There are three National Parks between Minnesota and Idaho. How do I know that? First, anyone could look that up – they have an app for that (wait, you don't have the National Parks app on your phone? Please fix that ASAP). However, my knowledge comes from the whirlwind trip out to Idaho Falls to trade in Tallulah, my 30 foot Class C for my new van, Romy.
Here are a few other interesting details about the trip:
It takes at least 20 hours to drive (by RV)
There are technically only two states between Minnesota and Idaho, they are just very long states
It's a little windy (okay, a lot windy)
“The World's Largest Buffalo” is located along the route.
The trip can realistically be done in 2 days by a single driver. I chose, however, to do it in 3 – or 2 sleeps.
Now that you have the basics, we'll get back to my main point: I was driving out to Idaho & back, passing by two of the most incredible National Parks, including one of the most famous (Yellowstone being the first and all), I wasn't going to not visit them.
Keep in mind, this trip was hatched a week in advance so absolutely no planning went into it, other than knowing where I was starting and were I was ending. I didn't even have a plan on where I was parking/sleeping at night. For being a planner, I was shockingly okay with that!
The Friday I headed out, I pretended to work before leaving with just enough time to get to Fargo before nightfall. Then, $600 in gas later, I arrived in Idaho Falls ready to trade in my RV. Don't get me wrong, I loved the RV but after 6 months not driving it around I was reminded how much work it was to do anything in it. I couldn't have been more excited to start a new adventure and experience “Van Life.”
Idaho Falls is a lovely little city and I am glad I got in early enough on Sunday to stretch my legs and explore while enjoying a truly beautiful evening.
On Monday, after an amazingly smooth trade-in, I headed out with the goal of reaching Jackson, Wyoming by nightfall. Following a little detour towards Jackson, Idaho thanks to my van's evil GPS (the curse continues), I found myself cresting a mountain just as the sun started to dip below the horizon. Gazing over the valley, after easily not only pulling into the pull-off but the mountain itself (tasks that would have been much harder in an RV), a feeling of peace about my decision to downsize settled over me.
After spending a quiet evening in town, I headed to Grand Teton's Visitor's Center to help plan out my time. As usual, the staff member was extremely helpful and I left with a great highlights tour for the next few days. With a quick stop to rent some bear spray (cuz I'd rather not be mauled by a bear), I was off on my first Van Life Adventure.
Grand Teton is incredible (full-stop). I paused innumerable times while hiking in the foothills, blown away by the astounding beauty surrounding me.
With only four days to explore both Grand Teton and Yellowstone I knew that I could only do a highlights tour of both parks. With only having touched on everything I could have done in Teton, I forced myself to head up to Yellowstone. While Yellowstone is one of the most popular National Parks, I was still surprised at how busy it was mid-week in mid-September. Once again, having a 20-foot van instead of a 30-foot RV made the experience smoother.
On my first day I headed to the “Yellowstone Grand Canyon.” Side note: the number of “Grand Canyon of ____" in the United States makes me laugh, I think this is at least the third one I've visited while living on the road. I hadn't heard of this section of Yellowstone before visiting, as the focus for the park seems to be more on the volcano’s main impact on the landscape, such as the geysers and colorful pools. I do not understand how people don't talk more about the canyon. It took my breath away (just so you know, this is a running theme of my trip). While there were some crazy steep trails to the best vantage points, the views never disappointed.
Day two in Yellowstone I viewed Old Faithful and the incredible hydrothermal features. More than once I felt I was in an alien landscape.
While a whirlwind, I’m so glad I took what time I could in Grand Teton and Yellowstone. But wait! I said I visited three National Parks, if you recall. Any guesses on the third? Of the 63 current National Parks, I certainly couldn't have named most of them before I started living on the road. Before my trip to Idaho, the one in North Dakota, Theodore Roosevelt, fell into the bucket of “never heard of.”
While not large or as in your face as the two parks I'd just explored, it was a wonderful park. With this in mind, I couldn't help rolling my eyes when I overheard someone complaining to a ranger that they didn't get to see the wild horses as “that's the only special thing about the park.” I have a hard time dealing with people who live comparatively, so this complaint really bothered me. While chatting with the ranger, she mentioned her favorite one-star reviews of the park included someone who thought there just weren't many trees (see my pictures to show why this is ridiculous) and another bemoaning that the rangers wouldn't let them pet the bison.
Personally, I loved how intimate the park felt and how accessible its highlights were to visitors.
Phew, that's a lot of parks in less than a week! In many ways it was a trial by fire for living and traveling in a much smaller space. So, what did I think?
No regrets. I'm so excited about all the doors van life will open for my next adventures.
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