Rathburns on the Road

  Having spent several weeks in small towns, it was time to get back to a real city again. Eric had to travel to a work conference in Denver for a few days, and while it would have been nice to add Colorado to our itinerary, it was hard to fit in an extra 5 hours of drive time each way. So, we opted for Eric to fly to Denver instead while the boys and I hung out in Salt Lake City for the week. The RV park was new, safely gated, and close enough to anything we might need - but being in an urban setting, it was not the quiet, peaceful type of camping we prefer. It was located between an interstate and railroad tracks, so we had that background noise at all times. But what made it REALLY loud was the air force base on the hill above the interstate. Every weekday morning, we heard the roar of fighter jets going through their training maneuvers. The first few days were so rainy and cloudy that we couldn't see anything, but later in the week the skies were clear and it was like seeing ou...

  I had never heard of Bear Lake until a few weeks ago when Eric said we would stop there on our way south through Utah. When I googled it, it seemed like a small town without much to do...and an hour from the closest grocery store, again. I wasn't particularly excited about it until Eric told me that we were going to be staying at a spa site. A spa  site?? It turns out that the Bear Lake KOA is one of just a few that offer campsites with their own private hot tubs. Well, then! This sounded like a pretty good spot to spend the week...and it was! It was by far the best campsite we've had on this trip. Not only did it have the hot tub under a pergola, it had a large grassy area for the boys and Piper to play in. It also had a patio, grill, and fire pit. And...there was a brand new grocery store right next door! We could just relax and never have to leave town. On top of all of that, the weather couldn't have been better. RVers often talk about "chasing 70" - plannin...

After spending a week on the north side of Yellowstone, we moved to the west side for two more weeks. This is the side of the park that has all of the "must-see" attractions: Old Faithful Geyser, Grand Prismatic Spring, etc.  And, of course, there's the wildlife. We saw far more bison on this side of the park, and they weren't shy about wandering into the road whenever they felt like it. One day they held up traffic for about 30 minutes while they trotted along the side of the road, just a few feet from us. We had another roadside encounter with a small herd of elk. We also saw a fox in a meadow from a long distance. I've said it before, but it's amazing how quickly the landscape changes here. Just a few miles into the park is a beautiful river and waterfall, just like the mental image I've always had of Montana. But a few more miles down the road is an alien landscape of boiling hot springs, geysers, and mud pots. We learned from a park ranger that of the...