NW Trip '12 - Day 11

6/12/12 - Day 11: We got up, showered, repacked, ate breakfast at the hotel, and hit the road on a rainy Portland day (good riddance!). On our way to Crater Lake, we stopped at a McDonald's for lunch, which actually seemed to settle well. We enjoyed a beautiful drive through Oregon -- lots of green trees, rivers, lakes, and (the key) very few windy roads. We arrived at the entrance of Crater Lake National Park around 3:00 and were greeted by a rather unfriendly park ranger. Good thing we had cash since their credit card machine was down! 

A large amount of the rim drive around the lake was closed due to multiple feet of snow (seeing a trend here?), but we did get to drive around the West Rim Drive for a good amount, stopping for pictures at all the major overlooks. The lake was spectacular and one of my favorite sights on the trip. It was a color of blue that I have never seen in nature before, and despite the cold and the snow on the ground, we had a great time driving around and taking pictures. We stopped at the gift shop for a few souvenirs and some veggie soup for Cari's afternoon snack! On our way down towards our cabin, we made a quick restroom stop at the visitor center and found out that all the hiking trails were closed. There wasn't much to do in the park, but again, the views were incredible and being that this was day 11 on the road, we were okay with that. 

We checked into our very rustic cabin near the campground, unpacked, and put some beer on ice. Cari took a nap while I checked the maps for our trip to the Redwoods tomorrow, looked over pictures, and journaled a little. Once she woke up, we went to eat at the on-site restaurant across the parking lot from our cabin. The staff was very friendly despite the relatively low volume of guests, so it was a good experience. I had a phenomenal fettuccine alfredo with chicken and Cari enjoyed a large stuffed baked potato. After dinner, we went back to the cabin and played some card (Go Fish and Old Maid) before turning in! 

NW Trip '12 - Day 10

6/11/12 - Day 10: Given our early bedtime the night before, we got up and left Mt. Rainier relatively early (grabbing breakfast at the Inn's cafe on the way). On the way out of the park, we stopped for a brisk 1.5-mile hike at the "Grove of the Patriarchs," which was a "must-see" according to our National Parks book. The hike was nice and quiet, winding through some very old, very tall douglas firs and across a suspension bridge before making it to "the grove." The grove consisted of several 1000+ year old trees that looked like they were straight from Jurassic Park (in size and age). We took a few pictures, hiked back the way we came, and hopped in the car to head to Portland!

On the way to Portland, we made the biggest mistake of the trip: we stopped for lunch at Subway. We didn't realize it was a mistake at first, but once we got into Portland and found a parking garage near Pioneer Courtyard Square, Cari made good use of her empty sunchips bag. :/ It wasn't a very pleasurable experience for her, obviously. Once she was..umm..done, we walked down to the square and took a few pictures of the flowers (see above). I also went out on a hunt for ginger ale. After hanging out and hoping that her stomach would settle, and then seeing that it wouldn't, we decided against further sightseeing and drove across the city to our hotel near the airport, the Clarion.

We took it easy the rest of the afternoon -- Cari rested for a bit while I did laundry and checked work email. Around dinner time, I drove to Target and bought some chicken noodle soup for Cari and stopped for takeout at Buffalo Wild Wings for me. It was a relaxing, recovering night of eating, watching the Kings win the Stanley Cup, and yes...folding laundry. I'm sure Portland is a nice place, but there really wasn't much we wanted to see/do here, so having a day of rest (which was much needed) was probably a wise decision. Maybe we'll make it back one day and see all the splendor that the city has to offer ... until then, good riddance!

NW Trip '12 - Day 9

6/10/12 - Day 9: Jon and Megan got up and left early today (4:30 a.m...yuck), and since Mt. Rainier National Park (our next destination) was only a couple hours away, we decided to sleep in a little. I still woke up a little earlier than Cari to try and do a little laundry, but had a couple unsuccessful attempts (either all the machines were taken or broken). So, with dirty clothes bag still in hand, we left the hotel by about noon and ate brunch (yes, brunch. I know I said noon. Hush.) at IHOP and hit the road. 

