7:45a. Moraine Campground. Rocky Mountain National Park
Today we are driving from Rocky Mountain National Park to the Madison Campground in Yellowstone Park. It's over 500 miles, and Google Maps says it should take about 10 hours of travel time.I have one goal today, and that it to be at our campground BEFORE DARK. The last thing I want to do after a long day on the road is set up tents in the dark. But we're getting out of here pretty early, and it doesn't really get dark until 9:30, giving us almost 14 hours to play with. I feel relatively good about our chances.
8:15a. Sheep Meadow.
Sheep Meadow is NOT on our way. But the rangers said that Big Horned Sheep like to visit at this time of day, and we would REALLY like to see some sheep, so we figured we'd add 30 minutes to our journey and swing by the meadow.Unfortunately: no luck. I don't know if the sheep have a work-from-home schedule on Fridays or what, but the meadow is conspicuously empty of sheep. We loaf here for 10 minutes to give them a shot, but then it's time to go. I still feel pretty good about our chances of making it to our campsite before dark.
8:30a. Estes Park.
I had hoped to drive-through the Estes Park McDonalds and grab a coffee, but the drive-through line is twenty cars deep. I don't have time for that. I say to my wife, "Let's just get on the road and go to the next fast-food place. There's always one just around the corner."10:30a. Fort Collins, CO.
We didn't pass another fast-food restaurant for two hours.As soon as you leave Estes Park on Route 34, you find yourself in Big Thompson Canyon. The key features of this canyon are steep sloping mountain walls, a beautiful river, an engineering marvel of a roadway, and ABSOLUTELY NO PLACE TO GET A COFFEE. Not even a Sheetz!
Eventually, we found ourselves in Fort Collins, where a quick stop at Burger King provided me with the caffeine I needed for our journey north.
1:30p. Rawlins, WY.
Lunch time. I dropped the family off at McDonalds while I gassed up the van.Rejoining them at McDonalds, I ordered a small coffee to keep the caffeine levels up. The cashier rang me up: "Eighty cents, please."
"That's a surprisingly small amount for a cup of coffee," I thought, handing her a dollar. She handed me my change and the receipt. I looked at receipt and noticed that she had GIVEN ME THE SENIOR DISCOUNT WITHOUT EVEN ASKING MY AGE. Apparently three nights of camping has aged me terribly. For crying out loud.
 |
| Does this look like the face of a man who has earned a Senior Coffee? |
1:45p. In the Big White Van making decisions. Rawlins, WY
Google Maps is telling me that driving north on 287 will get us to our campground around 7:00p, giving us plenty of time to set up camp while the sun is still shining.HOWEVER -- we could also choose to go west on I-80, then take 191 into Yellowstone. This will also take us through Grand Tetons National Park, which has been highly recommended by everyone who has ever seen it. The downside: this will add at least an hour, and maybe two, to our journey.
I think you can see where this is going. We head west on I-80.
4:00p. Somewhere in Wyoming
Here's something I knew about Wyoming: that many roads have speed limits of 75 or 80mph.Here's something I didn't know about Wyoming: some of these roads are not divided highways, but just simple two-lane roads. In other words, much of this drive features tractor trailers barrelling straight in my direction at 80mph, with nothing preventing a head-on collision except a painted yellow line on the road.
I knew this vacation would be an exciting adventure, but I had no idea how much of the excitement (read: anxiety) would come during the on-the-road portions of the trip.
7:00p. Jackson Hole
Our new route has taken us through the towns of Jackson and Jackson Hole. It looks like Happy Hour is in full effect in Jackson Hole. We drive through the town square, where the bars and restaurants are overflowing with people. A party-vibe is in the air. It takes all of my concentration to keep the van moving through town and not stop and order some pitchers. I make a mental note that if I ever become a rich West-coast businessman, I'm planning a vacation to Jackson Hole. In the meantime, I keep the van moving. There's still a shot we can make it to our campsite before dark.8:00p. Grand Tetons National Park
Everyone was right. Grand Teton Nation Park is beautiful. We aren't doing anything more than driving through, but it's a majestic and amazing sight.At one point, someone in the van thought they had spotted a moose hundreds of yards away in a field. We pull over to the side of the road and try to use our binoculars and zoom lenses to confirm it's a moose. When all is said and done, we've wasted 45 minutes not looking at a moose.
 |
| A rare photograph of the elusive matriarch |
 |
| A Grand Teton? |
 |
| This is not a moose |
 |
| The teenagers checking out the Tetons |
 |
| More Tetons |
 |
| Why is everything on this trip so dangerous? |
9:00. South Entrance to Yellowstone Park
We've made it! We are in Yellowstone Park! It's 9:00pm and still a decent amount of sunlight! Now all we have to do is make it to our campsite. It can't be that much further. |
| Or, it could be 55 more miles |
10:00. Madison Campsite. Yellowstone Park
So apparently Yellowstone Park is enormous. It takes almost an hour to get from the south entrance to our campsite.We are now setting up our tent in the dark. The family at the next campsite is literally pointing at us and laughing.
11:00p. Madison Campsite. Yellowstone Park
We got the larger tent set up. It's going to be too much aggravation to set up two tents, so all eight of us squeeze into one.We saw some amazing scenery today, along with a cool-looking party town for rich people, and even an elk masquerading as a moose. I got twenty cents off a cup of coffee. And despite the annoyance of setting up camp in the dark, I'm excited that we've made it to the centerpiece of our trip: Yellowstone. Eager to see what the next five days will bring.
Travel Summary
- States Visited: CO, WY
- Miles Traveled today: 611.8
- Total Miles traveled: 2,419.4
- Travel Time today: 15 hours
