The past month has been spent exploring our National Parks. I have seen so many beautiful, unique, and historical sites in such a short stretch of time. We spent many days driving around national parks taking in the scenic overlooks then doing a few miles. On some days we choose just to hike doing 8-14 a day with a daypack. It was an easy life as we went back to our van with a mattress and other camping luxuries.
Van life still is not as fine tuned as my hiking lifestyle. I loose things all the time in the van. There is never a good place to put a dirty dish pot and we always have too much trash. It is easy to fill up gallons of water at the parks then filtering. We also had the task of finding a campsite each night. Some nights the site would be clear and the evening was easy. Other times you drive farther and farther down a road to find no campsites. 

We could lounge in zero gravity chairs and drink cold beers in the afternoon. Then when the bugs got bad it was inside the van to play cards, read, or play on the phone. I have loved the freedom of having a car again. But the long lines at the parks, expensive gas prices, dozens of people on some of the hikes, and constant uncertainty of where you will be sleeping each night had us both craving a thru hike. But van life is a special and rewarding way to live. The only item we bought to live this lifestyle was a folding metal frame. We saved $100s of dollars on hotels while also spending a lot of gas. Thru hiking will be nicer to the budget. 

Soon we will be beginning the Pacific Northwest Trail. Hiking from Glacier National Park to the Pacific Ocean for 1,200 miles. I am eager to be back in the mountains for days on end. I am thrilled to hike in Washington state again! I loved it in 2015 on the PCT and doubt my opinion of it can change for the worse. I love the idea of walking along the Ocean for 40 plus miles. This trail is going to be difficult going East to West traversing many mountain ranges. It will take 10 or so weeks to complete. I have personal goals as always for each hike and look forward to new revelations. Mostly, I am eager for new views, exploring small towns, and meeting others that share the join. Happy Trails!

I will post National Park reviews about our hikes this Fall and Winter. Here is a sneak peek of some of our best photos.