Saturday. This morning I decided not to cook since

Saturday. This morning I decided not to cook since everything is wet and it is cold, so we went to find breakfast. After much searching we found a little cafe. There really are not a lot of options around Henry Lake. After breakfast we Packed up camp and hit the road around 1030. It is still chilly, but the sun is shining today. The temperature this morning is 50. We Headed south on Highway 20 and then went east on 47 which is the Mesa Falls scenic byway. We just happened upon this route because of a "point of interest" sign. We went first to the upper Mesa falls and visited the ranger's station which is a cool old log house which was once a stop for early settlers. It was a nice hike to the viewing platform for the falls and they were magnificent! The platform put us right at he point where the falls fell! (Pics)

Next on the route was the lower Falls. The were beautiful as well! (Pic). Next on the route was a place on the Warm River that had a fish feeding platform. A young local couple was there with their little girl and they gave us some bread to feed the fish. It was cool to watch those trout grab the bread. The byway showed a side trip into Yellowstone. What?! We had never heard of an entrance in this area! We had to try it out!
The road to Cave Falls in YNP turned out to be an 18 mile gravel road to a remote access to Yellowstone National Park. The drive was very rough, but Phillip handled it like a pro. Keep in mind that we are pulling a trailer! The drive was through fields of beautiful wildflowers. (Pics) There was a viewing place for the falls. Although not the tallest falls we've seen, they are the widest in Yellowstone. The mosquitoes were very thick and huge at this location. This was a gorgeous drive with all the wildflowers.

Completed the scenic bywayand continued on to Driggs. From Driggs we went on to Victor Idaho to spend the night. Went out to eat barbecue and then rode our bikes around a nearby neighborhood. The neighborhood had some pretty houses and an irrigation channel like they had in Billings.

The ride from Cave Falls to Driggs was a beautiful drive through farmland with rolling green hills. A sign indicated that they grow seed potatoes in this area. The cave Falls is on the Falls River.


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Friday. We headed into the Teton national Park by 9

Friday. We headed into the Teton national Park by 9:30 am. Saw a large grizzly on the side of the road right after entering the park. A little way down the highway we saw another grizzly with 2 cubs. Traffic was backed up around the bears, but I was able to stand up with my head through the sunroof to get pictures at the first sighting. At the second sighting I just jumped out of the truck and ran ahead to get my pictures. (Post pics here) We had not planned on going through Yellowstone, but we were so close, how could we not at least drive through? We stopped at Old Faithful and had a nice picnic lunch, then continued on, exiting at West Yellowstone. We Bought groceries at West Yellowstone and then headed to Henry's Lake in Idaho. It was overcast and very chilly when we arrived. As we were setting up I saw a young bull moose just across from our site in a marshy area. (Insert pic) We Rode our bikes around Henry's Lake that evening after dinner. This is a state campground with showers. After we turned in for the evening, it started raining harder and the temperatures dropped to the 40s. We have certainly been glad that Phillip put that little heater in the Wanderlust! We didn't have one on our first trip, and didn't need it. However, it has been wet and cool this trip.


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Thursday. Traveled all day, but made it to Wyoming.

Thursday, June 8.  Traveled all day, but made it to Wyoming. However, we did have a little issue....a flat!

We had just gotten on the road and were about 10 minutes out of Limon when we heard it blow.  Phillip cranked up the generator and pulled out the power tools to make the job a little easier.  And of course we had to buy another tire so that we would have a good spare.  Lucky for us there was a tire shop nearby.

We (I) decided that since we were so close to Yellowstone (our favorite place), we should go through the park on our way to Utah. We took Hwy 26 and had planned to stay at the Fall Campground.  We have stayed here before with Jayden and Kyler.  However, Thursday night was spend at the Hatchet campground, because the Fall campground was closed for repairs. The Hatchet Campground was much smaller, did not have electricity, and mosquitoes almost took us away there were so many and they were so big. But, it's a pretty little spot to camp. The water is really high in this area because of the snow melt in the Wind River - thus the mosquitoes. The Camp hosts were very friendly and helpful. We also met another couple from the Atlanta area because they have a travel trailer that they plan to refurbish.




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Idaho or Bust

We are headed to Idaho this year.  Our trip plan is similar to the plan we had when we went to Utah - just drive when we want and stop when we want.

Stardate: Tuesday, June 6, 2017.

This morning we headed out around 10 am for our trip.  We are headed west on Hwy 412.  The weather is nice and there is not much traffic.  We had a few groceries so we were able to stop for a lunch picnic along the way.  We stopped around 6 pm at an Army Corp of Engineer's lake in Ft. Supply, Oklahoma.  It is a pretty little lake with about 15 camping spots.  Nothing fancy, but the showers were clean.  We ate dinner at a little cafe and were able to get settled in before the thunderstorms hit.  We had wind, hard rain, thunder and lightning - yikes!

