Saving Time in a Bottle

relishing the life God has given us

Lawson and Gaskill Peaks

San Diego Port Call | September 2019 | Hiking Lawson and Gaskill Peaks

Less than 3 weeks after my trip to Alaska, I had yet another opportunity to go meet Curtis, just a little further South than before. This trip started similarly to Alaska with going to the airport in the evening for a red-eye flight, except this time I was traveling with my good friend Celeste, whose boyfriend is on the same boat as Curtis. We both lucked out with having window seats on the plane with empty middle seats — I still didn’t sleep well on the overnight flight, but always appreciate a little personal space!

We landed at LAX just before 6, and our connecting flight left about an hour after that. It was raining in LA, but as soon as the plane rose above the clouds it revealed a beautiful bright sunrise and mountain peaks in the distance. The ride was short, and soon enough we were in San Diego.

Feeling tired after our long flight and anxious to see our guys, our first few hours in the city were a bit of a struggle. We struck out at picking up her rental car and attempting to check in at our hotels early, but the day instantly turned around when we found a place for brunch and mimosas. We finally heard from the guys that they had arrived in port, and eventually our hotels called to let us know they had rooms ready for us, so we went our separate ways for the rest of the trip.

Curtis had to stay with the boat for a few hours, so I took a short nap while waiting. He was finally released and we were happily reunited once again. We took it easy that first day, and walked to In-N-Out for dinner that night, then got snacks and hiking food at Vons and drinks at Bev Mo.

For our second day in San Diego, Curtis had duty so I was on my own. There’s not much to report since we opted to not get a rental car until after Curtis’ duty day, but I did walk to In-N-Out again. I should mention that the closest In-N-Out was 2 miles away, so each time we walked there was a 4 mile trip.

On day 3, I woke up early and walked to the airport (a pleasant 1 ½ miles basically along the harbor) and took a shuttle to the rental car center and got us a car for the day. I then drove back to the hotel and loaded up everything we’d need for a hike, then drove to the base to pick up Curtis. This was going to be our one day specifically focused on hiking. Curtis’ wishes were to find a hike that made him fall in love with the desert again (which he told me right after hiking in Alaska…because we are both very much in love with Alaska now). My only request was for a hike where we could be alone for the most part. Thankfully it was a Friday so we would avoid the busier weekend days, but we knew we’d have to drive a bit to find something more remote.

We were pretty overwhelmed by all the options we found on AllTrails, but after some discussion, we narrowed it down to a hike in Cleveland National Forest that was nearby and looked similar to Texas Canyon in Arizona.

After I picked up Curtis from the boat, we took the I-8 out of San Diego. We joked about how Arizona was only 150 miles away if we were up to it, but still got off our exit in Alpine and drove out through the Southern end of the National Forest through the Pine Hills. We got to the trail head to see only two other cars there, packed our bags with a lunch and snacks and started heading up the trail to Lawson and Gaskill Mountains.

It was an overcast day and the peaks were all in the clouds, which gave us some concerns as well as questions as to where exactly we were going, how high, and whether or not to expect rain. We believed ourselves to be well prepared though and continued up following an old forest service road through the chaparral. We were immediately struck by how nice it smelled and soon found the source to be what we think was either California Buckwheat, chamise, or a type of sage. The trail grade was also very pleasant and easy enough.

Soon, the sun and wind shifted the clouds and we began to make out the boulder strewn ridges and summits of this range as well as the Northern end of a lake (Barrett Lake) to the South. Soon we were up among the granite boulders (one of the reasons we had picked the hike in the first place) wandering around in the mist and cloud. We saw/heard another group of guys in front of us and saw them go off to the left. And then we saw it; Lawson Peak coming out of the clouds. Massive, shear faced, boulders easily two stories high with bus sized boulders strewn about. And there among it the group of 4 guys. Guess that was the way we were going.

I of course make it out to be more than it really was. The trail was readily apparent and some cross between a steep incline and a scramble with the occasional squeeze or climb between some boulders. That was until the actual summit. We came out of the scrub oak to see the summit block; a couple of boulders topping off the peak. Two of the guys in front of us pointed up behind them and intimated that was the way to go but that it was ‘tricky’. I stayed behind, but allowed Curtis to go ahead. Peak-bagging and all that. The views from the peak looked down on both sides of the ridge and out to the East. One of the others at the peak claimed he could see ‘the city’ but Curtis couldn’t see anything on account of the clouds. We couldn’t even see the neighboring peak and our next stop.

After navigating our way off the summit we continued following our track until the AllTrails app indicated that we should make a left turn onto the taller, yet less steep Gaskill Peak. It’s a good thing we had the app, because I don’t think either of us would have noticed the rock arrow off to the side of the trail pointing our way.

It was clear as soon as we stepped off the main trail that we were the first ones to break this trail this morning. All the Manzanita and Scrub Oak trees were damp with ‘cloud dew’ and soon our pant legs were soaked from brushing against the thigh high plants.

