End of the line

So I realized I haven't had time to finish up this travel blog since I came home, so I will do a quick update of the last few days of my trip!
After we left Glacier, and made our way to Washington, we were able to spend one night in Olympic!

We were going to spend the second night there too, but decided to visit my family in Portland, which was a wonderful break in the trip!
After that we spent a night at McMenamins in Forest Grove and got to relax a little!

The next day we went to Bend and got to visit my friend Rob and have a little fun at Atlas Cider! Afterwards we tried to find our campsite, but got lost driving around in the backwoods at midnight (plotline for a horror movie, we know!) and so we spent an exciting night at a Walmart parking lot!

Not so fun.
That morning I got to hike around Smith Rock and I attempted Asterisks Pass, but couldn't figure out how to get all the way up.

So then, we decided to head home a day early since we were pooped and din't know how to spend the rest of the day!
SO,
Now that we've made it half way around the United States and back again, I'd like to think I could give some advice on roadtripping:
1. Gas station food is salty, easy and quick (that's what she said), but don't eat it for lunch everyday.
2. Always, AND I MEAN ALWAYS, make sure your gas tank is at least half full; you never know when there will be a 50 mile break between gas stations!
3. Grilled cheese and top ramen are easy to make and clean on a propane grill.
4. Always keep papers for kindling and always keep your plastic bags for trash cans!
5. Download every podcast known to man, there's going to be looooonnnggg drives.
6. Be a shameless tourist: do the ranger talks, do the guided tours, do the fun stuff. Just do it.
7. Invest in comfy shoes, which seems like a no-brainer, but it needs to be said again.
8. Use WIFI while you have it, you never know when you're going to be stuck days on end with little connection to your friends and family.
9. Take your time, have a seat, and relax. Just chill out and take a look around you.
10. Have fun- seriously. Not everything needs to be done as planned, do whatever makes you happy.

I'll make sure to upload some photos once they've been edited! It might take awhile, so bear with me!

Glacier, Spokane, and Okanogan

So, it's been awhile since I've updated, but I promise you I'm alive! 

In the past half week I've visited glacier, which we were only there for two days, then we spent a night in Spokane, and now we're in Okanogan! 

Tomorrow we're going to Olympic national park, and we're thinking of going to Seattle but the car window is still broken, so I'm not too sure what we'll do for security...

Anyways, back to glacier...

Here's a photo of Logan's pass visitor center! 

And this is one of the stops on Going-to-the-Sun road, which was beautiful, yet terrifying! 

Tomorrow will thankfully be a short drive to Olympic, and after two nights there we will be back in Oregon at forest grove! 

Any suggestions for Olympic? 

See you soon!

Yellowstone and Grand Tetons

So I haven't been able to get internet while I've been in Yellowstone, so I'll give a quick update! 

We were there for three nights in Flagg Ranch/ Headwaters campground! We had an amazing time and we're able to drop down to Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole. 

My favorite place was the Artists Paint Pots

And all of the hot springs!

Unfortunately on the way the motor in the drivers side window broke and the window fell down. So we went to try and get it fixed but the piece has to be ordered. So the window is up for the time  being, and I'm going to see if we can get it fixed while we're in Spokane! It sounds like it's going to be a couple hundred, so that's unfortunate, but we gotta do what we gotta do. 

Next we'll be in glacier! Our campsite is on the east side, but we'll be visiting the west! 

Only 9 days till we're home! 

Mt. Rushmore, Big Horn, and Black Hills

And just as we get to the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore...

... it rains. 

So that was our view of the famous Mt. Rushmore! It was kind of hilarious since we went to that area specifically for the famous sculpture. 

Hilarious and sad as it was, we eventually moved on. 

We've just arrived in Big Horn, and we're nestled away in the hills. 

Our campsite is quite beautiful and the weather is chilly, which is nice compared to the previous 100+ degrees. 

But, we won't be here long; tomorrow morning we pack up and head over to Yellowstone! We'll be there for three nights, and hopefully it won't rain too much since the forecast predicts thunderstorms! 

It seems that we've been cursed to rainy weather for the majority of the end of our trip!