Trip Photos
Minneapolis
Our first stop was the Hansen family home in Minnesota where we celebrated Otto's birthday on Lake Minnetonka and prepared for our backyard handfasting ceremony. Lars and Otto used their boy scout skills to build a wedding arch from birch branches that Melissa then decorated with beautiful flowers. Our cat, Pepper, joined us for this leg of the journey and then remained in her basement hiding spot for the duration of our trip.
Badlands
Our first night camping was in the Badlands National Park. We enjoyed the beautiful vistas and campground prairie dogs, but were a little surprised when early September temperatures fell well below freezing. On our way out of South Dakota, we paid a visit to Mount Rushmore.
Moab
After driving through the mountain passes from Denver, we arrived in Moab. We drove up the mountain from town following some Jeep/4WD sand trails (which took a little creative driving in our little car) to the spectacular Porcupine Rim backcountry camp site where we spent the night high above the valley floor at 7,400 ft. In the morning, Alexis drove Otto and his bike further up the mountain so he could ride as much of "The Whole Enchilada" trail as was open. While he descended over 4,000 ft over 22 miles of riding, Alexis hiked along the border of Arches National Park. After stocking up on water, we headed out into the desert towards Salt Lake City.
City of Rocks
We had planned to make a beeline to Portland, but the air quality was unhealthy due to the west coast forest fires. Instead, we looked for a detour. After spending a night in Park City, UT, we made our way to City of Rocks National Reserve in southern Idaho. We weren't sure what to expect because the pictures DO NOT do this place justice. We were extremely lucky to find the only available camp site because despite being a Sunday night after Labor Day, the place was entirely full of rock climbers as it is a popular climbing destination. Unfortunately, we didn't bring our climbing gear, but we still got to scramble around the rocks surrounding our campsite to enjoy the views.
Portland
Even though raging forest fires kept us away from our plan A and plan B waterfalls, Alexis's mom, Debi, found a magical spot for our ceremony. Starvation Creek Trailhead is home to several beautiful waterfalls. We said our vows on the rocks beneath Hole In The Wall Falls and had cupcakes and champagne below the towering Starvation Creek Falls. Despite the smoky sky and limited visibility, we think our photographer, Ara (Aralani Photography) did a fantastic job making it a special day and our officiant, Emmy, had us laughing and crying within a 5 minute span.
Whitefish
We spent some of our first nights as a married couple camping on the shore of Whitefish Lake in Northwestern Montana. We spent our days hiking, mountain biking, and sampling the local brews.
Glacier National Park
With our national park pass in tow, we caught just a few of the sights that Glacier National Park has to offer. While COVID-19 left some of the park closed to visitors and shut down the famous shuttle service, we were able to snag a last minute room at a rustic and super-retro lodge located inside the park boundaries.