Sonoma Lake

We have arrived at our final destination of the road trip, San Francisco! We were lucky enough to spend the day on Sonoma lake yesterday with my dad and his friend Scott. Our friend Michelle came with Christina and I to the lake where we all tested our water sports skills and got whipped around on the inner-tube. It was a gorgeous day and the perfect opportunity to finish our leftover keystone light and use the little bit of energy we had left. Michelle and Christina both showed off their kick-ass wake boarding skills. Thanks so much dad for a wonderful day on the lake! 

Yosemite National Park

The final and most epic stop on the most epic road trip ever... Yosemite National Park! As we pulled in early Wednesday morning we were pleasantly surprised with 80 degree weather and were told that we just happened to get there within the 3 day span of what was claimed to be the best 3 days to be in Yosemite this year. Of course though, if the weather is great, the campgrounds fill up quick and arriving at 10:30am wasn't early enough for an in-park reservation. Unconcerned and happy to save a few extra dollars, we set up camp (for free) just outside the park on Hardin Flat Road before heading in.

Our first stop was just as we entered the park when we saw a gorgeous viewpoint of the park and couldn't help but stop for a quick photo shoot.

A gorgeous view walking around lower Yosemite falls.

Upper and lower Yosemite falls.

After biking and hiking around the park for the afternoon we decided the last things we wanted to see were the Vernal and Nevada falls. We began the hike around 6pm assuming we would be back no later than 8, just in time to make dinner and head back to the campsite. About halfway through the hike we began to see people heading down from the hike, most of which seemed to be drenched from head to toe. Unprepared and disillusioned, we continued the hike assuming we would just turn back before the mist from the falls hit us. However, we turned the corner, saw one of the biggest waterfalls and most beautiful rainbows we have ever seen, and knew there was no turning back. This was officially the most epic hike of our lives!

Drenched but ecstatic we continued to climb the steep and slippery steps.  

View from the top of the falls - we made it!  

After a long day in Yosemite we got a good nights rest and woke up early to see one last sight, Hetch Hetchy. We climbed some rocks and found the perfect spot to eat our lunch with a gorgeous view of two waterfalls. We both agreed, Yosemite was by far the perfect ending to our epic road trip. We have already started making plans to return soon. 

Our furry un-friend and the broken radio...

When we woke up in the rainforest and started to pack the car, we noticed a critter scurrying around in the trunk...we were told that some mice had been getting into cars at the campground so we proceeded to unload the entire car and look for the mouse, but we were unsuccessful. We did however find its new home it created for itself out of the toilet paper in the car. We disposed of its nest and figured since we couldn't find it that it must have left the car.

We were not happy when we found a new nest in the trunk of our car when we were camping in Elkton, Oregon. We decided we had to do something about the creature living in the trunk so when we got to Klamath Falls we bought some mouse traps and set them up in the car while we were camping at the Redwood National Forest. Our attempts to catch the mouse have been unsuccessful, and now all we have to prove of the mouse's existence is our broken radio and its nest remnants. (No, we still have not found the bastard.)

We're pretty sure the mouse chewed through a wire for the radio since we turned it off and heard a loud popping sound and smelled something burning...some road trippers may have a hard time continuing the trip without a radio, but we kept ourselves entertained by practicing our what started out as southern but turned into our hillbilly accents.

Tip #8 - Free Camping

One of the reasons we choose to camp on our road trip is that we knew it would be much less expensive than staying in hotels. We stayed at various campgrounds ranging in price from about $10-$25 a night. What we later learned is that you can actually camp for free in all National Forest areas as long as its not on private property or part of a national park. Free camping means you probably have to rough it with no bathrooms or facilities but you can't beat the price!

Tip #8a - Be friendly to the environment and invest in some biodegradable toilet paper!

