Ever since I was a junior in high school, I had this idea in my head that I was going to go on a road trip. Where? I didn't know. I just knew that I wanted to get out and explore more. It was just a dream back then.
After my sophomore year of college, I went into summer 2013 really wanting to make this dream come true.
So I did ♥
After my sophomore year of college, I went into summer 2013 really wanting to make this dream come true.
So I did ♥
It was very last minute, but about 4 days before we left, Jesse and I decided that we were going to go to Denver Colorado to see a friend of mine. From there plans just unraveled. Soon we were going here and there and everywhere we could.
Though I would love to say that we ate at all kinds of restaurants and stayed in extravagant hotels, that is not exactly how it happened. We were on a budget and I wanted to go as far as my bank would allow for so we sacrificed some things but boy oh boy, I do not regret a thing.
I will never forget this trip!
~Oregon~Idaho~Utah~Colorado~Wyoming~ Montana~Washington~
I will never forget this trip!
~Oregon~Idaho~Utah~Colorado~Wyoming~ Montana~Washington~
Sunday August 18th, 2013
We took my little Honda Civic (which got amazing gas millage) and stuffed it full. We fit two mountain bikes, a tent, a cooler, two camp chairs, fishing stuff, blankets, luggage and more.
The back seat of my car
The Three Sisters
Two happy little adventurers heading east for Caldwell, Idaho.
We made it to Idaho!
Jesse and our awesome family friend Micah. Talking about guns.. Go figure;)
It was such a beautiful view from Micah's back porch.
Monday August 19th, 2013
Drove right through Utah heading for Denver, Colorado
Our view for pretty much 11 hours straight. I love the outdoors but looking at anything for 11 hours straight would drive any person nuts. Jesse and I told numerous stories during this time, stories I will remember forever♥
Driving down Interstate 80, about 5 hours out of Denver, when the sun started to drop behind the clouds and created one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen- there are many of these moments on this trip.
WE MADE IT!
Unpacking at Christina's house.
Tuesday August 20th, 2013
We went camping for a night at Carter Lake, CO
Great friends
Playing with a flashlight in the middle of the pitch black woods! SO FUN!
Wednesday August 21st, 2013
Fishing on the lake. One of Jesse's favorite things to do:)
Christina's dog Zoey, was very interested in what that little slimy squiggly thing is.
After a fun night of camping we headed back into the city for some exploring.
Lovely bike ride on an awesome bike path in Denver. Cherry Creek Bike Path. It takes you pretty much everywhere.
Denver sunset♥
Pretty mini waterfall behind us.
He's so cute :)
Thursday August 22nd, 2013
Downtown Denver Bike Path
Platte River across from the original REI
The first REI store
Body surfing those "waves" ;)
There is a little starbucks inside REI so after soaking up the sun next to the river for a while, we headed over to get some coffee and check out the HUGE REI.
After our lovely bike ride Jesse and I went downtown to check out Cherry Creek Mall and do a little shopping!
We met up with Christina, Ian and CJ a little later that night at punch bowl bar.
Jesse found out that a couple friends he knew from working in Alaska were also in Denver so they met us at the bar. I'm happy he got to see some friends from Alaska. I know he misses it!
After we left the bar I wasn't ready to stop exploring yet so we walked down a main street in downtown and found the most amazing pizza place I have ever eaten at. Fat Sully's. This was another one of my favorite places we ate at. Just a little hole in the wall and it does not look very welcoming but the guys working were incredibly nice, the price was not bad and the pizza was delicious!
While we were sitting and eating there was a little excitement going on at the bar next door. The bouncers were throwing a guy out and I have never seen a creepier man in my life. He was a somewhat tall stocky guy and obviously very drunk. He started to walk our way and after the way I watched him push those bouncers around I was not inclined in anyway to be next to him. He walked right up to us and stood next to our table. We just got up and walked away but holly molly I won't lie.. I was a little scared.
Friday August 23rd, 2013
This place was awesome! Definitely recommend anyone to go!
