You like the Canucks, eh?

Vancouver is the last stop of a long, three stop day. We’ll get dinner here and find a place to sleep. In the morning we’ll check out the Olympic Complex, get some breakfast and head out for the incredibly long drive to Whitehorse, Yukon. Before starting on this long journey north, we’ll stop by Koko Monk, a well known fancy chocolate and hot coco shop with unique flavors (you can check them out here http://www.kokomonk.com/ ).

49°15′N 123°6′W

Starbucks Anyone?!

Apart from the fact we want to see the original Starbucks, we think Seattle will be a great intermediate stop between Portland and Vancouver. It’ll be a great place to stop, get food, drinks, fill up on gas, and hopefully find a park to walk Kota. We probably will do a quick look around, but other then that we have to get back on the road if we want to make it to Canada. We do have a schedule to keep after all! These short stops (Portland included) will give us the time we need to re-energize and switch drivers. On the other hand, since we’re on such a tight schedule we wont have time to stop at all the other cool tourist attractions, such as the Space Needle. We only have 15 days total to get from Phoenix, up to Alaska, back to Phoenix.

47°36′35″N 122°19′59″W

☆Connor

Check, Check, 1,2,3

It's time for the monthly check in! Since not all of us will actually have updates every month (Connor), we've decided to combine all our updates into one joint post. First off, we have officially decided to go in June of 2016 instead of December so we don't kill ourselves! Yay! As mentioned earlier, we also got a third person, Steph's childhood friend Elena. We also recently spent about a week really ironing out our itinerary. We have all the stops we plan on making, how long it is to drive to each place, what we plan on doing and where we plan on camping out for the night. This also gave us a better idea of how much money it will really cost with all the activities we want to do. We are also keeping in mind that there may be more activities not planned, so we have decided to bring a little extra than the bare minimum.

After Steph talked to her about it a little bit, Elena has decided to move to the great, HOT state of Arizona to move in with her, in the middle of next year which will help her cut down the cost of flying to AZ for the trip. Elena sent in her paperwork for the correctional officer job, and should be hearing back from them soon with an appointment for an interview. Some of you are probably sketchy about her being so positive about getting the job, but her sister works there and is helping her out, and they also hire everyone. The mental and physical tests that occur after being hired determines her abilities. She has also decided to take a turn for the better and get her body healthy and in shape. She will be ready to climb mountains and run with Kota before no time, since Steph is so lazy.  So everyone should send her good vibes, and motivation! She has ordered a few other state maps and road trip booklets to help her make a sweet journal/ itinerary for the trip. Steph also made a bomb countdown out of the back of an old frame, some paint, chalk and stickers.

Hipster Central

Portland, Oregon is our first quick stop. My roommate said we absolutely have to go to Voodoo Donuts, the 24/7 home of many delicious, unique donuts. You can also apparently get married at Voodoo Donuts. Our other stop in Portland will be to Powell’s City of Books, where we’ll have to take turns watching Dakota and searching the shelves for a few books to bring along and maybe trade with fellow travelers along the way.

45°31′12″N 122°40′55″W

♡Steph

Home of The 300 Foot Trees!

 Our first actual planned stop is to the Redwood National Forest and State Parks, in California. Since we’re taking the Pacific Coast Highway and its along the way, we decided it should be on the list. Plus who doesn't want to see nearly 400 foot tall trees? Some fun facts about the Park is that it covers 112,618 acres, it was established in 1968 and it became a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site 12 years later. It’s a beautiful place full of both fauna, flora, and wildlife. It’s going to be a great first stop and Steph and I are both really excited. Fun Fact: Im 6' 4" (I'm the giant of the group) here I'm finally short!

41°18′N 124°00′W

☆Connor