Wyoming 2015

After a cold and rainy April in Colorado, Springtime finally caught up to us in Wyoming. Despite Colorado being one of my favorite states, our time there was hard. Cold, wet, and cramped, there were a few days Erin and I looked at each other and didn’t know if the other person was going to make it on the road.

Rawlins

We drove from Fort Collins, CO to Rawlins, WY in the rain. The clouds were low, and the truckers were many. It was a long drive to Rawlins, and I had picked it only because it looked like a decent place to stop on our way up to Lander. Unfortunately, despite a good review for the RV park we stayed at, the low clouds and cold weather made the gravel RV park in a working town look pretty desolate. We only stayed in Rawlins for 1 night – that was plenty.

Lander

The next day, we made our way up to Lander. The clouds began to clear, and the drive was not as grueling. We arrived in Lander and headed for their city park. We learned from our friend Kerri that the small town had a lovely city park that allowed campers to stay there for 3 nights free. We pulled in, found a nice spot by the creek through town and set up shop. We loved out time in Lander. It’s a small town, but it’s beautiful, and we loved getting the chance to slow down for a few days.

Dubois

We knew Memorial Day might be a little crazy, so we were happy to snag a weekend spot in Dubois at a KOA. Unfortunately, there was a motorcycle club that was also there that weekend, celebrating the life of a friend. Although cordial, the revving of their engines every morning wasn’t too enjoyable. However, the girls were thrilled by the indoor pool. It rained a bit more, and Henry tromped through a few more puddles and thoroughly thrased every pair of shoes we had for him.

Grand Tetons

The Grand Tetons definitely lived up to their name. Once again, we relied on friends that had recently traveled through the area to find a good spot to camp. And boy did it pay off. We had the choice between two spots in the Bridger-Teton National Forest – just East of the Grand Tetons. One of the spots laid beyond a closed road, so we chose another. This one was about 1 mile off the main road. The forest service road wound up the hill and a turn off took us to a plateau overlooking the valley and Tetons to the West. It was beautiful. We used this as our launching pad to explore the National Park and Jackson to the South. A few days into our stay, we were joined by another full-time family, @currentlywandering. We only knew of the Sam and Jess Curren and their 3 kids from Instagram. We’ve followed along on their journey since we started dreaming of life on the road. They were on their way from Idado up to Minnesota and we were glad our paths crossed. We enjoyed a hike with them Thursday and decided to travel together up to Yellowstone on Friday.

Yellowstone

The drive to Yellowstone was beautiful. We stopped along the way for lunch, letting the kids roam around near a lake while the grownups made food. I was jealous of the Curren’s airstream and how easy it was to hop inside and get to the fridge. While our 5th wheel is far more spacious because of its length and its 2 slides, those slides are also drawn in during travel, making the space inside unusable while underway.

We stayed together at Frishing Bridge RV park. I knew the data coverage would be spotty, so I cashed in some vacation time and took the week off. We spend Friday-Sunday exploring the central part of the park with the Currens and their 3 awesome kids. It was fun to watch our girls tag along with the far-more-experienced Curren kids. We learned a lot from them: chore charts, hiking snacks, and more. It was also fun to begin to see the girls exploring on their own. For weeks, Erin and I have felt like over-excited tour guides everywhere we went – trying to convince the kids about how awesome (and rare) the sites they were seeing were. But on this trip, the girls began to generate their own excitement We frequently heard squeels of “BISON!” and “MAGPIE!” from the backseat of the car as we drove. Henry was especially cute, calling out “BI-SUH!” whenever he saw a road-side Bison.

The Currens switched campgrounds Monday – heading up to Mammoth Hot Springs near the North entrance – but we met back up Tuesday to tour the geyser basins near Old Faithful. While the day started out a little cold, the weather dramatically improved. The basin surrounding Old Faithful is full of beautiful springs, mud pots, and geysers and it was a nice stroll with the kids before they got their 6th junior ranger badges. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to the Currens as they were heading out the next day. Our kids cried for a bit on the way back to the campground. We promised them we’d see them again next Spring, and we hope that that fortune telling holds true.

We spent Wednesday cleaning, showering, and doing laundry, then headed West and out of the park Thursday. We stopped for a delicious lunch at Buffalo Bar in West Yellowstone, Montana. Ironically, after seeing Bison in the park all week, I opted for a Bison Bratwurst (delicious). We settled in at a state park just West of West Yellowstone in the corner of Idaho. I had 24 hours with the family before flying out of West Yellowstone to San Francisco for work. We made the most of it with a few walks and a nice little (rented) boat ride around the lake. There were lots of tears from the girls the next day as they dropped me off at the West Yellowstone airport.

Better Days

After a somewhat depressing month in Colorado, spring and summer have finally caught up to us. We’re finally settling into a rhythm at home and the scenery, wildlife, and opportunities for adventure abound. This is what we’d been dreaming of for months and we’re glad it’s finally here.

Next up: Montana, Glacier National Park (for 2 weeks!), then headed into Canada to see my sister.

Visit this Facebook Photo album for pictures from our time in Wyoming