Leaving Californy with a banjo on my knee
- Thread starter SoCalGlide
- Start date
Enjoy Yellowstone on your way through, watch out for the bodies.
OP
We made it to Virginia! 4 weeks on the road, visiting family and friends, then off to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Devils Tower, and more stops to visit family. The motorhome and Jeep performed flawlessly, except for one minor, easily fixed case of operator error. We stayed both in nice RV campgrounds with full hookups, and boondocked without any amenities when we were just making time. We were too busy to do a travelogue in real time, so I'll be making more posts of our trip with pictures.
Oh, and we made an offer on a house that was accepted, and closed while we on the road. Not exactly sight unseen, our daughter did a live video tour for us.
We've been here for almost 2 weeks now, and so far we're loving it.
Oh, and we made an offer on a house that was accepted, and closed while we on the road. Not exactly sight unseen, our daughter did a live video tour for us.
We've been here for almost 2 weeks now, and so far we're loving it.
OP
As if the packing, cleaning, and good-byes weren't enough stress, 3 days before we were to leave, the transfer switch on the motorhome decided to have a meltdown. Literally. Fortunately, Amazon to the rescue, with next day service, and the replacement only took about 20 minutes.
OP
We got a late start out of town on Sept. 8th, and made it as far as the north side of Bakersfield on our way to Mariposa to visit family and friends there. We spent the night boondocking in a dirt lot next to a Flying J travel center. A good buddy and fellow Dodger fan gave me a Vin Scully bobble head just before we left, so he pops up now and then on the trip.
No trip thru Central California is complete without a stop at Bravo Farms. Well, that's not really true, but we stopped.
OP
We made it up to Mariposa to my brother's place. He built his house in a beautiful place with the West Fork Chowchilla river running through it.
Yes, we were there Sept. 11th.
Yes, we were there Sept. 11th.
OP
We had to back track some, back down to Bakersfield, where Becky's cousin came to the rv park we were in. We may have drank a little too much that night. That ended up being a recurring theme on the trip, but we had fun. The next morning we were off to Pahrump, NV to see our niece and her new baby.
Our last stop in and glimpse of California:
Our last stop in and glimpse of California:
OP
Pahrump was fun, Becky likes the casinos, and Lakeside has a pretty nice rv park.
Vinnie showed up, wanted his own 805.
Vinnie showed up, wanted his own 805.
OP
After a couple of days in Pahrump, we took off on the tourist portion of our trip. The first stop was Skywalk, at Grand Canyon West on the Hualapai Reservation. I had my misgivings at first, thinking it was a bit gimmicky and expensive, but in the end I thought it was really cool. We were able to boondock on the reservation as well.
OP
The only RV park reservation we made ahead of time was for the Grizzly Yellowstone park in West Yellowstone, MT. We did this about 3 weeks before we left, and it was the last spot they had available. As far as getting a spot inside Yellowstone forget about it. We were only a quarter mile from the west entrance, so that was fine.
I'd ridden through part of Yellowstone in 2008 on my way to the Sturgis motorcycle rally, but had only seen a small part of it. We had 2 days, which is still not enough time, but we did hit some of the attractions. And Becky was very excited to see the buffalo.
We stopped along the Madison River for our first photo op. It soon became clear to us that if we stopped everywhere, we would never make it through the park.
Of course we had to go see Old Faithful, and we got pretty lucky. After some time finding a place to park, we made it to the boardwalk 5 minutes before the eruption, which averages 91 minutes between each one.
More sightseeing:
I'd ridden through part of Yellowstone in 2008 on my way to the Sturgis motorcycle rally, but had only seen a small part of it. We had 2 days, which is still not enough time, but we did hit some of the attractions. And Becky was very excited to see the buffalo.
We stopped along the Madison River for our first photo op. It soon became clear to us that if we stopped everywhere, we would never make it through the park.
Of course we had to go see Old Faithful, and we got pretty lucky. After some time finding a place to park, we made it to the boardwalk 5 minutes before the eruption, which averages 91 minutes between each one.
More sightseeing:
OP
OP
And then the buffalo. Yes, I know they're American Bison, but only uptight nerds don't call them buffalo.
Yes, this guy is doing exactly what you think he's doing.
Yes, this guy is doing exactly what you think he's doing.
OP
OP
The highlight of our 2nd day in Yellowstone was the Artists Paint Pots. Lots of different colors in the hot springs, along with bubbling mudpots.
OP
OP
OP
We then drove the rest of the north loop in Yellowstone. It's just so beautiful there, that it's almost overwhelming.
And more buffalo.
And more buffalo.
OP
We sadly left Yellowstone, but were already looking forward to our next destination, Devils Tower. We spent a night along the way at an RV park near where the Battle of Little Big Horn took place.
As I looked over the plains there, I was filled with wonder of the battle that took place there 150 years ago. It was pretty awesome.
As I looked over the plains there, I was filled with wonder of the battle that took place there 150 years ago. It was pretty awesome.
OP
We got to Devils Tower on Sept. 24th. We spent the next morning at Devils Tower, known as Bear Lodge to the Native American tribes of the area. It holds a significant religious and spiritual history to them. There were a lot prayer cloths tied to the tree branches. I did not take pictures of those, which the park service asked people not to do, out of respect. We hiked the entire circumference of the tower. After leaving the National Monument, we stopped and checked out a prairie dog town.
