We made it back to Oregon!

We did it! We are so very grateful for the opportunity to travel these past 7 1/2 months and had a WONDERFUL time. Yes, we admit we had our moments of issues, concerns, and need-to-be-apart for a bit, however, it was well worth it and as a couple the experience made us stronger. Before I finish my last statement, I'll take you through the last week of our trip from Sturgis, SD to Salem, OR.

STURGIS, SD: After we left our campsite (from last blog entry below), we stopped in Sturgis to tour the Motorcycle Museum. You all know about the yearly Sturgis Motorcycle Festival, right? And wouldn't you think this museum would be huge and amazing? Well, it was neither. The town itself is small and simple and you'd have no idea that motorcycles even drive through the area, but when we did go through the little (and I mean little) museum, the folks there were very friendly. I guess I was expecting some big, bald, heavily-tattooed dude to be working there, but the gal was a small, 70+ year old minus any signs of tattooing. We did enjoy our time there and for $5 it was worth the stop. Here are some pics of some of the cool stuff in the building.





BILLINGS, BOZEMAN, & MISSOULA, MT: It was chilly and we hit some snow when driving across the Eastern side of Montana. No problem on the roads, but they had just received about 15" of snow a few days prior. First picture is of our campsite in Billings where we were lucky to find a campsite as many out in these parts of the country close down in October. And the 2nd picture is of antelope, which were literally ALL over on the sides of the road as we drove the freeway. They are so cute and I wanted to take one home, but Matt said that we were already at our max weight for towing. Bummer. ;)



COEUR D' ALENE, ID: Before we got here, we did stay a night in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, but wasn't a very exciting stay, so no pictures of that RV resort. If you haven't been to this area of the country, you need to head out here. The lake and surrounding mountains are awesome!

MOSES LAKE, WA: Matt found an OHV Area for riding our toys and free camping in Moses Lake, Washington. We made it out there and rode the motorcycle and 4-wheeler for a couple of hours on Saturday and then a few hours on Sunday. We were actually lost out in the dunes for a while.... pretty strange for 2 people that between us own 3 GPS', but I guess you need to have them WITH YOU if you intend on them being somewhat useful! After an hour of driving in circles, we did find our way back. Matt did some sweet jumps (see pics below!) and the only "interesting" thing I did was get stuck TWICE on the slope of a dune. I panicked and ended up having Matt come down to get me as I was afraid of falling backward. By Sunday, I actually jumped the 4-wheeler (on accident of course) 3 times as neither of us wanted me to stall out anymore. Pretty funny stuff. I'm a wimp and I admit it. HA! This area is very cool for riding and if you're a rider, get out and check it out - it's well worth it.

Matt making the move to the jump...

...and up in the air...

...and WAY up in the air...

...he did it! WHOOFTA!

And here's me, the wimp, just trying to look like I'm ready to do a stunt. :) But never did one.

HOOD RIVER, OR: And our last and final stop was in Hood River, Oregon. The drive along the Columbia River is breathtaking! Steep mountains along one side of us and the wide river on the other. Beautiful! We found the Viento State Park where we camped along the river. It was only $12/night, but nice enough and with showers. We figure it's cheap because it's squished between the freeway and a railroad track. We had a really nice dinner in town that night and this little city of Hood River is adorable. Here are some pictures of our last campsite and the view we had along the way.

And that leaves us with our US Map that is stuck to the side of our camper looking like this:

We decided to be true to the camper and only include the states in which we actually had the camper with us, so North Dakota and Alaska are not included. Just think, that gives us something to strive towards!

• We are bummed that this adventure in our lives has come to an end and we both said that the time flew by. We remember the first day we left with Monica & Bryan helping us clean and pack the camper, those first times on the 4-wheeler when I was nervous to do most anything, learning to be creative with camper meals, beautiful views and the difference in campsites from "group camping" at OHV parks to desert views in Joshua Tree National Park, to mountains in Santa Fe, riding all day and getting lost on the Piute Trail in Utah without another soul in sight, our precious time spent with our friend Bailey, rafting in Moab, dodging tornadoes in Missouri and Iowa, swimming in the Lake of the Ozarks, time spent with family and friends all along the way, No Toe in Yukon, bear, caribou, buffalo, elk, eagles, seals, mountain goats, camping in farm fields in Canada, no-halibut fishing in Petersburg, finding the "log cabin of our dreams" in Haines, gorgeous ferry rides down Southeastern Alaska, and so many more memories.

• In many ways, we came home at the right time. Based on the economy and our house not being sold yet, we came back in time for us to have a few months to find jobs and not panic. We are happy to have had this chance and we definitely recommend this sort of trip to any of you that believe it's impossible. It's not. We're proof. And I'm guessing we'll probably do it again someday. There is still all of the East coast that we need to see and what better than to start thinking about it now so it will become reality in our futures.

• Thanks again to everyone who took such great care of us along the way and for those of you that kept in touch via email and on our blog. Your support and enthusiasm kept us going and it is so great to know that we have family and friends out there that were with us along the way.

Please comment on this section (just below, click on COMMENT and follow directions) and let me know if you enjoyed the blog or if we missed explaining anything. Your comments mean a lot to us and we enjoy reading and responding to all of them.

Adios and good-bye for now. Peace out. Stay in touch.

Holly & Matt

THE END