Our travels have taken a different path. As most of you know I am driving as many miles as I can in a day to get myself home. The days are long and exhausting, but I am not complaining... I just need to get home to be with my family! These photos were taken as we were driving through Montana and North Dakota.
Today we went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge & Lighthouse Park in North Vancouver. First off this bridge is over 140 meters long and rocks like a small dingy on the Atlantic Ocean. If one gets sea-sick quick this is not the place to be. The more people that got on the thing, the more it rocked. J seemed OK with it and strutted as she always does, but me and Kath had a little bit more difficulty with it. The rest of the park was a series of canopy bridges that suspend from tree to tree. Next we went to Lighthouse Island. We had to walk a while and up big rocks to the viewing point, but the views were so worth it. You could see the city of Vancouver on the horizon and a huge snow covered mountain (Calgary) silhouettes behind it. Breathtaking.. Next we drove through Stanley Park and dropped Jaimie off with her bike as we toured. Tomorrow- Calgary
Today we took public transport (bus, water taxi, etc) to spend the day in the city. The city is beautiful. We walked to the famous Canada Place on the harbor where the docs have been built to replicate a cruise ship/cool. A few blocks west were the 2010 Olympic Games Caldron. As I stood in front of this now quiet and visibly lifeless structure I could still feel the excitement that goes along with the games. Clearly an awe-inspiring experience. .. Afterward we picked up a water taxi to Granville Island. It is nestled under the Granville Street Bridge and offers much for such a small place. The island’s anchor is the Granville Island Public Market, where locals shop for fresh produce, baked goods, seafood, cheeses, meats and more: you get the idea. It was very similar to Pikes Place in Seattle. We also visited the Granville Island Brewery for a sample of the local brew before heading towards the beaches. Vancouver offers a great deal of culture and diversity. We will spend the day tomorrow at Stanley Park.
Today we met up with Jaimie, Tal and Shannon in Seattle city proper. The agenda for the day was to visit the Zombie Parade where thousands of Zombies were marching down the streets. Oh, the sights.... These people spent much time and $$$ to make themselves up like this. Even the dogs had fake blood all over them. Scary yet amazing. We also saw a huge Troll under the bridge of a highway. Seattle has an ordinance where a certain percentage of road projects have to include art of some form. In this case it was a Troll under the bridge. A visit to the famous Space Needle was also in order. The day was clear and the time was just as the sun was beginning to go down. The reflections on the water along with the phenomenal views made the perfect end to a perfect day.
Today we visited the underground-original city of Seattle before the big fire of 1889 that destroyed the lower half of the city. All in 12 hours. The tour offers a vague view of the cities history past and present. The tour is offered by a private tour company that pays the businesses above to tour below each business. It some areas it is a dumping ground for some of the remains of the fire before rebuilding to the next level (which they found was not successful either as it too was at or below sea level and the tides did what water does...) Anyways, there is said to be a ghost in the bank vault there, yet I didn't feel any creepier than usual in there. 
Olympic National Park is where you will find Pacific Ocean beaches, rain forest valleys and glacier-capped peaks. We, however did not see much of this. The fog was so thick at one point that we couldn't see in front of us more than 10 feet. I am sure you will agree that this is a very dangerous situation when you don't know the roads. We drove as high as we could and turned around. In the photos you can see the density of the fog. All was not lost however as we were able to see some black tailed deer which are common to this mountain and got a cool shot of the fog at the opposite end of the mountain tunnel. When we got to the base of the mountain we drove through the ocean front town of Port Angelis. This reminded me of an ocean side drive on the Cape in off-season. Quaint and old.
Today we went to Mount Rainier. Though located in a state with two mountain ranges, (the Cascades and the Olympic Range), Mount Rainier is known by locals simply and affectionately as, "The Mountain."It is approx. 14,411 feet high and towers 8,000 feet above surrounding Cascades peaks, such a behemoth that it creates its own weather. The mountain and the surrounding area is Mount Rainier National Park. The mountain at its base covers 100 square miles and ranks fifth in height of all mountains in the contiguous U.S.. 
Today we traveled out of Portland to Washington state. Our destination was Mount Saint Helen's. It is most famous for its catastrophic eruption in 1980, which was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. Many people, homes, Bridges, railways, etc. were destroyed. I am certain that we all remember this. The eruption caused a massive debris avalanche, reducing the elevation of the mountain's extensive summit and replacing it with a 1 mile wide horseshoe-shaped crater. As we drove up the mountain we hoped that the sky would clear so we would have a better view of this powerful mass, but visibility was limited. We saw an exhibition in the visiros center that really put hings in perspective for us.
