The Journey Westward. SC to WYThanks for the kind words.
Woah...I am one tired dude. I start up the first day of school tomorrow...we left on this trip the last day of the last school year. I am just now having a moment to start reporting on this trip. That's both good and bad. Good, we took full advantage of the time and have some amazing experiences. Bad, I'm tuckered out and need to be my best tomorrow. :)
So let's get started. We left on June 4th. We had a more relaxed feel and pace this time. I guess because we had done it before, we weren't as uptight.
Here we are, still in the driveway and excited to begin!
The scenery right around the house isn't so bad...we love our Appalachian Mtns.
We didn't intend to, but we drove some hard days for the first 3. We did almost 500 on day one and day 2 was 575. Our first stop was in Illinois at Wayne Fitzgerald SP. It was a really nice park, but was just an overnighter for us. We hoped to stay at a WM or other free option, but being that it was June in the south, we needed the A/C. Here's our campsite there.
Of course, if you're coming from the SE and heading to the NW, you just about can't avoid St. Louis. I hated towing through it. I like Atlanta better. Missouri doesn't have high elevation, but the rolling hills that it does have are steep.
So we hit the SW corner of Iowa just in time for dinner. As typical, we find a quiet place and set up to eat. We had some of my left over smoked pulled pork! It is nice to start a trip with a few pre-cooked meals!
So I talked to a guy where we had dinner, and he said he was going to make it all the way to a Cabelas in Kearney, Nebraska. He made it sound closer than it really was. We bit off a bit much this day, but did get there by about 11pm. It was out in the middle of farming fields, and was a very small one. I thought maybe the first, but turns out that is in Sidney. Although...this one appeared to be 25+ years old, and the one in Kearney looked new. Either way, it was a quiet night with no big town traffic. Here's where we were for the night.
Lunch along the road...grilling burgers at a Walmart. We didn't eat a single fast food for the trip, other than pizza on 2 occasions.
The first real site we saw was Chimney Rock.
And then Scott's Bluff. We didn't know what it was, but learned as we went.
While in Scott's Bluff, we got a tip from a local that the Zoo had a campground. It was a bit run down, but on the cheaper side for full hookups. The downside was that the roaring lions woke us with sunrise. LOL
Next stop was Fort Laramie. We ended up leaving home a little early, and so had a few days to burn before the first major park (Tetons). So we took our time and spent hours in places we wouldn't have otherwise. This was one of those stops. We spent 2-3 hours here and enjoyed it greatly.
Thanks to my planning thread, we had a whole list of suggested stops. We managed to go to most of what was mentioned in that thread! Thanks to everyone for participating!
Register Cliff was another one of those suggestions.
As was the trail ruts.
All of these sites together were giving us a real feel for the Oregon Trail and western expansion.
So we made it to Riverton, WY and stayed at our best Walmart stay ever! It was cool and crisp outside with a beautiful view across a pasture. The yellow headed blackbirds and deer were all around us for our morning coffee. I met two other travelers there. One was a widowed husband. He was in a huge duelly and 5th wheel by himself. He and his wife had planned the trip for years, but she passed away of cancer a year before they could do it. He was doing the trip to honor her. I tell you what...it is the people that make the experiences. The places are beautiful, but the people you meet on your travels offer the richest experiences. We have several folks throughout this trip that we are now in contact with on social media and will be lifelong friends. Here's the sunset at the Riverton Walmart.
The next morning, we had a very short drive into Sink's Canyon. It is a glacial valley that has a river that disappears into the mountain and resurfaces downhill. This was the first stop that felt like we had something to really ooo and ahh about. It's a great park and cheap!
The river was at a 20 year peak in flow the day we arrived. It was violent!
Our campsite was amazing! Mountains on one side and the raging river on the other.
Of course, being a cajun, we had leftover gumbo in a beautiful spot!
Speaking of the people you meet. The boys and I were going to get water for our camper when we saw an older couple walking up the hill with small pales. We stopped and helped them. We used our jugs to go back and forth until their camper was full.
It turns out that we made the best of friends. They had us over for a snack and conversation that night. We talked and laughed like none of us had in years. I think the biggest laughs came from the fact that both of us men are addicted to monitoring the trucks computers for mileage, temperatures, etc. I was glad to hear I wasn't the only one with this fascination. We exchanged information and hope to camp together again someday!
That takes us to just before the next chapter of the trip, so I'll stop here. The drive across the middle of our country isn't very exciting, but there are experiences to be had if you look for them. Next stop...The Grand Tetons!
