Katie's uncle Don has been a bear ranger on an island off the coast of Juneau Alaska. We finally had a chance to go up and check it all out. Juneau is a beautiful state capital of about 30,000 people, surrounded by steep, steep mountains, and salt water of the Gastineau channel. We for camped out at the Mendenhall campground for several days and did several hikes in the mountains around Juneau, exploring the peaks and glaciers there. Camping in the rain every night was very different from the dry, California weather we had been used to, but it was still [View Full Entry]

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We had heard a rumor about a secluded swimming hole and a German beer garden in the mountains of Marin, and decided to see what all the fuss was about. Bass lake is a remote lake, at the end of a 2 and a half mile hike along the northern California coast. It is considered to be one of the best swimming holes in the country, and we could see why. The cool, clear, and deep water was very refreshing out hike, and a rope swing off one of the banks kept us busy for quite a while. After swimming, we [View Full Entry]

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For one of our first trips in California, we decided to head an hour south to the Santa Cruz mountains to check out some of the fantastic redwoods that grow along the coast. These trees do not drop pinecones, and can only sprout from other trees, so the groves of the largest trees are very rare indeed. Our friend Secor was in town, so he joined us for an afternoon of adventure! [View Full Entry]

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Peter's final day in Colorado was the 4th of July. His plane was leaving at 12:30 AM, so it gave us just enough time to watch the fireworks in Boulder, before heading to the airport to drop him off. We watched the fireworks from a hillside in the park up the street from our house. We were kind of far away, but we could see other town's fireworks in the distance all around us. [View Full Entry]

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Once again we headed up into the mountains for some camping and hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park. After we got our camp site set up, we took a hike up to see a few of the glacial lakes we had seen last time. The trail was completely unfrozen this time, which made the hiking easier, but the scenery was still just as magnificent. On day two we decided to hike up Flattop mountain. At 12,324 ft, it was the highest peak we'd ever climbed. The trail was about as long, and had about as much vertical gain as Mt. Washington, [View Full Entry]

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Our friend peter decided to visit on his way back from a rafting trip in Idaho. Once again we got a chance to show of the town to a new comer. [View Full Entry]

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On her way back to the east coast, after working in San Diego for the last six months, Adrienne decided to make a stop to see us in Colorado. Although she was only here for one day, it was nice to show her the sights around town, and we hope the A will come back and visit some other time. [View Full Entry]

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With all of our spare time out here, we decided to spend some time camping in nearby Rocky Mountain National Park. The park is about 45 minutes from Boulder, but it feels so much more remote. We stayed at an amazing campsite in a glacial valley, with views of snow covered peaks on two sides of us. We are definitely planning on returning to the park soon. [View Full Entry]

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On the 15th, we rolled into Boulder. Both of us were super impressed that the Subaru had held up so well (had to replace the muffler, as part of it fell off in Minnesota...just made for a noisy ride) and we were certainly grateful for that. Reflecting on the trip, we realized how awesome it was and how excited we were to see all that stuff. But nothing compares to being able to stay in one place for more than one night in a row and shower and go the fridge and get some food. The past week has been spent [View Full Entry]

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The Badlands was our destination after Minneapolis. After the most boring drive of the trip (and windiest!!) we ended up in some of the most beautiful territory we've ever seen. It was also incredibly different than anything we've ever seen. The first night, we stayed in a campground in the Badlands....but after torrent winds that shook our tent so badly we couldn't sleep, we gave up and slept in a hotel in Wall, South Dakota, home of Wall Drug, the next night. Wall Drug was pretty interesting, to say the least. We explored plenty of the Badlands and it was up [View Full Entry]

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