Finding greener pastures after fleeing our dispersed campsite

Read the story of our dispersed camping debacle here.

We also did a livestream recapping all the issues we had, plus we told a crazy story about what happened when we were leaving the dispersed camping area.

One thing full-time RVers quickly learn is how to be flexible. We found ourselves in an extra buggy dispersed campsite, with a neighbor who was blatantly disregarding the camping rules and etiquette. We initially had plans to stay the full five-day maximum there, but by day two, we were already questioning that decision. We were feeling the strain of not having hookups, something we typically enjoy, but after several weeks of being on no-to-limited hookups, we were itching to regroup. Sometimes we just need a moment to not think about water and electric conservation, and to be in a place where we can easily do laundry, receive packages, and get projects done that are more easily tackled on hookups. I found an RV park in Dubois, WY, only about 90 minutes down US26. We booked a site for six days starting that Wednesday, hoping that if we knew full hookups and amenities awaited us on the other side, we could get through these five dispersed camping days.

But that night, I was awoken at 2AM by mosquitoes buzzing in my ears. The nights had become a pattern of killing mosquitoes, going to sleep, getting startled awake by more buzzing, killing those mosquitoes, and so on. In the dark, I grabbed my laptop and started searching for nearby campgrounds with availability. In the Tetons in July, sites are hard to come by. We'd need to move basically every day during those three days, and that wasn't going to happen. We had busy work days ahead and couldn't constantly be traveling. Disillusioned and exhausted, I put my computer away and figured after more sleep, I'd feel better about staying for the remaining three days. 4 hours later, I woke up to more buzzing and realized we had to flee. Our wellbeing and our jobs depended on it. But where could we go?

I could have looked at our situation pessimistically, fearing how few options we had. Instead, I saw this as an opportunity to spend three days anywhere we wanted! Well, anywhere as long as we'd end up within driving distance to Dubois. If nothing was available in the general vicinity, perhaps this would be a good time to venture up and over to Cody, WY. A couple of RVer friends of ours raved about their stay at Buffalo Bill State Park, and so I pulled up availabilities, and there were a lot. Done deal. We'd head toward Cody and spend three days at Buffalo Bill. This would mean driving away from Dubois, and then afterwards, circling back around and creating a big loop. Way more driving than we initially intended, but it would be worth it if it helped us feel better about our situation.

This was when I had an epiphany. We had been on the road for almost 17 months, and up until that point, our drive days were about getting us from one place to the next. They sometimes get stressful, and they can often be anxiety-provoking. Even though we "road trip" as a lifestyle, and we enjoy the views during our drives, we seldom purposely take the scenic route or utilize our drive days for new adventures. Heading out of Bridger-Teton and over to Cody, we'd be traveling through Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Shoshone National Forest. Suddenly, I became excited to make our drive the first step in boosting our spirits. I wanted to use nature to our advantage, and I looked forward to seeing these two beautiful national parks once more, before venturing into new territory.

Our drive day was hands-down our favorite one to date. We passed through several of the parts of Grand Teton that we visited on our audio tour, getting to see the mountain range, the Snake River, Jackson Lake, and the wooded north of the park. Then we towed back to Yellowstone, where we drove alongside Yellowstone Lake's West Thumb and north shore. I spent most of the time unable to put down my camera, snapping picture after picture.

Then, the East Entrance road, which would have been a little scary to tow over, but we had towed over Teton Pass not too long before. After that, everything is a piece of cake.

Entering Shoshone National Forest, we were greeted with the most mesmerizing rock formations we had seen in months.

We realized that nowhere else could we have taken one 3-hour drive and have it yield the varied terrain we got to witness: Lakes, rivers, canyons, mountains, hydrothermal springs, red rocks, and pastures. The landscape is unparalleled.

When we arrived to Buffalo Bill State Park, we immediately felt relaxed. We had our boondocking experience, but in a site where we felt comfortable. Most of our days were spent working, but we did have some time to head back into the national forest to check out Holy City, a series of volcanic rock formations that eroded to form its own little Mecca. We couldn't have timed it better; the sun was starting to set and hid behind a cloud, creating heavenly rays over the rocks.

