- First Name
- Glenn
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2020
- Threads
- 6
- Messages
- 87
- Reaction score
- 535
- Location
- Austin, Texas
- Vehicle(s)
- 1994 Isuzu Trooper
- Your Bronco Model
- Base
- Thread starter
- #1
Another successful trip with the bronco. As always, I feel that another week or two would have been preferred to see, do, and enjoy more. Regardless, I always have an incredible time even with a tighter schedule and long distance drives. Sleeping in the bronco will always save camp setup time- I usually just arrive, shower, eat dinner, then get ready for bed. Some places I map more time to explore. I'm still rocking the Deepsleep on top of a Hele bed platform which has been comfortable. I slept in my tent 3 nights, super easy to transfer the mattress from the bronco to the tent. A couple of hotel nights sprinkled in. I rarely traveled on interstate highways, except for I15. Happy to answer any questions or add anything I missed. So much the pics don't capture.
Day 1: 800 miles to Capulin, NM. I recently moved from Austin to east Houston, which adds a few extra hours to my western road trips. I woke up late and a bit hungover thanks to unexpected drinking with my cousins and family the night before. My very first gas stop was just over an hour in, and I left the pump unattended to go get much needed snacks and coffee. When leaving the restroom a guy looked at me concerned and asked, "is that your bronco?", and me feeling proud replied "yeah
", then he let me know that my pump was overflowing. I sprinted with unpaid snacks in hand to the pump where I immediately slipped and fell in the overflowing gas. Got back up quickly and stopped the flow finally (I assume 4-5 gallons spilled over). I never had that happen before, and was wondering if this was a sign that the trip wasn't meant to be. I used a few towels to clean up the mess, recollected myself and waited close to 30 minutes before I started back up. The bronco and I reeked of gas, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to sleep inside if I couldn't get the smell out. After 12 hours driving with the windows down, I arrived just outside the volcano entrance and got ready for bed. I was surprised the smell went away right at bed time.
Day 2: 280 miles to Salida, CO. I drove up the Capulin Volcano, and did a few hikes up and in. There was awesome lightning around the volcano the night before, and saw warning signs along the trail. Then I stopped at Cascade Falls, a tranquil spot nestled between 2 14ers I camped near a few trips back. I love this place, and can easily spend hours just sitting on the boulders enjoying the creek. I met a family that ended up only living 10 miles away from where I stay now, in a town of less than 10,000. Then I ventured off to the first national park on the trip: Great Sand Dunes. Pretty cool place, and the dunes seem endless once you begin trekking through. I camped nearby Salida.
Day 3: 140 miles to Aspen, CO. The drive up Independence Pass was easy and scenic. The fall colors really started to show here, and the weather had turned just after arriving. Relentless clouds of cold rain did not seem to end, and blocked my views of the mountains.
Day 4: 270 miles to Walden, CO. Stopped by the Maroon Bells in the morning where the dense fog continued to block my view of the dramatic mountain peaks. I then headed to Rocky Mountain NP which unfortunately was a bust. The cold rain with dense clouds continued, and my plans to drive the ridge trail and hike in the park were cancelled when the park closed the roads. I had a campground in the park secured, though I was not allowed to setup my shower here (less than 1 gallon of water w/ biodegradable soap) that I desperately wanted after being in the freezing rain for over 24 hours. I exited the park and got a hotel in Walden and felt disappointed in myself, I always feel like I'm cheating when I get a hotel unplanned.
Day 5: 240 miles to Lander, WY. The weather here was sunny and beautiful, and the Sinks Canyon felt absolutely soul-cleansing. Slept incredibly well in the bronco, then stopped by the trout lake where I chatted and fed trout with the pastor/mayor of some town in WY. I won't forget my interaction with Tracy here.
Day 6: 190 miles to Grand Teton NP. I was anticipating this to feel overrated, but I was very wrong. The Tetons are stunning when arriving, I didn't expect to see bison roaming here, the fall colors grew stronger, and finding free camping in the golden aspen forests of Shadow Mountain was a treat. There were more hiking trails than I expected, all of which were stunning. The only part I didn't love but did at the same time was thinking I might see only a small crowd at Schwabacher Landing in the early morning. I arrived an hour before sunrise and the lot was ALREADY filling up with people shouting. By the time I left it was a full on amusement park with cars parked anywhere and everywhere, creating unnecessary jams. While I did capture photos of a great sunrise, I had to include a photo to show what it's really like with the crowd.
