DAY 6 VIDEO!

Hello everyone! This is Tyler writing to you with great joy, because thanks to spending the night in a hotel with wifi, I was able to let a video that I just created download to YouTube all night long (it takes forever!) and I just woke up and saw that it was complete so it is with great pleasure that I'd like to share it with you. 

I have been making a video like the one you are about to watch for each day and by the end of the trip, I plan to combine them all to make a simple video documenting our trip. It is all made possible by my various members of my wonderful family who went together and got me a GoPro Hero3 camera for my birthday and I am so grateful that it will allow us to keep the memories of this trip for a lifetime. 

Enjoy the video, share it with your friends and family, and please comment below on your honest thoughts about how it was put together and how I could improve. Thank you!

Olympic National Park

Overlooking Shi Shi Beach in Olympic National Park

ahhh.... Let me just start with a big sigh of relief! I just showered and it felt so nice to feel the dirt and grime from three days wash off of me. 

But lets rewind a little bit. The last time I updated you I was sitting in a GoodYear Auto Service Center. Since then we drove one hour out of Seattle to the next large town over, Tacoma, and spent the night in the local Walmart parking lot. Let’s just say we have found the most wasteful, lazy, and unproductive job for anyone out there that cares to know. While we were at Walmart, we noticed a “rent-a-cop” police truck driving throughout the parking lot one row at a time. Great! We love a safe parking lot. However, the man in the truck continued to drive up and down the rows for the next three hours, and he was their before we got their. Never once did he stop. Although we did see him following the every movement of three stereotypical “suspicious” boys. We mean driving right behind them to their car... anyway, that’s probably more details on that cop than you want.

We then woke up the next morning and drove the remaining two hours to the outskirts of Olympic National Park. Let me just tell you... this place was beautiful, and that’s saying something since we couldn’t see very much because it was extremely foggy both days that we were there. The first day we drove to Shi Shi Beach, which is one of the farthest northwestern points in the park. We had to hike 1.7 miles to the beach through mud, mud and more mud. We did alright avoiding the mud for the first mile, but then came the second mile and we had no chance. The beach was beautiful though - words could not describe its beauty and awesomeness. We saw a number of different starfish while we were there, as well as bald eagles! I am not sure that I have ever seen Ty so happy. 

The trail was a little muddy, just a little.

Ty climbed out to the coast to capture this shot!

After the beach we headed towards Forks, WA. Yup, you read it right. For all you Twilight crazed fans out there, we were there. To be honest though, it was pretty run down. We also looked it up, and none of the movies were actually filmed there. The town is very proud though. They have even marked the line in-between the territories. I got a good laugh out of that! 

That evening we stayed at Mora Campground. It was pouring the whole time though so we just stayed in the truck. However, it was nice not to have to brush our teeth in a public bathroom! The next morning we slept in (which was only until 7:00am because we are still slightly on eastern time), put our soaking wet shoes back on, and headed to the Hoh Rainforest. This was probably my favorite stop so far. Everything is so green and the trees are HUGE. It is crazy to think about everything that those trees have seen! Also, while we were walking on the trail we were both looking down and almost walked right up to a herd(?) of deer! They were so close and stunning! We definitely loved Olympic Park and can’t wait to come back some day. 

The Hoh Rainforest had some HUGE trees!

Nearly walked right into this deer and some of his friends while hiking!

The rest of today has been filled with driving. Our next destination is Yosemite National Park. So for your “Where In America Is Tyler and Kaddie”, we are currently in Eugene, Oregon where we have rented a motel room so that we could 1) finally shower, 2) wash our muddy clothes, and 3) charge all of our dead batteries. We have an outlet that plugged into our car, but it broke :( We are still about 11 hours from Yosemite and plan on getting their tomorrow. We are really excited to finally get to some warmer weather! The past two days have been cold, wet, and muddy, but they have also been our favorite! 

Until the next time we can update... love ty and kaddie 

Day 5

Hey friends, family, and followers! 

