From Oregon to British Columbia

After a cold, cramped night of camping in our car, we again headed north. Here is Keri, halfway between the equator and the north pole:

We arrived in Portland and scoped out the busy downtown scene, with a quick stop in the super massive Powell's Bookstore (check it out: here). We then spent a lovely, quiet evening with Anna, Chris, and wee Rosalie Bruce, Corey's friends from college. The following day, we had a healthy, filling breakfast at Bob's Red Mill and then headed toward Canada.

We made a quick stop in Seattle, where we met up with Heather Thomsen and paid a trip to Pike Place Market.

Corey made the obligatory pilgrimage to the original Starbucks store:

Our stop was very short, for Canada was calling

.
We met up here with Ai, Phil and Mya Whelan, Corey's friends from Japan. Here, Mya is enjoying a fresh cherry from the market on Granville island.

Vancouver is a paradisiacal city, a city of glass buildings and greenery surrounded by sea and impressive mountains.

 
There are also prehistoric leaves...

We love Vancouver!

After seeing the sights, and eating delicious dim sum, we headed north along the Sea-to-Sky highway, which boasted the most spectacular scenery of the trip thus far.

And finally, before the long stretch of Canadian roadway, we settled for the night at a seriously beautiful lake campsite...

More about Canada to Alaska to come. Bye!

From Reno to Oregon (other cities and Canada pictures to come later)

So, internet access has been sparse and we haven't had time to update this blog, but here's what we've been doing/seeing over the last few days.

We left Reno...

...and headed north to Oregon, with its many grassy fields and mountains.

and onward to Crater Lake, the deepest lake in North America.

The views were absolutely stunning. A road runs around the rim of this former volcano, giving views into the crater where a beautifully blue, serene lake sits. We took a few pictures, enjoyed a dinner of pb&j, and headed onward.

We happened upon a lovely campsite in rural Oregon, Big Pines RV park, where we enjoyed hot showers and a quiet spot to make camp inside our new car. It was a little cramped, but we managed to get a decent night's sleep here.

Into the Mountains

Day two of the trip was spent in Bishop for Corey's dad's wedding. We got to catch up with family and take one final trip to Rock Creek Lakes Resort for the best pie on earth. Here are Corey and his brother-in-law Matt pondering the mountains majesty.

And here is Keri with Corey's aunt, Leisa, sister, Brenna, and Matt's daughter, Marin. They are all very happy and filled with pie.

After Bishop, we headed north to take a trip around Lake Tahoe. Here, Keri is enjoying the view of Emerald Bay.

It was a beautiful, warm summer day at the lake, and so it was insanely crowded. We chose not to bother with the crowds, but drove onwards into Nevada to meet up with friends and stay the night in Reno before the next leg of the trip.

"The greatest adventure is what lies ahead..." (says Bilbo)

We started the drive yesterday after saying goodbye to many, many wonderful people in Pasadena. We decided we wanted to start a blog for anyone who wants to follow our journey! We'll try to post pictures from the 3,640 mile drive north as we go!  Hope you enjoy :)

Day 1:
Through Red Rock Canyon, and much desert land...

...to our first stop - Corey's hometown of Bishop, California for his dad's wedding.

Many future posts will be done from Keri's iPod, and so the words might be few, but we'll try to include lots of pictures so you all can see what we're seeing.