Category: Travel

06/26/19  – 06/29/19 Our Caravan, now complete, hit the road and traveled to Deer Lodge, Montana where we stayed a night at the fairgrounds.  Cost $5.   Two more couples, friends of Jim and Jackie from Parker AZ also met us there. They were driving a Class A and  brand new large Class C Motorhome with all the bells and whistles.   They too were going to AK to visit family but  only have 6 weeks to complete their journey and so they will be putting on many more miles per day than our group.  J & J also have another couple who are doing the trip ahead of us and are reporting on road and weather conditions on our route.   The weather through Canada has been wet and there are some fires causing smoky conditions in AK.  It is nice to have other run a bit of interference for us to help us with our decisions on which routes to take and interesting things to see along the way.   We headed up to Glacier National Park passing many bright yellow Canola fields and spent the next few days camping just outside of the National Park at Emery Bay Campground on the shores of Hungry Horse Reservoir.  We were able to split a double campsite with Bob and J & J were able to snag the last non-reserved site.  Many of the sites at this campground were empty but had reserved signs on them.  The people that reserved them just never show up.   Many campers were turned away when space was available.  We spent the next couple of days touring Glacier National Park, we drove the very narrow, “going to the Sun Road”, up to the summit and back. We also walked the lovely “trail of the Cedars” recommended by Larry, our camp host.  The park was very busy this time of year and we had difficulty finding parking everywhere we went.  I spent a lot of time shooting pictures from Jim’s truck.    There were so many beautiful waterfalls and rivers and creeks with bright blue snow melt.  I was able to capture a good picture of a big horn sheep at the summit. The scenery along this road was stunning.  We passed a bicyclist near the summit and when he stopped at the top we found out he was 81 years old.  Good for him!  We also took the next day and inflated our kayaks and paddled out on the lake.   Sierra, our new sweet little retriever was not too sure about the boat initially and jumped out on our first trek but after hauling her back into the boat, soon relaxed and enjoyed the ride.   Jackie and I have begun our Cribbage tournament and we also involved the guys in a round of Mexican Train Dominoes and Ladders.  Let the games begin!

06/25/19 Jim, Jackie, & their dog Slim arrived on schedule and we were able to snag Campsite #4 right next to ours for them to move into.   I sent them a map of our  location, however google maps, in its infinite wisdom, decided it would direct them via that long loop that we had taken with Bob the day before.  They called us when they reached the top of mountain and had nearly given up after 6 miles of very rough road.  We explained they were on a loop and had come in at the far end. They were only about another ½ mile from the site and we encouraged them to press on as they were almost there.  They arrived exhausted but intact and were rewarded for their efforts by Slim who jumped out of the truck and immediately found some human excrement left by inconsiderate former campers to roll in.  After a bath for Slim, we toasted their arrival and the beginning of our adventures together.  The next day we were able to meet up with Kirstin and Steve again and were treated to a beautiful 9 mile hike along the String lake trail.  They even provided us with delicious sack lunches for our trek. The mosquitoes were voracious if we stood still for too long, so we took pictures and kept moving on up to our lunch site at Trapper lake.  As we strode along the lakeside trail we got to see deer, Moose, and  a very friendly and curious Marmot who was kind enough to pose for pictures.  After our hike Kirstin and Steve took us up to Jackson Lake and the Coulter Bay Visitor Center where Steve introduced Mike one of the managers who had also previously worked on St Thomas and who now runs the boat tours out of the Marina there.   If there is a Marina Mike will find it.   Perhaps you’ll meet Captain Mike on a future trip to the Tetons……who knows?

Grand Tetons

06/20/19 – 06/26/19

Happy 10 year anniversary Michael and thank you for this wonderful trip. I can’t think of a better anniversary gift. We carried on north to the Grand Tetons. We will wait for Jim, Jackie, and Slim Goodenberger to complete our little caravan. We had seen an intriguing review of Shadow Mountain, a free campsite in the Bridger-Teton National Forest that looked out at the Teton Range. The road was advertised as rough but we decided to give it a go anyway. Mike and I took the lead and Bob waited at the bottom of the Forest Service Rd for our report. It was definitely more for 4WD vehicles but we took our chances and were rewarded with beautiful views. It only cost us the loss of a couple of our favorite ceramic mugs that flew out of the cupboard and a container of blueberries that had to be cleaned out from behind the couch when our fruit hammock collapsed on the drive up. We initially had found a spot with great views on top of a ridge but the winds had started blowing pretty good and rain and lightening were in the forecast. I just hoped it wouldn’t be too much as I’m not sure we could make it out with the road muddy or more washed out. Fortunately the weather was not as bad as predicted. We spent the next few days exploring the town of Jackson Hole and had lunch with our Neighbors from Beaver Circle Michael, Addie, Juniper, and Tuba who have been living and working here. (They too are renting out their house in Pagosa). Tuba was our dog Dede’s best friend in the neighborhood and would often come down to our house to play with her. Bob was again our taxi and tour guide and took us on a drive along the Teton Park Road. We stopped at the visitor center and Jenny Lake. Mike who recently confirmed with the USCG that his captains license had been renewed, inquired as to if they were ever in need of boat captains for the tourist boat across Jenny Lake. (Keeping our options open…?) On the way back, we took the long way around the 8 mile forest service loop rd that led back to our camp…the entire road is pretty bumpy. We were also able to connect with our dear friends from St. Thomas, Kirstin and Steve Biery, they are working for a contractor that handles the concessions for the Park Service. They are provided lodging while they are working here this summer and then will return to Edwards, CO to work in Beaver Creek over the winter months. It is wonderful getting to reconnect with dear friends.