Let's Review

On our last blog post, we had a friend ask some questions, so here are our answers...

1) Where there any moments that you were fearful? What were they?

I would have to say that during the whole trip, there wasn't a moment that I was really that fearful. I did write a post here about the fear of the unknown and the difference of sleeping in the truck. 

Over this past year, I have seen the hand of God give me more peace than I ever thought possible. As most of you know, I got very sick in October. During my fight against H.U.S. I faced things that I seriously never thought that I could make it through. (I am a wimp when it comes to anything that has to do with hospitals. I should say WAS a wimp, I've learned how to face my own sickness better.) It was during this time that I learned about the importance of prayer. "Lord give me peace beyond understanding" was a prayer that I said continually while sick. Also, when I got my diagnosis, I was told that I would be getting treatments into the summer months. By the Lord's grace, and with the prayers of a lot of people, I only had treatments for two months! 

"... If God is for us, who can be against us." Romans 8:31

2) When and how did God provide for you in a way that made you say "wow"?

This is a big question... If we really think about it, everyday that we live is a day that God provides for us in a "wow" way. Just think about the human body for a second. WOW. 

Overall though, I would have to say that the fact that we made it across the country and back with no issues is a big wowsers. On our first day, and in the post here, we almost ran out of gas in Chicago on a highway with no shoulders. Ty was able to find a really cheap hotel in a tourist town when it seemed like all of the rooms were taken and I was not feeling well. Don't forget about our gas syphoning situation, which I wrote about here, which I still believe to be a miracle. Our truck which we thought would brake down any second in the Rockies never did. Our speedometer in the truck reads 5 mph slower than what it is actually going and we never got a speeding ticket (we only learned about this on our second to last day when we did get pulled over, he let us go though!). We drove over 8,000 miles and never got into an accident. I'm sure that the list is a lot longer, but that is just some of the ways that wowed us. 

3) Any parks that were just okay, and that you'd not really want to go back to?

4) Which parks would you put on the not-to-miss list?

I'm going to tackle the last two questions by listing our LEAST favorite park TO our MOST favorite park.

*Disclaimer: We loved all of the parks and were amazed by God's creation during our whole trip.*

Arches National Park

Don't get me wrong, Arches was a beautiful place, but it was small, hot/dry, and didn't offer as much as the other parks - granted we did not spend very much time at Arches. The trails were limited and we did not see any wildlife at all. If you want to feel like you are on a different planet, definitely check this park out. It is in a desert and the rocks are crazy looking. The park is mainly one main road that goes through the park and then comes back down (only one main entrance/exit in the park, but sometimes there's more if the sand roads are able to be driven on).

Double Arch

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone was our first stop. Our favorite part about Yellowstone is that their is a TON of wildlife and you don't even have to really leave your car. I fell in love with bison and their oafy-ness here. We saw the most wildlife in this park - bear, bighorn sheep, elk, bison, deer, pika just to name a few. The downside, the whole park could explode any second. Well, that and it smells bad. Although it was awesome to see geysers/hot-springs/etc they all look slightly similar. Also, and this is our fault, it is really easy to just drive the loop through the park, view the land/wildlife, and then continue on your way. We did not do any hiking here, which probably makes would enhance a visit here.

Mammoth Hot Springs

The Grand Canyon

If you have never been to the Grand Canyon, you need to. It puts you in your place and makes you realize that you are really quite small and fragile. The sunsets over the canyon were some of the most awe-filled ones I have ever witnessed. The accommodations at the park were wonderful - showers, camp sites, stores, etc. The reason it wasn't our favorite - the only thing to do is hike the rim or hike down into the  canyon. 

Desert View

Yosemite National Park

Maybe it's because we were traveling in our truck, but accommodations always made us feel better. Yosemite is like its own little town. It has a grocery store, a shuttle bus, campsites with primitive rooms you can us instead of tents, and really nice rangers that point you to a location where you have a better chance of not getting caught while sleeping illegally. Besides all of that, the park is beautiful and has a lot to offer. There are trails to accommodate every type of hiker and each hike offers its own beauty. The park also offered the most history behind the park and surrounding area, and we both love history. Ty really wants to go back to this park and hike Half Dome. 

Tunnel View

These last two parks were both our favorites. The only reason that Zion is our favorite is because 1) they have iced hibiscus tea and 2) the area outside of the park offered the best of both worlds - vacation resort and primitive camping.

Olympic National Park

This park still has my breath. It was beautiful and untouched and raw. We traveled at a great time of year - nice weather, full rivers, and very few people. However, in Washington the higher elevation roads were still snow covered so we really didn't get to explore as much as we would have liked to. The first day we went to the coastal part of the park, and the second day we went to the rainforest. Let's stop right there. The fact that the park has snow-covered mountains, beaches, and a rainforest proves its awesomeness. We saw a good amount of wildlife in Olympic - our most favorite, a flock (?) of bald eagles flying over the beach! It was also amazing to see the large trees and to think about what the world looked like when they were just little. The downside to the park - the community outside of the park is underdeveloped and is obsessed with Twilight. Forks, Washington, which is the setting of the book, is right between two parts of the park. We definitely want to go back to Olympic though! 

Shi Shi Beach

Hoh Rainforest

Zion National Park

Even though I got really sick, we had a terrible motel with no air conditioning, and we might have lost a tank of gas, Zion was our favorite park. The park is not very large, but has so much to offer. 1) It was founded by Mormons and there are so many Biblical references in the mountain names, 2) the history behind the park is full of hardworking and adventurous people (women from Utah University were the first visitors!), 3) The Narrows was not only fun, but it was a relatively easy hike. We want to go back and hike the whole thing. 4) Hibiscus tea, seriously the best. If you made me some I just might cry of happiness. Just throwin' that out there. 5) The community outside of the park is really cute and offers the best of the vacation world for those who prefer a comfy hotel, yummy restaurants, and cute touristy stores. (The town outside of the park does not take away at all from the remoteness of the park.) We will without a doubt go back to Zion, God willing of course!

Emerald Pools

The Narrows

If you made it through this whole post, congratulations! Sorry that it was so long! If you have any specific questions let us know!