As all of you know, I love a beautiful landscape. We visited the Washington Park Rose Gardens in Portland Oregon. I have seen many in my years but never have I seen such an an abundance of absolutely beautiful roses in my life. There were gardens of the old standby varieties and the experimental up-and-coming varieties. Acres of them... The sun was at about 4 PM so not exactly great for photos but the views and aroma were outstanding.
As we continue north on route 101 on the beautiful Oregon coast, we drove through many small villages. The scenery was breathtaking and we needed to stop to stretch our legs so we parked and walked around the town of Canon Beach. The beach is recognized by its well-known landmark, Haystack Rock. This igneous rock has an elevation of 235 feet, and is accessible at low tide. Near Haystack Rock are the Needles, two tall rocks rising straight out of the water.
The Oregon Coast has about 320 miles of sandy and rocky shoreline and contains a wealth of habitats such as sand dunes, coastal rocks and sand spits that provide breeding and haul-out sites for seals and sea lions. We stopped at Sea Cave on the coast where we took an elevator down to an area where we entered a cave. There were literally hundreds of sea lions perched on rocks, barking as if they were dogs. I have never seen so many of these in one place as we did here. After we left that area we walked a bit to another seaside area where the sea lions were basking in the sun awaiting for the tide to come in. They looked like a bunch of brown dogs lying in the sun.
After leaving an absolutely spectacular campsite (if one could call it that) last night we headed off toward Crater Lake National Park. It wasn't far from where we were (maybe 175 miles or so) but so worth it. I was shocked at the amount of snow that was there. It was higher than the motor home which is 12feet high! We traveled up the mountain and stopped to see the absolutely spectacular showing of nature from this volcano. Tomorrow we will detour towards the northern tip of CA where the largest redwood trees are in the US. After that... who knows...
The Grand Tetons are located in northwestern Wyoming, The landscape is spectacular and the view is rich with majestic mountains, pristine lakes and extraordinary wildlife. The abrupt vertical rise of the jagged Teton Range contrasts with the horizontal sage-covered valley and glacial clear lakes at their base, creating world-renowned scenery that is only appreciated if seen in person. I had no idea... It is just as you see on postcards. We saw more animals in Yellowstone NP, but the Tetons were absolutely awesome non-the-less. You be the judge...
Oh ya, can we say that this is awesome? Yup, it is. We arrived to see the predictable and spectacular view of the famous geyser. Me, Kath and J sat and waited, and it was obviously going to do some sort of regurgitation at some point, but when was not as predicable as they say. While we were waiting a Bison just moseyed on through the area as if we weren't even there. They are humongous and, in my opinion, ugly! Spectacular to see though! After driving through Yellowstone for a couple days (with a rental car and J at the wheel) Jaimie is less than impressed with these enormous animals. They often parade down the streets and block traffic for hours. The bears were less friendly but an awesome sight. We saw: Black Bear, Elk, Wolf, Bison, American White Pelicans, Bald Eagles, Trumpeter Swans, Mule Deer and Moose. There are obviously more animals in there than that, but that is what we saw. I love nature and this park was absolutely wonderful. The high altitude was a bit challenging but worth the discomfort.
For as many years as I can remember, I have always wanted to see the infamous Yellowstone National Park. Well today the dream became a reality. After a stop at the "Old West" type town of Cody (thanks Nanna Flash). Wild Bill Cody was well know in my generations a a gun slinging cowboy. The Irma Hotel in Cody was just that... A walk back n time. Due to the bad weather we opted to tour the hotel/cafe. Without disappointment I might add. The original bar is an extensive cherry wood bar donated by Queen Elizabeth. The place was packed at 11:50 AM. We were going to have lunch on the outside porch but the weather was like something out of the "worst of the weather channel". 
We have all seen the photos of Mount Rushmore: Well the actual sculpture is a spectacular display of what man can do with a few basic tools. You be the judge... Next we move on to Crazy Horse. This is a partially completed monument carved into the mountain that was less than impressive. Possibly when it is finished, but not a place i would recommend going to for a long time. Next was Custer State forest. The experience of driving through this wonderland of nature can only be felt on a personal level. I love nature so it was an absolutely awesome sight. We saw much wildlife simply driving through the park. For example: Bison, bighorn sheep, deer, pronghorn, prairie dogs, and burrows. Many of which we were able to stop at roads side and see. As we were leaving the park one of the Bison actually was close to the exit. I got out to take a picture, of course, and the humongous thing started to quickly move towards me. RUN!!!! 
Well, all I can say is that this great country of ours never ceases to amaze me. We visited the Badlands today where people are drawn to its rugged beauty. The park’s 244,000 acres protect an expanse of mixed-grass prairie where we saw bison, bighorn sheep, deer, pronghorn, and prairie dogs. The most impressive was the extensive array of formations in which we were able to view and walk through.
