#roadtripping

And then the best drive through the back roads of Vermont. #questioneverywhere #ipulledoverforthis #traveldeeper #wanderfolk #roadtripping (at Barre, Vermont)

Glacier National Park - Crown of the Continent.

Oregon was one of the states that we were really looking forward to. We pulled up to our campground around dusk after a scenic ride through beautiful winding mountain roads coming from Lake Tahoe. Our campsite was nestled right next to Diamond Lake. We set up camp and cooked our first meal as the sun was setting over the gigantic snow capped mountain that lives across the clear blue lake. Our neighbors informed us that we just missed a hailstorm and the temperature would be a record low that night, dropping below 40. We broke out our wool blanket and heavy socks in preparation for the chilly mountain air.

The following morning we woke up in clouds of heavy fog. Being the optimistic people that we are we headed to Crater Lake. Needless to say we couldn’t see five feet in front of us, let alone the beautiful unbelievably blue lake. So we headed north for some waterfalls and of course we weren’t disappointed. The green of Oregon’s forests with raging blue clean water is an unmatchable combo. Umpqua National Forest was a great area to explore. With four waterfalls and hot springs all within a 20 mile stretch it wasn’t hard to fill our entire day in the lush green forest.

The next day we headed to Crater Lake. Instead of writing about our experience at this incredible lake, I’d like to tell our personal favorite story of how the Lake came to be. We came across this story while reading “Your Guide to the National Parks.”

Mount Mazama had a cataclysmic eruption about 8,000 years ago. This cataclysmic eruption caused the mountain to collapse into itself forming a massive caldera.
The Makala Indians tell the story of an epic battle between Llao, Chief of the Below World and Skell, Chief of the Above World. Llao on one of his visits to Mount Mazama fell in love with one of the villagers. Llao promised the pretty young villager enteral life if she would come and live with him below Mount Mazama. The girl refused Llao’s offer which enraged the Chief of the Below World. Llao took his rage out on the village and started to destroy everything in sight. Skell, Chief of the Above World, seeing this from standing atop Mount Shasta decided to help the villagers. The epic battle between Llao and Skell ended in fiery destruction. Skell finally drove Llao back into the underworld through Mount Mazama where the battle took place all night. The next morning Mount Mazama was gone and all that was left was a gigantic gaping hole to the underworld. The following months after the epic battle was filled with torrential downpour which filled the void and created Crater Lake.

“We are now in the mountains and they are in us, kindling enthusiasm, making every nerve quiver, filling every pore and cell of us.” - John Muir

Yosemite National Park - Day 1 & 2

Bryce Canyon National Park is > OTHERWORDLY•»( 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of another world, especially a mystical or transcendental world.)

This is the only word that comes to mind when Jess and I started down the Navajo Loop / Queens Garden Trail yesterday afternoon.

Arches National Park is by far the coolest, oddest, strangest most beautiful place I have ever been. These pictures do not do it justice. This is a place that must be visited to truly understand the strange beauty of it.

Jess and I started out with one of the more popular hikes to • Delicate Arch •
It was a little under 4 miles round trip. Although 4 miles isn’t very long, we were nervous with the harsh summer desert heat. With lots of sun screen and water we prevailed. The hike to the arch was beautiful to say the least and well worth the sweat. The next hike we did was to Landscape Arch, which was a quick 2 mile hike. The landscape arch is the longest natural arch in the world, pretty neat.

Thanks to my friend Darren with lots of recommendations for the Moab area. We ended the daylight with a burger and milkshake from Milts. A cool outside seating burger joint that has been serving Moab since 1954. I couldn’t think of anything that I would have wanted more after a long day.

I wish I had more time to spend at Arches National Park and the entire Moab area. So much cool hikes, history and beautiful scenery to check out. Will be coming back in the future without a doubt. Tomorrow I think we will head to Bryce Canyon National Park.

Cheers!

