Photo Feature: Summer Adventuring, Portland to Wyoming

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone

Nathan and I made a trip to Wyoming last week to pick up a wedding ring from his grandmother (I’m honored that she’d give it to us–wearing a family heirloom is fantastic). As always, the scenery was beautiful and we were able to make some fun stops on our way home. We were a lot more crunched on time than usual with my schedule, but without the standard drive to Canada, it felt just as long as usual.

We left Portland and drove to Boise for dinner, then on to Twin Falls in Idaho to sleep. We got up early the next morning to visit Shoshone Falls, a favorite stop and well worth the $3, before driving on to Salt Lake City. Utah felt very familiar by this time, as I’d just been there the week before for a scheduled trip to Zion National Park for a wedding.

After a stop at a favorite deli in SLC, we powered on through Wyoming. Despite the length of that drive, Wyoming has some incredible scenery along I-80 and I always look forward to seeing the hills.

Turning off in Rawlins, we headed north toward Casper. The road between the two towns is breathtaking–the hills off in the distance glow with purples and blues, and the expansive prairie is truly jaw-dropping. We stopped at Independence Rock, a favorite place of mine from my Oregon Trail game-playing days as a child, where we provided dinner for some hungry mosquitoes and deer flies, much to my discontent and itchiness. There were two Chinese tour buses parked there, and the occupants were having a wonderful time taking pictures of the rock and surrounding areas. We saw some adorable little rabbits running about and sunning themselves.

We spent two days with Nathan’s grandmother at her beautiful old house in a tiny town. Nathan’s grandfather and several other relations are buried there as well. It’s a peaceful place where I love the silence and starry nights. I usually find a friendly herd of horses to snuggle with while there, and can never get enough of the crazy-colored sunsets and rolling, beckoning hills. It’s terribly difficult to leave, as I inevitably want to don cowboy boots, a hat, proper clothes, and work on a ranch for a year. Hard work, to be sure. But such an experience.

We headed off to Yellowstone on Wednesday morning, bright and early. By the time we got to the park, the campgrounds had filled and the backcountry office had closed for permits. We snuck down to see the Tetons and camp in our favorite campground there, Lizard Creek. We snagged a gorgeous little walk-in campsite and made dinner, and then I went out to take some pictures of Jackson Lake.

The expanse of that lake with the towering peaks of the Tetons above it makes me incredibly happy. I always want to sit and absorb it all, pushing everything out of my mind but being there. I can usually carry that feeling home with me and infect my daily stress with that peace. The quiet, the cold of the wind, the sliver of moon–it makes everything right.

The next morning, we went to the backcountry office in Yellowstone and found a hike above the Old Faithful basin, around Grand Prismatic. A campground (called OD4) was tucked above a waterfall, close to a huge, off-the-beaten-path geyser. We had plenty of time, so we took some long walks around a couple of the geyser basins and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at a picnic ground with our feet in the river. Puffy, cotton ball clouds soared above us in the blue, blue sky.

Ready to hike and camp, we strapped on our large backcountry packs and started down the trail, wrapping behind Grand Prismatic and watching the rainbow-colored steam rise off the geyser. It took a bit to get acclimated, being around 85 degrees and 8000′ of elevation. My body wasn’t excited about the whole thing for about the first mile and a half. After that, my breathing settled in and everything felt much better.

We reached the stunning Fairy Falls and I, of course, had to get in. Stripping off my backpack, rolling up my pants and ditching my sunhat, I leaped into the pool at its base and scrambled up the rocks as close to it as I could without getting knocked off by the 197′ of falling water. I felt incredible, and Nathan and I had an awesome time monkeying around in the water for awhile. Quite a few day hikers were stopped as well. Gorgeous spot!

We refilled our water bottles and headed on to find our campsite. We had already passed another site, OD1, on the way to the falls. The backcountry sites are equipped with bear poles and food preparation areas, a full football field length away from where you put your tent. The bears are super-active this year, and we were prepared to sling up our backpacks with rope.

The mosquitoes had started to wander around with enthusiasm, along with deer flies. We put on bug spray, but managed to both look like Pigpen in Charlie Brown as we collected our own private posse of bugs swarming about. Ugh. We couldn’t wait to get away from them and find our campsite.

Only, we couldn’t find it. We zig-zagged back and forth through the area it was supposed to be in, and there was no sign of it. No bear pole, no fire area. No sign, except an unhelpful hand-scrawled note on a trail marker that mentioned the site, just not where it was. The bugs were getting worse. We went up to Imperial Geyser, which is stunning and we had to ourselves, and spent some time fending off bugs and enjoying the eruptions.

More zig-zagging trying to find OD4, then we decided to go back to OD1. We figured it would be better, further away from the meadow so soaked with bugs. Shlepping ourselves the miles back to the campsite, we discovered it was no better. We’d have to eat in our tent and move the damn thing. I really hate mosquitoes and get long-lasting, itchy bites. The prospect of this adventure and trying to sleep with a swarm of bugs outside was really icky. We discussed it, and headed back toward the car. So frustrating.

The walk back was tough. Everything hurt after carrying all that weight and my camera gear, nearly twice the distance we thought we’d do in one day. 8000′ takes a lot out of me after awhile. We finally got back to the car and decided, since it was so late, to get a room in West Yellowstone if we could and camp the next night in Montana.

We stopped at the Grand Prismatic basin on the way out and I lost my fuzzy little camera nerd mind. It was stunning beyond words, especially with the moody sky behind the geysers and swirling mist. Amazing. Just amazing.

We lucked out and found a room, and had pizza, which (honestly) solves most everything. Our joints were still super-achey, but we got to sleep quickly and I had some fascinating dreams about trying desperately to find things that just weren’t there.

The next night, we camped in the Lolo National Forest near Missoula along one of the most beautiful river areas I’ve ever seen (Rocky Creek). The stars were incredible, there were nearly no bugs, and the bats zoomed about enthusiastically (obviously taking good care of any bugs who did sneak around). We woke up the next morning to a hilarious and beautiful doe who spiraled around our campsite, lusting our oatmeal.

It was a fantastic trip. I hope you enjoy the photos. The geysers were far more incredible than I’ve ever seen before, largely due to that dramatic lighting. Yellowstone is an amazing place.

Cheers!

Casper plains, Wyoming