NORTHERN BLT
We were warned today would be a long day and boy it was!
Because we had decided to postpone the Tetons until today we got started early, we got packed up and Jake drove us to a viewpoint on the roadside of the mountains and Snake River.
This was some seriously stunning scenery. After stopping at the roadside and taking in the views we got back in the van and headed to the...
Grand Tetons, Wyoming:
When we got here Jake suggested some hiking options and that we could get the boat across the lake at a certain point to make our way back after hiking so we didn't have to do a huge hike to get back.
We all set off on the same hike that would take us to a hidden waterfall. Quickly the group split off with the fastest hikers in a group at the front, me and another trekker and another group behind us.
We started round the lake and the trail took us into the woods and on a slow incline round the huge Jenny Lake.
This was an amazing trail as you got great views all around, looking down at the lake, looking into the woodland and up to the mountain which we were climbing. After a few stops to view the lake and see how high up wed climbed we reached hidden falls.
It was very muddy round here as it had rained in the days before. The falls were hidden as you didn't see them until you climbed through a wooded area.
It was very muddy round here as it had rained in the days before. The falls were hidden as you didn't see them until you climbed through a wooded area.
We stopped for a snack while watching the falls before making the shorter hike back down to the jetty to catch the boat back to our starting point across Jenny Lake.
Once back at the main entrance we met up with the rest of the group and slowly others made their way back, we looked round the gift shop before having a proper lunch.
Jake had been resting up in the van before the big 400 mile drive to Nevada. After a long lunch we all gathered back at the van.
We headed off from the Tetons at about lunchtime with a huge drive ahead of us. We drove for hundreds of miles, making the usual gas station stops before arriving in...
Twin Falls, Idaho:
We stopped at Twin Falls, the largest city in Idaho, with Snake River running by it. This wasn't a main stop but apart from the Tetons was the longest stop we were making for the day. We got to see the town as we drove onto a main street and parked up for dinner. Jake didn't give us an amount of time here, just explaining we needed to get back on the road so to grab food and come back to the van.
There were lots of places where we stopped, a Mexican restaurant and lots of other fast food places. Some people went for the Mexican and other restaurants, whereas I and about 4 others crossed the road to subway to get large sandwiches and other snacks. We got back in the van and started eating our dinners, the others made it back as the restaurants took longer and we kept eating dinner as we headed back on the road.
As we had another long drive we all settled back into the van as we watched the sunset over Idaho, quite a nice view from the van, it is a road trip after all!
After we drove for a few hours in the dark catching up on sleep and phones we were nearing our destination.
We passed into Nevada and we could tell because of the casinos littering the sides of the road near the state line! It was quite weird to see large open dark spaces lit up only by the casino lights. The town we passed through was even called Jackpot!
Jake realised we were nearly out of gas and that we wouldn't really have enough to reach our destination without stopping. After miles of not seeing gas stations we finally found one but as it was in the middle of nowhere after pulling up it wasn't in use as it was out of hours. We were all wide awake by this point wondering if we would make it to the motel. We kept going and had just enough to finally arrive in...
Elko, Nevada:
We pulled into the car park of our stop for the night, Motel 6, by this time it had been a long day and was about midnight. We had made it to our eleventh state of the trip.
Although we had added an activity today, going to the Tetons, which had made it a much longer day, I was really glad we had done this. This stopped it just being a driving day and brought our time in Wyoming to a spectacular end.
We got into the pairs we usually did for motel nights and got given keys to our room. My trek buddy and I had a room on the first floor, so after difficulty dragging my heavy case up a couple of flights of stairs we made it into our room. My trek buddy got settled into her bed, while I took a shower and then got ready for bed too (I knew I wouldn't get up early enough to have a shower in the morning) ready for our adventures tomorrow…
ITINERARY (LISTED): Van Appreciation DayDISTANCE TRAVELLED (MILES): 415
ACCOMMODATION: Motel 6 - Elko, Nevada
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