But “tetons”…really?? Come on! In case you didn’t know, “grand tetons” is french for “big breasts”. I can think of a few names that more aptly describe their grandure.
Majestic…Mystical…Magnificent..Splendid…Spectacular… all of these & many other words are more fitting descriptions.
Anyway, here are some of our favorite pictures of these awe-inspiring beauties. 😍💗
I wonder how many of our habits, comforts and quirks stem from childhood…
Neither Derek nor I drink caffeine anymore… But we both enjoy our steaming hot dark roast decaf in the morning before getting our day going.☕💗
Thanks to the campground rules of “no generators until after 8 AM” we’ve developed a habit of sleeping in as long as possible so we don’t have to be awake & waiting for our coffee. 😄 Twice we tried getting up early moving out and getting our adventure started… We pulled over at the 1st parking space outside the campground, started our generator, brewed our cups Joe for the road and off we went!
We realized that both of these days were less enjoyable than the rest…probably not because of coffee, but because we started the day more hurried & it messed up the flow of the rest of the day. The act of drinking coffee simply allows us to relax & prepare for whatever lies ahead that day.
We are learning to s.l.o.w. down, embrace spontaneity, and make last minute decisions on the fly.
Anyone who knows me, knows what a challenge that is for this “planner”! Having “no plans” and figuring it out as we go has been challenging, but has reaped great rewards.
For Derek, a naturally early riser, the biggest challenge has been not getting up before daylight & immediately jumping into the day’s activities.
The front of my travel planner says…An adventure to celebrate the last 30 years & Find Inspiration for the next 30!
My love of coffee began way before my love for Derek…when my dad would bring home Brach’s candy on Saturday mornings! The Coffee flavored candies were my favorite 😋 😍
Time to stop writing and make our coffee!! 😁☕💗
The different types, shapes, colors and activities of these make them worthy of their own post! They were fascinating. And since seeing pictures of Grand Prismatic Spring are what started my dream of visiting Yellowstone we’ll start with her…
Very little cell service in Yellowstone. We spent Friday afternoon thru Tuesday morning there & we were able to see all of the main areas of the park & do several hikes.
We saw what seemed like a thousand buffalo, as well as a few elk, mule deer & a black bear. We also heard wolves howling several times.
The park was truly amazing, just when we thought we had seen everything, we’d turn a corner & there’d be something different. SO MANY types of terrain & landscape, geysers & steaming springs…beautiful colors & areas that seemed other worldly.
The pictures won’t do it any justice, but here are as many as I can load for now…
If you’ve ever used a GPS you could hear its voice in your head as you read the title of this post…
I heard it too, as I was gazing at the amazing scenery from the back of the scooter…it suddenly became clear that in light of recent circumstances (front wheel sensor going out & losing cruise control and braking safety features disabled) coupled with the desire to spend more time exploring & less time driving, we made the decision to eliminate Glacier NP from this trip & do it another time when we can spend more time there & thoroughly enjoy the entire park.
So off to Billings, MT we headed to pick up a part at the Mercedes dealership. We found an awesome campground with a pool & hot tub and just a short walk from the beautiful Yellowstone River. (And a divine connection to a local mechanic who will install our part tomorrow morning!🙏🏻🙌)
By “recalculating” the route of our trip, it also means more time in Yellowstone NP & we’re pretty excited about that!!
Enjoy the following pictures of Southern Montana…
Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, North Dakota
I didn’t know it existed until a couple of months ago… But on my quest for seeing all 50 States North Dakota was a must see this trip. Much to my surprise I found a National Park here… and boy am I glad!!
The park consists of both a South unit and a North unit, the latter of which we spent last night exploring. Today, the south unit… Enjoy the following photo dump of our last 2 days & our sunset scooter rides!! 😁 (go all the way to the end, there is a “grand finale” 😉) Keep in mind most of these pictures (all of the wildlife ones) were taken from the back seat of a scooter in motion, so quality is lacking in some.
This last photo is a BIG deal…this is one of two Big Horn Sheep we saw, right beside the road. According to several Park Rangers, it’s very rare to have a sheep sighting, and almost never one so close! 😲 It’s been fun showing off my photo, they’re very impressed…feeling pretty special 🤩
So, all of the delays of the day, missed exits, frustrating mishaps, the go back & get something we forgot…they all led us to these moments. We were in the right place at just the right time!!
Who knew RVing would be would be a lot like learning to dance?
The words of a country song by John Michael Montgomery come to mind when I think about these last two days…”Life’s a dance you learn as you go, Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow. Don’t worry ’bout what you don’t know, Life’s a dance you learn as you go.”
