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Sunday, September 30, 2018

Utah or Bust: Bear Lake to Grand Tetons

Utah Road Trip Diaries: Day 16 was a good day to sleep in if you were Jack and Daniel. Isaac was up at 6am, so I was semi up with him. I kept him distracted with snacks and legos, and finally my phone. Everyone finally got up around 9. It had been 36 during the night so we started looking into what temps might be in Wyoming. Colder it would seem. We weren’t sure if our rig could handle freezing temps and boondocking was looking like less of a good option. We came up with a plan and left Bear Lake after lunch. Bear Lake is an impressive aqua blue color due to calcium carbonate in the water. The kids both managed to get wet (not soaked) and thankfully we were able to dry out their clothes in the sun. We finally headed north and were surprised to see cowboys herding cattle down the middle of Hwy 89 shortly after we crossed into Idaho. I guess that is just a normal day in these parts. It took about 3.5 hours to get to Jackson. We decided to camp in Gros Ventre National Park Campground since its elevation was similar to Bear Lake and we are hoping it doesn’t freeze. Our campsite is in view of the Grand Tetons. Over the weekend we plan to stay at our campground and drive to explore the Tetons and also on up to Yellowstone. We have now visited 10 states on our trip. 

 
Trip Stats 
Camping Locations:
Pickwick Landing State Park in Tenn. 
Gore Landing City Park in Okla.
Wallydocking in Guymon, OK (FREE)
Family Base Camp in Alamosa, Colo. 
Mesa Verde RV Resort in Mancos, Colo.
Sand Flats Recreation Area outside of Moab, Utah
Upper Big Bed Overflow on the Colorado River outside of Moab, Utah (FREE)
Boondocking on BLM land outside of Goblin Valley State Park, Utah (FREE)
Singletree Campground in Dixie National Forest in Utah
Hyrum Lake State Park outside of Logan, Utah
Big Creek Campground in Bear Lake State Park, Utah
Gros Ventre National Park Campground, Grand Tetons, Wyoming
 
States Covered: 
TN > GA > AL > MS > TN > MS > TN > AR > OK > NM > CO > UT > WY
Significant Stops: 
Black Mesa in OK (highest point)
Mesa Verde National Park in CO
Wilson Arch in UT
Sand Flats Recreation Area and the West Rim of the Porcupine Trail in UT
Arches National Park in UT
Goblin Valley State Park in UT
Capitol Reef National Park in UT
Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in UT
Bryce Canyon National Park in UT
Hyrum Lake State Park in UT
Ogden Dinosaur Park in UT
Logan Canyon in UT
Canyon Trail in Logan, UT
Bear Lake State Park, UT
Grand Tetons, WY

Daily Miles Traveled: 
227 miles ⎮ 445 miles ⎮ 403 miles ⎮ 325 miles ⎮ 191 miles ⎮ 125 miles ⎮ 14 miles ⎮ 106 miles ⎮ 88 miles ⎮ 101 miles ⎮ 345 miles ⎮ 50 miles ⎮ 160 miles
TOTAL Miles Traveled: 2,460 miles
Days on the Road: 16

Previous Trip Posts:

Utah or Bust: Mesa Verde 
Utah or Bust: Moab Part 1 (Sand Flats Recreation Area and Mountain Biking the West Rim of the Porcupine Trail) 
Utah or Bust: Moab Part 2 (Arches National Park) 
Utah or Bust: Goblin Valley
Utah or Bust: Capitol Reef

Utah or Bust: Grand Staircase and Bryce Canyon 

Utah or Bust: Hyrum Lake near Logan, Utah 

Utah or Bust: Chilling at Hyrum Lake 

Utah or Bust: Ogden Dinosaur Park

Utah or Bust: Last Days in Logan

 

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Thursday, September 27, 2018

Utah or Bust: Last Days in Logan

Utah Road Trip Diaries: Day 14 and we are officially at the two week mark. The kids were up late last night so we had a low key day around the camper with coffee, school, and swimming. Daniel got off at 4:30, so we picked him up and went biking. This time on the Canyon Trail in Logan. This trail was a hybrid of greenway, dirt single track and gravel. Logan, UT is not flat. We started by the river with plans to go up to the university (UTU) to get ice cream from Aggies (engineered on campus as part of their Ag program). The bike ride included a lot of hills and Daniel telling me at least three times that we only had another mile (most of it uphill). The kids were good sports, even when Jack got a flat and had to finish the ride that way. We celebrated the end of our five mile ride with ice cream. Then Daniel rode quickly back to get the car. We ended up having another late meal and exhausted kids. 

