An Almost Untimely End to our Trip

From Yellowstone, we made our way further east to head towards Mount Rushmore.  We knew we would need to do 2 stops to get there, but decided to take a longer 6-hour drive on Sunday, and then 2 hours to Devils Tower on Monday before continuing 2 hours to Rushmore.  Our first stop was in Sheridan, WY.  About 5 hours into our 6 our drive, the leveling jack alarms started going off.  That was a BIG problem!  The last time the alarm went off, back before our fall trip, the front left jack was failing and needed to be re-built.  It took weeks to get the part and get an appointment to get it fixed.  We pulled off and luckily the jacks weren't falling down yet, but there was hydraulic fluid leaking from the front right jack.  We continued slowly to the campground, stopping every little bit to make sure the jacks were still holding.  In the meantime I called ahead to the campground to get the number of a mobile RV tech. They gave us a glowing recommendation for the closest tech.... but he was an hour and a half away... because Wyoming! We made an appointment for the next morning, but at the same time was weighing all of our options.  Worse case scenario would have had the kids and I getting on a plane and heading home early while Pat stayed with the RV while it was fixed.

Luckily, the guy came out the next morning and we found the source of the leak (a really poor design with a weak hose rubbing up against the corner of the metal battery housing.  He was able to get a new hose pressed and installed and we were on the road only a half hour later than planned!  That man got a good tip ;-) We continued on to our next stop, and no alarms went off, so we are good to go!  I'm glad we aren't cutting our trip short- I'm looking forward to my own bed, but not quite yet!

Our next stop was at Devils Tower-  aka, the filming location of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  It wasn't in our original plan, but we realized it was a good stopping point between Sheridan and Rushmore.  Connie told us that they had stayed at the KOA Devils Tower a few years ago and that it was pretty cool.  

The campground is literally at the base of the tower.  When you leave the campground and turn right, you immediately hit the entrance fee station (again, thank you 4th Grade Pass!).  The kids and I signed up for the nightly hayride through the ranch next to the campground.  We saw lots of deer and one skunk, luckily off in the distance.  By the time we got back, the skies had opened up and we ran back to our campsite getting soaked along the way.  When the rain stopped, Pat took a walk over to watch the nightly showing of Close Encounters with Devils Tower in the background, and lightning putting on a show over the tower.  

It doesn't look like it, but we were having fun running through the rain

The next day was HOT.  I thought we were done with the 100+ weather, but apparently the entire country has been hit with a heat wave.  After school we went up to the tower, but we only walked around for a short time before the heat was too much.  Back at the campground, we enjoyed some quiet time in the air conditioning, and mommy took a long overdue nap!  

Today has us leaving for Mount Rushmore.  The kids had about 5 minutes of school today (only 3 days left!) so they spent the morning at the playground, running around before it gets too hot!  Luckily, the weather looks like it will be cooling off during our stay in Rushmore.

Yellowstone

When we started planning this trip months ago, we had REALLY big plans.  I wanted to see as many national parks as we could, and wanted to see all of the country.  I wanted to drive up the coast of California and make our way up to Olympic, and drive all the way down the east coast to Everglades, and see literally everything in between.  We even talked  briefly about trying to drive to Alaska... the sky was the limit!  But as we started putting the parameters on the trip (wanted to be out for approximately 3 months, we don't want to drive for more than 4 hours most legs... 6 hours max, we like to stay at least 2 nights in a location) we realized that our plan was overly ambitious and would need to start trimming things back.  I eventually landed on a route that basically took us west across I-40 and back east on I-70.  Yellowstone didn't make the cut-  not because I didn't want to go, but because it was so far off the route that seemed to make sense.  That was until Pat looked over my shoulder one day and said "NO YELLOWSTONE?!?!"  So the plan was re-worked and we figured out a way to make Yellowstone happen. 

I am SO glad we did!  Yellowstone is absolutely beautiful, and so unique with its geothermal features.  

 

Before we got to Yellowstone, we did a quick overnight stay just north of Salt Lake City.  We rolled in just around dinner time and left as soon as the kids finished school the next day, so we never even detached animal.  Unfortunately, because of the short stop we didn't even have time to see Salt Lake, other than a tiny sliver we could see from the highway.  Driving from Green River to Salt Lake City was also an adventure- we drove right next to the Bear Wildfire, that eventually shut down the highway we were on a few hours after we passed it.  We could see the flames in some spots, and the entire highway was blanketed in smoke.  The kids said it smelled like a yummy campfire, lol.

From Salt Lake City we headed north to West Yellowstone, Montana.  This camping reservation was another one of those "I don't know how I got it" reservations.  Just a whole lot of checking the KOA website until something popped up.  The campground was pretty basic, but it put us just 8 miles outside of the National Park gates!  

Friday was our first full day in the area and I pulled the kids out of school.  The internet in the area was non-existent, so it would have been almost impossible to log in, and I figured that Yellowstone counts as an educational field trip ;-)  We left early and headed directly to Old Faithful.  We learned quickly that getting around Yellowstone takes a LONG time.  Not only is the park absolutely massive, but its all on one figure 8 loop road, with one lane in each direction.  Anytime there was ANY sign of wildlife, people would stop in the middle of the road to take pictures, causing massive backups.  The road from the west entrance to the main loop was about 15 miles and it took us an hour, all because there was a single elk standing on the side of the road!  We eventually made it to Old Faithful and the timing was perfect-  early enough to get a bench in the front row, but not too long of a wait to watch it go off.  Daddy snuck off for a few minutes and came back with some delicious hot chocolate, which was perfect for the chilly morning.

