk around the lower terraces which takes about 30 minutes or so, and/or drive up to the upper terraces where you can drive through and stop out at a couple overlooks and walk along the boardwalks from there. Here we saw some of the main attractions at the Mammoth Hot Springs including Palette Springs, Minerva Terrace, Canary Spring, and Angel Terrace amongst others.

After exploring the Mammoth Hot Springs we drove south towards Norris. Once we reached the Norris Geyser Basin we parked near the Norris Geyser Basin Museum where you then have the options to traverse multiple varying boardwalks and trails through a few of the different Norris Geyser Basin geysers. We chose to walk out to the Porcelain Basin geysers and did a small out and back trek down a rather long boardwalk which looped around the basin. At Norris you can choose from multiple different hiking and boardwalk options which encompass dozens of varying size geysers.

After spending about 30 to 40 minutes walking around the Porcelain Basin geysers we headed back to the truck and made the return trip back to the hotel as it was beginning to get late by this point. Along our drive to and from Norris we came across some bison, elk, and pronghorn. Additionally, there are a few other points of interest which you can stop and check out during this stretch of drive including the Museum of the National Park Ranger (temporarily closed), Frying Pan Spring, Roaring Mountain, Grizzly Lake, and Sheepeater Cliff. Once we returned to the hotel we settled in for the night to prepare for a full day tomorrow exploring the park.

Day 31 (Friday, July 9th): Yellowstone National Park

Since staying in the park at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, we were able to sleep in a bit today which was much needed. We woke up around 7:30 AM and ventured out from the hotel around 8:00 AM.

We began our day by driving up to the Mammoth Hot Springs upper terrace again to try and get a better look of the hot springs in the morning before temperatures rose too high for the day. When we came yesterday to the springs the air temperature was already around 90 degrees so you could not see any of the steam rising from the hot springs. Today was much better since the temperature was cooler at this time of day setting up for much better viewing opportunities.

After checking out the hot springs this morning we then drove out to the Lamar Valley out towards the northeast entrance of the park. On our drive out east we split off onto the Blacktail Plateau Drive, a 6 mile one way road that loops around and takes you off the main road for a short period. During this drive we did not see any wildlife, but driving through the plateau you do get amazing views of thousands of wildflowers of a variety of colors setting up for a great scenic drive and good photo opportunities.

After completing the Blacktail Plateau Drive, we returned to the main road where we continued our drive through the Lamar Valley. Shortly after coming out of the Plateau, we stumbled luckily upon an adult black bear not far from the road. Thankfully no one else had yet seen this bear so we were the first one's on the scene which gave us a minute or so of uninterrupted photo opportunities before all the crowds showed up. We did not venture far from the vehicle with this one since it was much closer to the road. The bear minded it's own business and looked like it was digging for insects or something along those lines. Soon dozens of vehicles had shown up and were clogging the road. The bear lingered for a few more minutes before venturing off further up the hill and back into the woods so we continued on our journey.

A little further up the road we ventured up to Slough Creek via a short side road. The Slough Creek Rd is known for being a popular wolf sighting area. Along this road you will encounter dozens of wolf spotters with their binoculars and extensive lenses as they scan the landscape for Yellowstone's famed wolves. We did not encounter any wolf sightings but we did see an adult black bear and it's cub during the drive. They were hidden pretty well in the trees and probably a good 100 yards or more away so they weren't easy to make out or see but at times you could get brief glimpses of them within the tree line.

After the Slough Creek drive we went a little further down towards Pebble Creek. Before reaching Pebble Creek we stopped off onto the side of the road when we came across a lone bald eagle sitting atop a branch of a dead tree right out in the middle of the open. The views were absolutely amazing. We were able to get really close to the eagle which set us up for some amazing photos.

After enjoying this majestic bird, we decided to head back towards Mammoth Hot Springs so we could venture down towards the southern part of the park. On our way back we stopped at an overlook parking area where there were dozens upon dozens of bison just on the opposite side of the Lamar River. Here we stopped, dropped the tailgate of the truck, and sat and ate our lunch that we had packed. It was awesome sitting and eating our lunch while enjoying the backdrop of the river and bison herd. We then walked down a bit closer to the river where we got some good pictures of the bison grazing, drinking from the river and roaming around for awhile before we headed back to the truck and continued our journey back.

