Wyoming and Idaho

As I’m writing this I’ve officially been on the road for 3 weeks.  I’m huddled under blankets with a hot cup of coffee, parked in a snow-covered campsite in the middle of Logan Canyon, Utah, just a couple hours north of Salt Lake City.  I have no cell service, my fingers are frozen, and there are free range cattle outside my door.  It’s quiet: just the sound of an occasional airplane overhead, the cattle in the distance, and my fingers hitting the keys of my computer.  Dakota is tucked in a tight little ball at my side, dreaming of adventures, and trying to stay warm.

Mornings like this are my favorite.  Many months earlier, back before this became a solo venture, I had made a list of what I wanted out of vanlife.  I wish I knew where the list went, but I’m sure it got lost during one of the many moves over the last several months.  One thing I had written on that paper was that I wanted to enjoy mornings.  I had always hated mornings.  As a working adult, my routine included waking up around 5am to get in a grueling workout before I could create an excuse not to, rush into the shower, make a quick cup of coffee, grab something from the fridge for lunch, and run to the car (I was probably already late).  I’d eat breakfast on my drive and dive straight into my workday.  Mornings meant stress.

Now I get to dictate the speed of my mornings.  I no longer pride myself on being able to function on 6 hours of sleep for weeks at a time.  I get up before 8am but not much earlier than that.  I start my day by bundling up in as many layers as possible and heading outside with Dakota.  We usually get to catch a beautiful sunrise.  I enjoy my coffee out of a coffee cup, instead of from my travel mug several hours after making it.  Some days I get up and write, some days I get up and work (I’m currently doing Search Engine Evaluation on an extremely part-time level).  Most days I get up and answer the question, “Where do I want to go next?”.

I know this sounds glamorous, and really, it is.  But there is also a lot about it that isn’t glamorous.  The last three weeks have been frigid.  I haven’t showered in 6 days.  My bedsheets are covered in dirt and paw prints.  I spent a huge amount of time each day just on meeting my basic needs: Where can I fill my water jug?  Where can I empty my toilet?  Where can I park to cook lunch?  Where will I have service so that I can work?  The amount of time spent just on those things is outrageous.

But even with all the bad… the cold nights, unfortunate bathroom situations, sleeping in Walmart parking lots, and eating the same leftovers for every meal, dumping out change to pay for gas… I am still so thankful to be on this journey.  The good things far, far outweigh the bad.

Yellowstone

After leaving Whitefish, I started on my journey towards Bryce National Park in Utah so that I could escape the cold.  I’ve been trying to limit my driving to 3 hours a day.  Once I hit that 3-hour mark my back and neck start to hurt, I get cranky, and I’m usually hungry.  That 3-hour limit keeps me sane and allows me to still fill my day with other things.  So from Whitefish I drove to Bozeman and spent my first night at a Walmart.  It’s pretty well-known in the nomad community that Walmart is usually a good, free place to sleep.  Some Walmart locations are more travel-friendly than others, but the next time you’re at a Walmart late at night or early in the morning, I bet you’ll find vans like mine or other RVs or trailers parked in the back of the lot.  Now this definitely isn’t an Instagram-worthy place to stay, but it’s convenient.  There are warm bathrooms, anything you could possibly need is just a few steps away, and I typically have service if I stay there.  The downside though is that it’s noisy.  Loud cars and trucks drive past you all night long, some bumping music as loud as they can.  One night at a Walmart I woke up to what I thought was a tow truck coming to haul me away (that’s always my first thought when I wake up in the middle of the night, no matter where I am), but upon further investigation I realized it was a street sweeper coming to clean the parking lot.  At 2AM.  So for the next 30 minutes I got to listen to this vehicle do laps of the parking lot, the van trembling as he drove past.

I didn’t get to explore Bozeman the way I had wanted to.  The weather was bad.  It snowed/sleeted/rained most of the time that I was there, so I was pretty confined to main roads, which really limits the kind of exploring I like to do.  Since I’m barely employed, I don’t check out coffee shops or breweries or do anything that requires an entrance fee.  That limits me to exploring the outdoors, which is what I prefer to do anyway!  So as soon as the weather cleared, I headed for Yellowstone.  The plan was to be in Bryce Canyon, Utah by Friday to meet my boyfriend for a long weekend together, so I didn’t have much time to stay in Bozeman.

