The Lead-Up

Approximately 13,505 days after I started my first job following graduation from college (that’s approximately 37 years for the arithmetically less inclined), both my wife and I retired on the same day. Fueled by our newfound freedom and antsy from spending too much time at home, we thought, what better way to start this next phase of our lives than with a long and what we hoped would be an epic road trip. We dubbed the trip our Silvermoon Adventure. It’s a mash-up of the romanticism of our honeymoon 36 years earlier, along with my gray-bearded acknowledgement that while we are still both very young at heart, we are getting up there in age.

After driving over 5000 miles in nearly 5 weeks, covering 9 states and 15 national and state parks, was it as epic as we’d hoped? In a couple of words - heck yeah!!

The Plan

Our original plan was to spend 8 weeks touring South Africa, but due to the pandemic we cancelled that trip. Instead, we opted to stay Stateside and explore parts of the country that are new to us. Our requirements for the trip were simple. There would be no crowded airplane flights; just us, our SUV and the open road. We’d sleep in hotels, rather than camp. We’d visit a few new states, in our bucket-list driven quest to visit all fifty. Above all, we mostly wanted to hike in big open spaces, inhale gob loads of fresh mountain air, stop at scenic overlooks that melted into the horizon, all the while creating unforgettable memories. A hoped-for bonus would be the forced flushing of career worries, Zoom meetings and work emails from our minds, as each new adventurous mile unfolded. After wheedling down potentials, the Mountain West region of the United States rose to the top. Stops in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming would be our first, while Colorado, New Mexico and Utah would be repeat visits. And so it was that a few days after we officially retired, on our newly designated Travel Tuesday, we took off from Phoenix, bound for Montana. There were many planned and spur of the moment stops in between.

A Rainbow Lights the Red Rocks near Grand Junction Colorado

Colorado Rocky Mountain High

Our first major stop was Durango Colorado, with an in-between obligatory photo-op detour to the Four Corners Monument, where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah all meet. We pit stopped in Cortez before reaching Durango, a cute mountain town of about 5,000 mostly outdoorsy folks, that sits on the lush green banks of the Animas River and flanked by the southern edge of the saw-toothed San Juan Mountain range.

Durango Colorado Nestled Along the Animas River and the San Juan Mountains

I’m a photography buff, and one of my goals for this trip was to collect representative aerial photos of the small towns we visited. I kick started that quest in Durango. It had all the photographic elements - a river with a quaint compact downtown nestled on its banks; miles of bike lanes and walking paths; and plentiful green spaces. Taken together, these features nicely sum up Durango.

With the pandemic still a thing, we stayed away from crowds and ate most of our meals either outside or in our hotel room. However, for each state we visited, I collected a representative beer from a local micro-brewery. Montana’s Huckleberry infused brew was the most interesting among my large stash.

Making our way north from Durango, the Million Dollar Highway between Silverton and Ouray lived up to its lofty billing. The scenery was breathtaking, the road very curvy and nerve-wracking, we were thrilled with every mile. The drive had the potential to end in disaster, but worked out wonderfully - like some of my first dates with my wife back in 80s. The mountain towns of Silverton and Ouray offered some of the best small-town aerial photographs that I would capture on this trip. They both sit low in valleys, surrounded by tall mountain peaks, soon to be covered with snow, and were perfect pit stops to buy trinkets and to rest my nerves from the exciting, yet jaw-clinching drive.

Silverton Colorado Along Route 550 - The Million Dollar Highway

After about a week on the road, we crossed over the Continental Divide and traded the greenery of Ouray for the high desert of Grand Junction, Colorado. The Rocky Mountain National Park and Colorado Monument book ended our national park visits in Colorado. Lowland forests that gave way to open meadows and then onto Alpine summits summed up both parks. If narrow, switchbacks laden, cliff hugging mountains roads are not your thing, then you might not enjoy these parks as much as we did. But, if you kept your eyes on the road and saved your gazing for when you safely reached the next overlook, then your jaw would drop from the beauty that unfolded before your eyes.

The Rim Rock Road - Colorado National Monument

The Rockies

Besides national parks, we also love college towns. Their young-energetic vibe and welcoming spirit are the kinds of excitement that we seek whenever we travel. Over the years, we’ve enjoyed our many on-campus strolls. They remind us of a time when younger blood ran through our veins, when our love was new and co-ed bubbly. Boulder, home to the University of Colorado Buffaloes, sits at the foothills of the Rockies. Its large red roof-tiled bucolic campus had been one of our planned stops from the outset. We spent a perfect afternoon strolling, lunching and people watching along its Pearl Street pedestrian-only mall.

Boulder Colorado - Home of the University of Colorado Buffaloes

The Boulder Reservoir on a Beautiful Fall Day

The Bear Lake Region - Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Wyoming - Cowboys and Cowgirls Country

From Colorado, we made our way northwest through Wyoming. We stopped in Cheyenne because, as a child, I loved watching TV Westerns. The large, colorful and statuesque cowboy boots that decorate parts of the downtown area were well worth the stop. As we strolled through the statues, we joked we had finally found an answer to Shania Twain’s song - Whose Bed Has Your Boots Been Under? Well, her name is Cheyenne “Cowgirl” Wyoming, of course. After Cheyenne, we made our way across a very windy Interstate 80, to Laramie, home of the University of Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls. Laramie provided a perfect lunch break, another opportunity for some small-town aerial photography, and to stroll one more university campus.

