Heading to the Rockies for 5 or 6 weeks.

[BarabooBob]

My wife and I are heading out tomorrow morning a oh dark thirty for a 5 week trip to most everywhere in the Rockies. We are starting in WI, heading to Theodore Roosevelt NP, Glacier, Yellowstone, Tetons, Dinosaur, Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde, Silverton, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Pikes Peak, Mt Evans, Rocky Mtn NP, Devils Tower, Black Hills, Badlands, and back home. We rarely travel on the interstates so we are looking forward to seeing some great little towns along the way.

We know that we may have to bug out of some areas due to snow but we are really looking forward to this trip. I will write a few entries along the way when we are near civilization. We frequently boondock so internet is pretty much not a thing unless we stop at a restaurant along the way.

[profdant139]

Great trip report, so far! Keep those updates coming!

And in my opinion, digital photography is sort of an art form, especially if you can take advantage of the great editing programs that are available.

For those of us who remember film, we all remember that sense of disappointment when you get your prints back from the lab -- "that's not how it looked at all!" The editing software allows you to restore the image to how it really looked by compensating for bad lighting, or by cropping out irrelevant stuff, or restoring the contrast, or whatever. It can be very satisfying, as long as you don't go too far and make the image look phony.

I save my editing for when we get home -- I don't have time on the road, and then at home it serves as a great way to avoid doing the things I really ought to do. 😉

[Busskipper]

BarabooBob wrote:
I forgot to mention that my wife had a stroke when she was 42. She was not treated properly due to her age and it did not show up right away on a scan. She does her best but has a difficult time getting around.
We diud a few experiments with gas mileage on our first day of travel, We had about a 30 to 40 mph headwind and our mileage was bad. We tried 30 mile tests at 55 mph, 60 mph, and 65 mph. Without heavy wind we usually get about 10.5 mpg at 55 top 60. With the wind we were getting 8.5 at 55. We did our little experiments and found that 65 mph only coast us .5 mpg. We decided to go faster.
We spent 2 days at TR NP car sightseeing and short hikes. I had never seen this section of badlands topography before. It is like the Badlands NP on steroids. The scale is so much bigger. The valleys are deeper and wider. We loved it.
The trip across Highway 2 in Montana included about 30 miles of one way roads with pilot cars to follow. It was slow going and took more time than we wanted. From Browning Montana to Glacier, highway 89 is really torn up. The route is 26 miles long and about 10 miles is nothing but mud, rocks and driving in ditches. My blue truck and white TT were both covered with mud.
In Glacier, we took a boat tour at Many Glacier Hotel, and admired the architecture of the hotel. We did some short hikes together and I hiked to Hidden Lake at the top of Logan Pass. We drove all of Going to the Sun road which took all day with the short hikes and sightseeing that we did. We hiked the Trail of the Cedars on the west side of the park. It is amazing to sit and look up at 200 ft tall, 600 year old trees. Being from Wisconsin this is hard to fathom. Wisconsin was just about stripped of old growth trees in the late 1800's.
Today we have been wandering toward West Yellowstone.
We are both morning people and we get up at about 6:00. I make coffee for me and tea for her. We pack a light breakfast to eat on the road and are usually rolling by 7:00. This is how we like to travel. We frequently eat while driving unless we find something that we want to sit and admire.
We would not mind being snowed in somewhere. We have supplies packed that would keep us comfortable for up to a week without getting hungry or cold. I have gone snowmobile and cross country ski camping in northern WI and Michigan.
We have been to the Rockies 5 or 6 times in the past.
The best part of these trips is that we get to spend the time together admiring everything along the way. We keep commenting on the beauty around us. I told my wife that I would have made a great artist because of my eye for beauty but was stopped by my absolute lack of talent with anything but my camera.
We are wandering toward Yellowstone now and have no solid plans as to where we are going after that. I'll check back in when we get a connection again.
By the way, 2 Bar Lazy H campground west of Butte MT has the best wifi I have ever had while camping.

You sound like a lot of Us.:)

Using that Camera - Share an Image or two for those who are not out there with you.

Tetons



Best of Luck,

More interesting Images - Here 🙂

[BarabooBob]

I forgot to mention that my wife had a stroke when she was 42. She was not treated properly due to her age and it did not show up right away on a scan. She does her best but has a difficult time getting around.
We diud a few experiments with gas mileage on our first day of travel, We had about a 30 to 40 mph headwind and our mileage was bad. We tried 30 mile tests at 55 mph, 60 mph, and 65 mph. Without heavy wind we usually get about 10.5 mpg at 55 top 60. With the wind we were getting 8.5 at 55. We did our little experiments and found that 65 mph only coast us .5 mpg. We decided to go faster.
We spent 2 days at TR NP car sightseeing and short hikes. I had never seen this section of badlands topography before. It is like the Badlands NP on steroids. The scale is so much bigger. The valleys are deeper and wider. We loved it.
The trip across Highway 2 in Montana included about 30 miles of one way roads with pilot cars to follow. It was slow going and took more time than we wanted. From Browning Montana to Glacier, highway 89 is really torn up. The route is 26 miles long and about 10 miles is nothing but mud, rocks and driving in ditches. My blue truck and white TT were both covered with mud.
In Glacier, we took a boat tour at Many Glacier Hotel, and admired the architecture of the hotel. We did some short hikes together and I hiked to Hidden Lake at the top of Logan Pass. We drove all of Going to the Sun road which took all day with the short hikes and sightseeing that we did. We hiked the Trail of the Cedars on the west side of the park. It is amazing to sit and look up at 200 ft tall, 600 year old trees. Being from Wisconsin this is hard to fathom. Wisconsin was just about stripped of old growth trees in the late 1800's.
Today we have been wandering toward West Yellowstone.
We are both morning people and we get up at about 6:00. I make coffee for me and tea for her. We pack a light breakfast to eat on the road and are usually rolling by 7:00. This is how we like to travel. We frequently eat while driving unless we find something that we want to sit and admire.
We would not mind being snowed in somewhere. We have supplies packed that would keep us comfortable for up to a week without getting hungry or cold. I have gone snowmobile and cross country ski camping in northern WI and Michigan.
We have been to the Rockies 5 or 6 times in the past.
The best part of these trips is that we get to spend the time together admiring everything along the way. We keep commenting on the beauty around us. I told my wife that I would have made a great artist because of my eye for beauty but was stopped by my absolute lack of talent with anything but my camera.
We are wandering toward Yellowstone now and have no solid plans as to where we are going after that. I'll check back in when we get a connection again.
By the way, 2 Bar Lazy H campground west of Butte MT has the best wifi I have ever had while camping.

