Wild-West Road-Trip: Rocky Mountain National Park

A stop for lunch with some bikers and a troop of troopers followed by one of our most scenic campsites to date. This is why I'll miss traveling in the RV.

A hike around Jenny Lake, a change of plans, and a sunset wildlife tour make for some good times in Grand Teton National Park.

Usually, these driving days are packed with things to do, but nothing to see. We typically wake up and prepare the RV to roll out to the next spot. Today was different because Grand Teton National Park is adjacent to Yellowstone on the southern border. We had a little time to spend in Yellowstone on the way because we couldn’t check into our new campsite until four o’clock.

Yellowstone Day Three

Dear Yellowstone, your life would be just fine without me. You don't need us, and you’d sleep better at night if we weren't around. These trails that cut across your mountain tops, these roads that we’ve carved into your valleys, and these bridges that span your waterways are selfish attempts for us to hold on to you. We’ve scarred you and caused you harm, but we love you and somehow you’ve tolerated our presence. You’re beautiful, and we’re so grateful that you keep us around.

Love, Wayne

Yellowstone, Day Two

As we’re nearing the last week of our trip, it seems that I’m feeling pulled in two directions. The way home is pretty clear and I’m almost ready to return and be in a place that I know. On the other hand, the wilderness continues to draw me in with a strong sense of wanderlust.

Yellowstone I

There is so much to see and do here at Yellowstone National Park. There are geysers, hot springs, rivers, lakes, meadows, bison, bear, waterfowl, elk, and even more than I can list at the moment.

More after the jump!

To stay awake and focused on the road, I listen to some great music. Take a look and see what's on my favorite driving playlist!

So, we went rafting... with the kids. Nobody fell out, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. At several points, I honestly considered throwing all of the kids overboard, lol. Adelyn must have felt the same frustration with her sunglasses because she decided to leave them at the bottom of the river. Oh well...

As it was told to me, there were two lovers who lived on opposite sides of the lake. Their tribes were not amicable toward one another and people from both shores were forbidden from speaking to each other. It happened early one morning that a warrior from one of the villages saw a beautiful woman swimming from the other shore swimming to a small island in the middle of the lake. Enamored with her beauty, the warrior swam toward the island to meet her...

There's so much more to see, and from so many other places around this park. I wonder if anyone could ever see the whole thing, but I'm sure it would never lose its lustre.

Eighteen hours of driving in two days... It didn't feel like a lot when we were on the road, but I am definitely feeling it now. Our campsite at Glacier National is beautiful, though, and I have no doubt that the experience will be worth the effort.

For me, there’s one feature that stands out above the rest. It’s blue. It’s bluer than any other blue I’ve ever seen with my own eyes. It’s so blue, some people may have trouble believing that I did not boost the saturation in these images. I can’t even imagine a bluer blue. It’s as if I had no idea what it was until I saw this blue.

Sometimes I wonder what it takes to leave a mark on the world. None of us will live forever, and frankly, I wouldn’t want that. But nature provides examples to show us what works. Think about all the canyons I’ve posted about over the last several weeks. Canyons are carved out by rivers over thousands of years. What begins as a trickle in the mountains builds momentum and washes away everything that isn’t stable enough to withstand the forces of erosion. All the silt and debris is removed. Even the living things die and their bodies are added to the list of things that cannot last.

Redding? Yes... though this is just a stop to break up an eight or nine our drive. I thought I'd take the opportunity to give you a video tour of the RV interior. Since I finally have enough internet to upload the clip I made a week ago, now's as good a time as any.

Some days, you just crawl along and hope you get a better chance. I’m not complaining, really. It’s just part of the way life works. I spent most of the day driving and waiting in line to find a parking space large enough to fit the RV at Yosemite while Jen stayed at the campsite to do laundry. I had a few things that I really wanted to get done, and one thing that was really necessary.

Our second day in Yosemite left me wanting more wild places. We were about as close as I've ever been to one of my favorite sections of wilderness and one day, maybe I'll get the chance to take the next step.

There’s a moment in a relationship when you know if it’s going to happen. That moment comes when you realize that it’s inevitable. You can try to stop it, but you know that if you don’t push through all the uncertainty, all the what-ifs, all the reasons why it might not work, that you’ll regret not having been more determined. Something clicks and you’re smitten. You know without a doubt that you’re in love.

Out in the middle of nowhere is a beautiful place to be. The complete lack of internet is a bummer, but the beauty is that I got six whole hours of sleep;)

When I was first learning how to photograph, I'd leave the house and spend a few hours photographing the outdoors in my hometown. After I returned, Jen would look through my pictures to see how I was doing. On more than one occasion, sh e'd say, "Why are you only photographing trees?" My response was that they don't move and I know what they're supposed to look like.

Long story short, all that practice photographing trees finally paid off today at Sequoia National Park as I photographed the tallest trees I'd ever seen, including the world's largest living thing!

Another long travel day ends with a dip in one of three rivers and making s'mores!

Mormon settlers claimed that the tree, silhouetted by the bright hot sun, resembled the likeness of Joshua leading God's people to the promised land with outstretched arms. I can't decide if that's the scorching hot sun driving them mad, or if that extra morsel of iconic faith gave them the will to keep moving. Either way, this land is one of the most intriguing places I've ever been, and under that dry and scalding surface, life finds a way to press forward, just like those early Mormon settlers.

Another travel day is logged in the books. Can we keep up this energy, and can we keep pushing toward each destination with the same kind of fervor with which we began? Time will tell, but this one is going to end well.

It’s the edge, that line between what you know and what you don’t. That boundary can be hard to see, but you feel it in your chest the closer you are. Evan asked me just the other day, “why do we even need fear?” This is why, I think. Because being fearless can lead to recklessness. Recklessness will have you over the edge before you even have time to realize what’s happening.

I truly love travel days. I love the anticipation of what we might see next and the time we spend on the road. Today, we crossed into Arizona and saw the Glen Canyon Dam on the way to The Grand Canyon. Nothing compares to seeing this for the first time. I'll talk about why on the other side of this link.

A ranger-guided tour, some California Condors, more beer tasting, a dip in the freezing river, and a good hike to the Emerald Pools with my boys, and a half-dozen deer on the front lawn! What else could anyone need on such a great day?

Our first day actually exploring the park was fantastic! We saw a few sights, I got my feet wet, snd the wildlife didn't seem to mind us getting close:)

On travel days, we all have to do our part to make sure that the camp is clean, organized, and ready for the road. Today, that meant washing dishes and getting the kids on board for some activities so Jen could do some laundry. I know it’s not glorious, but the logistics involved in keeping this machine moving are fairly involved.

I’m going to say that Bryce Canyon was a little disappointing. It’s still a beautiful place, and we still enjoyed seeing the things that we could see, but I think there were several factors that made it difficult for us to love it the same way that we loved Arches and Canyonlands.

What an amazing day of travel and fun! The highlight of my day was photographing the fireworks with Evan. Click through the link to see the whole day's happenings:)

We packed so much adventure into one day, it's hard to narrow it down to just the best moments. One thing is for sure: this view never gets old!

Our first excursion into a national park with the RV included hiking to the Delicate Arch, plenty of water, and getting covered in that beautiful red-rock dust.

Three-hundred and fifty-ish miles is what we did today, but we're at our first campsite for a few days and I'm thrilled with the way this has started.

This blog post is all about day two from our trip and it's a general overview of the RV exterior.

How do you pack a camera bag for five weeks? My plan was to take everything, lol.