Montana & Wyoming
December 7, 2020
Surprise! It’s been awhile. You may have thought we dropped off the grid entirely, committing to a new life as forest creatures, but we’re still here! Things just got busy.
At the end of summer, we decided to jet up to Maine to catch the changing leaves. The faster we move, the more intricate the road map. And the eastern states have stricter and varying COVID rules, which made the planning that much trickier. Before we knew it, Thanksgiving was just a couple months away. Since everyone and their mom has decided it’s the year of RV vacations (also due to the pandemic), RV parks were booking up fast. And we knew we wanted to spend January in Florida, so we had to compete for spaces not only with the new RV enthusiasts but also with the usual snow birds.
Long story short, we have pretty much planned/booked the rest of our sabbatical. I do most of the planning: where to go, what to do, when, and how long to stay. So I had been spending a lot of time planning, and the blog was perpetually hanging over my head. What’s the point of taking a sabbatical if you’re just going to invent new things to stress you out? So I decided to take a little break from blogging.
I’m going to continue chronicling our journey, but it won’t be in real time. (We’re really in Kentucky right now.)
Travel back in time with me now: It’s summertime. We are about as far north as we can get in the continental U.S., boondocking deep in the Kootenai Forest in northern Montana.
Kootenai Falls
Kootenai Falls and Swinging Bridge Trail is 1.6 miles.
The long swinging bridge is only fit for a couple of people to use at a time. There’s honestly not much else to see on the other side of the bridge, just more forest, but it’s fun to walk across, above the glassy turquoise rapids.
Upstream of the bridge are picturesque waterfalls.
Interactive photo – click and drag to look around:
You could even climb right up to the falls
Glacier National Park
The only dog-friendly hike in Glacier National Park is along the bike path between Apgar and West Glacier. It was kind of a boring walk through the forest, and we didn’t even see any bears despite our best efforts.
Going-To-The-Sun Road
We drove with the dogs most of the way along the 50-mi Going-To-The-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. There are lots of twists and turns along super steep cliffs, all with spectacular views.
One of the first stop-offs along the road was Lake McDonald, but we’ll revisit it on another day as well.
The views get better and better the higher you drive up the road.
It’s another place so beautiful that I’m sorry I’m not sorry there are so many photos.
Lake McDonald
On the second day, we revisited Lake McDonald, known for its multi-colored rocks and mountain views.
Dogs are also allowed in watercraft at this lake, so we blew up the kayaks and paddled out.
It was a little foggier that day, but we were particularly glad we had driven the Going-To-The-Sun Road on the previous day with clearer views.
Yellowstone National Park
At this point, we probably would’ve hopped the border to visit Waterton Lakes National Park of Canada, but as Americans we understandably weren’t welcome there right now. Eh?
Instead we headed to Wyoming to visit Yellowstone National Park. It’s a nice departure from most other national parks with its many hot springs and geysers.
Dogs aren’t allowed in most of the park as it’d be highly dangerous if they jumped off the paths into the boiling springs. We did bring them on the first day. Dogs are allowed in parking lots and on some sidewalks, and we left them in the car briefly to have a look at a few attractions right along the main road.
We started at the West Thumb Basin where there are numerous “paint pots”.
Then we continued along the main road, stopping occasionally at overlooks.
Grand Prismatic Spring
On the way to all of the major attractions are several smaller hot springs.
Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest of Yellowstone’s hot springs. It is 200ft in diameter and 160°F. It is also the most vibrant hot spring in Yellowstone.
The boardwalk here goes right up to the orange crust of the spring.
We also did a 1.6-mi hike that started in the Fairy Falls parking lot and went up and around the back of Grand Prismatic for a great overhead view of the spring from afar.
Old Faithful
Of course you can’t go to Yellowstone without visiting Old Faithful. In 1870, Old Faithful was the first geyser in the park to be named.
It erupts every 44 minutes to 2 hours (alternating). It faked us out several times before finally reaching its crest.
We also walked around the Old Fathful complex to see some of the other nearby springs and geysers.
Firehole Lake Drive
Finally, we drove around the short Firehole Lake Drive loop to see a few more springs on our last day in the park.
Grand Teton National Park
Just south of Yellowstone lies Grand Teton National Park. We found a new boondocking spot right outside the boundary of the park. This was the view from the entrance of our camping spot:
We happened to be here on my birthday, and I chose a family kayaking trip on Jackson Lake for my party.
It was a more low-key, serene atmosphere with fewer people than the party boat we rented for my birthday last year.
The views were beautiful and we ate lunch out on the water.
If you were wondering what Sean was up to while I was planning and not-blogging, he has been fixing everything. His tally so far this year:
- Changed 3 blown out trailer tires
- Changed 1 flat tire on the truck
- Sealed RV roof damage caused by low hanging trees
- Fixed ~15 pipe leaks
- Installed a tank overflow valve
- 3D-printed a new valve handle
- Replaced a stripped trailer support leg
- Tightened trailer weather stripping
- Replaced truck brake booster
- Replaced truck taillight
- Changed truck headlight bulb(s …one more to be added this week)
- Fixed truck 4 wheel drive
- Replaced blown RV battery charger
- Cleaned out inoperable washing machine
- Repaired 1 crooked cupboard door and 1 drawer
- …and I’m sure numerous other things I’m forgetting
Thank God Sean is exceptionally handy. I’d probably still be stuck somewhere in West Texas without him.
Next post: the great Midwest!
What beautiful places you’ve visited! Safe travels!
Love it! Just wish you had taken me along with you. Enjoy!
Adding Going-To-The-Sun Road to my bucket list. Beautiful!!