One of the most scenic routes, the train winds across the agricultural bounty of the central California valley, through the mountains of the Sierra Nevada mountains near Lake Tahoe, and across the flat desert of northern Nevada. Then, we wind in between the steep canyons of Colorado's rocky mountains along the Colorado River, and make a long run through the flat plains of corn farmland in the midwest before our arrival in Chicago! Finally, we drive the northern route from Chicago, passing through Laramie, Wyoming to visit Rachel, and camp in Yellowstone National Park. A ferry ride across Puget Sound later, we arrive in Bremerton!
Waiting for the train in Martinez, CA!
Here we go .. two days on the train
Our roomette can convert into two beds
Passing through the sierra nevadas near Tahoe
The flat Nevada desert
Canyon country
Refilling our water
I love these historic tourism posters
A break in Grand Junction, Colorado
Winding on the mountainside along the Colorado River through the rocky mountains
Out of the rockies, now descending (slightly) towards Denver, Colorado
The altitude/pressure difference between the rocky mountains (where I opened/closed this bottle) and denver was enough to crush my bottle!
Some guy's private car attached to our train
Crossing the Mississippi River
Midwest corn fields for miles and miles
Absorbed in reading a good book on my Nook in the observation lounge car :)
Welcome to Chicago!
Chicago grand central station
Chicago grand central station
Just outside the station, Megan met us with the car. Our nine boxes of belongings were too big for the car, so in the middle of downtown Chicago, we broke down the boxes on the sidewalk and started packing everything into the little volvo! Amazingly, it all fit and we were off for an evening together checking out some quick Chicago highlights...
Deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati's
Chicago by night
Millennium Park
Watching the Lyric Opera perform in Millennium Park.. what a gorgeous outdoor space and look at that turnout for this kind of event. So beautiful with the skyline in the background
We dropped Megan off for her flight home (thanks for everything!) and began our own second leg of the trip ... making our way back to the west coast by car:
interesting store name ... haha
Thousands of birds!
Sorry, not many pictures driving through Nebraska and Iowa, just miles of flat corn fields. But then we hit the beautiful wild Wyoming landscape to visit Rachel. Who would have thought three years later after slaving through hours of chemistry labs together I'd be visiting her in Laramie! She took us first to grab a to-go lunch at a great place downtown before heading off to the interesting huge rock formation we passed by on the way into town ... Vedauwoo
Downtown Laramie .. tiny!
my favorite Shiba inu, Misu!
Incredible eroded granite of Vedauwoo
picnic lunch in the middle of the mountains
At 8000 feet, the air is noticeably much thinner! Take your time...
Yeah, that boulder isn't gonna move :-p
good job misu!
Learning how to make Rachel's from-scratch pasta for dinner
The pasta turned out perfect and we all enjoyed them with equally from-scratch bison (buffalo) meatballs and homemade sauce. Bison is really delicious - a great lean meat with lots of flavor. Thanks to Rachel and her family for hosting us for the evening. I was so happy to see her again. Around 10pm, we started the drive out towards Grand Teton National Park!
After hours in the dark Wyoming wilderness, keeping our eyes out for any animals that might jump into the road, we were greeted by the sunrise to our back
Beautiful, wild Wyoming
There they are .. Grand Tetons.
We had originally planned to camp at Jenny Lake in Grand Teton Nat'l Park, but the wildfires around Jackson, WY created too much smoke in the valley so we decided last minute to continue onwards to Yellowstone and spend an extra day there instead. Not that disappointing of a back-up option (haha), and in hindsight we were actually quite glad we had the extra day to see all of the sights in this MASSIVE (I mean, TWO MILLION ACRES massive), gorgeous place.
America's first national park
Don't molest the animals
The thermophile bacteria in these hot spring pools all over the park create gorgeous colors
Fishing hole geyser cone
More gorgeous thermal hot springs
Stopped the car and slowly inched around the bison ... this was incredible to experience so close.
