If you have read part one, you can see that from as long as I can remember I have wanted to see it all. I don't know where it came from. Mom had no interest in geography or history. By the time I was 10 I knew more about both of those subjects than my dad. I bring up geography and history only because they are big influences on places I want to see. I feel humbled going to a Civil War battlefield. I remember thinking that if I don't see the Rockies before I die, no matter what else I do, my life would be incomplete. We went on vacation once a year to a cabin in Maine for two weeks. It was awesome, but nothing different than millions of other families. Needless to say I am a big believer in nature in the argument Nature vs. Nurture. I firmly believe I was born not to sit still.
As we left the end of Part ,1, I was reading books about hiking, fishing, and driving the American west. Fast forward to the summer of 2010. My job had been " downsized". Also I had a little money in the bank. I decided that DJ and I would take a summer long vacation out west. For years I had been planning this trip. I never knew when. So when I finally decided to take it, planning was fairly easy. I already knew the places I most wanted to go. My number one destination my entire life has been Yellowstone. The trip was going to revolve around Yellowstone. I had one of my famous lists, with the ten places I most want to visit. I figured a route that included six of them. You just can't combine a trip with the Grand Canyon and the Virgin Islands. I had to figure out where we would be almost every day of the trip. I am a believer in having a plan for vacation., but also to know in advance things will change. Sometimes you have to fly by the seat of your pants. I did have to figure out when I would be at places like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. There was no way I was driving 3000 miles to find out the campgrounds were full. I had to make reservations for crowded tourist areas. So around early April, I made reservations for Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Custer State Park in South Dakota and Zion National Park. Once I made the reservations the die was cast. There was no turning back or backing out.
So on June 27 we set off to find America. Our first real stop was the Badlands in South Dakota. We stayed there 3 days. We then went to Mt Rushmore, Custer State Park ( wild buffalo and hundreds of pronghorn) and Wind Cave. We then stopped at Little Bighorn on our way to the Beartooth Mountains. There was snow on Beartooth Pass. We had to adjust to the altitude. DJ was light headed and dizzy for a night. I could not quench my thirst for a couple days. I was drinking a liter of water an hour and I was still thirsty. Both light headed and thirst are symptoms from high altitude. He did a three day hike into the Beartooth Mountains. We caught a bunch of trout. Then when we got out we were off to ...
Yellowstone! We spent 7 days in Yellowstone. I bought a guide book that detailed every road mile, trailhead, and attraction. I am not a highlight person. I want to see everything. I would never take one of those 6 hour tours to see the highlights. I'd rather see everything in one park then the highlights of five parks. It is just my make up. I divided the park up into sections to cover each day. We stayed at two different campgrounds. One on the east side, one on the west. I saw Old Faithful go off four times in one day. The first was at 6:30 am, no one else around but DJ and I. The boardwalk had frost on it, this was July 15. We saw buffalo, grizzlies, black bears, eagles, elk and everything else you can imagine.
We left Yellowstone to find Grand Teton has the most spectacular scenery I have ever seen. Also the park has as much wildlife as Yellowstone. It is an amazing place. After we left the Tetons, we planned a trip into the Wind River mountain range. This is where being able to change plans mattered. The mosquitoes were so thick bug spray did not help. While hiking DJ started counting how many he killed to pass the time. He was over 100 in five minutes before I told him to keep it to himself. We spent one night in the mountains, so we had to plan four days.
After coming out of the Wind Rivers, we found a gorgeous campsite in the prairie. Then the following day we drove to Seedskadee NWR. There were trout in the river. Lots of wildlife and more free camping. We headed to Flaming Gorge and took a tour of the dam. After that my car had trouble. Luckily there was a Hyundai dealership 30 miles outside Provo,UT. We were stuck there two day. When my car was fixed we went to Cedar Breaks National Monument. Of all the unexpected surprises on the trip this was far and away the best. There was an indescribable red rock canyon, 700 year old bristlecone pine trees and loads of mule deer. It was also at 10000 feet so sleeping was comfortable. The next night we slept in the desert on the Arizona/Utah line. It was a big change. It was still over 90 degrees at 11 pm. We did see the Milky Way since the sky was clear and dark.
After our night in the desert we picked up my friend Laurie in Vegas. I hate cities so spent about 20 minutes there. I never saw the strip. I got in and got out. We drove to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was all they say. We stayed at the Grand Canyon two nights. We then went to Zion National Park. We hiked through the Virgin River through a canyon with walls 2000 feet high and sometimes only 6 feet apart. It was one of the best hikes ever. From Zion we drove most of the night to get to Arches National Park. Arches is a fairly small park. You can see most of the unusual features in a two day period. Unfortunately for us, we only had one day there. The good thing is I think we saw about 85% of everything. I can live with that percentage.
From Arches we drove to Rocky Mountain National Park. Rocky Mountain was awesome. We saw huge bull elk, moose and pikas. We stayed four days. The goal was to get Laurie used to the high altitude the first couple days. Then go on a big hike over a mountain pass the last day. We didn't do as long a hike as we would have liked, but it was due to time restraint. After our four days in Rocky Mountain, I dropped DJ and Laurie at Denver Airport. I stayed out west a couple more days then made the drive home alone. I planned on stopping in Arkansas and Virginia but I had more car trouble and got a lonely. So after being gone about 50 days I came home.
I never got homesick once. Every day was its own amazing experience. I only slept on a bed once. Other than that I slept on the ground every night. I never got sick of it. I never got sick of setting up the tent or taking it down. I know without a doubt, I could have stayed out there living that lifestyle, for a couple years.
Although this is fairly long post, I could have wrote just as much about each individual day. There were just so many memories that I will never forget. One day we hiked up the back side of the Grand Tetons after a two hour ride around them through Idaho. It was an eight mile hike with 5000 feet of elevation gain. It was an overnight hike so we had all of our gear ( tent, sleeping bags, food etc...) It was the most exhausting hike I have ever done. My body hurt bad, my knees hurt and my back and shoulders killed from the backpack. Once we got over the last ridge the entire crest of the Tetons opened up right in front of us. I forgot about my knees and back. You couldn't get this view from any road. You had to earn this one. But there it was Grand Teton so close it was like you could reach out and touch it. We had chocolate bars with us that we saved for a snack. They were warm from the sun, so we stuck them in a snow bank to cool them off. While they were cooling we stepped onto Schoolhouse Glacier. That was really cool. Then we sat down and enjoyed one of the most magnificiant views imaginable.
Every day had a story equally as amazing ( but a lot less painful). Whether it was sitting under Landscape Arch or coming across a bighorn sheep herd on the trail. One day I was swimming in a chilly mountain lake, while I was in the water a cow moose and her calf came down for a swim also. I can't put a price on memories like that.
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