The Final Post

Post Trip

It is hard to put into words the effect a trip like this can have on someone. It was life changing and has brought new light to the way we view our country. We had some great experiences and only a few not so great, which turned out to be great stories in the end. We experienced new towns and saw different ways of living than our own.

Here are some things we accomplished:

Didn't kill each other.
Didn't get attacked by a bear.
Went to 5 National Parks (skipping 2 due to weather :( ).
Drove through 17 different states (although we only drove about 10 miles into Michigan to get Subway).
Visited 13 breweries.
Drove over 7,000 miles.
Got 4 new tires and an oil change.
Made 3 camp fires (although they were all on the same night).
Didn't take many showers.
No speeding tickets or car crashes.
Only one minor injury (Lauren was learning how to use a hatchet).
Saw bison, big horn sheep, a ton of cows, prairie dogs, rabbits, ground squirrels, burrowing owl, bears, moose, elk, deer, Icelandic horses, a ton of sheep(not as many as cows though), a fox standing on a hay bale, a coyote, a few goats, and lots of dogs. 
Camped 8 nights, 3 nights in a yurt, and all other nights in a hotel.

The sound track to our trip was:

SiriusXM - 90s Rock, Classic Rock, Bluegrass, and Blues
The Dirty Life on Farming, Food, and Love by Kristin Kimball
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Beers we came home with:

A LOT

This trip has given us a new appreciation for Vermont and what a great state it is to live in. One of the best parts about coming home is seeing our little boy, Scooter, who we missed so much.

And after all this...we're still in love!

Day 26

Day 26

The last day.

We left early from the hotel since we had the longest drive in our trip ahead of us. We stopped in Rochester, NY to check out a large beer store and to get some lunch. After picking up some more beer to take home, we found that a Wegmens was just around the corner, so we went. It was very exciting since we hadn't been to one in years.

As the Green Mountains came into view, we got more and more excited to get home. Once we crossed over Lake Champlain, the smells told us we had finally made it back to Vermont. Seeing Camel's Hump and Mt Mansfield, it reminded us how these mountains may be small, both being around 4,000 ft in elevation, but they are our mountains and we love them. To put that in perspective, most of the mountains we saw out west were around 8,000 to 10,000 ft in elevation, with a few getting close or over 14,000 ft in elevation.

We finally made it home around 9pm to a hot house that had been closed up for almost 4 weeks. We dragged everything out of the car to finally give it a rest and enjoyed a good nights sleep in our own bed.

Day 25

Day 25

Happy 4th of July!

Well this day was pretty boring. We drove from Madison to Cleveland and not much happened other than having a really awkward bartender at the hotel bar; granted we were the only ones there, so he probably felt the need to chat it up. We also finished the last of the audio books we had for the trip.

Wanting to get on the road early, we didn't venture out to see any fireworks. We did hear something that could have been fireworks, but could have also been thunder since there was a fairly large storm rolling through the area.

Tomorrow, HOME!

Day 24

Day 24

Today we decided to go to State street, which is a popular destination. It is a pedestrian only street, lined with shops and restaurants. We stopped into a handful of shops as we walked in the crazy heat to cool off in the AC. One store was really cute, and we got a postcard and a shirt from there. Walking by the shops you can tell a lot about the city. It had a very similar vibe to Portland, OR but less weird, and reminded us a little of Burlington, VT and Portland, ME.

For lunch we got a brat at State Street Brats. An obvious college go to with the University of Wisconsin only a few blocks away and with an obvious party vibe. Still, it was a great lunch with good beer, having New Glarus on tap made us talk momentarily about moving here. We got over that though...

Bar at Brasserie V

For dinner we checked out a highly rated place called Brasserie V - a little of Belgium on Monroe Street. It reminded us of one of our favorite places in Vermont called Bobcat, very small, cozy, and with a long wait. We were finishing our first round of beers and were about to head out, and just then we got a seat at the bar. With it's handful of taps and amazing bottle list, it was hard to pick the next round; but we went with a Cantillon, a Belgium brewery highly sought and hard to find in the US. After an awesome cheese plate we had some sliders next that were just perfect, each having their own twist. The Malt house was the last stop, before heading to bed. Cleveland is tomorrow and our trip is basically over.

