A tank of gas, a camera, and a woman on the wide open road

Much delayed, here are some photos from my solo driving trip from Boulder, Colorado, back through San Francisco. Boulder to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Jackson Hole through the Grand Tetons to Yellowstone. Yellowstone through the Devil's Garden, Idaho, to Salt Lake City, Utah and the Timpanogas caves. Salt Lake City through the salt flats and through the endless desert, unknowingly past Burning Man and the early burned man, to Lake Tahoe. And finally, Lake Tahoe to San Francisco and Reid, who gave me bongos.

I had a good time and saw a few other solo women travelers, and though we exchanged understood smiles I didn't speak with them. Trips are always more fun for me with companions but if no one is available and you have the time, it seems better to still make the trip and do it on your own. At least it was for me in this trip. I did want to camp out but that seemed less wise than when Nicole and I went cross-country and slept on the sides of roads together on a plastic tablecloth. I went through a variety of cheap motels, arriving in the evening, having dinner, and leaving each day around 7am to have the road to myself.

Driving through cowboy country in Wyoming. Stunning. I thought I was already in a national park, but I was hours away.


Jackson (Hole), Wyoming. I made a split-second decision to take the road toward Yellowstone instead of going straight to Utah, which was hours out of the way but even though my trip turned out solo I still really wanted to see it. It was a fun cowboy town and I'll definitely go back to go down the river and see more wildlife. I went to a bar and accidentally bought a big drink and then found out it was happy hour and I got another free. Sat by myself in a noisy bar enjoying people-watching the bikers and wildlife guides get rowdy. Later had barbecue. Was tempted after my big drinks to get a fake old-timey photo taken but decided that would be one of those things that was more fun with other people and by myself it might be funny, but a little funny-sad.




The Grand Tetons (north of Jackson)



Yellowstone












A woman waiting for Old Faithful with her dog named Paxil "because he's my little anti-depressant!"




Yellowstone Grand Canyon






Devil's Garden National Monument, Idaho. The most depressing national monument EVER. After driving well out of my way and through 20 miles of permanent duststorms (there was a sign saying dust storms next 20 miles) I arrive at an eerie park full of signage about the destruction of the earth by humans. As if the scenery wasn't depressing enough. (note: the state of Devil's Garden is not due to human destruction but rather lava flows and explosions. The current hotspots that created the garden and the flat landscape of Idaho are currently under Yellowstone, causing the geysers and earthquakes there).











Utah: The Timpanogas Caves

A mile hike nearly straight up leads you to the mouth of these caves. Outside the temperature is in the 80s. Inside you need to wear a coat. You have to take a tour as they're afraid people will touch things. My tour was two couples, the guide, and me. There are tons of formations and a lot of it has to do with the fact that the valley of Salt Lake city was formerly an ancient sea. At one point our guide led us into a cavernous space called the "Crocodile Room" and asked us to try to find the crocodile trapped in the rock. We were all searching the ceiling with our eyes and our guide finally pointed out a rock formation that just kind of looked like a crocodile. A little. I couldn't see it. A guy in the tour said, "You gotta be smoking a lotta weed to see that!!!" The mollified and most likely Mormon guide admonished him by saying she guided a lot of kids who didn't need drugs to have an imagination and see the multitude of animals in the rock of the crocodile room. It was hilarious.





My mom and step-dad (he's carrying a concealed weapon here, as always)


The Great Salt Flats, near the proving grounds.

Loneliest pet area.


Trust me, I was really tempted to take my car out and see what that Camry is made of.




The salt sticks to your shoes until it's like you're walking on platforms.


Back to California through the Sierras: Lake Tahoe.
What a wonderful gateway into California. It was gorgeous. I stayed at the old Travelodge in Tahoe City and giggled to myself at breakfast listening to two old guys reading the paper and laughing about the man who burned the man early at Burning Man and why he was in trouble for burning the man early.


I have no photos of the bongos, but trust me, they're awesome.