We headed south when we left Yellowstone, through Grand Tetons NP, and into Jackson WY. The views were beautiful. The plan was to take the boat shuttle across Jenny Lake & hike back around…but that didn’t work out. By the time we reached the lake the crowds were crazy so we just decided to go straight to Jackson & come back the next day. Well.. it was cold & raining the extra day! CRAP!! Our stay was short so we didn’t get to do the hike but did get to drive through the other side of the park again on the back through Yellowstone to get to West Yellowstone. This stop was planned as an extra day in Yellowstone if we needed it, do some 🧺 & break up the travel time to our next stop. We ended up just relaxing, visiting downtown, & enjoying camping. So we’re off again! The next stop is an exciting one for me so stay tuned.
Welcome to Yellowstone! We've been looking forward to this part of our trip and it didn't disappoint!! (This post ended up being REALLY long but there was so much packed into 4 days.) One thing to note for people unfamiliar with Yellowstone is the huge size of the park. Driving to the different areas can take as long as 2+ hrs & that's not including the very real Bison Jams that happen along the way. (If they decide to block the road - no one moves)Day 1 was spent on the west side checking out the geysers & the many other dramatic geothermal features in the area - paint pots, hot springs, steam pots and more. Old Faithful is the most famous geyser but it's not the largest or most dramatic. It's only more popular because of the short predicable interval between eruptions (approx 1.5 hrs) and its location is easy accessible. One of my favorite features in the area was Grand Prismatic Spring. It was so beautiful - It didn't look real. Within an hr inside the park we spotted an occupied Osprey nest & a huge Bison surprised us as we were walking down the side of the road. He was just casually walking up other other side. I can see how people can get lured into thinking they are passive and not dangerous because they really couldnt care less about us - but I felt like we were too close for comfort - he was BIG! 😬. He just moved along and so did we. We stayed in Fishing Bridge campground which is located is the heaviest populated Grizzly bear area of the park. So only hard sided campers & there are very strict rules about what can stay outside the camper! Day 2 we were up and out at dawn & headed to Hayden Valley for wildlife viewing. We saw 3 adults Yellowstone Wolves (one was howling!) but they were VERY far away - too far for our cameras or binoculars...other people who had more powerful scopes were very kind and let us look through them to watch (but still no pictures). Also in the valley we checked off one of our wishlist items - seeing a large herd of Bison cross
Our next stop was Capital Reef National Park. This stop was added when we had some time to kill due to a canceled airbnb stop. I have mixed thoughts on Capital Reef. While the scenery is just as beautiful other places in the area I felt this park did not have as much to offer. Here’s why 1) There’s a huge repaving project going on most of the scenic drive is closed. 2) The park has no official entrance and the visitor center is very small & crowded3) the parking areas for the trail heads are very small and right on the state highway so it’s difficult finding a place to park.4) the town closest to the park is a VERY small town. Not much food, groceries, or gas. We got very spoiled in Moab!What we liked:- We had the famous pie at Gifford house (2x🤣) & it was delicious- we did a fun hike to Hickman bridge - a natural bridge. - And saw some petroglyphs from 300-1200 C.E. We spend the rest of our time there relaxing and regenerating for our next adventure. And we’re off!!