We pushed our way through the brush and up towards the peak. To our pleasure, before and behind us, the clouds started to break and we were treated with a good look of Lawson Peak. Before we knew it, we were at the top. Although Gaskill had a less steep approach than Lawson, it still had big boulders as the actual summit and Curtis went on to scale them and get another peak. (Both Lawson and Gaskill are on the ‘San Diego 100’ Peak list. Only 98 to go!)

We enjoyed the view, ate some lunch, took some photos, talked about the Desert and the PNW, and then called it a hike and started back to the car. The hike back was uneventful. We got lost once and the clouds filled in behind us, quickly obscuring the places we had already been.

We drove back to our hotel, and went out for Mexican food that night. We noted later how sore our arms were from all the rock scrambling and bouldering. Overall this hike was just what we wanted, and though we would’ve loved to do more hiking like this we can be satisfied with these two peaks, until next time! Check out our AllTrails recording of this hike here.

September 2019

September may have been the best month I’ve had since moving to Oahu two years ago. It had everything I needed: time off of the island exploring two different cities with Curtis, and time enjoying my favorite part of the island with my sister. Both of these made what would have been a long month alone pass quickly, and has given me the hope and perseverance I needed to press on into our last year here!

Sarah arrived on the last night of August and stayed for just over a month. We’re 9 years apart in age, but ever since she was born people have always said we are so alike in looks and how we act. After spending an extended amount of time essentially alone together, I can see why people say this — our personalities mesh really well together and the transition to living together was seamless and honestly really fun right from the get-go.

We spent our time going between working at home — Sarah on online college courses and myself working on NeverThirsty.org — and going out for easy little adventures. We repeated her favorite hikes from her last visit and I showed her a few newer ones that I’ve found since then. We enjoyed a lot of beach days and sampled many of the best island treats. And we created our own little night time routine which consisted of eating mac & cheese and tater tots and watching Chopped. Oh, and Sarah did dishes for me every single night without asking, no matter how many times I said she didn’t have to! That’s right, I didn’t wash a single dish in the month of September. Did I mention that it was the best month ever? 😉

Sarah’s cheerful personality and beautiful smile light up a room as soon as she walks in. Her positive attitude kept us going when our adventures didn’t go as planned, and her courage and curiosity to try new things made every day exciting. I’m so grateful that she was willing to make the trip and give up a month of comfort and familiarity in her own home just to come and keep me company here in mine. Thanks for making my world a better place, Sarah, and just know you always have a second home with me, wherever that may be!

Two Days in Ketchikan

September has always been our favorite month for traveling. For three years in a row, we found ourselves in a time of transition during September, and we used that extra time to travel. Each of those trips ended up being our favorite adventures — going from the Northeast to Southwest via Colorado in 2015, exploring New England and Canada’s Atlantic provinces in 2016, and driving coast to coast while moving to Hawaii in 2017. Each of these trips lasted at least 3 weeks, and now whenever September rolls around we like to compare where we were each year every day.

Since Curtis is now stationed with an active boat, we don’t have the freedom to take that much time off anymore. We were blessed just to have 2 days together in Alaska. However, the two days we spent together in Ketchikan will forever be ranked as high in our minds as every other September adventure. With such little time to spend there, and with so few hours together, there was no time to grow tired of the area or for the excitement of being together to fade. There were so many occasions during that short period of time when we would exclaim, “I can’t believe we’re in Alaska!” That feeling just never got old!

We each had a little less than 48 hours there, with 38 of those hours overlapping. Curtis arrived before I did, and spent his time going out to lunch with some fellow officers from his boat, hiking the Rainbird Trail, and doing a quick grocery run to get snacks and lunch for our hike the next day. When my ferry arrived, we went to check in to our hotel. The hotel provided complimentary taxi rides to and from the ferry, and our driver was very friendly and gave us a warm welcome to Ketchikan. He stopped along the way to show us the river, completely packed with salmon!

I had chosen the Gilmore hotel just based on their low prices, but we were very pleased with our stay there. It’s run by Wyndham in a historic building right near where the cruise ships dock, with beautiful views of the bay and very walkable between many attractions and restaurants.

On our first afternoon/evening, we mostly just took it easy and walked around town in the rain, enjoying the totem poles and Creek street. It was the perfect weather to enjoy some warm chowder in a bread bowl from Annabelle’s Keg and Chowder House, a restaurant on the ground floor of our hotel. It had a warm, cozy atmosphere and delicious food.

The next morning began with our hike. Afterwards, we walked around town some more and Curtis attempted a few missing letterboxes. It seemed as though the only one close to us was in a graveyard about a mile down the main highway. Curtis debated whether to get it or not, but I convinced him to because who knows when he’d be able to find another Alaskan letterbox, much less in this county? We walked down the highway, found the box, then made our way back.

