Days 9 – 11: Sun Valley, Idaho

Days 9 – 10: Sun Valley, Idaho

It is Wednesday morning, August 6^th and we are getting back on the road after three and a half luxurious days in Sun Valley, ID.

After a week in our RV with too few swimming opportunities or showers, being able to do laundry, float in the pool, eat too much food, and take regular showers has been a real treat. We spent the past two days here in Sun Valley trying to fit as much in as possible between sumptuous meals. As part of the meetings, we primarily enjoyed seeing everyone. Some of the other highlights were the Ice Show on Saturday night, riding around on rented bikes, hiking to Proctor and enjoying the views,

the rustic cabin evening two nights ago,

 

taking the gondola and chairs up to Baldy Mountain, and eating many meals in good company.

Here are two views of Sun Valley from on top of Baldy Mountain from yesterday.

Last night the usual discussion about our departure time came up. In a conversation over dinner, someone asked Ricardo and me what time we are leaving today. At about the same time, he said 8 am and I said 12 Noon!  As we stepped through the details later of having to pack up this condo, get the boys and Alle fed and ready to go, and navigating our RV to the grocery store to restock, I think we agreed that 12 Noon might be realistic. We’ll see how it goes. So far at 9 am, the kids are still asleep!

Thank you to everyone else here for a super three days. Our next stop is Red Lake and then Salmon, ID on route to Glacier National Park.

Day 8 – Arco, ID and Craters of the Moon to Sun Valley, ID

Day 8 – Arco, ID and Craters of the Moon to Sun Valley, ID

August 3, 2013

The KOA RV Campground in Arco, ID not only has fire rings and a laundry, but it has a small pool. After breakfast, the boys and I walked over and stuck our feet in. It felt wonderful. After a week on the road and only a few showers, we are all looking forward to swimming and/or taking a bath! We said good-bye to Arco and drove about 20 minutes away to the Craters of the Moon National Monument. What an unusual and exceptional place. It is a huge stretch of land covering lava flows from “fissures” in the Snake River thousands of years ago.

We spent a couple of hours along a seven mile loop road in the park, stopping at designated trails to walk around and see the old craters, solid lava fields, and monolithic piles of once molten lava and sides of craters. The whole landscape is black and barren, except in the older places where the forest and trees are once again settling in.

It’s a very unusual landscape and worthwhile to see and think about. The "youngest" lava flow was from about 2000 years ago, or around the time of Christ. The boys followed a bold chipmunk along one trail, we picked up a few lava rock samples, and I photographed the tiny and interesting alpine-like flowers which were somehow growing in the rock. Here is the Blazing Star, which typically only blooms at night. They are pollinated by moths. Its blooms close back up in the daytime. This bush was still in bloom in the morning, but the ones we saw later were closed. The flowers of this area have to be able to withstand 150 F heat. 
 

After our tour and short hikes, I threw all of our leftovers along with lots of cheese into quesadillas for lunch in an effort to clean out our RV fridge.

From the Craters of the Moon, we drove another hour and half to two hours to Sun Valley, Idaho. We immediately checked into our rooms at the lodge and then went swimming. Ahhh! It is so nice to have ready access to cold drinks, showers, and lovely beds. We will be here for about four days for meetings. I probably won’t attempt to write about all of our days here, but I will try to upload some photos.

From here, we will head north again to visit northern Yellowstone and then Glacier National Parks.

Day 7 – Grand Teton National Park to Jackson, WY to Arco, ID

Day 7 – Grand Teton National Park to Jackson, WY to Arco, ID

August 2, 2013

There was a small sign posted in the bathrooms at Yellowstone a few days ago that said something like “Gastronomic Virus – Extremely Contagious – Please keep hands washed, etc”. I think Alle and I both caught a small version of it during these past 24 hours. Not to get too specific, but everything we have been eating has been “going straight through”. Well, at least we won’t have to worry about gaining weight on this leg of the holiday.

That said, we launched ourselves from the Grand Teton Park this morning and headed down to Jackson on route to Arco, Idaho. Jackson is a “touristy town”, but it is a well done touristy town. The shops are more upscale, the tourists look a bit more well-to-do, and the main town square is rustic but hopping with activity. We parked our oversized RV a bit outside of town so we didn’t have to worry about hitting anything like street signs or unsuspecting tourists. We walked into the main square and the boys immediately spied an ice cream spot. So, being on holiday, we all had an early ice cream.

After successfully moving our RV to the local post office and getting lots of post card stamps, we headed out of town. We are still driving on US-20/US-26 West. We have been on this highway for much of our trip. It is a mostly quiet, scenic road and so much nicer than the interstates. On the interstates, every truck that passes us shakes the RV and Ricardo has to grip the steering wheel to keep from hitting the rumble strips along the side of the road. It is not the most relaxed drive. We took the scenic route out of Jackson which runs along the Snake River. The road (and the river) run through a beautiful canyon with white water rafting places dotting the road and their boats dotting the river.

