Heading North for the Summer

 

After months of preparation and planning the RV was finally loaded and we were ready to start our three month trip to escape the Texas heat. We had a loose plan to visit friends, bike ride different “rails to trails” paths and ultimately explore the mountains of Alberta and British Columbia.  The unknown factor was how the two cats Flash (14) and Zeke (9) would adapt to life on the road in a tiny home on wheels.

We left July 1st and drove four hours to Childress, TX, the joke being the cats had never been further than 45 minutes north and the usual 14-hour push to Colorado might be too much at the start! The next day we stopped at Raton a state park in New Mexico, nestled in  the pine trees. We quickly determined the cats like the forested camp sites and they both enjoyed exploring the area on a leash

We spent the next three weeks in Colorado having a fabulous time visiting great friends, biking the mountain trails, paddle boarding and enjoying live music and fireworks. It was an easy introduction to RV traveling, parking in friend’s driveways and settling us and the cats into our new life. We were amazed how quickly Flash and Zeke adapted and embraced the adventure. 

July 18th, we set out for the two day 475 mile drive to Wyoming, spending the first night at a National Forest campground in Flaming Gorge, Utah. It was very peaceful in a pine forest which the cats loved exploring.  We had quickly learned campsites in the summer can be almost impossible to find and were lucky to get a spot for three days in the small town of Wilson, just outside Grand Teton National Park, one of our favorite parks. A bonus was we had a lovely evening with two of John's grandnieces. Reesey is the daughter of John’s sister's daughter Caroline and Julia is the daughter of his sister's son Thomas. Reesey lives in Jackson and Julia was there for a visit.

We made two bike rides with incredible views of the Tetons and drove the RV to the Snake River Overlook for sunset. Having a small (25ft) RV gives us quite a bit of flexibility for driving and parking and having Starlink meant we were able to research location accessibility.

We said goodbye to the Tetons on Tuesday July 22nd, heading west into Idaho. We spent one night at Craters of the Moon National Monument which was an interesting area full of lava rock. The next day we left early; sure we would find a camping spot at Redfish Lake a beautiful area in the Sawtooth Mountain range. We were bitterly disappointed to find all six of the first come first served campgrounds were full and were told the main reservable campground books out six months ahead of time.  We finally found a dispersed camping spot in the adjacent National Forest, basically you drive down a non-paved road and pull over where you see a good spot. We spent the rest of the day working on reservations for the upcoming week, since our plan of five days at Redfish Lake was a bust!

Determined to get some photos we drove to the Redfish lake visitor center the next morning and walked to the lake shore. It was so beautiful Sara decided to swim, which was very refreshing in the cool mountain water.  

We were heading for northern Idaho 420 miles away to cycle the Coeur d’Alene bike trail. We decided to stop half way at Cascade Lake state park for a few days to relax since we’d been pretty active for 25 days. The drive that day was on narrow, twisty mountain roads with beautiful forest on either side. The term “Hold on to your whiskers kitties, curves and steep descents ahead” was invented! We arrived late afternoon to find a lovely campground with easy access to the lake. We enjoyed three relaxing days - paddle boarding on the lake at sunrise was a special moment. 

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