In Jasper National Park

In Banff

Camping outside Banff

Canada

I had forgotten how beautiful Canada was until we crossed the border yesterday. Nothing could have made me happier than to see blue skies and white puffy clouds after having spent a couple of days breathing smoke from the forest fires. I like breathing in Canada. Fresh air smells really good.
Chrissy

Just across the border. Alberta, Canada

Camping in Glacier National Park

Last night we camped in Glacier National Park. There were a few fires along the roads near the entrance, so the mountains in the distance were fairly flattened and weren’t as pretty as I remembered them.

Big Timber, Montana campground

We are staying at a campground that has free wi-fi. This is in the middle of nowhere, I am not sure whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Nobleman Gunnar

Saturday on the road to Montana

North Dakota

Badlands (Painted Canyon)
Theodore Roosevelt National Park


Painted Canyon

The West

I feel like we’re really in the west now that we’ve hit Montana. It seems pretty rugged here and the houses along the road look worn from the weather. There are a lot of forest fires going on right now in the western part of the state. The smoke has really been obstructing our view of the landscape and has made things appear more two-dimensional. As we drive further west, the mountains look more like enormous paper cutouts stacked in front of one another. It’s actually still very beautiful even with the smoke. We are now headed to the northwest corner of the state to visit Glacier National Park. Second to Alaska, it’s the prettiest place I’ve seen.

Chrissy

Montana

Grocery Store

Me and Snorri Bear in the truck

Sunflower Fields

Medina ND

Last night we stayed in Minnesota with Justin’s aunt and uncle and tonight we will be camping in a small town by the name of Medina. Yep, we’re in the great state of North Dakota where the grocery stores look like they haven’t been updated since the 70’s and the people don’t really smile unless they know your name. Maybe it’s just Medina?… all I think of when I see the name is that 80’s song by Tone Loc, ‘Funky Cold Medina.’ I guess they couldn’t have predicted that one. Uhhh! That song is going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the night. Anyway, we lucked out this time and got here just as the fields of sunflowers started blooming. I hope we pass more of them tomorrow.

Chrissy


Minnesota was a pleasant state to pass through. I got the oil changed at a Valvoline right outside of Minneapolis this morning. This is our first oil change in this truck and I didn’t realize that changing the oil filter on a Toyota truck leaves a mess of oil all over the place because it is tilted downwards. We drove on I 94 about 45 minutes away from the oil change place around a town called St. Cloud and stopped at a grocery store to stock up on food. When I came back out to the car there is a puddle of oil underneath it. Uh oh. I am infinitely paranoid about car problems to begin with, so the slightest problems with a new (to me) truck on this trip are sounding big alarm bells immediately. I checked everything out and all the oil looked like it was coming from around the filter. I didn’t see anything leaking, but I sure saw it dripping from all over the underside brush guard.
I called the Valvoline and asked them about what it might be doing, and whether there was another store around there that I might be able to take the truck into to take a look. They didn’t have a company store in the area and with the potential for a leak didn’t want me to drive back, so they sent someone out to meet us. I felt bad. It was nothing but a lacking cleanup job that had me all freaked out. So, we got on the road again around 12:30. Hot, bothered and ready to get on our way.
North Dakota is a state which I like in the same way I like South Dakota or Nebraska. I appreciate the wide open spaces, and in a way could imagine myself living in a place like this, but at the same time, there seems to be an undercurrent of depression sometimes. Lack of opportunity.
Funky cold Medina, over and out.
-Justin

The Jollay Farm

Last night we stayed at my aunt and uncle’s farmhouse in Coloma, Michigan. It’s so quiet and peaceful here that we decided to stay an extra night. My cousin’s fruit orchard is within walking distance and we picked peaches this morning for breakfast- what more could anyone ask for?

Chrissy

written yesterday

Sunday was our expected day of departure. So, of course Sunday came and went and still we still had more packing to do. Now it’s Tuesday and we’re finally on the road thanks to a few awesome people who helped us with the move. I don’t know how we would have done it without them… especially my mom who stayed until 6 this morning helping get last minute things wrapped up. This moving/packing experience has forever changed the way I see myself. I’m a collector…. A collector of all things sentimental. Being a sentimental kind of person, one can only imagine how much stuff I had to DEAL with. I’ve learned a lot in the past few days. Moving is good. Change is good. And letting go is good. Now for the fun part- the road trip. Today I will sit back and relax by zoning out to the boring landscape of Indiana via the interstate. Sleep will be good tonight.

Chrissy