Someone recently asked me if we still rode our motorcycles. No, not really. We sold our bikes a couple of years ago, but we do still book an occasional fly and ride on a rental. It complicated our schedule a bit when we purchased our first Airstream. We didn’t feel like there were enough days in the year to do both, so we decided we couldn’t justify owning two bikes and an Airstream. Plus, I’m not as strong as I used to be, so I wasn’t feeling as “safe” on my ride. Do we miss it? Sometimes. When the weather is perfect and we are on a beautifully paved road driving through the country. But when it’s rainy and cold we are happy to be in the truck 🤪🤪. Tim might get a CVO in the future, but that story will be told on another day.
Taking a vacation pulling an Airstream is much different than riding on motorcycles. One thing I love about Airstreaming is an opportunity to stay in the outdoors, and often in more remote locations. Also, we can do stuff we couldn’t do on the motorcycle. Like carrying our bathroom with us 😂. Like driving on the Wild Horse Scenic Loop in Wyoming and sitting on the tailgate overlooking the city while eating our picnic lunch, or hiking with our hiking boots and poles. Pulling our Roam Home I can wear boots, walking shoes, and sandals all in the same day 🤪🤩. On the Harley, I can only carry one pair of shoes. And a girl needs her shoes! 😂 Plus, it’s hard to work from home on the bike, and since Tim is still working that’s a huge consideration. He can take calls in the truck and keep on working. Me? I am no longer a slave to my computer. I’m retired, or semi-retired, so I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. I’m carefree like the marmot, which we saw a lot of in Steamboat Springs.
Traveling and seeing the natural beauty of the world has always been one of my favorite hobbies, and we continue to do so even more diligently since I was diagnosed with cancer. It makes you appreciate the life we have, that’s for sure! We want to spend as much time together doing fun stuff and enjoying life as we can. #livinglifewithMBC
We’ve been planning this summer trip for a while. Since we had already scheduled a week with our good friends Jeff and Melissa in their timeshare in Steamboat Springs Colorado, and we were heading to the Airstream International Rally in Rock Springs Wyoming a couple of weeks later, it made sense to stay in the general area in between those events rather than drive or fly back and forth.
The journey began on May 19th.
After packing up the Airstream and logging our trip details into our trip planner, we set out for our longest Airstream adventure yet.
Our original plan was to head up to Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, then on to see Devil’s Tower, travel north through the Dakotas, east across North Dakota, continue south east to Ohio and back home via the Natchez Trace Parkway. It would be a two month journey.
Here’s a brief recap of the first half of our trip with some of my favorite photos.
The first week was spent in Steamboat Springs, where we stayed in a timeshare with our friends and parked the RV in the parking lot. The temperatures were cooler by our standards, but we still managed to sweat by the pool and get a sunburn. We took several hikes, rode horses, played golf, visited lakes, waterfalls, botanical gardens, and hot springs. And, we played cards or games every night back “home.” The time was too short but a wonderful week with our friends.
We hooked up the trailer, said our good-byes, and traveled to the next stop. From Colorado we drove to Bear Lake State Park, in Laketown Utah, where we stayed eleven days. Laketown is near Garden City, home of the famous raspberry milkshakes. We had three of those!
On the way up, we stopped by the Dinosaur National Monument. We also spent a couple of nights in the Flaming Gorge National Park. Flaming Gorge was breathtaking! It was hard to pick just one picture.
Jeff introduced us to the mineral water Topo Chico. I kept one of the bottles to put local wildflowers in wherever we camped.
Bear Lake State Park was one of my favorite camping locations on the whole trip. The campground was spacious, with more than a lot of elbow room between campsites. Our section (Birch) had a picnic table covered by a pavilion, and the site was level on concrete. Inexpensive, too!
The park rangers were so nice, and invited us to be camp hosts. We might do that some other time, as they accept short-term hosts, and we wouldn’t mind coming back to this area.
Violent thunderstorms would surprise us daily, with winds like I have not seen before, but our rig stood firm. They would come out of nowhere, but left as fast as they blew in.
Our site was across the road from a cow pasture, which also provided some unexpected entertainment at various times throughout the day (and night 🙄). Tim golfed two separate times (9-hole courses), surrounded by beautiful mountain views and million dollar houses. I rode in the golf cart on the very hilly course, and we walked the other one.
Turquoise blue water, living up to its nickname, “The Caribbean of the Rockies,” surrounded by mountains.
The Lake is shared by Utah and Idaho, so we crossed that state line several times.
Mountainous, steep curves with switchbacks and 7-8% grade climbs were experienced daily. We were reminded to check our brakes when a semi-truck driver plowed through the storage condo in Garden City, and the passenger had to be airlifted to the hospital. Apparently this happens several times a year.
Our truck pulled the Airstream like a charm, but it was on this trip that Tim decided he wanted to upgrade to a diesel. He just thinks it will pull even better, although the Ford 150 did just fine, and will give him a bit more power up the hills. More on that in another blog!
On to Provo, Utah. We stayed at the KOA in Provo for two weeks, since it was closer to the Salt Lake City Airport and we both had to fly out for different reasons. Tim flew to Chicago for his onsite visit with a church, and a separate flight to Phoenix. I flew home for a few days to get chemo and enjoy Jackson’s first birthday party (our 6th Jedi). Can’t miss those special events!
KOA Provo was the opposite of our lovely site in Bear Lake State Park. The sites were close together, the internal road was narrow, and the pool area was not worth wading in (too many kids). It was a challenge backing in (and getting out) to our spot. We later heard the large pasture behind us used to be a lake (hence the smell 🥴), and now it’s a cow pasture. Our back-in site did have a view of the mountains, of course cows, and a llama. They had a game room which we visited once to play pool, but the cues were in bad shape.
While the campground was not the greatest, the views all around us were magnificent. Snow capped mountains surrounded the truck everywhere she took us. Tim golfed in the mountains; I went along to take pictures and get some exercise (we walked the course).
On Saturdays we went on longer hikes. We hiked to a waterfall on the Stewarts Cascades Trail; that was an adventure! Downed trees from a recent avalanche made it challenging. We also crossed snow and an icy patches; I almost turned back, but I powered through! It might have taken me longer, and I may have had to overcome my fears of heights and breaking a bone or two, but I made it. MBC will not stop this warrior from living an adventurous life.
While in Provo I toured the Young Living headquarters while Tim was in Phoenix. We also visited Moon’s Rare Books (he’s on TikTok), a rare treat. We left Provo and travelled to Rock Springs Wyoming, where we had registered for the Airstream International Convention. I’ll leave that for Summer Vacation Part 2, as there will be enough for a whole blog from that event. Stay Tuned!
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!