A few hours northwest from Yellowstone, we stopped in Bozeman, a cozy college town in the state of Montana. We were sitting outside a little cafe on Main Street discussing where we should go next when I noticed that you could draw a straight line west from our position to Portland, so maybe we could go there to which Danni replied: “If we’re going to Portland, we might as well go all the way to Seattle.” So we did. Instead of heading southwest towards San Francisco, we went almost as far northwest as you can get without crossing the Canadian border.
We drove across hills and valleys in Montana and Idaho into the nature paradise that is Washington (Evergreen State and Tree State are fitting nicknames). In Seattle, we walked around the edges of downtown visiting coffeehouses like the more mainstream Starbucks Roastery as well as a local place with an unmatched amount of hipster vibes with its retro decor and private book club meetings (we sat next to four girls who were in vivid detail and with true passion discussing a chapter from the fourth Harry Potter book - I desperately wanted to join!).
We drove across hills and valleys in Montana and Idaho into the nature paradise that is Washington (Evergreen State and Tree State are fitting nicknames). In Seattle, we walked around the edges of downtown visiting coffeehouses like the more mainstream Starbucks Roastery as well as a local place with an unmatched amount of hipster vibes with its retro decor and private book club meetings (we sat next to four girls who were in vivid detail and with true passion discussing a chapter from the fourth Harry Potter book - I desperately wanted to join!).
View of downtown Seattle from Kerry Park
We spend our last hours in Seattle by the river in Gas Work Park a little outside of the center. Only surrounded by locals, we cooked pasta and played cards in the orange light from the sunset.
Picnic in Gas Work Park
From Seattle, we drove south to Rainier National Park. Mount Rainier is a glacier-covered volcano which you can see towering up from its surroundings many miles away. We only had a few hours there which we spent getting lost and confused on the hiking trails leading up to panoramic point on the southern part of the mountain due to large amounts of snow covering the trails. But it was a lot of fun, I only fell once and the view was amazing!
Danni befriended a chipmunk
Exploring Rainier National Park
Our next stop was Portland. We started walking around downtown and then crossed the river to the eastern part of the city where we were mixed with locals. Shops and boutiques were pouring out from old Victorian villas, paintings of flowers and geometrical patterns decorated the roads and there was not a single skyscraper in sight. Truly a funky, cozy and unique place.
Pizza and beer for lunch in Porland
From Portland, we stayed in Oregon and paid a visit to the smaller town of Bend, any outdoor-lover’s paradise. Shops with camping and mountaineering gear, eclectic artisan shops and cozy coffeehouses and eateries cover the center right on the edge of the river. I found a cup of coffee and a nice reading spot at a small bookstore which selection included a great variety of travel and adventure fiction books - it was heaven!
The front of a bookstore (not the one mentioned earlier) with a 1 Book = 1 Dollar-sale
By the river in Bend
Afterwards, we visited our last national park, number thirteen, Crater Lake. Also called Deep Blue Lake, it is located on a caldera, an old volcano that has collapsed upon itself. Because if its origin, only water from rain and melted snow feed the lake, not any rivers or streams, which gives it its pure, deep color and clarity.
Crater Lake
Then it was time to return to California. We drove through the northern redwood forests and followed the historical Highway 1 along the rugged shoreline where we spent an evening watching the pale sunset and I could not resist getting in the water.
Swimming, chilling and watching the sunset from the Californian coastline
Finally, after 10.750 kilometers, 701 liters of gasoline, 15 campgrounds, 10 states and about 8 bags of pasta, we were back in San Francisco. We celebrated the Fourth of July, coinciding with the last day of our trip, watching the fireworks with beer in hand from Dolores Park, one of our favorite spots from when we first arrived in San Francisco a month ago and what a hell of a month it’s been!