I just finished my first quarter as a PhD student at UW so it's about time I get back to this!

Day 8: Billings, MT to Pray, MT

I woke up excited to get the hell out of the Motel 6 I stayed in (number 2 of 3 across my whole trip) and make my way to Pray, MT, where I treated myself to a stay at Chico Hot Springs resort.

I spent pretty much the entire day in the hot spring on site, which is a pool that they fill from a nearby geothermal spring. I had a nap, took a walk around the grounds, and started working on part 1 of this blog post before heading downstairs for dinner in the resort's famous dining room.

I thought the food was unbelievable. I ordered a huckleberry and whiskey cocktail, the smoked rainbow trout, the filet mignon, and a seasonal pumpkin creme brulee. Everything was excellent, but I think the star of the show was the filet. I like medium rare and thought it was perfectly cooked, and the combination of the salty blue cheese with the tart huckleberry was so right that my mouth is watering as I write this.

After dinner I retired to my room where I remember sleeping very well. The stay at Chico was expensive but imo worth it, although my opinions are likely colored by all of the budget-friendly accomodations I booked before this night.

Day 9: Pray, MT to Gardiner, MT

This was my first day in Yellowstone. My plan was to stick near the stuff within roughly an hour and a half from the north entrance of the park, since my accomodation was nearby. I wanted to start with the Mount Washburn hike in the morning, but when I got there I saw a sign at the trail head warning hikers that this region of the park has particularly high bear activity particularly during this part of the year. Given that I saw a baby one on my drive in, I figured I should grab some bear spray before attempting this hike solo.

Resigned to pickup some repellent I made my way to a camp store near tower falls. It was the first falls I saw here so it had that going for it, but overall I found it to be a crowded viewpoint. IMO the real star of this stop is the yellowstone river, which you can get great views of if you hike down a bit further from the tower falls viewpoint. After hiking back up I picked up my spray and a bison braut before driving back towards mammoth hot springs near the entrance of the park.

The mammoth springs have this scaffolded stadium type of structure from the years of erosion, and you have to walk on a boardwalk to see different parts of it. I read many signs in this park but for some reason one I read here stayed in my head; something about how the springs are constantly changing and evolving, some geysers may close and some new ones may open.

Yellowstone is so big that even these few stops consisted of many hours of driving and hiking. Exhausted but fulfilled I made my way back to my room for the night in Gardiner, just outside the park entrance, and got some rest before my second day in the park.

Day 10: Gardiner, MT to West Yellowstone, MT.

Today the plan was to drive from the North entrance of the park, down to lake Yellowstone, and out towards the West entrance. On my way in there was a huge bison herd grazing near the road.

Equipped with my bear spray, I started the day by summiting Mount Washburn

I found the hike to be super doable and the view from the summit definitely made it worth the 3 hours that the hike took.

After eating lunch in my car I drove to the lower falls. The falls is cool but also really crowded, again I personally favored the views of the canyon that you can enjoy by walking a bit further from the trailhead and the parking lot.

Feeling some sense of urgency now, I drove pretty much straight to yellowstone lake from here, where I tried the huckleberry ice cream at a camp store (it was ok). After a short break at the lake I continued on to the geyser springs near the west entrance that have old faithful in hopes I could see an eruption today.

There are lots of small geysers in this area all with a pretty good view of old faithful, so I figured I'd explore them while waiting for an eruption

From these docks I saw old faithful live up to its name, and then headed out towards West Yellowstone for the evening.

Day 11: West Yellowstone, MT to Idaho Falls, ID.

Today's destination was Idaho Falls, which was one of the shorter drives on the trip. I checked out rather late and had breakfast in West Yellowstone before starting the drive. I arrived sometime in the early afternoon and walked around the town center for a bit.

I had a lot of free time this day so I did some work in a coffee shop before checking into my room and heading out for dinner. I loved dinner this night, Thai food with the biggest Thai Iced Tea I've ever seen.

Day 12: Idaho Falls, ID to Boise, ID.

On Day 12 the main event was the Craters of the Moon national park. It has a bunch of very cool lava formations, and you can get a permit to visit the lava tubes as long as you convince the park rangers you're unlikely to be carrying any bacteria that will harm the bats in those tubes.

There are some cool legends originating from the Shoshone tribe about this region, including one about a Great Serpent who tried to sleep on a giant mountain when lightning struck, angering it so much that is squeezed the mountain, melting the rock and causing the lava to flow.

I then checked into my room for the night and grabbed dinner at a korean fried chicken restaraunt. I had an unexpected bought of home-sickness which was soothed by the vibe here, reminding me of the many Korean fried chicken restaraunts in my old neighborhood in Allston, MA.

Day 13: Boise, ID to The Dalles, OR

Today was a long day of driving, and the only things I did before making it to The Dalles were stop at a cafe for pastries in Baker City and do some work at the Baker City library.

I checked into my room in yet another Motel 6, which because I booked through a budget-friendly website ended up being a smoking room and it absolutely reeked. My lease had already started at this point and because I was not thrilled about staying at another Motel 6 in Portland the next day, I decided to cut my trip a little short and head straight to Seattle on Day 14. Luckily Portland is a short drive from Seattle and I'm optimistic I'll make it there sometime in the next few years.

Day 14: The Dalles, OR to Seattle, WA

The last day of my drive! I decided to check out the Multnomah Falls, which were on the way to Seattle. Upon arriving, I felt like, ok, I'm really in the PNW now huh.

I climbed to the top and back which took maybe 2 hours total, and finished my drive to Seattle!

Reflections

• There is so much to see in the middle of the US and I had a lot of fun exploring
• I liked my route and its pacing. I don't think I felt overwhelmed by the amount of driving I had to do any day of the trip. Probably I'd skip booking Portland or find some way to make it there faster if I planned the route again.
• I had some FOMO while driving through Yellowstone, if I was visiting only Yellowstone I think 5 days would be enough to be satisfied (I only did 2). It probably helps to camp inside the park.
• My stays in hotels and motels between Chicago and Fargo were cheap and nice and many included continental breakfast.
• It's great traveling with everything you own lol I had most things I needed with me at all times.
• If anyone's interested I can break down the cost of doing a trip like this, my estimate is somewhere between $2500 and $3500, of which maybe 80% is car rental/gas and accomodation. Lots of ways to save on food, although trying new things at each stop was a definite highlight of my trip.