We left Mesa Verde area and headed to Moab, UT. We detoured for a stop at Natural Bridges National Monument. This area has a 6 mile scenic drive which includes overlooks & hiking trails to 3 natural bridges and a 900 yr old cliff dwelling. We started out on the drive and stopped at the overlooks but honestly the sights were just not as stunning as we had hoped because the overlooks don’t give the best perspective of the bridge structures. So we hiked down to the 3rd bridge and WOW! We learned you need to do the hikes!Then into Moab. What a cool place! If it wasn’t so hot in the summer I would see us spending a lot more time here. We are camping right in the downtown area - couldn’t be a better location for us. We headed to a dinner spot to talk to locals about where to go and what to do. So many suggestions! It’s difficult to pick what we want to do. We make 4 visits to Arches National park during our week in Moab. It was unusually hot for this time of year so we only spent a few hrs each day. 1 day we visited the visitor center, talked to the rangers about the best things for us to do , and drove the 25 mile scenic drive - stopping at all the overlooks. It’s a great way to get oriented to the park. We spend 2 days hiking different areas of the park, and 1 evening attended a night sky/astro event in the park. It was a bit cloudy that night but the rangers did a great job and they had huge telescopes avail to look through. One day in Cannyonlands National Park - we did the scenic drive and hiked several trails to beautiful overlooks. The canyons are huge! I was meaning to look up how they compare to Grand Canyon (but I haven’t yet 🤔). The park is full of interesting geo structure. The power of water is formidable. Just the vastness is amazing. We took a gorgeous 22 mile bike rides that led us down a the Colorado river and then up past Arches NP. Just stunning. Of course we had to stop at a bar in a tower on the river for lunch near the end of our
Our next stop was the Mesa Verde National Park and surrounding areas. We spent a week camping in this area & explored at a slow pace, enjoying the sights. This included: Four Corners, Mesa Verde, Durango, & Cortez. Four corners monument is where you can be in 4 states at the same time (UT, AZ, NM, & CO). It’s really just a travel pit stop. It’s owned by the Navajo nation & it has changed quite a bit since we were there 20 yrs ago. They now have lots of vendors selling trinkets & Indian jewelry all around the actual monument spot. Mesa verde national park - this was the main attraction for your stay. We spend 2 days in the park. We had guided tours of Balcony House & Cliff Palace. Balcony house was like a jungle gym for adults (kids too). It included 4 story steep ladder, very rough cut sand stone steps, crawling through 14” openings from one room to the next. Both tours provided great historical data on the 600-900yr old structures. Durango - we went on a very nice 17 miles bike ride along the Animas River Trail. We also walked around and check out the local food/drink. Cortez - this was the closest town to our campground so we were in & out several times for groceries, gas, and other necessities. Also checked out the local watering hole & breakfast stops. We went to a very rough golf course- this place had no fairways! Just tee boxes and greens & the longest par 3 holes we have ever seen. & it was an adventure just trying to find our way round the course. Lost a lot of balls! AND WE’RE OFF TO OUR NEXT STOP!
When we left Dallas to stopped to visit NJ friends who have relocated to TX. It was great catching up with Melissa & Matt. After a quick overnight stop in Oklahoma City we start following Route 66. We honestly didn’t know what to expect from a route 66 trip - we just don’t really get it - murals, old gas stations, & other roadside oddities *We did like were the 500ft section of original Route 66 roadway. We then made the decision to pick out the most iconic places, visit those & use the interstate. 🤪 Our 1st stop was Amarilla, TX & we headed to The Big Texan Steak house - home of the 72oz steak challenge. We ahiked in Palo Duro Canyon state park - the 2nd largest canyon in the US- & visited the Amarillo Historic Route 66 downtown area. Then a stop at Cadillac Ranch roadside stop & then we continued on our journey….Where to next?
We’re going to be moving quickly the next couple of weeks so buckle up! 🤣 We spent time touring the Fort Worth Stockyards, JFK historical sites & At&T stadium in Dallas. Check out what Karl was wearing at the Cowboys stadium! All the details most recent post. Next stop ROUTE 66!!!
UPDATE #9 - We spent our last week in the Rio Grande Valley hanging out w the great people we’ve met down here. Then it was time pack up & move on. We stopped in South Padre Island for a crazy bike ride & lunch. Then it was off to Corpus Christi. (more details in the post)
Had a great time listening to live music & meeting new people
Doing yoga is the trend. Living yoga is the goal. Reaching that goal is a journey. 🧘♀️
It’s cold but better than where we were. #floridacold #betterthanhome #seniortravelers #seniorvanlife #seniornomads
It's been a long 5 months but we're heading out on our "trial run" trip (even though she's not finished yet).