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you’ve heard my report on Yellowstone (if you don’t follow me there, you really should).  I drove through and stopped at all the touristy spots.  I saw Grand Prismatic Spring, the Fountain Paint Pots, and Old Faithful.  It was crowded with tour groups and I missed the solitude of Glacier.  I was getting irritated by the sheer stupidity of some people.  There are literally warnings EVERYWHERE: “Don’t touch”, “Don’t walk here”, “Don’t approach wildlife”, and yet I still saw people touching those things, walking where they shouldn’t, and approaching wildlife.  I realized I had reached my limit of what I could handle, so I decided that I wouldn’t be going back again the next day.  I wanted to see more of the backcountry, but bears are extremely active right now as they are trying to eat as much as possible, so it will have to be something I do the next time I visit.

Yellowstone was unlike anything I had ever seen before.  With the annoying tour groups aside, the nature was bizarre.  There is so much volcanic activity happening there with the geysers and the hot springs, it’s like you’re on another planet.  The colors are intense in a way that’s completely different from what I had just experienced at Glacier.  I’m glad I got to experience it and see some of the things I had only seen pictures of before, but I really prefer the quiet mountain trails instead.

Idaho

Next up on my journey south was Pocatello, Idaho.  This was just the perfect driving distance from Yellowstone and there was supposed to be a spot at a trailhead that I could park at.  I arrived at this spot and it was incredible.  It was up a winding dirt road and overlooked the valley, which provided amazing views during the day and even better views at night.  There were a few other cars there to use the trails, but at night it was peaceful and quiet, with only the sounds of the coyotes in the distance.  The trail system that I was parked at was perfect.  Miles and miles of single-track for mountain biking, where dogs were allowed off-leash!  My first night there we checked it out on foot and caught an incredible show in the sky over the mountains.

This was also the first time on this trip that I was able to wear shorts!  I sat with the side door open and enjoyed the warm air that my skin had missed so much.  The weather report for Bryce Canyon had changed too and it was going to be just as cold in Bryce as it would be in the Tetons, which was our original destination for the weekend, so we made the decision to go to the Tetons instead.  This meant that I no longer would be making the trek south anymore, and I was only a few hours from Jackson, Wyoming, so I could stay in Pocatello for two days.  In my last post (link) I mentioned how nice it is to stay in one spot for more than a night.  I was excited to have more time in Pocatello, especially with the wealth of mountain bike trails right out my door.

Dakota had been mountain biking once before, but I had never taken her out without someone else helping.  Since I’m new to the sport, I had been nervous about taking on more responsibility while I’m still trying to figure out what I’m doing.  I decided this would be the perfect time to try it.  I was starting to get more confident on my bike and the trails were empty during the day, so we wouldn’t have to worry about other people.  Well, to nobody’s surprise, it went fantastic.  She did such a great job sticking with me, waiting for me when I needed to stop, and keeping up when we gained some speed.  I don’t know how I got so lucky with this amazing creature that I get to call my sidekick!

After our time in Pocatello, it was time to get ready to meet my boyfriend in Jackson!  Getting ready for company in a van is a LOT of work.  I had to shower (haha), clean as much dog hair/dirt out of the van as possible, empty the toilet and graywater, fill the water jugs, and do laundry.  This would be my first laundromat experience since college and even then, I’m not sure that counts as a laundromat when you’re washing your clothes in the dorm with other college kids.  I found a laundromat in Idaho Falls, which is where the Planet Fitness is that I could shower at.  Laundromats might be one of the most depressing places ever.  Everyone there looked rough.  I had just showered so I’d like to say I didn’t look as rough as I probably had an hour earlier.  It took a minute to figure it all out: which machines I needed to use, how to pay (you had to load money on a card), and how to move my clothes from the washer to the dryer on the other side of the room.  I was anxious to get out of there, so I decided I’d fold my laundry somewhere else once it was done.  I had to restart the dryer probably 20 times because I couldn’t figure out how to add more time to it.  The clothes finally seemed done, so I stuffed them all in my big, canvas laundry bag and bolted to the van.  I drove down the road to a nice park on the river and decided to fold my laundry and finish cleaning the van there.  This park shared a parking lot with a hotel, so I had to park the van right in front of the hotel.  It was sunny out, so I hooked Dakota’s tie-out to the van and threw her dog bed down on the parking spot next to us, so she could hang out outside.   As soon as I stuck my hand in the laundry bag I could feel the dampness of the clothes inside.  Nearly everything was still damp.  I got tricked by the whole, “warm, not dry” feeling and my rush to get out of there led me to prematurely take everything from the dryer.  I did the only thing I could do, I started hanging clothes up.  I hung them from the cargo net, from the cabinets, from the spice rack.   Anywhere I could find a spot in the van, there were clothes hanging.  In this moment, I was feeling especially homeless.  My dog parked up outside the van in front of a fancy hotel, clothes hanging from my doorway… it wasn’t my happiest van moment.  Luckily it was sunny with a slight breeze, so my clothes dried quickly, and I was on the road again soon, Jackson bound!