Day 23

Day 23

We woke up early today, to make our way to Madison, WI. We took a small detour in St Paul, MN to check out a beer store and pick up some Minnesota and Midwest based beers that we can't get on the east coast. While we were there we asked the very helpful guy at the store for a lunch recommendation. He pointed us to the Happy Gnome. It was on the way so we checked it out. Not only did we have some great beer there, it was one of the best meals of the trip! After that we got into Madison to check in and prepare for tomorrow, which will be dedicated to walking around and checking out Madison some more.

Day 22

Day 22

You can see the cow off in the distance

As we got into our car and checked the weather for the day, we saw not only was it 92 degrees already at 9am, but that the low for where we were going to camp was 84 degrees. We decided that was a bit too hot for camping so we drove straight to Fargo, ND.

Both Montana and North Dakota were pretty boring to drive through (and hot), but we did see these odd huge sculptures. We got a picture of the cow and there was also a buffalo, a crane, and a weird eye thing with geese flying around it.

Cow up close

Since we got to Fargo a day early, we decided to drive to Madison tomorrow and spend the whole day in Madison the day after that.

Day 21

Day 21

We woke up to a beautiful blue sky. On our way out of Glacier we tried to take a few more pictures since the day before was so gloomy. After that, we went on our way to Billings, MT.

The drive was pretty uneventful, other than being hot. When we got into Billings we checked in and then went out for dinner at Montana Brewing Company. The beers were pretty good and so was the food. One beer that stuck out to us was their Oatmeal Pale Ale. You usually think of Oatmeal with Stouts, but this was a pretty tasty beer.

Tomorrow we'll continue heading east to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Day 20

Day 20

Snow pack at Logan Pass

Today we drove the "Going to the Sun Road". It was a beautiful drive on a not so beautiful day. As we climbed higher and higher the temperature dropped and the snow pack grew. We hit some construction along the way which made the drive longer  so we got to camp at Rising Sun in the afternoon. Our drive took us through Logan Pass where we were originally thinking of doing a hike to Hidden Lake, but the trail was still covered in snow and we didn't pack our cramp-ons.

Our first stop was Sunrift Gorge where we saw a Grizzly bear. Since the bear was on the other side of the small gorge we were able to see it much closer than most people can view a bear while still being safe. After the excitement we took a short walk to Baring Falls and then another walk to St Mary falls. We ended our exploring at Sun Point which is a beautiful lookout over St Mary Lake.

St Mary Falls

Saint Mary Lake

After dinner cleanup we went to the Ranger Program. Tonight's was pretty unique / cheesy. It was called music of the park and consisted of a ranger putting poetry about the park to music. David wasn't impressed, but Lauren got into it especially when he began playing the guitar behind his head. She is so easily impressed. We topped the night off with another round of s'mores. This time we cheated and just used the camp stove, but they were still delicious!

On the "Going to the Sun" Road

Day 19

Day 19

Avalanche Lake

The sun was shining! After stopping at the visitor center for some info and another stamp in our passports we were off to the campground to claim our site for the night. We set up camp and packed a lunch to take with us on our hike to Avalanche Lake. It was a nice gentlte up hill to a beautiful clearing and a bight teal lake at the bottom of the mountains with lots of waterfalls cascading down. As we arrived some people pointed us in the direction of a moose relaxing in the grass on the otherside of the lake. We settled down on a rock with a beautiful view for lunch.








After lunch David went exploring the banks of the lake while Lauren soaked up the sun on the rock. On our way back down the trail we were greeted by a small deer walking right up the trail towards us.

Back at camp we decided today was the day we would make our first camp fire and of course some s'mores. We drove to the general store to buy some over priced supplies. After dinner we began to build our fire. Our first attempt resulted in smoking logs with no real flame. We tried a few other things that were unsuccessful so we went to chat with the campground host. We borrowed a hatchet and a few pieces of kindling. Lauren attempted to cut the wood into smaller pieces which took quite a long time but she was able to do it, not before cutting the tip of her finger however. Attempt number two was a success and the first round of marshmallows were toasted, but as David went to put another log he bumped the "teepee" and the fire went out almost as quickly as it had started. We had one more log so we decided to give it one last try. This time we had fire until it was bed time.

Day 18

Day 18

It was sad to leave family this morning, but we were very excited about our destination, Glacier National Park. We spent a long time in the card and sadly hit a good amount of construction, but it was interesting to watch the landscape change as we drove farther away from western Washington. It began to look like a brown desert in eastern Washington, but became green again as we approached Glacier. We finally got to the park and checked into our "sweet" motel room on McDonald Creek in the Apgar Village.