Thanks to everyone who has been checking our blog out! We had over 240 page views just today, and the day is still young. We even have a few page views in Germany and Kuwait! So cool!

Since we last updated you we have 1) visited Old Faithful, 2) had our one year anniversary, 3) drove to Seattle, and 4) visited the famous sleepless city. 

1) Old Faithful was beautiful and faithful. While we were visiting there we stopped and looked inside the Old Faithful Inn. It was gorgeous! We also watched an informational video on how Yellowstone could explode at any second and all of our flesh would be burnt to a crisp instantly. Yeah, we were okay with moving on in our journey after that video. 

We got to Old Faithful right as it was exploding.

The beautiful Old Faithful Inn

2) Tyler and I have officially made it through one whole year of marriage! Not only did that year go flying by, but we also have learned so much. To all of you soon-to-be-weds out there, nothing can prepare you for marriage. It is beautiful, but so completely different than dating. Ty surprised me with a one night stay at a cabin in Yellowstone. It was so wonderful to finally shower! And the best part - there were seriously buffalo right across the street from our cabin. If you read Ty's last post, then you know I adore those handsome guys! 

3) Seattle is approximately 12 hours from Yellowstone. We drove 9 hours to Moses Lake, spent the night at a wonderful Walmart, and then finished the last three hours of our journey this morning. The drive was gorgeous, especially Idaho. We weren't excepting much from Idaho, but it was probably my favorite drive-through state so far. (We didn't see any potato crops though!)

Our view while driving

4) This morning (5/28/2013) we made it to Seattle! It is not only an intriguing city, but it also so rich with history! We visited a free museum on the history of the city. I am continually left in awe of the people who have founded our country. They were the most hard-working and driven people. While at the museum we got to follow the story of four different people (one of which was Mr. Nordstrom! (like the clothing)). Each one of their stories was incredible. 

Ty and I also went up in the famous Space Needle! It was super cold and windy, but it was incredible to be able to see the city from so far above! The smarts that the Lord gave the people who built it is crazy!

Side notes: 

~ The salmon here is incredible!

~ Tully's Coffee is my favorite and their are so many Tully cafes here!

~ The cafes here do not really serve anything but coffee and pastries. If I were you, I would definitely check out Courtyard Cafe on Main in Denver, Pa- so much better ;)  

The famous gum wall in Seattle

The original Starbucks

My hubby at the Puget Sound

The Space Needle

Us at the top of the Space Needle

We are almost at 3,000 miles so we are currently getting the truck's (whom we have dearly named Hank) oil changed, as well as getting him checked over. He has been a great truck so far! So thanks to Good Year and their free Wi-fi, I am currently sitting on the ground behind a pile of tires so that I can charge the computer and update you all! 

We have decided to start heading out of Seattle tonight, and start heading to our next destination, Olympic Park. We want to get ahead of schedule so that we can spend an extra day at the beach relaxing. It also helps that it is suppose to downpour in Seattle tonight and tomorrow. 

Until the next time we can find wi-fi... love ty and kaddie

We Finally Made it to Yellowstone

Today was Day 3 of our three week adventure and we reached our first national park: Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. 

The night before we ended up driving until 12:30a.m.(that’s 18 hours of driving in one day) and then found a nice Wal-Mart in Cody, Wyoming, just an hour outside of Yellowstone, and quickly fell asleep in the back of our truck. We awoke this morning exhausted from the previous day of driving, but were excited to journey through the park. 

Then we headed for Yellowstone and were instantly greeted with rocky mountains, both near and far, along with large and small bodies of water. Upon arriving, we purchased the Interagency Annual Pass that gets into all national parks for one year. We figured this was wise seeing as it cost $80, but each park charges $25 per car to enter and we will be going to approximately 5 or 6 parks on this trip alone. The ranger was also kind enough to give us the friendly flyer below.

 The drive into the heart of Yellowstone is a bit long, but the majestic mountains, the search for wildlife, and the growth of new trees among those that have died off our were burnt in a wildfire a few years ago, keeps you in awe.