Stardate: Wednesday, June 7, 2017.

We were up around 7 and enjoyed coffee with a nice view of the lake.  We were on the road about 9.
Again, the weather is great, no rain while on the road.  We stayed on 412 until we cut off to head to Limon.  We intended to drive to the north side of Denver today, but we couldn't find a spot in a campground.  I checked state parks and independent campgrounds and they were all full.  We were able to get a spot at the KOA in Limon so we decided to go ahead and stop even though it was rather early.  We cooked out on the little gas grill tonight, had a great dinner, and relaxed.  This KOA has cable so as I type this entry, Phillip is watching History channel :)

Sunday

After that great breakfast we headed to Taos. The drive over from Pagosa Springs was beautiful! Lots of valley's with farms, ponds, etc. We did see some fall foliage although we could tell it was not at its peak. Right as we were coming into Taos we stopped at the Rio Grande River Gorge and walked on a trail they have there. I think it is a long trail, but we just walked a couple of miles. After that we went to Taos and looked around. We had a great meal at a local restaurant (enchilada with green chili...yes, we are trying to get our fill of green chili in one day). Shopped a little, but this place is terribly overpriced. It is a major tourist trap. We drove out to see the Taos Pueblo on the Indian Reservation (the Rez). We had never visited this landmark and it was interesting. Only took about 45 minutes to see all that we wanted to see. Some of the Pueblos were homes and some were shops. I purchased a pair of turquoise earrings that were handmade by a local Indian woman.

After the Pueblos we headed East on Hwy 64 again towards Angel Fire and then Eagle's Nest. We are staying this evening at Eagle's Nest Lake State Park in New Mexico. Nice State Park, but no amenities - only vaulted toilets - but also only $10 for the night.

The wind is really blowing tonight so getting our shower was a challenge. After being at the Pueblos where it is very sandy and windy, we had to get the grit washed off :). Clean and cozied up in our little camper tonight.

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Sunday Morning report

Yesterday we traveled the Highway of Legends which is a beautiful scenic route. The leaves have changed a little early this year due to dry conditions and cold weather in the higher elevations, so we are not hitting the colors during their prime. There is still a lot of color and we are enjoying the scenery. We stopped at the Dog Bar & Grill in Cuchara Colorado. We have stopped here before. It is a small community in an otherwise remote area. We made several off-road side trips today. One was to Big Meadows Reservoir on Hwy 160 about 10 miles West of Southfork (the turnoff for Creede). This is a place that Jerry and Jeanette had taken Phillip when he visited them in fall of 2000. The camping area was closed so we will have to find another place to camp. We enjoyed a walk across the dam to view a waterfall before getting back in the truck and heading west on 160. We found another spot behind the parking lot for Wolf Creek Ski area. It was on a Forest Service road which was really just a good log road according to Phillip. At the end of the 2 mile road was Alberta Park Reservoir. Again, a beautiful area, but no camping spots....just the road that dead-ended at the small lake. It was a little too remote for just the two of us, so back on Hwy 160. We finally stopped at the Riverside RV just East of Pagosa Springs. A quiet, pretty little spot right on the San Juan River. After a walk around the property and down the river a way, we watched the end of the AR/OleMiss game. This is the coldest night we have had so far...down to about 36. We were fine during the night, but it sure was nice to have our little "fireplace" to take the chill out of the air!

Breakfast this morning in Pagosa Springs!

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Headed West for Fall Foliage

We left Fayetteville right after my Thursday class (3:30). I left my car in Harmon Garage and walked down to Dickson Street for Phillip to pick me up. We drove as far as Enid on this day and stayed at a campground in town.

Friday morning we were up early and headed to a Starbucks just down the street. We are traveling Hwy 412 all the way across Oklahoma. We were on another highway for a short time to access I-25. We arrived in Trinidad at Dinner time and found BlackJack's Steakhouse and Saloon right on Main street. It was a typical Western Diner and did not disappoint. After a steak, salad and baked potato we were ready to set up camp. We stayed on Lake Trinidad at the Carpios Ridge State Park campground ($31). This was a very nice campground with modern, clean showers. We definitely should stay here again if in the area. We enjoyed an absolutely beautiful sunset last night and a beautiful sunrise this morning. One of the things I like about taking the Wonderlust is that it forces us to go outside and enjoy nature. We just bundled up, grabbed our coffee and sat outside to enjoy the sunrise and watch the wildlife wake up (birds and rabbits).

We are having a great time!

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