July 2020
We always thought we would visit more of the national parks in the U.S. — some day. Covid-19 travel restrictions grounded us at home beginning in March of 2020, and we decided this summer would be a good time to act on our vague plan. We already had an invitation from our friends in Montana, so it was easy to pick which parks to visit: Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Glacier. I had been to the first two 30 years or so ago, but Pat had not. We could just drive there. It should be simple and easy, right?
It ended up being a 20-night trip covering almost 5,000 miles. We drove mostly in sparsely populated areas with open roads under big skies. The feeling of liberation was sweet after being cooped up for a few months. But it was a lot of driving! And we were hitting the peak tourist season in this part of the country, and that meant high prices for lodgings. This domestic road trip cost as much or more than our other trips in more exotic places around the globe which involved flying, $3,000. This is after taking into consideration free nights and meals at friends’ houses. So was it worth it? Of course!
Day 1: L.A. to Truckee; 7 hours of driving (487 miles) on I-5 and I-80. Staying with friends in Truckee (population: 16,400), just north of Lake Tahoe.
Day 2: relaxing in Truckee
Day 3: 4.5 hour drive (320 miles) to Elko, Nevada. Stayed at Ramada Inn ($76 with free full breakfast) On the way there, we stopped at a Costco Gas in Reno to fill up. Later we found out that Costco Gas was not all that much cheaper than regular gas stations in Nevada/Idaho/Montana.
Day 4: decided to check out Craters of the Moon National Monument on the way to Idaho Falls. 4 hours (254 miles) on US-93 to the park. Stopped in Shoshone (ID) for lunch. After the park, continued on for 90 minutes (86 miles) on US-20 to Idaho Falls & checked into the Airbnb room ($90) we had rented for the night.
Day 5: 2 hours (112 miles) to Grand Teton National Park. Drove around the park following the map provided at the entrance to the park. Drove 40 minutes (30 miles) to Victor, Idaho, (population: 2,200) & checked into an Airbnb apartment ($120)
Day 6: 2 hours (105 miles) to the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Drove around the southern half of the park covering the Old Faithful, West Thumb, Hayden Valley (wild animal viewing area). The NP had only 50% of usual summer crowd due to the pandemic, but, still, we had a hard time finding a parking spot at the major attractions.
Met up with friends at a KOA Camp ground in West Yellowstone & spent the night in a basic log cabin ($150) with shared bathrooms in the compound.
Day 7: Our friends led us through southwestern Montana along the western edges of Yellowstone park on US-20 up to Bozeman, then, turned southwest toward Ennis (population: 849) passing the historical Bozeman Trail. A quick whiskey tasting at Willie’s Distillery in Ennis, had lunch in town, and drove west to Virginia City (population: 207). A night at Bonanza Inn ($90).
Day 8: Drove back up to Bozeman, an attractive college (Montana State University) town of 46,000 people, had lunch, then drove east on I-90 to Billings where our friends lived. Billings is the largest city in Montana with population of 110,000.
Day 9: Drove a little over an hour to Red Lodge (population: 2,200) & had lunch. Continued driving on Beartooth Highway for another hour or so to reach Beartooth Pass Summit. This is another way to approach Yellowstone NP, but, we turned around to return to Billings.
Day 10: Chilled out in Billings. Had lunch at a hipster bar/restaurant in downtown.
Day 11: Drove northwest toward Helena (240 miles). First stop was our favorite in Montana, Two Dot, population 67. Two Dot Bar had the best grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever had!
Next stop was Bair Family Museum in Martinsdale. An interesting family history reveals a part of the American adventure in the vast open space in Montana. We arrived in Helena in time for a BBQ dinner at a friend’s house. Helena is the state capital & has a population of 32,000.
Day 12: Drove 200 miles northwest to reach Columbia Falls (population: 5,400), our home base for the next 4 nights. Our friends recommended Meadow Lake Resort ($150/night),and it was a great choice: very spacious and comfortable.
Day 13: It was a short drive to Glacier National Park. It truly was one of the most impressive national parks of any country in the world!
Day 14: Drove a half an hour south to have lunch in Bigfork (population: 4,600), a cute little town on the northeastern coast of Flathead Lake. Many restaurants were closed due to Covid-19.
Drove up north 35 miles to Whitefish (population: 7,700), a hipster town on the southern end of Whitefish Lake.
Day 15: relaxing day in town & BBQ at the RV camp site where our friends parked their RV
Day 16: 470 miles of driving toward Pocatello, Idaho
gorgeous scenery all around in Montana and Idaho
Day 17: Pocatello to Elko, Nevada – 424 miles. Our first stop for the day was at Antelope Island State Park, 3.5 hours due south from Pocatello.
The lunch stop at Red Iguana in Salk Lake City was so satisfying. Some say it is THE best Mexican restaurant in the U.S., and we could tell why – inventive, delicious food! Thanks to the pandemic, we were able to get in without waiting more than 10 minutes.
We did not stop in the city center because nothing seemed to be open including the Mormon Church.
We arrived in Elko right on time for the annual Balloon Festival, but, it had been canceled. We stayed at a Day’s Inn ($65) so that we could drive in and out with ease.
Day 18: Drove 340 miles to Truckee with a lunch stop in a little town of Lovelock. Not many restaurants were open, though.
Day 19: rest in Truckee
Day 20: drove 290 miles to Pacific Grove, CA, with a lunch stop in Gilroy
Day 21: drove 320 miles to home mostly along the coast with a lunch stop in San Luis Obispo.
San Luis Obispo is a fun stop with lots of meal choices. Novo was quite good for our lunch.
Well, it took me 15 months to finish this post. I did start working on it right after our trip, but, I just could not bother with writing or any kind of mild work as the pandemic lingered. I know this trip sustained me through the rest of 2020, though. Now it’s November of 2021, and, after 3 trips to Mexico and spending a month driving around in Spain this year, I finally feel I can do something other than idling in/on a hammock.
Small Wide World 