THE WEST TRIP (part III):
This last section of my blog is about the part of the trip when I went by myself for a week around the NW United States. After getting through the haggle of renting a car for someone under 25 driving a one-way (the original place hooked up by the travel agent turned me down when I got there.....and we found ONE place that was able to rent to under 25 AND do a one-way to Denver), I drove out of Reno, Nevada back into northern Cali and into Oregon to Crater Lake. When I arrived, a girl came up to me and asked if I was camping alone and if she could split the cost of a campsite with me. Of course I was fine with that, and so I met Erica and camped on the same site as her. She was hiking the PCT (Pacific Coast Trail)....kind of like the Appalachian Trail of the West, but I'd say much more diverse, more difficult, longer, and more interesting. So, it was cool getting to talk to her later that night. The first thing I did, though, was drive up to the lake and hike and take a few pictures. It was amazing....like a big volcano top filled with a lot of really blue water (which is basically what it is). I'm glad I decided to go that evening, too, because the next morning when I went up to hike some more, it was so foggy I couldn't even see the lake anymore.
From there, I was off to Mt. Saint Helens, where I spent my second night in a row camping in the rain. I did meet some Amish people, though, from Iowa, and some of them had such weird accents that I could barely understand what they said. It was like Southern and Irish mixed together or something. lol Very cool. I didn't ever actually get to see Mt. Saint Helens because of fog (high altitudes breed much more fog than what we have in Ohio), but I visited a couple really awesome visitors' centers where I learned a lot of things I didn't know about Mt. Saint Helens, such as: it didn't spew molten lava when it erupted (like the red stuff we often see on TV), it has been "erupting" a lot over the last year (it's been building a new dome in the center), it was massively destructive when it erupted in 1980, it spewed ashes up to 12 miles high when it erupted in 1980, and the ashes affected weather across the globe.
Next stop was Seattle (only a couple hours north of Mt. St. Helens) where I stayed in the coolest hotel I have ever experienced. It was directly in the middle of downtown, and it was a historic hotel, meaning it was really old, which made it very awesome. And everyone I met there was super super nice and helpful. I told the guy at the front desk the next morning that if I ever come back to Seattle, I will stay at their hotel for sure. :) But anyway, I think Seattle had even more cafes and coffee shops than San Fran, which is a lot, and it wouldn't be too much of an exaggeration to say that there is a Star Bucks on every corner. I got to see the famous Space Needle, and for the first time ever, I did laundry in a laundromat. I felt so......independent I guess. lol I must say, that night, I slept sooooo well.....it was so nice to be in a bed. I was out so hard I slept through my alarm. It was wonderful.
From Seattle, I drove to Idaho, where I stayed in Clearwater National Forest. I wasn't expecting much, but it was a beautiful campsite. I stayed right by the water, and everything was so green and lush. The drive there was pretty incredible, too.....for about 2 hours, I wound around in a valley beside a river. It made for fun (and beautiful) driving. That night, I also met some nice people from Walla Walla and Florida who were so nice that they gave me some firewood. It was a good night.
From Idaho, I was off to Yellowstone. Yellowstone was amazing, but not really what I expected. I guess I was expecting the kind of scenery I saw at Yosemite, but both parks are just very different. They just can't really be compared. I spent two nites there, and I saw many sweet things that I have never seen before. I saw geysers and mud pots and buffalo and mule deer and hot springs. The fact that some of these things even exist is just out of this world. And if I remember right, Yellowstone alone holds 60% of the world's geysers, so if you want to see geysers, go there. :) I took a lot of pictures while I was there. And one of the days, I hiked around the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. I went from one end to the other (about 5 miles) and then had to go all the way back. I saw some absolutely amazing views, including several roaring waterfalls and brightly colored rock walls. I was very tired by the end, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
The morning I left Yellowstone, I got up at 4:20 in order to make it to Old Faithful at sun rise. I wasn't able to make it to Old Faithful the night I arrived because of a buffalo traffic jam. lol Anyway, I got to see Old Faithful go off at about 5:30am, and it was pretty darn sweet. From there, I traveled out the south entrance and into the Grand Teton National Park, where I was able to view the infamous Grand Tetons. I got a few pics of those, too. From there, I traveled out into Wyoming, which had beautiful brightly colored rock structures that blew me away. I loved the driving views at first. But as I got farther into Wyoming, it got dryer and dryer until I thought maybe I was in a desert! lol The roads were straight and seemed to go on for miles, and I was lucky to see a house or even a tree every few miles. And it was extremely windy.
My trek through Wyoming eventually brought me to Denver (that was the longest drive of the trip), where I checked into a really fancy hotel and proceeded to a suite on the top floor. No joke. I thought they had made a mistake putting me up there, so I went down to the front desk to make sure I was in the right room. It was the nicest hotel room I think I have ever stayed in, and I spent most of the evening just packing up and chilling out in my room, watching TV or relaxing in the desk chair with my feet propped up on the coffee table as I gazed out the huge window into the night of the city of Denver. It was beautiful, and I even saw a couple different fireworks shows going on. It was definitely a nice way to end my trip. I didn't get to see much of Denver, but I certainly enjoyed my stay there.