We made it Mt. Rainier National Park around 3 and drove through the park and up the mountain to the visitor center (right at the base of the mountain itself). The park was beautiful and fascinatingly underdeveloped, which made it feel much more like I would expect a national park to feel. There were trees everywhere, waterfalls, and mountain vista views on the drive up. Once we arrived, we bundled up (40 degrees out) and took a few pictures outside before watching a video in and walking around the visitor center. We decided to try and hike one of the nearby trail (the "Skyline Trail") but we didn't have our snow boots and crampons and couldn't make it through the feet of snow that was still on the ground (yes, multiple feet). So, instead of hiking, we drove back down the mountain a little ways and slowly made our way back up, stopping at some of the main sights. 

We stopped and took pictures at Christine Falls, a random bridge and viewpoint, and Narada Falls. The latter was an adventure, since there was still a foot of snow on the hiking trail to get to the falls viewpoint. I went it alone because Cari wasn't feeling well, but it was our first larger waterfall of the trip and well worth the treacherous hike. Back to parking lot safely, we continued the drive back up the mountain to our hotel, the Paradise Inn, and checked in/unloaded. The Inn was very old and rustic, but still classy... but old. And rustic. Given the lack of food options, we defaulted to the restaurant at the Inn -- I had chicken parmesan and Cari had a venison shepherd's pie. We finished up dinner, took a few sunset pictures of the mountain peak, and turned in EARLY (9:15!). 

NW Trip '12 - Day 8

6/9/12 - Day 8: Short drive day!! We were thrilled to wake up and know we only had to drive a couple hours max to get to our next destination. We didn't, however, factor in "waiting at the border" time, which added an additional hour. Regardless, we hit Starbucks on the way out of Vancouver and got to the border in about a half hour. We waited in line for a while. There were plenty of border agents, but unfortunately there were also a LOT of people that wanted to get into the U.S. We finally got through and made our way to Seattle in a 1.5-hour car ride filled with some fun travel "I Spy"-type games. 

Our first stop was going to be the downtown market, so we found parking a few blocks away (for $15!!) and walked down the step grades to the market. As we expected, it was incredibly crowded, but we walked inside one end and made our way down to the other end. The inside tent area was filled with a few souvenir shops, some restaurants, and a lot of fresh seafood, produce, and flower vendors. About halfway through and feeling a little claustrophobic, we stopped for lunch at Lowell's. I had a beef brisket dip and Cari had a large seafood sampler. The food was pretty good, but definitely not worth the price. Either way, we enjoyed the break from the crowd for a little while before heading back through the rest of the market! After lunch, we continued through the tent area and got to the end where the famous fish-throwing seafood vendor was. We watched for a little while but didn't see much action, so we continued on. 

Cari and I took a little break and walked a few blocks up to a shop she saw on the way into town while Jon and Megan got some food items from a place Jon saw on TV (mostly desserts). We met up in the grassy park-like area near the market and just relaxed and hung out for a few. Once we were slightly rested and even more full than before, we walked the mile to the Space Needle! Jon and I took the elevator to the top which was a little disconcerting given the full glass elevator door. We walked around the entirety of the top and took some pictures and then headed back down. It was a cool sight to see, and I'm glad to say I've done it, but $20 was a little pricey for a 5-minute view of Seattle on a cloudy day. 

Once we were back on the ground, we walked around a little more, heard some bad music at a festival nearby (including some Filipino rapping), and took the monorail back to a station close to our car (instead of walking the mile + back). After a long day (or, after 8 long days!), we decided to just go back to the hotel for the rest of the afternoon/evening and hang out, so we did just that. We checked in at the Doubletree by Hilton near the airport and walked a LONG walk to our room. After unloading, we went to the hotel bar/restaurant for dinner -- I had some buffalo wings and Cari had linguine with a spicy red sauce and veggies/chicken. We hung there for a little while, watched one of the NBA games, and retired to the room for drinks and tv movies. We were also entertained by the constant shaping and re-shaping that Jon did to his beard while he shaved it. I think it was a great way to spend the last evening with our travel buddies!  