It had started to really warm up at this point, so we stopped back at our hotel room to shed some layers. We decided we wanted to do one more hike, so we took a bus a few miles North and made our way up to the Carlana Lake Trail. The path was wide and in good condition as it gained steady elevation up to the lake. After enjoying the initial lake views, we decided to continue following a more narrow trail around the lake. The trail eventually would go up the mountain to a ridge between two peaks, but we were just content to wander on the trail through the rain forest. We felt we could have gone all the way up if we wanted, but since the bus only operated for another 2 hours, we decided to play it safe and not attempt it.

We rode the bus back to our hotel, and walked around town some more. We enjoyed savory crepes for dinner at Alaska Crepe Co, then went back to Annabelle’s for drinks and dessert, which we enjoyed for free thanks to a gift card the hotel had given us. We walked along the dock, now quiet thanks to the cruise ships leaving, and enjoyed a beautiful sunset behind the mountains.

Curtis left the next morning at 4am, so I took it easy that morning and took my time getting packed and ready to go. I went for one last walk around town, soaking up the cool air and dreaming of when we could make a return visit. We’ve already talked about going back over Christmas break — are we crazy?! Obviously I would’ve been happy to visit Curtis anywhere, but I honestly can’t think of a better town to spend a few days in together.

I checked out of my hotel around 11 and took a taxi back to the ferry, and the ferry to the airport. I boarded my flight, the same one that goes between Anchorage and Seattle every day, and was able to claim the exact same seat I had enjoyed 2 days prior. While my last morning in Ketchikan had been overcast, the clouds cleared that afternoon giving me a perfect view of the little town that now holds so many fond memories.

Flying over British Columbia was breathtaking, and as we flew over Washington I was able to spot significant peaks in the Cascades and the Olympics. I wondered if I’d be able to see Mt. Rainier and started to squint to see out over the horizon, but then the plane started to turn and there it was — no squinting required! I had a 2 hour layover in Seattle, then boarded my last flight back to Hawaii. Returning home was much easier than I expected thanks to having my good friend pick me up from the airport, and my sister Sarah at home with dinner and freshly baked cookies ready for me!

And just like that, exactly 3 days after the trip began, it was over. The whole thing felt like a dream — a dream that I’ve relived over and over in my mind as I count down the days to when I can see Curtis again… and to the day that we can return to Alaska together.

Hiking Deer Mountain

Hiking Deer Mountain | Ketchikan, AK | September 2019

Before Curtis knew for sure that he’d be able to visit Ketchikan this year, we knew that we wanted to hike Deer Mountain. Perhaps it was a bit presumptuous seeing as Ketchikan is the rainiest city in the US and we had no idea what time of year we’d be there or for how long, but it was a dream of ours that we’ve held onto for so long. When packing his sea bag, Curtis brought his hiking clothes, boots, and rain jacket, and I did the same with my carry on, also including an umbrella and my camelback.

Our first day in Ketchikan was rainy and overcast and we were unable to see the mountain at all. We were content to just walk around and be together (a third post about everything else we did there is forthcoming!), but we agreed we wanted to at least give it a shot the next day, on our one full day there. We were up before 6, dressed in layers, and Curtis packed a few snacks and sandwich supplies he had picked up at a grocery store the day prior. We got some hot chocolate from the hotel and ate apples for breakfast.

We left the hotel on foot, walking a mile and a half to the trailhead which is found at the end of Deer Mountain Road. The elevation gain started early as we strolled up the pavement, but when we rounded a corner and saw the entire peak, we knew this would be worth it. While it was chilly and the sky was partly cloudy, it wasn’t raining and the visibility was decent, and we knew we had the perfect day for hiking.

Once at the trailhead, we looked over the map to get an idea of what we were about to do. Of course this wasn’t the first time we’d researched this trail — we knew what to expect, a steep 6.5 mile round trip climb up to Deer Mountain, which was around 3000 feet in elevation. However, our eyes drifted to the continuation of the trail — which continued another 11 miles over other peaks and ended on the Eastern side of the island. We had always just focused on Deer Mountain, knowing that it was a prominent peak overlooking Ketchikan, but it’s actually the shortest peak in this range. While it was tempting to think about how we could possibly arrange for a ride on the other side and attempt to do the full through hike, we just weren’t prepared for that…maybe next time. 😉 We noted the other highlights along the through trail, including other peaks and lakes. We agreed to stick with the plan, not knowing how strenuous the trail to Deer Mountain would be, and decide at the peak if we wanted to go any further.

We began our hike through the mossy forest, and were enchanted by everything from the big trees to the small waterfalls along the path. As we were walking, I kept waiting for the trail to get steeper, but there was never as much of an incline as I had imagined. That’s when I realized I had been imagining this trail to be more like the ridge trails to the Ko’olaus on Oahu which go straight up the mountain — this one reminded us of a wonderful feature on mainland trails called the “switchback.” Glorious switchbacking, where the elevation gain is reasonable and you have plenty of time to enjoy the view from both directions as you make your way up the mountain!