Tip #7 - Annual U.S. National Park Pass

We were able to see 6 different National Parks on our road trip, with our first one being Zion National Park. There we made the smart decision to purchase an annual national park pass which we used to get entry into all of the parks we visited. The park pass cost us $80, and adding up the individual entry cost of all the parks we visited would have been over $100. Even though the road trip is coming to an end, we can use the pass for the rest of the year which has encouraged us to return to some of the beautiful places we've visited and places we haven't.

Sacramento, California

After our reservations for Twin Lakes near Yosemite were cancelled due to snow, Devin and I had to reconfigure our Yosemite plans. Unknowing what the weather would be like and assuming that most campsites in the park were already reserved, we thought it would be best to stay somewhere close to Yosemite and just drive in the day of our visit. Luckily, some of my closest friends live in Sacramento and were more than happy to let us stay with them. This also gave us the opportunity to visit the state capital which neither of us had been to.

Big thanks Matthew McCleary and Marissa Matheny! Sacramento was the perfect resting stop before hitting up beautiful Yosemite!!!

Redwood National Forest

We left Klamath early Monday morning to head out to the Redwood National Forest and we were very happy that Jordan was able to join us. Before getting ready for our big hike on the Hiochi trail we stopped near the river to make a quick lunch. 

Here are some highlights of our hike on the Hiouchi trail with Jordan!

Crouching tiger, hidden dragon!

Klamath Falls

When we were deciding on a route for the trip, knowing we wanted to visit Oregon, there was no doubt that we would have to make a stop to see our old roommate and close friend, Jordan. Her and her family were gracious enough to open up their beautiful home to us (complete with a gorgeous backyard view of Klamath lake) after our Crater Lake visit. Thanks Wendt family!

Crater Lake, Oregon

The 5th National Park we visited was Crater Lake in Oregon. When we started our drive around the lake we realized the snow was piled so high that we could not even see the lake from the road. Since we had both been there before we just enjoyed the scenery for a bit before heading down to Klamath Falls for the night. 

Elkton, Oregon

Heading south from McMinville we were able to spend an extra night in Oregon and catch up with one of my oldest friends, Tyler and camp by the Elkton river. It was our only leisure camping experience of the entire road trip and the relaxation was much needed. Of course, we took advantage of the extra time and cooked a delicious meal and enjoyed some local beer.

Thanks Oma & Opa!

After we left the rainforest we stayed the night with my grandparents Oma and Opa who live in McMinville, Oregon - which is located in the beautiful Willamette Valley wine country. They spoiled us rotten, and we are so thankful! ;) They filled our coolers with food and took us out to dinner at a wonderful local brewery where we tried 10 different beers! We have learned that Christina is starting to become a dark beer drinker...It was also wonderful to be able to visit with my cousin Ashley who has also just graduated from college. Thanks so much for everything Oma and Opa!!

Olympic National Park & The Rainforest

After Seattle we headed out to the Olympic National Park in Washington. We had to take our car on a ferry to cross over to an island, but the long trek out to the peninsula was definitely worth it. This was one of the parks we hadn't really heard of before we left but we are so glad we stumbled upon it because the scenery was like nothing we had seen yet on our trip (and we have seen a lot of interesting places...) 

We camped near Sol Duc Falls the first night but didn't hike out to the falls until the following morning. The smaller waterfalls along the hike looked like something out of a fairy tale, they were so beautiful. 

Sol Duc Falls

Once we got to the Hoh Rainforest we found the perfect spot for a picnic lunch. 

Seattle, Washington

After our time in Canada, we headed back to the states to Seattle, Washington. We spent the afternoon in the city at Pike's Place Market - which we loved! - and then biked and walked around the city enjoying the beautiful sites. Here are some of the highlights in our time in the city...

Pike Place Market is Vegan Heaven! All the fresh fruits and veggies you could dream of...

Christina had to have her Grande Soy Carmel Machiato Upside Down - at the original Starbucks!

We explored Queen Anne hill just north of downtown and found Kerry Park which had beautiful views of the Seattle skyline. 

After we spent the afternoon in the city we headed to my aunt Vicki and uncle Keith's house in Monroe. Aunt Vicki took Christina and I out to the bars in Monroe which was a blast, we only wish Uncle Keith had been in town to enjoy the night with us.