NW Trip '12 - Day 7

6/8/12 - Day 7: While we only got about 6 hours of sleep, we woke up with a renewed sense of excitement knowing that we would only have to spend about 4-5 hours in the car today. We didn't get to see much of Osoyoos given the rain and fog in the morning, but we were anxious to get to Vancouver anyways, so we didn't mind. We had a beautiful drive through some of Canada's wine/produce country -- the roads weren't too windy, but the mountains and greenery were stunning. We arrived at our hotel (Westin Wall Centre) around 1:00, and they were nice enough to let us check in early. After unloading and taking a quick bathroom break, we walked to the train station (about 10 minute walk). 

We took the sky train (an elevated monorail-type train) to Waterfront station, where we were told to get off if we wanted to see the main "tourist" area. We found our way downtown and located a food truck called "Fresh Local Wild" that Jon had seen on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives. Overall, it was extremely good food. Cari had a fresh salad and I went with the fish and chips, salmon-style. We also got the opportunity to sit in their small one-table seating area attached to the back of the truck and chatted with the guys running the truck. They gave us a good recommendation for a dinner location, which we ended up trying, but more on that later. 

After lunch, we strolled down to the waterfront, walked around, and then walked back up through the "shopping district." The culture of people was much different here than any of the other locations we had visited thus far. We noticed lots of young, "fashionable" people, many of which were of Asian descent. Next, we located a bar and settled in with a couple of pitchers for the U.S. vs. Antigua/Barbuda men's world cup qualifying match. It was a good "reset," since I think we were all a little grumpy as a result of being indecisive with our plans (and probably moreso due to spending 24 of the past 48 hours in the car). Anyways, after we watched the U.S. win handily, we decided to walk west to Stanley Park to find our dinner location. We didn't realized exactly how far of a walk it would be, but we enjoyed being outside and seeing a new place. 

We FINALLY made it to our dinner location at the Teahouse Restaurant. We had an amazing dinner (one of the best of the whole trip). We also had a friendly server who gave us an appetizer on the house for walking all the way out there. While we watched the sun set over the water, I enjoyed a perfectly cooked tenderloin, ceasar salad, and wine picked by Jon. Cari had wild mushroom ravioli with scallops, and we shared a raspberry sorbet for dessert. We stayed for a couple hours, joking with the staff (mainly Phillip from the Philippines!). Instead of walking back, we had the restaurant call us a taxi that took us back to the nearest train station. We happened to get a GREAT taxicab driver who was incredibly entertaining. It was a great way to finish a fun night out! We took the sky train back to the station near our hotel, walked back, and passed out.

NW Trip '12 - Day 5/6

6/6/12 - Day 5: The majority of the next two days were spent in the car. Luckily, we were getting two of the longest drives out of the way earlier on in the trip (as opposed to the second to last day). I felt a little better the next morning after getting a LOT of sleep the afternoon/night before and presumably flushing whatever bug I had out of my system. 

We hit the road pretty early and headed east to Cody, WY where we stopped for some good old McDonald's for breakfast. After fueling up, we hit the road for a long day in the car (~approx 11 hours). We drove through most of Montana, which was incredibly dull (contrary to my expectations). We arrived at our hotel (St. Mary Lodge and Resort) in Glacier National Park late afternoon just in time for some light snow, along with temperatures in the 20's! We checked in, got settled, and went to the lounge in the lodge for dinner. Sitting in comfortable leather chairs near a roaring fire was exactly what we needed after a long day in the car. We enjoyed a light dinner (soups, salads, etc.) and some mild entertainment compliments of our server before going back to the room to hang out (and for me to pass out early again).

