Happy Trails to You

As you may have gathered, your intrepid narrator ran out of steam in the closing days of our adventure. After arriving home we estimated that we covered about 3400 miles in 2.5 weeks. Whew! This is an overview of the last few stops we made on our way home to Oregon. The descriptions are in the same order as the images above:

1. Statuary at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center in Grand Teton National Park
2. A parting image of Jackson Lake from our accommodations at Signal Mountain Lodge. We will be back!
3. The warm, mineral water pool at Indian Springs Resort & RV near American Falls, Idaho. It was both a step back in time and a refreshing respite after a long day on the road.
4. Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, Idaho. The Niagara Falls of the West.
5. Checking in for our last night out at the "Old West" themed Mountain View RV park in Baker City, Oregon
6. Wagon ruts on the Oregon Trail visible near the Oregon Trail Interpretative Center also in Baker City. Happy trails to you!

One Perfect Day

We drove up for the day from our lodging in Grand Teton to Yellowstone National Park. The rivers in Wyoming were swollen with spring run-off as they were in Montana making a short hike at Lewis River Falls worthwhile.

West Thumb geyser basin isn't among the well-known areas in Yellowstone, but it is one of our favorites because it includes a wide variety of geological features in a small area. We saw mudpots, brightly colored pools, and dormant geysers along the boardwalks. One section of the trail follows the shoreline of Yellowstone Lake. The lake level is currently higher than normal and a few of the features we saw during our previous visit in September were covered by water this time.

We attended a ranger talk where we learned more about the science behind the colored pools and geysers. A highlight was viewing a mother and baby elk nuzzling each other, through binoculars, at the center of the geyser basin.

We found a lakeside table at the Grant Village area for a late lunch before heading south to Signal Mountain. A perfect day in Yellowstone for me ...

On The Road Again

We charted our course west from South Dakota, racing ahead of thunderstorms once again. Departing from Casper Wyoming, we found the old Oregon/Mormon trail route to Independence Rock where one can still see original signatures and dates from the pioneers who made the westward journey many years ago. Despite the history, I wouldn't recommend this route for RV travel as the roads were rough and services sparse. Upon arrival at Wind River RV Park in Riverton Wyoming, we noticed that we had lost the plastic exterior refrigerator cover on the bumpy roads. Although this RV park was not the most scenic, it met our 'urgent' requirements for a laundromat and television and the park hosts were incredibly kind and helpful, assisting us with patching the refrigerator.

The eastern approach to Grand Teton Park took us through the cute western town of Dubois Wyoming. We paused briefly here at the National Bighorn Sheep Interpretive Center where we gleaned extensive knowledge about bighorn sheep. They had mounts of all the bighorn sheep species around the world. Apparently this collection is known as a super slam. We only have four species of sheep in North America - a grand slam.


We pulled into Signal Mountain Lodge, our home away from home for the next three nights in Grand Teton National Park. We have stayed here before, and while it is not fancy, the staff is incredibly friendly and the views cannot be beat. This is the view from our patio on the morning following our arrival!

The Big Cupcake

Our next stop was Devil's Tower, WY. For many in our generation, this landmark is best known for it's prominence in the movie, 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'. The location of our campsite was amazing; as you can see, we had a view of the tower from our bedroom window! For me, a primary benefit of camping is location ... location ... location (no motel required). The campground has a nightly screening of 'Close Encounters' in their outdoor theatre with the tower rising just over the screen!

There is a small visitor center at the base of Devil's Tower and an approximately 1 mile paved trail that circles the monument. We took the trail and enjoyed the close-up views and chats with other hikers. The monolith looks slightly different from every angle. While in the gift shop, we learned that thunderstorms were predicted for that afternoon, so we didn't dilly-dally.

There is a prairie dog town en route to Devil's Tower. These little guys used to live throughout the Midwest but now their populations are restricted to protected areas like Devil's Tower. We enjoyed watching them and listening to their chirps and squeals.


Just as we pulled out from Devil's Tower, we got a severe thunderstorm and tornado warning on our phones. Mr. Snootypurse is from the Midwest and decided it would be best to try to stay in front of the storm since our route went away from it and there wasn't anyplace to shelter our motorhome. It was a nail-biter on a couple of occasions and we were grateful to arrive safely in Spearfish, SD. A tornado sighting was reported about 18 miles from Devil's Tower!