Maryland to Yellowstone 2020

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With Covid affecting my work in 2020, I was lucky enough to not be furloughed except for Fridays. Given my 3-day weekends I would now have for 6 months, I arranged to work on the road and take advantage of my extra time off.

I was inspired to take the leap by two good friends who spent three weeks out west earlier that year. I am able to travel weekly for my work and have been just about everywhere in the US, but driving out west was not something I have done. I was apprehensive about going solo but glad I took the leap and was blessed to see our amazing country.

My plan was to be on the road for 4 weeks hitting South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. With crazy weather and wildfires happening out west, Utah and Colorado were postponed for another time.

I purchased a used 2007 FWC Hawk camper a year earlier and threw it in the back of my Ford Truck. I had taken a shorter trip earlier in the year to TN and NC and knew I needed AC. I spent July building a custom crossover box utilizing two headache racks and holding an AC unit tight against my FWC sliding front window. The box also held a Honda Generator, solar-powered battery pack, and allowed access to the truck bed where plenty of essentials were carried.

I spent 3 weeks to the day on the road working Monday-Thursday and staying on EST which worked well. By 2pm each day I was ready to explore or move to the next location. I stayed in hotels periodically to get a good shower and do laundry as well as some campgrounds.

Old Red (my faithful '97 Ford I bought new) took me 5408.7 miles, to the top of the Beartooth Highway (10,947ft), gulped down 328 gallons of fuel costing $762.46, and returning me an average of 16.5 miles per gallon. I only needed a quart of oil as she smoked like a train at altitude, got locked out once, wouldn't start as it was too cold in Bozeman (I plugged her in after that), and lost a wheel center cap in Nebraska (it had been loose for 15 years). She also turned 150k miles on the trip but continues to run like new.

I was able to see The Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Devils Tower National Monument, Little Big Horn National Monument, Custer National Forest, Cooke City, MT (The Coolest Small Town in America), Yellowstone National Park (NE, N, W, and S entrances), Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park, W. Yellowstone, MT, Old Faithful, crossed the Continental Divide (many times), Grand Teton National Park, and Jackson Hole, WY.

I am ready to go back.

 

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While it gets lonely here and there while driving for hours upon hours of flat roads across Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota, I had my dear friends to talk to throughout the weeks which certainly helped.

 

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I spent a night on BLM land at the Badlands and drove through later that day.

 

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My next stop was Mt. Rushmore. When you round the bend and see it for the first time.....you say "WOW" - at least I did. I stayed local, rode a mountain slide and zip line while there and visited a farm petting zoo - I don't get to see cows too often. I headed to Sturgis to see what it is about and then on to Wyoming.

 

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Devils Tower......you know it......Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I stayed at the KOA campground at the base where they played the movie every night. I admit I watched it. It was just plain neat to look at the big screen and then look above it at the tower. I might have seen something in the sky that night........

 

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WAZE suggested two ways to Custer's Last Stand. The highway or the backroads - both the same time. I decided the later and was rewarded with views of the Devils Tower, Big Skies, and no traffic. None. I entered Montana and probably could have eaten lunch in the road as I was alone.

The Little Big Horn Battlefield also had a dedicated cemetery besides the graves throughout the fields where lives were lost. The horses let everyone know who was in charge. Not us, though they went along with Old Red's rattling for a while as they probably thought I was there to feed them. Off to Billings, MT, to do some laundry.

 

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Montana, like most of the west coast was on fire when I got there. The fires were in Bozeman and you could smell it in Billings. I rested up, did some laundry, and made plans to head back to Wyoming.

Another friend had helped me plan some of my trip and Red Lodge was on the list. I had an extra day to get to Louis & Clark and could go one of two ways. The highway or THE highway....the Beartooth.

The Beartooth was an awesome drive. I pulled over many times so those who came behind me could see the road. Old Red was pouring out the exhaust at these higher altitudes. I was actually passed by skateboarders going down the hill. Crazy. Up top I crossed from Montana back into Wyoming and then the peak at 10,947 ft, the highest Old Red would take me on our adventure.

 

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Kind of neat driving from Montana and back into Wyoming and then back into Montana headed to the Lewis and Clark Caverns.

 

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Cooke City, MT, was on my route. Gas, food, souvenirs, and hardly any real residents. I bet they get some snow. I got lunch and some fuel and headed on for one of the reasons I came - Yellowstone. I entered through the NE Entrance and left out the North. I took a few pictures but just took it all in. I was to be back and headed to Bozeman for my trip to Louis & Clark the next day.

My father told me about the caverns and I got the last spot for the abbreviated tour. Normally you would venture through most of it for 2.5hrs. I don't think my bladder would handle it. Due to COVID, we went in the exit tunnel to one room and looked around. It was neat but not what it could have been.

Unfortunately, it was cold up top. Windy. And snowing. Ninety degrees the day before. I fired up Old Red and went to hit the head, then couldn't get back in. I carried two keys with me the entire trip but old door locks just don't work well. After 30 minutes and getting a coat hanger in my vent window (they don't make them like that anymore), I was able to get my window down and get inside. At least she was warmed up!

 

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After the tour I went down the mountain where the snow was only rain and I had two choices. Camp in the rain or head back to Bozeman for dinner at the Olive Garden and a discounted hotel room. Guess which one I took? The locked door issue in the storm made the decision not to camp an easy one.

 

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Bozeman, MT, to West Yellowstone was another beautiful ride. While I had been to Big Sky years ago it was not to be on this trip. I actually had planned to go through Idaho and southern Colorado. Snow and wildfires were happening everywhere and I decided it would be for another time. As Idaho was only 5 minutes away I decided I would at least cross the border to add it to my list of states I visited. It was beautiful.......

 

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I spent a few days in W. Yellowstone working and venturing into town in the evenings. It gets dark late in the day though my sleep schedule was still off.
The steam from geysers helped hide Old Red's trail and I had asked them to not let Old Faithful blow until I got there and they were nice enough to wait. Pretty cool to see. The staff mentioned there were constant earthquakes for days so I decided to keep moving. More mountains were calling.......

 

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I left West Yellowstone and headed through the Grand Tetons and on to Jackson Hole. Words can't describe it. It was amazing.

 

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My last day in Jackson Hole I took another route through the Tetons. It was even better. There really are no words. Saw some buffalo and antelope among the amazing scenery.

 

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I left Wyoming on a Sunday morning to head back to MD. I planned to work each morning and leave after lunch each day. Five - 450 mile afternoons across the country to get home. It was just over 2000 miles. It kicked my ass, though I made it safely home. First stop was my dad where I found him in his chair.....asleep.