 

 

Coming out of that set of canyons, we entered into Idaho.

The road slowly flattened out and for the next four hours we drove through open, barren country. There was hardly a cross road, let alone other traffic. Wheat and potato fields were on either side of us. Coming into Arco, ID we passed a large nuclear energy plant and campus. We found out later that Arco, ID was the first city in the US to be completely powered by nuclear energy in the 1950’s. Quite a claim to fame. The business is still going strong, although quietly.

We were very happy to pull into the KOA RV camp site in Arco, ID, which is surprisingly pastoral and welcoming. We had a very late dinner of burgers over the campfire. Everyone is exhausted. We are heading a few miles away in the morning to see the Craters of the Moon National Monument and then onto Sun Valley, ID.

 

Day 6 - Grand Teton National Park

Day 6 – Grand Teton National Park

August 1, 2013

We were supposed to get up earlier today and go to Jenny Lake for a boat ride and hike. Ricardo would like us to be able to leave early each morning, but some of us like to sleep in and the boys take their time in the morning. So, we did our laundry, took showers and found wi-fi instead.  I uploaded the last three days of blogs. The connectivity has been very slooow, so I have only uploaded one photo for each day. I have saved other highlights and hope to upload them soon.

Today is the first day we are staying in the same campsite for more than one night. We stayed in Colter Bay Campsite last night and will again tonight. From here this morning, we drove south along one of the park roads and pulled out at many overlooks and turn-outs. The Grand Teton National Park is exceptional in that Jackson Hole is a huge valley and the mountains rise directly from the valley. The road is along the valley and Snake River; there are no foothills or obstructions in front of the mountains. The Teton Range rises and stretches out fully from north to south. It is so open and majestic, it is very inspiring.

We made our way to South Jenny Lake and took the boat across to hike to see Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. Hidden Falls are only a half mile in, but with the steepness of the path, they seem miles away. The boys did a fine job of paying attention to the rocky path and we didn’t have any falls.

After three hours hiking and seeing the views, we headed back across the lake. So, it seemed, did the rest of the people hiking in that area, and we had to wait for a boat. The hikers in front and behind us had both been on long hikes, so we heard about the places they had been.

The ferry boat driver had made a recommendation for us to eat what became an early dinner at Dormans in Moose, WY, which was a few miles away. We had a “cowboy style” buffet dinner of lots of “slop and glop” style foods (potatoes, beans, stew, etc). The boys did not like the food, but the view and surroundings were great. We made our way back via the Snake River Outlook, which is the site of the famous Ansell Adams photo of the Grand Teton. We got there late in the day and the light was fantastic. I think Alle and I each took about one hundred photos.

The boys were already planning what ice cream flavors they wanted to try at the General Store back at the campground, so we made our way there. After lots of hiking and running around at every outlook stop (and no naps), the boys have since passed out asleep for the night.

Tomorrow we will leave the park, visit Jackson, WY and make our way to Arco, Idaho and the “Craters of the Moon” National Monument.

Day 5 – Madison Campsite, Yellowstone to Colter Bay Village, Grand Teton National Park

Day 5 – Madison Campsite, Yellowstone to Colter Bay Village, Grand Teton National Park

Well, today was a low point on the trip so far. Perhaps we were all tired. Perhaps it was sleeping at over 8000 feet in lower than 40 F temperatures, but we were all grumpy today. And, our RV started to show its age. Alle and I slept in, which seemed great until the boys started melting down once we woke up. Ted peed into our bed in the back of the RV. We crunched the bracket for the RV's awning, pulling into the sewer and water station once we set-off. We stopped to see the Fountain Paint Pots, which “blopped and spitted”.

The geysers and craters were very interesting, but both boys got overheated in their long pants, fell walking on the boardwalk paths, and we were all on edge about navigating our RV in crowded parking lots. Peter melted down about having to put on shorts, although he was hot from the walk and we set-off again. Both boys eventually napped and their spirits lifted a bit. The rest of us ate salt water taffy.

We left Yellowstone at the South Entrance and continued to the Grand Teton National Park, which is almost contiguous to Yellowstone. On the way, we saw two pairs of mother elk with baby elks in a Yellowstone meadow.

 The views around Jackson Lake were spectacular. We all had ice cream cones to celebrate, except for Ted who was still sleeping. Alle, Peter and I slid down a sandy slope to stick our toes in the water of the lake.  It was not much further to our campsite for the next two nights, Colver Bay Village. Here we have a full hook up with electrical and sewer, which is a first, but we can’t make a fire and the spaces are narrow slots.  We also have an energetic family of volleyball-playing neighbors.

