Naked Falls:

After our time in the Wallowas, our long awaited travel back west was upon us.  We were excited to spend a little time in Portland and toast our friends who were getting married after COVID put a pause on everything.  But first, we were making a pit stop at Naked Falls near Stevenson, WA to camp out with our friends Jeremy, Maylee and Amanda and celebrate Jeremy’s birthday.  

This travel day was rainy, windy, and with about 300 miles of travel, our longest travel day yet.  After heading across the Bridge of the Gods and heading west on highway 14, we were ALMOST at our turn off for Naked Falls when we ran into a boatload of traffic.  When you’ve been traveling all day and are nearly at the end, this is not what you want to encounter.  We kept seeing people turn around and head back toward us, which was worrying because we didn’t really have that as an option.  Making impromptu travel plans with a travel trailer our size is not that easy, especially as you are heading toward a more populated area OR in an area without any WiFi to find out what is nearby.  We decided to wait it out and press on.

Thankfully, it seemed we had hit traffic near the end of the collision aftermath and were able to continue onward.  When we arrived at the scene of the accident, it looked like there had been a head on collision. 😰 We were not sure if the people involved in the accident were ok or not, but surely hoped so. 🤞 Our turn off was a little bit further down the road and then the climbing, narrow, windy, hairpin-filled adventure began.  Not only that, but the rain returned with a vengeance, making it even more difficult to see where we were going.

But we weren’t done yet.  Next up was a forest road filled with potholes and the rain remained unrelenting.  It wasn’t as bad as we had thought it would be, but it was still slow going after a very long day of travel.  The last hurdle was unlocking the gate at the Hipcamp where we were staying and having to back in about 100 yards to our campsite. 😬  Thankfully, the roads in the Naked Falls Hipcamp were also better than expected AND we fit in our site.  

Our friends were sure glad that we arrived, because with the rain still coming in fits and starts through the rest of the night, they would not have had as lovely an evening if we did not show up. 😂 We provided a warm, dry space to gather, drink a few beers, watch a movie, play some games and catch up.  And Maylee provided a delicious eggplant parmesan and carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for dessert. 😋 All in all, it made for a lovely evening.  

We didn’t stick around for a long time at Naked Falls, so don’t have a lot of observations about the area; however, since it has been privatized it has helped reduce the large crowds that had been flocking to this area before and helped reduce trash and other issues that come with heavier foot traffic.  If you like waterfalls and are in the area, perhaps this might be a good option for you.  

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Pacific City Thousand Trails:

Although we would be spending the majority of our time in Portland, we needed a place for our rig, so we took advantage of our Thousand Trail PNW membership.  As such, the next day we had breakfast and coffee with our friends, enjoyed some rays of sunshine, checked out the falls one more time and headed out to the Oregon coast.  

The day could not have been a better one for travel…it was sunny, the roads weren’t too busy, and we weren’t in a rush to get to our destination: Pacific City Thousand Trails RV Park.  This park is about 3 miles north of Pacific City, nestled on the other side of the highway from the beach, which you can access right from the RV park.  It was a bit of a maze to go through the hilly, windy roads in the RV park, but we found a spot atop one of the hills with a view of the ocean, and set up camp.  Now we could rest before we needed to be on the road again.

We only stayed for a few days before we were headed into Portland, and then were back again for just one day before heading south to the Crater Lake area in south central Oregon.  However, here are our observations: There really isn’t any WiFi available unless you head to the main lodge.  That being said, they did start putting in new WiFi towers at the campsites and expect to have the project finished sometime next year.  The spaces are fairly tight and it’s a first come, first serve type of situation.  You have to judge for yourself what spaces you might be able to fit into.  

Further, most of the sites with a dump were already taken, so the likelihood is if you stay there you will only end up with water and electric hook ups.  There are a handful of sites in which the electric is no longer working, so you have to pay close attention when you are driving around.  The dump stations are not ideal.  They have a few around the park, but in some cases you are either wrestling with the need to back out of the dump site because there isn’t enough clearance to pull through, or the set up to dump is a bit makeshift to get it to work.

Next to the lodge there are 6 washers and 6 dryers on site with credit card readers, though one washer was out of order.  We were fortunate to be close enough to walk over there, especially with impending rain in the forecast.  There is also an indoor pool, showers, pool tables and mini golf.  We didn’t use any of these services during our stay, so cannot provide much of an opinion except to say that everything is a bit rundown and likely beat up from being next to the ocean.  Being oceanside can really take its toll on just about everything after a while.

I don’t think we will stay here again, but if you like the Pacific City area, it’s worth it for a night or two.  However, there is another RV park right in town that you might also consider…

Pelican Brewing, Pacific City, OR:

Though I usually have meals planned for our destinations, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to enjoy some beer brewed on the Oregon coast.  We have been to Pelican Brewing on a few occasions before this visit, and although it’s a nice place to go for the beer and its location right on the ocean beach is convenient, I have to say that I wasn’t all that impressed with their food previously.

That being said, I was surprised and delighted when we got our food this time.  We had calamari, which was light, tender and airy instead of heavy, oily and tough.  I had their spicy burger with a poblano pepper, Tillamook pepper jack and the fixings on top, and Matt had their fish and chips.  I also enjoyed their Smoky the Beer, which was lighter, but also ended with a pop of smoky flavor, and Matt had a citrusy lager, that was well balanced and refreshing.  Overall, I was impressed with how our experience had improved since the last time we had been there and would recommend this place for a visit.  They have a wide selection of beers, and a good mix of food choices and a phenomenal view of the haystack rock in the ocean, surfers, and sand dune explorers alike.  

Beach exploration and a reunion with travel friends:

Our first full day in Pacific City was absolutely gorgeous.  The weather was sunny, with temperatures in the 70’s, and a slight breeze.  Matt and I decided to have separate adventures…his being fishing and mine more hiking around. Initially, I set off for a fire road within walking distance of the RV park, but soon discovered that it was on private land. 😕 So, I headed for the beach.  I saw a few remnants of Dungeness crab, razor clams and various seaweed, as well as a moon jelly fish.  Afterward, I hiked up the big dune just north of the main part of Kiwanda beach and down the other side for a long walk, observing people and enjoying a “no agenda” type of day.

That evening, Matt and I had dinner with our friends Scott, Tali and their boys Erik and Torsten that we had met in Columbia Falls, MT.  This was likely the last time our paths would cross for a long time, so we jumped at the chance to see them and catch up on each other’s travels.  Unfortunately, there was fender bender on the 101 that had them stuck in traffic coming north, but thankfully it wasn’t anything serious and the brewery we chose to meet at was not in a rush to get our table turned over.

Because we were all fans of breweries, we picked a place called The Horn Public House and Brewery in Depoe Bay, OR.  They had a decent variety of beers that were quite flavorful and their food was good as well.  Matt had the salmon caesar salad, I had a tuna melt with a side of clam chowder and our friends had fish and chips.  All were satisfying and the service was stellar.  We would return again if we were in the area.  Overall, it was wonderful to see our friends and their kids as they are all amazing people and we hope someday we get a chance to see each other again. Sadly, I was so wrapped up in spending time with them that we did not take any pictures. 🙁

Hiking in sand again?:

The next day was our last real day of exploration in Pacific City, so Matt and I headed south of town.  I decided to hike the Marsh, Bay and River Trails loop in the Bob Straub State Park and along the Kiwanda Beach while he did some more fishing.  For me, it was an odd experience hiking among mountain pine and sitka spruce, with a myriad of moss varietals everywhere, yet all of the trails were deep sand.  And, none of the trails gave me any sort of river views on my way to the ocean side. 😫 Getting whipped and poked by Scot’s broom and large grasses while trudging uphill in sand was not my idea of fun.  

I was relieved to get up and over to the beach side and walk on hard packed sand for a while, and enjoyed watching the shorebirds run about on their spindly legs.  Eventually, I met up with Matt, whose luck entailed catching a few sand crabs.  We dumped a load of sand out of our clothes and shoes and went back to pack up for our trip to Portland. I don’t think I would go back to this state park again…it’s not my cup of tea.  But, if you want some solitude, you will find it here.  I didn’t see another soul until I made it beachside.

Off to Portland!:

After traveling to all sorts of unfamiliar places, it felt kind of nice to step foot back in Portland, knowing our way around, reuniting with friends and enjoying some of our favorite haunts before hitting the road again. 😍 We stayed at an AirBnB in the Concordia neighborhood off of 28th and Killingsworth, which was conveniently located within walking distance of bars, restaurants, stores, and many of our dear friends we said goodbye to in July.  

I had the opportunity to catch up with one of my co-workers for coffee at Woodlawn Coffee off of Dekum square.  They serve Proud Mary coffee, which Matt and I happen to love, and they also have a nice selection of breakfast sandwiches, pastries and more.  Later on, I biked over to Grand Central Bakery’s Mississippi cafe to meet my aunt Rebecca and enjoy their coveted BLT while it was still in season.  If you happen to be in Portland around August or September, be sure to check them out.  GCB only serves fresh, local, in-season tomatoes, so their tomato sandwich and quiche offerings are all scrumptious.

