Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons!

My mom and I stayed the night just five short miles from the actual eastern gateway to Yellowstone National Park at the Pahaska Tepee Resort in the Wapiti Valley.  The Resort was also built by Cody, and it is a charming collection of well cared for rustic cabins.  When we checked in, we were given the standard bear warnings (which freaked my mom out) and told that there's been a bison on the property so we should beware.  We were also told, after asking, that there are plenty of moose around, and they could be seen right out front all day that day.  (yippeeeeee!)  Since it was late when we arrived, we passed right out so we could get an early start the next day for maximum time in Yellowstone.

From Dinosaurs to Cowboys...

Buffalo was a cute little city, but we were anxious to hit the road as we were going a little out of our way to check out hot springs and dinosaurs in Thermopolis before heading up to Cody (the eastern gate to Yellowstone!!).  Along the way, we got to drive through yet more beautiful state parks, so the scenery was nice:

Mt. Rushmore!!!!!!!

By the time we rolled into Chadron, it was pretty late, so we went straight to our hotel and basically passed out for the night.  But the next morning, we went back through town and hit up the Museum of the Fur Trade.  To be honest, we almost skipped it because we weren't sure it would be so awesome, but we didn't and boy were we glad!  It was a very cool museum, and we learned a lot about the early North American settlements and relations with Native Americans.  We ended up spending way more time there than we meant to, and did some shopping in the gift shop as well.

To the Midwest, James!

Even though my mom and I were kinda bummed to leave Chicago, we were excited for the things the awaited us on our journey!  Busting out my handy dandy travel book, we found lots of random little things to stop and see as we made our way west.  The first of which was a quick stop in Freeport, Ill. where we grabbed monster ice cream cones from the cutest old fashioned ice cream parlor/diner ever and scoped out the site of the famous Lincoln v. Douglas debate that took place in the area.  Encircling this park and the sort of funny statue of Lincoln and Douglas debating, there is a great chronology of the events surrounding the debate and election (for senate).

Chicago, The Windy City, Chi-Town!

I was SO excited for Chicago.  But before I delve into how much fun I had in the windy city, I should explain my road trip home a bit more.  My amazing, though worry-wart mamacita didn't want me to drive all the way home from New Hampshire by myself, so she offered to drive home with me.  However, my mom is a teacher and my return would be occurring after school began, which meant she couldn't take off more than a week of school.  The solution?  I would drive to Chicago by myself, she'd fly to Chicago to meet me, and we'd drive the rest of the way back to Cali together.  Hence the reason I had been driving solo through Canada, etc.  Even though I had originally planned to do this whole adventure by myself, I learned on my way out to NH with Katie how great it is to have a co-pilot to help with the driving and to have someone to chat with/share the fun of the adventure with, and this was solidified by my marathon solo drive.

Oh Canada!!

When I was originally plotting my trip back to California, my plan was to go through Pittsburgh,  PA because I have extended family in the area and I thought it would be fun to catch up with all those folks for a night.  Unfortunately, we couldn't locate some people and the ones we could locate where going to be on vacation when I was coming through town.  Boo.  But this is not a sad story because my Aunt Dee had been telling me all summer I should make a trip up to Canada to check out Montreal and other areas near the border.  Being the prepared traveler I am, I happened to have my passport with me, so voila, Montreal, here I come!  Take that Pittsburgh!

Adventures in New England

In early August, I actually flew home for my friend Kate's wedding (it was awesome and beautiful!), and shortly after I got back to New Hampshire, my mom and I set the dates for my return, giving me about one month left in my New England summer.  This spurred me to action and I felt the pressure to do all the things. First up, a trip to the White Mountain National Forest.

To The Nature!
I've said it before and I'll say it again: New Hampshire is SOOOOOOOOO pretty!  I really just enjoyed driving around because, again, there are forests everywhere, beautiful lakes off the side of the road, and cute towns around each curve of the road.  Clearly it's a great place to go if you want to get outside and enjoy the nature.  The White Mountain National Forest is a few hours north of Wolfeboro and easy to get to.  When I arrived, I stopped by the ranger station and the nicest lady showed me the "must sees" that would give me a great overview in just one afternoon of what the park has to offer.  She was not mistaken.  Here are some of the things I saw: