My travels took me from the West Yellowstone area southwards through Idaho and Utah on the way to meeting some good friends for a short visit in a Utah National Forest. After that, I drove through Capitol Reef National Park which I briefly explored. After my hard-learned lesson never to return to camp after dark on a weekend, I learned yet another lesson: Never take Interstate 15 through Ogden, Salt Lake City, & Provo. (My preference since I began nomading has been the more interesting two-lane highways, secondary roads, & rabbit trails–anything but interstates, especially through large cities. True they are sometimes unavoidable but I still try to use them only in small bites). These Utah cities have “grown together” resulting in a very long stretch of very busy traffic. I guess one way to look at it is that I appreciate the quiet, out-of-the-way roads and places even more after these kinds of driving experiences. As usual, this post includes interesting “sights along the way”–from an area through which I had never before driven–in addition to several images from beautiful Capitol Reef NP.
I was slowly making my way south to an appointment in Arizona and became excited when I realized how easy it would be to stop in at Yellowstone on the west side. Yellowstone itself was wonderful, as usual. Unfortunately, however, each of the two dispersed camping spots I chose proved to hold very frustrating situations–for two very different reasons. At the first place, my frustration came with an extremely high biting-fly population plus a problem when I decided to move to a second location. This was one of the very few places I have stayed where I had to drive through a closed gate to reach the site. (Perfectly legal – the gate is just to keep livestock in – usually cattle.) I unlatched the gate to drive out onto a paved road, but to my complete surprise, I couldn’t get up the slightly inclined dirt road to exit through the gate. It proved so difficult and was taking so long, I even thought about staying there another night. Eventually, however, I figured out an approach that worked and was able to make it out. One thing I have learned in the nomad life is that you must expect the unexpected–and that it’s often necessary to be flexible. Generally, I think I’m pretty good at flexibility–with the possible exception of when a situation involves entitled, rude, and/or hateful humans. I had moved to a second camping spot (why I moved, I can’t remember now–maybe the flies) and had gone into the Park. Against my better judgement, I didn’t get back to my camping area until after dark. I discovered that a number of locals had set up their RVs *on the clearly indicated dirt drives leading into the camping area* which meant I could not get back to my campsite. I told them they were blocking the road and they blew me off, saying something very rude. In retrospect, I wish I had just called the sheriff. Instead, I eventually crossed some very deep ditches in the pitch dark which caused me to bottom out but, miraculously, I did not get stuck. Fortunately, I had befriended a family that was camped right next to me and they helped me figure out how to get out the next morning. My decision to cut my visit short and leave the following day was prompted by the events of the previous evening. At my next stop, I discovered my trailer backup camera had been vandalized. Not too difficult to figure out who had done that, so my decision to leave was a good one. It wasn’t the first or the last time I had run into humans like that. Mostly, I just try to be thankful for the ones who aren’t like that – like the nice and helpful family camped beside me. Anyway, I did get to enjoy a few more hours in one of my favorite national parks.
Glacier National Park is certainly a beautiful place but, unfortunately, area fires kept me from seeing much of that beauty on this my first trip there. Fires were not the only challenge for me here. I knew ahead of time that the Going-to-the-Sun Road would be tough for me because of my fear of heights–and I was correct. It was a strange mixture of exhilaration at the amazing scenery and paralysis from amazing anxiety. Ultimately, I was able to enjoy myself, however. This visit was mainly characterized by breathtaking mountains, picturesque water features, and my first mountain goats that weren’t just white specks on a mountain side. These were all viewed from drives and short walks. Next visit is to include hiking–lots of hiking–so there will have to be a plan for Miss Sadie while I explore this spectacular Park more thoroughly. For this post, first are a few more images from the route to the Park and then Part 1 of bucket list item “Glacier National Park”.
My Side of the Adventure 