When I tell you that Michigan is a gem, I mean it was a gem. Across the board it has so much to offer - from nature to city life to rural towns, you really can't go wrong. The three weeks spent were full of joy, variety, busy-ness, and fun. I'll definitely be continuing my exploration of this gorgeous spot at a later date. This was a perfect place to start our goodbye to summer.

Our home base was located just outside Newaygo, MI, right on Croton Pond. It was a very small "resort" community, with a few different units and a lovely couple of hosts. We had access to the pond as the place provided kayaks, paddle boats and a dock. Our cabin was by far the smallest place we've stayed at on the trip (before and since) but given its large yard, pond, and being surrounded by trees, it felt cozy and comfortable, nonetheless. We were still able to cook and stretch out to enjoy shows in the evenings after it was dark. The doggies got to romp around, secured by their leashes to a tow line across our yard. There were many an evening spent sitting on the dock with a bottle of wine (and our wine-friendly tumblers) staring "into the void" and talking about life. It's safe to say that for both Aa and I, our souls feel most at rest near the water and in the sun. For me, throw in some trees and a mountain, and you've got a truly happy gal. You bet we hung up the hammock again too. This was a truly delightful way to spend the last long days of the year.

I am blessed to call the absolute loveliest ladies my friends. Two in particular made the trek out to Grand Rapids for a long girl's weekend. It was packed with laughter, heart-to-hearts, good food, better drinks and big, big smiles. Thanks so much for coming to see me 💖 P.s. this is when & where I fell in love with Bloody Mary's! See the best one to date in the photo below 🤤

I couldn't have said it better myself. From the moment I entered the city, I knew I was in for an experience that I'd become unfamiliar with - a bold, loud, active city. Being from Seattle, I am not stranger to the the hustle and bustle of traffic, pedestrians, noise, and so on of a big city. But, if you've been following along, you'll know that I haven't been inside one for several months. In fact, most of my trip has been in remote, nature dense areas, or small towns outside of major metro areas. As I was driving into the core, I felt myself overcome with anxiety. It was stressful to navigate the busy roads while also watching out for people crossing whenever they choose. I've spent half my life in California and half my life in Seattle, and let me tell you - Chicago has by far the worst traffic & pedestrian behavior I've ever encountered. Even at 12:30am, it was bumper to bump, active construction everywhere, and people running across 6 lane roads. WHY.

What I learned about St. Louis was - if you're not into sports or beer, there's not a lot going on. I tried, I really did, but the heat, humidity, and constant cicada alarms were all too much for me. St. Louis was a semi-last minute switch in the plan, because I couldn't find anywhere agreeable to stay in Milwaukee, and I'd be lying if I said I was glad for the change. Despite my general disinterest, I managed to get out and have a pretty good time.

It seemed only fitting that after hitting a milestone, back in mid-June, I should probably head back to Seattle 😋 After my visit to Rapid City, I decided to skip Sioux Falls fly home. Two of my closest friends were having moments and I felt compelled to return, even if just for a brief time. My intention was for both of these friends to be completely surprised, but one needed the news a little sooner than the other 💙

As of Rapid City, South Dakota, I crossed the center line of the US! This marks only 25% completion of the route, geographically, but still a milestone worth noting. I only spent a week here, with mostly specific sites I intended to visit. It's been one of the more unique and interesting spots so far for sure.

Skip to about the 1 min mark for the sound of a lightning bolt hitting the parking lot (not shown unfortunately) and me comforting Blue (and myself.)

Being from Washington state, I've been to my fair share of National Parks, State Parks, National Forests, etc. I was fortunate to be able to get out to the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park just a few weeks before I left, Mt. Rainier a few before that, and I spent time in North Cascades throughout college and the last handful of years.

It was only natural that I may visiting National Parks a main point of my travels. I don't plan to visit them all, but any that fall along my route or are not too far out of the way, I will absolutely be visiting.

During my first 6 weeks, I visited a different park every weekend! Here's the rundown...

The following weekend, I departed Missoula (sad face) and headed south to Victor, Idaho where I spent the weekend trekking back and forth Grand Teton NP!