If you look really close, you can see the skyline of Denver
We went to Red Rocks in hopes of doing some mountain biking there but with it being high desert 96 degrees and 7,000 elevation Jesse was sincerely concerned that we would have a heat stroke!
So we went into Red Rocks Amphitheater Museum which was very very cool!
The street my mom grew up on.
My mom's house address when she was a little girl.
The house my grandpa built and my mom grew up in.
My grandparents moved their family to Oregon when my mom was 8 years old. At 15 my mom met my dad, Robb and they got married at 18.
The address of the house I grew up in and my parents still live in to this day is 1744. One digit off from the house my mom grew up in and the street was Robb. Talk about destiny ♥
We then went out to lunch at Chipotle. I love this place and really wish Klamath Falls would open one.
We started back out for Red Rocks and saw BIG grey clouds with lightening and thunder all the way there.
That was one thing about Denver... Every night that we were there, there was thunder and lightning. Not necessarily a storm every night but rain or not there was lightning and thunder for at least an hour.
We ended up getting caught in the middle of a golf ball size rainstorm at Red Rocks. It's hard to tell in this photo but when it rains, it poor's in Denver.
I love the rain, therefore this was so awesome!
A Thunder and lightning storm continued with the rain♥
Unfortunately, this meant no biking though.
Saturday August 24th, 2013
Saturday was Christina's only day off work while we were there so we stayed at her house with her watching House Hunters most of the day. I have become addicted to that show ever since then:) It was a nice relaxing day and I'm happy I got to spend some time with her!
Later that night we went out on the town
Jesse and I are HUGE sushi fans so of course, we couldn't go to a big city without trying at least one sushi restaurant. This place is called the Sushi Den and has wonderful sushi! A must try if you're ever in Denver.
A cute little local Ice Cream shop in downtown Denver.
Love of my life in the big city♥
Out on the town for out last night in Denver
Sunday August 25th, 2013
Back on the road again :) Just one of my favorite places to be!
Leaving the city and now heading for Loveland then Estas Park
I got to have breakfast with my two cousins in Loveland, CO. Hadn't seen them in 7 years so I loved getting the time to catch up with them.
Estas Park
I learned real fast how to pump my own gas with not being in Oregon anymore!
Also the gas prices were $3.29, which at the time I hadn't seen in almost a year so I was ecstatic!
13,000 feet elevation
Jesse and I both got a little light headed and dizzy but it was beautiful!
We missed a memo somewhere along the drive because we thought that it was a loop so we kept driving and once we got about 2/3 of the way down we realized that it wasn't a loop and we could either keep going and get to our campground in a few hours or turn around and go back the other way. We decided to turn around and go back. It was fun seeing everything and a funny little memory but man was I dizzy by the time we finally got back up and down again!
After coming down the mountain and my brakes almost giving out on us we pulled over to let them cool down. They were so hot I thought I was going to need to replace them! Thankfully I didn't.
Our campground.
Growing up and camping in Oregon my whole life, I didn't know what a bear box was till this trip. When I found out that I even needed one, I all but freaked out! Stories are coming....
Pasta for dinner and soooo yummy!
Jesse told me a "scary story" about these kids who hiked up a mountain and a snow storm hit. Of course this story went south but I give him props because it was a little spooky! :)
Monday August 26th, 2013
Hiking around Bear Lake
On the road again heading for Jackson Hole... In Wyoming, stopped on US 191 (the middle of no where) because of construction. It was nice to get out of the car and stretch.
Driving through Wyoming. I was reading a book to Jesse the whole time:)
The view that welcomed us into Jackson Hole, Wyoming! This picture can't even show the true picture that I saw. Breath taking is all I can say♥
Tuesday August 27th, 2013
Jesse and I got into Jackson Hole, Wyoming late at night. In my pre-planning process I found Curtis Canyon Campground and decided we would stay there. Being that it was so dark out and that Jesse had been telling me bear horror stories for the last 8 hours, I really just wanted to stay in a hotel for the night. After calling around we realized the cheapest hotel was $130, not exactly in our budget. So we headed for the campground.