Matt and I also managed to get a walk up table at Dame on the corner of 30th and Killingsworth and enjoyed a stunning meal and one of their desserts, which was a chocolate cake with graham and vanilla ice cream. 😋 Later on, we headed over to our friend Scot’s for a little house warming…and it was indeed an unseasonably warm evening!

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The next day was the event we had circled back to Portland for: our friends Molly and Joe’s nuptials. 😍  We were so happy to be able to celebrate this momentous occasion, having seen their love blossom during our time in Portland and knowing they had to postpone this celebration for a year, just like many other couples chose to do because of COVID.

After a quick breakfast at Just Bob, we met up for a casual picnic hosted by the bride and groom to-be in Laurelhurst Park, enjoying the beautiful, sunny day.  Our friends really lucked out with the weather for their wedding, because the next three days promised (and delivered) stormy weather, which would have put a real damper on things.  They had the ceremony that evening at the Laurelhurst Club, and not only was the ceremony very touching, but we had the privilege of participating in an interesting and fun tradition from Louisiana called a Second Line.  

Molly grew up in Louisiana and the Second Line involves following a small brass band on a walk-about to celebrate new beginnings, which is flipped on its head from its origins of celebrating those that have passed. In this case, the band encompassed a trumpeter, trombonist, snare drum and bass drum players, and the wedding guests also picked up noisemakers on their way out.  The band, followed by the bride and groom and the remaining wedding attendees marched across the street and did a lap in Laurelhurst Park, delighting people in the park and all of us involved.  It was such a joyful way to celebrate this occasion and brought back happy memories from my own time in New Orleans during years past.

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The entire evening was filled with relaxed fun and entertainment, and we were grateful and blessed to take part in this special event to celebrate our friends and their love for each other.  Their family were all so kind and outgoing, and for us it was like a mini reunion with our friends.  It was a great last day in Portland and left some happy memories for us to reflect on as we continue our travels.

So what’s next?  We have already moved on to an area just west of Crater Lake in south central Oregon.  We are definitely getting into fall weather as the leaves turn, the rains become more frequent and the snow starts to fall up at Crater Lake.  Stay tuned for more of our explorations and happy belated fall solstice! 🍂🍁🌞

Also, one more thing!  My friend Ben had a great idea: What do you, the readers, want to hear more about?  I think I’m covering most everything, but if you have any burning questions, please send them to me in the comments.  I appreciate your feedback, look forward to seeing your requests, and hope I can elucidate any areas that I have neglected to cover in our travels.  Talk to you soon. ❤️

I have been so excited to go backpacking since we started our travels and finally got my wish. 😀 We knew bad weather was coming, so we set out early in the week to try and minimize risk of rain or snowfall during our trip.  Even so, it was cold at night in the mountains. 

Here is a breakdown by day of our time in the Wallowa Whitman National Forest:

Day 1:

Having hiked the Wallowas before, we decided to cover some different ground and drove to Wallowa Lake just south of Joseph, OR to hike on West Fork Trail.  We had a bit of a rocky start…I forgot my hiking shoes back in Wallowa, so that wasted an hour and a half and meant we had a later start. 😫 However, we got on the trail by noon and the weather was sunny and warm, so that worked out just fine.  

Our first day was the biggest push with 9 miles and about 2500 feet of elevation gain to get to our destination: Horseshoe Lake, 7150 feet in elevation.  During our trek we saw some grouse on the trail, California Tortoiseshell butterflies blanketing the banks of the Wallowa River crossing, and lots of ducks on Horseshoe Lake upon our arrival.  With most of the elevation gain coming at the end of our hike, we were definitely exhausted, but our campsite was stellar, and having no neighbors close by was a plus.

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Day 2:  

It was a frosty morning, so we got going a little late as we were trying to dry out the tent before packing it and also because we just weren’t moving very fast.  One really neat phenomenon we experienced was seeing a flock of ducks gliding down to the water and noticing that they sounded like little mechanical glider planes!  I thought for sure these were manmade objects and not birds as I have never heard them make a sound like that before, but Matt was convinced they were ducks. It was so odd and yet so amazing that it was quiet enough for us to hear this.  And, when we left for our second destination we saw both a blue heron on the lake and a large toad in a nearby stream, both of which were delightful discoveries.

The last time we were in the Wallowas we stayed at Mirror Lake, and with limited time we decided to hike up to Eagle Cap instead of going to Glacier Lake, which are both nearby attractions and worth seeing as a day hike option.  As such, this time we decided to hike up to and stay the night at Glacier Lake, which is situated at around 8150 feet.  However, the elevation gain was a lot more than we initially anticipated…a bit of a gross miscalculation on my part. 😳 We hiked by Lee, Douglas and Moccasin Lakes, at which point you take a land bridge across Moccasin Lake to get to Glacier Lake Trail.  Once you get past Moccasin, it is a fairly steep, unrelenting climb up for about 3 miles.  We were spent by the time we got to the top of the pass, which was around 8500 feet in elevation. 🥵 

The second day ended up being around 6 miles and 1700 feet of elevation gain and it felt just as hard as the first day!  Nevertheless, Glacier Lake is stunning and absolutely worth the trip.  It is a more popular destination, so finding a camping spot with a little privacy was challenging.  In addition to other backpackers, we had chipmunks and ground squirrels keeping us company. 😛 As such, we hung our food every night more so because of these little critters than the risk of bears, but you will need to bring a bear-resistant pack for food if you camp in the Wallowas.

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Day 3:

Despite a night of constant wind, it was a lot warmer at Glacier Lake than our stay at Horseshoe.  We were fortunate to have clear, sunny skies for the entire trip, and watching the sun rise on the mountain peaks was quite spectacular.  We got an early start for the trek back down to Horseshoe Lake, which made the small climb from Glacier Lake to Glacier Pass a little easier and we arrived back at Horseshoe by noon, just in time for lunch.  We had easy pickings for campsites and chose to set up on the west side of the lake so we would get sun first thing in the morning to dry off the tent and get going early for the hike out.

Arriving with so much daylight remaining also meant that Matt had time to fish and I had time to explore the area.  While Matt didn’t get any bites, I found a separate little pond filled with lily pads and our duck friends enjoying the warmer daytime temps.  I think they were female mallard ducks…they were speckled brown with a little hint of blue revealed when they would flap their wings and resettle in the water.  I also saw what I think were rainbow trout in the nearby stream where I saw the toad on day 2. 🏕

Overall, it was a more relaxing day and a pleasant way to end our time in the mountains.  We did end up with more neighbors as the night wore on, so we were glad to get situated and relax while we still had warm temps and quietude.  

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Day 4:

The hike out!  As Matt liked to put it, we knew we were in for a foot pounding with a mostly downhill plodding along the Lakes Basin and West Fork trails, so we set out as quickly as we could to get back to Wallowa Lake by lunchtime.  Before we set out, we saw vapor rising from the lake, moving in wispy swaths like smoke just above the water.  It was mesmerizing watching the wind whip the vapor quickly from one direction to another.  

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We saw our grouse friends on the trail again on the way out and a surprising number of hikers coming up despite the impending bad weather in the next couple of days.  I hope most were staying for just two nights or they were going to be in for a world of cold and likely also snow.  Overall, we made good time and got out to the trailhead by 1:30, motivated by the idea of a burger and a beer to celebrate our trip.  Fortunately for us, there was a place just a half mile down the road called Glacier Ridge Grill and General Store.  Their burgers and beers did not disappoint, so come on by if you are in the neighborhood. 🍔🍺

Before we set out on our backpacking trip, one of our neighbors in the RV park shared that if we went a little further down the road toward the Wallowa State Park, we could see the kokanee salmon river run, which are descendants of sockeye salmon and bright red in color.  With food in our stomachs and rays of sunshine to welcome us, we walked to the bridge and joined the onlookers as we watched the salmon wriggle their way up the stream.  I have never seen such brightly colored freshwater fish nor a salmon run in action, so it was really a treat to observe!  For more information, check out this article that discusses the history of the salmon run and the efforts made to bring it back to the area. 

Overall, we were glad to get a backpacking trip in before it was too late to do so comfortably and to revisit this area of eastern Oregon.  It truly is a gem.  Not only that, but the towns around it (Wallowa, Lostine, Enterprise, and Joseph) are great little towns to visit and as picturesque as you can imagine with cattle and horse pastureland in the valley and a backdrop of breathtaking sawtooth mountain tops.  Come visit this area if you get the chance.  It is one of our favorites from our travels so far. 😍

Copper Belt Wines:

On our way from Bruneau Dunes to Wallowa, OR we made a pit stop at another Harvest Host: Copper Belt Wines.  Our host Travis owns and runs the winery, including a tasting room in Baker City, where he shares space with his sister’s business, The Cheese Fairy.  

