Seattle, Home Away From Home
Day 29
One City to the Next
Western Washington - July 19th, 2016
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Day 30
Capital Hill, Actually A Hill
Seattle WA - July 20th, 2016
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Day 31
Pokemon and BLM
Seattle WA - July 21st, 2016
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Day 32
I Care One Iona
Seattle WA - July 22nd, 2016
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Day 34
A Hidden Lake
Lake Colchuck WA - July 24th, 2016
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Day 38
Such An Animal
Seattle WA - July 28th, 2016
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Day 39
You Had One Job
Seattle WA - July 29th, 2016
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Day 40
Seattle Musts
Seattle WA - July 30th, 2016
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Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Visited July 13 and July 14th 2016
Day 23 and Day 24 on the road.
This will be my personal experience and blog portion of this post.
This will be my personal experience and blog portion of this post.
I Heard Montana Is Nice
Day 21
All Downhill
Wyoming - July 11th, 2016
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Day 22
Madison in a Bowl
Missoula MT - July 12th, 2016
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Day 23 - Day 24
Glacier National Park
July 13th and July 14th, 2016
**Description of this post
** Click to see the post about the entire experience there
Day 25
8 Hour Drive
Washington - July 15th, 2016
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Day 26
Berry Good Day
Ellensburg WA - July 16th, 2016
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Day 27
Blue Skies, Drearily
Ellensburg WA - July 17th, 2016
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Day 28
Monday Afternoon Drive
Ellensburg WA - July 18th, 2016
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Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Visited July 9th to July 10th 2022
Day 19 and Day 20 on the road.
I really hyped this park up before arriving. It was the great Yellowstone, the very first national park. Everyone has heard of it, everyone talks about it. And after my experience at Theodore Roosevelt National Park I was overly excited about the wilderness that this place was going to offer! Oh my, I got a reality check. If you stick to the main areas, which I did because I was new to all this, Yellowstone National Park is a tourist nightmare. Signs constantly saying “don’t deviate from trail” and just car traffic galore.
One of my favorite photos from this time was of Old Faithful and the crown (see the last image in the album below). It really shows how many people and how many photos are taken each time Old Faithful erupts.
After the unexpected results from the first day I had a hard time figuring out what to do on my second day in the park. I had to sleep in my car overnight due to freezing temperatures and rain/sleet forecasted all night.
After visiting a visitor center, mostly for the heat, I took off to hike Mount Washburn. Supposedly a hard hike but very few miles.
Halfway up the mountainside I met up with a family who let me join them. At the top we couldn’t see much with a storm rolling in but I was glad I had company on the way down when it started thunderstorming and raining on us.
Grand Tetons National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Visted July 8th, 2016
Day 18 on the road.
I’ll have to admit that by the time I left Riverton Wyoming I had mixed feelings about the whole trip. Theodore Roosevelt had a couple days that felt absolutely life changing but the rest felt like a slog. The Mount Rushmore area just took the winds out of my sails with how busy it was. But on July 7th I drove to a National Forest outside the Tetons, where I got my first peak about this incredible mountain range.
Once I got into the park I felt at peace. I took the day to go on a hike around Jenny Lake and it felt like what a mountain hike should be. I got to see a moose in the wild chilling out by some water and a rushing river from mountain snow runoff! While it might not sound impressive writing this years later, it was the very first mountain hike I’ve ever taken.
Wyoming Surprised Me
Day 13
Let the Cattle Roam
Wyoming - July 3rd, 2016
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Day 14
Life Goals
Riverton WY - July 4th, 2016
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Day 15
Dog Gone Good Hospitality
Riverton WY - July 5th, 2016
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Day 16
The Loop
West of Riverton WY - July 6th, 2016
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Day 19 - Day 20
Yellowstone National Park
July 9th and July 10th, 2016
**Description of this post
** Click to see the post about the entire experience there
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Visited June 28th-29th, 2016
Day 9 through Day 10 on the road.
I had no idea what I was doing. Writing this blurb in 2022 it’s quite comical to think back on. I’m finally at a National Park for the first time and I had no idea what to expect.