These folks taking selfies with my Bronco
Days 7 and 8: 170 miles + 80 miles of Yellowstone NP. I underestimated the vastness and incredible beauty of this park. Still so much more to see here. I closed out the last 2 camp nights of the season in Tower Fall with such the most wonderful camp host. Greg was genuinely excited and happy for me to be there, showed me pics and gave me insider scoop, even led me on a hike through a secret trail to see a bear. I was in awe of Lamar Valley and the landscape with continuous sweeping hills. I can't articulate it, but driving around here was just beautiful. I loved seeing bison everywhere, and the bison jams. On my second night I was walking the trail back to camp and stumbled right next to a black bear!
Day 9: 400 miles to Babb, MT. Not much to report here, other than the fact that driving to Mammoth from Tower Fall was absolutely beautiful, and then the drive from Mammoth to Gardiner was SO cool! It felt like I was on another planet, but the drive required focus so I didn't capture any of this beautiful drive. Secured a spot at Duck Lake, and didn't see a single person here.
Day 10: 310 miles through Glacier NP to Butte, MT. This was a late addition to my trip, but I figured northern WY might be the closest I get to Glacier, so I should go ahead and check it out. I got to Logan Pass before sunrise, and had enjoyed some enchanting hikes here. Going To The Sun very well might be the most beautiful road I've driven. I spotted 2 moose in the lake when hiking here, felt like a magical moment. Agpar Beach on Lake McDonald is stupid pretty, would love to spend a whole day here. I was going to stay off the highway at a rest stop, but decided to truck on down to Butte, MT.
Day 11: 460 miles to Provo, UT. Nothing exciting this day, just covering ground down I15. This was the one day I had a planned hotel night secured in advance.
Day 12: 270 miles to Moab, UT. Stopped in town for lunch, then ran the Potash Road to Shafer trail. I planned to run Long Canyon on the way back but I was losing daylight and didn't have a camp spot secured so I bailed. Ended up staying at UtahRaptor State Park. First time airing down and back up. When I woke up ready to leave, my rear driver TPMS displayed 20 PSI which alarmed me. I thought I must have had a flat because I surely filled back up to 35. I was clearly in a daze, and went to replacing the wheel right away. I thought about patching it, but for some reason didn't even try. I just started cranking, and by the time I removed the wheel I realized it didn't look flat, and the sensor probably just needed to calibrate. Silly me, a little learning experience.
Day 13: 575 miles to Roswell, NM. I had a few more days planned, including some mountain passes near Telluride and White Sands NP. However at this point I decided I was feeling a little checked-out, and wanted to get home before Sunday so I'd have extra time to decompress, do some much needed grooming, and other errands. I also saw that someone got stuck on on Black Bear Pass closing that trail, and briefly read about a government shut down that might affect entering national parks. Got another hotel this night.
Day 14: 700 miles to Dayton, TX. Again I forgot I now live 3.5 hours east of Austin, so I thought I'd have an 8 hour day but ended up being 12.
Day 1: 800 miles to Capulin, NM. I recently moved from Austin to east Houston, which adds a few extra hours to my western road trips. I woke up late and a bit hungover thanks to unexpected drinking with my cousins and family the night before. My very first gas stop was just over an hour in, and I left the pump unattended to go get much needed snacks and coffee. When leaving the restroom a guy looked at me concerned and asked, "is that your bronco?", and me feeling proud replied "yeah
", then he let me know that my pump was overflowing. I sprinted with unpaid snacks in hand to the pump where I immediately slipped and fell in the overflowing gas. Got back up quickly and stopped the flow finally (I assume 4-5 gallons spilled over). I never had that happen before, and was wondering if this was a sign that the trip wasn't meant to be. I used a few towels to clean up the mess, recollected myself and waited close to 30 minutes before I started back up. The bronco and I reeked of gas, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to sleep inside if I couldn't get the smell out. After 12 hours driving with the windows down, I arrived just outside the volcano entrance and got ready for bed. I was surprised the smell went away right at bed time.
Day 2: 280 miles to Salida, CO. I drove up the Capulin Volcano, and did a few hikes up and in. There was awesome lightning around the volcano the night before, and saw warning signs along the trail. Then I stopped at Cascade Falls, a tranquil spot nestled between 2 14ers I camped near a few trips back. I love this place, and can easily spend hours just sitting on the boulders enjoying the creek. I met a family that ended up only living 10 miles away from where I stay now, in a town of less than 10,000. Then I ventured off to the first national park on the trip: Great Sand Dunes. Pretty cool place, and the dunes seem endless once you begin trekking through. I camped nearby Salida.
Day 3: 140 miles to Aspen, CO. The drive up Independence Pass was easy and scenic. The fall colors really started to show here, and the weather had turned just after arriving. Relentless clouds of cold rain did not seem to end, and blocked my views of the mountains.