We, however, stayed out at his base of operations, which is about 20 miles north of Interstate 84 up a Hells Canyon scenic byway and then down about four and a half miles of dirt roads.  We had nice views of the neighboring cattle grazing land and after settling in, Travis offered us a wine tasting.

Travis spent time in the Willamette Valley studying viticulture at OSU, and moved his family back to the Baker City area to his family’s original homestead to make hot climate-friendly wines.  I must say, all of the wines were very delicious and we were impressed with his passion, knowledge, and yet approachable manner with which he presented himself and his wine.  

He also gave us a tour of his facility, where we saw fermentation of Tempranillo in action, his barrel room, and we had the pleasure of meeting one of his adorable daughters, who was about to turn five years old in a few days. 😍 We would have bought all of the wines we tasted, but that didn’t seem prudent, so we limited ourselves to four different bottles and hope to share some of it with friends and family as we travel south later on. 🍷 This spot is definitely off the beaten path, but well worth it if you enjoy wine and a little piece and quiet…cows are sometimes loud, but not usually. 😉

Wallowa River RV Park:

Our stay in eastern Oregon was at the Wallowa River RV Park, which is indeed right next to the Wallowa River and an easy walk to stores in Wallowa, OR.  We were pleasantly surprised upon our arrival at how incredibly friendly Dave and Dana were who greeted us, sharing all of their favorites sites to see, escorting us to our spot in the park and helping us get situated.  They and other campsite hosts are frequently cleaning and maintaining the park.  There are beautiful gardens in the park as well, and next door are the Nez Perce Indian Grounds and access to a trailhead that takes you up Tick Hill for beautiful, sweeping views of the RV Park, the town of Wallowa and the Wallowa Whitman National Forest, Hells Canyon and surrounding areas.  There are, by the way, several access points for this trail.  From the RV park it is a 3-mile round trip and about 500 feet of elevation gain.

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The only downside to this RV park is that the spaces are tight.  There are 31 spaces in all, and it’s the closest we have been to our neighbors since we started doing this.  However, everyone we met was friendly, so it wasn’t all that bad, to be honest.  They also have on site laundry (two each of washers and dryers), showers and the staff are helpful with whatever you need.  For example. we needed to print something out while here, and they were happy to oblige.  Laundry is a bargain here at $1.50 per washer or dryer load and the dryer goes for a full hour.  Despite the tight nature of the sites, I would recommend this place if you are in the area.  

Hells Canyon:

Another hidden gem within eastern Oregon is Hells Canyon, which is the deepest river gorge in North America, deeper even than the Grand Canyon, according to Wikipedia.  Matt has been wanting to visit this area for quite some time, and Dana and Dave from the RV park also recommended checking out Hat Point within Hells Canyon, so we set off to drive up there, despite knowing we would be driving on unpaved, rough roads for over 20 miles to get there.

We drove into Joseph and set out eastward on Highway 350, which just so happens to be a breathtaking drive to Imnaha, OR, the town you arrive at just before you lose the pavement.  I cannot get over just how beautiful this part of Oregon is.  There’s something about the winding roads next to the river, golden hills spotted with evergreens and rock outcroppings, and the smattering of pasture land dotted with cows and horses that gives me a sense of contentment and happiness.  I can look at views like that all day long and never tire of it. 😍

However, the one thing I have a lot of trouble with is heights.  As such, when we started ascending the narrow, unpaved, very rough, one-lane road with hills rising on one side and falling steeply away on the other, I was ill at ease.  I have tried to get over this anxiety time and again and still have not figured out how to alleviate my troubled thoughts.  My mind automatically goes to the darkest places, with visions of tumbling over the cliffside to our death, puncturing a tire and being stranded or having an accident with an oncoming vehicle, and I simply cannot calm down.  I try to take deep breaths, but my temples get so tight that it gives me a headache, I feel lightheaded and seemingly cannot take in enough air to settle my nerves.  I just don’t have the constitution for this type of exploration. 😩

After only about three miles of climbing we came to an overlook with a pullout.  Matt took pity on me and turned us around, but because I knew how much he wanted to explore this area, I felt awful.  We went back to Joseph and had lunch, during which time he assured me it was ok.  Just like I had expressed that I cannot always hide my disappointment, but I would never ask him to do something he found truly terrifying, he would not ask me to either.  That did make me feel a little better.  We all have our issues, and this is definitely one of mine. 😬

Wallowa, OR and surrounding areas:

Though we spent most of our time backpacking, we did enjoy our stay and recommend checking out any of these towns nearby, as they all have their own charm and attractions, depending on what you like to do for fun.  I’ll talk briefly about each location, starting from east going west.

Joseph, OR:

Joseph is located at the base of the Wallowas/Eagle Cap wilderness, is also home to the nearby state park, Wallowa Lake, Hells Canyon, has beautiful metal sculptures around the town, and caters to the influx of tourists enjoying the outdoors.  One of our favorite observations was the local Fly Shoppe owner, who rides into town on his horse Shadow each day and drops by the local market before opening his business in the morning.  He even has a stall and sign introducing Shadow next to his shop.  It’s not something you see every day, even in small country towns.

According to BestPlaces, this areas has higher unemployment, but is moderately priced and has a cost of living close to the national average, and more sun than we were used to in the Portland area, for sure.  However, I believe this place has the potential to become the next Jackson, WY if the attraction to the Wallowa mountains grows.  

Enterprise, OR:

Just north of Joseph is Enterprise, OR.  You will find some more modern conveniences in this town, including a Safeway grocery store, Ace hardware, and a local drive thru coffee place we frequented on a few occasions.  It is also home to Terminal Gravity Brewing, which has a fine line up of locally brewed beers.  BestPlaces has similar stats for this town, albeit about twice the size of Joseph.

Lostine, OR:

We did not stop in Lostine, but know you can find alternate access points to the Wallowa mountains from there, and it is home to the notable Blue Banana coffee place that you cannot miss if driving through town.  It is tiny, with a population of around 225 people.

Wallowa, OR:

Our home base during our stay in the area, Wallowa is also quite small with a population of less than 1000 people, but the folks are friendly at the local grocery store, post office and of course the RV park where we stayed.  The Wallowa River runs through the town and it is home to the Nez Perce Tribe.

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All of these towns have similar stats on BestPlaces, with higher than average unemployment at 8.2%, lower cost of living than the national average, median home prices in the $200,000-$300,000 range, the area is overwhelmingly conservative politically, and the towns have around 170-175 average days of sun per year.  

La Grande, OR:

The nearest big town to Hells Canyon and the Wallowa mountains, aside from Baker City, is La Grande, which also happens to be home to the manufacturers of our travel trailer: Outdoors RV! 😊. With more sun and modern conveniences and lower unemployment than its eastern counterparts, this area is also along a bike tour route.  I was hoping to check it out while out that way, but the weather didn’t cooperate.  

Of note for us was their local DMV.  As mentioned before during our travels through Idaho and Wyoming, we traded in our Ford F150 for a Ram 2500, and we received the paperwork from the auto dealership while in Wallowa.  We were practically pulling our hair out just thinking about what the process would entail to transfer plates, register and title the vehicle in Oregon given our sordid experience with the Oregon DMV…it took 4 months to get our plates and registration for our trailer, and we had more time in one place then to deal with it than now while on the road. 🙄 

I called the DMV, waiting on hold for 45 minutes to see what we could do online vs. in person, and to figure out what forms we would need.  Thankfully, this time around we had a great customer service representative helping us, making sure we had all of our paperwork sorted out in advance, and she said we did NOT need an appointment to get our registration and plate transfer taken care of, which was relieving to hear since the latest appointment in the entire state of Oregon wasn’t for another 3 weeks!!!  As such, we decided to take a chance by driving to La Grande to get everything squared away.  

Boy are we glad we did!  Even without an appointment, we were in and out of the DMV in less than 40 minutes and it took a load off our minds knowing we wouldn’t have to wrestle with their mail-in or appointment processes.  I even overheard one guy who came all the way from Portland to get his drivers license renewed since the La Grande DMV had the earliest appointments you could get with the DMV in Oregon.  Everyone at the office was pleasant as well, so if you are desperate to get something taken care of with the DMV, go here and perhaps stay a night or two and support the town while you’re at it. 

Overall, this part of Oregon is picturesque, quiet, and filled with friendly people and hidden gems everywhere you go.  It may not get all of the fanfare that other parts of Oregon get, but it is just as deserving of your awe and wonderment as the rest of the state. If you love spending time outdoors, come visit.  You won’t regret it. 👍

We have had a fairly mellow visit here at the Bruneau Dunes State Park.  The weather has been hot, there is hardly any shade to be found, and scant wifi, so we have felt a little like being on a deserted island.  However, we have found some ways to entertain ourselves while here, including sliding down some big dunes! 😃 And, there is a star observatory nearby (albeit closed to the public right now), so on a clear night stargazing can be quite spectacular.

