The Great Outdoors Across Many States

After the amazing trip to Cape Disappointment, I was planned to travel all the way back to Yellowstone National Park for a week long camping and road trip. My boyfriend and his three friends took two cars and we left just hours after the lighthouse trip. That means we had a departure time of 9pm. Our idea was to leave late and arrive early to the park to find a campsite. Because I had just been there, I had a good idea of the park and its amenities. Our ultimate goal was to spend a week sightseeing and hiking wherever our hearts led us. This group has an annual camping trip, but this was the longest and furthest plan they ever had. After many three hour driver changes and pit stops on the way to Wyoming, we finally arrived at the West entrance of Yellowstone at 10am. I suggested we stop at a grocery store before entering the park because the inside is very vast and options are limited. We decided to then search for a campsite. We headed north to an option that was near many desirable iconic spots. When we arrived, we found one unmarked site but were quickly let down when the rightful owner came an hour later forcing us to pack up our gear. This stressed me out slightly because it was already the afternoon so our chances of finding a campsite was extremely unlikely. We thought the south end of the park would be less crowded so we stopped at every option before us. We passed through Grant Village without luck and continued on to Lewis Lake. We also had no luck so we had to come up with a plan for the next day. We spoke to the Ranger and he said we need to search for a vacant site as early as 6am the next day. We did not expect this to be the routine of Yellowstone, but we had no other option.

Because we had already driven so much, we decided to stay at Lewis Lake and just unwind. It was a beautiful and large body of water with an impressive breeze. There were many road pull offs with access to the rocky beach so we decided to just make food, hang on the beach, and sleep in our cars for the first day. The next morning, I was the first to wake, so I went into the campground and compared the available choices. I felt as if I was on some huge mission and felt so accomplished when I successfully registered. People were even asking ME how the whole choosing a campsite process worked, I guess you can call me Ranger C!! I was so excited to tell everyone that while they were sleeping, we landed the best site at Lewis Lake Campground! Once everyone woke up, we started the fire and prepared some food. We purchased food that would last, so we had been making canned soup and boxed rice. The campsite was only $15 a night so I reserved it for two days to ensure we had a place to stay and feel comfortable. That day I suggested a few geysers and hot springs to see. Because the park is so large, it really did take all day to drive from one spot to the next. Yellowstone is made up of many two lane roads and with the summer tourism high, it was very crowded everywhere we went. It was hard to be alone and to make our own progress through the park. That day I made sure the boys saw the coolest parts of the park, the Grand Prismatic and Holy Mammoth. We stopped at a few other locations and saw some bison on the side of the road before making the hour long drive back to our campsite.

We stopped in Grant to pick up some more food, and because we were going to make dinner soon, we decided to get some frozen pizzas. We got back, made another fire, walked down to the beach, made pizza, and finished the night off with fire cooked pizzas. We eventually pulled a movie up on my massive iPad and enjoyed the quiet night. The next morning we decided we wanted more peace and quiet and chose to drive to Oregon. On our way out, we stopped at Grant village’s showers to finally rid the three day stench of sweat, firewood, food, and grime. We decided to drive as far as we could and our end location was Strawberry Lake, OR. A few hours into our drive, my boyfriend and I noticed signs for a game farm for bears. We stopped to get KFC and discussed with the group if we wanted to go. We didn't see any bears or many exotic animals in Yellowstone, so everyone was excited for this excursion. When we arrived, we first went to the petting zoo which had a reindeer, baby deer, goats, chickens, and other farm animals we could interact with. I love this kind of thing but it also freaked me out when the reindeer started to eat my shirt. After that, we watched baby bears running and playing with each other. It was so wonderful to be just feet from these little babies, they are incredibly cute. I was eventually pulled away from the baby bears to drive through the exciting game farm. It took about 20 minutes to drive through the whole setup. We first started to see bison, deer, and other large animals. Then we entered through the bear gates. These bears were not separated from our car. In fact, we had to stop and allow the Bears to cross in front of us. It was such a site to see and an amazing experience to witness. We even saw two bears standing upright and fighting each other. We just ooed and awed at the massive creatures and even witnessed two beautiful wolves.

We had about 4 hours left to our final destination, but the last hour was the most painful. It was around 11pm when we started on a deserted road that progressively became rocky and skinny. We were so tired that we had to be even more aware because we started to see deer eyes on the side of the road. Because we were the leading car, we were forced to ensure safety for our group in this deserted area. We couldn't refrain from yelling when mice, bunnies, and other little creatures ran in front of our car. We didn't want to kill anything but there was nothing that we could do. At one point, we noticed something in the middle of the road, as we approached it, it took flight and whooshed right over the front of my car. We screamed as we saw the massive white owl spread its wings. This was almost more intense than the bear farm. At this point, 10 miles felt impossible to conquer, but when we finally drove along a forested road to the strawberry lake campground, we couldn't have been happier. I decided to go straight to bed because the driving finally caught up to me.

