Nehalem Bay, Oregon

Sunset on our way to Oregon from Salt Lake City, Utah

Oregon... the beginning of my life here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. This was early in the morning, after waking up on the beach.. Sound of waves crashing on the shore. As habit, we arrived in Nehalem Bay (a spot you absolutely need to visit in the Spring time) at 5 in the morning. A handful of tents were already set up, nestled under trees in a soft field of grass. The atmosphere was peaceful, blissful, as all these people slept under the remaining visible stars. After setting up our tent, it was nearly impossible to fall asleep, I was so eager to walk down to the beach, so overwhelmed with the feeling of "YES! I made it to this place!". 

There's something about waking up and spending time on the beach.. no one around, the world waking up, engulfing you in its freshness, its powerful vibration tugging at your heart strings, shifting the water in our very bodies, swaying you back and forth in a hypnotic rhythm of nirvana.. (Holy run on sentence, hah) Seriously. I don't know why it takes such a magical hold over me, but it's like I step into a different perspective of light and freedom.. The vast openness of a never ending sea... God, oceans are a love story to me. 

We walked up and down sand dunes towards the beach, making our way to a collection of sea stacks that led out into the water. We sat and ate some breakfast, allowing the cold winds to wake us up out of our sweet slumber. The day was incredible, not a cloud in the sky and the sun shinning just enough to warm the sand under our toes without making it unbearably hot. 

We enjoyed a relaxed and slow morning, taking our time walking around exploring the many sand dunes and trails Nehalem bay offered. Grounding ourselves, soaking up Pachamama through the soles of our feet.

Such a crappy, pixelated picture- but you can still see the magnitude and grace of this marvelous coast. To be honest I don't even remember how we got up here, haha, but I know it was one hell of an adventure. This was also my first time seeing sea stacks, although they're honestly nothing (in my eyes anyways) compared to the big and wise sea stacks of Washington state, our true destination on this cross country road trip.

We had a long day of travels ahead of us, wanting to arrive in Northern Washington before it got too late. There was some land waiting for us, so that we could pitch up an off grid homestead we'd live out of for the next 7 months... but that's a different story for a different time. We left Oregon and headed to the Olympic Peninsula, which I mentioned in my first blog post, as my favorite part of the state. Before arriving, we stopped at this cute little restaurant with a view of blue moon tinted mountains and a serene lake at its base. The picture below is a terrible injustice.

Close calls in Utah

Beautiful, magical, breath-taking Utah. We arrived in this amazing state around mid afternoon, but again, after some exploring and stopping at a random Flying J for our first shower in 3 days- we didn't make it to our destination until about 3 in the morning. By that time it was pitch black, with thousands of stars above our heads but even with their light, we were pretty much in an everlasting void of space. We were a few hours South of Salt Lake City, where we'd stop and camp for the night. Our plan was to hit some hot springs in the middle of the mountains the next morning. 

My little Ford Fiesta did pretty well considering it wasn't AWD, as we drove up a narrow canyon side to find a place to park for the night. We didn't have much visibility but to my left was Canyon wall and to our right it was pretty much a sudden drop to your death.. Haha pretty dramatic, but we were extremely high up there. It was nice knowing we weren't alone, as we spotted a bunch of deer grazing on the side of the road. 

I don't have many pictures of this hike sadly. There was so much fairy tale like beauty around me that I felt it ridiculous to focus on taking pictures instead of taking in every single detail and smell of this place. Walking through it we had to scramble up extremely muddy hillsides, with views down to rivers half frozen half alive, flowing through the greenery. It literally screamed "Lord of the Rings" - and felt like I was in a separate dimension. No forest or mountain I had climbed previous to this, could be equal in comparison. The air here was SO different. So fresh and crisp, so specific to this place, so untouched by any type of pollution. I really don't know how to describe all I felt while here. There was a magic to this place that transcended everything I've ever known. It made me feel complete, as if I belonged to these lands. It completely stole my heart.

As we were hiking along, we began to hear a lot of distressed and angry barking high above us on the mountain side to our right. It would come and go, and we had no idea where specifically it was coming from as we neither heard nor saw anyone else in the distance. After some time it was still continuing in the same direction we were traveling, until I finally noticed it- something large and black running through the woods above us. I only caught glimpses of this blackness, but came to the conclusion it was the dog we kept hearing. Shortly afterwards, I saw this black animal begin to run down the mountain side towards us, and noticed then, that it was actually a black bear. I had never seen one in person, but immediately made out the shape and aspects even from a distance. It was getting closer, and all it had to do to reach us was cross a river towards the foot of the mountain we were hiking along. 

We  decided it would be wise to turn around and go the way we came, as we didn't know the bear's intentions or direction. We walked a bit quicker than usual, eager to make great distance between us and wherever that bear was now. I was coming around a corner when I immediately stopped dead in my tracks. I don't think my heart has ever raced so fast, but luckily, it was only a cute little hunting dog as seen in the pictures above. He had an interesting collar around his neck, that had a blinking tracking device attached to it. He followed us on our hike back, never escaping our view but always walking ahead to make sure the path was clear and safe. As we approached our campsite we ran into 3 other men who had 4 other tracking dogs with them. They told us they were trying to track down the black bear we saw, wanting to scare it off into the woods and away from any people traveling through.

In the end we weren't able to make it to the hot springs due to the black bear, but we had a beautiful and energizing early morning hike through the mountains. On our way to the car we found a preserved skull hanging from a tree, so we decided to keep it in remembrance of our adventures here. We got ourselves ready, and continued our travels into the PNW- our first stop being Portland, Oregon. 

