Road Trip to Wyoming and Utah, June 27 - July 6, 2008

After the 2 trips to Europe last year, we needed cheaper vacations this year! In late June and over 4th of July, we took a road trip to Yellowstone National Park and back. Rasila had never been there and Rodney had not visited since leaving Wyoming.

We drove the first day to Salt Lake City, where we stayed overnight with Rodney's brother Roger, and his wife Julia. After a great breakfast at Finn's Cafe, we drove up through Evanston, through Afton, and then camped south of Jackson off the Snake River. The next two nights we stayed off the Chief Joseph Highway northwest of Cody, off the Beartooth Highway and the northeast entrance of Yellowstone. It was a busy 2 days driving up through Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park, but well worth the effort to see as much as we could.

The next morning, we drove south through Cody and Thermopolis to Rodney's hometown of Riverton to spend a couple nights with Rodney's parents. We had a great time playing games and taking a shower!

On July 3rd, we left early to drive over South Pass, through Rock Springs, past Flaming Gorge, then down US 197 past I-70 to UT 72 to Loa, UT, where we then drove 30 miles on an unpaved Forest Service road to Posey Lake.

Rodney's brother Roger, and his wife, Julia, selected this spot for our 4th of July weekend. It is a beautiful aspen and pine covered mountain top at about 8700 feet elevation north of Escalante and west of Boulder, UT. We hiked trails off the lake and when it was rainy and cool on the 5th, drove across the Hell's Backbone to Boulder, where we took in a latte, then on to Escalante, UT on UT 12, one of the truly very scenic highways in the US. From Escalante, we returned to our campsite.

On the 6th, we drove home by returning to Escalante, and drove UT 12 through Bryce Canyon National Park to US 89. From there, south to UT 9 through Zion National Park back to I-15. Unfortunately, being 4th of July weekend, it was bumper to bumber traffic from just north of the Nevada-California Border. After spending 2 hours to go about 40 miles, we drove across the Mojave National Preserve, past I-40 to old Route 66, down the Amboy to 29 Palms Highway and through Yucca Valley into the Palm Springs area and I-10 back the greater Los Angeles basin. I would like to make that last drive again, but in the daylight the whole way!