DAY 5: WYOMING & UTAH

The traffic never went to bed. The sad thing is that the campground at St. Vrain was nice and it was a pretty park, but the traffic noise and proximity to the highway took everything away from the experience. A lot of the campgrounds that I’ve been staying at have had more RV campers than tents, which makes sense for this time of year. I don’t think it would matter as much if you were in an RV with traffic noise outside.

At one point in the night, I woke up and looked at my Fitbit watch. It still hasn’t caught up to the time change, a constant reminder of Pittsburgh time. But, in that moment of half sleep, I forgot that and almost decided to get up and start getting ready. It was 4:45am! I’m glad I realized it before getting up! When it was time to get up, around 6:45am, the dew on the tent from being by the water had soaked the rain fly and into some of the other gear. Hopefully it will dry during the day. I broke down camp and Portland didn’t eat any of his breakfast.

The camp services building had showers and nice bathrooms, and even though I rarely pay for a shower at a campground, the 75 cent, four minute hot shower was worth every penny. I finished getting ready, with Portland waiting in the car, and then we were off. I planned to get right on the road, with a seven hour drive ahead, finding time somewhere later in the day to post the blog. But...I spotted a Starbucks right near the turn onto the freeway (the same one that was noisy all night), and Sean had passed on a few gift cards to me. They were burning a hole in my pocket.

At Starbucks, out of my element, I panic ordered a Pumpkin Spice Latte. When in fall, right? Their indoor seating was still closed due to COVID, so I chose a table outside close to the building. It was 42 degrees out, and as I typed and edited, my fingers started to freeze and become stiff. I have to find my gloves that are hidden somewhere in my luggage -- note to self.

In Starbucks’ WIFI, we trust!

Nice to have reliable internet to get the blog posted and on the road by nine, just an hour after my goal time of departure. Well worth it though, since I remembered that Starbucks sells bagels, I asked for a packet of cream cheese and used it for one of my Moe’s granola bagels in the car. Before I left, I grabbed some hot water (for free) to make a travel mug of green tea for the road.

The GPS routed me out to Fort Collins, and I always think it’s neat to see the towns you’ve heard the names of so often but have never been to. There was some construction along the way, and then we drove into a lower elevation mountain pass where the scenery was changing -- Rockies back behind us and to either side a lot of red rock, mesas and other unique formations that kept the drive interesting. Passing ranchlands and farms. Somewhere along this road, we entered Wyoming and I had the quick instinct to pull over for a photo with the state sign. It’s my first time in Wyoming! I gave Portland some peanut butter in his bowl while I took a picture and then we drove on, not to Cheyenne as I had expected, but to Laramie.

Either way, Wyoming never seemed to have a whole lot going on. It was most of my seven hour drive for the day, and mile after mile of drab tannish green landscape with just a vast amount of space that I couldn’t quite figure out how it was being used. There were some interesting areas, more higher elevations, mountain and rock formations, and the Continental Divide. There was also a lot of wind, high speed wind warnings with gusts up to 65mph. There were big signs that warned of closures and warnings for high profile trucks, and I was briefly afraid that I might get stranded in Wyoming for a day.

Luckily that didn’t happen. We cruised on, listening to music and my audiobook, and later talking to Mom on the phone. The one stop we made for gas and rest was in Sinclair, Wyoming where the Sinclair gas company’s refinery station is. Huh. I don’t really know much or have an interest in gas stations, as a disclaimer. I guess if they have a green dinosaur as their mascot, they seem a little bit more interesting, right? The real reason I have any connection with Sinclair is that Dad always seemed to be drawn to it, and made a big deal about getting a photo with the dinosaur on our trip outside of Vegas in 2017. I think maybe Sinclair had some sort of childhood connection or memory for him. Maybe the stations had more widespread popularity back in the day.

Driving through so many miles of Wyoming was a challenge. It had a bit of an endless feeling with everything seeming so overwhelmingly large that it allowed some uneasiness to set in. It reminded me of the time last year when Dad and I almost ran out of gas in Texas, but got to the station just in time. I did enjoy seeing signs for Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, two parks that I’ve never been to and would love to see.

I’m not sure if I mentioned why I’m not visiting any National Parks on this trip. It just seems so unlike me. Most National Parks, even when they are dog friendly, have a lot of limits on where dogs can actually go while in the park. A lot of times they prohibit dogs on most or all of the trails. So, I decided that since I have Portland along with me to use the opportunity to see other parks and places. State Parks are so amazing after all, and sometimes overlooked.