Statuesque Cowboy Boots Near the State Capital in Cheyenne Wyoming

The Cowboy Bucking Horse Statue on the University of Wyoming’s Campus - Laramie Wyoming

Jackson and The Tetons

From Laramie, it was onto Jackson, Wyoming. The 80MPH posted speed limit in this part of the country substantially shortened our drive time. With 2 weeks of our road trip in the books, Jackson provided the launch point for the next series of National parks visits.

The Grand Tetons had been high on my photographic dream list for a long time. But first we had to get our picture on the Jackson town square, with our heads fully framed below those world-famous moose antlers arches. As luck would have it, the mountains surrounding Jackson got their first snowfall of the season and their white-dusted peaks gave us a wonderful foretelling of winter to come.

Photographing the Grand Teton’s Oxbow Bend in the Fall was the equivalent of me being invited to the Oscars - the changing burnt-orange leaves providing my Red Carpet. On the days we visited, there were dozens of serious videographers and photographers sporting their best gear, claiming their spots along the Snake River, all capturing their Oxbow Bend moment. I found my spot and seamlessly got in my clicks alongside my fraternal camera-toting brethren.

Grand Teton National Park - Fall of 2021

The barns along Mormon Row are one of my definitive memories of this part of the Grand Tetons National park.

The Former Mormon Homestead at Grand Teton National Park

Yellowstone - Bison and Geyer Country

We got the chance to meet a few interesting people on this trip. The husband of a couple from Massachusetts that we met at Oxbow Bend was an advance amateur photographer like myself. One tribe member recognizes another, kindred strangers. We stopped and chatted for a while. He offered me this tip. “At the Jackson Lake Lodge, walk through it, go outside across the balcony, and hike along the trail you’ll find out back.” That’s how we ended up hiking one of the most scenic trails on this trip. The Jackson Lake Lodge’s towering timber-framed windows look out onto the Tetons in the distance. In the valley between, the leaves were changing. Along the ridge line trail out back, signs warning of high bear activity and imploring each hiker to carry bear spray were commonplace. The Snake River ran silently and claimed its territory through the valley below, while nurturing the trees that lined its bank. This hike was what we wanted to experience. Here we were walking in big nature. The misty fresh air smelt like pine and soaked into our jackets. As I looked out onto the vast valley below, I silently put in a request to God - when I close my eyes and about to die, Lord, this is a scene I wish to remember. We were late getting to Yellowstone that day. We arrived smelling like the forest.

Watching Old Faithful Doing its Thing at Yellowstone National Park.

A Geyer Basin at Yellowstone National Park.

A Bison in the Mist at Yellowstone National Park

Idaho Falls

Our original plan was to make it all the way to Glacier National park, and cross over into Canada before turning for home, via Idaho and Utah. However, after finishing up our visit to Yellowstone, we accessed the weather, and saved Glacier for another trip. However, after four weeks, we weren’t ready to return home, and the thought of ending this Silvermoon Adventure too painful. So, we tacked on a detour through parts of California and Nevada instead. Death Valley national park and Las Vegas became our bonus ports of call, after stops in Idaho and Utah.

Utah - Red Rocks and a Salted Lake

Utah is a haven for outdoor Adventurists. We knocked off 4 of their 5 National Park on this trip - Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands and Zion. We also spent a lovely afternoon on Antelope Island state park, home to an enormous population of bison. They mostly spend their afternoons lounging by the edge of the Great Salt Lake, munching on scrub grass, licking salt and a chewing their cuds. We heard that the annual bison round-up is quite a popular viewing event. Next year, we intend to go back and check it out.

The Great Salt Lake at Antelope Island, Utah

Despite all our careful planning, a couple of things went off script during this trip. First, we both ended up having to seek emergency dental care on the road. What were the odds that we’d both ended up cracking a tooth while on this trip? But we sure enough did. Luckily, we found a great dentist, got patched up, or more accurately, filled up, and could soldier onto our next stop without losing too much time. I also underestimated the vastness of Wyoming and Montana. Just getting from one part of Yellowstone to the next was a huge undertaking, milage wise. Also, going from town to town just required a lot more driving. “Your next service area is in 105 miles” was not an uncommon signage. Yes, our 60-year-old bladders grumbled a few times, but we cowboy’d and cowgirl’d-up, as they say in Wyoming.

Turret Arch at Arches National Park, Utah

Homeward Bound - For Now

After 5 weeks on the road, we were ready to wind down the trip. Therefore, after seeing Death Valley National Park, we pointed our GPS towards home. There were a couple of brief stops along the way, but we mostly headed southeast across large stretches of desert as we made our way back to Phoenix.

Badwater Basin at Death Valley National Park, California

We found every national park to be beautiful in its own way, and with many miles of open road between us and home, I asked my wife to rank the ones we had visited. She was reluctant at first, but eventually named her top four favorites - Bryce, Death Valley, Tetons and Yellowstone.

“But now Honey, you must pick one.”

“If I have to choose just one, then it’s Yellowstone.”

“Why?”

“It’s Yellowstone because of the sheer variety of its beauty.”

“The landscape and the lakes, the Geysers and the wildlife are unmatched. But I also loved Bryce for all its hoodoo castles, and Death Valley for its rugged, stark, and beautiful scenic drives.”

“I see what you mean,” I responded.

“And you?” she asked.

“Well, for me, it’s the Grand Teton.”

“The photography can’t be beat. I’d love to live there for a year, and photograph all 4 seasons.”

We ended this trip with worn down tires and in need of an oil change, but our spirits were sky high and our travel-tanks filled with many fresh and wonderful memories. With plenty of time to kill as we motored home, we made plans for our next adventure, and after some rest at home, we’ll be ready to hit the road once again. Coasts of Oregon and California - here we come!