More bison
Sulfur mud volcano
The sulfur canyon is super acidic ... pH 2
The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone with upper and lower waterfalls of the yellowstone river
Bison crossing the river ... SO amazing to see! When they reached the deeper part, they almost disappeared in the water and then reappeared near the shore. Ian was laughing
Beginning to set up our camp in the Grant Village (southern part of the park)
REI Half-Dome Plus tent
Our Marmot sleeping bags ... rated down to 15 degrees F. Good thing we got these ones since it ended up dropping below freezing at night! 24F, but we survived quite comfortably with extra blankets on top
First try of our BioLite stove. For those who don't know, check out their website. It captures the heat from your fire to turn a fan which funnels in extra air into the fire for a cleaner, more complete combustion of the flame. This means much less smoke, no need to carry fuel (just use sticks you find along your hike), and also allows you to charge a USB powered device. Because the flame is burned more completely with the extra oxygen, it doesn't use as much fuel (i.e. wood) that traditional fires use. I can keep it going for hours with just a handful of twigs.
What I love most about this company, however, is that this is a real-world applicable technology. Most people in developing countries still cook with solid fuel which creates lots of smoke inside of homes - a huge health hazard. This company's technology has allowed those living in developing countries to continue using traditionally-available fuel sources, but improves the air quality and therefore the health of the people in their homes. Amazing job, and they deserve the awards they've received.
You can see the "swirl" of the flame which is the result of the extra oxygen being fanned in through the sides of the stove.
Cooked our chili so quickly! Dinner was chili with buffalo sausages and bread - yum!
Yet another sticker on my Nalgene water bottle :)
Old Faithful geyser
Yes, that is a WOLF right next to our car
Uncle Pat ... this one's for you! The US post office inside of the park in the mountains!
Travertine terraces, the result of calcium carbonate buildup from the water that flows out of the rocks here
Minerva terrace - depending on the time of year and season, this terrace could be water-filled and all different colors. For now, however, the water flow is low and the terraces are chalky white
If there's one thing you learn about yellowstone, it's the changing nature of this geothermal hotspot area ... year to year, different hot springs, geysers, and mud pots form, and they can also disappear just as quickly as the earth's plates continue to shift. Earthquakes can also change the underground "plumbing" of the waterways, so the landscape is always in flux.
Welcome to the Montana side of Yellowstone
Driving up and out of Yellowstone's northern arch entrance into Montana as we make our way up to Washington
Wildfires all over Idaho made the smoke so thick
Snoqualmie Pass ... a familiar sight here in the Cascade Mountains! That means we're less than 20 mins away from Seattle!
Beautiful cascade mountain range of Washington
Seattle! Amtrak's King Street Station for the train is the clock tower to the left
Now we take the quick ferry ride across Puget Sound to Bremerton!
Car loaded up, that was easy enough
We won 12 bucks for a $1 scratcher! woo hoo!
Driving the car onto the ferry, listening to my favorite radio station: 90.3 KEXP Seattle (another reason I'm glad to be back!)
Arrived in Bremerton ... staying on the peaceful Oyster Bay with our friend Anne
Looking for shellfish in the "backyard" of the house's waterfront
Manila clams, mussels, and we even found huge oysters!
If there's one thing I love about Washington it's how you can go from snow-capped rugged mountains to the water in less than 30 minutes. Everybody loves to complain about the rain but they've had more than 55 days of straight sunshine so far, and it's a gorgeous 75 degrees.
And if there's another thing I love about being back in Washington, it's the incredible farmer's markets and co-operative markets all over. For example, even on this side of the water there's the Central Market in Poulsbo with an AMAAAAZING japanese foods section! Of course they have the normal co-op stuff like hundreds of items in bulk (cereal, pastas, grains, etc)... I am so impressed:
Even some Japanese markets don't have this many types of Miso ! I was even able to find Natto from my parents' prefecture in Japan! Wow!
Daifuku and mochi!
Fresh tortillas being made
We have also been house hunting here in Bremerton but I think we've already found the place we like. Options are a bit limited in Bremerton, but we were able to find a nice 2-bedroom, two story townhouse near the water - it would be a good, quiet place to study with plenty of sunshine. Put our application in, so hopefully we'll hear back on Monday with a yes.
In the meantime we are enjoying kayaking in Oyster Bay, eating huckleberry pie before the season is up, and BBQ'ing outdoors with a nice campfire going here at our temporary home with Anne. So much greenery around, the smell of the salt water, and Washington's amazing fresh food bounty ... after this incredible summer running around everywhere, it's good to be home.
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