Moominmama's Adventures: Westward Bound

In which Moominmama endures many days of rain and hard travel to reach the Pacific Northwest...

Moominmama left Wyoming during on-and-off waves of rain, heading west through Togwotee Pass toward Jackson and the Tetons. Even with the mixed weather, those mountains are majestic. Driving directly toward the peaks, I could watch them grow larger through my windscreen, wrapped in a feather boa of clouds.

I longed to revisit the Tetons, remembering the glorious hikes from two years before. But the weather was uncooperative, and Moominmama is now on a timeline to catch the ferry for Alaska at the end of the month. My travel target for the evening was a campground in Idaho, with an early departure planned for the next morning.

Again it was raining in the morning, but I set out to cross most of the state, with plans to stay overnight north of Boise. By 4 p.m., traffic was so bad in Boise, even the exit ramps were backed up. I stopped to get gas and found a line of cars at gas stations on both sides of the road such that my trailer blocked people's exodus if I waited to get to a pump.

Instead I drove a few exits further, a little nervous about running out of gas. I ended up at a truck stop, where I paid for my first-ever truck-stop shower. It cost $17! It was clean; water was warm -- but $17?! They also charged for overnight parking.

So refreshed by the shower, I got back on the road and drove to the primitive campground in eastern Oregon where I am staying the weekend and using a nearby creek to bathe!

I am having to readjust to tall trees here in the Pacific Northwest. But between rain and some work deadlines, I'm afraid I've spent more time in the local library than on the trail. The pictures here are from a hike in the Umatilla National Forest north of La Grande, and it took a bit of work to find a side trail that led to a clearing for the view above!

I leave tomorrow for Washington State, but after days spent focusing on making some miles, I spend a week in the Okanogon-Wenatchee National Forest. There I hope to break out my kayak again and don my swimsuit.

And from there, I head to Bellingham to stock up and prepare the trailer for the crossing to Juneau.

This is a long-winded way of saying I don't have many photos from this week. But I will share a few I didn't include in previous blog posts, starting with the Flatirons in Boulder, Colorado, a row of triangular peaks like old-fashion irons tilted up to the sky. 

It was the most challenging hike of the season, even at only three miles. Not only steep, the rocks were jagged and treacherous. And to make matters worse, there were packs of very fit young people who scramble around these high altitudes like mountain goats. 

By the time I got to Wyoming, I was happy to see some rolling hills. Among the places I visited was the gravesite of Sacajawea, the young Shoshone woman who helped the expedition of Lewis and Clark. 

The photos of her gravesite did not turn out well, but the Wind River Reservation graveyard was a marvel to behold with flowers and tokens and little gifts left at many of the gravesites. In this case, the dearly beloved had a saddle on his grave and rope on the cross with his name!

Finallly, I leave you with a photo of Red Canyon, south of Lander. This photo does not do the red cliffs justice, but the color contrast with the wildflowers and fresh green grasslands was breathtaking.

These photos give you some idea of the contrast between the jagged peaks of the Colorado Rockies or even the Tetons and the beautiful valley I found myself in Wind River Country. This is a part of Wyoming not as well known as the Grand Tetons -- but every bit as beautiful.