Category: Airstream Travel

Back to Aaron, the Airstream, and Yellowstone!

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I flew back to Bozeman, Montana, and got settled back into the camper with Aaron and the dog, Murphy. We had a few days before it was time for us to head further west. We had a sweet doe visit us. She was shy for the first picture, then she came out from behind the tree.

We only had a few days left in Montana, and Aaron had to work them all. So, I decided to take a day and drive around Yellowstone National Park one more time. I had hopes of catching some wildlife photos. The best times for viewing animals there are at dawn and at dusk. I woke up super early, made a coffee to go, and was in the truck driving into the park by 5:00 a.m.

The sunrise was beautiful, and I saw my first bison of the day.

The morning was looking promising! As I was driving, I saw a coyote jogging down the side of the road. Between my surprise, my excitement, and the pace of the coyote’s jog, I could not catch a great photo. I did the best I could from the driver’s side window.

Even though it was past Labor Day, the park was still very crowded. I could not get to the most popular spots due to the lack of available parking and the size of our truck. But I still really enjoyed the day. Driving through Lamar Valley, I saw some cars parked on the side of the road and people with their cameras and tripods set up to take pictures. That is always a sign that something cool is out there. I pulled over, grabbed my camera, and tried to find what they were looking at. There was a herd of pronghorn antelope way off in the distance. Even with my strongest telephoto lens, the pictures I took were not great. They were beautiful to watch.

One guarantee when visiting Yellowstone is bison. They are everywhere, all the time.

After the pronghorn herd and the buffalo, I was able to catch a mated pair of ospreys near their nest. Again, the distance made for less-than-desirable photos, but I was able to at least capture them. One is sitting atop the nest, the other lower on the tree.

The rest of my day was spent looking for wildlife, and I did not really find much. There are bears, moose, elk, eagles, wolves, and many other types of animals there, but they were not where I was this time around. I did see a duck and a a few birds, and some people fly fishing.

Yellowstone is never disappointing, the landscapes are beautiful and dramatic. There are gravel roads to explore, and many majestic sights.

Even though I could not reach the main part of Mammoth Springs, I was able to drive to the top and take pictures of the backside and the calcium deposits made by the springs.

I really missed having Aaron with me while I drove through the park. It is easier for one person to drive and the other to spot animals, places to stop, spots to park, and, most importantly, someone to share the experience. I did not see all that I wanted, but it was still an excellent way to spend the day.

I made it back to our campsite in time for dinner. It was good to be back. In a few weeks, Aaron needed to be in Fremont, California. We planned our route, packed it up, and headed west. Our next stop was Massacre Rocks State Park in Idaho. My post next week will have lots of pictures and a little history about this campground that sits on part of the historical Oregon Trail.

Welcome to Idaho

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Aaron, Murphy, and I headed north from Utah Lake State Park into Idaho. Our destination was Castle Rocks State Park. We were excited! This park had great hiking trails, biking trails, and really cool granite rock formations. This was our first time camping in Idaho, and we were looking forward to experiencing a new state, new geography, and new experiences.

Unfortunately, we arrived during peak wildfire season. There were fires in California, Utah, Idaho, and other states. The views were very hazy, and sometimes, we could not see anything but smoke in the distance. We knew there were mountains around, but we just were not able to see them very well. This picture was of one of the clearer days.

The second morning we were there, Aaron was on a work meeting, I had just woken up, and Murphy was really ready to go outside. I hurriedly slipped on my shoes put the leash on the dog, and stepped out of the door. I did not remember that when we had leveled the camper the day before, we added a temporary third step because that side of the camper was quite high. I missed the improvised step, twisted my ankle and hit the ground pretty hard. So much for enjoying the hiking and biking trails, now I was nursing a sprained ankle.

Hopefully we can visit this state park again and actually enjoy what it has to offer. The only photos I was able to get were from the truck as we were leaving and heading to our next campground a bit further north in eastern Idaho.

Next Stop…Juniper Campground

Juniper Campground was very aptly named. There were juniper trees everywhere. We had a one week stay planned at this county run campground. I was starting week two of the ankle injury and was spending almost all of my time in the camper with my foot elevated trying to use it as little as possible. I needed it to heal! I have a cruise to Alaska with my mom, my older brother, and my sister-in-law coming up in a few weeks. So minimal walking and weight bearing was my plan.

Murphy kept me company for most of the week while I was nursing and babying the ankle.