So, that's about the extent of my trip. I flew out of Denver the next morning into Chicago and then to Columbus, where I was able to see my mom, dad, and Little Lace once again. It was good to be home, but I want to go back again soon. :)
This last section of my blog is about the part of the trip when I went by myself for a week around the NW United States. After getting through the haggle of renting a car for someone under 25 driving a one-way (the original place hooked up by the travel agent turned me down when I got there.....and we found ONE place that was able to rent to under 25 AND do a one-way to Denver), I drove out of Reno, Nevada back into northern Cali and into Oregon to Crater Lake. When I arrived, a girl came up to me and asked if I was camping alone and if she could split the cost of a campsite with me. Of course I was fine with that, and so I met Erica and camped on the same site as her. She was hiking the PCT (Pacific Coast Trail)....kind of like the Appalachian Trail of the West, but I'd say much more diverse, more difficult, longer, and more interesting. So, it was cool getting to talk to her later that night. The first thing I did, though, was drive up to the lake and hike and take a few pictures. It was amazing....like a big volcano top filled with a lot of really blue water (which is basically what it is). I'm glad I decided to go that evening, too, because the next morning when I went up to hike some more, it was so foggy I couldn't even see the lake anymore.
From there, I was off to Mt. Saint Helens, where I spent my second night in a row camping in the rain. I did meet some Amish people, though, from Iowa, and some of them had such weird accents that I could barely understand what they said. It was like Southern and Irish mixed together or something. lol Very cool. I didn't ever actually get to see Mt. Saint Helens because of fog (high altitudes breed much more fog than what we have in Ohio), but I visited a couple really awesome visitors' centers where I learned a lot of things I didn't know about Mt. Saint Helens, such as: it didn't spew molten lava when it erupted (like the red stuff we often see on TV), it has been "erupting" a lot over the last year (it's been building a new dome in the center), it was massively destructive when it erupted in 1980, it spewed ashes up to 12 miles high when it erupted in 1980, and the ashes affected weather across the globe.
Next stop was Seattle (only a couple hours north of Mt. St. Helens) where I stayed in the coolest hotel I have ever experienced. It was directly in the middle of downtown, and it was a historic hotel, meaning it was really old, which made it very awesome. And everyone I met there was super super nice and helpful. I told the guy at the front desk the next morning that if I ever come back to Seattle, I will stay at their hotel for sure. :) But anyway, I think Seattle had even more cafes and coffee shops than San Fran, which is a lot, and it wouldn't be too much of an exaggeration to say that there is a Star Bucks on every corner. I got to see the famous Space Needle, and for the first time ever, I did laundry in a laundromat. I felt so......independent I guess. lol I must say, that night, I slept sooooo well.....it was so nice to be in a bed. I was out so hard I slept through my alarm. It was wonderful.
From Seattle, I drove to Idaho, where I stayed in Clearwater National Forest. I wasn't expecting much, but it was a beautiful campsite. I stayed right by the water, and everything was so green and lush. The drive there was pretty incredible, too.....for about 2 hours, I wound around in a valley beside a river. It made for fun (and beautiful) driving. That night, I also met some nice people from Walla Walla and Florida who were so nice that they gave me some firewood. It was a good night.
From Idaho, I was off to Yellowstone. Yellowstone was amazing, but not really what I expected. I guess I was expecting the kind of scenery I saw at Yosemite, but both parks are just very different. They just can't really be compared. I spent two nites there, and I saw many sweet things that I have never seen before. I saw geysers and mud pots and buffalo and mule deer and hot springs. The fact that some of these things even exist is just out of this world. And if I remember right, Yellowstone alone holds 60% of the world's geysers, so if you want to see geysers, go there. :) I took a lot of pictures while I was there. And one of the days, I hiked around the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. I went from one end to the other (about 5 miles) and then had to go all the way back. I saw some absolutely amazing views, including several roaring waterfalls and brightly colored rock walls. I was very tired by the end, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
The morning I left Yellowstone, I got up at 4:20 in order to make it to Old Faithful at sun rise. I wasn't able to make it to Old Faithful the night I arrived because of a buffalo traffic jam. lol Anyway, I got to see Old Faithful go off at about 5:30am, and it was pretty darn sweet. From there, I traveled out the south entrance and into the Grand Teton National Park, where I was able to view the infamous Grand Tetons. I got a few pics of those, too. From there, I traveled out into Wyoming, which had beautiful brightly colored rock structures that blew me away. I loved the driving views at first. But as I got farther into Wyoming, it got dryer and dryer until I thought maybe I was in a desert! lol The roads were straight and seemed to go on for miles, and I was lucky to see a house or even a tree every few miles. And it was extremely windy.
My trek through Wyoming eventually brought me to Denver (that was the longest drive of the trip), where I checked into a really fancy hotel and proceeded to a suite on the top floor. No joke. I thought they had made a mistake putting me up there, so I went down to the front desk to make sure I was in the right room. It was the nicest hotel room I think I have ever stayed in, and I spent most of the evening just packing up and chilling out in my room, watching TV or relaxing in the desk chair with my feet propped up on the coffee table as I gazed out the huge window into the night of the city of Denver. It was beautiful, and I even saw a couple different fireworks shows going on. It was definitely a nice way to end my trip. I didn't get to see much of Denver, but I certainly enjoyed my stay there.
So, that's about the extent of my trip. I flew out of Denver the next morning into Chicago and then to Columbus, where I was able to see my mom, dad, and Little Lace once again. It was good to be home, but I want to go back again soon. :)
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