Guest Blog: Road Trip Power Rankings: Week 4

1. Hood River, Oregon - 7/25 - 7/26

Hood River is a town about an hour outside of Portland, with all different kinds of incredible things to do in the surrounding areas. We spent the day with Dave, Hope, and Jesse, visiting Lavender Fields, picking cherries and blueberries, and finishing off with a relaxing hike around Lost Lake, followed by a quick swim. We ended the day with dinner and ice cream together, and then went to our destination for the night: our Glamping campground. We stayed in our own tent with a full bed and toiletry selection, showered under the stars, heard trains go by all night, and had a great view of the Columbia River. On our way out of Oregon, we stopped and walked along the Oregon Trail, and visited the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.

2. Portland, Oregon - 7/23 - 7/25

Portland is a cool city, divided down the middle by a long, winding river. Our first night, we walked along the river and then through a few downtown blocks of the city. We went to Beth Israel, where there would be a book talk the following morning, and walked through a bit of it, taking pictures of the historical site. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped in Vancouver, Washington, to watch the sun go down for a little bit, and then headed back to our hotel. The next day, we walked through the city with our newest addition, Jesse, going to Voodoo Doughnuts, the REI store, Powell’s Books, and Voodoo Doughnuts a second time. After the day in the city, we drove to the Pittock Mansion, which provided an outstanding view of Portland, and then drove through the Hoyt Arboretum.

3. Rocky Mountain National Park (Part 1), Colorado - 7/28 - 7/29

Our first night, we walked through a bit of Estes Park’s downtown, enjoying the view of the mountains, and the company of the other tourists in the town. On our first day, we drove up Trail Ridge Road to a few overlooks at nearly 11,500 feet high. After we descended, we went for a hike in Beaver Meadows on the Ute Trail, which took us to one of the most impressive overlooks we’ve seen this trip. Afterwards, we relaxed for a bit, then went out for Himalayan food and bought some souvenir shirts.

4. Boise, Idaho - 7/26 - 7/27

Boise was just a pit stop as we made our way down to Colorado, but we surely made the most of it. We visited Boise State University’s football stadium, where they play on a blue turf field, and saw their sports Hall of Fame. From there we stopped at Snake River where we found some lobsters, went for ice cream, and then departed for Salt Lake City. On our way to Salt Lake City, we stopped in Twin Falls, Idaho, where we saw the Perrine Bridge and Kayaked beneath it on the Snake River.

5. Salt Lake City - 7/27 - 7/28

We drove until it was dark out, but finally made it to Salt Lake City. We stopped in Ogden at Olive Garden, and then drove through SLC, seeing the Capitol, Downtown, and the Mormon Tabernacle Church.

Week 4 was our busiest so far, as we crossed through many states, seeing all different types of scenery, and the ever-changing landscape of our beautiful country. For more pictures, follow our Instagram account @dumbndumber17.

Jeremy and Danny