There are a few trails within the park that take you around the Small Lake or Big Lake, across the Big Dune, and to the visitor center around the southern edge and through the middle of the park.  However, most of these trails are filled with loose sand, so it’s slow going.  When you are hiking up the dunes, it’s more like getting on a stair master, in which each step is dragging you down equally as much as it’s getting you up the dune. 🥵 But, we had great views from our trailer on both sides, which was really a nice treat.

We did enjoy a bit of wildlife in the area.  There are small, side-blotched lizards, short-horned lizards, and snakes in the sandy areas as well as many underground sand dwellings that have been taken over by spiders, though you won’t often see the spiders during the day.  There are also a lot of bugs!  The more interesting ones were the beetles and robber flies, which are very odd looking, and an unending supply of flies, moths and gnats.  However, at the lakes there are plenty of birds to enjoy, including blue herons, great white herons, ducks, and geese.

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The flora, on the other hand, is quite minimal.  It’s almost the same as we experienced in Dubois…loads of sagebrush, rabbitbrush, saltbush, grasses and Russian thistles, which later dry out and turn into tumbleweeds.  The trees are almost exclusively Russian olive trees, which I first encountered in Montana.  Near the lakes you have reeds, bulrush (cattails) and sedges, but nowhere near the variety I have grown accustomed to in Oregon.

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Funny story about the bugs: While visiting the bison farm, Jenny told us how some of their bison ended up in the opening clip for the series Yellowstone, so we decided to watch it when we got to Bruneau Dunes.  While watching the opening episode, which happens to be two hours, we noticed a few moths fluttering back and forth, and then we turned the light on.  The whole trailer was filled with bugs!  Even growing up in Minnesota, I have never seen that many bugs inside.  We had opened the door near the kitchen but left the screen door closed, yet that screen door seemed to do nothing to deter them from getting in.  This is good to know for our future travels to more bug-infested areas…the screen door does not keep out bugs!  We shut off all of the lights except those in the very back and then sucked as many of them up as possible with the vacuum so that we could get some sleep without too much interruption. 😂 Another lesson learned.

Oregon Trail and Snake River

We attempted to do a hike around nearby Glenns Ferry called the Oregon Trail and Snake River, a modest 5.6 mile loop.  Most of the trails we found in the area were short, 2-3 milers, and very exposed, so we thought something that would take us near the river would have some more interesting flora and fauna, but we were misinformed.  Finding a “trailhead” did not happen…there are a few entrances through a fenced area that is designated as Idaho state park land, but we couldn’t even get in there with our truck.  

We later found a road that took us through the middle of this fenced area and parked there, found a sign that discussed how dangerous the river crossings were for the initial travelers along the Oregon Trail, and set off from there on a trail to see if we could make our way to the river.  Eventually, we came across a fence that cut off any access to the river.  Where we found part of the original trail notated in All Trails, we encountered indications that the fence had been cut so that people could travel through where the trail originally took you north to the river, but the fence had been mended.  

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There is farmland closer to the river, so we assumed it had been taken over by farmers, and considering how dry and desolate the landscape was that we were exploring, we decided it wasn’t worth it to crawl through the fence and try to get closer to the river front.  We did see quite a few jack rabbits and a short-horned lizard, but the wander we went on through this state land was largely uneventful, so we gave up and headed into town for lunch.  I don’t recommend this hike.

Our day on the dunes

When we arrived, the camping area was fairly sparse in population, but with the Labor Day weekend coming up, we knew it was going to be packed.  Between that and the hot weather, we decided to wait to rent sandboards and slide down the dunes.  After the holiday weekend, we got up early enough to rent boards before the sand was too hot…they stop renting them once the air temperature reaches 80 degrees, because the dunes can reach temperatures of nearly 30 degrees warmer than that. 😮

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After acquiring our boards, which we rented at 2 for $25, we set off for the dunes.  We decided to start with the smallest one, and then work our way up to the big dune.  The first two weren’t too bad.  It took about 5-10 minutes to get to the top and then slide down.  You have to wax the board before heading down, similar to treating your board for surfing on water or snowboarding and skiing in the snow.  So, after we get our boards all waxed up, we scooted forward and down we went! I had a successful first run, less so the second time and the same for Matt. He had a sensational ending on his second dune. Wipe out!

The last dune took us about a 30 minutes to ascend, and we were greeted by a gopher snake at the top.  I am very curious why a snake would climb all the way to the top of a dune…to catch a meal along the way?  Or perhaps snakes enjoy sliding down the dunes as well?  I know it’s likely not the latter, but let me anthropomorphize the snake and think what I want. 😛 After ogling the snake for a while, we decided it deserved to be left in peace, given it put all that effort into getting up there, so we parted ways and prepared for the ultimate dune slide!

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Because the dune was so steep compared to the other two, you may notice in the videos that we snow plowed our way down the first leg. 🤣 And yes, we had sand in pretty much every orifice and it covered every inch of our bodies.  There is no escaping the sand!  You must become one with the sand!. 🧘🏻 Anyway, we re-waxed the boards and tried to descend in another section of the dune, but it was pretty slow-going.  After a few attempts, we resigned ourselves to walking the rest of the way down.

So, in summary, was it worth the rental?  Yes!  It was the most fun we had while in the Bruneau Dunes State Park, and it was a thrilling way to embrace our sandy environment and also get great views of the lakes and surrounding areas below.  I’d rather slide down sand and get it all over me than struggle through it on flat ground and enjoy none of the thrills.   

Bruneau, Mountain Home, Glenns Ferry and Boise areas

The town of Bruneau is about 10 miles from the state park and the population is less than 1,000 people.  We saw another RV park right before you get into town called Tumbleweed Self Storage RV Park that is pretty basic…it’s a small, dirt parking lot, but does offer the basic hookups you need, so it could be another option for an overnight stay if you are in the area.  Otherwise, we only visited the post office to pick up mail, so I don’t have a lot of personal experiences to share.  The lady at the post office was very nice though. 😊

Mountain Home and Glenns Ferry are both about 30 minutes away from the state park. Glenns Ferry’s population is just about 1300 people and they have another state park nearby with access to the Snake River.  Mountain Home is larger with a population of nearly 15,000. They have made a lot of improvements to the downtown area, including resurfacing the roads and sidewalks.  They have more businesses as well, so this is where we went for food, shopping and cleaning our laundry.  All of these towns are about an hour south of the state capitol Boise, ID, whose metro area population is around 770,000.  We drove into Boise to get some groceries and a few more things at REI, and enjoyed having consistent wifi for a little bit. 😂

The average unemployment is below the national average, cost of living is generally lower than the national average, and all of these towns and the state are strongly conservative politically.  You will get plenty of sun is this fairly exposed part of the state, with over 210 days of sun per year.  The temperatures drops into the 20’s in the winter and tops out in the mid-90’s in the summer, so you can experience a wide variety of climate year-round, but overall the area is quite dry as is evidenced by the open expanses covered in sage and similar arid climate plants.  The areas are somewhat bikeable, though Mountain Home is actually more walkable according to walkscore.com. 

Personally, this part of Idaho is too dry and exposed for my liking, but it is an area known for its agriculture, so if that is of interest to you, this may be an area for you to consider.  I love a more varied landscape, hiking among the trees and being able to hide from the sun when it’s scorching hot outside.  And that leads me to our next adventure: we are going backpacking in the Wallowa Whitman National Forest.  We went here back in 2018 and I’m excited to return and explore other parts of this beautiful landscape.  Although it has been fun to visit high desert areas, I’m looking forward to being someplace with a little bit more moisture. 💦

I love to cook, but have only shared a few cooking projects with you, so thought you might like a glimpse into what we are eating and where to get the recipes. 😊 Almost every week starts with some sort of meal planning.  We have limited space in our refrigerator, freezer and pantry, so cannot be too spontaneous about what we purchase…if we are, then it needs to get incorporated into meal planning because I hate wasting food. 😂

Matt gave me the Half Baked Harvest Super Simple cookbook by Tieghan Gerard for Christmas a while back, and though I have often made slight modifications to each recipe, the ideas are great and the food has been quite delicious…enough for me to bring the cookbook with me on the road.  I’m just now discovering that the author has loads more recipes on her site. 😮 I’ll now be going back to her site to find even more ideas! Here are two recipes I’ve made recently:

Caesar broccoli:

We love this recipe, especially to use up some older, crusty bread and enjoy our veggies with eggs and caesar-like dressing.  Yum!  I have made a few modifications to the recipe…the author suggests you toast the bread and serve the eggs and salad on top, but this is way too messy for us, so I slice the bread into crouton-sized pieces to make it easier to eat and then store any leftover bread separately from the veg so it doesn’t get soggy.  For leftovers, the bread may need to be crisped up in the oven or in a skillet for the right texture.  Furthermore, I didn’t want to buy an entire tub of tahini and have it take up precious space in our refrigerator, so I found some 2-tablespoon packets of sunflower seed butter and cashew butter and decided these would make good substitutes for tahini in the author’s dressing recipe.  Overall, it makes for a lighter meal option for dinner or perhaps a substantial breakfast.  You pick your mealtime, and I’m sure it won’t disappoint. 🥦

Curried Thai Spring Roll Lettuce Wraps:

We had lettuce that needed to be used up, so this made for another lighter option for dinner.  There is a recipe for peanut sauce included, which I pared down to 1/4 the size for this recipe to avoid having extra left over.  Also, I usually make the Thai sweet chili sauce, but opted for the bottle you get in the grocery store this time so I didn’t have such a huge mess to clean up.  The only other adjustment I made was not doing lettuce wraps and instead cutting up the lettuce to make it easier to eat.  If you like Thai peanut sauce to dress your veggies, this is a great recipe, especially on a hot summer night. 🥜🥬

Langostino Mac and Cheese:

While in Columbia Falls, MT, we discovered a great seafood market that also sells eggs, meat, and a few miscellaneous products.  One of the items we bought was a package of langoustine (spelling varies).  I thought I had a recipe for a lobster mac and cheese and figured this would make a great substitute, but alas I was imagining things.  So, I sought out a recipe online and this mac and cheese recipe is what I found, which turned out to be sooo delicious! 😋 

The only modification I made was reserving half of the bacon to sprinkle on top instead of putting it all in the sauce with the macaroni and langoustine.  That made for a crispy contrasting texture, which was a great addition to this dish.  I also made my own breadcrumbs out of frozen bread, olive oil and spices instead of using panko bread crumbs.  If you get your hands on some langoustine, lobster or possibly even shrimp and want to indulge a little, you might enjoy this recipe. 🍤🧀

Spaghetti and meatballs:

One of the first dishes Matt made for me when we started dating was spaghetti and meatballs.  I realized I had never made any for him, so when I saw his eyes light up at the mention of it, I knew I was in for a long cooking project. 😆 That same seafood market in Columbia Falls also sold Montana raised wagyu ground beef, which was the start of this idea.  Having a sense of what I was looking for, I found this meatball recipe and made just one small adjustment.  We didn’t have Worcestershire sauce, so I used 1 teaspoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of finely chopped anchovy as a substitute.  After forming the meatballs, I chilled the ones we were going to bake in the oven and froze the rest for later…they make for a great meatball sandwich as well.  

Another cookbook I love and have enjoyed for quite a few years is The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen.  Considering I have made at least 1/3 of the recipes in this 500+ recipe cookbook, I’d say I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of it! 🤣 Of all those recipes, there are only a handful that I haven’t enjoyed, so it is very consistent and worth getting.  From this book I utilized their Classic Marinara Sauce, incorporating all varieties of herbs I had on hand: basil, chives, oregano, and thyme. 

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It took about four hours, but in that time I formed and baked the meatballs, cooked the sauce, boiled the spaghetti noodles and added a generous sprinkling of shaved parmesan on top.  This has been one of our favorite meals on the road so far, making our mouths happy and bellies full.  The extra time spent cooking was totally worth it! 🍝

Grilled chicken salad:

There really isn’t a specific recipe for this, but it’s one of our stand-by dinner options.  Matt cooks up chicken breasts on the grill, generously seasoning them with salt, pepper, and olive oil and cuts them up to put on salads once they have rested.  I find whatever veggies and fruits look fresh at the grocery store or local farmer’s market, and we add in any accoutrement that we desire…nuts, cheese, herbs, and our individual choices for favorite dressing.  The salads are different every time…it really depends on what is in season, what goes well together and what we feel like pulling together.  If you’re looking for ideas to use up veggies sitting in your crisper drawer, this is always a great way to do so and not have a super heavy meal weighing you down afterward. 🥗

I hope these recipes, cookbooks and salads I have shared inspire some of your own ideas, and I will try to add in some more cooking projects later on.  Happy cooking everyone! 😃

Whenever we set off for a new destination, we always try to keep our travel days reasonable in length, usually 250 miles max per day, so we aren’t arriving exhausted.  Poor decisions can be made if we don’t eat properly or push the mileage, which we learned early on in our travels.  

For this stretch, we knew we would be adding some mileage by avoiding Teton Pass coming from Wyoming to Idaho, and we also needed to run a few errands in Idaho Falls, which made for a longer day.  Heading south out of Jackson, WY we minimized the percentage grade passes we traveled over and had the pleasure of seeing the similarly jagged mountain tops within the Caribou-Targhee National Forest and drive along the Palisades Reservoir, which is fed by the Snake River.  This area is equally breathtaking compared to Grand Tetons National Park, so it could be a great option as something more low-key for you to enjoy in this part of the country. ⛰🏕

Errands in Idaho Falls were completed successfully and we were on our way to Diamond P Grassroots Bison farm in McCammon, ID.  We knew that this Harvest Host offered wagon rides to see bison and also had bison meat for sale, but what we didn’t know was that Jenny and Rob would be amazing hosts.  Jenny was so welcoming and engaging from the very beginning of our stay, sharing her stories about how they ended up running a bison farm. 🦬

Jenny starts out each wagon ride with an introduction and series of educational pieces about bison, the myths and realities surrounding them and oodles of personal stories about their own experiences with their bison herd.  She even taught us how to feed them, shared which bison to watch out for that are a bit more aggressive about getting snacks, and off we went.

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I thought we would be seeing the bison from afar, but instead we were surrounded by them.  Furthermore, Jenny shared that they were in the midst of mating season, so we had the privilege of seeing all of the drama that comes with this time of year.  Many of the bison were very excited to get treats and we had a spectacular time observing them and hearing more stories from Jenny.  The whole experience was way more interactive than I ever imagined and was by far our best experience thus far through Harvest Hosts. 😍

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If you are traveling through this part of Idaho and need a place to camp, I highly recommend staying here for a night.  Jenny and Rob have taken the “host” part of Harvest Hosts to the next level.  And the views from their property were grand…watching the storms roll in early the next morning also gave us the heads up we needed to hurry up and get off the hilltop before they reached us. ⛈

So what’s next?  We have reached our next week-long stay at Bruneau Dunes State Park and I will be sharing more soon.  

If you are looking for a quieter stay in a small town away from the hustle and bustle of Jackson and the areas surrounding or within Grand Tetons National Park (GTNP), this might be the place for you.  The population is less than 1000 residents, it’s about 1 1/2 hours away from GTNP, with a beautiful drive through Shoshone National Forest, crossing over the continental divide at over 9500 feet in elevation, and some gorgeous ever-changing scenery along the way.  They have a well stocked grocery store called Lynn’s Superfoods, and if you can’t find what you need there, the Ace Hardware or Family Dollar stores will likely have what you need.  The town is clean and quiet, and the residents seem somewhat reserved, but friendly and polite.  

According to Best Places, the unemployment rate was a bit on the high side at 6.2% the last time it was measured, but the cost of living is just under the national average.  If you’re looking for sunshine, they have it here in spades with 235 average days of sun per year, well above the 205 day average for the U.S.  Not surprisingly, this area is very conservative politically, as is the county and the entire state of Wyoming.  The weather is cold in the winter, often averaging below freezing, but the summers are mild with averages topping out in the upper 70’s.  But don’t let this fool you…at an elevation of nearly 7000 feet above sea level the sun exposure is more powerful than you may be used to.  It always felt a lot hotter than the temperature gauge was reading.  I have said this many times in my activity write ups, but do NOT forget your sunscreen when visiting places in higher elevations.

In addition to our general impressions, here are some reviews of the places we have frequented while in town:

Solitude RV Park:

Solitude is the the smallest RV park we have stayed in yet, and we have really enjoyed our time here.  Their website has a fairly easy reservation system, though if you change your arrival or departure dates in the middle of booking a reservation, it may place a temporary “hold” on the site you picked and you will have to wait an hour for it to reset if you want to reserve that specific site. All sites have full hookups (water/sewer/electric), but be sure to ask for a converter if you have anything besides a 50-amp electrical hookup as that is the only one available at each site. Each plug is shaped differently, but with a proper adapter we could plug in our 30-amp cord to the 50-amp service.  The caretaker is the local sheriff Erik, who was quite friendly, greeted us upon arrival, and arranges for garbage pick ups at your site in the mornings.  There are only 19 sites, spaced comfortably apart, and we lucked out with one of the best sites (#14), which has expansive views of the Badlands to the east of the RV park.  