Days 16-17

Days 16-17

Das Round Haus

We had a great time visiting Dee & Josh on the farm in Leavenworth, WA. We arrived our first night wary of the yurt, but grew to love Das Round Haus (kick). It was fun to visit with all the animals on the farm including seven dogs, sheep, ducks, cats, and horses. We even saw a bald eagle, living in a nest right across the river. We also got to hear many cows for better or worse.

Even though the weather was soggy we got to see many beautiful sights on our walks and drives in the town. We went for a wonderful walk in the woods along the river even as we sported our umbrellas.

Rudy & Ovie

Beautiful sights are not all to be had in Bavaria, however. We also enjoyed lots of great food and beverage. Brats, crepes, tiny tacos, and tastings of nuts, cheeses, cured meats, sweets, olive oils, and vinegars were just some of the yummy delights we had in this great land. Our last night was spent at the local brewery, Icicle. David scored a sweet mug and we enjoyed their tasty brews.

Day 15

Day 15

Today we explored downtown Seattle. We headed out to Pike Place Market. On our way we stumbled upon a LGBT Pride Parade. This was unexpected but fun and it was nice to see so many people lining the streets in support. After finding an opening in the parade route to cross the street we made it to the market. We saw lots of amazing fruits, vegetables, seafood, and of course some fish throwing. We strolled around the streets and found a gift for Scooter at a local pet shop. Before leaving town we had lunch at Pike Brewing Companying. It was a great lunch with great food and beer. We even left with a full growler and lots of Pike schwag. Next stop Bavaria and family.

Day 14

Day 14

After a soggy night we packed up and made our way into Olympic National Park and the Hoh rain forest. We stopped to see some gigantic trees and took a short walk through the forest to see the many different types of moss and other vegitation. We also saw a huge slug.





 Still being rained on we decided to skip the northern part of the park and head back to Seattle. We found a great bar with 160 taps and enjoyed a few rounds of tasters. Lauren had a hankering for seafood so we went on a quest to find the perfect restaurant. After a  few false starts we ended up at Cutters down by the Puget Sound and as we enjoyed our meals Mt. Rainier made an appearance. As the sun went down it reflected off the glacier and changed it from bright white to orange to pink.

Day 13

Day 13

We woke up today to our first day of real rain. We set out on our way to Mt. Rainier, but as we got close the rain came down harder. As we neared, the large mountain could not be seen. We decided to turn around and head to Seattle instead. We stopped for lunch at Hopvine up the hill from downtown Seattle, a place Lauren had visited once with her sister. Having a reservation for the night at a camp ground in Olympic National Park we didn't have much time so we made a plan for stops along our way to the coast. David scored some Russian River beers at a beer store in Olympia and we both enjoyed a pint at Fish Tale Brewery.

We got into the camp site and setup our rain tarp with greater success than before. After a quick dinner, aka pb&j, we walked down to the beach where David touched the Pacific for the first time. Under our tarp out of the rain we enjoyed a home brewed cider that made it's way from coast to coast, before calling it a day.

Day 12

Day 12

Cascade Brewing Barrel House

Maple Bacon Donut

Day two in Portland had its ups and downs. We started the day at the crack of dawn with an oil change. The good part was that we found a place down the road to get good coffee and breakfast sandwiches. The bad part was that they told us we would need to get new tires soon and when asked if we could make it back to VT, their facial expressions said it all. We drove back to the hotel and decided to hoof it to the SE district to check out a few local breweries on that side of the river. First stop Cascade Brewing. Amazing pickles and not just cucumbers, any veggie you can think of they have probably pickled. Oh and amazing beer too! Our favorite is the Sang Noir, a sour beer aged on cherries, yum. Next was Hair of the Dog where we had their tasters. Today was the day for chores so we went back to the hotel to do laundry before dinner. Dinner was nothing to write about but the night was saved with a stop at Voodoo Doughnuts.

Day 11

Day 11

The bulk of today was driving. We got into Portland in the afternoon, and all setup in our super fancy hotel with valet parking (A first for both of us). Once we got settled we hit the town running. We made it to 4 different breweries: Tugboat, Deschutes, Rogue, and Rock Bottom. We enjoyed a few of the beers, didn't like a couple, but overall had a good time. Tomorrow is more Portland.

