I am excited for so many things to come during this adventure, but of course the most exciting is going to be experiencing the beautiful locations and nature around us. We have an elaborate plan as to how exactly we’re going to travel these six states and they’re amazing natural wonders.
We would like to keep things as spontaneous as we can, knowing that we are never on a timed schedule so we can slow down and really soak in every moment. Though we have a detailed plan, we are open to new ideas along the way.
We currently reside in Spokane, WA. Coming this May, we will work our way down to the Mt. Saint Helens Ape Caves. We will stay in Portland, OR for a week or so while we explore Lower Lewis Falls, Ponytail Falls, Oneonta Falls, Latourell Falls, Elowah Falls and Mahclella Falls and the Columbia River Gorge. These seems like quite a bit of waterfalls, but each of these are followed by beautiful nature hikes.
From there, we will move down to Bend, OR, where we plan to stay for several weeks, travelling to Drift Creek Falls, Opal Creek, Silver Falls State Park, Cougar hot springs, Tumalo Falls, which leads to a beautiful small, incredibly blue pool, the Painted Hills and Proxy Falls.
On our way downward, we will also see Toketee Falls and Crater Lake before we move towards the coast to the Oregon Caves and Boardman State Park. After this, we will enter California, where we will stay in Crescent City for about a week, exploring the Redwood Forest.
Next, we will move towards Central Valley, CA, where we plan to also stay several weeks while adventuring these beautiful waterfalls, Mossbrae Falls, Burney Falls, Whiskeytown Falls and Subway Cave and Lassen Volcanic National Park. From there, we will move south to Lake Tahoe, spanning off to Yosemite National Park, Mono Lake, Rainbow Falls and Devil’s Postpile.
Then we will head west to Big Sur, CA, where we will get time on the beautiful coast and see Pfeiffer Beach and Mcway Falls, where the sand turns a brilliant lavender at sunset. We will stay here for several weeks before moving on to our next destination, the Sequoia National Park, to Death Valley, then crossing over to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Neither of us have been to Las Vegas since we have turned 21, this will be a fun experience for us both. But you would be surprised how beautiful Las Vegas is outside of the casinos. There we will stay several weeks exploring the Valley of Fire, Gold Strike Hot Springs, Big Falls and First Creek Waterfall.
Arizona is real close by, we will venture off to Grand Canyon and see many incredibly beautiful waterfalls as well as deserts, including Rock Falls, Beaver Falls, Havasu Falls, Mooney Falls, Grand Falls, The Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, Antelope Canyon and of course the Grand Canyon.
After this, we will begin to head up north again, but by no means does the adventure end. We will head up to Utah to see Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon, we will be staying in Junction for about a week to see some other nearby locations.
After that, three hours north is Salt Lake City, where we will stay a few weeks and see Stewart Falls, Cataract Gorge, Upper Provo Falls and Grotto Falls.
Another three hours north is Twin Falls, Idaho, where we will travel to Shoshore Falls, Deadman Falls, Cauldrin Linn Falls and Malad Gorge State Park.
Only an hour up is Boise, where we’ll also see Jump Creek Falls, Kirkhas hot springs and Gold Fork hot springs.
Technically, this is the last of our trip. We have several road maps of every state with every destination pin-pointed, as well as the time and miles it will take to travel to these locations, which on average is only three hours from one city to another.
There are so many other destinations I wish we could see in these states, but we must plan smart. I am also sure that we will find more excursions in every place, upon asking the local tourist information places.
This may all seem like a lot, it may all seem impossible, expensive or risky. But life is not meant to be spent in one comfort zone, or behind a desk right out of college, this is the message I wish to teach to everyone who responds to this with, “I wish I could do that.”
We must realize within ourselves that there is more to our lives than what we experience every day, and we must go out and find what it is that really makes us happy. This will not be the same for everybody, as it shouldn’t. We are meant to challenge ourselves and the role of which we play on this Earth, what sets us apart from one another.
I think we will always surprise ourselves with all the things that we can do that we believed we never could. Not one person can tell me that I will fail, and if they do, then they don’t understand passion and the power of the mind.
In my next entry I will explain exactly how we are financially planning this adventure. I will explain every step until I leave and every exploration on the road. <3