It was a great relief this afternoon on our drive when we passed into Utah and began to come down through the mountains. I love drives where the road just hugs around the curves of the hills and you can make out nearly the same view of the ridges that you would see from an airplane. There were a lot of signature Utah structures to the rocks, some arches starting to form and things that looked a bit like the hoodoos at Bryce Canyon. About an hour left in our drive, I pulled over to a rest stop where the red rock scenery was particularly beautiful and easily accessible. I’ve been feeling a bit bad for Portland with all the long days of driving, though he mostly sleeps in the backseat. I put on his leash and got him out of the car and we walked over to a hillside covered in desert sage, and up a small path that had been worked into the ground by travelers before us seeking photo opportunities of their own.

Out of the mountains, we headed toward the town of Syracuse, past an Air Force base where loud jets flew overhead. If you’ve been following social media, don’t worry, I won’t talk about Top Gun today. The route seemed long, but eventually brought us through a residential area on a few very straight roads and then right up to Antelope Island State Park’s entrance gates.

I checked in with my campsite reservation for the Bridger Bay campground and then kept straight on the Davis County Causeway that started to cross the Great Salt Lake to connect with the island. On my first visit to Salt Lake City, I never saw the lake (except from in the air). The silvery blue water with the mountains in the background was so beautiful, I couldn’t resist pulling over to take a picture, although I knew there would be many opportunities. The campground was a short drive away once we were on the island, and again most if not all of the other campers were RV’ers.

The campground overlooked the Salt Lake, accessible down a path that I knew we’d have to take. For now, it was time to set up the tent. The air was hot and dry, with salt in the air it had a bit of a beach feeling. I was thankful that some of the still damp parts of the tent would have time to sun dry before nightfall. Although I prefer more primitive campsites, this one had a nice paved platform with a picnic table and sun cover, a fire pit set down into the paved ground. I built our tent up above the paved area on the flattest spot I could find.

It was already 4:30pm, so we had just about two hours until sunset. The trail map the ranger at the park entrance had given me had suggested one to two hour hikes and the Buffalo Point Trail was one that I recognized from my research. Some of the other trails further south on the island looked interesting, but it didn’t seem like any roads really went that far. I know there are backcountry permits available here, so maybe those trails are accessible only to backpackers or spurs off of other trails, making for more of a full day hike. Don’t quote me on that, but I know I’ll return to do more hiking here in the future.

Before we could start our hike, I thought it would be a good idea to try to find firewood. I hadn’t thought of it earlier, but this place was too perfect not to sit out and enjoy a fire under the stars. We drove toward the Visitor Center, taking a detour on a road towards a historic ranch site where I had spotted a herd of buffalo grazing down near the water. I pulled over and grabbed my camera, taking a few photos as I edged closer, knowing that at this distance it wouldn’t really improve my pictures. In these moments of wildlife viewing, I’m always wishing I had more powerful lenses for my Nikon. There were about 15 buffalo that I could count, in an area that looked like a salt flat (maybe using it as a salt lick?) and they were probably about 200 yards away. After a few minutes I turned back and we continued our search for firewood.

A quick note about buffalo/bison. In research I’d done back when part of my job was selling bison burgers...shhhh! I learned that bison are the American variety of buffalo, and "true" buffalo are found in other continents like Africa and Asia. They are mostly the same with some slight differences in appearance. So, these are bison and maybe I’ll switch back and forth. They seem to refer to them as buffalo here, (i.e. Buffalo Point).

Just as we were approaching the area where we’d entered the island from the causeway, I spotted two buffalo on the side of the road and pulled over. Much closer now, maybe 50 feet. The farther one was grazing while the buffalo closest to me was having a great time rubbing himself into the yellow tipped plants that dot the landscape here. They look similar to desert sage in color but have yellow flowers and more spindly leaves. The buffalo nuzzled against the shrub and rolled into it and then stood up and started walking out toward the road with one yellow flower right in the middle of his forehead. I was capturing the moment on video when he made a momentary turn toward me and I had a quick moment of terror where I thought it would be bison vs. Subaru. He really paid me no mind, I’m sure they’re so used to people stopping to watch them like paparazzi, and he continued across the street and, eventually the other one followed.

The Visitor Center had closed at 5pm, so no luck there, but we passed one more buffalo along the way. We drove past the Buffalo Island Grille, which looked like it was probably closed for the season in the beach area. Now I was out of options. If I wanted a fire I would have to drive off the island. For now, there was no time to waste.

