Monday, June 24, 2013

On the Road to Dreams





We still have a whole state and a half to adventure across before we hit Montana. The drive through Utah is beautiful and the 15-freeway has been Destiny friendly thus far. Even though our 22-re motor shuts off our overdrive over 4000 feet we have been cruising at 50-55 mph. It's a bummer that we don't have more time to explore these new states, we have have to start work in 3 days and have about 700 more miles to go. We bombed it from St. George, Utah up to Salt Lake City early Wednesday morning. I found a Sprouts and did some last minute stocking up. Jordan did some work at a Starbucks for Surgical Fibers and then we ate at Macaroni Grill with our gift cards from Mom and Marty. It was such a nice treat after a long day. Our bellies were full and happy so we decided to push onward even though it was already nine o'clock. We head north to a Walmart in Pocatello, ID. We took turns driving so we wouldn't get sleepy. As we were coming into Idaho I forgot to tell Jordan to get off and get gas at the last gas station for a while (bad co-pilot). Destiny had less than a quarter tank, which is about 3 gallons of gas. The drive was through a mountain pass, it was midnight, it was 29 degrees outside, no cell phone reception, and we forgot to fill up our spare gas tank. To say the least I was panicking and constantly looking at the gas gauge praying for a miracle. Jordan was confident and sure and continued on- promising we would make it and if we didn't that he would get out and walk the miles to the next gas station. We pulled into the gas station as the gas gauge needle went below the red indicator and a gas light we didn't even know we had came on. We took a deep breath, laughed, and thanked God! Guess I gotta check those maps better next time. Needless to say I downloaded an app as soon as we had service that locates and prices all the nearest gas stations.

We pulled into the Walmart parking lot in Idaho around two in the morning. It was dark and we were so anxious to see what Idaho looked like. We were excited to wake up in the morning and find out! 

Thursday morning we slept in a little bit and then continued to head north to Rexburg, ID. It would be the last Walmart we could stop at. In West Yellowstone, our new home for the summer, it is a very small town with no large grocery store companies and definitely no Walmarts. So we stocked up on everything we could carry then enjoyed our drive and the very beautiful scenery. It is so much greener here than a California girl could imagine. In my head it is a mix of Lake Arrowhead and Kauai. We don't get the ocean views unfortunately, but we still have the amazing shades of green and the huge trees that remind me of my childhood. 

From Rexburg we head farther north. Snow-capped mountains, rolling green hills, wildflowers, and farms filled our windows. We both just smiled, not saying much. This is beauty.... raw, untouched and natural. We loved every second of our drive. Destiny pulled up the last hill into Montana with ease! That in itself was a miracle. We started out our trip at nearly sea level and now we are at 6667 feet. She handled it like a champion.  As we pulled into our new town we were both full of smiles and curiosity as to what this summer might hold for us. We drove by our little RV spot, then headed into town to try and get our bearings and meet our new boss. The little trading company is awesome and full of every little trinket you could imagine; Huckleberry jam, wind chimes, shirts, shot glasses, mugs, coon skin hats, replica guns..... the list is endless. We wandered around a little bit and then headed back to the RV spot to get settled in. Jordan fell instantly in love with the field next to our house with pines trees and mountains draping across the background. It is just gorgeous up here. 

Friday morning we were woken up by the neighbors and our boss talking outside. She had got a cable man out to get us a DirectTV box! We feel so spoiled, we rarely ever have TV. But she is pulling out all the stops for us. Unfortunately in the madness of it all I hit my head inside of Destiny and sliced it open, so while the cable man was inside I hid in the bathroom trying to get it to stop bleeding. Luckily it wasn't super bad where I needed stitches but I am pretty sure I had some minor concussion. It left a big old bump and I had double vision for a week afterwards. I think the swelling was causing pressure on the part of my brain that is in charge of eye sight. It was quite an adventure trying to navigate a bike and check out the scenery while I am seeing two of everything that is not within 3 feet of my face. Jordan was so great and very patient with me! He wanted to explore so bad but I just wasn't up to it. We are adjusting to new allergens and the elevation. 
I am so glad that I packed some of our winter clothes cause man it is cold up here. The first week was in the 50's in the day and the 20's at night with scattered showers. Oh Montana! 

Well off to our first week at work, wish us luck!


First glance at the new job


Second week here..
The field across from our house










We love the fences here




Jordan out exploring








Coon Daddy
Coyote Kid


Don't mind if we do!
The trail right across from our house








We met a guy from LA... accidentally
all of us were REPRESENTING!
Nap time...


Jordan's favorite spot


Perfect day for reading
Perfection


First day of work
Face timing with Marley girl,
crazy how big she and how she can
communicate!
Brother giving us smiles over the phone
Telling us some crazy story.. love her love for life
Riding to work...
Just hanging out on Main Street




Poor Gumby.... he has battle scars! At least he
is loved
The nights are short here, so often times we see the sun rise and
set
Another gorgeous sun rise









Friday, June 21, 2013

Zion National Park


The farther north we go, the more excited we are becoming. Yellowstone wasn't just a random destination like some of our previous stops with Destiny. Montana has been on our minds for much longer... Even before Jordan and I were back together we each had our own plans of getting there. When we got Destiny we tried to buy our time until summer so we could escape to our dreams in Montana!

After our night in Joshua Tree we drove up through Vegas and stayed the night on the outskirts of town. The next morning I woke up early grabbed some coffee and headed north to Zion.

We got to Zion in the afternoon but we were determined to see it. This park has definitely been on our bucket lists for a while. It is about 30 minutes east of the 15 freeway and I absolutely loved the drive, especially right before we got to the entrance. There were the cutest neighborhoods and most amazing ranches nestled under the beautiful cliffs. It was a perfect retirement place. We found our way into the park and made some brunch before we headed in!

Because of our limited time we decided to take the free bus tour through the entire park and maybe choose one of the stops to hike around. This is the most visited National Park in America and it only has one two lane road throughout the whole park. For that reason you can't bring cars through, the traffic would be horrific! We were a little bummed at all the regulations, as we like more freedom in our wandering but it was still awesome!

We got off the bus at the very top of the canyon and just wandered up the path... Stopping in awe to capture the moment with a photograph.Jordan had fun taking some pictures, it's been a while since he's been behind a camera!

We hopped on the bus back and found a local restaurant to watch the Kings play! We called it an early night in a Walmart parking lot because we needed to get to Idaho within the next night so we could arrive in Montana a couple days before we started work.