Tag Archives: national parks

X-Country Drive

October Vacationing

Last year we found enough time to take two short vacations. The second one was in October which turned out to be a nice time to still enjoy the pleasant weather while avoiding the crowds.

Our itinerary was to visit our son and family in Reno, NV and then hop north to Grand Teton National Park and enjoy the outdoors. Our route to Reno was pretty straight forward – taking Interstate 80 for the first half of our trip.

Our home in Grand Rapids is a solid midwestern city. We’re used to the familiar surroundings – cities, farms and small factories. As we drove westward we could see changes to the scenery.

Black – Grand Rapids to Reno
Red – Reno to Grand Tetons to Grand Rapids
A noticeable change in scenery as we travel west . Here’s a feed lot in Ogallala, Nebraska
Wyoming is known for its oil production. This is the huge Sinclair refinery.
Captivating rock formations line Interstate 80 near Green River, Wyoming
We took this selfie at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
This downtown sign shouts to us as we arrive in Reno.
Tall trees characterize the Sierras close to Reno
A long coastline at King’s Beach along Lake Tahoe
A paddle boarder enjoys the cool waters of Lake Tahoe.
Posing at a pier.

Leaving Reno we head towards Grand Teton National Park. We backtrack on I-80 for a short distance and then cut through southeastern Idaho. It’s a 700 mile drive through some very unpopulated high desert terrain.

This encourages wildlife to crossing the highway using the bridge.
This is a solar farm in Rogerson, Idaho
The Snake River passing through Swan Valley, Idaho
We took in a colorful morning sunrise in Grand Teton National Park
We captured this bugling elk near Jackson Lake in the Tetons
This lady was taking a drink from the pond near the Park Headquarters
We took in a serene view of the Tetons at String Lake
We took a short hike along the Snake River at Schwabachers Landing
We spotted this bald eagle overlooking the waters at Colter Bay in the Tetons
The iconic archway was decorated for the Christmas season in Jackson

From Jackson we made our way back to Grand Rapids happy to have 10 days of relaxation and outdoor recreation in the west.

Written by:

Arnie Lee

Glacier NP


<br /> Ahead of the Snow<br />

To the Tall Mountains of Montana


After our cross country drive to visit family in Utah and Nevada, we took a long detour north to Montana.

We were excited to take a few days to explore Glacier National Park again. Here are just a few photos that we snapped on our short visit to the park.
 


 


 


 


 


 


Although we had only a few days to experience the mountain air at Glacier, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Montana’s big sky country.

 


Written by:

Arnie Lee

Road Trip

Loving Fall Travel

We’ve found that early fall is a good time for a vacation. Most of the summer road repair is completed, the places that we’ll visit are less crowded, gasoline prices have come down and lodging is less expensive. So it’s off we go.

We decided to skip the camping this year and instead enjoy the comfortable hotel beds at the stops along our planned itinerary. This trip is probably a 5000 mile journey, but I like driving and my wife Kris doesn’t mind filling in once in a while. She has plenty of books to read during the long hours in the car.

From our home in Grand Rapids we start with a long initial drive to Salt Lake City to visit our grandson in college. Next across the sparsely populated central Nevada to Mammoth Lakes and Yosemite to view its sweet valley and giant sequoias. It’s a short hop to Reno for a few days stay with family. Then it’s through the mountainous forest of Idaho and Montana to do some hiking in gorgeous Glacier. We’ll head south to northern Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley and then traverse the torturous Beartooth Hwy before the snow falls. Finally traveling east again we’ll hit Badlands and then head home again through South Dakota.

The car is filled with snacks and drinks for the long hours on the road. And as always I have my photo equipment ready to travel.

We’re going to place a few stickers on our car from our sister company StickItToYourCar.com

We’ll have some new photos from our travels here when we return.