Erik will go out of his way to make sure you are taken care of.  For example, our neighbors ended up at Solitude by accident.  Their truck broke down nearby and the sheriff was called to help assist them with their situation.  He offered up Solitude as a place for them to stay while they figured out what to do next.  It was a shame Tracey and Ken’s plans to go to the Tetons had been waylaid, but at least we had friendly new neighbors in the meantime. Erik even went as far as driving Ken to the nearest airport so he could fly back to Colorado and drive another vehicle up to Dubois so they wouldn’t be completely stranded.  

We had frequent visits from the local chipmunks, rabbits, and birds, and the site is also equipped with a picnic table, a fire ring, a bench next to the fire ring and is stocked with firewood as well.  Because it has been so smoky and dry, we haven’t been allowed to have fires in most places we have traveled, and haven’t really felt the desire to.  But, while looking up at the starry skies one clear and cool evening, and knowing the Dubois area had been getting rain, we felt it was the perfect night for a campfire.  We also heard some coyotes calling off in the distance. Later on, we had our neighbors over for a fireside chat as well with their adorable dog Willow, who would frequently swing by and visit us while we were here. 😍

One of the best features of this park is the fact that it butts up against BLM Badlands that you can walk onto right from the RV park’s northeastern end and explore to your heart’s content.  We saw lots of what we think was coyote activity when observing the skeletal remains, but it could have just as easily been a cougar, bobcat, wolf or grizzly bear.  If you plod up one of the many steep hills, you get an impressive view of the area and also some pretty large gusts of wind, so again, hang onto your hat!  The wind seems to pick up nearly every afternoon here, but usually dies down by the evening.  Overall, I highly recommend this place if you are traveling out this way. 👍 👍

The Perch Coffee House:

Coincidentally, the local coffee house is owned by Sheriff Erik’s wife Sheila.  We popped in to get a few iced coffee drinks and some whole roasted coffee beans for our upcoming travels.  They don’t display that they have beans for sale, but if you ask, you can get 1lb bags for a reasonable price.  They roast their beans nearby and have a small yet flavorful selection.  

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We had the opportunity to talk with Sheila at length about her coffee beans and how the locals are quite particular about what coffee they like to drink, so she tries to keep their bean supply and roast consistent, having a Columbian and a Sumatra roast available whenever possible.  The Perch is clean with a nicely organized coffee station, and there is seating available both inside and out that provides a cozy atmosphere.  Overall, the owner has created a delightful slice of heaven in such an unexpected part of the country that coffee nerds such as myself can enjoy. ☕️ 😍

Cowboy Cafe:

Our neighbors in the RV park told us about their scrumptious dinner in town.  The Cowboy Cafe offers breakfast, lunch and dinner and is a popular, casual restaurant to get a tasty meal.  We saw people milling around this cafe day and night, so it’s definitely worth popping in, especially if you’re a fan of pie!  I hear their pies are superb. 🥧 😋

I had their Chicken Havarti sandwich with sweet potato fries and Matt had their All American burger with tater tots.  The chicken was tender and juicy and it was a nicely balanced sandwich with great flavor that was easy for me to eat.  I often have the experience where sandwiches are way too big, so it was nice to have a proportioned sandwich for a change.  Matt’s burger was great and he really loved the tots.  They had a hint of onion, which gave them a little something special compared to your standard tots.  Overall, the food quality is excellent and the service is solid, so pick a mealtime and come on over! 

Laundromat and Car Wash:

I must give a shout out to the quirky local laundromat and car wash.  Although it may be a bit shabby inside, there are large folding tables and lots of machines to choose from, so you shouldn’t have any trouble getting in and out in a reasonable amount of time.  They have dollar coin and quarter change machines and your typical detergent, softener and bleach options in a coin operated machine all in the back of the laundromat.  The entrance to the building is a massive, sculpted animal skull, and if that isn’t enough to make you smirk a little bit, next door at the Country Store is the world’s largest jackalope exhibit. 😂

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We even ran into our RV park neighbors while there and talked with another full timer while loading the washers.  If there is one thing I’ve learned since we have been traveling, you will run into people from all walks of life, and the people who love to travel often are some of the nicest people you will meet.  I have really enjoyed getting to know people in every place I have stayed and the experience is restoring my faith in humanity.  There are good people out there…all you have to do is say “hi”. 💗 

We are off to another destination as we slowly circle back to Oregon.  Until then, do me a favor and say “hello” and smile at a stranger sometime in the near future.  You might just make someone’s day.

Although our plans changed a few times already both on the way down and since we have been here, we have managed to get out and about in the area and enjoy some of the sights.

Jackson/Moose/Grand Tetons National Park:

Grand View Point Trail:

In the northern part of the Grand Tetons National Park away from most of the crowds of people, we found a moderate hike called Grand View Point Trail.  According to All Trails, this hike is 5.1 miles and 1368 feet of elevation gain, taking you up to a nice viewpoint of the mountains and nearby lakes, down near Two Ocean Lake, and back.  You get a hefty climb each way and it is a lightly trafficked trail.  There is ample parking, even a few spots designated for RV/travel trailers, but there are NO bathrooms at the trailhead, just FYI.  

When we made it down to the loop that circles the lake, we ended up talking to a nice couple from Wisconsin who have been coming back to the Tetons for decades…if I’m not mistaken, around 50 years!  They informed us that we would still need to hike for quite a while to get to a view point along the lake, so we decided to “call it” and head back up to the view point.  The day we hiked was a bit on the hazy side, but on a clear day you can get a really spectacular view.  If you are looking for a short but mighty hike with a view and to avoid large swaths of people as well, you might like to check this one out.

Bike paths to Jackson, Moose, Teton Village and Jenny Lake:

I managed to find a few resources for local bike paths that extend from Jackson all the way up to Jenny Lake, which sounded like a nice way to get around the area and see the national park without having to get in line with all of the cars.  Our initial plan was to park at the visitor center in Moose, bike down Moose-Wilson Rd through Teton Village to Jackson for lunch and circle back up counter-clockwise on the bike path that parallels highway 191/89/26.  However, Moose-Wilson Rd was closed due to bear activity, so we traveled south to Jackson and back on the same bike path.  

It was super windy, but we were fortunate to face the headwind on the way down and have it push us back up to Moose!  I’d rather face the headwind early than fight it all the way back when I’m more tired!  Overall, the path was pretty nice and seems to get a decent amount of bike traffic, which is good to see given I’m an avid cyclist.  Navigating through Jackson is a bit harder, so definitely take a look at the Jackson pathways map before biking that way, as there are heavily trafficked routes that go through town without room for bikes.  Overall, if you’re looking for a relatively flat bike ride through the park, I recommend these pathways.

Dubois and the surrounding area:

Dubois Badlands Trail:

First off, yes, there are maps of the Badlands you can download from All Trails, but frankly there are so many criss cross trails throughout this public land that the map didn’t really help us that much.  We were way “off trail” at several points, but it is fairly wide open, so it’s easy to figure out how to get back.  I say, just wander and create your own route.  There are many to choose from…it’s a choose your own adventure kind of place!  

After spending so much time in mountain regions, it was neat to check out an area of high desert with such beautiful rock formations, colors, and desert flora and fauna.  Because Dubois had recently had some heavy rains, my favorite parts of hike were smelling the fragrant sage and blooming flowers wafted my way off the breezy hills and seeing my first reptile in a long time!  We saw a Greater Short-horned Lizard, which was really cute and patient with us as we picked it up to inspect it before safely returning it to its habitat.  

On the way back we met a couple that lives in the area…the husband used to live in Jackson and moved out to Dubois to get away from the “madness” that has become Jackson with its booming tourism, etc.  They recommended checking out more of the badlands that backed up to our RV park. Overall, if you like to explore without any set path, you might like this area.  Just watch out for high winds.  It gets pretty gusty as the afternoon rolls around.  Hang onto your hat and wear some sunscreen and you should have a fun time. 🌞

Lake Louise Trail:

This hike was one of our all time favorites, offering a little bit of nearly everything in such a short out and back at around 5.25 miles and a little over 1300 feet of elevation gain.  Even the drive in was really enjoyable. Get ready for lots of photos and videos! 

Once you turn south from Highway 26 onto Trail Lake Rd, you are surrounded by horse and cattle grazing land, which is peppered with boulders, shrub-like trees, sagebrush and rabbitbrush. 🐎 🐂 As you start to gain elevation, there are expansive views of the Badlands to the north, which are incredible around here.  On the eastern side of the road, you start to see some of the many lakes that dot the countryside, including Torrey Lake, Ring Lake and Trail Lake.  We even discovered a hidden gem of a camping site along Ring Lake that we may want to check out if we ever return to this part of the country.  