We had about a 4 hour drive from Great Sand Dunes National Park to Mesa Verde National Park. The directions took us down route 160, such a beautiful drive. The winding road takes you right through the Rio Grande And San Juan National Forests. About 2 hours into the drive we stopped at a local farmers market and got some delicious food and checked out some crafts made by the local artisans. Lots of beautiful hand made items.

We booked two tours at Mesa Verde National Park. The first tour we took “Balcony House” was incredible. Starting off the tour with a 30 foot wooden ladder that takes you right into the heart of the cave dwellings. The Puebloan’ s created these insanely beautiful seated dwellings in the 12th century. It’s pretty cool that 800 years later we can be blown away in awe by their creations. The second tour was called “Cliff Palace” which is the largest Native American cave dwelling in North America.

Needless to say Jess and I can’t get over how cool Mesa Verde is. Tomorrow we are off to Arches National Park. Which we didn’t plan on going to. I think that’s the best part of this trip, freedom. Rolling with the punches…

Feels nice that the weather cooled down as the sun dropped behind the mountains. Can’t wait to crawl into bed..

We left The Great Smoky Mountains National Park around noon on Wednesday. As you can see our route changed a bit. Some of our reservations were cancelled in Arizona due to fires. So, we high tailed it to Colorado stopping only for fuel and food. I didn’t get any sleep and drove the entire day Wednesday, Wednesday night and most of Thursday. Jess hopped in for a few hours here and there giving me a few breaks. You also might notice there is a picture of Jess driving and not me. That’s because Jess slept most of the time :) . Luckily I had some good driving tunes and coffee to keep me awake. We did get to stop and check out Cadillac Ranch outside of Amarillo, Texas which was a cool piece of art.

We got to the campsite late Thursday afternoon and went to sleep pretty early last night. We did get to meet our great camp neighbors who are from Minnesota and travel the U.S. every chance they get on their motorcycle while pulling a trailer tent. They have been doing it since 1990 and had some great tips and ideas for camping/the camper and cool recommendations for areas in the U.S.

Jess and I woke up at at 4am to hike around the Sand Dunes at Great Sand Dunes National Park. For the first hour as the sun was coming up we were the only people in the park, that we could see at least. The Great Sand Dunes in Colorado are the tallest dunes in North America. Such a surreal natural beauty.

Now to take a nap in the hammock…

We started our journey yesterday and already it has kicked ass. We stayed at Cosby Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Very quiet, shady and beautiful campground. Our campsite was next to a creek, which made a great backdrop. We stopped at a veggie stand on the way in to buy some local produce. We broke out the cast iron skillet and made some badass veggie tacos. On the way out of the campground we stopped at Ozone Falls. Great photo op and swim spot. The falls drop 110’ into a cool little swimming hole. Summertime vibes.

Leaving this upcoming Tuesday for our first stop - The Great Smoky Mountains National Park! Lots of packing to take care of as well as double and triple checking the teardrop camper.

I’ll be sad leaving Richmond, such a cool city. Great people, great restaurants, great history and lots of fun outdoor stuff to do on the James.  It’s also in a great location being just a short drive from Shenandoah National Park as well as the beach. If you have never been to Richmond, I highly recommend checking it out. Pick up a copy of Colden Issue II for a breakdown of cool spots of Richmond by my homie Darren. http://colden.bigcartel.com

Shout out to my boy Tiny for making the last year and a half of work a bad motorgator. 

Roadtrip.

Prints:https://society6.com/jonnynichayes

Amazing #sunset #beach views for the team meal on #LakeTahoe ☀️ #roadtripping #travels #CaliforniaLove (at Jason’s Beachside Grille)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnW7a7OAMVf/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1jjz69ziqnxlh

Things you read on Naija roads…

one of my favorites from the #roadtrip series. what a trip, right bubba?
.
.
.
#roadtrippingwithadele #selfportrait #hilltopmotel #arizona #motel #travel #roadtripping #crosscountryroadtrip