[ppine]

You cannot see everything in the Rockies in 6 years.
Be careful with the altitude if you have health issues.

[Busskipper]

4runnerguy wrote:

BarabooBob wrote:
We frequently boondock so internet is pretty much not a thing unless we stop at a restaurant along the way.

Some mornings we stop for $1 coffee at McDonalds just to use their Wifi (and bathrooms!).

Some of are still Mickey D's coffee people - Ken you are getting two cups of Senior Coffee for a dollar right:)

😉

[4runnerguy]

BarabooBob wrote:
We frequently boondock so internet is pretty much not a thing unless we stop at a restaurant along the way.

Some mornings we stop for $1 coffee at McDonalds just to use their Wifi (and bathrooms!).

[profdant139]

oldwizard, you have a point! Camping in the snow can be fun, and the landscape looks great with a light dusting. This is Sequoia in November:


Click For Full-Size Image.

(Of course, if you are going to get more than a dusting, it might be a good idea to leave before you get stuck . . . . )

[ppine]

This a lot better than the people coming the East Coast that wnat to see the West in 2 weeks.

Try not to go too fast. You cannot see it all so don't worry about it.
Be ready for snow. Plan some layover days to let it melt.
I hating towing an RV in the snow.

[theoldwizard1]

BarabooBob wrote:
We know that we may have to bug out of some areas due to snow ...

Personally, I would do just the opposite ! Make sure you have enough food and fuel to stay a couple of extra days. This time of year, any snow might melt in a couple of days.

[Busskipper]

BarabooBob wrote:

My wife and I are heading out tomorrow morning a oh dark thirty for a 5 week trip to most everywhere in the Rockies.

We are starting in WI, heading to Theodore Roosevelt NP, Glacier, Yellowstone, Tetons, Dinosaur, Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde, Silverton, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Pikes Peak, Mt Evans, Rocky Mtn NP, Devils Tower, Black Hills, Badlands, and back home.

We rarely travel on the interstates so we are looking forward to seeing some great little towns along the way.

We know that we may have to bug out of some areas due to snow but we are really looking forward to this trip.

I will write a few entries along the way when we are near civilization.

We frequently boondock so internet is pretty much not a thing unless we stop at a restaurant along the way.

What a GREAT TRIP YOU HAVE PLANNED!

Take Pictures - Lots of Pictures - as they can be posted now or Later when internet is available - and we'd all love to see some of this Adventure/Road Trip.

Sounds Perfect, No hard plan - No Reservations - No Timeline - Just a Great Trip Meandering through the Rockies during the Aspen Changing - OH how Jealous I Am.

Heaven.

:B

Best of Luck,

[maddog348]

You have COOL Trip planned. Wish you well and will be watching. Going to be doing a Mini version same area our selves. Limited to 2+- weeks, beginning 3 days Gunnison, Co. area. Then moving East CañonCity couple of days. No further plans firmed up ~ Maybe just local recommendations.

TakeCare ~~ TravelSafe ~~ HaveFUn

[5_K_Nucks]

Be sure to stop into a little town called Wallace Idaho. Once upon a time the silver capital of the US. Now population 500. Because it WAS the silver capital every famous architect of that era flocked to Wallace to showcase their work thus the buildings there are grand. Today it looks as if it were a Hollywood movie set deserted with the few people that live there. Get a visitors map from the museum and follow the write up of each building. And if you are hungry stop at the old saloon which is a BBQ restaurant where the applewood smoker is on the curb. One of the best and second to Daves BBQ. Each time we have RV from Canada down and across to Yellowstone or Glacier National Park we alway find it a treat to stop in Wallace. Craving the BBQ .It's sad to see people bypass the great history of this former city and it doesn't help that a highway mega overpass goes over Wallace. Enjoy !

[profdant139]

Someone mentioned the term "windshield tourist." While I emphatically do no fit into that category, I know people (members of my extended family) who love doing exactly that -- lots of driving, snacks and music in the car, and the scenery unwinds while you sit in air conditioned comfort.

There's nothing wrong with that! It ain't my cup of tea, but as my kids say, "Let you be you!"

[RAS43]

I can help a bit. The road to the top of Mt. Evans is closed for the season. You can only drive part up, to Summit Lake. And the lower part may be closed by the time you arrive here.
And a month from now RMNP is a ??