NATIONAL PARKS ROAD TRIP
September 2021
September 2021
We got a generous offer from Lara's parents and hit the road in their 2003 Volkswagen Eurovan camper, filled with all the gear we'd need for a long road trip. We flew to Boulder to pick up the van and stay a night with Bob and Susan. Next morning, we filled up on groceries and set off. We headed northwest and took a scenic detour through Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest. In the evening, we pulled in to camp in Popo Agie State Park, ready to hit our first National Park in the morning.
Tuesday morning we packed up early and passed several pronghorns while driving through the Wind River Reservation. As we drove into Grand Teton National Park, some haze hung low over the mountains. We drove south along the Snake River, saw tons of buffalo grazing, and caught a glimpse of a moose in the river. We turned north on Teton Park Road and hiked from String Lake along Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. We caught a beautiful sunset behind our campsite at Signal Mountain Campground.
This grizzly bear crossed the road in front of us at sunrise on our way out of Teton.
We got an early start Wednesday morning and headed north through John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway into Yellowstone National Park. A couple of elk walked past as we filled up on gas. We drove over to Old Faithful to see the next scheduled eruption, then walked around the other geysers in the area. After lunch, we saw the Grand Prismatic Spring and Fountain Paint Pot before pulling in to camp at Madison Campground. Thursday morning, we saw several more geysers, then hiked around the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. After camping one more night at Canyon Campground, we woke to 17° weather and made sunrise coffee at Mammoth Hot Springs before leaving the park.
Matching Patagonia and Teva at our roadside campground on the way to Glacier.
We took the rest of Friday to drive north through Montana and we headed into Glacier National Park on the following morning. We first entered the Many Glacier area and hiked Fishercap Lake and Redrock Lake. On the way back out we saw a family of black bears up on a hill. Next we drove along the Going-to-the-Sun Road, stopping at Logan Pass to hike Hidden Lake. The weather immediately took a turn and we spent the rest of the afternoon in the rain. We camped at Big Creek Campground just outside the park. On Sunday morning the weather persisted, but we still walked the Trail of the Cedars and spent some time at Lake McDonald lodge. By evening the sky started to clear and we celebrated my birthday with a restaurant dinner in West Glacier.
We drove most of Monday, crossed into Idaho, and stayed indoors (first time since leaving Boulder) at Twin Peaks Guest Ranch. Next we had a beautiful drive through the Sawtooth National Forest. We rented a kayak at Redfish Lake and paddled around for a bit, then stopped for lunch in Ketchum. In the late afternoon we visited Craters of the Moon National Monument and climbed through lava caves. The campground was full, so we spent the night at a nearby rest area.
On Wednesday we drove into Utah and stopped for lunch in Provo. We spent the night in Beaver before heading into Bryce Canyon National Park on Thursday morning. We drove to Rainbow Point at the end of the park road, and stopped at all the viewpoints on the way back. After lunch we took a long hike through the hoodoos on the Navajo Loop Trail and the Peekaboo Loop Trail.
On Friday we set off early and drove to Zion National Park. Lara dropped me at the visitor center and I took the shuttle into the park to hike Angel's Landing. I cruised up to the top but had to wait a while to begin the last section of the hike with the chains. Despite the crowds it was a great hike in beautiful weather, and I saw condors flying around at eye level near the top. Afterward, I met up with Lara and we hiked the Narrows. We camped one final night at Watchman Campground, then drove through Vegas and all the way back to LA.
© 2021 Will Krieger