Portland - Tacoma - Olympic Peninsula - Montana - Wyoming - Colorado

From the West Coast to the East Coast - and everything in between

Portland
- 7 days in this wonderful city
- We made new friends and thought we may have found the city that we loved most
  - And then it rained
    - Rained some more
- Chelsea Parrett of Snow Peak took us Rock Climbing and showed us the town.
  - Portland really is a great city
- Spent a couple of days in the famous gorge at which you can see multiple renowned waterfalls within a few mile stretch
  - One of those days at the gorge happened to be Memorial Day
    - Bad Idea to drive to the falls that day
- Kristen did A Day in the Life with The Growlers in a neat old theater in NE Portland
- Our favorite restaurant was Harlow
Washington State
- We were invited by a new friend's mother to spend a night on her 30 ft boat called The Sea Willow
  - Joyce was the captain's name
  - We enjoyed it so much we stayed 2 nights
  - We sailed the Seattle waters on a 3 hour tour
- A ferry ride over to Olympic National Park
  - 2 wet nights sleeping in an old growth rainforest
  - Rialto Beach - Drift wood lined beaches in the upper most westward tip of our country
  - Hurricane ridge - A top view of the vast and enormous landscape that is the Olympic Peninsula
  - A ferry ride back to the main land
Montana
- Wow
- Glacier National Park
  - First night in bear country
    - Scared us right out of our first campground in the middle of the night
  - I read that 88% of the the people that visit Glacier each year don't venture more than 300 yards from their vehicle.
  - First thing we did was a 3.5 mile hike to Avalanche lake
    - 3.5 miles in I broke my sandals in the slippery mud
    - 3.5 miles out barefoot
      - Ouch
  - Logan pass which takes you directly over the continental divide was closed still due to snow
  - Spotted a black bear eating on the side of the road
  - We made the best of the west side of the divide
  - Headed south
Wyoming
- Wow Wow
- Yellowstone NP
  - No other place like it
  - Mammoth Hot Springs
  - We camped at Norris Campground for 3 nights
    - Directly across from Norris Geyser Basin
    - Bison regularly stroll through the campground
  - Spotted a black bear within an hour of being in the park
  - Grand canyon of the Yellowstone
  - Eggs every morning
    - Starting to become a camp cook master!
  - NO SHOWERS EVER
- Grand Teton NP
  - Somewhat unexpected, but so graciously welcomed
  - Every view within miles of this mountain range looks like a painting
  - We canoed Lake Jackson just beneath the Tetons
  - Found a campsite right on the lake and enjoyed our last night with The Stewarts
    - Drinks were drank, stories were told, and laughs were had
    - Sad to part ways with these two
  - Final community breakfast
    - Eggs
    - potatoes
    - Coffee
    - And Franks hot sauce of course
- Bye Josh & Meg!
Colorado round 2
- Coming back was bittersweet
  - Colorado has been a home to me, many times. I enjoy every visit
  - But this also meant that we were through with the West
    - A new frontier for us
    - No longer undiscovered
- We weren't leaving the west without a week of activities
  - We were invited by LadyAustin (from Instragram) to go sailing just south of Denver in the Chetfield Reservoir
  - Hiking with friends in Boulder
  - A second visit to The Great Sand Dunes
  - And of course a visit with some of the most generous people we know - Peter and Valarie
- We took showers
- We had a little bit of rest
- We were ready to say goodbye to the West, for now

It was time to head back across the country. Where life is a little bit more familiar. Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan UP. We are excited to say hello.

See y'all somewhere!

- Matt