After Old Faithful, the kids and I walked the boardwalk area around the Geyser Basin, while Pat found the tiniest bit of cell service for a work call.  The geyser basin was like walking around another planet.  I've never seen anything like it.  

From there, we found a place to eat our picnic lunch, and then took the Fairy Trail to the observation point of Grand Prismatic Springs.  The colors from all the microorganisms that call the springs their home was beautiful.  From a distance, you could see the orange and blues reflecting in the steam that was hovering over the springs.  

We called it a day after that, with just a bit more trafficy driving through back to the entrance, and then stayed in the town of West Yellowstone for some dinner.  Friday is Kids Pick Dinner night, so of course we ended up with Pizza.  It was pretty decent for Montana pizza, haha!

Saturday we got a little later start, which actually helped with the entrance gate traffic, but were once again stuck behind a line of wildlife watchers slowing down traffic.  This time we headed north to the Mammoth Hot Springs area.  Again, it looked like another planet, but different features from the day before.  The springs in this area had deposited minerals which made ice-looking terraces along the walls of the springs.  We had our lunch and then walked along the boardwalk up the springs.  On the way back down we stopped at Gibbon Falls.  

That night we had dinner at the Buffalo Bar, and then had a relaxing night before our longer drive east the next day.  There was so much more of Yellowstone I wanted to see, and so much more that I thought I'd be able to see if it didn't take so long to get from point a to point b.  But with the length of our trip, we just don't have the stamina to do dawn to dusk all day adventures, so we got what we could.  If I could go back again, I'd love to see the more eastern part of the park-  upper and lower falls, Yellowstone Lake, and the Lamar Valley.

I feel like I'm being watched 8) 

PS-  There are no shortage of Bison in Yellowstone! 

Moab & Green River, Utah

Once we left Bryce Canyon, we headed east to Moab.  It was really hard to get a reservation in Moab (I luckily scored 2 nights) so we split our time between Moab and Green River, about 45 minutes up the road.  

The rest stops on I-70 were much prettier than the Jersey Turnpike, haha!

Arriving at Moab brought us back to 100+ temps.  The drive across I-70 (also stunningly beautiful) was so hot we actually ran the generator while we were driving so we could have the extra air conditioners on and keep the body of the RV somewhat cool. But when we got the campground, we found out that the power had just gone out!  We hadn't planned on going out to dinner that night, but there was no way I was turning on the stove or grill in that heat, so we headed into downtown Moab and found a pizza place.  After dinner, we found a park with some shade and let the kids play for a little while before we couldn't stand the heat anymore and headed back to the campground to swim.  Luckily, by the time we got back, the power had returned and we put the AC on full blast to cool everything down.    

bleh!

The next morning, we begrudgingly dragged the kids out of bed early ("But mom, its a Saturday!") and headed to Arches National Park to beat the heat and the crowds.  We did 2 short "hikes" (more like walks)- through the Windows section of the park and then over to double arches.  The kids loved scrambling up the rocks.  Even though there were some places to drop, this park didn't give me nearly as much anxiety as the canyons we've visited, so they liked having a little freedom without constantly hearing me yell "back up!"  After the hikes, we drove through more of the park and looked at the scenery from the comfort of our air conditioned car.  As much as I would have liked to see Delicate Arch (the most famous arch in the park)  up close, I knew we wouldn't have enjoyed the hike in the heat, so we settled for driving over to one of the viewing areas.  

After the park, we went back to the campground for lunch and swimming.  Again, we went out for dinner at night because of the heat, and because we had seen a really cool restaurant the night before.  It was called Sunset Grill and was built into the edge of a cliff overlooking the city of Moab.  We weren't there late enough for sunset, but the views were beautiful and the drinks and dinner were yummy.  

dinner with a view

Our campground in Moab- Archview

small rainbow over the national park, from our campground

On Sunday, we had thought about hitting Canyonlands National Park before we had to check out of the campground, but once we all woke we realized that we were happier lounging in our pajamas and that we had seen enough canyons.  We've been going pretty non-stop since leaving Tucson, so we all needed a little break.   

Sunday afternoon, we drove up the road to Green River, Utah.  Before we checked into the campground we found a self serve RV wash, and threw the kids in their bathing suits and put them to work!  At the campground, we met Connie and Braden, who had driven over from Colorado to spend a few days with us.  We hung in the pool for the rest of the afternoon and then made dinner and got some ice cream.  

Monday, the kids had school, while Connie and Braden went down to visit Arches and Moab.  When they finished school and everyone was back, we took a ride around the corner to Green River State Park to go fishing.   The park itself was really tiny and nothing was biting, but it had been so long since we were someplace with fishing, the kids didn't mind that it was a bust. 

On Tuesday we did school and then hit a playground in town.  We planned to visit Goblin Valley State Park that day, but the temps were so high we waited until after dinner to do it.  I don't remember how I even first heard about Goblin Valley, but I remember telling Zach and Sarah about it and showing them some pictures and they became obsessed with it.  If we did nothing else this entire trip, they HAD to go to Goblin Valley!  The entire valley is filled with hoodoo rock formations that look like little goblins.  You can climb and jump all over them.  Going after dinner was the perfect temperature, and gave us an excuse to stay up a little late to watch the stars.  Goblin Valley is a certified dark sky park and one of the darkest places in the US.  It was such a fun evening...I'll let my pictures tell the rest :-) 

I have way more pics from Goblin Valley, but they are on my good camera and I don't have enough internet to get them uploaded.  Will update later.

Wednesday we said goodbye to the McCanns and started our trek up to Yellowstone!