Before we reached the Mammoth Hot Springs area we did encounter one more black bear sighting. This one was extremely unique as we witnessed an adult black bear with her two cubs. Both of the cubs climbed up into a tree which was amazing to witness in person and was absolutely adorable to watch. After watching the bears for about 10 minutes or so we completed our drive back to Mammoth Hot Springs where we popped back into the Hotel to take a restroom break and fill our water bottles at the water fill station.

After our quick break, we then ventured south past the Mammoth Hot Springs back towards Norris, where we went to yesterday. We didn't see much wildlife along this stretch of road today other than the occasional bison or pronghorn. Once we reached Norris, we continued south towards Old Faithful. Again, the wildlife down this stretch was pretty scarce compared to the Lamar Valley drive.

We arrived to Old Faithful around 5 PM. We parked, walked around just a brief bit, and made our way over to the famed Old Faithful viewing area. It was fairly crowded, but we were able to find a spot to sit behind a group of small children which allowed us to have some good views still. By the time we found our spots we had about 25 minutes until the estimated eruption time (5:43 per park estimates.) We had packed a subway sandwich for both lunch and dinner today so while waiting we unpacked our remaining sub sandwiches and ate dinner. Soon after eating, Old Faithful erupted, just 2-3 minutes earlier than the estimated time. The eruption was not as big as I was anticipating but the size of the geyser can fluctuate throughout the day so I think this was a smaller eruption than average. After witnessing the Old Faithful eruption we walked over to the cafeteria building where we grabbed some ice cream before leaving.

From Old Faithful we continued our drive around to Grant Village on the west thumb portion of Yellowstone Lake. Grant Village was where we were staying for the night today so we checked into our lodge and unpacked for the night. It was around 8 PM at this point so we decided to walk down to the lake and enjoy some sunset views. The views as the sun set behind the trees setup an amazing scene of orange, pinks, and purples across the sky which was heightened by the few clouds and some haze from smoke which had made it's way this direction from some of the ongoing western forest fires further west of us. After taking in the views of the lake at sunset we went off to bed and prepared again for our next day of adventure.

Day 32 (Saturday, July 10th): Grand Teton National Park and Jackson, Wyoming

We awoke from the Antelope Lodge at Grant Village where we prepared ourselves for another day of adventure and hiking. We packed the car and headed out towards the Grand Teton National Park. It was only about an hour and fifteen minute drive before we arrived to Jenny Lake where our day began.

Once arriving to Jenny Lake we parked, got our gear and necessities for the hike, and headed off to catch the ferry which takes you across the lake to the Cascade Canyon Trailhead. We waited for about 40 minutes to get onto the ferry but it was worth the wait as the only other way to the trailhead was to hike an additional 2.3 miles or so around the western edge of the lake. The ferry ride was only 8 minutes so it was quick once onboard.

After departing the ferry we quickly began the hike as the trailhead is right by the west shore dock where the ferry lets you off. During the wait for the ferry and while on the ferry we met a nice couple from Boulder, CO who we exchanged travel stories with which helped pass the time. Once at the trailhead it was a 4.5 mile hike to our destination point on the trail.

The first mile to mile and a half is where you have most of your steep elevation change which does make this stretch of the hike moderately challenging due to the extensive ascent over a relatively short distance. After your first half mile you come across Hidden Falls which is a magnificent and powerful waterfall tucked away deep into the forest. From there it is another half mile until you reach Inspiration Point which provides you with wonderful views from the cliffside of Jenny Lake and the surrounding area.

Shortly after Inspiration Point the rest of the hike levels out a bit more and is overall a more mild hike from that point on. Throughout the entire hike you traverse some rocky terrain, a few creeks, and gain sweeping views of the canyon surrounded by the Grand Tetons on either side of you. One of the most surprising things about this hike was the significant amount of butterflies that you encounter throughout the majority of this hike. We saw hundreds of butterflies during our 5-6 hour hike which added to the beauty of the hike. During the hike through the canyon you do encounter more sun so be sure to be prepared with sunscreen and the proper sun protection depending on the weather that day.

The hike follows the Cascade Creek throughout the entire stretch which also helps provide for the added beauty of the hike. Shortly after Valhalla Canyon you cross over a bridge that traverses Cascade Creek which then leads you to the South Fork Cascade Canyon where the trail then forks. We ended our hike here at the fork before turning back and heading back to the ferry; however, you can either continue on the Cascade Canyon Trail straight or branch off to the right at this point if you decide to continue your hike further. Just past the fork in the trail we went about another 100 yards or so up the Cascade Canyon Trail where you get stunning views of an additional massive waterfall (not sure of the name of this one) which was just as stunning as the earlier Hidden Falls, if not more stunning. What I liked about this waterfall is that it seemed even more hidden than the actual Hidden Falls and was much more secluded. Hidden Falls, being only a half mile into the hike, was significantly crowded while this waterfall was more peaceful with only occasional other hikers stopping by.