We also ventured over to the town of Cody, stopping at the Buffalo Bill Dam along the way. Wyoming state parks tend to span many miles, so our campground, North Fork, was about 15 minutes away from the dam. When it was constructed in the early 1900s, it was the world's largest dam. It's become a tradition in our travels to visit dams, and we're always amazed at the feats of engineering, especially with these massive concrete structures built so long ago.

Back at the park, we enjoyed the river, reservoir, and mountain views. We had a nice, large picnic area where we made a double campfire using our Solo Stove Mesa and the campsite firepit.

And my favorite memory, simple but nostalgic, was this fun way to cool off on the hot summer days, just like I used to do as a child. Tanner wasn't thrilled with the activity, but he did seem to appreciate its cooling after-effects.

The following Wednesday, we packed up and headed the 225 miles around to Longhorn Ranch Lodge and RV Resort in Dubois, WY. There, we had our regrouping stay, where we completed some projects, got some packages, ran errands, did laundry, and cleaned out our tanks. Our full hookup pull-thru site was most welcome as our home-base for all our productivity. Of course, we couldn't visit a new place without exploring a little. We went to the National Bighorn Sheep Center downtown on a quest to find where the sheep were summering. It's funny that bighorn sheep was our only remaining animal on our "wildlife bingo" scavenger hunt that we hoped to see this year, and we weren't even going to stop by Dubois on our travels. Dubois is home to the largest herd of Rocky Mountain Bighorns! So naturally, once we found ourselves there, we had to prioritize our search.

We were led to Forest Road 411 in the Whiskey Mountain Basin. It's a well-maintained dirt road that leads to a few lakes and dispersed camping sites. There are also some ranches built up there. At the end of the road is a group of trailheads that lead further into the mountains. This road is part of Shoshone National Forest, a different section than we were near when we were up at Buffalo Bill, divided by US Route 26. We went for a scenic drive around sunset one night, hoping the sheep might be out as the weather cooled. No such luck, but the views were good enough to cushion the blow.

The following morning, we returned to the road, this time with plans to hike. We weren't even expecting to see sheep, but there they were, a few ewes and their lambs, just wandering in the fields, in far lower elevation than we expected for such a hot day. We saw the same herd on our way out, meandering up the road.

We chose to hike to Lake Louise, the first of three glacial lakes along Torrey Creek in the Whiskey Mountain Range. Bad weather had kept us from visiting a hidden glacial lake when we were in Glacier National Park, and so to be able to finally hike to one was a real treat. The hike was outstanding, and we both agreed that it was easily our top hike all year. We were pleasantly surprised by the rugged terrain. Granite slabs and boulders reminded us of hikes back home in the Northeast. We love a good boulder scramble and our bodies seem to respond really well to them, almost like we have muscle memory for them. Dirt hills and switchbacks, not so much.

A short detour along the Glacier Trail brought us to a beautiful waterfall at a surprisingly powerful point of Torrey Creek. Further up the hill, the rapids splashed violently on the rocks and fallen tree trunks below.

The entire hike offered us views of the mountains and red rocks, but Lake Louise was the true payoff. This was one of the most stunning views we've seen in all our travels, with the clear, blue waters outlined by the rugged granite shoreline, and the mountain peaks and glaciers above it. We took our time wandering along the rock slabs and soaking in the scenery. Then we made our way back down.

It's crazy to think that these were some of our favorite experiences all year, but we only had them because we fled our dispersed campsite. If we had kept with our original plans to dispersed camp around Grand Teton, we would have only driven through Dubois, and we wouldn't have gone through Cody at all. RV life means that we have the flexibility to choose our own happiness, and if something isn't working for us, we can move on. We could have stayed at our dispersed site and muscled through all the things that were making us uncomfortable, but that's not why we chose this lifestyle. We want to truly enjoy our days, whether they're full of work and projects, or they're a sunny Sunday taking one of the most breathtaking hikes of our year.