On the drive in I saw the weirdest monument called “Geese in Flight”. It was in the middle of nowhere but man was it cool in person.
Once I got to the park I drove around a bit just to see what the place was like and saw my first prairie dogs!
My hike on my full day in the park is one of my favorites to tell this day. I had no experience on ‘going for a hike’ so I went and found a ranger to get some ideas what I should be doing in the park. After chatting for a bit about my skill level he pointed in a generally eastern direction and said “hike that way about a mile and you should run across the Maah Daah Hey Trail and just follow that until you want to turn around”.
That seemed like a great idea so I followed his directions exactly… which meant fording a river and trekking through open prairie. And it was awesome! I’ve never felt so remote in my life. I think this experience helped set the stage for the journeys to come.
My Time in the Dakotas
Day 8
Land Where I Was Born
Jamestown ND - June 28th, 2016
This was my first time back to the city since I was less than a year old. I honestly didn’t know what to expect as I was arriving. I heard there was a big buffalo statue and buffalo are cool. In the end it was just… normal.
Fun childhood fact about me. Growing up I had a misconception that you were named after the city you were born in, which is why my name was James. Sometimes I still like to believe it’s true.
Day 9 - Day 10
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Medora ND - June 29th and 30th, 2016
My first ever National Park and it was in my state of birth!
I honestly believe this first experience in the wilderness set the stage to all my further adventures.
Day 11
Local Fun
Spearfish SD - July 1st, 2016
I was just looking for anywhere to sleep for the night after leaving North Dakota and I stumbled across a block party!
It was awesome watching everyone get into the live music.
Day 12
Tourist vs Not
Black Hills SD - July 2nd, 2016
The difference between the solitude of Theodore Roosevelt and hustle and bustle of Mount Rushmore hit me like a truck. Sure it was close to the 4th of July weekend and one of America’s most American tourist locations.
The Beginning of It All
Day 1
The Beginning
Madison WI - June 21st, 2016
I took one last look at all my stuff in storage and of myself before getting out of town late.
The first stop was Minneapolis MN to visit some friends!
Day 2
It's Happening
Walhalla ND - June 22nd, 2016
It felt like half the day was spent trying to making my camping equipment function and organize my stuff.
Eventually I made it to the family farm in Walhalla ND and I caught the most amazing sunset.
Day 3
Oh Mickey, You So Fine
Walhalla ND - June 23, 2016
This tractor was the first vehicle I was allowed to drive at the age of 6. I was given a metal chain and a lesson on how all the levers and pedals functioned and spent a few days moving dead trees to a burn pile. It is a lasting memory from my childhood so I was beyond thrilled when I inherited it.
This beautiful machine is now mine.
Day 4
Granda Dearest
Walhalla ND - June 24th, 2016
Alzheimer’s Sucks.
I spent the entire day with my grandmother and got to take her all over this beautiful part of North Dakota. While she didn’t remember me, I could still recognize her and her mannerisms.
A quirk of the disease is that people inflicted sometimes get fixated on a narrow set of questions which get asks over and over again. This day her question was “what is your job?” and no matter how I described being a photographer and videographer she always responded with “you won’t make much money from that”. Everytime I had to laugh.
Day 5
Vacation from my Vacation
Lake of the Woods MN - June 25th, 2016
Sure it is only day 5 of a road trip but let’s go on a side vacation.
My Dad and I detoured towards Lake of the Woods where my family vacationed when I was growing up.
We continued the fishing traditions of betting on who catches the first fish. In tomorrow’s gallery there is proof of my winnings. I’ll never spend that dollar.
Day 6
Blown Away
Walhalla ND - June 26th, 2016
The winds rolled in an put a stop to the fishing trip. I did get to sit and enjoy the waves!
On the way I got to stop in and meet Mikey, the best man from my parents wedding.
Day 7
Last of the Known World
Grand Forks ND - June 27th, 2016
This first week on the road was familiar. It was a whole lot of places I’ve seen and things I’ve done many times before.
Tomorrow is where it starts for real. Tomorrow when I drive west, it will be the farthest west I’ve ever driven.