Quick story before I dive into the park. During the drive, I had one of the scariest experiences of my life! Even though it was late May, the mountain passes between Montana and Wyoming were cold. Small detail about batteries, they do not do well in the cold. I had to fully charge Tesha 3 times (~300mi) and was nearly depleted between chargers, even though they were less than 150 miles apart. This sucked, but was not the scary part. On one particular pass, the higher I got, the lower the temperate. The coldest was about 23 degrees. The roads were only lighting covered with snow, but very incredibly icy. There were almost no other cars on the road, but I still had to drive very slowly. It was also snowing/sleeting and as soon as precipitation hit my windshield it would freeze. My windshield wipers crusted over with snow more than a handful of times, and I had to pull over and scrape it off so I didn't lose visibility completely. Mind you, I was dressed in leggings and Birks because it was 60+ degrees in Missoula. Anyone who drove by likely thought I had a death wish. So there I am, driving very slowly, watching my windows freeze over and my battery depleting quicker than I'd ever seen. Last thing I wanted was to get stranded in this scenario. Throughout the drive, I also lost traction a few times - something that is really hard to do in a Tesla. Granted, I was probably driving too fast for the conditions (no more than 40mph, but still). At one point, a small Uhaul truck sped past me on the left side, blasting my windshield with slush and grime. I could see and hear it crack and freeze almost immediately, right as I lost traction again. I say with no exaggeration that I was sure I was going to die. I screamed, white knuckled the steering wheel, leaned gently on the break and hoped for the best. Needless to say, I am very much alive, but I had to give the grim reaper a huge middle finger to get him off my back. Poor Blue was buried in his car seat under a blanket, and bless him, he was very consoling once I regained composure and dug him out of his hideout.

So anyway - I rolled into Victor, dropped Blue at his weekend getaway, and checked into my Airbnb. This time it was just an extra room in a house, given that I'd only be there two nights and gone most of the days. I snagged some food and promptly went to bed, a big next day ahead of me.

Jenny Lake is one of the most popular spots in Teton as it's easily accessible and beautiful. The first leg is a portion of the lake, plus two offshoots to Hidden Falls and Inspiration point. This segment of the trail was packed with people which is not ideal, but being alone in bear country doesn't feel great either, so I endured. After I finished the crowded areas, I continued around the lake. I only encountered a few people, but more importantly I encountered some cool wildlife. I'm disappointed to report that I did not see any Moose or Bear, but I did see some Bald Eagles flying around a burned tree, building a nest and soaring and diving around their space. It was nice to stop and watch them for a little while, enjoying the silence. I wrapped up the hike coming in at just under 9 miles. I drove into Jackson and found a dope spot with local beer and vegan pizza. My server saw my phone number on my reservation and we got to chatting about Seattle. He had the skyline tattooed on his arm and said he'd lived there for about 15 years. Homies!

Day 2 was rainy and shitty out, so a drive through the park felt like the right call. I turned on my favorite music, sang at the top of my lungs, and took it all in. A lot of the park was closed because it was early season still, but that made it nicer for me. The sun peaked out at various times, and I was actually able to get out and do another, short shoreline hike out at a distant visitor center. When I made it back to the park entrance, I picked up Blue and headed north again, back to Bozeman, MT. This was a stopover spot to hold me in place and give me a space to work until I went to Yellowstone the following weekend.

Finally, on my list of NW NPs is Yellowstone. This park is the most visited in the whole US and they do not have any crowd management solutions in place. I also went on Memorial Day weekend, in a semi-post-COVID time. I've been here before, in the winter, and had an absolutely incredible time - snowshoeing, watching the geysers, talking to Bison from afar, etc. This visit was nothing like that. It was basically Disneyland. I spent majority of my two days in my car, waiting in lines of traffic. I was fortunate to meet someone who worked in the park and we went for a walk around the Norris geysers at sunset. I got the full tour and local insights into the park. Outside of that, I ended my trip early because sitting in my car was not how I wanted to spend my day. On my way out of the park, I encountered a herd of Bison and spent a good hour watching them and taking photos. Truthfully, those two experiences still made the visit worth it. National Park Service, I beg you, please implement a res system for Yellowstone, or do like Denali does, and make the whole park a shuttle system!