Spring in Colorado

We had arrived in Colorado around 5pm. Although we didn't get to our destination in Denver until about midnight- that's what happens when you stop to view every beautiful sight (and when you stop at a dispensary for some Colorado medicine). This beautiful state was the first real stop I enjoyed on my road trip West from Virginia. We had stopped in Kentucky and other states prior, but this is where the adventure began.

Late into the night we were trying to find a place to rest our head. It was starting to snow and Denver was expecting it to last, so we pulled into this random neighborhood and drove to a secluded spot where no one would bother us. We put the sheets up so no one could peak into the car, and just like that, we made ourselves comfortable and went to sleep. Mind you, for a cold Colorado night, I slept extremely well in my cramped little Ford Fiesta. When we awoke the next morning, there was an intense snowstorm outside. We drove blindly, and carefully- as I didn't have any chains for my car. We had to go up and over the mountain pass, leading West for Glenwood Springs, which was the wort part. Cars began to get stuck, and stop all together in the middle of the road. Feet of snow being too much for their sedans. There was no way I was going to stop, and I was trying to maneuver my little car between two stuck BMW's (YIKES) hoping I wouldn't lose control and crash into them... Once we hit Vail, the weather completely cleared up, as if it hadn't even snowed. 

Haha, not even kidding about this snow storm! I seriously don't know how my car made it through, and am so so happy we were able to get over the mountain without any problems. I'm not a happy camper when my travels are delayed! 

Look at this water! It was SO blue I absolutely had to stop and take a minute.

If you're ever on the road, take every single pit stop you want. See something beautiful, new, exciting- STOP and enjoy! Lose yourself in the moment. Take a few minutes to yourself.

The drive West and out of Colorado was probably the most beautiful, as Eastern Colorado is pretty flat, transitioning into a Kansas landscape. We did some random searching for a hike, and landed upon one called "Hanging Lake Trail"- the first real mountain hike I've ever done. It wasn't too crowded, and we were able to take our time going up, thanks to the sun coming out and warming our once cold bones. We went off the beaten path a few times to enjoy some hidden waterfalls, to take a moment for ourselves, sit in silence, and enjoy the views. 

Off the beaten path here, soaking up the sunshine. Cleansing some of my crystals with fresh river water since they had been stuck in storage for so long.

We got into the habit of making rock formations on all our hikes. Here's one we did.

On our way up the trail, we discovered a little cabin covered in carvings. From initials and dates, to quotes, and little messages of love and inspiration. It was the coziest little nook, and deemed it the perfect spot to take a little break, eat a snack, and medicate. 

And finally, the amazing Hanging Lake. I wish I had more pictures of this magical place, but sadly they were lost. The water was such a unique blend of aqua and lime green, creating the most beautiful shade. I had never experienced something so beautiful. It really left me in awe, and left a major impact on my heart. It started to snow after a while, so we headed back down to the car, and continued towards Utah. 

This time last year

I began my adventures about 3 years ago, when my engagement ended and I was wild with freedom, wild with urge to escape a town in Florida that seemed to swallow everyone whole. I never imagined that by this time in my story, I'd be on the complete opposite side of the country. I've lost most of my pictures of my travels East from Texas to Washington, D.C. So I believed it appropriate to reflect, and maybe share my experiences from the journey West, out of Virginia and towards Washington State.


In this moment I live here, in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. A place I had only ever dreamed about. A place that was over 4,000 miles away from where I once called "home". On this day I woke up around 4 in the morning. Excitement in my heart, as I was about to take a trip to one of my favorite places in the whole state- The Olympic Peninsula. To get there I drove 20 minutes through the mountains, then headed South towards Seattle to catch a ferry across the water. Timing is everything, and it worked out perfectly for me to experience a magical cotton candy sunrise as the ferry began to float away from the sandy shore of Edmonds.

I was meeting up with an old friend from Florida, whom was here in WA for a little bit- and as I waited for her arrival I hiked down towards Second Beach. The tempest was furious, with a sharp cool breeze whipping my hair into knots, but despite those wild waves and loud crashing, it was a moment full of peace and serenity. There was so much calm in all the wild, a powerful and natural dance of Mother Earth around this time of year. I sat on the massive drift wood pieces that have washed up on shore throughout the years, starring at the water. Realizing how anything that previously seemed of importance and of stress, was easily washed away with every wave that swept back into the sea. 

There was a secret spot on Third Beach (just about a mile down the road from Second Beach) that my lover and I discovered when backpacking through here a few months prior. From our tent on the beach I saw a few people begin to climb up the mountain side by a thick rope. They didn't make it too far, and returned to the beach. We immediately jumped up to go check it out. This spot isn't one I share with many, although I'm sure that plenty of people know about it. But it being unknown to us in that moment, an impulsive decision to follow it not knowing where it would lead us, is something I find intimate and like to keep as a little secret to myself. Of course, when my friend was coming to visit, I absolutely HAD to take her there. The one single rope leads to another, then another, then eventually a hanging rope/wood pallet ladder that you had to follow up until you reached stable land. After a few twists and turns, and switchbacks through the mountain top, you find yourself standing on top of a beautiful waterfall that falls into the ocean itself. A view you can see from down on the beach in the distance. 

You're pretty much on top of the world here, and can see ocean for miles and miles. One of my favorite places to sit and relax, simply BE, medicate, and enjoy this beautiful adventure filled life.