The Oregon Coast Road

From Seattle, we took the coast road down into Oregon and California, on our way to San Francisco. The Oregon coast is beautiful, and famous for its lighthouses. We stopped a number of times to take photographs. At one lighthouse, the heavens opened up and rain poured down on us before turning into light hail. The drive was a really long one that day, and we didn't get to our motel until 10:30pm.

Getting My Morning Coffee Fix

No visit to Seattle would have been complete without a quick stop for my favourite coffee at the very first Starbucks. Mmmm delicious :)

Riding The Duck In Seattle

Following a long drive from Yellowstone we reached Seattle, and that afternoon took a tour of the Boeing factory (Andy just about fainted with excitement!).

The following day we spent touring the streets of this great city, taking an underground tour of old Seattle, wandering through the famous Pike Place Market (where we saw the tossing of the fish), going to the top of the Space Needle, visiting the Science Fiction Museum, and riding in a World War II amphibious vehicle that drove along the streets of Seattle and then straight out into the bay.

Yellowstone

We spent two nights on the western side of Yellowstone Park.

In the morning it was pouring rain, and by the time we had driven into the park it was snowing! We still managed to see plenty of bison and the snow made for some interesting pics. We also saw lots of elk, a fox, a wolf, and of course Old Faithful. At one point, a herd of bison blocked traffic as they walked down the road to their next grazing spot.

That night, after a fun day of seeing lots of wild animals, we enjoyed some awesome pizza at the local pizza place.

Hitchin’ A Ride

During yesterday's drive, we started to notice a knocking sound coming from the direction of the engine. Engine knocking sounds are generally not a good thing to hear, and we were quite worried something was seriously wrong with the engine. We called AAA, who sent a tow truck to take us to the nearest mechanic.

Luckily for us, it turned out to be an engine strut that had come loose - no danger or damage caused, and the total bill for repairs a mere $50. we were very relieved!

They Said We'd Never Make It

We finally made it to North Dakota! State number 28!

Driving To North Dakota

In our efforts to ensure we pass through all 48 contiguous states, we travelled along this dirt road for a couple of hours until we crossed the border into North Dakota...

Close Encounters

On the way to North Dakota, we drove past Devils Tower - as featured in the movie Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. It is an impressive outcropping of rock; the only object of any height in the area, surrounded by flat fields.

Legend says the marks on the sides of the rock were made by a bear that was chasing after some young Indian girls. The girls had climbed up onto a rock to escape, and as the bear came nearer the rock rose up into the air, forming the tall peak seen today. The bear scrambled to climb the sides, gouging the rock with its claws. However the rock became too tall for it to climb, and the girls escaped.

Bear Park USA

Just a short drive from Mount Rushmore we stopped in to visit a Bear Park for some photo opportunities. It was excellent - we drove around in our car and saw plenty of different animals, including elk, long horned sheep, deer and bear. The best part though was when we got out of the car and walked to the baby animals section, where we saw some black bear cubs playing.

They were amazing to watch - they were like little puppies with lots of energy, plus they could climb trees, which made for excellent viewing. We watched them for about half an hour before heading back to the motel.

Mount Rushmore

This stop was one that all of us were really looking forward to. Although we had seen Mount Rushmore in pictures and on television numerous times, nothing prepared us for actually seeing it in person. It was a very awe inspiring place. We spent a good few hours walking around and looking at the monument, with just a bit of rain to slow us down a little. The rain made it look like the presidents were all crying :P