After about 2 miles, we reached the tundra. There were patchy clouds obstructing the view, but every now and then they’d break and we’d get a peek at Ketchikan, Ketchikan Lake, or the mountains in the distance. We decided the clouds were what really made this experience, and from now on the words “foggy tundra” will instantly transport our minds back to these perfect moments, all alone on a mountain in Alaska with not a care in the world.

Two and a half miles into the trail, we reached the trail junction for the peak. The next stretch switchbacked back and forth up the side of the mountain for a quarter-mile to the peak. We were the slowest going up this part, not because it was challenging or steep but because the views captivated us. Every time we rounded a corner going up the switchbacks, we would have to stop and stare at the the view in the new direction which we were heading.

We finally reached the peak, which was engulfed by a cloud, but it still wasn’t raining and we weren’t too cold! We found the waypoint marker and sat down to eat sandwiches and snacks. We lingered in case the cloud decided to pass, but eventually decided to move on — the continuing trail beckoned us, and while we knew we wouldn’t go too far, we just had to see what it was like.

We made our way back to the junction, then continued on the trail headed for a lake. The fog was thicker on this part so there wasn’t much of a view, but it made the trail seem mysterious and peaceful all at once. It reminded us a little of hiking Mount Washington in New Hampshire. We spotted little lakes off to the side, and kept our eyes out for wildlife.

While we physically felt like we were able to continue walking this trail for a while, we eventually decided to turn back because the visibility was so low, and we knew there were other trails that we could hike around Ketchikan that afternoon. Since our time there was so short, we wanted to make sure we saw as much as we could, while still taking time to enjoy being together. And so we turned around and started heading back, still loving every bit of this trail. It wasn’t until we were nearly back at the junction with the peak trail that we came across another hiker.

The clouds cleared more as we made our way down, but the closer we got back to the trailhead the more people we saw on their way up, and we didn’t regret our decision to rise early for a foggy hike. We made it back to the trailhead, then continued walking back into Ketchikan, feeling energized and enchanted from our first Alaskan hike…hopefully the first of many!

If you’re interested, here is our Alltrails recording for this hike beginning at our hotel, including some walking around Ketchikan afterwards.

My First Time in Alaska

After returning home from the mainland, Curtis unpacked his bags, then packed his sea bags and left a day later. Talk about a quick turnaround! This summer, we went from being apart, to having quite a bit more time together, to traveling and being together 24/7, and then right back to being separated. Such is this Navy life! However, it wasn’t quite so hard to say goodbye this time, as I already had several things to look forward to. First, my little sister was coming to stay with me, and second, there was a potential that I would be able to go meet Curtis somewhere exciting!

One week after he left, I got an email that said, “Buy the tickets.” I immediately did a quick search for flights, and bought tickets right then and there. Being a smart and responsible Navy wife who’s always prepared for last-minute changes, I decided to pay for refundable tickets. Until I realized the price more than doubled with that option…that’s when I knew it was really happening: I was going to Alaska no matter what! I emailed Curtis back and said “You better be there, or else I’m getting my 47th state without you!”

Now, this all may sound very spontaneous to you, but I’ll have you know that the only spontaneous part about this trip was the last-minute plane ticket purchase. Two years ago when we arrived on the island, Curtis had a friend that went on a ride up to Alaska on another boat. I specifically remember Curtis coming back to our hotel that night and telling me about it, and saying there’s a chance that his boat could make the same trip someday.

“Cool, I’ll meet you there!” I said.

“The boat doesn’t necessarily make port though, so it might not be worth it,” he replied.

“That’s okay, I’ll go anyway,” I said.

Not too long after, we had a whole plan devised ‘just in case’ this trip ever happened. Curtis even had a hike picked out. That’s just how we operate, we always like to have a few dozen trips planned, just in case. That way, we’re totally ready to go should the opportunity strike.

And oh boy, did it strike! One thing we love about Curtis’ boat is the emphasis they put on family time, and giving everyone a break whenever they can. The boat wasn’t making port, but they arranged it so most guys got a chance to get off and enjoy Alaska for a few days. While the plans seemed far off and uncertain at the beginning of this year, this summer they really seemed to come together, and eventually it became clear that there were 3 potential dates that Curtis could get off the boat and have 2 days of freedom. As soon as he figured out those days, he reported them to me, and I was ready at a moment’s notice to buy tickets.

It was unfortunate that it came so soon after my sister arrived so I didn’t have too much time to re-introduce her to the island, but I drove her around town showing her where everything was, we did a little exploring, and I stocked the fridge and told her everything she needed to know for 3 days alone. I was thankful to have her here to house-sit and watch Charlie for me for those 3 days, not to mention that having her here gave me a reason to be excited about coming home!

