After seeing the west coast in Washington, we decided to retrace our steps a bit in order to see more of the Rocky Mountains and begin heading towards Colorado. We left Ocean Shores in Washington around the middle of July and stayed 1 night in an Oregon Walmart parking lot. The following day, we drove all day (again) to a beautiful place in Ketchum, Idaho. We were able to find a place to camp in the Sawtooth National Forest, which was 15 minutes from the town of Ketchum. Although we say this often, Ketchum was one of our favorite places that we had ever been to.

On our first night in the Sawtooth Forest, we walked down the mountain-like hill that we were camped at to get to the river in the valley. However, we encountered leeches when we began to wade in it, so we decided that we should only look at the river and not get into it.

Even though our first adventure in Ketchum may not have been the best,  the rest of our time there more than made up for it. We rode our bikes into and around Ketchum several times, went on some gorgeous hikes that took us to incredible mountainous views, and toured the ski town like tourists.

After staying 2 weeks in Idaho, we left and drove to Bondurant, Wyoming (south of Yellowstone). This place was quiet but we, of course, enjoyed many good bike rides. On one of our rides, we found a very old cabin that had obviously been built in the early 1900’s. Other than the neighborly cows that walked by our campsite on a daily basis and a few other campers, we had the place to ourselves.

We only stayed about 1 week in Bondurant before heading out again. This time, we found great camping in Farson (Wyoming) and stayed near the Sandy Reservoir. Although, we were quite the loners at this spot, we got to pick the best place on the edge of a cliff that looked over the reservoir.

We have enjoyed the fact that the west is full of easy-to-find camping spots that are usually near towns and are always beautiful.

We look forward to taking you on our travels again in a few weeks as we enter Colorado. Keep following the adventures here!

Sawtooth National Forest

Rating: 

5 out of 5 stars

Comments:

Not every spot in this forest would have been ideal, but we were able to find a very beautiful site. Also, we found potable water at a campground about 10 minutes away.

Cell Service: 

– Google Fi (combination of US cellar, T-mobile, and Sprint): 4 bars of LTE

– Verizon: 4 LTE bars (with a booster)

Weather:

– High was in the mid 80’s

– Low was in the mid 40’s

Time of Year:

Middle of July

Recommended Places to See & Things to do:

– In the winter – go skiing!

– The town is full of bike paths and it seems to be a biking town in the summer so, ride bikes.

– There are many tourist attractions and local restaurants that are fun to check out if you have the time.

Bridger-Teton National Forest 

Rating: 

4 out of 5 stars

Comments:

If you don’t mind cows waking you up every morning, then this spot is great for a little alone/down time.

Cell Service: 

– Google Fi (combination of US cellar, T-mobile, and Sprint): 3 bars of LTE

– Verizon: 4 LTE bars (with a booster)

Weather:

– High was in the lower 80’s

– Low was in the mid 40’s

Time of Year:

End of July – August

Recommended Places to See & Things to do:

– The roads are a little bumpy, but biking or walking are always great ways to explore.

– There is no town close by, so get cozy and have a campfire in the evenings.

 

Follow the adventures!