#vanlife; Idaho, Wyoming & Montana

{idaho}

I crossed the state line into Idaho and stopped off at the un-manned tourist info centre with very limited attractions to promote.  There was one brochure for some hot springs, so I headed off in that direction only to discover that they have very limited operating hours and were closed.  Most of my drive was spent passing by potato fields or cows..

Welcome to Idaho!

Instead of a soak in the hot springs I settled for a walk around Idaho Falls, which is kind of a side-ways falls in the middle of a river.  It was very great place to go for a walk before I finished the last hour of my drive to Victor.  The last few minutes of my drive wound through the national forest, which had more deer than I could count!  I was glad they all remained unattached to my van.

Idaho Falls

So many deers...

My arrival in Victor was also the arrival of the rain, which would follow me for the next several days.    I spent the night with Dana at her gorgeous log cabin home, featuring a tap for hot-tea-temperature water on demand.. kind of amazing.

{wyoming}

We got ourselves going at a reasonable hour the next morning to spend the day exploring Grand Teton National Park.  We had high hopes that it wouldn't be raining on the other side of the mountain pass, but it was, and continued to rain all day long.

After a brief stop at the visitor centre (stalling & hoping the rain would stop) we drove through the park to Jenny Lake, and braved the rain to go explore anyway.  We took the ferry boat across the lake (we were the only passengers), and then hiked up to hidden falls (they are actually hidden, I had to cross the fence and be *gasp* illegal to actually see them).  When we were done our hike we got the ferry boat back across the lake, then headed into Jackson Hole for a hot lunch!

Ferry ride across Jenny Lake

Lots of snow along the pathway to Hidden Falls

Hidden Falls

We decided on an Indian restaurant for lunch, which was quite effective in getting us warmed up.  After our lunch we went to a cafe, which was delicious but didn't have any seating, so we tried another cafe and spent our afternoon there.

Under the Antler Arch; Jackson Hole, WY

When the cafe closed, we shifted ourselves over to whole grocers for some dinner and another hour of relaxing, before heading south of town to the evening bible study.

I had a camp spot picked out which sounded amazing - up a dirt road with incredible mountain views - but with all the rain I decided not to take the risk of getting stuck.  Dana kindly advised that the hospital staff parking would be a safe place to stay if I was discreet, so I found my way there for a quiet night.

The next morning I headed north again through Grand Teton, hoping for a glimpse of the Teton's.  It was still raining and cloudy, but I did get a couple quick glances through gaps in the clouds.   I continued north through the park until I excited Grand Teton and entered Yellowstone!

Playing peek-a-boo with the Teton's

I had a bit of a drive through the south end of the park, which still had a lot of snow, before I got up to the main loop and headed over to Old Faithful.  I arrived about half an hour before the estimated eruption, so it was perfect timing to have a look through the visitors centre and then go wait!  It ended up being about 15 minutes later than the estimated time, but it was worth waiting for.  One of the other nearby geysers erupted while we were waiting, then the old faithful eruption lasted for a few minutes and let out a lot of water & steam!

Old Faithful Geyser; Yellowstone National Park

None of the other geysers were predicted to erupt until the evening, so I decided to carry on and check out some of the hot springs and mud pots in the area.  There were quite a lot to see and thankfully the rain stopped for a while so that I was able to enjoy exploring them along the boardwalks.  Some of them were quite crowded, which was unfortunate, but the landscape was incredible so I did my best just to focus on that!

Turquoise Hot Spring

Hot spring pool

Small geyser

My last stop for the day was to see the 'Grand Canyon of Yellowstone', but through the rain I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked.  I had a brief look and decided to come back in the morning.  I spent my evening at Canyon Village, where they have a nice lounge area next to a fireplace and some good food options.  I got several chapters of my book read, until it was a struggle to keep my eyes open.  I pulled my van around the corner to the hotel parking lot and had a fantastic sleep, this time without the interruption of hotel security!

Grand canyon of Yellowstone

The next morning I woke up, listened, and didn't hear rain!  I very excitedly looked outside, only to discover that I couldn't even see across the parking lot it was so foggy.. I had some breakfast and headed back to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone lookout anyway.  I somehow hoped that it would be less foggy there, but it wasn't.

Foggy roads in Canyon Village

I continued my loop through Yellowstone, heading towards Mammoth Springs with the hope of seeing some wildlife along the way.  I wasn't disappointed and got to see several bison, elk and a bear!  Some of the bison were closer to the road than others, but a couple were grazing right beside the road so I got to have a good look!

Bison grazing in Yellowstone

I continued up to Mammoth, where I went for a walk around and the hot spring terrace, then continued on, past the elk crossing the road, out the north park exit.

Mammoth hot spring terrace

Mammoth Hot Spring

{montana}

As I exited the park, I entered Montana and the town of Gardiner.  It is undeniably a tourist town, but it has lots of cute little shops and was a great place to re-enter society.

From Gardiner I drove north to Chico hot springs, where I spent the afternoon pool-side.  I had trouble processing that I'd spent the morning in the fog, wearing lots of layers & standing next to snowbanks that were above my head.  Remove the elevation from the equation and suddenly it was a pleasant spring day, warm enough for sun tanning and eating ice cream next to the hot springs!

Chico Hot Springs

After a relaxing afternoon, I continued north to Bozeman to stock up on some american essentials before crossing the border.. essentials being guacamole, dark-choc covered cherries & a spare pair of my favourite sandals!

Stocked up and eager to get a little further north, I continued on for a couple more hours to Helena for the night there.

Montana countryside

The next morning I continued north through a couple more small towns towards Sweetgrass, where I crossed the border painlessly without many questions at all... and just like that, I was in Alberta!  It was a couple more hours before I got to Lethbridge, where I spotted a Tim Hortons next to a Canadian Tire, across the street from a PetroCan... then, I knew I was home :)

Back to Canada!

J.