Jackson, Wyoming

My boyfriend met me that night in Jackson.  I had heard that Jackson wasn’t a very van-friendly place, with many rules about parking on the streets, so after doing some research we found that we could park at the town hall for up to 72 hours.  We figured that would be a good place where we should have service and should be able to meet up in the dark, and we could spend the first night there.  Well as soon as I show up, I noticed that the town hall shared a parking lot with the police department.  Not ideal when you’re trying to avoid getting in trouble for sleeping in your car!  So, plan B was a trailhead not to far down the road, and that worked out great.

It was so fun sharing vanlife with him.  We had taken many mini-adventures in the van together in the weeks before I left, but it is different when you’re full-time on the road.  I thought it would be difficult to share my space again after getting used to my routines alone, but that wasn’t the case at all.  I still wish he was doing this adventure with me, but I also know there is a lot to be gained by doing this alone.  And I’m lucky that he’s excited to come visit me and share these experiences when he can.

The first day we went to Grand Teton National Park and drove to Jenny Lake.  We are a bit limited on the hiking we can do because he broke his back a couple months ago and is still recovering.  There was still plenty to see without hiking.  After driving through the park a bit, we decided to find a new spot for the night, something with a better view!  Well, we found the most perfect spot, with a beautiful view of the Tetons.

There have been a few things that I haven’t done since I started this trip, mostly because I’ve been alone.  I haven’t had a campfire and I haven’t looked at the stars.  Usually when I get to a place for the night I hunker down because I don’t want anyone seeing that I’m alone.  It has also been REALLY cold, so being outside after dark isn’t ideal.  And, bears.  But now that my boyfriend was here, I would be able to enjoy those things again.  We gathered wood and made (he made) a campfire.  We sat there watching the sun set change the colors of the Tetons until they faded into the darkness of the sky.  Then we watched the most spectacular display of stars that I’ve probably ever seen.  There was no moon and we were atop an overlook, so the stars could be seen all the way down to the horizon, with no trees in the way.  The Milky Way was clear overhead, and we had a perfect view of Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, and several shooting stars.

The next day we went back to the park in search of some hot springs.  When you go to a National Park, you get a “newspaper” with maps and advice for visiting.  There was mention of hot springs that included a warning about not being allowed to enter them, but it was difficult to understand where they were and which ones you could swim in.  We got to the trailhead and despite warnings of a bacteria that, after entering through your nose, would create a rare but fatal brain infection, we decided to go find the hot springs.

Our first attempt was unsuccessful.  We got to a river and found a trail following the water’s edge, so we followed that a while until deciding that we weren’t near any hot springs, so we turned around.  When we got back to the main trail that intersected the river, we noticed the trail continued on the other side of the river and there were now wet footprints coming from the river (there was another car at the trailhead, so we assumed it was from them).  There were also cairns in the river, which if you aren’t familiar with hiking, they are a stack of rocks used to mark a trail.  It was cold, so a river crossing didn’t sound ideal, but we are always down for a little adventure, so in we went!

Shortly after crossing, we found Polecat Hot Springs.  There was a little pool at the bottom of a tiny waterfall, just big enough for two, that we decided to get into.  I immediately had to get out because the water was so hot it was burning my feet.  I slowly adjusted and was able to sit down on a log in the pool, the water coming up to my calves, leaving them bright pink where the hot water was touching my skin.  Later we moved to a different pool, where the water was slightly cooler, and we enjoyed some local Wyoming beers and the scenery.

