288,000 milestone

It seems like just yesterday that we were in the Hickory Notch Grill drinking beer and watching the United States stick it to Ghana in the first round of the World Cup, but all of a sudden it is August and Sven has logged nearly 10,000 miles, two new tires, numerous road side repairs, fuse zapping dirt roads, and a summer that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Since the last post from the McDonald's in Idaho, we made our way to Boise to play some frisbee golf (frolf) at an off-season ski resort, and began our travels along the northern border of Oregon. Following the Columbia River, we basically followed the route Lewis and Clark took toward the Pacific. We are now back in Washington, and have mostly been "glamping" (fancy camping) in the national forests around some of the states most iconic peaks--St. Helens and Mt. Hood. 

Froth

Sunset in Boise

Mt. Hood as a backdrop

Mt. Hood at sunset

It had been about a week since our last shower, so a cold mountain stream running off of Mt. Hood fit the bill.

After staying one night in the foothills of Mt. Hood we made our way to Mt. St. Helens. You have probably heard of the devastating eruption of this active volcano in the late 80s, but actually being there it was amazing to see how the landscape was drastically changed. We also took some time to visit the observatory where we learned about the people who were closest to the eruption.

Coldwater Lake is actually one of the newest lakes in the United States and was created after a landslide dammed Coldwater creek.

 Mt. St Helens

 This whole area was covered in ash after the eruption, but snowmelt and established streams have reestablished new water routes.

After St. Helens, we met up with Julia for a 3-day backpacking trip in Olympic National Park

 Julia was the hit of the bridge

 Oh just Jesse and Julia playing with matches

 After walking about 4 miles in the wrong direction, we eventually made it to Appleton pass, where we swam in a glacier lake and fell asleep before the sun went down.

Although our trip is coming to an end, we certainly have places that we want to revisit in the future, and Olympic is certainly a place I want explore further.