The Long and Winding Road

So since our departure from Thailand, we have finally arrived in Zion National Park, Utah. We made a beeline for the area, spending 3 weeks in the Philippines hanging out with my cousin, Eloy. Then we hit up Brett's homeland of Oregon, spent time with his family and friends, bought a car, got geared up for camping, and thanks to his mom Sharen, put together some last minute details for the wedding. We took the LONGEST way possible to get from Grants Pass, OR to San Francisco, taking every scenic byway we could. The trip took 14 hours. While it was a gorgeous trip, we won't be doing that again. We arrived in San Fran where I got to reconnect with old High School and Peace Corps friends. We continued on to Lake Tahoe to visit another friend then traveled down the loneliest road in America (Hwy 50) through Nevada stopping to camp at Great Basin National Park. We went on a cave tour, got back on the road, and finally arrived at Zion National Park. The scenery coming in kept smiles on our faces. As we drove into the park, I kept laughing at how ridiculously beautiful it all was. Words fail. We're here, last details have been cemented and now we will be enjoying the park while we wait for our family and friends to arrive for the big date. Brett's mom will be arriving early as well as his brother and some friends. It's all very exciting. Here's a photo progression of our journey.

My birthday present: Parasailing at White Sands Beach, Mindoro, Philippines

With my cousin and his friend in Puerta Galera, Mindoro, Phil.

Baby Bump in front of our new car! Portland, Or.

With friends and family in front of Multnomah Falls.

With Sharen and Jack in the Lava Caves.

A garden complete with unicorn, pegasus, and elephant:
The hard work of a 3 year-old girl and I while visiting friends in Grants Pass, OR.

California!
Redwood Forest.

California Poppies along the highway.

We couldn't drive through because of our roof carrier.

So we parked on top of a tree instead.

Highway 1, the Shoreline Highway in California
Again.

Little River Inn where we had an surprisingly AMAZING dinner.

Their garden

Driving into San Francisco at night.

Brett and I in front of Bridal Veil falls.
Apparently there are alot of "Bridal Veil" falls.

Entering South Lake Tahoe! Pretty, woodsy, mountains!

Tempting.

A shoe tree along the highway

Pony express territory in Austin, NV

Loneliest Road driving into the Great Basins

Deer? Elk? Moose?

Marmot!!!!!!!!

Barn swallow takes flight at our breakfast cafe.

Dead drunk things in cars
Its a drunk dead horse.

Another Roadside Attraction


Entering Great Basin National Park

The very, very ornate Lehman's Cave

Great Basin NP

Marmot Crossing

Cows on skateboards crossing into Utah!


Entering Springdale, UT and the Zion NP Area.

Our first home in the US.

Our backyard

Our Kitchen

Our Living Room

Our Bathroom