The Road Less Traveled...

Storm clouds gathering at Mt. Rainier

Mt. Rainier magnificence - cloaked in white

Dusk descends on the mountaintops

We watched excitedly as the climbers descended slowly

Oh - we love the high country!

When provided the opportunity, we always tend to pick the less popular road to access a park or special destination - the benefits being: far less traffic and hassle on the road, quaint towns, fewer people and shorter lines, if any. As wonderful as they are, we tend to avoid the "Carmel-like" venues, and, instead, are drawn to places that are less touristy and relatively unknown. We love the adventure of discovering new places (to us) and the wonderful surprises we find around each bend.

Cascadia

 Washington Pass - on a clear day - you can see forever!

"Blue skies, smiling at me...nothing but blue skies can I see!"

Last Monday, we fled the smoky, hazy hot sunshine of Winthrop for the North Cascades National Park. Surprisingly, there was no change.  It took several days for the smoke and heat (95 degree weather) and humidity to clear out there as well,but it did, thankfully, due to thundershowers and several days of cool rain and mist. The local Washington fires now appear to be somewhat under control and the air has finally cleared with blue skies welcoming us this morning as we drove back over the Washington Pass heading east.

Just Add Water...

Winthrop, WA"old west" humor signpost

Well...our plans changed...One of the great things about traveling without confirmed reservations - you can change your itinerary immediately if logistics become difficult...and we did - so we headed back to the U.S. and are now in northern Washington.

Back in the USA!

North to Alaska!

Prince Rupert's Cow Bay

  

Mile 0 is good enough for us for this year!

We really didn't plan on it beforehand, but since this trip is all about adventures and exploring, we decided to step into Alaska for just a minute ...just cause we had the opportunity to do so.

The Canadian Rockies!

We crossed the border into Canada with barely any questions asked...we simply showed our passports and we were through - welcomed by a well-fed deer munching unafraid on the grass at the roadside. How easy is that? And the natural beauty of the land we visited there - took our breath away!

Kinney Lake - Mt Robson

Looking for mountain sheep - white spots on green

Canadian Rocky solitude

Drama epitomized - Athabascan Falls, Jasper

Steps as an art form!

Here Comes the Sun

Ooohhh those views!

Many Glacier Area of the Park

Logan Pass covered in snow - the road opened July 3rd

For two weeks, we explored the area in and around Glacier National Park. Northern Montana is gorgeous in the early summer...with lush green growth everywhere (the variety of trees in the forest and the dense understory of ferns and wildflowers below).  We were surprised at a number of things:

Gushing, Steaming, Bubbling and Rocky Mountain Grandeur!

Teton magnificence

View - from the Jackson Lake Lodge - It took our breath away!

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble - Yellowstone caldera

Our happy camper - Ava!

Well, we've had a fantastic two weeks visiting the Grand Teton National Park and touring Yellowstone, our first National Park in the nation. Geographically, they sit right next to each other, yet they are unexpectedly quite distinct in their geology and their available tourist venues. It was fun mixing up our days, for example, with a Teton hike around Jenny Lake one day, contrasted the next day with a tour of the geyser basin in Yellowstone. Both parks were, quite simply, a feast for the eyes and the senses.

The ultimate reward, during those two week, was that Lisa, Eric and baby Ava also joined us for a week of adventure.  They camped in their tent and we used the trailer for cooking and to escape the rain, cold and mosquitoes, when needed.  We had a wonderful time hiking, exploring, eating Lisa's creative dinners, and kayaking, and our little Ava was delightful the entire time - of course!