 

Our RV has been well used prior to our rental. Today, we put duct tape on the bottom of the screen door so that its base frame would stop falling out whenever we opened it. We put a bungee cord on the broken awning bracket. When I pulled out the pot drawer to make dinner, the entire front wood face pulled off. The drawer track has been fixed before and I have to carefully pull it in and out so that the drawer doesn’t drop off its track. Luckily, our toilet works, the water pumping and electrical items seem to work, and the engine and brakes seem ok mechanically. All of the “mod cons” seem to be running out of steam. I just hope they hold together for another two weeks.

Tomorrow we will explore the Grand Teton National Park.  Photos to come.

Day 4 - Bridge Bay Campsite to Madison Campsite, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Day 4: Bridge Bay Campsite to Madison Campsite, Yellowstone National Park, WY

July 30, 2013

I have lost track of what day of the week it is, so we must be on holiday! Today we got up late and got our breakfast together. As I and the boys were getting breakfast, Alle and Ricardo went outside to pack up our tent. The boys and Ricardo were going to sleep in it last night before it started raining. It had collapsed in the night. As they finished and we were getting ready to eat, another thunderstorm started. To our surprise, it was hailing! We had hail hitting the RV and all around our campsite it formed a white layer. What fun! The boys wanted to try eating it. Luckily, we had all of our stuff inside by then.  Our neighbors were not as lucky as they ran around throwing stuff into their pop-up in a mad dash to get it collapsed. I felt sorry for the folks in tents.

Luckily, the sky cleared and most of the rest of the day was sunny and clear. We drove past Yellowstone Lake

to the geyser areas and had lunch at the Old Faithful Inn while we waited for the next eruption. We all preferred the stark beauty of the Grand Prism Spring a bit further down the road, which we visited later in the afternoon. By then, another storm was brewing and the whole area was brooding and fantastic. The colors and the warm steam were beautiful and surprising. Alle announced it was her favorite place so far.

We made our way to the Madison campsite and got setup earlier than our previous nights. The Yellowstone campsites have been fabulous so far; filled with trees, more space, and fire pits. We grilled pork chops over the fire and had fresh beans and zucchini from Blue Gate Farms in Iowa. It was fun to have fresh Iowa produce in the middle of Yellowstone Park. While munching strawberries for dessert, I decided to try grilling some bananas which were getting brown. We ate grilled bananas with butter and honey. They were a bit like Bananas Flambé without any alcohol. Hopefully they won’t attract any bears in the night. We bought the boys souvenir “bear bells” just in case. Everyone is very tired tonight and as I write this, all family members are fast asleep. Tomorrow we head south to the Grand Teton National Park and some time in Jackson, WY.

 

Day 3 - Thermopolis, Wyoming to Bridge Bay Campgroup, East Yellowstone Park

Day 3: Thermopolis, Wyoming to Bridge Bay Campgroup, East Yellowstone Park

July 29, 2013

Last night at around 12M, an enormous camper van pulled by an equally enormous pick-up decided to try to fit into the very small RV camper site next door to us. It was never clear whether they were authorized and paying visitors, but they attempted to pull into a too-small spot three times, shining their lights into everyone’s campsites and shouting instructions to each other. It was some of the rudest camping etiquette ever. Unfortunately, it was the night Ricardo had decided to try out our small tent, so he was attempting to sleep next to the racket. Ricardo tried to talk to the driver of the rig the next morning, but he looked to be about 102. We packed up and left as early as we could.

Today was a big driving day. We started in Thermopolis, WY. We made our way to the hot springs near town. The Hot Spring State Park was nearly empty, so we were able to drive around, see the sites and try a few of the hot springs. The park was formed around the hot springs to be a free resource for Indians and “white men” alike, but it had very little signage. Here are two of the only signs we saw.

 

We drove around and only saw a few buffalo before we found the springs. The water was coming out of the earth into craters at a temperature of around 130 F. It was too hot to dip more than a toe into.

At the entrance of the park, there was a free soaking pool and so we all enjoyed the hot tub like water there.  Peter announced that it was his favorite spot.

From Thermopolis, we drove to Cody, WY and onto the eastern entrance to Yellowstone. The views were dramatic and beautiful. The driving was slower in the park and it took us most of the day to get here and to our campsite. All of the campsite signs in Yellowstone read “Full”, so we have been glad we made reservations in March and April!  We loved the Bridge Bay campsite. We had time to set up camp, make a lovely fire, and grill ribs for dinner. I forgot we didn’t have an oven, so I grilled our cornbread in a skillet over the fire, also. We had brought Adel sweet corn from home, so we had a wonderful dinner before it started pouring with rain.  Just as we were finishing our s’mores and lots of marshmallows (for Alle), a thunderstorm started and we all made it inside. It rained all night and was our coldest night so far.  I think it was around 40. We used ALL of the blankets and sleeping bags we brought.

We look forward to a few days in the park, without as much driving as it took to get to Yellowstone.