It was a driving day from the camp on the banks of the Yellowstone to Glacier National Park. The drive took us about 9 hours with stops. It is forecast to rain up here for the next couple of days so we will not spend much time in the park. Much of the road through the park is still closed anyway.
I have gone through what I am carrying and I am packaging up a few things and sending it back home. My cooking gear is pretty extensive and we are not cooking extravagantly so a frying pan, small pot, and Dutch oven will suffice.
We will be crossing over into Canada today. Google maps show we have another 2500 miles to Tuktoyatuk from this point. We have already traveled about 1500 miles with the detour through Salt Lake City.
Today was dedicated to checking out Yellowstone. We headed north and of course stopped at Old Faithful. My favorite is the Lodge that is built from local logs. We hiked around the geysers for an hour of so before getting back on the road.
Buffalo chillin in the sun.
Along the way we managed to see quite a large number of bison, elk, some deer, and one bear. The bear was at quite a distance, but its easy to find them… A group of rangers are nearby to ensure no one does something that will get someone hurt. Along the way we found three sets of bear-rangers in the park.
There’s a bear in there Nice bear track
We exited on the northwest corner in Montana and about 30 minutes up the road we are free-camping at Carbella Recreation Site. Fajitas for dinner and some huckleberry scones for desert (Cooked in the dutch oven).
We started the day in Jackson, Wy and entered into the Grand Tetons National Park. It is such an amazing and beautiful place. We decided to do a hike to Hidden Falls at Jenny lake since I have not been able able hike that the past two times that I have been here. It was an easy 2.5 mile hike and the falls were raging from the run-off. We continued north after the hike to a road Called grass hill road (Correction) because in the last time Kristina and I were here., we took that road to Idaho and I knew there was some free camping sites there. Unfortunately the road was closed, and after looking at gong back to Grand Tetons and caping free in the National forest or moving on to Yellowstone, we decided to bite the bullet and pay for a campsite at (location).
As we were waiting in line, we met a cool British guy named Neil that was biking across America. Carl asked if he wanted to share a site and we agreed and so it all begins. Neil is a ship builder…and when I mean ship, I mean luxury yacht. It was an amazing night and we have not laughed so hard in a long time. I am also grateful that Carl reached out and asked to share the $40 campsite because without that we would not have me Neil.
And I biked about 10 mile back into the wilderness. My bike is so much a part of me and I enjoy riding… it was incredible getting back on the bike.. It is crammed in the back o the truck and I want a better storage solution, but in the end, it is with me, and I rode it in Wyoming today. While in the ride I saw an elk cow, a raccoon, an eagle, and a bunch of prairie dogs. No bears or moose yet.
I am amazed with the amazing men I have come in contact with recently. Carl hiked the Appalachian Trail last year; never before camping or hiking and completed the 2400 mile trail in 5 months…. It is not something to take lightly. And Neil here is on his second “Across America” bike tour. It is so interesting to hear of other culture’s perceptions and interpretations. Neil is well traveled and well connected and it floors me when I meet and travel with people like Carl and Neil. Such a fun and enlightening evening.
Woke up in a great campground and continued north. We stopped at the Utah Agricultural Historic Center for a bit to get some info and then headed to Logan Utah for some maps and local info.
We continued on to Jackson, Wyoming to meet a friend of Carl’s that hiked the Appalachian trail with him last year. Cool guy, a few beers, and we hiked halfway up the ski slope to get a view of Jackson and the Tetons.
It was a long day today on the drive to deliver the XTR trailer to a buyer in Salt Lake City. It took about 9 hours to get from Denver to the Salt Lake City, and then we had to do some cargo shuffling and a quick car wash on the trailer to remove the road grime.
We did a little driving around the Mormon Temple and walked around the Utah state Capital building and adjoined gardens. We were going to head to find a campground so we could cook dinner, but I decided to grab something so we could get set up and rested. Sizzler was the choice and we ate cooked bovine and dead vegetables.
We scouted for a camp ground and found a free camp (or that is what it appeared to be) at Box Elder Campground. It was starting to snow and rain and we quickly set up next to the stream and got to to work on updates and then rest.
Carl arrived and we caught up at the new Field House Beer Works on Powers Blvd (great local beer and nice setup) before heading north. A quick stop at AT&T to get his phone activated and we were off. An hour later we dropped off Peyton’s stuff in Parker, CO and then we drove to Thornton and camped at a super Wal-Mart. Not exciting or picturesque of a spot but we got food shopping done and had a few cold ones. Kudos to Walmart and other places that are Overland friendly.
Today we are off to Salt Lake City to deliver the trailer. Getting lighter as we go. I still need a bike rack. Hopefully craigslist will have something in SLC.
I’ve lived in Colorado Springs for 7 years and last night is the first night I’ve camped here. Turns out Bass Pro Shop allows overnight camping. Woohoo.
The Colorado chapter comes to an end. The house is sold and we have completely moved to Mesa. I finished the last day at my position with CACI at 4th Infantry Division today and cleaned and closed out the house. It will be just shy of 7 years since Kristina and I drove north from Tucson, Arizona to Colorado Springs. Today I handed the keys of our home to the real estate agent and moved into the FJ Cruiser. June 1 my friend Carl flies in and we begin our epic excursion on the Alaskan Highway through Canada and Alaska. 7 weeks of camping, fishing, hiking, mountain biking and exploring the Land of the Midnight Sun.
Welcome to our journey. I will be using this site to log our travels, to display what we see, and to interact. Carl will be posting on SevierConditions.com and YouTube with videos. Join us as we explore on this Bucket List excursion.