In route to our first point of interest, we saw signs for rapids, so we decided to take a quick look. The two pictures at the top of this post are from that location. We then continued the drive through the wilderness and valleys toward the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Along the way we took another pit stop at the mud volcano. This clearly isn’t a volcano like we would imagine, but in simple terms it was a puddle of mud that along with some chemical and gas reactions beneath the surface of the earth, cause the mud to bubble pretty intensely. And not to mention that while this and other hot springs are incredible and fascinating, they smell terrible. One fella that we met right away described the smell as “rotten eggs and sauerkraut”, and boy was he right! We finally made it to the Grand Canyon, which is absolutely stunning from the look out point known as Artist Point. 

While at Artist Point we decided to start hiking on a trail that leads to a lookout point and two lakes. However, a sign at the beginning of our hike, along with previous warnings, didn’t allow Kaddie get over the idea that she could encounter a bear face-to-face, so the hike was short-lived, but still worth it. (Kaddie is going to jump in here for a sec. We were not prepared! I love bear if I have bear spray :) thank you, back to ty)

Throughout the rest of the day we visited Mammoth Hot Springs, the Norris Geyser Basin, and drove most of the Grand Loop Rd that winds through the park. Driving through the park alone is worth every minute because there is unending beauty everywhere and, if you’re lucky, some wildlife. Bison are definitely the most prominent, but we were also able to see Bighorn Sheep, Deer-Elk(?), and spotted a few bears from a distance. One man also told us that he saw a mama fox playing with two cubs...unfortunately we missed that one. 

We concluded the day by treating ourselves to a one night stay in a simple, yet comfortable cabin to 1)allow ourselves to shower and 2)to celebrate our one year anniversary, which is actually on May 27th. Below is a picture of us eating our one year anniversary cake, which was well preserved and still tasted delicious! 

On Monday we will be seeing the Old Faithful Geyser and Inn and then beginning the approximately twelve hour drive to Seattle and Olympic National Park. If anyone has ever been to either of these places, we would love suggestions on what are “must see” attractions, so please comment below and subscribe to our blog to continue following our trip! 20 more days to go!

Fact: The term “Bison” and “Buffalo” are both names for the same animal, for those of you who don't know. (Kaddie adores bison)

What did the buffalo say to his son when he left home?

Bison.

Kaddie doesn't have a zoom lens, so just imagine how close he was! 

Time Capsuled Cake

Big Horn Sheep

The little black dot is a bear!

Top of Mammoth Hot Springs

Fear of the Unknown

Last night was our first night sleeping in the truck - a Walmart parking lot was our host. Let me tell you, I knew that sleeping in the back of a truck on a twin mattress was adventurous, but I don’t think we were really prepared for that. To be honest, sleeping on the mattress was really comfortable. We have our luggage lining the one side along with pillows and extra blankets so that it feels a little bit larger than we thought it would. It was a bit scary though. Not because we thought some crazy person was going to come get us, or because the cops were going to come yell at us, but because it was different and new. Something that I think that we are learning the most on this trip, even if it just started, is to trust in the Lord. 

Our Home Away From Home

For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you.’” 

Isaiah 41:13

This verse is so true, yet we often fail to live life in the absence of fear. The Lord, creator of everything is holding OUR hand, yet we refuse to trust that. The new is comfortable and we don’t like to leave our comfy bubbles, but that’s not what the Lord has called us to. I believe that fear and stagnation are two of Satan’s greatest attacks against us.

As we were driving through Minnesota and South Dakota we were met with endless miles of flat earth. It was beautiful and breath-taking. I could not help but think about the first pioneers that walked this land. They had no idea where they were going, what was ahead of them, and who they would meet. Ty and I have the comfort of traveling in a speedy truck with a radio, computer, books, food, etc. All the pilgrim had was each other, a slow moving caravan, limited food, and as much entertainment as they could imagine, yet they pursued through all types of weather, sickness, and mental wars. They were fearless. They may have been afraid, being afraid is okay, but they did not let that fear cripple them in pursuing a better life. 

