"It feels good to be lost in the right direction." Unknown
The first part of my stay in Wyoming was breathtaking. The Tetons and Jackson Hole were beyond amazing and captured my heart. I was sad to leave because, in my mind, I thought I had peaked and nothing could top this part of my trip.
After Jackson Hole, I traveled north to the Lava Mountain Lodge. It was a rustic Lodge located in the Shoshone National Forest in the mountains between Jackson Hole and Dubois. They had a couple of hookups for a trailer/RV. I'm not sure I would have been comfortable staying at the lodge but staying in Fern with this view... Priceless!
I gathered that the pipeline was a significant employer for this part of the state. There were primarily men staying at the lodge and cabins; most worked for a pipeline company. They all gathered in the lodge restaurant in the evening after work for dinner and drinks. The WIFI was hit or miss, so I was off the grid for several days unless I was lucky enough to catch a strong signal at the lodge restaurant. Speaking of off-the-grid, they did have showers, but it cost almost $3.00 for a five-minute shower. The kicker was that it took nearly three minutes for the water to heat up. Let's say that was the fastest shower I have taken on the entire trip! lol
It was while I was here that I went to Yellowstone National Park. The following day, I traveled to Dubois. It was about a 20-minute drive. I knew nothing about this town, only that it had a grocery store and I needed to restock. It was a gorgeous drive! Every curve took my breath away.
"I thought I was going to the grocery store. I had NO idea I was in for one of the most gorgeous drives of my trip so far."
I spent most of the afternoon in this little jewel of a town. I ate at the Cowboy Cafe and had a delicious sandwich before I went sightseeing further.
I thought this day would be uneventful, but it was a fun adventure. I stayed an extra day at the Lava Mountain Lodge because the weather turned. Snow was expected, and the wind was intense. I was nervous about taking Fern through the mountains in the wind.
Our next major destination was Washington. I knew we had to go up to Montana and cross the Rockies. I was nervous about taking Fern through these mountains. A website can help you map out the flattest route to your destination. The site is www.flattestroute.com. It gave me a little confidence that we were doing our best to get Fern to her next destination. But... there were still many mountains in our future! We were off to Bozeman, MT.
In the end, like most times, I was sad to leave but knew we had more adventures ahead. I called my friend Becky and told her where I was staying in this part of Wyoming reminded me of a Jason Isbell song. It felt like his Southwestern album could have been written here.
Stay Wild 🌿
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