2026 Travel Update Part 2

From Seattle to home… the journey continued.

Panchita and I on the Seattle waterfront. Here we toured “The Locks” where boats transition from the bay to the lake area. Seals, sea lions, and many salmon can be seen at the locks.

Panchita, Elsy, and Elena in front of the Museum of Pop Culture designed by Frank Gehry. The exterior is multi-colored titanium and similar to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilboa, Spain. Aside form the waterfront, we also visited the Space Needle and Capitol Hill neighborhood on this beautiful sunny day.

High above Seattle visiting the Space Needle.

Driving a couple hours South of Seattle we camped near the Nisqually River, just outside Mt. Rainer National Park. We stayed here two days and visited the park twice.

Reflection Lake view of Mt. Rainier. The road took us along the Southwest side of the mountain.

My husband Chris on the trail at Mt. Rainier.

Our view from the RV campsite. It was so peaceful!

After visiting Seattle and camping for 4 days we drove East thru the Cascade Mountains, Spokane to Coer d’Arlene, Idaho. On our way to Montana and Glacier National Park. I-80 took us across the Bitterroot Range where we turned North to the Salish Mountains and the park. The following morning we drove up and across the park on the famous “Road to the Sun”.

Road to the Sun, Glacier National Park - Becky and a passing tour bus. Several of the hiking trails were closed due to “bear activity”. We didn’t see any bears, but did see a few mountain goats. They were higher up and far off the road.

Road to the Sun from West to East appears as a “cut” across the mountains. Our Class B van was allowed to navigate this narrow 2 lane road. The total traverse took about 4 hours with many turn-outs for photos.

One of many waterfalls in Glacier National Park. The tour buses are from the 1950’s and have open tops allowing patrons to photograph without exiting the bus.

At this point in the journey we decided to turn South to revisit Yellowstone and Teton National Parks in Wyoming. We had visited East Yellowstone a few years ago, but a second visit coming from the North seemed ideal.

Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone Park.

Geyser Basin - the geyser on the left pictured here has been continuously steaming for many thousands of years. It pulsates and sounds like a freight train engine. The air smelled of sulfur and a boardwalk allows visitors to walk thru the geyser field.

Lewis Canyon on a bright sunny day.

The falls located on the Lewis River heading South to Teton National Park.

Teton National Park, located just outside of Yellowstone, was “full”, however, we managed to secure a reserved rustic campsite for the night. We were warned 3 times about “bear activity”, but fortunately did not encounter any. We had no bear spray. I continually checked for bears prints, but could find none. Our only defense if we did have an encounter? Panchita!

The rustic campsite within Teton National Park. This reserved spot was given to us since my husband stated he was a retired Park Ranger from Florida. In addition, we traveled with the America the Beautiful National Parks ID card. It cost $85 for seniors and provides a 50% savings on ALL National Parks entrance fees. The card paid for itself after just 3 park visits.

A 3 minute walk from our site brought us to this wonderful view of the Tetons. The water was cool, not too cold, however, very few people were taking advantage of the lake.

The Tetons as seen from Deadman’s Bar Float Spur on the Snake River, just outside Jackson, Wyoming. The area, is collectively known as Jackson Hole. My husband first visited this area 50 years ago when living in Casper, Wyoming. Another very pretty canyon, Hoback, is located South of Jackson and is a hidden gem as not many people take that road.

Flaming Gorge Reservoir is another one of those hidden spots in Wyoming. The RV campground mostly empty. This afternoon storm gave way to a clear star filled sky at night. Our decision now was to revisit the canyonlands in UT and AZ. This would allow us to see different sections of those parks as well as Canyon de Chelly on the Navajo Reservation.

Additionally, we had made contact with my husbands college friend who was biking around the Western states. Chris had not seen him in 30 years and he was within an hour of our proposed route.

On our second visit to Canyonlands we visited a different area - Dead Horse Point.

Early morning at Dead Horse Point State Park.

The Upheaval Dome, a geologic phenomenon. Some people think it appears to be a meteor crater or basalt uplift. However, it could also be a granite dome pushing up thru the sedimentary rock layers.

After staying two nights here we moved on to Mexican Hat, UT and a reunion.

Stephen Paul Yeats {Yeoman) in Mexican Hat, UT. Yeoman has been biking on and off for 7 years or more. He has also hiked to Mt Everest 7 times in Nepal. A true artist, free spirit, and dear friend of my husband for 50 years. We last saw Stephen 30 years ago in Boca Raton, FL. You can follow him on Instagram.

Canyon de Chelly National Monument on the Navajo Reservation. Overlooks included the Mummy House, Massacre Point, and here Antelope Point. This area is one of the longest, indigenous peoples habitation in North America.

The Mummy House ruins which can be seen in the center of the photograph under the overhanging sandstone.

Full moon as seen from Santa Rosa State Park in New Mexico. We were now headed East to Oklahoma and Arkansas. Our destination was Eureka Springs, a small tourist town near Fayetteville.

Sunset at Eufaula State Park in Oklahoma half way to Eureka Springs.

We stopped for lunch in this unique town. It had many small boutique shops and restaurants, however, it was Sunday and several locations were closed. One day we will go back for a longer stay.

After returning thru Ft. Pickens were we stopped for 3 nights, we decided to spend a night in Port St. Joe, Florida. This is along the Gulf Coast and is know as “The Forgotten Coast”. It’s incredibly pretty and still retains the old Florida atmosphere. In the background is Cape San Blas.

The fishermen were cast netting for mullet to use as bait fish.

And home! We came back to thundershowers and highway construction, but also arrived safely.

The trip lasted one full month, covered 9,800 miles, multiple National Parks, numerous State Parks, and so, so many photo opportunities!

This was a true road trip. We learned “what we liked”, “what we didn’t like”, and “what we will do going forward”. It was fun most of all and each and every moment enjoyable.

Panchita was a good co-pilot, my husband a good driver, me the best navigator and reservationist, and Becky a good solid RV!