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As you approach the trailhead parking area, the pine trees and rock faces become more substantial, and you can see where the glaciers have sliced their way through the landscape.  Note that this parking lot is quite popular with three trailheads, and is used by backpackers, equestrians and hikers, so come early if you can.  There are also a couple of picnic tables with beautiful views of what you are about to hike and also a toilet that is regularly stocked and cleaned.  Also, please note that this is bear country, so bring your bear spray with you. 🐻

Between the fact that you start hiking at around 7500 feet in elevation and the trail is rather steep in places, it can be quite the lung buster! 🥵 The elevation and our penchant for exploring the flora and fauna along the way meant our average pace was around 35-minute miles.  You start out on switchbacks right away, climbing through the dusty, rocky, dry sections first.  The split for Whiskey Mountain Trail to your right is around the 0.5 mile mark, and then another split for Glacier Trail to your left is around the 0.75 mile mark. I recommend taking the quick jaunt on Glacier Trail to the bridge that crosses over the massive waterfall plunging down from Lake Louise. I took a few videos both here and toward the top of the waterfall so you can see just how powerful it is.

The trail starts to give way to more rocky landscape, so having a downloaded map like All Trails is recommended to keep track of your direction.  The flora becomes thicker with vegetation as well.  When we hiked the trail, there was a bounty of bearberries, juniper berries, rose hips, and a smattering of either wax or swamp currants.  Some of these are considered edible, but none are recommended as they are not in any way tasty whatsoever, so eat at your own peril. 😂 You go in and out of shade a lot on this hike, and with the higher elevation, I do recommend wearing and reapplying sunscreen as most areas upon arriving at the lake are exposed.  After quite a few ups and downs, you end up clambering on large rock slabs and can essentially create your own route down to the lake, within reason.  

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Off in the distance you can see the glacier that feeds the lake, and then where the lake feeds the waterfall.  We both thought for those of you who have the wherewithal, bringing an inflatable kayak could be quite something to go and explore the farther reaches of this lake.  It is really picturesque…check out my little video of the lake below.  We even saw a cute little beach on the opposite side, which might be accessible if you walked all the way around the lake or had a kayak, but I cannot say for sure as the trail ends on the north end of the lake.  We had a quick bite to eat while we saw chipmunks scampering about, edging ever closer to check out what we had and also saw some fish jumping in the lake. 🐿 🐟

There is still a bit of climbing to get back out, but it is generally much easier than the hike in, and you get an opportunity to check out the valley below and the large rock faces on either side of you.  The western side has beautiful shades of burnt orange, coral, pink, and mauve within its layers.  The eastern side is darker, but has an outcropping that almost looks like a putting green.  Talk about extreme golfing! 😜 LOL  The only annoyance was the amass of grasshoppers on the trail, which were very loud and sounded like a series of tasers going off all around you.  But, we have seen oodles of these guys all through Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, so there is just no escaping them this time of year. All in all, this hike is small but mighty and a must-see if you are in the area.  It gets two thumbs up in my book.  👍 👍

Dubois Town Park River Walkway:

If you are looking for something low-key to do, check out the River Walkway in downtown Dubois, Wyoming and take a relaxing stroll along the Wind River.  It starts at the south end of Stalnaker St heading east on the south side of the Dubois Town Park.  The signage upon entering was pretty funny, in my opinion, but the interesting part was learning about the town’s history and the animals that inhabit the area from the plaques located along the path.

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Extend your walk across the bridge over the Wind River.  The walk goes west for a short while and also east for more expansive views of the neighboring grazing land.  The walk ends abruptly where it intersects with a dirt road called Harrison Dr.  

There are numerous trails in the nearby Shoshone National Forest on your way to the Grand Tetons as well. No matter which direction you head, you will undoubtedly find some beautiful landscape to soak in and put a smile upon your face. 😊

Normally, I would extol the virtues of the places we would visit along the way from one destination to another, but that is not the case this time.  Although we had an uneventful first day of travel from West Glacier to Darby, Montana and enjoyed our overnight stay, the next day impacted our plans yet again and involved more pivoting to address the situation at hand.

To give you a sense of how we arrived at yet another “new game plan”, I need to share a bit of background.  For those of you who prefer, you can skip ahead to the Lessons Learned section to help you on your own journey.

As mentioned is my second blog entry, we kind of did things out of order (see question #3 for details).  We bought our truck before our trailer, and should have secured the trailer first and then determined what sort of truck we would need to safely tow our new home away from home.  But, we loved our new 2021 Ford F150 hybrid with its built in generator and better gas mileage when unhitched from the trailer, so decided to go on some mini trips to determine how safe it would be to tow our trailer instead.  Just to be clear, the truck is rated to tow more than 11,000+ lbs, and has a built in towing package, but it does not have the payload we had hoped at just over 1300+ lbs.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, towing capacity and payload are not the same.  Towing capacity refers to the amount you can pull, and payload is the amount the truck can carry, based on the maximum weight capacity that each point on the truck can bear (e.g. the axles, the tires, etc.).  This article explains it in a little more detail.  Managing payload is a moving target, depending on what you put in the truck, how many passengers you are carrying, where the weight is distributed in the trailer, what type of hitch you are using to tow, how much water you are carrying and in which tanks in the trailer, and so on and so on.  This has been a challenge for us from the beginning, but there was a third issue that we could not have foreseen that made our decision to let go of our truck more definitive.

On one of our test trips we realized along the journey that we had lost our brakes on the trailer…even though the brake controller for the trailer was plugged into the truck, the truck was no longer recognizing we had a trailer connected, so our brakes on the trailer weren’t working. 😲 We pulled over and were able to get them working again, and later on Matt discovered online that there was an Integrated Trailer Relay Module (ITRM) Refresh bulletin on the truck, so took it into the Ford dealership to get an update to hopefully resolve the issue.

When we finally hit the road full time on our way to Glacier and were headed into Kennewick, WA, we discovered we had lost our trailer brakes AGAIN, and yet the truck showed we had an active trailer connected.  By the time we realized we had no brakes, we were a few miles away from our destination, but were concerned about leaving the next day, given we would be dealing with quite a bit more elevation gain and loss on our journey.  Yet again, we looked online to troubleshoot the situation and discovered a 2021 Ford F150 forum discussing this very issue and numerous other customers experiencing the same issue.  At the time, there were about 4 pages of comments, which was already concerning.  😫

The next day before we planned to leave, Matt checked the brakes on the trailer by pulling the emergency brake, and they were working just fine. He also used a multimeter to test the conductivity of each connection point in the 7 pin brake controller cable to ensure there were no broken connections that we could trace to the brake controller cable itself, and that was working properly as well.  He pushed out the metal connection points in the 7 pin slightly to try and create more surface tension and ensure a more solid connection between the controller and the plug on the truck, and when tested, the brakes were working when we prepared to leave.  After this, we did not have any problems until our trip from Darby, MT to Mackay, ID.

Given the brake control issues we were having and discovering this has been a longstanding issue with Ford F150’s since 2015 that still has not been resolved and no known solution, we were concerned about whether we should keep the truck or get another one to ensure we could tow safely.  Our worst case scenario was going down a mountain pass and having no brakes on the trailer, thereby putting all of the braking capacity on the truck alone, which is a scary thought, as you can imagine.  

And that is exactly what happened next. 😱 I was driving over a pass along highway 93, and we had just started descending down a 6% grade when the truck notified us that the trailer was disconnected.  Thankfully, we had some sort of notification this time!  Had we not known the trailer was “disconnected” like the previous two times, who knows what would have happened.  I remained calm while Matt talked me through using the manual engine braking on the truck to slow the truck and save the stress on the brakes themselves.  We used the hazards since we were keeping the descent to no more than 35 miles per hour, and yet we had to wait at least 2-3 miles before we had a pullout we could utilize to pull over and see if we could regain our brake controller. 

After several attempts, we were able to regain the brake controller connection, but now the truck was telling us that we no longer had a right turn signal! 😡 It kept reminding us of this every time we braked, so we started searching for Ford dealerships to see if anyone could help us resolve this.  We arrived in Salmon, ID and pulled into their Ford dealership.  The man at the service desk said there were no appointments available for three weeks, and he mentioned that we may want to consider getting a different truck, because there was another pass we were going to encounter on our way to Mackay with an 8% grade and a hairpin turn at the bottom.

We did talk to their salesperson, but like most dealerships dealing with truck shortages, there wasn’t anything available for us to buy that would meet our towing needs.  So what next?  We did have rain the night before in Darby and some water had made its way into the brake controller 7 pin connection, so we got out the hair dryer to dry all connection points.  That seemed to resolve both the braking and turn signal issues, but we were nervous about going over yet another mountain pass under the circumstances. 

I’m not sure if the service guy was trying to scare us into an impulse buy, but there was no 8% grade pass…just a 3-4% grade pass that was totally doable, so it was certainly irritating to get such misinformation and solidified our wariness of auto dealerships. 🙄 We made it to Mackay safely and started calling more auto dealerships in the Idaho Falls and Pocatello areas to find out what trucks were available given the shortages we knew existed at virtually every dealership, no matter what make or model.  After learning about some potential options, we decided to press on and move closer to Idaho Falls so we could go truck shopping the next day without an additional three hour round trip from Mackay.  As we are now learning, you just have to keep pivoting!