After admiring this waterfall we then headed back. After about a quarter mile or so during our journey back to the ferry we came across a male Moose about 25 yards or so off the trail grazing. We watched him for about 10 minutes or so from a safe distance before he then slowly made his way closer to the trail and eventually crossed over the trail to the other side of the forest. As he made his way closer to the trail we tried to keep our distance the best we could. Once he got to the trail we scattered pretty fast, to ensure our safety, until he made it to the other side of the trail and headed further into the forest before we tried to get any closer for a few more photos.

After the Moose encounter we were on a huge natural high and the rest of the hike back seemed to go by extremely fast. We made it back to the ferry dock where we waited a little over an hour in line to board the ferry to head back to the east dock where we parked. The hike overall took us between 5 and 6 hours. You can likely finish in less time, but we took our time and enjoyed the views and scenery along the way. We also took extra time probably than most for photos as well as spent around 15 minutes or so watching the Moose we encountered. Depending on your hiking skill level, wildlife encounters, and goals during the hike your time may vary.

After finishing the hike and returning to the truck, we drove to Signal Mountain Lodge where we were staying tonight and tomorrow night. The Lodge sits on Jackson Lake overlooking the Tetons on the opposite side of the lake. We were lucky and had a lakeside room in our building with amazing views. The lake and surrounding mountain views were stunning; however, the views were clouded due to fairly significant haze from some of the northern California and other western region wildfire smoke which was unfortunate. We have been really lucky this far on our trip as we have had good weather and limited issues as a result of wildfires and resultant smoke; however, due to the western heat waves which have been scorching the western part of the country over the past few weeks in combination with the lack of rain, the wildfires out west over the past week or so have begun to significantly grow in number and in severity. These past couple days in Yellowstone and now in Grand Tetons we have begun to feel the effects of these fires with the smoke reaching all the way to Wyoming causing poor visibility at times.

After checking into our lodge we gathered ourselves and headed out to downtown Jackson, Wyoming where we spent the rest of our evening. We started with dinner at Hand Fired Pizza which had unbelievable pizza. From dinner we walked around downtown a bit before popping into the famed Million Dollar Cowboy for a drink and some entertainment. If you aren't familiar with the Million Dollar Cowboy, it's an authentic style western themed bar. It consists of three separate bars, a stage for live music, and a fair sized dance floor. The vibe was great and the crowd was very diverse. We stayed and watched some of the many different styles of country dancing for about an hour before calling it a night and heading back to the lodge.

The drive back from Jackson into the park to our lodge was interesting. It was a long, dark drive by this time of night. It was pitch black with little to no man-made lights with the exception of a few other passing cars on the road. We saw a male Elk along the side of the road during the drive through the park which was kind of spooky in a way. We were pretty alert during the drive as you have to keep your eyes open and on the lookout for wildlife as you're driving through this stretch.

Overall our hike today was amazing! We saw some magnificent waterfalls, some great views of the Tetons, and finally saw a Moose!!! In addition, exploring the town of Jackson, although just briefly, was also quite enjoyable and was a great way to top off our night.

Day 33 (Sunday, July 11th): Jackson, Wyoming

Today started out glorious! We slept in without setting any alarms, and it felt so good! We have been nothing but busy on this trip so having a day to sleep in with no plans until the afternoon was nice this morning and much needed! Once we all did get up, we slowly made our way down to the coffee shop and lodge restaurant where we had some coffee and amazing breakfast. I was impressed with their breakfast food options and the quality. It was all takeout due to covid restrictions so we took it back to the room where we ate. Later, after everyone showered and were ready for the day we figured out our plans for the rest of the day. First, we ventured back down to Jackson to explore. It was already around 2 PM by the time we reached downtown Jackson. Once there, we walked around the shops and stopped into Pinky G's for a beer.