I packed everything I needed for those 3 days into my backpack, and my dear friend drove me to the airport on a Monday night for my red-eye flight. I tried to sleep as much as I could on the flight, but honestly it seemed to go by so fast, and soon enough I was wide awake as we landed in Anchorage. My first time in Alaska! I was beyond excited to be there!

I had 3 hours before my next flight was scheduled to depart, and I spent the entire time walking around the (very small) airport, marveling at the fact that I was here. A place that I had dreamed of for so long, and had wanted to visit so badly for years…it made even the airport seem extraordinary. I soaked in each little display, and lingered at every piece of artwork.

The magic wore off just a bit when I saw my flight was delayed 2 whole hours. Of all the flights to be delayed, why did it have to be this one, one that cut directly into my time with Curtis?! At least by this point, we were able to text, so I knew he was actually going to be on land as planned.

The redeeming moment was when, just 1 minute before boarding started, I refreshed the seat selection page on my phone and saw that a window seat opened up! I clicked on it quite literally at the last moment, but it was so close to the cut-off time that it didn’t change on my mobile boarding pass and I had to go get a printed one. I happily boarded my flight and settled in for what would be the most incredible flight of my life!

Oh, but let me tell you about my flight. This was an Alaskan Airlines flight that goes from Anchorage to Seattle, but makes 3 stops along the way in Juneau, Sitka, and — my final destination — Ketchikan. Maybe this would annoy some people since it has so many ups and downs, but I was thrilled: I would be getting an extra 2 counties along the way, making my total for Alaska 4 counties in this one trip!

I had wondered if I would be able to see Denali, but even if that were possible, there was such a thick cloud cover that I couldn’t see much over Anchorage. The cloud cover stuck around until about halfway through the flight. I’m pretty sure I was able to see Fairweather Peak, the highest point in British Columbia. There were a few other tall peaks that I snapped pictures of and pinned on Google maps to later identify.

The highlight of the entire day (besides being reunited with Curtis and…well just being in Alaska I guess!) was flying over Glacier Bay National Park. The clouds broke up at just the right point, and I was able to see all the jagged peaks, glaciers, and bright blue lakes below me. I was screaming internally the entire time, trying to take it all in and memorize every detail, and snapping phone pictures like crazy. It was unreal and I have no idea how everyone else on the flight appeared to be so calm.

We landed in Juneau and were there for about a half an hour before taking the short flight over to Sitka. Juneau was overcast but looked incredible beneath more jagged peaks and the incredible Mendenhall Glacier just sitting there in all its glory. Sitka was sunny and I loved flying over all the tiny islands and seeing the tall peaks standing right up next to the ocean. I wouldn’t mind coming back to either of these places and exploring them some more!

Finally, we flew to Ketchikan and I hurried over to the ferry that goes between the airport and the main island with the town. Ketchikan is known as the rainiest city in the US and it was definitely showing off for my first afternoon there. The ferry docked townside, and I hurried off and into Curtis’ arms, where we shared our first Alaskan kiss. 🙂 We made it! Our first time in Alaska, and our first ‘port call’ — with 38 full hours to spend together!

MN to IA to MO / Last Days of Vacation

DC and Midwest Trip | August 2019 | Our Time in Iowa

Our last stop on vacation was our hometown in Iowa to stay with my family. We left Lydia, Grace, and Kylie before lunch and began our drive South. We were mostly retracing our route from our honeymoon until we made it to the Cities, where we came up with a new route that scored us a lot more counties in Southern MN/Northeastern Iowa. Not only that, but it really didn’t add much time to our trip!

However, there was a little complication thrown into the mix that morning. Curtis had checked Facebook for the first time in over a week, and saw that he had a message from someone on his boat that was almost a week old. They basically were telling him that plans had changed and they needed him to come back early, because they were now leaving sooner than expected. As you can imagine, we were very disappointed to hear this and also frustrated with their choice in communication. With Facebook messaging, you can see when someone reads your message, so how long were they planning on waiting before they tried contacting him in another method? Anyone who knows Curtis knows that he rarely gets on Facebook. What if he never saw the message?

Our minds were now reeling with trying to come up with alternate plans. To make things more complicated, we were flying out of Kansas City because it was the cheapest by a significant amount within a 5 hour radius of my family’s home, and it allowed us to stop at my grandparent’s house on the way there. And naturally, I didn’t pay extra for refunds or flight changes for my ticket. Curtis would be able to change flights but would have to pay the $200+ fee himself. But he would either have to pay even more to fly out of an airport closer to home, or I’d have to be alone in Kansas City for at least a day. There seemed like no easy way around this. Curtis called the boat to see if there was any new information, but they basically confirmed that they needed him back earlier.

We made it home late afternoon where we were reunited with my family for the first time nearly a year and a half, since their spring break trip in 2018. That evening, we went to the airport with some of my family to drop off our rental car and pick up my brother Grant, who had flown in from Oregon. My other brother Joel also drove home from college for the weekend, and with that our whole family was reunited for the first time since June 2017!

