This is the time to slow down.

We've been through three states since we left my aunt, our second mom (and good friend), in our second (or maybe eighth) home of Lyons, Colorado. We left Monday and drove to Estes Park in attempt to drive west through Rocky Mountain National Park. The South exit was closed for winter, so forced to turn back we made our way around the park. We saw a few different forms of wildlife along the route.




Elk!





Goats!


We drove through mountains until stopping in Steamboat Springs. Steamboat resides in the most beautiful valley on earth ever. We hung out there for the night and had a good meal and some wicked fat tire ale. The next morning we began our drive to Salt Lake City.

During this drive we opted for smaller highways and it was well worth it. We had some fun with a town named Parshall, hiked a dinosaur bone trail near Dinosaur, and we watched some beavers cross the road somewhere in between.













and we saw petroglyphs!




Then we were in Utah. We drove into Salt Lake City Tuesday afternoon and headed straight to the mormon square. (we were excited) We spoke to a young woman in the only temple open to visitors. (it was pretty) We walked around the square for a while before going to the public mega-library.



Temple of doom! (kidding)



Beehive Behave! (btrb/jeanie)



John the Baptist passing the aaronic lineage (while doing pushups off their heads?)



Mega huge mega library!



Absurd stack of fireplaces!




Can you guess what this is?


The library was really awesome. It has a rooftop garden that you can access from a huge ramp that circles one half of the courtyard. We hung out in the library, checked out the university of utah's campus, and then slept under a tree for the night.

The next morning we got our second oil change of the trip and started out of Utah. We decided to stop and check out Antelope Island which resides in the middle of the salt lake. (amazingly glad we did) We climbed rocks, saw buffalo, drew in the sand, skipped rocks in the great salt lake, and took showers in the bathroom. It was amazing. (again)













The island is a little less than eight miles off of the main land. There are around six hundred free roaming buffalo as well as other wildlife (including antelope-duh!). We climbed to the top of of Buffalo Point and for this I felt victorious.



We then drove through super windy Idaho and stopped in Boise for the night. The next morning we ate at a mom & pop diner and then drove to Bend, Oregon. We took isolated highways and on the way we saw this marvel of man kind!



The shoe tree! (jeanie exchanged shoes with its greatness)



And this may have happened.



(hahahahaha)

We slept in Bend and then drove to Crater Lake this morning. It is a beautiful blue fresh water lake on top of one of the Cascade Mountains that was caused by an eruption many years ago. (look it up! it's interesting to boot) Also, it is the deepest lake in North America at nearly 2,000 feet deep.








It is super snowy there this time of year, with an average 66 feet of snow per year! (see- interesting!)

We left Crater Lake this afternoon and drove South. Currently, we have stopped in Medford, Oregon. We have been driving quite a bit lately, so from here we hope to take it slow. With plans to make our way along the West Coast from here, we could stretch it out for a while.

We hope all is well with you where you are. Live well with love life livers.

Safe travels and all the love,
Marshall