On May 19, 2018, I officially loaded up the RV and hit the road, heading to Alaska.  My plan was to take it slow and get to Alaska sometime early in June.  The only thing I officially had on the timeline was a visit to my uncle and aunt’s house in Missoula, MT, from roughly May 26 to June 2.  The rest of the time, I planned to enjoy adventures as they came along.  Although normally I am a planner by nature, I was really looking forward to a few weeks spent going with the flow and enjoying the possibilities!  Once I hit the road, I quickly reached Wyoming and spent several days traveling through it.

Right before hitting the road on May 19

Rawlins, Wyoming

I didn’t get a very early start that first day (getting packed up took longer than expected).  But, I still made it to our first planned stop, Rawlins, WY.  It ended up being a bit over 250 miles, which was quite a long haul compared to our previous journeys in the RV.  Thankfully everything went well and Lyla settled in for the drive pretty easily.  I stopped for diesel in Cheyenne, Wyoming (which ended up being the cheapest fuel-up of the entire trip).

Our first night on the road was spent boondocking (really moochdocking in this case) in my friend’s driveway.  It was great catching up with my friend, and also exciting to start off the trip with free lodging!  The next day, I spent the morning hanging out with my friend and then hit the road in the early afternoon.

That was when I had my first (and most damaging) incident of the trip.  I unfortunately don’t have much experience with backing up trailers in general, much less short trailers behind long vehicles.  I had pulled into my friend’s driveway and needed to back out onto the road the next morning.  It wasn’t a complete disaster (I eventually made it out, and I didn’t hit anyone else), but I did turn too sharp and ended up crunching the front corner of my trailer against the back corner of the motorhome.  Thankfully the motorhome won the battle and didn’t have much damage, but the trailer ended up with a dented spot that I am hoping might be able to be improved at least somewhat.  It was a good reminder of the need for practice!

On the road in Wyoming

Lander, Wyoming

I planned to travel through Yellowstone and Tetons National Parks on the way to Missoula, but I also didn’t want to go too fast since I had about a week until my scheduled arrival in Montana.  So, I decided not to drive all the way to Tetons the next day, but instead to go about halfway.  I ended up stopping in Lander, Wyoming at a cute (and cheap) little RV park, Mountain View Campground.  It was just what I needed after the craziness of finalizing everything before I left Colorado – a peaceful stop where I didn’t have anything pressing to do.

I originally planned to spend just one night, but then ended up extending for another.  That day off was wonderful – I slept in, read a book, and explored the area around the RV park.  I walked about a mile down the road and found a gorgeous lake.  Then, on the way back, I got to spend some time with a friendly horse who came over to say hello.  It was very relaxing and a great way to spend the day.  Lyla also enjoyed the time off from driving!

Lake views in Lander, Wyoming

New Horse Friend

My spot for two days

Lyla enjoying some downtime

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

The next morning, we drove into Grand Teton National Park.  Although the weather was cloudy and rainy, it was still a beautiful drive.  I was so excited when I finally caught my first glimpse of the famous Teton mountains.  I drove all the way to Jackson, stopping to take pictures at various turnouts along the way.  Despite the rain, the views were absolutely gorgeous.  Finally, I turned my attention to finding a place to spend the night.  I really wanted to boondock at the famous Upper Teton View.  Some people consider it the most beautiful boondocking spot in the country.

But, I was a little concerned about the drive since I hadn’t read anything about the 2018 condition.  I don’t have a toad, so I couldn’t drive up to take a look.  Instead, I decided my best bet was to walk up and check it out on foot.  I parked the motorhome at a nearby turnout and then walked all the way up, scouting as I went.  The conditions didn’t seem too bad.  Even though there were a few muddy spots from the recent rain, none of them seemed too soft.  I decided to go for it and made it with no issues.  It was so very worth it!

Grand Teton beauty!

Upper Teton View!

Lyla the Adventure Cat enjoying the mountain views

However, during the night, the rain continued to come down.  By morning, there were new puddles all over the place and I was pretty concerned about getting back down the road.  I knew I didn’t have much choice, though.  Thankfully, gravity was on my side and I kept up my momentum in all the mushy spots. I was so happy when I made it back down to the road!

Yellowstone National Park

Next up on the journey was a visit to Yellowstone National Park.  My plan was to visit a few specific places within the park rather than thoroughly exploring the whole place.  I planned to drive up the west side of the park and stop at Old Faithful and Mammoth Hot Springs.  It turned out to be a bit of a crazy drive, although the stops were absolutely amazing.  The weather was once again cloudy and rainy.  At one point, that rain even turned to snow due to the high elevations.  That was a bit of a white-knuckle experience.  I also went through some pretty serious construction, where the road had turned very muddy during the rain.  Of the entire drive to Alaska, I am pretty sure this is where my motorhome got the dirtiest.

I stopped for a hike and some lunch at Old Faithful and got to see one of the eruptions.  It was so beautiful around that entire area, and I enjoyed all the smaller pools.  It was a bit rainy, but still very enjoyable.

So many beautiful pools to explore near Old Faithful

Selfie with Old Faithful

I finished out my time in Yellowstone with a visit to Mammoth Hot Springs.  It was a cool to see, although I had to keep my visit pretty short because I didn’t find a great parking spot for the RV.  Still glad I got to enjoy it though!

Mammoth Hot Springs

Although my trip to Yellowstone was pretty short, I also enjoyed the beautiful views along the drive.  Thankfully the traffic wasn’t too bad (probably due to the poor weather and the fact that it was still fairly early in the season).  I even got to see a whole herd of bison along the road!

Wyoming is a beautiful state, and I will definitely be back to explore more in the future.  Although the exit to Yellowstone was the end of my time there, the overall journey was far from over.  If you want to know more about why I was in Wyoming in the first place, check out my first North to Alaska post.  Have you ever spent time in Wyoming?  Let me know your favorite spots in the comments below!