Stuck in a Truck

This morning I am writing to you from a cozy coffee shop in Missoula, Montana! Such a cool little college town. Artsy vibes, tons of breweries, and a walking path along the river -- all of our favorite things. We are making our way towards Boise, ID today, and then the Sawtooth Range to meet up with friends next week to celebrate Matthew's 30th birthday! But first, we had the most fantastic week in Glacier National Park and I can't wait to tell you all about it!  Day 1 Glacier- There is still so much snow here!! I guess it kind of makes sense that a park named after glaciers would have snow in July, but holy moly! The hike we did today was just a giant snowy hill with a bunch of tourists slipping and sliding all the way up. Like hundreds of baby deer all taking their first steps, but they’re on an ice rink and they’re all trying to go to the same place. Needless to say, it was funny to watch. We did our fair share of slipping, but it was such a warm day that falling onto snow f...

  I am writing to you from inside the first official time we have popped the top of the big blue truck! And after the most incredible week in Banff National Park. We were very prepared for some summertime camping--complete with a fan, very light bedding, and of course the ability to pop up the truck cap for airflow. Turns out it gets pretty chilly at night in Banff. So we kept the truck cap closed for warmth, bought two more blankets (we couldn't agree on the color we wanted so we each got our own) and I wore the winter hat I packed for summiting snowy mountains to sleep each night. We were a little cold, but boy was it worth it. On our first full day, we decided to hike to one of the many famous lakes Banff has to offer. It was super nice to be able to make a nice breakfast and have coffee at our campsite before heading out on our short drive to the Bourgeau Lake trailhead. You actually had to enter this trail through a giant metal gate (not intimidating at all) so that bears stay...

Driving Day 1 The big blue truck’s voyage started with the sweetest sendoff on Tuesday afternoon from Rochester, MA. Matthew’s mom and dad sent us on our way with a champagne toast, sandwiches so good only your mom could have made them, and lots of love. We headed straight for Niagara Falls and stayed that night at a Carpool Lot in London, Ontario. Driving Day 2 Wednesday we decided to drive through the Upper Peninsula in Michigan and were so glad we did. We were greeted right away with a beautiful drive along Lake Superior. The waters almost looked like they belonged in the Caribbean they were so turquoise. And the beaches looked like they belonged in Cape Cod with their sandy dunes and grasses. We cruised along the lake for a good stretch and once we turned inland it was small town vibes from there. Two lane roads with dense forest on either side, the only break was a convenience store every so often offering pasties (we learned this word is pronounced like 'nasty' in case yo...