6/7/12 - Day 6: I'm combining day 5 and 6 into the same blog post since most of the two days were spent in the car. Unfortunately, day 6 was even worse than yesterday. We woke up a little later (probably a mistake, but we needed the sleep), and Cari, Jon, and I went back to the lodge for a breakfast of pancakes and fruit. We packed up and hopped in the car to drive as far as we could into Glacier Park. The main road that we were planning to take through the park, "Going to the Sun" road, was still closed about 15 miles in, so we drove as far as we could. Glacier was incredibly beautiful -- huge mountains, blue lakes, waterfalls and wildlife all over. I desperately wanted to keep driving, but a closed road meant a closed road. So, we turned around, took lots of pictures, and made our way southwest around the park. We ended up taking a "shortcut" (Route 49!!) that turned out to be...well...terrifying. Curvy mountain roads, partially gravel, no guardrails, and sheer cliffs. Luckily, we were only on the road for about 20 minutes, but the ladies would probably claim it was at least an hour! 

After making our way back to "safety," we drove west through Montana, into Idaho for a short time, and through Washington before heading north to Canada. Our meals were less than desirable today (Arby's for lunch and Taco Bell for dinner). We also were semi-delirious by the time we arrived at the border, having driven over 13 hours, some of which was on foggy, windy, and dark mountain roads through Washington. We had an amicable border police on the way into Canada, so we were glad that he didn't mistake our delirium as being caused by.. "mind-altering substances." We drove a few miles into Canada to our Best Western in Osoyoos, B.C. (a lake town, mainly a retreat for retirees) and fell asleep quickly.

NW Trip '12 - Day 4

6/5/12 - Day 4 - Sick day!!! Well, only for me. I guess it was bound to happen given our road-diet and my sensitive stomach. However, over the past couple days, I would question whether or not I was bitten by something semi-poisonous due to our stay in a rustic cabin (complete with spider webs), intense nauseousness on 6/5, and my continued bodily soreness for the next 2-3 days. Regardless, I tried to make the most of this day, and Jon, Megan, and Cari all did great in putting up with me and my frequent need to "please pull over!"

We woke up relatively early and drove to Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton Park hoping to see some morning wildlife. We didn't catch any wildlife, but we did see a great view of the Tetons in the morning sun. After Oxbow, we drove to Jenny Lake (which is when my stomach started its turn for the worst). I sat in the car while my three travel companions got out and took a few pictures. After a quick stop at the visitor center close by (yes, I'll spare the details of all the "stops" we had to take throughout the day), we headed north to Yellowstone!

Yellowstone actually wasn't very far from Grand Teton National Park. In fact, they basically back up to each other, which was convenient, especially given my illness today. Once we entered the park, we drove about 15-20 minutes to the Old Faithful site and had a light lunch (crackers for me!) at the cafe outside. We continued to the visitor center and walked around a little before figuring out when the geyser was going to erupt. About 15 minutes before the "projected time," we walked out and got a standing spot to watch Old Faithful! Luckily, there wasn't a bad "seat" since Old Faithful was a little elevated. You could still stand in the back and see the eruption. Right on cue, the geyser built up and up before fully erupting -- what an incredible sight!! It spewed about 50-70 feet in the air for a minute or so before going back down. Overall, it was a great experience! 

Afterwards, we drove clockwise along the lower loop to Biscuit Basin where we got to see some very interesting geothermal pools and other features, including Sapphire Pool. It was interesting going from the wildlife-heavy Grand Tetons to the very different, geographical feature-heavy area of Yellowstone! After walking along the boardwalk at Biscuit Basin, we drove to the Grand Prismatic Springs. It started to rain (see picture above), and given the colder weather mixed with the hot pools, there was a LOT of steam. Unfortunately, we couldn't see much, but the thermal formation were crazy, and many of the colors looked like lava! We were glad that we went, regardless of the limited visibility.

We hopped back in the car and drove almost 2 hours to our hotel, which was halfway between Yellowstone's east entrance and Cody, WY (Pahaska Teepee Lodge). It was a very small, rustic A-frame cabin community, but it did the trick for the price! I passed out for the afternoon since I wasn't feeling well and Cari, Jon, and Megan went to the lodge restaurant to eat. Apparently, they had a very entertaining discussion with the staff about a recent buffalo attack, which didn't make Cari feel very comfortable. No buffalo/bison to speak of though, and whenever they got back to the hotel room, I woke up for a few, ate some crackers, and then passed out again for the night. It was a rough day health-wise, but we still got to see some great stuff!