1,200 Miles In

August 13, 2026

Jack and I left Seattle three days ago.

Since then, we have driven 1,200 miles through five states: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.

We’ve seen a little bit of everything.

Lush valleys and rivers.

High desert. Lava fields.

Waterfalls. Forests.

Intense heat.

Torrential rainstorms with lightning and thunder.

Thankfully, we haven’t been impacted by the wildfires, although the sky was hazy for nearly two days.

It has been an adventure for sure.

We spent today in Yellowstone taking in the sights and all the thermal activity. We hiked. We saw deer, elk, antelope (I think), and so many bison. We even got stuck in multiple bison traffic jams, which was ridiculously fun.

The morning was beautiful.

The afternoon, we got massively rained on.

Note to self: Just because you think it will be really hot everywhere you go for the entirety of a summer road trip does not mean it actually will be.

Lessons learned:

Check the weather forecast better.

Pack for “just in case.”

Apparently Yellowstone does not care what I assumed the weather would be.

I am having so much fun with Jack. I am incredibly thankful we are able to have this adventure together before this next chapter begins.

We still have a few more days on the road before we get to Colorado Springs and college life begins.

Until then, we have more miles to drive, more places to see, and apparently whatever weather Mother Nature feels like throwing at us.

I own a raincoat.

It is in Alaska.

Here are some photos from our trip so far.