After driving 8 hours, running on very little sleep, listening to true horror stories about bears and now taking a long, dark, gravel road for 10+ miles up into a mountain, I was to say the least, stressed and almost at the end of my rope.
We had been driving for at least 20 miles at this point and decide that we weren't going to find the campground tonight so we would just camp off the road on a turn out that we had seen a few miles back. Jesse then proceeds to turn the car around on a road that is about as narrow as my car and a cliff on one side of us... MY side.
P.s. I'm scarred of heights.
We're headed back down the road and Jesse rolls down my window from the controls on his side, it scares the living daylights out of me and we will just leave it with, I LOST IT.
Looking back on this situation, I laugh so hard about it.
However, at the time... It was NOT funny.
We finally got back to that turn out spot, set up our tent and went to sleep.
This is the view I then woke up to the next morning.
A moment in my life that I will never be able to fully explain to anyone♥
We woke up really early this morning and headed for Jackson Hole Mountain Resort where we would spend most of our day mountain biking!
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort was one of my favorite parts of this road trip.
It was SO nice outside. Sometimes when I close my eyes and really think about it, I can feel that same feeling I had sitting in these chairs surrounded by those huge beautiful mountains ♥
After this bad ass jump...
This happened... Look closely.
I thought I knocked myself out when I first hit. Doesn't look that bad though:) My rib cage took most of the impact.
Love those big brown eyes♥
After a beautiful warm and sunny day, the rain rolled in at about 4pm. Perfect timing:)
Once we got the bikes loaded up (in the pouring rain) we went to the local recreation center to sit in a hot tub and shower.
We made dinner at a park every night because I didn't want the bears to smell food next to our tent!
Wednesday August 28th, 2013
Our first minor hiccup during the trip.. The window got off track and wouldn't roll up.
Of course it was raining:)
So thankful to have my little handy man!
These are the sidewalks in the town of Jackson. So awesome!
Cowboy Cafe became Jesse and I's favorite place to get our cup of coffee every morning. Such great people who work there! Another must go to:)
This was the COOLEST thing I had ever seen!
The Grand Tetons♥
Where my heart lies
(It's explained two pictures down)
We were standing next to this lake, Jesse was getting ready to go swimming when this mama bear and her cub walked out of the bushes about 30ft. from us. After the many stories Jesse had told me, the most important thing he said was the worst thing you can come upon is a mama bear with cubs. Therefore, I about died when I saw this.
Jesse says I "ran" but I wouldn't call it "running" exactly... It was more of a fast but cautious walk away to a near tree behind us..
Jesse has worked in Alaska as a fishing guide for 4 summers so he has quite a bit of experience with bears. Me on the other hand, had never seen a bear outside of a zoo!
I got back up on the bank and Jesse followed slowly after letting the bear know we were there cause supposedly that's what you're suppose to do. ;)
Sadly, I was shaking so bad I didn't get a single clear photo.
But I will always remember this day!
Pretty awesome! :)
A little farmers market we found in town. I love farmers markets!
We sampled some of the best hummus here.
Homemade grape juice by Jesse's mom
The second I saw this carriage driving around town, I told Jesse we weren't leaving town till we took a ride in it! Call that touristy but I LOVE these types of things♥
I'm pretty sure the smile on my face didn't disappear for like hours after this :)
So I tipped the driver and kissed the horse :)
Made me laugh!
More BEAUTIFUL Jackson Hole Sunsets♥
I met the most amazing photographer on this trip. Leslee Mitchell. We we're watching the sunset at the view point and some local people were up there. I had my camera on a tripod and it caught her attention. She asked me some questions but being that I had just bought that camera, I didn't really have any answers.
She proceeded to tell me that she is a professional photographer in Nashville Tennessee and offered to show me how to shoot in Manual and use more settings on my camera.
Ever since that day I have shot in manual and come up with some of the most amazing photos. Due to my love for photography, Leslee Mitchell definitely made a mark on my heart that night ♥
Ever since that day I have shot in manual and come up with some of the most amazing photos. Due to my love for photography, Leslee Mitchell definitely made a mark on my heart that night ♥
The fire we sat around most of our last night in Jackson with locals Jen and John and their friend Leslee. Jen and John were so much fun to talk to and made me want to move to Jackson even more then I already want to!