Day 4: 270 miles to Walden, CO. Stopped by the Maroon Bells in the morning where the dense fog continued to block my view of the dramatic mountain peaks. I then headed to Rocky Mountain NP which unfortunately was a bust. The cold rain with dense clouds continued, and my plans to drive the ridge trail and hike in the park were cancelled when the park closed the roads. I had a campground in the park secured, though I was not allowed to setup my shower here (less than 1 gallon of water w/ biodegradable soap) that I desperately wanted after being in the freezing rain for over 24 hours. I exited the park and got a hotel in Walden and felt disappointed in myself, I always feel like I'm cheating when I get a hotel unplanned.
Day 5: 240 miles to Lander, WY. The weather here was sunny and beautiful, and the Sinks Canyon felt absolutely soul-cleansing. Slept incredibly well in the bronco, then stopped by the trout lake where I chatted and fed trout with the pastor/mayor of some town in WY. I won't forget my interaction with Tracy here.
Day 6: 190 miles to Grand Teton NP. I was anticipating this to feel overrated, but I was very wrong. The Tetons are stunning when arriving, I didn't expect to see bison roaming here, the fall colors grew stronger, and finding free camping in the golden aspen forests of Shadow Mountain was a treat. There were more hiking trails than I expected, all of which were stunning. The only part I didn't love but did at the same time was thinking I might see only a small crowd at Schwabacher Landing in the early morning. I arrived an hour before sunrise and the lot was ALREADY filling up with people shouting. By the time I left it was a full on amusement park with cars parked anywhere and everywhere, creating unnecessary jams. While I did capture photos of a great sunrise, I had to include a photo to show what it's really like with the crowd.
These folks taking selfies with my Bronco
Days 7 and 8: 170 miles + 80 miles of Yellowstone NP. I underestimated the vastness and incredible beauty of this park. Still so much more to see here. I closed out the last 2 camp nights of the season in Tower Fall with such the most wonderful camp host. Greg was genuinely excited and happy for me to be there, showed me pics and gave me insider scoop, even led me on a hike through a secret trail to see a bear. I was in awe of Lamar Valley and the landscape with continuous sweeping hills. I can't articulate it, but driving around here was just beautiful. I loved seeing bison everywhere, and the bison jams. On my second night I was walking the trail back to camp and stumbled right next to a black bear!
Day 9: 400 miles to Babb, MT. Not much to report here, other than the fact that driving to Mammoth from Tower Fall was absolutely beautiful, and then the drive from Mammoth to Gardiner was SO cool! It felt like I was on another planet, but the drive required focus so I didn't capture any of this beautiful drive. Secured a spot at Duck Lake, and didn't see a single person here.
Day 10: 310 miles through Glacier NP to Butte, MT. This was a late addition to my trip, but I figured northern WY might be the closest I get to Glacier, so I should go ahead and check it out. I got to Logan Pass before sunrise, and had enjoyed some enchanting hikes here. Going To The Sun very well might be the most beautiful road I've driven. I spotted 2 moose in the lake when hiking here, felt like a magical moment. Agpar Beach on Lake McDonald is stupid pretty, would love to spend a whole day here. I was going to stay off the highway at a rest stop, but decided to truck on down to Butte, MT.
Day 11: 460 miles to Provo, UT. Nothing exciting this day, just covering ground down I15. This was the one day I had a planned hotel night secured in advance.
Day 12: 270 miles to Moab, UT. Stopped in town for lunch, then ran the Potash Road to Shafer trail. I planned to run Long Canyon on the way back but I was losing daylight and didn't have a camp spot secured so I bailed. Ended up staying at UtahRaptor State Park. First time airing down and back up. When I woke up ready to leave, my rear driver TPMS displayed 20 PSI which alarmed me. I thought I must have had a flat because I surely filled back up to 35. I was clearly in a daze, and went to replacing the wheel right away. I thought about patching it, but for some reason didn't even try. I just started cranking, and by the time I removed the wheel I realized it didn't look flat, and the sensor probably just needed to calibrate. Silly me, a little learning experience.
Day 13: 575 miles to Roswell, NM. I had a few more days planned, including some mountain passes near Telluride and White Sands NP. However at this point I decided I was feeling a little checked-out, and wanted to get home before Sunday so I'd have extra time to decompress, do some much needed grooming, and other errands. I also saw that someone got stuck on on Black Bear Pass closing that trail, and briefly read about a government shut down that might affect entering national parks. Got another hotel this night.
Day 14: 700 miles to Dayton, TX. Again I forgot I now live 3.5 hours east of Austin, so I thought I'd have an 8 hour day but ended up being 12.
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