With everything fixed, we were free to explore wherever our hearts desired. We thought we’d spend some time in Twin Falls, ID, and headed that direction. First stop, Eddie World in Yermo, CA. This gas station just off the 15 between Southern California and Las Vegas has multiple food choices and more snacks than I have ever seen in a travel stop. We’d passed by many times but never stopped. So glad we added it to our list this trip. Next stop, Seven Magic Mountains in Jean, NV. Fun fact: M’s middle name is Jean. Seven Magic Mountains is an art installation created by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone. The exhibition opened in 2016 and has been more popular than imagined. On our way from Seven Magic Mountains to the Bonneville Salts Flats, we saw a sign for Great Basin National Park. We decided to execute a drive-by visit since we had the dog.
We found a spot to eat inside a casino in Ely, NV (pronounced ee-lee by the locals). There was a parking spot large enough for us, so we parked and went in. While waiting for our dinner, I was looking on their website, and it said they had an RV park. When Tom inquired at the front desk, the woman had no idea what he was talking about. She did tell him that we were welcome to park in the back lot, where we were parked. After a good night of sleep, we woke up and set off for Great Basin National Park. As we were driving along the road to the entrance, I swore my mind was seeing things when I saw a leg sticking out of the dirt. When we saw fence poles with clothes, I knew my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me. After being treated to an unexpected art show the locals created along their fences, we made it into Great Basin National Park.
We drove the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive without hiking. We had the dog, and National Parks are not very dog friendly. After our scenic drive, we went back to Ely, hooked the car back up, and headed to the KOA in West Wendover, NV. After getting settled in, we searched for food. West Wendover is not a child-friendly city. The restaurants are in casinos, and children are not allowed. We went to the Bonneville Salt Flats at sunset. Being on the Salt Flats is like being in another world. The salt changes from location to location. In some places, it’s like sand; in others, it’s hard as a rock. We woke up for sunrise at the Salt Flats, then went after 10 PM when it was pitch black out in the middle of nowhere. At one point, we had our car up to 115 MPH before Tom slowed down. After having a couple days of fun in the Salt Flats, we moved on. Craters of the Moon National Monument had never been on our radar before, but when we saw it, we knew we had to go. We decided to drive through Twin Falls and onto Picabo, ID, to stay at the Picabo Angler RV Park. On our way, we stopped for breakfast in a great restaurant, Bella’s Restaurant & Espresso in Wells, NV. While there, another RV family came in and asked the server about the Salt Flats because it was on the husband’s bucket list. The server talked about how boring it was and not worth the trip. After she walked away, we told them they should do it because we didn’t grow up there like the server did, and we went 3 times in 48 hours or less.
On Tuesday, June 22nd, we explored Craters of the Moon National Monument and were awed by the landscape. We went from one other-worldly landscape to another. Have you ever stopped and just marveled at how amazeballs Mother Earth is? Within 1 day of driving, we went from the Salt Flats to hardened lava covering the Earth. A beautiful lake on one side and blackened lava fields on the other. Wednesday, we went early to get our pass to explore the lava tube caves, then we went back home to work and school before actually exploring the caves. You must obtain a pass, and to receive a pass, you must not have worn anything you are wearing in any other caves. White Nose Disease is a disease carried by bats. It causes them to wake up from hibernation early, burn too many calories, and die. There has never been a case of this in Craters, and they would like to keep it that way. According to the ranger, this disease can live on clothing and shoes for 15 years. One woman in the group trying to receive a pass could not obtain one because she had worn her shoes underground and didn’t have another pair to change into.
Liv was the most excited to start exploring underground, and Craters of the Moon quickly became her favorite National Park/Monument. There are 4 caves to explore, and we explored all 4. Boy Scout was Liv’s favorite while Beauty was my favorite. It was my first time in a cave, and it was a super cool experience that I am thrilled we experienced. On June 24th, it was time to move on. We had reservations at Flaming Gorge for June 27th, which gave us 3 nights on the road. We left Picabo and started down the road with a plan to overnight near Montpelier, ID. While driving, I found Bear Lake on the map, and it wasn’t too far off our path. Away we went. We unhooked the car and went searching for a spot of BLM land we could boondock on. We found one and set up camp, then went out to explore. We found Rainbow Cove campground and went in to see what it was like. There, we found one last campsite that could have fit 5 or 6 of our RVs. We paid for the site, left the girls and the dog, and went to get our home. We spent the next 3 nights on the shore of Bear Lake, the Caribbean of the Rockies.
Bear Lake was amazing. It was hard to leave after 3 nights, but we had more Earth to explore and reservations to keep. Away to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, we drove. Our campsite there was not on the water, but it was close. A short hike down a trail that ran next to our camp. Monday, June 28th, we rented a party boat and floated on Flaming Gorge Lake for the day. M and Tom braved the cold mountain water and jumped off the back of the boat. Had it been a hot, sunny day, the water would have felt good. We got a cloudy, overcast day that was kind of chilly. We saw a mama bighorn sheep with two babies, a great blue heron, and an osprey. Flaming Gorge is enormous, and we barely explored any of it. You could spend weeks traveling up and down the lake and still not see all of it.
Leaving Flaming Gorge, I made a Harvest Host reservation at El Rancho Brewing in Evergreen, CO. Our first and only experience. We invited the adult children, their girlfriends, and another friend out for dinner at the restaurant. We pulled into the parking lot, checked in, then went inside to enjoy an ice-cold beer. A friend met us, then the adult children showed up, and we sat down to dinner for 8. It was a strange experience, and we have no reason to ever go back. The parking lot was quiet, and we got a good night’s sleep before getting up early to wash laundry and get on the road. After completing our laundry, we headed for the Royal Gorge/Canon City KOA. We dumped our tanks, filled our water, and went to the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park the next day. The Royal Gorge is the most dog-friendly park we have visited. We took Coco everywhere with us, including the gondola. By the time she made it back to the coach, she was barely moving. For the next three days, she only walked in circles to the left. When we left the Royal Gorge, we had to find somewhere to live. We parked the RV on the side of the road in Lake George, CO, and went searching down the dirt forest roads. We found the perfect spot and went back for the RV.
We spent the 4th of July weekend, and my 42nd birthday, boondocking in the National Forest near Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. On July 3rd, we started exploring Florissant Fossil Beds, but in true Colorado fashion, an afternoon storm rolled in and canceled our plans. We went back on the 4th and were able to hike for a while. We were sitting atop a hill, on a bench, watching lightning and a storm rolling in when we decided to head back to safety. Florissant Fossil Beds was a fun learning experience. Like, who knew there were giant redwoods in Colorado at one time? My favorite was the sign that put the Earth’s timeline into 1 year because that is a time frame we can understand. January 1st was the beginning of the Earth, and we came into the picture at 5 minutes to midnight on December 31st. Crazy when you think about it like that. On Tuesday, July 6th, we headed back to Oceanside for our monthly commitment.
We arrived in Oceanside and parked at our friend’s house, then met him for breakfast. When we got back to our home to go check-in, it wouldn’t start. We called a tow truck and had it towed to Oceanside Truck, where they discovered we had 4 – 8-volt batteries running a 12-volt system. Or not running the system as the case may be. We had a couple of other things done and booked a room at Harry Belafonte Spa & Resort in Escondido. The vibe was weird, then we met our friend, and he told us about an article he read about it being a rehab that got in trouble and is now a hotel. The room was decent, the pool was relaxing, and nothing terrible happened. Overall it was just weird, without being able to pinpoint what exactly was strange. It was a vibe.
We got our home back, and off we went.
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