Day 10

Day 10

After eating some breakfast burritos we packed up and headed for Boise. On our way out of the park, we got to see our first bear of the trip, but it was only a small grizzly bear cub. Lots of people were around watching and the Rangers closed the road for a little while, so the cub could cross at it's leisure. Then we were on the road to Boise.

Once we got into Boise we checked into our hotel room and immediately took showers. We ventured downtown to check the scene. We struck out at our first stop which bad service, but then found a great place called Bittercreek Ale House. It had 40 taps and some good food. We spent a few hours there, tasting beers from the west coast and enjoying a meal not made on a camp stove. Next up Portland!

Day 9

Day 9

Well, no bears, and that's a good thing. We waved goodbye to Yellowstone and said good morning to Grand Teton. We drove down through the park to Jenny Lake campground which is said to be the most popular and got one of the last few open sites. After setting up camp we drove to the visitors center to plan our day. On our way back to our site our car began to make a terrible screeching / grinding sound causing everyone in the campground to look at us funny. We instantly thought the worst. After consulting our neighbors across the way (who happened to be from Brattleboro, VT) we thought we might need new brakes. We got the number for the Subaru dealership in Jackson Hole. After speaking to them we felt much better. Turns out it was probably only a stuck rock. We tried to put the car out of our minds and enjoy our day at Teton.

We took the boat across Jenny Lake in the rain, but thankfully it stopped raining as we got to the other side. We hiked up to Hidden Falls and then on to Inspiration Point. The falls were a little chilly on this rainy and windy day, but still very cool. Once we got to Inspiration Point we could really take in the mountains up close and look far off into the valley. We headed down to the dock a different way and tried to keep up our conversations as we went so we could let the bears know we were there. Once back at camp we took the car for a drive and everything seemed fine. Phew!
 

It was raining off and on the rest of the day, so we decided to setup a tarp over our tent. This being our first attempt at this, things got interesting and we ended up with a very interesting sight. Hopefully we will not need to do this again.

Day 8

Day 8

We ventured south in Yellowstone today. Our first stop was to see Old Faithful, which of course was on time. We made our way down to camp at Lewis Lake. On the way we got into a traffic jam with some bison trying to cross the road.

After setting up camp at a campground with no running water, but free registration, we traveled back north to West Thumb. The thermal features up against the lake and mountains was surreal. The snow capped mountains got us excited for the Grand Tetons. At one point we could even see them far off in the distance. We drove around a lot today and saw many elk. We are huddled in our tent, safe from the mosquitoes, looking forward to entering Grand Teton National Park tomorrow.

Day 7

Day 7

Artist's Point

After getting coffee at a general store with very nice owners we went to explore the Canyon Region. The area was breath taking with two waterfalls and a colorful canyon that the Yellowstone River winds through. You could really see why this is called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and why it is the photographed and painted the most out of any sight in the park.

We picnicked along the Yellowstone River and them made our way to the Norris Region. Once you got passed the sulfur smell there were many sights and colors to be seen. We walked along the Porcelain Basin where we saw lots of geysers, hotspots and mud volcanoes. What a different world.
 

Then we made our way to Madison Region to set up camp. That night, after bear proofing our camp site, we went to the Ranger Program about fire in Yellowstone. We learned a great deal, especially about the fire that happened in 1988, and how that large fire might not have been a bad thing.

Day 6

Day 6

We packed up camp this morning and headed to Wall Drug (think South of the Border style place) for breakfast. We filled up on homemade donuts and 5 cent coffee. As we traveled on I-90 West we decided to take a detour to see Mount Rushmore. We didn't go all the way to the park, but snapped some photos at a pull-off before heading back to the highway. It was smaller than we thought, but we were still impressed by it. Then we were on our way to Yellowstone National Park.

We decided to head towards the northeast entrance to the park which took us on Rt 212 through Custer National Forest. Little did we know this would be the scariest road either of us had ever driven on. We climbed switch back after switch back to over 9,000 ft of elevation through Bear Tooth Pass. At one point the snow-pack was much higher than our car and on the way it began to flurry. At one point Lauren began to worry and discuss a plan B, but David stayed positive and said we would get there, and we did.

We arrived in Yellowstone later than we had hoped so we made our way straight to our cabin at Roosevelt. We didn't stop, but saw many Bison in the valley as we made our way through.