I suppose the only way to know how to take a 3 week roadtrip in an RV is to take a 3 week roadtrip in an RV. 🙃
Yesterday, after a very slow start to the day (mostly due to the 4 hour tire replacement ordeal & not getting to bed til midnight, and partially due to us “dancing” around each other in our 240sf road home & literally stepping on each other’s toes) we spent most of the day driving past all the “planned adventures” while dodging thunderstorms & humid heat.
We did get Derek his Wisconsin 🧀 😋 tasted some Wisconsin 🍷 & stopped at a rest stop advertising a “scenic overlook”…which turned out to be quite a hike but with a lovely view.
And we ended the day with a 🍔 & 🍟 at the Anchor Bar in Superior, WI…featured on Drive-ins, Diners, and Dives.
Today started off with a beautiful sunrise over a bay on the southwest side of Lake Superior 😍 🌅 & waterfall hikes at Pattison State Park.
Then Lake Superior up close at Canal Park in Duluth, MN.
We were proud of ourselves for only taking 2 1/2 hours to fix breakfast & pack up today.💃🕺 And tonight, unlike the last two boondocks in parking lots, we set up camp at a campground with full hookups in record time, Derek made dinner (which was way better than the DDD burger, by the way) & we enjoyed watching deer in the field while relaxing at the campfire.
From sunrise to sunset…It’s starting to feel like vacation…
“Jobs fill your pockets, but adventures fill your soul.” -Jamie Lynn Beatty
Looking forward to returning with a soul that’s running over…
This was supposed to be the blog for yesterday, but I grossly underestimated the time it would take to finish packing for a 3 week trip! 🙃
Headed out…ready or not, here WE GO!
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois…the “drive thru”states. The most exciting event of the day (besides how far we traveled) was meeting “Belles”…she’s a cutie and probably the strangest thing I’ve ever seen at a rest stop! 😂🦙💗
Hours later, we were making such good time (even while driving within the speed limit… for real) we had our sites set on Wisconsin for the 1st night! Unfortunately, less than 30 miles from the state line there was a hiss…followed by the sound of things flying out from under Jenny! 😳😱
Not exactly the “adventure” we were hoping for 🤷♀️🤷♂️ But we tried to make the best of it while we waited for help…ate leftover Spaghetti for dinner, Derek took a nap, I read all about Wisconsin & the soul-filling adventures I hope to encounter tomorrow.
“WOW” is the acronym we dubbed the year at the beginning of 2022.
We purchased “Jenny” for the sole purpose of this trip we are about to embark on. But we soon realized if we were going to actually enjoy driving cross country with her, we better work out as many bugs as possible beforehand.
We scheduled in 3 long weekend trips to “practice RVing”…after our maiden roadtrip ended 10 miles from home when all kinds of dash warnings went off as we headed to Florida for New Years. Thankfully that was an easy fix & we were close to home 🤪
March – PT#1 was rescheduled to the backyard because the weather at the beach was way too cold in March! Again, close to home, literally set up the RV in the yard & learned more than you might think😂
April – PT #2 – A few hours south to Virginia. Random drive on mountain roads to a great little spot by a rushing creek. 💗 Then on to the campground destination for some more one-vehicle roads, lol. Very few hiccups, awesome waterfall hike, an impressive winery & the dog was very happy to be with us. 🐶
May – PT#1.5 – The beach do-over was fantastic…weather still sucked, but the wild ponies of Assateague were amazing!🐎💗 And we learned how to RV in the rain & blowing sand.🥶🌊🌬 Oh & our spontaneous 1st night in the parking lot of a great restaurant in the historic part of Easton, MD.
July – PT#3 We went north to Seneca Lake, NY…Watkins Glen & its waterfalls 😍 More wineries than you can count & beautiful weather. We learned a bit about driving the RV in the mountains & how not to freeze up the A/C. 😲
So, WOW…”Whirlwind of Wonder”…the description of what Derek thought taking all the extra time off would feel like. ☺ And the “WOW” is only beginning…the grand finale, as we call it, will have no more appropriate description, no doubt!
Starting to pinch myself…really hard to believe this might actually happen! Pre-travel to-do list is getting shorter & shorter.
Itinerary is DONE! You can see where we are going on our roadtrippers links. I’ll attempt to attach them below. There are 3 itineraries, one for the trip out, one while in Yellowstone & one for the trip home…all full of adventurous possibilities!
The Road to Yellowstone: https://maps.roadtrippers.com/trips/38678630?utm_campaign=trip_guide&utm_medium=share&utm_source=email
Yellowstone, Inside Edition: https://maps.roadtrippers.com/trips/38713766
Homeward Bound: https://maps.roadtrippers.com/trips/38679183
Hope you will enjoy following along as we Road Trip across the country. Hopefully I can master this blogging thing & create a fun way to share our adventure!
WildHartz Wandering 