The next morning, I woke to the beautiful Oregon scenery and felt such relief being back in the PNW. My boyfriend and I instantly decided to hike to strawberry lake to make the most of our day. It was a 4 mile roundtrip trail that led us right to the base of the lake. We were the only ones on the trail and at the lake, so the tranquility was so relieving. I wanted to get a downward view of the lake, but we didn't have time to search and conquer. I know I will be back in this area again soon. There are so many beautiful locations in Oregon, I may need to spend a few weeks.

The next stop on our lengthy road trip was Crater Lake! It has probably been almost six years since I have visited this national park, but I remember watching stars and shooting stars during the night over the lake with my dad. I was excited to show the crew this beautiful area. With just over a six hour drive, we arrived at Diamond Lake where I booked a cabin for everyone to unwind in. This resort area is just miles from the National Park, but was privately owned with many accommodations. The online reviews of this area was rated very high, but to be honest, it did not reach or exceed my expectations. Yes it had a bathroom, and provided bedding for five, but it was old, dusty, and a smelly cabin that was very hot, with no fans. We tried to ignore the negatives and enjoyed the luxury of sitting on chairs and star gazing from the lake’s dock. The scenery was beautiful and the resort lively, which all around boosted our spirits. The next morning, it was time to see Crater Lake. We drove into the park and were immediately blown away by the first scenic lookout. After some group pictures overlooking the massive lake, we continued on the road to see what else could blow our mind. As we were driving, we noticed a fire lookout on the top of a large rocky hill. We instantly knew we had to hike it, this would be my first fire lookout hike, and I couldn't have imagined a more amazing spot. The hike up was a mile and a half. But like I said, it was an all uphill hike, which made me look forward to the way down. After a steady climb, we came across the most amazing view our eyes have ever laid on. It was the most perfect setting, allowing us to see wildfires on one side, and the amazing lake filled volcano on the other. I don't think any of us wanted to go back down, this was just pure inspiration and accomplishment to feel while soaking up this moment. We all had agreed that this right then, was the coolest part of the trip, and was even better than Yellowstone. It had been five days on the road, but we still had plans to make one more stop, in Portland.

The five hour leg to Portland was a bit delayed because of our excursions at Crater Lake, but when we got to the city, it was obligatory to stop at a mall and buy new and clean clothes. After the cosmopolitan refresher, we met up with a friend of the boys and enjoyed a quirky night out in the strange city of Portland. My boyfriend and I did not need to be back in Seattle right away, so we decided to book a hotel in the city and enjoy some alone time. I used the site booking.com to find us a great last minute deal at Hotel Monaco. This was practically a five star hotel we got 70% off. We were so excited to unwind in this amazing accommodation. Once we arrived, we were able to shower and slip on the funky animal printed bath robes. Once settled, we ordered a late night pizza meal off of Postmates to truly indulge. We slept amazing and woke up to our over the top breakfast in bed -in which I got a little too carried away. We eventually decided that we wanted to extend our Portland vacation for another night, but were disappointed we couldn't stay in the same hotel because the rate had increased. We found another hotel that provided a suite like accommodation. After some tax free shopping and food truck munching, we checked into the next hotel that lacked the luxury my boyfriend was hooked on. We decided to get out of the room and walk to the nearby beer festival, that I swear is always happening in Portland. We walked through some great parks, saw lots of cute dogs, and of course some weird examples of how Portland manages to stay weird. The beer festival did not have an entrance fee, we just had to purchase some mugs and tokens. We spent a good amount of time waiting in line to sample beers, and then to the stage to listen to music. We ended the night with some African food from a food truck and then hit the sack.

The next morning, we had a lovely brunch at the nearby McCormick and Schmick and then packed up the car to head home to Seattle. On our way out of Portland, we decided we were still up for an adventure. My boyfriend has been talking about Lewis Falls this whole trip, and it was finally tangible to reach. Although a bit out of the way, we were motivated to reach the falls. What we didn't really take into consideration was the time. By the time we had reached the Lewis falls recreation area, it was almost 4:30 pm. At that point, we were out of reception and still had to factor in the 3 hour drive back to Seattle. We eventually realized we were in over our heads, but time urged us to not waste any time. After talking to some bystanders of the area, we grasped a good idea of what to conquer. We realized the falls were visible from short walks from the main road, instead of hiking miles to find them. Lower Lewis Falls was clearly marked near a large campground and easily accessible without a hike. We claimed that the upper falls had to follow the same main road, so we tracked our driving 4 more miles until we found a trail head. We were so excited to have found the secret entrance to this proclaimed falls. We first passed Diamond Falls, and then continued until we heard rushing water. We started to smile larger and larger until we found the waterfall and just cheered! We couldn't believe we had finally found it, and without the four mile hike as it was advertised. Of course it was closer to 7pm when we had seen all that we could have possibly done in one week. Everyday of this trip was a different scene with different hurdles. Each moment left me feeling successful and so determined to follow my heart and gut instinct; and to let go of time and measure the day through sites and experiences. The best part was not living by a plan but creating the most perfect one as time went on. Like I said, the next week long trip will have to be in Oregon, or maybe even Yosemite. Summer isn't over yet, but regardless, I am excited to see what all the seasons have to offer.

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