IND-->SEA

Back in June, Dave decided it was time to pack up and move out west. He decided that things would be pretty boring alone, so he invited me to come along. We drove from Indy to Seattle in 4 days, and got some amazing pictures on the way.

I should also mention that this was my first trip out west, so everything was new and exciting for me. If you live or have lived out there, you're probably like, "eh, no big deal." I also really enjoy landscape photography. Anyway, I'll give you the highlights of the trip.

The first day we made it to the middle of Kansas. Since we knew we were doing spectacularly well with time, we decided to make a pit stop for pictures at a deserted farm exit. It was a little cloudy and also about time for the sun to set, making this one look like something out of the movie "Twister." Even though I'm from Indiana, I still found this shot interesting. It was cool to see the shadows and light coming through the clouds the way it did. Once we hit Colorado, we went through to Roosevelt National Forest. I didn't edit any of these pictures; it's just that beautiful. I took pictures of everything, the sky, lakes on the side of the road, a random chapel, wildflowers with the incredible zoom lens, and a lot of road pictures that really aren't so great.

As we were continuing on, we were close to the mountains but in a flat, farming area. Some of my favorite pictures are from this area with the unobstructed views of the rays of sunshine, the grazing cows, and just the beauty of Colorado. We entered Medicine Bow National Forest, where we discovered some snow (yes, snow!). Libby Flats observation point was absolutely incredible. It offers 360 degree views of not only the flats, but the mountains too. The next morning, we kept driving and found Glacier Lake. It was pretty crazy to know that everything you're standing on is ice and that in the summer, you wouldn't be standing, you'd be swimming if you're in the same spot. After we hit the road and got out of the park, we stopped at Bear Lake (I'm pretty sure that's the name of it) where I was captivated by these "frost" covered plants. Not something I was expecting to find.

Sunset on the road.

A pull off in the middle of Oregon offered some pretty cool landscapes. It was similar to Indiana in that it had a lot of farmland, but differed in that we had a high vantage point to observe it. They also have some funky plants that are probably weeds, but interesting nonetheless. That afternoon, we made it to Bellevue, woo hoo! The next day, we headed into Seattle for the Saturday Pike Place Market. They had flowers everywhere, and I loved it. Fresh flowers are on my list of favorite things in the entire world. They had some vegetables too, but we didn't need any. I like their sense of humor. They have crabs, and lots of them. I found this gutter/plant system to be quite creative. We stopped at The Crumpet Shop for a little snack, and discovered the incredible food that they offer. As we continued to explore Seattle, we found many creative pigs. They're everywhere. If you ever go there, see how many you can find.

I'm pretty excited for my next trip out west in January. That's when I'm going to experience all of the cheesy tourist attractions and check out the nightlife. We're also going to Davis/Sacramento, so I'm sure many fantastic pictures will result from that trip.