While at Pinky G's, there was a gentleman who was sitting at the bar with his wife. We were sitting directly behind them when I happened to notice the man struggling to stand and walk. His wife asked another person next to them if he could grab a chair with a back to it for the man to sit back down on. As he was attempting to sit he was very shaky and began falling to the side while sitting. I jumped up quickly and helped lower the man to the chair safely. Since John and I are both in the medical field I told his wife that if she needed anything to let us know. The man had a walking stick so I assumed he had an underlying condition as the wife initially seemed pretty calm and as if she had everything under control; however, a couple minutes later you could tell that her concern was growing as something wasn't right. She leaned over and asked if one of us was a doctor, which John thankfully happens to be; therefore, John assisted with doing a quick history and exam. Due to his underlying condition, the excessive heat, and the fact that they were sitting near the oven, we determined that he likely was getting lightheaded and possibly orthostatic with standing. We sat with them for about 10-15 minutes chatting and encouraging hydration. As we got to talking we exchanged names and where we were each from. Like something out of a fairy tale, we learned that their names were Ken and Barbie (no lie), and that they met in a bar 40 years ago. After some time had passed, we tried standing again and he felt much better without any symptoms. His wife pulled her car up to the back of the building and John, myself, and Kevin (the man sitting next to them at the bar) assisted the man out and around to their car. We suggested that she take him to the ER which was a short distance down the street just to be sure everything was ok. During this whole time, Mark from Pinky G's was a godsend. He walked all over downtown Jackson looking for a wheelchair and even walked over to the local fire department (although they were currently out of the fire station). He assisted us with whatever we needed while helping Ken and Barbie through this ordeal and ensured they got to the ER as well. Mark was great and went above and beyond in this situation. I can't give Pinky G's and especially Mark enough credit!. Mark bought us a round of drinks after everything that unfolded and offered us free pizza as well, but we were kind of tired of pizza as we had pizza yesterday for dinner.

After a couple rounds at Pinky G's we then walked over to the Silver Dollar Bar and Restaurant where we had dinner. After dinner, we ventured back to the lodge where upon entering the lodge complex, we encountered a rather good size male Elk who was walking across the road, through the parking lot, and walked over towards the lake where he stopped and gazed out over the water. It was something out of a movie, this elk majestically standing on the cliff side edge overlooking the lake below with the sun setting in the background. It was a magnificent sight to see. The elk looked as if he were just taking a few moments to enjoy the sunset himself before continuing down the hill and on his way. After watching this unfold we made our way to the room where we enjoyed the rest of the view of the sunset for a bit before calling it a night.

The Signal Mountain Lodge has been a wonderful location to stay. The views were absolutely stunning both days. The views of the Tetons while here these past two days have been impacted by moderate smoke and poor air quality due to many of the ongoing western US wildfires which limited our views at times, but did provide for some intriguing sunsets due to the haze from the smoke. I would like to come back to Grand Teton National Park in the future, hopefully before fire season. Overall, we had an amazing time here though. One of the highlights of the trip to the Tetons was our encounter with the moose we saw on our hike yesterday. It was a moment I will never forget! I can't wait to come back in the future!

Day 34 (Monday, July 12th): Jackson, Wyoming to Custer, South Dakota via Mount Rushmore and Rapid City, SD

This morning we were back on our regular schedule of waking up by 6 AM or so. Our first stop was dropping our friend, Kim, off at the Jackson Hole Airport. She was flying back out to Cleveland today and John and I were then finishing the last leg of the trip back home by ourselves.

After dropping Kim off and departing the airport, John and I headed to Casper, Wyoming where we stopped at Wyoming Ale Works for lunch and a flight of beers. Lunch was great! I had the BBQ chicken sandwich and tried 4 of the most popular beers they had on tap which were each from regional breweries around the area. The bartender was also our server so she gave us additional free tasters to try some of their other beers on tap which was extremely nice of her. She was great and all of the staff at the place were very helpful and friendly.

After our lunch, we continued on the road and headed to the Sylvan Lake Lodge in Custer State Park, near Mount Rushmore, where we were staying for our next night. We arrived to the Lodge, which was beautiful, and checked into our cabin, which was also one of the most amazing and beautiful cabins I've ever stayed in. We then drove around the lodge, just down the road, where we stopped over at the main parking lot for Sylvan Lake. We walked around the lake for a bit enjoying the views, the beautiful day, and chatted with a seasoned hiker named Gregory. Gregory chatted with us for quite some time exchanging stories about his hikes and gave us multiple pointers on future hiking opportunities and many less popular hiking spots, which according to Gregory are just as good if not better than many of the more popular national parks. He was extremely friendly and gave us his number so we could stay in contact in the future. He had a lot of amazing hiking and travel tips that I will remember for the future.

