Time 2 Xplore

My daughter (Micaela) and her fiancee (David) wanted some help moving from their apartment in Salt Lake City to a larger townhome. I took this opportunity to load up Bessie for a solo trip and do some long-desired mountain biking in Wyoming and hiking in the Grand Tetons. In total this was a 13-day trip (including 4 days in Salt Lake City) and 3517 miles.

Day 1: Boondocking in the Badlands

The goal of day 1 was to just get from the Twin Cities to the eastern edge of the Badlands. That drive along Hwy 90 in South Dakota is brutal, flat and quite boring. There are hardly even any trees … probably all harvested to construct all the Wall Drug billboards.

I boondocked at the Badlands Boondock Campspot off of Hwy 240 just south of Wall, SD. The site consists of a dirt road about 4 miles long with several designated sites spread out along the ridge. I think the sites have been temporarily moved to the opposite shoulder of the road from the ridge, so most of them are on a slope. The ridge provides a nice view of the Badlands. It was busy (lots of campers) but quite.

I did a quick 4-mile run along the road to counter a long day in the driver’s seat. Then kicked back with a teriaki chicken salad and a beer.

Day 2: Casper Mountain

Got an early start and meandered through the roadside views of the Badlands National Park. This did backtrack me a bit (oh good … another pass through Wall SD) but I did get some great views of the Badlands and a chance to visit the Minuteman Missile National Historical Site which was closed when I drove in. It was a quick but cool stop to learn about the nuclear arms race and see what life was like manning a missile site.

Then I was off to Casper WY and headed straight for Casper Mountain for a quick afternoon ride. I rode about 5 miles, mostly along Eadsville Trail. I intended to do more loops but took a few wrong turns which put me back to the van sooner than planned.

I HarvestHosted at Gruner Brothers Brewery in Casper. I enjoyed a burger and a local beer. While eating I met an adventurous couple from New Zealand on their 3-month annual RV tour of the US during their winter months back home. They were very pleasant to chat with as they shared some of their travel stories.

Days 3-5: Curt Dowdy State Park, Happy Jacked Bike Trails, and Frontier Days Rodeo in Cheyenne

Arrived at Curt Dowdy State Park just outside of Cheyenne on Thursday where I would camp for the next two nights. What an amazing state park, chock full of great mountain biking trails along two large reservoirs. I did a short 4-mile ride from my campsite at Crystal Lake Reservoir, but a quickly forming thunderstorm sent me back to camp. Once the storm passed I drove up to the main trailheads and biked Stone Temple with offshoots into the Curt Gowdy Gold Trails, well-built and challenging downhill flows over granite boulders. I must say, I toyed at the edge of what I was comfortable riding on my own … but it was absolutely thrilling!

The next morning I lost power in the van. Turned out to be a fried main switch. Fortunately it was easy to remove the switch and bypass it. After I restored the power I went for a peaceful morning kayak with our new Beyond Marina inflatable kayak. I spent an hour paddling around Middle Crow Creek where it feeds into the larger Granite Springs Reservoir. I had not used the kayak on my own before and was thrilled it only took about 5 minutes to put up and take down. After kayaking I drove to Happy Jack Trailhead and biked 16 miles along Happy Jacked, Aspen, Middle Aspen, Haunted Forest, and Crow Creek Loop trails. Again, amazing trails. I left so many trails behind that I must return to Cheyenne in the future!

That evening I drove into into Cheyenne and ate dinner at the Railspur. I met some travelers from Chicago and some locals in Cheyenne for Frontier Days. They convinced me to return on Saturday for the Cheyenne Rodeo, so I quickly snagged some tickets on StubHub. My only problem is hiking and biking clothes don’t prepare one well for a Rodeo??

Saturday morning I did an early 4-mile hike to Hidden Falls while most the park was still sleeping. Saw some mule deer bucks and picked a handful of raspberries. After hiking I parked at the visitor center to make breakfast and catch some cell service. A guy from Colorado pulled next to me where he was meeting some buddies for a weekend of biking. I overheard him tell his wife on the phone he was starving as he drove in right after his nighshift and did not find any decent breakfast along the way. I offered him a blueberry walnut pancake. He was so thankful. After breakfast I drove into Cheyenne for Frontier Days and the Rodeo.

After the Rodeo I drove to Rock Springs WY for the evening and camped on White Mountain Road, where there is dispersed camping on BLM lands in the mountains overlooking the town. A great quiet place to stop for the night.

Days 6-9: Salt Lake City with Micaela and David

Arrived in Salt Lake City on Sunday morning. Was able to have brunch with David’s parents, Amal and Basam, before their flights home. We went to Blues and Brews at Snowbasin Sunday nigh. Monday through Wednesday was hard core moving to get Micaela and David settled in to their new place. Thursday morning I hit the road for Jackson Hole.

Days 10-11: Jackson Hole and the Grand Tetons

Arrived in Jackson and hit up REI for some bear spray … turns out I really did not need it as Grizzly Bears have not been spotted around the hiking trails and Black Bears pretty much mind their own business. I HarvestHosted at the Jackson Hole Still Works, where I ate a take out dinner from Whole Foods while enjoying a Gin Sloshie. I also bought a bottle of their gin to take home.

Got up early to beat the crowds into Grand Tetons National Park. Took the first boat shuttle from Jenny Lake to hike Cascade Canyon. I ran into Matt from Florida and we convinced each other to add Paintbrush Canyon for a 20-mile loop. We even knocked out a few miles of trail running at the end. Every turn in the trail was an incredible view. About 16 miles in we finally saw a bear. He (or she) hung out about 20 yards off the trail happily munching on a berry bush.

Unfortunately when I got back to the van I found a screw embedded in my rear tire. I spent a couple exhausted hours putting my spare tire on, so I did not make it to my planned HarvestHost stop in Billings. I did make it to Cody where I hit up BLM lands just east of town off Greybill highway. It provided a much needed resting spot.

Days 12-13: Billings MT, Moon Lake ND, and Home

The final two days were just a push home. I stopped at Discount Tire in Billings MT where they repaired my tire and did a tire rotation for me with no charge! I was thrilled. I was in and out of there in about 40 minutes. I pushed as far as I could into North Dakota with a quick stop at Pompey’s Pillar National Monument. A short hike takes you to where Captain William Clark engraved his name and date (July 25, 1806) into the rock during his return trip from the Lewis and Clark expedition. I boondocked at Moon Lake Recreation Area about half-way between Bismark and Fargo. Then pushed home on Sunday.