The first week of the trip is underway.

Friday May 13th - Saturday May 14th
For our first weekend of the trip we drove to Bozeman from SLC to watch my climbing team compete. They did amazing with probably the best results we've ever had. Watt got third by only the smallest of margins behind second and Clara tied for first place. Conner and McKinley also did very well. Hopefully this year we will have more than one climber go to Nationals. We left with many hugs after everyone was finished competing but we didn't stay for the awards ceremony. Instead we headed back to our previous night's campsite along the Gallatin river. When you are trying to camp for free it's best to give a lot of time to find a site. Luckily our spot was unoccupied and we were happy to setup camp again. It was significantly colder that night at we decided to lay in bed and watch a movie (thanks Chris!!!)

Sunday May 15th
The next day we decided to drive through Yellowstone NP. It was a good choice as there were very few other tourists and the scenery was outstanding. Buffalo grazing along the road in front of steamy thermal vents provided a scenic vista to behold. We hiked along the boardwalks to Fountain Paint Pot and enjoyed the unique pools of hot liquids which varied from clear blue water to thick muddy bubbling cauldrons. Each pullout had something different and the wind carried the steam quickly along the ground. In some of the pictures you can see how windy it is by how far along the ground the steam is carried. In a few places we were totally enveloped in the sulfuric aroma of the warm and wet venting. The colors ranged from vibrant blue to brilliant oranges with all other shades of the rainbow in between. Bison droppings were all around the vents probably because of the warmth they give off during the winter which helps melt the snow. Given that we have Mojo (our dog) with us hiking around wasn't really an option so we just did the short walks. I must say we would've loved spending more time but we needed to keep moving.

Sunset Lake

bison and steam

rainbow steam

it was THIS much snow!!

We crossed the Continental Divide 3 times that day. Last winter that area received over 600 inches where thy normally get about 400. We were blown away to see snow on the side of the road taller than the van. Many of the lakes were still completely frozen over. Leaving Yellowstone to the South took us directly past the Tetons. The views were incredible and we might have stayed there for the night if the campgrounds had been open and hadn't cost $20! We kept driving and passed Jackson, WY around dinner time. We took highway 191 towards Daniel and were discouraged to see a sign along the road posted by the Forest Service saying camping was only allowed in designated areas after May 1st. Luckily the Hoback river was almost flooding and the weather has been so poor that the campgrounds weren't open. We figured that meant we could camp anywhere we like and found a suitable spot high enough that any overnight rain wouldn't be a risk. After a bit of nervousness with the wind, threatening clouds and the roaring river we fell asleep.

The Grand Teton (i think)

Monday May 16th.
We awoke, brewed a quick cup of espresso and got on the road. The goal for the day was to get to Vernal in time to try and renew my Utah drivers license which happens expire while we will be in Europe. We got to Vernal by early afternoon, got our paperwork in order and renewed the license. Shopping was next on the list and we picked up a few greens and fruits to supply us for the week. Cassie and I are friends with a few people in Vernal and it was excellent of them to invite us to camp in their driveway and make dinner for us. Don, Trina, and Matt showed us a great time of fish tacos, beer and a great game of ladder golf. Much laughter was had by all watching all the cats and dogs interact. Trina and Don's roommate Shawn has a german shorthaired pointer named Ace who made Cassie and I very happy by proving that Mojo isn't the only dog who whines. In fact the whining was so similar to Mojo that it was pretty hard to tell who was doing it. We also unloaded a few items deemed to be superfluous. The van is slowly getting more streamlined... Thanks much to everyone for such a fantastic time and your hospitality! Hope you can kill a few minutes at work reading this :)

Tueday May 17th
We just left Vernal Utah and are headed East towards Colorado and Penitente. The weather for the week looks quite terrible for pretty much the entire West until next week. Given the conditions we have low expectations for the week of the trip where we'll be climbing. Our hope is that the area we are going will be drier than most and will allow us to do at least a few routes in between the raindrops. Can't say I'd rather be at work though even if the weather is less than favorable. We drove through a Douglas pass on route 139 on the way to Grand Junction and it snowed on us around 11am. It didn't stick which is pretty lucky given how treacherous that road had tons of dropoffs and switchbacks. We are now leaving Grand Junction and are headed toward Monte Vista, CO via US 50. We should be there later this evening, and if the weather holds climbing our first rock tomorrow!