The next day we test drove every new and used 3/4 ton and 1 ton truck of reasonable condition that could meet our towing, payload and general traveling needs.  Most 3/4 ton trucks were more than enough truck for us, so 1 ton trucks were obviously overkill.  Our goal was to balance our safety needs with ease of use and maneuverability.  The bigger the truck, the more sluggish it is, the harder it is to stop, to park, and to utilize for every day use as opposed to just towing.  Given we are towing much less often than we are driving for day to day activities without the trailer, that was important to us.  

After test driving all day, the first truck we drove, a Ram 2500, was the one we liked the best, but with the mega cab configuration, it wasn’t going to give us the additional payload we desired.  The salesman informed us that a Ram 2500 crew cab was coming in over the next week that could meet our payload needs and otherwise was identical to the truck we drove, so we requested that he call us as soon as it came in and allow us the first opportunity to purchase the truck.  

In the meantime, the 2021 Ford F150 forum had increased to 8 pages of comments and a new potential solve for the brake controller issue was posted, suggesting that putting the truck lights in the “ON” mode as opposed to the “Auto” mode could resolve the computer “glitch” of the truck no longer recognizing a trailer was attached.  If this all sounds absurd to you, welcome to the club! 🤨 But, given we knew we were about to head over two more significant mountain passes to reach our final destination of Dubois, WY, we were willing to give it a try.  Thus, we set out the next day to Dubois, and resolved to see how our existing truck would do over these mountain passes before making the decision to trade it in for the Ram 2500.

As an aside, because we are towing, we try to use both the Ford’s suggested towing routes and an app called RV Life to help map our routes, so we don’t end up on roads that are not suitable for us to drive on with our setup.  We also look at topo maps to get a sense of what sort of terrain we will be traveling over to further inform our routing decisions.  Well, nothing prepared us for what we were about to experience.  Unbeknownst to us, we were being routed over one of the most dangerous mountain passes: Teton Pass. This pass has a 10% grade in both directions and is not recommended for travel trailers. This was discovered en route, so there was no going back! 

Well, our Ford F150 did make it up the pass…barely! It also made it down the pass, but the experience solidified our resolve to buy a new truck, and here’s why.  At one point we used a pullout going down the pass to let traffic behind us pass, but while trying to wait in the pullout for traffic to clear, the truck brakes wouldn’t completely hold and we were still inching along! 😰 Thankfully, traffic passed in time for us to get back on the road and make it safely down the mountain, but that experience reinforced for us that this truck just wasn’t robust enough to tow our trailer.  We pulled over to let the brakes cool after we made it down the pass (yes, we used manual engine braking on the way down to its maximum), and when we tried to resume our travels, the truck notified us that Adaptive Cruise Control was not available because the brakes were still too hot. 😬 Yikes!  Granted, we would learn to route ourselves over less serious passes in future, this was still a wake up call to get ourselves a safer towing setup going forward.

We made it to Dubois!  And the next day we got the call that the truck we wanted to buy had arrived, so we turned right back around (without the trailer in tow) to Idaho Falls to make a deal and say goodbye to our Ford F150. All went smoothly, and now we have a Ram 2500 diesel truck.  We are sad to no longer have a built in generator and hybrid technology and other comforts of our Ford, but the Ram is also a very nice truck with almost all of the same amenities, much more significant towing capacity and payload, and we can also take advantage of exhaust or compression braking that the diesel affords us as an added security measure for braking on steeper grades.  Although we can never eliminate all of the stresses of towing travel days, purchasing this truck will certainly help us sleep a little more easily at night.  😴

Lessons Learned:

I know that was quite the saga, and the story is not over yet as we have not towed with the new truck, but we have learned some very important lessons already that we think are important to share with you if you are considering towing anything substantial.

1. Know your payload and towing capacity needs so that you are towing with a suitable vehicle.  Even though our 8500 lb rig was within the 11,000+ lb towing capacity of the Ford F150 and we could manage our payload within reason to remain within the truck’s limits, going over Teton Pass exemplified for us that this truck was still pushing the limits and likely not suitable for our needs.  If we were going to safely tow without an inordinate amount of stress, we needed to get a more powerful truck.  And, payload is the more important number to pay attention to as it will dictate your towing capabilities more than towing capacity.  Our new Ram 2500 has a 20,000+ lb towing capacity and over 2100 lbs of payload, so we are now well within the bounds of the truck’s towing capabilities and feel much more comfortable about our towing travel days going forward.
2. Research known towing issues on vehicles before you buy.  Although we love the 2021 Ford F150 hybrid for many reasons outside of towing, buying the “latest and greatest” was perhaps, in hindsight, not the best decision.  Had we waited even six months, we would have seen this 2021 Ford F150 forum pop up and would have likely gone in another direction.  Apparently, this issue has been an ongoing problem since 2015 that Ford has yet to resolve.  Having no trailer brakes is a very serious issue, and having maximum braking capacity is a major safety consideration that you should not ignore.
3. Research towing travel routes more thoroughly before you hit the road.  Yes, we have utilized every resource we know of to try and route ourselves as safely as possible to our destinations, but even those have not been sufficient, as we learned when being routed over Teton Pass.  Thanks to my great aunt Ruth who has been traveling on the road in an RV for decades with her husband, we have an amazing resource and wealth of knowledge with first hand experience with whom we can share our trials and tribulations and learn more along our journey.  She suggested this Mountain Pass Directory that provides detailed descriptions of each mountain pass in the western and eastern United States, including percentage grades and any pass restrictions based on weight or length of your rig.  Granted the app/interactive eBook for iOS is a bit clunky, it does work and we haven’t found another resource like this available on the market. If you know of additional resources like this, PLEASE respond in the comments and share, as I and likely my reading community would love to have as many resources as are possible.

Hopefully, our lessons learned will help prevent similar situations for you and give you a more solid foundation of safety from which to begin your travels.  We are sure these won’t be the last lessons we learn along the way, but it’s a start and well worth sharing so you can learn from us rather than having to experience these challenges yourself.  We wish you safe travels and will share more of the fun parts of our journey with you soon. ❤️

When we initially started planning our travels, we really wanted to go to Canada.  We knew we would be headed back to Portland in late September to celebrate and attend our friend’s wedding, so were trying to making a big loop, starting at Glacier National Park, going up through Canada, back down around the Cascades in WA and eventually back to OR.

When we heard that Canada was finally opening their borders, we were elated and started making plans, booking camp sites and trying to figure out our journey.  Their entry requirements seemed simple enough for us to meet: show proof of vaccination and a negative COVID test result.  OK, no problem!

It turns out that the COVID test has created a huge wrinkle for many people.  Canada requires a molecular test, and they want that result within 72 hours of your border crossing date.  Again, this didn’t seem like it would be a big deal, but we soon found out that there are two tests we could obtain, only one of which would guarantee the turn around time to meet Canada’s entry requirements.

The first is a PCR molecular test that is sent off to a lab.  Everywhere I called said they would NOT guarantee the 72 hour turnaround time needed, which meant we could only get the Rapid Diagnostic Test (ID Now) to meet the 72 hour requirement.  Well, here in Montana you cannot get that test.  The closest appointment I found for this test is over 440 miles away in Washington!  The second closest is over 520 miles away in Idaho!  When I looked up testing near Portland or Seattle, I ran into the same issue…no testing available.  Most places that offer the test are not releasing testing times more than 48 hours in advance, so trying to schedule out isn’t an option either. 😡

So, say you are one of the people that managed to get the test.  It turns out that you may have to pay for your COVID testing and it could cost you upwards of $200 per person.  Still itching to go to Canada?  Not only do you need to present a negative COVID test to enter Canada, but you need to get re-tested to re-enter the United States.  And again, there is no telling how much it would cost for a COVID test in Canada given you are not a Canadian citizen.  

After looking at these and other restrictions we may run into crossing the border, we decided it wasn’t worth it to try and go at this time until the US and Canada and get on the same page and make it easier and more affordable to meet the qualifications to travel to and from their respective countries. We tried, Canada.  Maybe next year…

So what does this mean for us?  Well, we extended our stay here at West Glacier for a few more days while we formulated a plan.  The biggest challenge has been finding a place to go where we can enjoy an extended stay, do a little backpacking, and not run into any major air quality or fire danger issues that are a concern up and down the west coast.  We landed on heading to Wyoming and enjoying the Grand Tetons and surrounding area.  Most of the RV parks nearby Grand Tetons are booked up for the season, but we found a place near Dubois, WY.  Funnily enough, our RV park neighbors also stayed there, which solidified our decision to book it and head south.  We had an opportunity back in 2017 to visit Grand Tetons, but it was just an overnight trip, so we have been itching to go back.  Stay tuned as we head out and explore this area. 🏔