Utah Road Trip Diaries: Day 15 marked Daniel’s last day of training and our last day in Logan/Hyrum. The kids and I did another day of errands including laundry, groceries and we hit up two playgrounds. Back at the camper we packed up before picking Daniel up. We grabbed CFA on the way out of town. We are headed toward the Grand Tetons but decided to take the scenic route via Logan Canyon up to Bear Lake. It was a gorgeous drive with very rugged scenery that was different from southern Utah. We are camping at the southern tip of Bear Lake tonight. It is cold but pristine and beautiful. The kids (bundled in hats, gloves and puffy vests) and Sophie had a ball running on the beach before bed. We continue to love finding places that are off the beaten path and empty due to the off season.

Trip Stats 
Camping Locations:
Pickwick Landing State Park in Tenn. 
Gore Landing City Park in Okla.
Wallydocking in Guymon, OK (FREE)
Family Base Camp in Alamosa, Colo. 
Mesa Verde RV Resort in Mancos, Colo.
Sand Flats Recreation Area outside of Moab, Utah
Upper Big Bed Overflow on the Colorado River outside of Moab, Utah (FREE)
Boondocking on BLM land outside of Goblin Valley State Park, Utah (FREE)
Singletree Campground in Dixie National Forest in Utah
Hyrum Lake State Park outside of Logan, Utah
 
States Covered: 
TN > GA > AL > MS > TN > MS > TN > AR > OK > NM > CO > UT
Significant Stops: 
Black Mesa in OK (highest point)
Mesa Verde National Park in CO
Wilson Arch in UT
Sand Flats Recreation Area and the West Rim of the Porcupine Trail in UT
Arches National Park in UT
Goblin Valley State Park in UT
Capitol Reef National Park in UT
Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in UT
Bryce Canyon National Park in UT
Hyrum Lake State Park in UT
Ogden Dinosaur Park in UT
Logan Canyon in UT
Canyon Trail in Logan, UT

Daily Miles Traveled: 
227 miles ⎮ 445 miles ⎮ 403 miles ⎮ 325 miles ⎮ 191 miles ⎮ 125 miles ⎮ 14 miles ⎮ 106 miles ⎮ 88 miles ⎮ 101 miles ⎮ 345 miles
TOTAL Miles Traveled: 2,250 miles
Days on the Road: 15

Previous Trip Posts:

Utah or Bust: Mesa Verde 
Utah or Bust: Moab Part 1 (Sand Flats Recreation Area and Mountain Biking the West Rim of the Porcupine Trail) 
Utah or Bust: Moab Part 2 (Arches National Park) 
Utah or Bust: Goblin Valley
Utah or Bust: Capitol Reef

Utah or Bust: Grand Staircase and Bryce Canyon 

Utah or Bust: Hyrum Lake near Logan, Utah 

Utah or Bust: Chilling at Hyrum Lake 

Utah or Bust: Ogden Dinosaur Park

 

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Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Utah or Bust: Ogden Dinosaur Park

Utah Road Trip Diaries: Day 13 started with dropping Daniel at his training and the morning coffee for me while the kids rode bikes in their pjs. We read a few books on dinosaurs before heading to to Dinosaur Park in Ogden. It was a very age appropriate park for my kids but I probably wouldn’t take order kids here (better to go to SLC to the Natural History Museum). We spent most of the afternoon at the park bc the lock on the camper broke and I didn’t know how to get back in. Daniel later reminded me we could have gotten in through the toy hauler door. Instead we had a late lunch at McDs so the kids could play inside until we picked D up at 4:30. We wanted to mountain bike but the camper lock had to be taken apart first. By 6pm we were headed up to Blacksmith Canyon to look for a recommended mountain bike trail. We found a herd of free range cows first. We finally got on our trail but it proved to be too advanced for taking kids. Mostly uphill, rocky, narrow, and loose dusty dirt. We cut the ride short and the boys had fun riding down the gravel road after the cows. The cows turned out to be a highlight! We had a late dinner of grilled burgers at the campsite and the guys tried to light a campfire. The wind was against us though and our super dry wood refused to ignite.

