Day 18: Island Park, Idaho

After a long day of travel, it was nice to have a somewhat slow morning. We thought we had about a four hour drive in front of us, so we took our time getting ready to leave. The park we were staying at had a huge open space and the kids loved running around while Jordan and I went through our checklist. We bought them children size camelback in Estes Park and they love them! They had them on all morning. Let’s hope the newness doesn’t wear off before they have to wear them on a hike.

It was cold when we woke up – 34 degrees! – but by the time we were hooking up the trailer it was 50 and I had already shed my outer layer. This gulf coast girl is not used to dry weather. I couldn’t believe it was 50, sunny and I was wearing a tank top. Jordan loves the dry weather. There are parts of it I like (no frizz in my hair), but my hands are so dry and cracked! I’m dousing myself with lotion every day!

Our drive was a fit of starts and stops. Our air compressor we used to fill up our tires died a few stops back and it’s important to make sure your tire pressure is correct when you are pulling thousands of pounds. On our way out of Boulder, WY we stopped at an auto parts store to see if they had one we could buy. No luck. They told us the other auto parts store may have it. They didn’t either. We decided we would stop at a gas station and get some air when we could, but the gas station we stopped at to top off our tank didn’t have air. At this point we had already been in the truck for almost an hour.

We finally got on the road, as in driving without stopping, and came to Jackson, WY. I really wanted to stay in Jackson, but there weren’t good RV sites for us which is how we ended up staying in far eastern Idaho. Jackson looks like someplace I would love to visit someday. Once we made our way through the town, we started climbing. And when I say climbing I mean a 10% grade incline as we are pulling a x thousand pound trailer. Jordan was watching the transmission temperature like a hawk. I have never seen him more nervous on this trip. He was white and gripping the steering wheel like his life depended on it. At the time, I truly believed he thought it did. After several miles, we found a pull off area and decided to rest the truck there for a bit while Jordan did some google research on transmission temperature. It worked out well as we used the stop as a bathroom break. It probably was our most picturesque bathroom break we’ve had!

Once the transmission temperature cooled down, we pulled back on the road. The only thing scarier than pulling thousands of pounds up a 10% incline is going down a 10% incline. There was some noise and Jordan shouted “it sounds like we have a flat!” Remember, we hadn’t found a place to air up our tires so this seemed completely likely. As I looked at the narrow, curvy, two lane road which was at a significant decline I thought “this is definitely going to be worse than Tucumcari.” Turns out it was the brakes and Jordan flipped the xx braking on and we were fine.

We finally found a gas station (it was called Stinker’s which is a really unappealing name to me), that had free air! The truck tires needed a little air, but the trailer tires were a-ok.

The rest of the drive was smooth. We played 20 questions with the kids. My favorite exchange:

Me: Lucy, does it eat other animals? Lucy: Nooo!! Definitely not. Well, maybe.

It was obvious this game was going to last longer than 20 questions. Her animal was a snow leopard for those who are curious.

We are staying in Island Park, ID. The RV park is fabulous. We had to drive four miles off the main road to get here so it feels remote, but it has excellent WiFi for school and work. And blogging. They have a playground the kids spent about 1.5 hours on when we got here. Also, the park is about 25-30 minutes from the west entrance of Yellowstone. Island Park has a lot of outdoor activities that we are hoping to take advantage of during the week.

When we finally arrived and set up, Jordan immediately got to work on getting access to the Longhorn game. Jordan may leave almost every door he touches open, but this guy can make technological miracles happen daily! I think I’m just going to log on to my Instagram every time I see a door wide open to remind myself that I can shut the doors he leaves open, but I can’t amplify WiFi in RV parks. (Note: I am 100% sure I have a daily habit that drives him crazy, too).

We grilled fajitas, ate leftover apple pie from Estes Park, and watched the first half of the game outside. I even popped on my orange and white headband to show my school spirit. It was a great night, but I want to be honest that 2/4 of us were a little irritable. I think it was the two long driving days. It takes some of us (an adult female and minor male) a while to shake off being cooped up for so long.

The kids went to bed after halftime and since we were winning 45-3, I went to bed and started reading a new book. If anyone has any good book or podcast suggestions, send them my way. Jordan and I have been listening to podcasts when we are driving and reading is my way to unwind.

We are thankful to be here safely and are looking forward to our adventure tomorrow!

Until next time…

Sarah