The Teardrop Chronicles Part 1: Seattle to Denver

Day 1

Our little teardrop trailer was road worthy and water tight just in time for a long awaited cross-country road trip. We hit the first snag early when our brand new sine wave converter fried itself with the flip of a switch. Luckily we were still loading up so we quickly switched gears, abandoning most of our freezer meals and grabbing a cooler.

We quickly found our next problem when I failed to look up the quickest route to Boise until we were nearly to Spokane. This would be the first of many mistakes which led us to opportunity. Our last minute plan to visit some friends on the way meant that we would miss all but a few miles of Montana, but the drive through the scenic Payette River Valley was well worth the extra miles. After over 18 hours of driving we stopped for the night in Caribou Targhee National Forest.


Day 2

At dawn we hit the road, stopping for a walk around the town of West Yellowstone before entering the park. We dropped the trailer at camp and headed straight for Old Faithful. We stopped at a few small geyser fields along the way, including one that formed less than 30 years ago during an earthquake.


While exploring the geothermal features around Old Faithful, where we had a close encounter with a massive buffalo. We hung around just long enough to see the big geyser erupt, right on schedule of course.

Due to a couple road closures within the park we had to drive the long way around to Mammoth Hotsprings, stopped at Canyon Village first for a look at the upper and lower falls off the Yellowstone River. We nearly circumnavigated the valley, stopping at about a dozen vantage points along the way.
After driving over Mount Washburn, we passed by dozens of buffalo and stopped briefly to watch a fox pouncing on its prey. From a distance the brilliant white travertine terraces stood out among the trees and grass surrounding them. Although they were mostly dry, we were able to find some brilliant colors in a few places.

Day 3

We headed east well before dawn, regrettably missing Grand Teton National Park in favor of a faster route through the Wind River Canyon and Casper. It was over 800 miles to our next camp and the 80 mph speed limits were taunting with a trailer that's only rated for 55. When we reached the edge of the Rockies, the plains ahead stretched on out of sight.

As we neared Cheyenne we missed our planned fuel stop and chose to continue on to the next one. About 12 miles from the next station it looked like we wouldn't make it, so we took the next exit and called AAA from a small RV Park just off the highway. As we waited on hold we were rescued by Pastor Jason Crossman of the Pioneer Baptist Church, who also manages the OK RV Park 14 miles north of Wheatland, Wyoming. Jason helped us out with some gas and invited us to use the showers at the park. Some of the friendliest and most hospitable people I've met were in Wyoming. Thanks Jason for all of your help!

After a quick stop in Denver to check out the recreational cannabis scene (Which was less than impressive), we climbed west into the mountains to find a camp site near the base of Mount Elbert - the highest point in Colorado and the summit of the Rockies. Just before the town of Leadville our truck and trailer reached their highest elevation over Fremont Pass at 11,318 ft. We set up camp in the dark at Whitestar campground on Twin Lakes and prepped gear for the big climb.

The Teardrop Cronicles Part 2: Mount Elbert to Palo Duro Canyon