Shortest -> Tallest
Youngest -> Oldest

We spent our days in Iowa taking it easy, hanging out, playing games, going for hikes, revisiting old favorite places and eating the food we’ve missed the most from our favorite restaurants. We spent a day at Nanna and Popa’s farm, catching up and sharing stories and enjoying all the produce from their gardens. Someday maybe we’ll get to their level in gardening, but for now we were able to share our mango madness stories. 😉 Curtis was also able to get together with a friend from high school, and we celebrated Grant’s birthday a little early.

Of course also during this time, Curtis and I were throwing around ideas of how to get him back home early. The airline told him that he could change his flight anytime right up until whenever his new flight was about to take off, so I told him to wait until the very last minute — the boat’s plans are never a sure thing until they actually happen, so why waste money trying to get back earlier just to have them say they’re pushing back their departure again?

Thankfully I wasn’t wrong in my wishful thinking. The day before Curtis would’ve had to leave, the boat finally got back to him and said they were delaying their departure. We were able to enjoy our last days with family without the stress of changes to our original plan, and weren’t robbed of any extra time with them. But this is just another reason why traveling so far is so hard right now…we just never know when something unexpected could come up and ruin our plans!

Time with family went by too fast, as always, and soon we were packing and picking up another rental car to begin the last part of our Midwest road trip. We said our goodbyes and hit the road one last time. On our way, we stopped at my grandparent’s house and spent a few hours visiting with them. For our last leg of our journey, we took some back highways through Southwest Iowa to get a few new counties before arriving at our hotel close to the airport.

Our first flight was at 6am, and despite there being a thunderstorm passing through the area our plane took off at the scheduled time and we had a bumpy ride up into the storm clouds. Thanks to our nearly-empty plane, we had a row to ourselves and enjoyed watching the lightning show. After getting past the storm, we enjoyed a pretty sunrise and watched the farmland turn to desert.

Our connection was in Phoenix, and as we neared the AZ/NM state line our eyes were glued to the window. We looked for any and every landmark we might recognize in AZ, from Mt. Humphreys to the Salt River Canyon to Roosevelt Lake. Even though it was Phoenix, we were elated to be back in our “home state” if only for a few hours.

Finally, we boarded our last flight from PHX to HNL. It was long but went smoothly, and we touched down back in Hawaii just after 2. The overall vibes on the plane didn’t match our mood as most were headed for vacation, while we were in “going back to reality” mode — not only going back to work, but Curtis actually leaving again so soon. We cheered ourselves up by thinking about Charlie waiting for us back home — and that happy little reunion did not disappoint!

Despite the stressful ending, we’re so thankful we had the opportunity to finally go home. We hope and pray that next year brings us back to the mainland, maybe even for good! Thank you to all of our family for making it such a fun trip!

MI to MN / Hiking Mount Arvon

DC and Midwest Trip | August 2019 | Days 8 & 9

Once finished with Pictured Rocks, we continued our drive heading West. After stopping at Culvers for lunch in Marquette, we drove West on US 41 up to L’Anse. We took Skanee Road into the L’Anse reservation, with our destination being the trailhead to Mount Arvon, the highest point in Michigan. The route to the peak is pretty well marked by small, light blue signs along the highway. When we turned off of Skanee Road, one of the first things we saw was a small shop that advertised “high pointer souvenirs” — they clearly knew how to cater to the people visiting this area!

The road to the trailhead/peak was a gravel road, not too hard on our rental car but we took it easy driving up there. The light blue signs helped us find our way, but Curtis had also done a lot of researched and had screenshots of directions saved on his phone just in case. The road continues all the way up to the highest point, but we stopped at signs for the ‘trail’ so that we could say we hiked up.

In all honesty, the trail felt like it was just randomly added to appease people like us who prefer to hike to the high points. It seemed to meander around the woods for no rhyme or reason. There was a pretty waterfall towards the beginning of the trail, but most of the area was woods and swampland swarming with mosquitoes. The trail was well marked though — hapharzardly with blue blazes, surveyors tape, and spray paint marking trees 10 feet apart. That’s how random the trail was — they needed to mark so many trees to keep you on the right path!

Eventually, the trail ran into the road and ended abruptly, so we ended up road walking to the actual peak. There was one other family up there visiting from Wisconsin, and we exchanged pictures. After they left, we letterboxed, signed the logbook, and took some time to enjoy the “view.” When it came time to head back, we decided to walk the road down instead of the trail, and it was much more enjoyable. High point #17 complete! You can view our AllTrails recording here.

It was early evening at this point, so we made our way back to US 41, then took 141 continuing West. We found a campsite near Sidnaw in Ottawa National Forest and enjoyed a quiet night there.

On the radio, we heard the lows were supposed to drop down to 50 degrees. When we woke up, we were ashamed by how cold we felt — how could we be so weak?! But when we turned on the car at around 8:30, we saw the temperature was actually only 40 degrees, and we felt justified in how cold we were.