On our way back “home” for the night, while driving back through the park after the sun had set, we got our first big wildlife encounter.  We suddenly came up on the silhouette of a huge elk in the road and luckily stopped the van quickly enough that we didn’t hit it, or the 5 other elk that were standing there with it.

The next day we slowly meandered to Teton Village, where we planned to take the tram to the top of the resort at Jackson Hole.  First we drove back into the National Park to check out the chapel that my boyfriend’s parents got married in.  The chapel was beautiful: rustic and quaint with the most perfect view of the Tetons from the window inside.  This was the first day where the sky was completely clear and we could finally see the peaks of the Tetons.

Our next stop on our way to Jackson Hole was at a great little place to walk Dakota.  There was a nice pedestrian bridge that crossed the Snake River and there was a big, gravel path that followed along the riverbank, so the dogs could swim.  The signs all said that dogs must be leashed, but not a single dog was, so Dakota finally got to enjoy some much-needed freedom!

Then we made it to Jackson Hole.  Since it’s fall, the resort isn’t open to skiing yet, but there is a big tram that will take you up to the top of the resort so you can see the views.  The tram tickets were over $40/person, and since we are spoiled and have been on a tram many times before, we decided that money would be better spent elsewhere… like at the Mangey Moose!  We popped into one of the resort’s “saloons” for some local brews and then headed downtown to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, where we awkwardly tried to get comfortable on their horse saddle bar seats.  We found a great place for dinner called “Thai Me Up”, which is one of our favorite brewery’s restaurants (the brewery is Melvin and we’d highly recommend you try it if you see it wherever you buy beer).

On our last day together, we headed back into the park to try and see some wildlife.  We drove straight for a spot that was known for wildlife watching, but we didn’t have luck seeing anything more than a chipmunk.  The weather wasn’t great for walking around outside and soon we had big snowflakes falling from the sky!  We had planned to head back to Jenny Lake to try and get a picture of me with a Jenny Lake sign but we were quickly running out of time as Forrest had a doctor’s appointment scheduled (an oil change that I was hopeful would also fix another issue, but it didn’t).  We snapped a quick, snowy picture with a teeny Jenny Lake sign, and called it good.

Goodbyes always suck.  Whether it’s goodbye for 2 days or 2 months, I’m not sure they ever get easier.  Maybe it’s all the alone time or the small spaces, but it seems like everything is amplified when you live in a van.  The void of having the other person suddenly gone again is hard to ignore.  I had planned to head back through Salt Lake City by the weekend so we would only be apart a few more days but it was suddenly so hard to be alone again.

Forrest got his oil change and during the time that I was at the mechanic, the weather got worse.  I made the decision to stay in Jackson one more night rather than take the risk of driving the snowy mountain roads as I would start to make my way back to Utah a few hours at a time.  I hunkered down in the spot from the first night at the trailhead, where I knew I would be able to get out in the morning no matter what the weather did.  Poor Dakota had been cooped up all day in the van and at the mechanic, so it was time for an adventure (and I needed one too).  We took a nice little hike in the snow and rain before snuggling in for the night and trying to stay warm.

 

The next day we took another hike, this time with better weather, before heading out and trying to beat the snow that would be arriving that afternoon again.  I had planned to drive about two hours south of Jackson and would split my drive back to Salt Lake City into a few days, driving only about 2 hours a day.  When I got to the spot I had hoped to stop at, the snow was coming down hard.  I decided to just keep driving until either the weather got too bad to keep going or until I passed through the storm.

I ended up driving all the way to Bear Lake, which is on the border of Utah and Idaho.  I had been here twice in the summer but never in the fall.  The mountains around the lake were covered in fresh snow and the contrast against them and the dark sky made the lake shine the brightest blue I had ever seen.  I spent a little time here working and walking along the beach with Dakota before heading out to find out next home for the night.

That brings me to this spot now, tucked between the trees on a muddy forest road.  I’m preparing to be back in Salt Lake City for the next few days, staying in my boyfriend’s home and enjoying a few nights of warmth in a house.  I’m excited to be back but also a bit anxious for the change in routine again.  It won’t be long though until I’m back on the road, living the adventures again.

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard” -Winnie the Pooh