The Beehive State

It wasn’t until we crossed into Utah, and headed south, that we realized we had gotten use to seeing everything through a smoky haze. Scenic Byway 12 was the perfect place for the air to clear and our first glimpses of Red Canyon seemed to be in high definition. The state of Utah could qualify as one enormous National Park and with only three weeks to spend here we are like “kids in a candy shop”, planning our schedule. So far we’ve spent three nights at Jordanelle State Park, near Heber Valley, then traveled to Escalante Petrified Forest State Park for our first full week. After day one we are happy but a bit overwhelmed with so much at our fingertips.

Hike to Calf Creek Lower Falls

Leaving Yellowstone

Old Faithful 

As we leave Montana, Idaho & Wyoming (the three states that share Yellowstone National Park) there is no question this has been an amazing two weeks in an amazing place. We were able to get in a few last minute adventures before heading to Utah; one last trip into the park to see Old Faithful and an afternoon learning about the 1959 Yellowstone Earthquake, measuring 7.2, that killed 28 people and created Quake Lake. So much history! So much beauty!

Memorial Rock at Quake Lake

Henry’s Lake Part 2

Henry’s Lake wasn’t even on our itinerary, when we planned this trip, so it’s pretty ironic we will probably stay longer in this park than any other. It’s proximity to Yellowstone is a huge perk but the easy access to beautiful trails in Targhee National Forest has been wonderful too. We’ve also felt very safe leaving our trailer overnight, at our campsite, while visiting family and friends. Another nice surprise has been revisiting friends we’ve met on the road who wound up at this park too. We loved our time with Debbie, who is on the road for a year, solo, other than her two dogs, Gabby and Grizzly. We met Debbie pulling her two traveling companions behind her “Jimmy Buffet” inspired bike, at Lewis & Clark SP and couldn’t believe we met up again at Henry’s Lake.We also got to catch up with fellow Airstreamers, Jim and Marsha, from Colorado , who we met on our first big trip to Arkansas in 2017. It really is a small, small world!

Debbie, Gabby and Grizzly 

Free kayak checkout at Henry’s Lake 

Yellowstone

Even though we have visited Yellowstone National Park before, it’s such an enormous park there are still plenty of things for us to see and experience. This trip we concentrated on the Canyon section and Norris Geyser Basin. Following our traditional mode of operation, for National Parks, we got up super early and were through the park gates around 5:30 am. We had the whole place to ourselves for a couple hours.We loved the classic beauty of the falls and canyons and the surreal nature of the geyser basin.

Alone with Vixen Geyser 

Emerald Spring

Idaho Family Time

Lottie, Poppy & Starbaby

One of the main objectives of this trip was to touch base with family and to meet babies that had been born since our last visit four years ago. The timing worked out perfectly for us to spend time with our
grand nieces, Lottie, Poppy and Finley and to help celebrate nephew, Amund’s birthday. We loved our time in Pocatello and Malad. We know that traveling is all about the journey, not the destination but it was nice to have a “goal” for this trip and to achieve it. Thanks to the Evan’s and Ingersolls for the terrific weekend!

Happy birthday Amund!

Pool time with Grandpa 

Fun in Malad

The Gem State

We made it to Idaho; the state that should be as far west as we go this trip but recently we’ve been changing plans as quickly as we make them, resulting in some wonderful surprises. Because of the heat and forest fires we realized going north doesn’t necessarily mean cooler temps but higher elevation certainly helps. Henry’s Lake has the higher elevation we were seeking but could only accommodate us for four nights. We decided it was worth the change so headed to this beautiful park on a beautiful lake. We were excited to discover, when we arrived, that they had an amazing walk in site we could book for two weeks. But that wasn’t the only surprise. After posting our whereabouts, our dear friends, the Thompsons, from Tennessee, informed us they were at their Montana cabin just 24 miles away. We have loved catching up with them, revisiting the cabin that holds so many wonderful memories, from two decades ago, and doing a fabulous mountain bike ride at Big Sky with Mary Claire’s daughter, Laura Ann, and husband Jeff. We knew we would get to see family in Idaho, but what a blessing to get to spend time with old friends in this beautiful setting!

Montana is a Big State

Sometimes, when we get to a new place there’s so much to see and do that Mark and I forget to just take time to relax. Because our last week in Montana happened to be their hottest of the year, we were forced to take a break in the afternoons so we were thrilled to have access to the Jefferson River to cool down. Our favorite way to experience an area is to pick a campground then explore a 50 mile or so radius doing the things we love: meeting locals, eating pie, hiking, biking, playing disc golf and learning the local history. We loved being tourists in the pioneering mining town of Virginia City which is a very much alive ghost town frozen in time. We also loved hiking and biking on trails in National Forests without seeing a single soul. Montana is a big state and even though we stayed ten days with a goal of exploring  the area in and around Lewis and Clark Caverns we barely made a dent  in all the things to do.

Cooling off in the Jefferson

Virginia City frozen in time

The Treasure State

Because of the wildfires in California, when we crossed into Montana, there was a distinct haze obscuring the view. Thankfully, a front pushed through, on our second day, clearing the haze, lowering temperatures and exposing the mountains all around us. We are staying at a park called Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park and as the name suggests, this area is steeped in history surrounding the Lewis & Clark expedition from 1804 to 1806 which was the first American expedition crossing the western portion of the United States. Another cool thing located in this area are the headwaters of the Missouri River which begins as the confluence of the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin rivers. Without really planning to, Mark and I have found ourselves walking in the footsteps of these two great explorers.

Headwaters of the Missouri 

Natural hot springs