 
Trip Stats 
Camping Locations:
Pickwick Landing State Park in Tenn. 
Gore Landing City Park in Okla.
Wallydocking in Guymon, OK (FREE)
Family Base Camp in Alamosa, Colo. 
Mesa Verde RV Resort in Mancos, Colo.
Sand Flats Recreation Area outside of Moab, Utah
Upper Big Bed Overflow on the Colorado River outside of Moab, Utah (FREE)
Boondocking on BLM land outside of Goblin Valley State Park, Utah (FREE)
Singletree Campground in Dixie National Forest in Utah
Hyrum Lake State Park outside of Logan, Utah
 
States Covered: 
TN > GA > AL > MS > TN > MS > TN > AR > OK > NM > CO > UT
Significant Stops: 
Black Mesa in OK (highest point)
Mesa Verde National Park in CO
Wilson Arch in UT
Sand Flats Recreation Area and the West Rim of the Porcupine Trail in UT
Arches National Park in UT
Goblin Valley State Park in UT
Capitol Reef National Park in UT
Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in UT
Bryce Canyon National Park in UT
Hyrum Lake State Park in UT
Ogden Dinosaur Park in UT
Logan Canyon in UT 

Daily Miles Traveled: 
227 miles ⎮ 445 miles ⎮ 403 miles ⎮ 325 miles ⎮ 191 miles ⎮ 125 miles ⎮ 14 miles ⎮ 106 miles ⎮ 88 miles ⎮ 101 miles ⎮ 345 miles
TOTAL Miles Traveled: 2,250 miles
Days on the Road: 13

Previous Trip Posts:

Utah or Bust: Mesa Verde 
Utah or Bust: Moab Part 1 (Sand Flats Recreation Area and Mountain Biking the West Rim of the Porcupine Trail) 
Utah or Bust: Moab Part 2 (Arches National Park) 
Utah or Bust: Goblin Valley
Utah or Bust: Capitol Reef

Utah or Bust: Grand Staircase and Bryce Canyon 

Utah or Bust: Hyrum Lake near Logan, Utah 

Utah or Bust: Chilling at Hyrum Lake

 

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Monday, September 24, 2018

Utah or Bust: Chilling at Hyrum Lake

Utah Road Trip Diaries: Day 12 felt more like a day we might have at home. We dropped Daniel off at his training and then did a Starbucks run and the kids had their first laundromat experience. They kept busy watching the machines and playing legos. When our laundry was clean and folded we headed over to Walmart to get groceries. There is something comforting about being in a different city but not feeling disoriented because I at least know the layout of the grocery store. We came back to the campground to put things away, have lunch and do a little bit of schooling at the table. We moved outside to play and met our neighbors for the week. I got some ideas for field trips while we are here. The kids asked to go down to the lake, so we did. The boys made a raft with pieces of driftwood they found along the shore, then we headed back to Logan to check out a local playground called Adventureland before picking Daniel up. We grabbed dinner in town at Cafe Rio then back to our home sweet camper. This was our most normal day to date.  

 

Trip Stats 
Camping Locations:
Pickwick Landing State Park in Tenn. 
Gore Landing City Park in Okla.
Wallydocking in Guymon, OK (FREE)
Family Base Camp in Alamosa, Colo. 
Mesa Verde RV Resort in Mancos, Colo.
Sand Flats Recreation Area outside of Moab, Utah
Upper Big Bed Overflow on the Colorado River outside of Moab, Utah (FREE)
Boondocking on BLM land outside of Goblin Valley State Park, Utah (FREE)
Singletree Campground in Dixie National Forest in Utah
Hyrum Lake State Park outside of Logan, Utah
 
States Covered: 
TN > GA > AL > MS > TN > MS > TN > AR > OK > NM > CO > UT
Significant Stops: 
Black Mesa in OK (highest point)
Mesa Verde National Park in CO
Wilson Arch in UT
Sand Flats Recreation Area and the West Rim of the Porcupine Trail in UT
Arches National Park in UT
Goblin Valley State Park in UT
Capitol Reef National Park in UT
Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in UT
Bryce Canyon National Park in UT
Hyrum Lake State Park
Daily Miles Traveled: 
227 miles ⎮ 445 miles ⎮ 403 miles ⎮ 325 miles ⎮ 191 miles ⎮ 125 miles ⎮ 14 miles ⎮ 106 miles ⎮ 88 miles ⎮ 101 miles ⎮ 345 miles
TOTAL Miles Traveled: 2,250 miles
Days on the Road: 12

Previous Trip Posts:

Utah or Bust: Mesa Verde 
Utah or Bust: Moab Part 1 (Sand Flats Recreation Area and Mountain Biking the West Rim of the Porcupine Trail) 
Utah or Bust: Moab Part 2 (Arches National Park) 
Utah or Bust: Goblin Valley
Utah or Bust: Capitol Reef

Utah or Bust: Grand Staircase and Bryce Canyon 

Utah or Bust: Hyrum Lake near Logan, Utah

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