Tag Archives: Idaho

View from the Driver’s Seat

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Six Days On The Road

 
Earlier this month I decided to visit a couple of my favorite parks. Since most of the roads out west had been cleared of snow my objective was to beat the crowds at the start of the busy vacation season. The plan was to see Spring arrive in both Grand Tetons and Yellowstone for a couple of days.

I loaded up the car with a small backpack of clothes, a heavy coat in case of cold weather, some of my camera gear and a bunch of snacks to eat along the way. I hit the road very early Sunday morning for a long day drive westward since my first stopover was Laramie about 1100 miles away.

This was my day-by-day itinerary:

  1. Grand Rapids to Laramie, Wyoming
  2. Laramie to Jackson, WY
  3. Jackson to Island Park, ID
  4. Island Park to Gillette, WY
  5. Gillette to Council Bluff, IA
  6. Council Bluffs to Grand Rapids

On this short six day schedule I was able to spend two days each in the Tetons and Yellowstone. As a bonus, on the way back home I spent a few hours at Devil’s Tower National Monument and Badlands National Park.

Along our amazing interstate highway system and rural roads is great scenery, famous landmarks and amazing structures. The views from the journey across the midsection of our country is just as exciting for me as the national parks themselves.

On this long drive I decided to document the 3800 mile trip. These photos are presented in roughly the same order as my travels. I haven’t included any photos of the Tetons and Yellowstone – I’ll save them for another article.


an electrical generating station near Annawan, IL

Rock Island, IL bridge crossing the Mississippi River to Iowa

the huge
World’s Biggest Truckstop in Walcott, IA

newly plowed field in central Iowa

wind generator farm near Lincoln, NE

an irrigator at Grand Island, NE

novel advertisement for Paulsen Cement near North Platte, NE

large feed lot in Ogallala, NE

semi hauling PVC piping near Sidney, NE

a Lincoln monument at Laramie, WY rest area

a small herd of antelope near Arlington, WY

bridge crossing North Platte River in Ft Steele, WY

speed limit sign near Walcott, WY

large refinery in Sinclair, WY

rock formations near Table Rock, WY

small rural town – Eden, Wyoming

animal safety overpass near Daniel, WY

resort cabins in Bondurant, WY

a selfie at elk arches in Jackson, WY

a view of the Tetons from the west in Victor, ID

the Yellowstone River near Emigrant, MT

a small refinery in Billings, MT

a semi hauling logs near Garyowen, MT

electrical power station in Gillette, WY

freight train traveling near Sundance, WY

low clouds over the Devil’s Tower National Monument

walkway to viewing area in the Badlands

one of the bighorn sheep in the Badlands

bridge crossing the Missouri River at Chamberlin, SD

beautiful Native American statue at rest area in Chamberlin, SD

utensils for dinner in Sioux City, IA

final mileage for this six day cross-country drive

 

 
After having driven 3800 miles, I made it back home late Friday night.

While I enjoyed my time in the Tetons and Yellowstone, I also enjoyed the road trip as well.
 
 
Written by Arnie Lee
 
 

Road Trip – Part 2

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I’m on a cross country trip from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Reno, Nevada to deliver an older conversion van for my son and daughter-in-law to use as a “camper”.

Normally, this is a 2000-mile drive on Interstate 80, but I modified the route slightly to visit the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Here’s the path.

In Road Trip – Part 1 I described the itinerary from Grand Rapids to the Tetons.

Here I’ll fill you in on the remainder of the journey from the Tetons to Yellowstone National Park. During the next 30 hours, I took in a lot of scenics – so hang on for a fast ride!

As I was driving north of the Lake area, I spotted this elk grazing in a heavily wooded area.
West of Canyon, I found this coyote crossing a wide open field.

The next morning I awoke early enough to see the sunrise along the Madison River.
I arrived at the Hayden Valley to find the mist hanging above the Yellowstone River.

Still early, I watched this White American Pelican fishing for his morning meal.
From this overlook you can see the Yellowstone River winding its way through the Hayden Valley.

A glance upwards and I see this small flock of geese flying towards the river.
Heading north at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone are the powerful Lower Falls.

Onward to the Lamar Valley in the north end of Yellowstone. Here is an osprey searching for prey on the tall hill below.
A short distance away I run into a sizeable herd of hungry bison casually grazing in the field adjacent to the road.

This bison was resting comfortably nearby.

Why did the bison cross the road?
My last stop on my whirlwind visit to Yellowstone is at the Norris Geyser Basin for a hike through the amazing moonlike terrain.

Steamboat Geyer. That evening, it errupted – the first time in 2 years. I just missed it.
Here’s a colorful mud pot sending steam and gurgling noise into the air.

Can you can see how the Emerald Pool gets its name?
This view shows the vast extent of Yellowstone’s thermal areas.

Vixen Geyser

Watch the Vixen Geyser in action

After my hike through the geyser basin I make my way over to the van, set my bearings to leave the park through West Yellowstone, MT and follow the Snake River in Idaho for a while until passing through the high plains of Nevada to Reno.

Making this stop off at these two national parks is undoubtedly a very enjoyable way to turn a long distance vehicle delivery road trip into a mini-vacation.
 
 
Written by: Arnie Lee