"I've Gone to Look for America"

Day 17 Livin' That RV Life in Heber City, UT Happy Halloween from our little piece of paradise at the Mountain Valley RV Resort! Unlike many of the other camp sites at which we've overnighted, this place is the real deal with a clubhouse and permanent residents. It's basically the Beverly Hills of RV parks...and Jon and I are really bringing down the neighborhood with our newbie hijinks.                                                                                                                                                       ...

Day 16 Jackson, WY to Heber City, UT  (286  miles ,  3,557 total )  It was up and on the road early this morning to make it into Salt Lake City as early as possible; we had a date with an RV dealer to de-winterize our rig and fix a crack in our fresh water tank. Such are the joys of living in your home. Things were moving along right on schedule until two hours into the drive when we came to a complete standstill somewhere on the border of Wyoming and Idaho. It was our first Western traffic jam.              Once the congestion finally cleared, we raced onward and finally made it to Access RV, a delightful pit stop along our route. I was particularly excited to receive this  alert on my iPhone the moment I sat down in the waiting room to settle in for a two hour visit. I looked like Patient Zero, perched on my chair in my N95 surrounded by mask-less Utahans. Apparently, the prophylactic of choice in these parts is hop...

Day 15 Sitting Tight in Jackson, WY  Today was a "down day," largely spent in our hotel room catching up on work and making client calls. With the time difference, however, we were able to put in a pretty full day and still manage to log-off by 2:30pm local time to take a drive a bit deeper into the Park.  More beautiful vistas and long-distance moose sitings. Still no bears or elk to report.

Day 14 Sitting Tight in Jackson, WY ( 6,783 foot elevation ) Risk-taking is not my forté. So when Jon had asked in advance of the trip if I would be willing to do some hikes along the way, I felt it was a valiant leap outside of my comfort zone to say yes. Thus far, we had "hiked" in the Badlands but that had essentially amounted to forty minutes of slogging around the mud. I had calculated the chance of my imminent demise to be within an acceptable range. This morning, however, when Jon excitedly pitched a hike to Inspiration Point in Teton National Park, my "danger radar" started flashing. I tend not to feel overwhelming enthusiasm about any activity that requires me to bring "bear spray." As we started the trek up the icy trail, my anxieties went into characteristic Elizabeth overdrive. Though the fear of misstepping and plummeting to my death or being stalked and mauled by a bear remained with me throughout the four hour hike, even I could not help bu...

Day 13 Ketchum, ID to Jackson, WY (236  miles ,  3,271 total )  We had a lazy morning of chores in Ketchum - making breakfast, doing laundry , and clocking a few hours of work and client calls - before grabbing a late lunch at the The Smokey Bone BBQ on our drive out of Sun Valley. Nothing like a "Dirty Pig" sandwich to tide you over until dinner. After lunch, it was more driving through Idaho. One particularly interesting stretch along the way was Craters of the Moon National Monument, an aptly-named massive lava field in the Snake River Plain.  Our brief lunar detour at an end, we continued on for a few hours until we reached Jackson Hole. Though not quite the breathtaking views we were privileged enough to see the day before, they certainly beat anything the Garden State has going for it.