Thanks so much again Vicki, Keith and Alex for opening up your home to us! Love you all!

Vancouver, Canada

Our original plan was to stay in Vancouver for 2 nights...but we quickly learned we could not afford Canada. Gas was over $5 a gallon, thanks to the awful exchange rate...big cities means expensive restaurants and expensive sleeping accommodations (even when camping!) both of which we were not prepared for on our budget. So we explored the best we could while we were there but had to leave sooner than expected.

We splurged on a delicious lunch at an all raw, vegan and organic restaurant called Gorilla Food. We were both thoroughly impressed with the food and our stomachs were very happy. Vancouver had quite a few vegan restaurants to choose from and we both can't wait to go back and try the other ones (when we have a steady income!)

After lunch we explored the downtown area of Vancouver on our bikes, tried a delicious house beer at a bar in the Gastown area and then drove around the beautiful University of British Columbia campus. We ended our time in Vancouver at a nude beach just down from campus...the beach was beautiful and the people were very entertaining! 

Susie & Wayne - Welcome to Canada!

Crossing the border into Canada from Idaho, all we knew was that we wanted to camp but we had no idea where. Of course, the only criteria was that it be affordable and preferably close to the border because it was starting to get dark and we didn't want to set up camp in the dark. Opting out of the RV park in Creston, we crossed our fingers in hopes that we would find something a little better (by better we mean cheaper). Twenty minutes later as we were driving through the Rocky Mountains, our anxieties began to raise. Little did we know the adventure we were about to embark on...

As we zipped through the winding roads we saw a bright red and yellow sign that said "Rocking River Campground". It was, to say the least, the best campground we have ever come across. As soon as we pulled onto the property covered in toys, decorations, antiques, and collectibles, we knew we had made the right decision to keep going from Creston.

We were immediately greeted by Susie, the owner, who offered to give us a tour of the 10 acre property on her golf cart to choose the campsite of our preference. Uninterested in what made any of the sites different, we said thanks, but no thanks and that we'd rather just set up as soon as possible. She complied, explained that each site is $25, including the motor home that she pointed out to us just 20 yards away. Because of our freezing experiences in Yellowstone, as amazing as they were, we of course chose to take the motor home. It was after all, named "The Ladybug" and was even decorated to suit.

After she showed us to the motor home, Susie asked that we give her 10-15 minutes to brew some coffee for us to have while we went over payment and some camp regulations. In our spare minutes after settling into the Ladybug and already giddy about how amazing this encounter already was, we decided to explore some of the nearby campsites. The very first site we stumbled upon was "The Dino Pit", decked out in toy dinosaurs, equipped with a hammock, a covered picnic area with swinging benches, and a fire pit, all right next to a flowing river. In short, it was fantastic. We immediately changed our mind and told Susie we would prefer the Dino Pit instead. As amazing as the Ladybug was, the Dino Pit was that much better.

After a fantastic conversation with Susie and her husband Wayne about their property, their eclectic home, sparing customers, and their beautiful dog Roxie, Devin and I concluded that this was easily the best pit stop of the most epic road trip ever.

       

Seemingly normal looking outhouses...but a lovely decorated surprise inside! 

 We enjoyed a beautiful morning at the campsite with a warm fire, a beautiful view of the rushing river and Suzie & Wayne's adorable dog Roxie! 

 Here are some of the other campsites Suzie had decorated...

Ribbons campsite

Records campsite - another guest had her easel set up for painting. 

Ellsworths in Idaho & Pit Stop #4

On our way up to Canada we stopped in northern Idaho and met up with Christina's sister Rachel and her boyfriend John. Thanks again for dinner! 

Glacier National Park

We had heard that not all the main roads were open at Glacier National Park, however this turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the roads that were closed to cars were open to hikers and bikers! We enjoyed a beautiful day at Glacier while riding our bikes on the roads and taking in the gorgeous scenery.