We got settled in our little cabin after taking showers :) and started a fire for the night.

Day 5

Day 5

 This morning we embarked on our first hike. We did the Medicine Root Trail Loop. It was nice to get out of the car and see the landscape up close. We were able to see many varieties of vegetation and animal tracks. Right before we started the hike we saw a mother deer and her two babies; we knew it was going to be a good day.









After our hike we went back to camp for lunch and then got into our car to drive to some of the outlook points. On our drive we saw some spectacular views and LOTS of wildlife. First we saw some big horn sheep on top of a mountain ridge. Next we drove to the prairie dog town. We saw lots of funny prairie dogs along with TONS of bison. As we were watching them a herd of bison began to run up from the valley and sprint across the road in groups. We saw many large bison and quite a few baby bison as well :) So cute! As we were driving away an owl perched on one of the signs and looked right at us as if to say "Take my picture!". So we did and then headed back to camp for our last night in the Badlands.

Day 4

Day 4

Today we arrived at our first National Park, the Badlands in South Dakota. Not before stopping to see the world's only Corn Palace however. It sure was corny! It was odd but the mosaics that cover the building are actually very impressive.

After our short detour we gassed up for our trip into the park. First impression, HOT. The sun simply feels hotter here, but with a cool breeze we were able to take in the sights relatively comfortably. After stopping to take our first round of pictures we made our way to camp. It was a bit of an adventure putting up the "ol' tent". It only took us two tries. We ventured out again to a few more lookouts and small trails. We couldn't believe that after the downpours in the area the night before the land could look so dry. We are looking forward to our first camp meal, taco burritos which will have to be made in between the gust of wind. We are hoping for a beautiful sunset and cooler weather tomorrow.

Day 3

Day 3

With blue skies and a cool breeze, we are on the road again. After some planning the night before we realized we had a few extra hours to play with today. We made a plan to travel an hour south of Madison to New Glarus, WI; a Swiss town in the middle of nowhere. We arrived just as the New Glarus Brewery was opening. Driving up the road we were greeted by a huge castle like building, aka the brewery. After stopping to take a few happy snaps
we ventured inside for a tour and some tastings. This was the most intricate brewery we have seen with massive fermenters, piping everywhere, and a bottling machine that was moving so fast. We really enjoyed the beer, especially because  you can't buy it outside of Wisconsin. We liked it so much that we bought some bottles for camping and some New Glarus swag.

We traveled off the beaten path through Iowa and into Minnesota crossing the mighty Mississippi River. Most of our scenery along the way was dotted with cows of all different colors, shapes, and sizes. Our favorites were those that we thought our dog Scooter would like to meet. We also saw tons of wind farms. Wow are those things big!

We made it to Sioux Falls, South Dakota and more importantly to the local grocery store, the HyVee, to gather our food for the next few days. Badlands National Park here we come! Hello beautiful sights, goodbye comfy hotel beds.

Day 2

Day 2

Today we headed to Madison. On our drive we saw a few interesting things, like a car shaped like a GIANT LL Bean boot. We also saw a huge Weber grill being pulled by a moving truck; it was bigger than our car! And we saw this, which can be found in Loves Park, Illinois:

We made good time to Madison, so we were able to go downtown and see a few places. First we walked around the Capital building and found a cozy little bar called The Rigby where we enjoyed good music and good local beer. Next we headed to the Malt House. David had an awesome Stout aged on Wisconsin cherries from New Glarus. Lastly we stopped for dinner at the Great Dane Pub and enjoyed some tasters of their beer - we weren't impressed compared to the beers earlier in the day.

We've spent a lot of time in the car and we are ready to get out and explore. One more day of driving, to Sioux Falls South Dakota, and then onto Badlands!

Day 1

Day 1

After some final bits of packing we were able to embark on the first leg of our trip relatively on time. First stop coffee and sustenance, next stop Cleveland. Although small animals, shredded tires, and other cars tried their hardest to delay us we made it into Ohio in good time. Not before ten plus hours in the car began to wear on us however. David was challenged by road signs, exit number, and the words left and right while I began to make up songs about bathroom and food needs that rang out high above our bluegrass tunes. We stopped for dinner at a place called The Brew Kettle where we enjoyed some BBQ, beers made there, and some well known beers from the Midwest that we can't get at home. Next up Madison!