We had only planned on staying for a week, and then we had planned on spending two weeks in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. About mid-week, Aaron found out he needed to take a three day trip to Dallas, Texas for work. Since Juniper was close to Idaho Falls regional airport, we decided it would be better to stay there for a second week. We looked, and the campsite we were at was not available for the next week, so we drove around the campground looking for other available sites. They had two loops of sites that were first come first serve only. We spotted a couple that we really liked and decided that on moving day, we would claim one of them.

Shortest moving day we have ever had! The site was better than the one we had the week before. We were closer to the Snake River, had more room for the dog to play, and more privacy. My ankle was healing some, and I started to slowly walk on it a bit more each day.

While Aaron was gone, the dog and I took short walks exploring the cliff overlooking the river. It was good to get my ankle moving, and the pup needed to run and sniff and explore. The pup and I found an almost complete deer skeleton. The skull was missing. We saw a partial rainbow during a sunrise on a stormy morning. We really had some beautiful views!

Murphy also found out that he really like playing in sprinklers! There were two of them in front of our camper, and when they came on he would run back and forth between them playing in the streams of water.

Aaron got back from Dallas, and we enjoyed the rest of the week at Juniper Campground.

Our two week, two campsite stay at Juniper came to an end. We assured the camp host that we would return, and headed northeast into the Caribou-Targhee National Forest.

Into Utah

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We continued north after leaving the Grand Canyon. We stopped in Kanab, Utah for gas and lunch, and this car just caught my eye. We had an overnight stay planned at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, and after filling the truck and ourselves we headed there.

This was a great campground, and an overnight stay was probably not enough. They offer ATV and UTV guided tours of the dunes. The scenery was outstanding. My pictures of the dunes do not do the size of them justice.

In the following picture, you can judge the size a little bit by looking at the tiny dots that are people walking on the dunes.

The colors were beautiful, we enjoyed our stay, but we needed to keep moving north. Aaron had a flight out of Salt Lake City coming up, so we need to get closer to the city. Our next stop was Soldier Creek Campground on the Strawberry Reservoir.

About ten minutes after we got on the highway, we were stopped due to a head-on collision on a curve on the mountain road. It was a stark reminder to be cautious and careful as we pull our home behind us. We saw two Life Flight helicopters land, load the crash victims, and take off again. Those pilots were incredible.

After the people were taken care of and the crash scene was cleared, we mindfully continued to Soldier Creek Campground. It was still a desert environment, but with a large body of water. I think all three of us were happy to see a body of water again.

There were boats out fishing every day. Murphy got to swim every day. Every day there were prairie dogs running all over the place. Murphy really wanted to catch one, but those guys were just to fast and had too many hiding places for him to succeed. For that, I am grateful, even if the dog is not. I was really thrilled to catch these two pictures!

Murphy and I held down the fort (Airstream) while Aaron had to go out of town for work for a few days. We spent the time walking down to Murphy’s swimming spot and just enjoying the water and the boat watching. The water was cool and so clear, until the dog got in and it clouded it up.

I saw some beautiful flowers, and even a thistle bloom with a bee, a ladybug, and two other bugs that I do not know what they are. One of my favorite things I love to spot is the moon in the sky during the day. I got to see that as well. The skies looked like rain quite a few times, but we never did get any rain while we were there.

On Friday, the dog and I headed to the airport to pick up Aaron. When we got back, it was time for me to pack my bags. I had a flight out of Salt Lake City to go visit my family in Iowa again. Aaron had a solo moving day coming up, and I had family time. I packed my bags, got the Airstream as ready as I could to make Aaron’s moving day easier on him.

Aaron and I said another “see you later” at the airport. He headed towards Utah Lake State Park in Provo, Utah; I headed east to Iowa.

Lola, Kaibab National Forest, and The Grand Canyon

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We said goodbye to Lost Dutchman State Park and headed closer to Phoenix. Gage was flying out to Florida to spend the week of the 4th of July with our other two kids, Mason and Jenna, and I was going to dog sit Lola and house sit for Gage. Aaron dropped me off, and he headed back to Pinal Park to battle the desert heat with Murphy while enjoyed the air-condition and sweet Lola. She was very excited to see me again so soon. Lola and I had a nice quiet week. Aaron and Murphy enjoyed having the entire campground to themselves, except for the bees. Aaron learned that bees in the desert are highly attracted to water. Every time he ran the AC, the bees would flock to the condensation run-off. He battled them, battled keeping them out of the camper, and trying his best to not harm them at the same time.

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He bought some mesh material (like mosquito netting) and covered the AC unit to keep them from getting inside the camper. This is a screen shot from the video he sent me of them swarming the AC unit trying to get in.