After leaving the lake, we drove out to Mount Rushmore to take in the sights there. We spent about 30 minutes or so at Mount Rushmore before we ventured up to Rapid City to explore their beer scene and grab some dinner. We first stopped at Firehouse Brewery which aptly named takes up the space of an old Fire Station. The space is huge, with ample indoor and outdoor seating. The service was amazing and we did not have to wait long for our food even though they were extremely packed. The food was phenomenal too. I had their andouille sausage mac n' cheese as well as their artichoke dip with house made beer bread. Both were undoubtedly some of the best food I've had on this entire trip! The beer was average overall. I enjoyed their blonde ale probably the most of the couple I tried here. Before we left, we met another guy, Seth, who was traveling across the country up to Seattle with his dog. We exchanged some travel stories and gave each other some pointers on things to do along each others remaining journeys.

After chatting for a bit, we headed over to Hay Camp Brewery just across town where we each had a flight of their house beers. The beers here were a little better than Firehouse, and the bartender was great! The place has a hip, fun vibe and plenty of indoor seating. We were there a little before they were closing, so it was pretty empty and we had most of the place to ourselves. After Hay Camp, we headed back down to Sylvan Lake where we crashed back at the cabin for the night.

Day 35 (Tuesday, July 13th): Custer, SD to Rochester, MN via Wall Drug and the Badlands

We woke up from the cabin at Sylvan Lake Lodge this morning around 7 AM and made our way out of town. On the way back east across South Dakota, we stopped at the famed, and well marketed, Wall Drug.

Once at Wall Drug, we walked around the shops and took a few photos with some of the many statues and stuffed animals scattered around the property. Both John and I repeated some photos which we had taken in years past to carry on some Wall Drug traditions. It was great to compare our photos today with photos we had each taken at different times in our past. The photos were great souvenirs of our time in Wall Drug, and of the trip all together.

After spending about an hour in Wall Drug, we drove a bit south where we came upon Badlands National Park. After reaching the park entrance, we took our time driving through the Badlands enjoying the views and the unique backdrop which gives the park it's character. Unfortunately one of the more scenic roads through the park was closed so we had to keep to the main road for our drive through the park. In comparison to my last time at the Badlands, it seemed a little more underwhelming than I previously had remembered; however, that was also about 15 years ago and I was much younger then. It may also be because I've been spoiled with such amazing opportunities during this trip at places such as the Grand Canyon, Zion, Yosemite, Glacier, etc... that I am becoming almost spoiled at this point with so much amazing natural beauty and unbelievable landscapes. Although not my favorite park on this trip, the varying colors in the rock formations and all along the landscape through the Badlands was undoubtedly still a pretty sight to take in. We stopped at a handful of overlooks and pull off points to enjoy the views, trek out a bit, and get some photo opportunities.

After leaving the Badlands, we continued east towards Sioux Falls, SD where we stopped at Remedy Brewing for dinner. The service was great, the bartenders were very knowledgeable about craft beer, and their patio was phenomenal. The food was average and the beers were maybe slightly above average overall; however, their Stratata, a New England double IPA, was one of my favorite beers I've tasted on this entire trip and would highly recommend it. It was extremely drinkable without being overly hoppy.

After dinner at Remedy, we drove about 25 minutes east to a casino located just across the border in Iowa. The Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort was a nice sized, full fledge casino with slots, table games, and sports betting. We tried our luck at some black jack for a while before heading over to the roulette table for a bit. I didn't do to bad with black jack, but had no luck with roulette. We only stayed for about an hour before hitting the road again.

It was about 7:30 PM when we left the casino and our goal was to drive for a few more hours before stopping and finding a hotel for the night. We ended up driving to Rochester, MN where we found a La Quinta Inn & Suites just south of the city of Rochester only a few miles off the interstate. We crashed here for the night and discussed our plans for the final stretch of our trip. Our goal tomorrow is to wake up at a decent time and finish our drive to Chicago where we will be spending our final night of the trip before completing our journey home to Cleveland on Thursday.

Day 36 (Wednesday, July 14th): Rochester, MN to Chicago, IL via Madison, WI

I can't believe that this is our final, full day of this trip! After grabbing some breakfast at the hotel, we hit the road again making our way through the rest of Minnesota to Madison, Wisconsin. In Madison, we stopped for lunch at Vintage Brewing Co. where we had some amazing food and beer. We each sampled a flight of their house, craft beers and I ordered the chicken sandwich which was top notch!

Day 37 (Thursday, July 15th): The End