Greetings from Alturas, California! The motel is cheap and the smoke is thick, but we made it out the door and our Summer Adventures are well underway.
I started this trip with every intention of updating (nearly) daily as we progressed from park to park, but good intentions are no match for the poor quality of data signals in the backcountry. I still intend to write my journal pages and post them eventually, but for the sake of getting SOMETHING posted before we get home again, I’ll start with a nice, speedy summary. We’re spending the next few nights in hotels instead of tents, so I’ll get some better updates (and loads more photos) posted soon!
(PS: follow @Snukes on Twitter for more regular mini-updates!)
Day 1: We planned to leave at 9am, and rolled out of town right on time at 11am. This brought us to Agate Fossil Beds National Monument in Nebraska by early afternoon. The fossils at Agate are monsters, especially compared to some of the dainty little fossils we saw at Florissant Fossil Beds.
We did a short hike to visit the Daemonelix (“devil’s corkscrew”) fossils, then high-tailed it away in time to arrive at Scott’s Bluff National Monument before the Visitor’s Center closed (gotta get my stamps, you know.) Turns out you can drive to the tops of the bluffs, which provided a phenomenal view. It’s easy to understand why this was an important stop along the Oregon Trail.
Having totally failed to spot any wagon tracks from the top of the bluffs, we headed east in search of some serious ruts. We found not just ruts but graves and broken-down wagons. We did not find dysentery.
After a stop for the night in Cheyenne, we headed much farther east to arrive at Fossil Butte National Monument in southern Wyoming. Now we’ve run the gamut of fossils from insects to monsters to many MANY fishes.
Is this a fish fossil? Still nope.
Next stop: Grand Teton National Park. We arrived with a half-baked scheme to do a four-night camping trip in the backcountry. With the very patient help of the ranger on permit duty, we managed to snag one of the last three sites available that night and work out an itinerary that took us along most of the Teton Crest Trail. This hike was phenomenal, and will 100% rate its own, more detailed post, but for the moment please enjoy a few of Dustin’s gorgeous photos.
After four nights in a tent, arriving at the home of my amazing Godparents was a double treat. Their shower was nearly as amazing as their hospitality. We got to float down the Teton River, laugh at singing cowboys, and have fascinating conversations with fascinating people.
Onward, then, to Craters of the Moon National Monument! When I learned how few permits are requested to camp in the wilderness here, I immediately put camping on the agenda. Armed with our rare permit and serious sun protection, we started by visiting all the cinder cones and half of the caves before heading into the wilderness around 6:30 as the temperature finally started to fall. We camped INSIDE a volcano crater, which is possibly the coolest thing I can say I’ve ever done.
To cap off that essentially perfect park visit, we got the last-minute chance to stay with family friends, making for a much more enjoyable evening than we’d’ve had in whatever tiny motel we’d have found instead. A sleep in the softest bed I’ve ever met set us up perfectly for the next phase of our trip, which brought us this evening to the northernmost corner of California. Tomorrow we begin our week of visits in the California parks.
Thither & Yon 