Thursday August 29th, 2013
The view I was blessed to wake up to for those three mornings was something I still think about all the time. I can not wait to go back to this amazing place on earth♥
The beginning of our Yellowstone drive though
Old Faithful Geyser
There is a place called "Bear Country" in Rexburg, ID. I went there when I was 8 years old with my family and I remember it being so cool. It wasn't exactly the same 12 years later.. Lets just say things are a lot bigger when you are 8 years old;) A tiny let down when we first got there still kinda cool to see again. And I got some cute baby bear pictures:)
This sunset was amazing♥
Friday August 20th, 2013
The first house my parents ever had together. They moved to Boise, Idaho right after getting married.
A very cool pond/lake that we found in Boise.
Rouger, Micah's dog. I want a German Sheppard so bad!
Jennifer teaching Jesse how to play videos games... It was funny;)
Micah, his family, Jesse and I all went to the theater to see RIPD later that night.
Saturday August 31st, 2013
Jesse teaching Jennifer (Micah's daughter) how to skip a rock:)
Jesse and I had so much fun hanging out with Jennifer and Justin. Wish they lived closer!
Jesse swam across the pond.
Jesse and I went to the drive-in movie theater to watch Despicable me 2 and Fast Five. I had such a great night and so much fun with my man
Sunday September 1st, 2013
Leaving Caldwell, ID and heading for Seattle Washington where we met up with Jesse's family.
Yes...
He is shaving in the car... :)
Once we got into Seattle, we met Jesse's dad at his aunt's house for a family BBQ. I met his grandma, aunt's, uncle and some cousins. It was a great time! After the BBQ we headed out to see the big city at night.
The Chihuly and glass museum in Seattle
This glass museum was awesome! So beautiful ♥
First time I have ever seen the space needle!
Monday September 2nd, 2013
Jesse and I went exploring in downtown
You can't go to Seattle without seeing the Public Market
The famous gum wall. It was cool to see but pretty disgusting if you think about it :)
A spice store at the public market. It was awesome to see how many different spices they had there. My parents and sister are a huge fan of their orange cinnamon tea.
I thought she was a statue until I was two feet away from her and she moved. Scared me half to death!
Jesse with his grandma:)
Jesse's dad, cousin and grandma
♥
He took me to ride the Ferris wheel over the lake. Touristy, sure but so awesome:)
UP in the ferris wheel.. Did I say I am scared of heights??
In my top three favorite photos taken on this road trip♥
Taken from Queens Hill look out. A great place to see the skyline of the city.
Tuesday September 3rd, 2013
Traveling the 101 coast highway back to Florence.
Our first beach stop was Aberdeen, WA then on into Oregon to see Seaside next:)
Back in Oregon! Crazy!
This little cafe that we ate lunch at was delicious!
Though I was born and raised in Oregon, I had never been to Seaside before now. It is a very cute and cozy little beach town.
Local ice cream shop in Seaside. Soooooo yummy!
Cannon Beach
Haystack Rock. A classic when driving the 101.
After a long day of driving and many beaches, we crashed in a hotel for the night in Lincoln City.
Wednesday September 4th, 2013
I thought we saw a shark out there but I think I was just making things up in my head;)
I love feet in water picture!
Agate Beach in Newport
At the Oregon Coast Aquarium
The Rogue Brewery. You can walk through the factory and see all the big machines the beer is made in. Pretty cool!
Downtown Newport
A bunch of shrimp
This small town little cafe was awesome! Some of the best seafood we have ever had. It's called Local Seafood. Another must try if you're ever in Newport:)
Sitting on the South Jetti Beach in Florence in awe at everywhere we went, things we saw, what we experienced and that we were then only 60 miles from Home♥
You cannot go to Florence without stopping at Mo's for salt water taffy and their amazing ice cream!
The end of this road trip and the beginning of a seed planted in my heart for traveling♥
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