So the revelation of the day - do not let your dreams, goals, and pursuits be held back by Satan’s crippling fear on your life, the Lord will help you. He will never leave you, nor forsake you. So moms, stop worrying, the creator of the universe is holding our hand and watching over us - theres no better protector than that.

Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in your perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.

Isaiah 25:1

832 Miles Until Yellowstone (pic. from this am.)

We are almost in Yellowstone. Does anyone have any must sees? Also, make sure to become a followers of our blog so that you don't miss a single new post!

And We're Off

Today is Saturday, and we are in Onalaska, Wisconsin.

Thursday evening we had to say good-bye to our puppy for three weeks. (Thanks Mom & Dad for watching him.) We are going to miss our pooch very much!

Mommy and Daddy will miss you Theodore Leo Lionel Hollinger!

It is Saturday morning, and we are in Onalaska, Wisconsin. We drove approximately 17 hours and 900 miles yesterday (although we were stuck in traffic for three hours.) We will still have about 16 hours to Yellowstone. Yesterday was a peaceful uneventful day for the post part. Actually if you take out Chicago, it couldn't have been a better day. The sun was shining as soon as we got out of PA and the temperature was right in the mid-50s. But then we hit Chicago. We had about a quarter of a tank of gas as we entered the city, but how long could it possibility take to drive through a little city like Chicago? Well lets just say that 1.5 hours later our gas light came on. We were stuck in bumper to bumper, no-shoulder, traffic. Let's just say we were praying fervently. We finally were able to get to a gas station, but we definitely payed for not getting gas prior to entering the city. Are you ready for it.... $4.47 a gallon. Ouch. The Lord provided though and were weren't left stranded in the middle of the city. We also learned a very important lesson. Always have a full tank when entering a large city.

We took this picture after 2 hours of traffic. We thought we were almost out! Little did we know, we still had about another hour.

Overall, it was a great first day! Tyler put together an awesome video of our first day, however due to technical difficulties, we aren't able to share it with you :( We will keep working on it. Meanwhile, enjoy the following photos.

Lots of tunnels, primarily through western PA.

Chicago Traffic - the worst part of the day, but yet the most eye opening that we need to have faith that God will provide for us.

Subway for dinner! Just before driving into Wisconsin. 

Headed to a Wal-Mart in Onalaska, WI to sleep for the night. 

Wait. What?

Today is Wednesday. 

We are leaving Friday morning. 

It just hit me this morning that we are leaving in less than two days, and we haven't gotten much together yet, nor do we have much time to do so. In between working, softball games, and last minute family time, we are left with a growing to-do list and a ticking clock. 

Our To-Do List - 

• Take truck to the garage just to (help) make sure that it doesn't leave us stranded on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. CHECK
• Get the mattress and realize that a twin isn't as big as it use to seem. CHECK
• Have dinner with Grandpa and Grandma Showalter. (Don't worry, we are coming back.) CHECK
• Being blessed with a large amount of pop-tarts, oreos, and other junk food for our trip by grandparents and parents. SURPRISE CHECK
• Trying to get the cap on the truck in the dark just to realize that it is full of bugs and slugs from sitting in the grass for two weeks. Followed by, struggling to get it off and back into the grass before our mattress gets all buggy. CHECK
• Clean cap of all its bugs and slugs and get it back on the truck. 
• Make keys so that we can actually lock our cap. 
• Finish laundry without a washer and dryer at our house.
• Find twin sheets somewhere.
• Go over and over the mental list of everything that we will need for our three week journey. SEMI-CHECK 
• Be packed and ready to go at 5:00am Friday morning. (Really not sure that is going to happen.)

I'm sure that this list doesn't cover everything, but isn't that the point of lists - to cross things off and write more down? 

We are beyond excited for Friday! However, in our hustle to get everything done, it is surreal. I pray that we are able to soak in these moments, now and on the trip, and really always.  If we are really being honest, I'm pretty sure that we have no idea what we are getting ourselves into. No matter, what it is, we are excited for the next three + weeks and the adventures that they hold!