Besides the bees, we had a quiet week. Gage came home, we had a quick visit, and then it was time for us to head north. We had one more stop in Arizona, the Grand Canyon. We found a great spot about five miles from the south rim entrance in the Kaibab National Forest. It was at a nice elevation, the temperatures were cooler, relatively anyway.

We were ;lucky to have the area to ourselves. We could tell that it was used quite often for camping and hunting. Murphy kept jumping at a tree trunk, and I could not figure out why until I looked up. There was the bottom part of an elk’s leg up in the branches. After exploring, we found more elk leg pieces, but no other part of the elk. Our best guess is that hunters dressed the kills, and left the legs. We also found a memorial bird house in one of the trees.

We were hoping to see some deer, elk, and other wild life while we spent the week here, but we only had one wild animal visit us, and it was most unexpected. I took Aaron to Flagstaff so he could catch a flight for an overnight trip to California. As soon as we left, our security cameras went off. There was motion all around the camper. It was a wild horse. We figured it would be gone by the time I got back, but nope, it was waiting for me and Murphy.

She was beautiful. Murphy was not happy about her invading his space, but she seemed not to care about his barking. I got him in the camper, and then took some pictures from the safety of just inside the door. I did not want to go one on one with a wild horse. She hung around the camper for another half an hour before she wandered off.

I picked Aaron up the next day, and we spent a few more quiet days before it was time to head north into Utah. Our route took us directly through the Grand Canyon National Park. Once again our National Park Pass (this year’s pass was the perfect Christmas gift from my mom) paid for itself.

Here are some photos of our stops around the south rim of the Grand Canyon. There was a smokey haze, so the views were partially obstructed. But is was breath taking and majestic regardless.

On the picture above, you can see just a bit of the Colorado River, which is what formed this beautiful place over millions and millions of years.

After a few hours spent admiring this natural wonder, we started into southern Utah. The Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park was our next destination, and hopefully our last desert camp site for a while. I am sure we will be revisiting Arizona in the cooler weather months. So, it is not a good bye to Arizona, but a fond farewell and a promise to return.

Down Into the Desert Valley

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It was time to say goodbye to the cool mountain weather and head to Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction, just outside of Arizona. The landscape on the drive down into the desert valley was dramatic and stunning.

Less than a mile from Lost Dutchman State Park when we had to stop. A wild fire had just started and it was going from the park, across the road, and growing. The highway was closed, fire trucks were racing to the fire, and all we could do was watch. After about 20 minutes, we had to turn around. Unsure where we were going, or if we needed to find another place to park our home for the night, we headed down to a tourist mining camp type place to see if the fire was going to spread, and if the highway was going to open back up.

We were sitting in the camper looking for options to camp for the night when a fireman knocked on the door and told us they were evacuating the area. So, we closed it up, jumped in the truck and found a safer area to regroup and figure out our next steps. Last year we had stayed at a campground about an hour south, we looked and there were plenty of spots available, so we booked a site and headed south. Aaron had plans to stay there in about a week’s time anyway, so we figured one more night there would not hurt. On the way, we stopped and grabbed a pizza and had a dinner pizza picnic in the truck before we settled in for the night. It way to hot to eat in the closed camper, or outside.

On our way to Pinal Park, we got a call from Lost Dutchman. The park was not badly damaged and would reopen to campers the next day. That was great news! We got ourselves parked, cooled off the camper, and prepared ourselves for moving day two.

We finally made it to Lost Dutchman! This park sits at the base of the Superstition Mountains where it is said that a very rich gold mine, The Lost Dutchman, is supposed to be. According to legend, Jakob Waltz, a German immigrant found the mine in the 19th century and kept the location a secret. No one has found the gold mine, and according to legend, it has been searched for since at least 1892. Aaron and I had no plans to search for the mine in the desert, in the summer. We were just happy to have water and electric hookups, and a place to park our camper. It is a beautiful park with tons of hiking available, and we would love to go back and explore when the temps are below 100+ degrees.

We celebrated Aaron’s birthday while we were there with dinner out with our oldest son, Gage. He lives about 30 minutes from the park, and drove over to Apache Junction to meet us to celebrate another year of Aaron. They both hate having their picture taken, so this was the best I could get.

After five days at the park, it was time to pack it up again. Aaron was going back to Pinal Park for a week, and I was headed to Gage’s place to take care of Lola and house-sit so he could spend the 4th of July week in Florida with our other two kids, Mason and Jenna.

We both hope that we will return to Lost Dutchman again.