That morning we mostly focused on driving from there to Curtis’ sister’s house in Northern Minnesota, but made a couple stops along the way. First up, we stopped to see the Whispering Giant statue in Wakefield. Continuing into Wisconsin, we did a short hike on a nature trail in Brule River State Forest to find a letterbox planted by some friends in Arizona. When we made it to Minnesota, we stopped to grab a quick lunch in Duluth then attempted a letterbox in Enger Park. We were unsuccessful with our attempt, but still enjoyed the gardens and the tower with views over the town and Lake Superior.

Finally, we finished our drive to Lydia and Jeff’s home, and spent the rest of the day (and following morning) playing with our adorable nieces, Grace and Kylie. It was our first time meeting Kylie, who is now 18 months old, and the last time we saw Grace was when she was only 6 months old, and now she was almost 4! Clearly we have missed out on a lot, but both girls were excited to see us nonetheless and weren’t shy at all around us, and we enjoyed getting to know them both!

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

DC & Midwest Trip | August 2019 | Days 7 & 8

After saying goodbye to Curtis’ family, we began our multi-day trip around the UP headed for his sister’s home in Minnesota. When considering this route, we knew that several of the things we like to go out of our way to see were in this area, including both Michigan and Wisconsin’s high points and Whispering Giant statues, as well as some national park administered sites such as Pictured Rocks and Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. While we would’ve loved to do it all, all these things just weren’t close enough together to knock out without lots of driving time, which would take away from time spent with family. Knowing we would like to someday repeat this trip, we decided to focus on Michigan’s sites and save Wisconsin’s for our next trip.

We drove MI 72 to 131, then took 32 to interstate 75, knocking out 3 more counties. Michigan’s lower peninsula is starting to look more complete on our map! We crossed the Mackinac Bridge and followed highway 2 along the Northern side of Lake Michigan. For the most part, we didn’t make many stops, except for one letterbox and a short hike at the Cut River Bridge Roadside Park in Epoufette. We also made an alteration to our route so that we could drive through Curtis, Michigan.

That night, we had reservations at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Beaver Lake campground. We arrived and set up our tent, then went right out for a 3 mile sunset hike to the shore of Lake Superior. We sat for a bit and enjoyed the stillness of the lake, then hurried back and made some rice and kielbasa on our stove for dinner. (In case you’re wondering how we had all our camping supplies from Hawaii, the Navy allowed Curtis to bring 2 checked bags…but they didn’t specify that it had to be for uniforms or anything so we just packed our camping supplies. 🙂 )

It rained a little off and on through the night, but thankfully not too much because we had forgotten our tent’s cover. We packed up early and continued driving through the park. It was still overcast, but we wanted to fit in a longer hike while still in the park, so we packed our umbrellas, put on our rain jackets, and set out to hike to Chapel Rock and Chapel Beach. There was a 10 mile hike we could’ve done, but with the weather and time we had we settled for a 7 mile loop where we enjoyed multiple views of Chapel Falls, the rock and lakeshore, and just the quiet trail through the woods in general. We found a few letterboxes and enjoyed the easy trail.

To finish our time here, we went to the park office to get our cancellation stamps and walk the short boardwalk trail to Miners Falls. We had a great time here and enjoyed how quiet the park was in contrast to Sleeping Bear Dunes. If we were to ever come back, it would be to either kayak and enjoy the views from the water, or it would be when we’re up there backpacking the North Country National Scenic Trail. We’ll see. 😉

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

DC & Midwest Trip | August 2019 | Days 6 & 7

Over the course of our 6 years of traveling together, our most-driven route has been between Eastern Iowa and Western Michigan. We’ve done our best to change it up rather than driving I-80 all the time, but by this point we have to go pretty far out of our way to get new counties. One thing we’ve always talked about doing is taking the long route — up North to Michigan’s upper peninsula and then South to Iowa. Normally we decide against it in order to spend more time with our families, but this year we had a good reason to go for it: Curtis’ older sister’s family now lives in Northern Minnesota!

With this in mind, Curtis started doing research on everything we could do along this new route. And there turned out to be a LOT. The last time we were in this part of the country was for our Honeymoon in 2013. Right away we knew two things: we weren’t going to have enough time to do it all this trip, and we were definitely going to do this drive again in the future!

When making plans, we threw out the idea of going up to Sleeping Bear Dunes to Curtis’ family while we were visiting with them, and they happily obliged. Not only that, but they happened to have a relative in that area that was able to host us since most campgrounds were already booked. After a morning spent at their home, we began our drive North.

Our first stop was to visit Curtis’ grandparents and his Aunt Ruth who was in town. After catching up, sharing stories and maps, we continued driving up the coastal counties, stopping for letterboxes along the way. We arrived in Bear Lake that evening and spent some time chatting with our hosts.