The Buffalo Point parking lot was the highest elevation we’d seen in the park so far, with beautiful panoramic views of the water on both sides. As we started to make our way up the dry, dusty path through fields of desert sage and the yellow flowered plants, the view just got better and better. I’m not an expert on desert plants, but I know desert sage well because it is my favorite. I love pulling a bunch of leaves from a stem and rubbing them in my hands to smell the fresh and spicy aroma.

We passed a few other people on the hike up, and most people obviously spent some time at the top. It was impossible not to, with rocks to climb and sit on, and a winding trail that looped around, taking you as far as you wanted to go for different views of the water, mountains, and descending sun.

We explored for awhile up there -- I think of Buffalo Point as a butte, kind of a large single hill with 360 degree views. We did see another trail that seemed to connect and lead out to a point, but as many possible paths as we tried through the rocks, the suggested paths would always disappear like a labyrinth. That trail would have to wait for another day. We sat for a few minutes and soaked it all in. Portland seemed wildly happy here, content in the landscape of Utah, and I felt elated. Good vibes all over. Maybe we were just so relieved after surviving the drive across Wyoming? Or maybe it was the discovery of this wonderful, special place where the buffalo roam.

Dad and I always loved viewing wildlife together on our trips. Antelope Island was not in my original plan for this trip. I had planned to stay at Granite Flat campground, up in the mountains of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, but that site was now closed for the season. I found this campground when rebooking my trip, and being here just has the feeling of being pointed in the right direction. Thanks, Dad!

Portland led the way as we walked to the other edge of the trail at the top of Buffalo Point, and I saw a beautiful bird that I thought might be a type of pheasant, but have no idea. Then, we started to make our way down and I realized it was only about ten minutes before sunset, so we walked back up and chose a flat rock to sit and take in the view. Portland was all love and kisses as we waited. The view was worth the wait, as the colors of sunset developed in the sky, it almost made it impossible to leave. Golden colors, pinks and purples and reds, one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen. With so much water around it reflected in so many different colors.

We had to start back down the trail towards the car, otherwise we’d be eating dinner at midnight. Portland pulled me along, rushing along the path down, and I tried to stop taking pictures, but it was hard. Back at the car, we loaded up, and I’d had the foresight to collect some small dry branches for kindling on the way up the hike. Those were stowed in my daypack. I think somewhere in my mind I believed I might find enough to avoid a trip into town. Ha!

Driving out from Buffalo Point, I saw an RV stopped on the side of the road watching a heard of ten buffalo grazing and playing in the field. The sunset a perfect backdrop. I stayed to watch a few minutes and took photos. So amazing to see these huge animals roll in the dust and play around. The sunset was bold and vibrant, a streak of red over the water just to the left of where they roamed. I turned the car so I could watch them in the sunset as they walked towards it, away from me. One of the most stunning things I’ve ever seen, it was breathtaking and timeless. The beauty of it seemed to carry so much meaning, of great importance. The secrets of the universe.

We made our way off the island, passing a large herd of antelope (I think) in the quickly fading light. We’d seen a group of three deer earlier in the afternoon, but they weren’t really deer. Similar, but different build and antler shape. Hopefully we’ll see more tomorrow.

Off the island, the bugs on the causeway were everywhere, covering my windshield as I drove. I had read about the bugs here in certain months being so bad you need to have a head net. Glad it doesn’t seem like that at our campsite. I talked to Mom on the phone while I drove, telling her about the great place I was staying. I stopped at Walmart at first, but it was a bust for firewood. The Maverik station across the street was a success and I stocked up, two bundles for ten dollars.

We were back at camp in what seemed like no time. Maybe 7:45pm back at camp to start the fire, feed Portland, who devoured his meal, and finish setting up the tent. I made my own dinner on the camp stove, Heather’s Choice African Peanut Stew, which was pretty tasty. Better inflated than my first attempt with the (shhh) Bison Chili. I did a freestyle yoga, fireside, as I waited for the dehydrated meal to “fluff” up in the boiling water. Portland was ready for bed, so I put him in the tent, and sat out with a Brew Gentlemen General Braddock’s IPA that I’d brought from Pittsburgh, and ate my dinner by the fire under the stars.

The stars were amazing, along with the perfect crescent moon that later descended behind the hills. I stayed out until the fire burned down, just taking it all in and relaxing. With such limited time in each amazing place, sometimes you’re inevitably left wanting more.

I got ready for bed and headed to the tent to type, and the wind that had chilled things down a bit outside now rustled the rain fly of the tent. It wasn’t bad at first, but the wind picked up and rocked and pushed the tent around. I got tired quickly tonight and didn’t finish writing before falling asleep, cozy in sleeping bags with Portland, and the quiet and the slight wind.