Welcome Home... Us, not Francine!

On August 14th, after a full day of work, we set off on our trip—a lesson learned: always take the day off before leaving! Our journey started on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, taking us through Louisiana, then up through Texas to visit family in Plano. From there, we continued to Moore, Oklahoma, for more family time, and then ventured through Kansas and Nebraska into South Dakota. We explored Wall, The Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Mammoth Park, Crazy Horse, and Custer State Park over several days. Our adventure then led us into Wyoming, where we hit a snag in Casper—a flat tire. Thankfully, Les Schwab fixed it for free!

We managed to cross Highway 26/287 just before it was closed due to the Fish Creek Fire and arrived at our campsite in the Grand Tetons with plenty of time to relax. We sat back, enjoyed some adult beverages, and watched the sunset—perfect ending to the day.

We explored Yellowstone and stopped by the Elk Horn Archway in Afton, where our dog had his stitches removed, and visited the National Museum of Wildlife Art. After that, we headed into Idaho. Strangely, we couldn’t find a single spot serving baked potatoes! Along the way, we visited Lemmon Falls, Twin Falls, Shoshone Falls, and the Soda Springs geyser. The next day was a bit long on the road, but we managed to visit both the Birds of Prey Conservation Area and Craters of the Moon National Park.

After that, we set off for Oregon. The final four hours of the drive were tough, battling 22-27 MPH winds with even stronger gusts along the Columbia River. The scenery was stunning, but the winds made it a challenging stretch. Over the next few days, we spent time with more of her family—the whole reason for the trip, really. Once our time with family came to an end, we hit the road again, this time to see Crater Lake, before continuing on to Shasta, California, and Mount Shasta.

From the corner of California, we took "The Loneliest Highway in the US" across Nevada, arriving in the city of Baker at the entrance to Great Basin National Park. There, we explored Lehman’s Cave and made it to the top of Wheeler Peak. Next up was Moab, Utah. Although we saw the "Mighty 5" in 2021, I still love the town of Moab, so it’s always a stop for us when we’re nearby. Lin Ottinger’s "Moab Rock Shop" is a must-visit for me every time.

Next up was Colorado, where we had two options to get from the western side to our eastern destination: Vail Pass (on I-70) or Monarch Pass (on US-50). Both passes are over 10,000 feet in elevation and feature some steep descents. Vail Pass sits at 10,662 feet and has notably steep grades (7%) on both sides, with two runaway truck ramps available for westbound traffic. We were heading east, though, towing a 3,500-pound load—our 40-year-old camper—pushing us along.

Monarch Pass, at 11,312 feet, was even more daunting. According to her RV app, Monarch Pass is not to be taken lightly. The road is challenging, with tight turns, steep sections, no shoulders, and sheer drop-offs. We would have faced six miles of uphill driving followed by 10 miles of a steep 10% downhill grade. Neither option seemed particularly safe to us.

After a 30-minute discussion and reviewing the weather and road conditions, we made the difficult decision to skip that part of the return journey. Safety came first.

Instead, we turned our truck and camper south, heading towards Albuquerque, NM. After an overnight stay, we continued east to visit Cadillac Ranch and Palo Duro Canyon. The following day, we met up with her folks again for dinner before finally making our way home.

After 26 days and 8,000 miles, we arrived home safe and sound, feeling incredibly grateful for everyone who looked after our house and cats while we were away. In hindsight, skipping Colorado turned out to be a wise choice. Francine is hitting the coast today and will be bringing flooding and high winds starting tomorrow afternoon, making her presence very unwelcome. It all worked out for the best!