The next day was our only full day in the area, so we packed it full of hiking, letterboxing, and scenic drives. We woke up relatively early and headed out to Point Betsie Lighthouse on Lake Michigan. We looked for Petoskey Stones and found a few fragments before continuing North to Empire where we got our National Park Cancellation Stamps and started our first hike to Empire Bluff.

The hike was about a mile and a half, and while it was quite busy we enjoyed the easy trek out to the bluff with our first good views of the lake and the continuation of the bluffs to the North. You can see our AllTrails recording here. After we got down from the hike we continued driving North to the Pierce Stocking Loop Drive for some light hiking and letterboxing. While we letterboxed with Curtis’ parents, Joel and Claire went further North to the ‘Dune Climb,’ which we all didn’t mind skipping. We still got some of the intensity of a dune climb through our shorter letterbox hikes.

Once finished with the scenic drive, we met up with Joel and Claire and continued on to Glen Arbor. We had a late lunch at the Good Harbor Grill, then walked around town a little. The highlight (possibly of the entire day 😉 ) was checking out the Cherry Republic. We thoroughly enjoyed sampling all the different cherry products, followed by a wine tasting next door.

For our last hike of the day, we climbed up the mile long round-trip trail to Pyramid Point for some more pretty lake views and views of the Manitou islands. We finished our day by watching the sunset and skipping rocks into the lake.

The next morning began our last day together. We made our way North and West to Traverse City and stopped at Moomers Ice Cream — the perfect mid-morning snack! We then went for our last letterboxing hike in the trails around the Historic Barns Park in Traverse City.

We said our goodbyes after noon, and went our separate ways — Curtis’ family back South, and us continuing North. We’re thankful for this time together with them and getting to enjoy an area together that they hadn’t visited in a while, and I had never been. Hopefully this new ability to drive around the UP between family in Michigan and Minnesota will open up the potential for more fun adventures just like this in the future!

DC to MI / Backbone Mountain & Campbell Hill

DC & Midwest Trip | August 2019 | Day 5

On Friday, August 9, we rose early and checked out of our hotel at 5am. We walked to the nearest metro station and rode to DCA. We picked up a rental car and began our journey West.

I can honestly say we’ve been planning this trip for 2 years now, since the day we set foot on the island at the end of our last cross country road trip. One of the main things we miss about living on the mainland is having the ability to take long road trips — to plan different routes around points of interest, enter new counties, and know that there are miles and miles of open road ahead of us. It was going to be impossible to fit everything we wanted to do into just 11 days, so we focused on what was most important — seeing our families — and found points of interest along the way.

When planning out our first day, Curtis figured the driving time would be about 14 hours. I thought about it, and responded, “That sounds really nice.” We took 395 to 495 to highway 50 making our way to interstate 66. Virginia is going to be a hard state to finish county-wise thanks to their ‘city counties’, where we actually have to drive into cities. We were able to knock out 2 of those on this trip (along with 7 ‘real counties’), but it’ll be a long time before we can complete it. (Unless we end up with orders to Norfolk or DC, in which case we’ll have nothing better to do…)

Anyway, we stayed on I-66 until it ran into 81, then took 48 which turned into 55 in West Virginia. We had brought our old Atlas from home which has held up surprisingly well for being used so much for over 5 years — but decided that after this trip, it’ll be time to retire it. There were too many new roads or highway improvements that weren’t on the map.

Our first stop of the day was to hike Maryland’s high point, which actually begins in West Virginia along WV-24. We parked on the side of the road and began hiking up the trail. It was foggy and chilly outside, which gave the woods a cool, eerie feel. The trail was well-marked and easy to follow, though steep and rocky at parts.

We crossed into Maryland, stopping to take pictures with the boundary marker, then summited the high point after a mile of climbing. We took pictures, found a Geocache, then made our way back down. An easy 2 mile hike to 3360 feet of elevation for our 15th state high point! (Check out our Alltrails recording here.)

We drove all the way across West Virginia on highway 50, which started out slow and tedious behind slow traffic on winding mountain roads, but finally turned into a 4 lane highway with beautiful views. We crossed into Ohio and stopped for lunch in Athens at one of the fast food places we’ve missed the most: Taco Johns! Yes, there were many delicious local places everywhere we went, but after living 2 years on an island deprived of our favorite fast foods, this was all we wanted!

From here, we took OH-33 up to Columbus, around the Southeast side, then continued on 33 up to Bellefontaine. Here we made our second and last stop for another highpoint: Campbell Hill, Ohio’s highest point at 1550 feet above sea level. Another easy accomplishment for state high point #16.

We continued driving 33 up to Indiana, around Fort Wayne and North on 69, then West on 96 to Grand Rapids. We made it to Curtis’ parent’s house just before 10 and were reunited with his parents, younger brother and sister, and all the pets — including their new puppy, Sweets. A happy ending to a fun filled day of driving!

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