Life is an Adventure: Epic NW Tour

Well, it’s officially been one week since we returned to Iowa from our epic NW tour. After getting normal life back in order and into the swing of things again, I thought it was time to share some of the trip highlights.

Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
We spent the first day in the Twin Cities visiting the capitol building and St. Paul's Cathedral before indulging our ethnic food cravings with a meal at a fun Russian restaurant called Moscow on the Hill. Our Minneapolis adventures included exploring the Sculpture Garden, and Ikea. Although this is my second visit to Ikea, I am now official, having made my first purchase!

St. Paul, Minnesota. State Capitol Building.

Selfie at the capitol.

St. Paul's Cathedral, St. Paul, MN

Moscow on the Hill. Russian restaurant in St. Paul, MN.

Minneapolis sculpture garden.

Ikea in Minneapolis, MN. Sweedish Snoopy and Woodstock.

Seattle, Washington
Our flight was uber early - alarm went off at 3:45 AM to make it through security at the airport. Due to the early flight and gaining 2 hours, we arrived in Seattle around 9AM. First stop was our hostel in Chinatown to drop our bags. Day 1 included lunch at Etta's, the Space Needle, and the Museum of Pop Culture, followed by authentic Chinese dinner at A+ Hong Kong. Day 2 started with an early morning 1-hour walking tour of Pike Market followed by exploring the Market most of the day. We finished the evening with the 1-hour Argosy Boat Tour of the Harbor and dinner at an Irish pub. Day 3 started with a brisk walk to the Starbucks Roastery where we enjoyed a flight of coffees followed by lunch at Dim Tai Feng and visiting the Seattle Aquarium. Our evening included exploring the Olympic Sculpture park, the Chihuly Garden and Glass (one of my favorites!), and dinner.

Seattle Space Needle

Museum of Pop Culture (MoPop)

Pike Market, Seattle, WA

Eggs at Pike Market

Fish at Pike Market

With Rachel, the pig - mascot of Pike Market

Gorgeous flowers for sale in Pike Market

Pastries at Pike Market

Produce at Pike Market

Ranier cherries at Pike Market

Giant pasta! Pike Market.

Argosy boat tour. Harbor near Seattle.

Boat tour

Seattle skyline

Starbucks roastery

Flight of coffee at Starbucks roastery

In case the picture is not obvious - Seattle Aquarium

Chihuly Glass and Garden

Wallace, Idaho
We left Seattle bright and early in our rental car and made the nearly 12-hour trek to Glacier National Park. As one of our travel members had never been to Idaho, we stopped in Wallace at the visitor center, which led to visiting a local ice cream parlor for huckleberry shakes. Wallace is also where Dante's Peak was filmed - blast from the past for sure.

Location for filming of Dante's Peak

The Red Light Garage - a wink to the local history of prostitution
due to the nearby silver mines in town.

Huckleberry shakes at Red Light Garage.

Columbia Falls, Montana and Glacier National Park
Montana makes #45/50 states on my list. Our cabin outside of Glacier National Park was cute and cozy. We were only there to sleep as most of our time was spent at the National Park. Highlights of the park included Logan's Pass with the Hidden Lake trail hike, St. Mary's lake, hike to St. Mary's falls, and Avalanche Lake. We had dinner at an awesome, local diner called Nite Owl. If you're ever in the area, we recommend it.

Hello state #45

Our cabin in Montana

Hidden Lake trail at Logan Pass in Glacier NP

Hidden Lake at Logan Pass in Glacier NP

St. Mary's Falls. Glacier NP

Avalanche Lake trail in Glacier NP

Avalanche Lake in Glacier NP

Helena, Montana
I'm definitely one of those nerds who love to visit state capitols. We were able to swing by and see the outside of the Montana one in the evening on our way to Bozeman. It's interesting to see how every capitol building is similar and different to the others.

Helena. Montana State Capitol

Yellowstone National Park
A few years ago a friend visited this park with his family, and ever since then it's been on my list to visit. This desire was encouraged by reading a book last year by National Geographic on the history of the National Parks in honor of the centennial year since the park's foundation. Yellowstone is the first park in the National Parks' system. My roomie and I tent camped two night and hit most of the highlights of the park including Mammoth, Roosevelt Towers, Canyon, Artists' paint pots, the lower, middle, and upper geysers (including Grand Prismatic Spring and Old Faithful), the mud volcano, sulfur cauldron, and Fishing Village. I loved our time at this park!!!

First time at the first US National Park!

Love this quote.

Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone NP

Roosevelt Towers, Yellowstone NP

Roommate and me = wonderful travel partners

Driving toward Canyon

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone NP

Falls at the Canyon, Yellowstone NP

Tent camping! Canyon campgrounds, Yellowstone NP

I call this one my "eerie pic." Artists' paint pots in the early morning light.

Grand Prismatic Springs, Yellowstone NP

Old Faithful, Yellowstone NP

As the sign says, continental divide. Yellowstone NP.

Bison at a mud volcano, Yellowstone NP

Dragon's Mouth Spring, Yellowstone NP

Artist's Point, Yellowstone NP

Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone NP

Nature! Bison on the road in Yellowstone NP

Devils Tower, Wyoming
Since we visited the first national park and it was only a few hours out of our way, we decided to visit Devils Tower - the first national monument - as well while we were in Wyoming. It's such a random and interesting structure. Native Americans place special spiritual significance on this structure and still participate in traditional rituals at the site. Rock climbers are also attracted to come conquer the structure.

Devils Tower, Wyoming

Nature! Devils Tower, Wyoming

Medora, North Dakota and Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Did you know Teddy Roosevelt is known as the conservation president? He was influential in establishing the National Parks system under the Antiquities Act, which he signed into law in 1906. After his wife and mother died within a short time of each other, he retreated to the Badlands of North Dakota to rest and recover in the peace and ruggedness of nature. We were able to tent camp in the park, see the cabin where he lived while there, and ride horses in the town of Medora near the national park.

Theodore Roosevelt NP, Medora, ND

Roosevelt's cabin at Theodore Roosevelt NP

Horseback riding in Medora, ND

Lunch at The Farmhouse. Chip and Joanna would be proud.

Fleischkuekle (seasoned beef patty deep-fried in golden dough) and Indian Taco.

Bismarck and Fargo, North Dakota
There's not much in North Dakota, but we made the most of our trip across state by stopping in Bismarck to see the capitol building and eating Thai food in Fargo. The ND state capitol is one of the few not built in the style of classic architecture. Its art style is called Art Deco. The first capitol building burned down in the early 1900s and the second one was completed on a tight budget - making it more practical than beautiful. It does have some interesting features including insanely tall windows and beautiful glistening wood hallways. Another interesting feature about North Dakota is its state seal (also on the state flag) has 43 stars; however, it was the 39th state admitted to the union. Guess the legal side of things progressed more quickly than anticipated?