Rave Hajj Part 3: Yellowstone National Park, Colorado, and (Sadly) Back to Real Life

And here we are…the inevitable conclusion to our epic journey.  Fear not, loyal readers, for we still have adventures to reveal!

As you may (or may not) recall, Tuesday found us waking up before the F-22 pilots had even had their morning whiskey, and bidding farewell to Vegas with yet another EDC in the books. The drive ahead was a long one, but relatively simple–730ish miles (approximately 11-ish hours with fuel stops) straight up I-15 all the way to Idaho Falls, and then via West Yellowstone MT into the park to Madison Campground. The drive was quite uneventful, but Idaho provided one of the best backdrops I’ve ever had for refueling.

We arrived with enough light to spare to get camp set up, a fire going, and a quick shot of Gunter enjoying his first visit to the first Natonal Park in the US (and WORLD). As the light faded we remarked on the unbelievably stark contrast of our previous happy place (a giant 3-night rave with attendance well up into six figures) and our current one (3500 square miles of unadulterated wilderness, no cell signals, and only our very-early-season camping neighbors–of whom there weren’t a massive number). Something something duality of man? Maybe it was just the Bombs Away “Low Order Porter” talking.

The next day we slept in (or as much as one can when the sun is your inevitable alarm) and, after a lovely cast-iron brisket, sausage, and eggs (remember how we were at Franklin BBQ in Part One? You *NEVER* leave without leftovers; it’s in the Geneva Convention!) we cleaned everything up (while it was still very much the early season, the bears *WERE* waking up as you’ll see later–and *VERY* hungry) and hopped in the miniature Family Truckster for a little drive around the West end of the park. We saw SOOOOO much more than what’s below; you *NEED* to get to Yellowstone. Do it in 2020. Treat yourself.

As lunchtime came and went, we realized that, much like the behbeh Tatanka above, we needed a snack–so we headed out the West Entrance to West Yellowstone. Everything you think a “quaint mountain town” is, pretty much sums up West Yellowstone. Mom-and-pop log-cabin structure gas station with clothing shop (which we admittedly took advantage of as we needed a couple things) and old-school soda fountain, small grocery store with everything you need and nothing you don’t, and even the famed Slippery Otter Pub. As an Otter Enthusiast™, this was a must–and didn’t disappoint!! There’s even a fantastic James May style trivia game on the back of the menu so you can bore your companions to tears while you wait for your food. Quite good burgers, and a fantastic local beer selection make this a “must do” anytime you’re in the area!!

After our late libation, we headed back into the park for some more exploring before returning to the campsite for relaxation by the fire, dinner, and an old recipe my dad always used to make when we went camping–dutch oven black forest cake. Cherry pie filling into a dutch oven, top it with a chocolate cake mix, and put it in the coals. If you don’t know how to tell when a cake is done cooking, then I don’t know what to tell you. (kidding–just stick a toothpick, or a fork, or anything else halfway sanitary–LOOKING AT YOU USMC!!–into the center and when it comes out clean, it’s done)

The next morning we awoke sometime around 8, performed ablutions, and fired up the ol’ Coleman 2-burner (converted from white gas to propane for a much easier effort) for a morning snack. The plan was to set out adventuring around the park all day, visiting all the things we hadn’t seen the day before. We didn’t get far, though, as we saw some of our fellow brave tent-camping souls moving en masse toward the Madison River which flows right next to the campground. We shrugged, grabbed the cameras, and headed in the same direction. An epic encounter awaited us, as we saw a herd of bison feeding our direction. We were nearly overrun by them (in a non-threatening way thankfully) and opted to make our way around so as to avoid any possible retaliation for being among fresh calves and their mothers. We then headed south, toward Old Faithful, then West Thumb, up to Canyon Village, and back to Madison, stopping all over the place for photos and to take it in. We even had a coyote join us on the road for a bit!

When we got back to the campsite, we packed up most of our gear in preparation for leaving the next morning, had our final campfire, and settled off to bed.

Morning welcomed us with the chutzpah that only Mother Nature can provide. We heard the steady drip of rain on the tent…and I quickly realized that as our route took us through the higher elevations toward the East entrance of the park, we’d find snow…and snow we did find, in spades. Despite the closure of East Entrance Road due to complete snow sock-in on the pass between Grizzly and Avalanche Peaks, and the resulting reconfiguration of our egress via the South Entrance (which means about an hour to get through the park), we reveled in the fact we’d get to see Grand Teton National Park and Bridger-Teton National Forest with a substantial blanket of snow (although the roads were magnificently clear, so THANK YOU to the crews that work very hard to keep them that way!!).

We proceeded southeast through Dubois, Sweetwater Station, et al. to Rawlins, where we met up with I-80. We stayed on 80 to Cheyenne, then south to Denver, where we spent a couple nights with friends in Arvada. We popped up to Boulder for some light shopping, where I very happily found the Truman Boot Company store (which sadly is now closed; they’ve moved all operations from Colorado where they started to Oregon–so if you’re in the area I *HIGHLY* recommend stopping by!!) and ordered my new Black Burgundy Rambler boots. Lots of amazing leathers were on display, so if you’re like me and every day is #bootseason you may want to keep Truman bookmarked (and follow them on all the socially mediums).

After the shopping trip, we popped back down to Denver for dinner and drinks downtown. Then back to the house, quick nap, and onward and upward toward Omaha to stop and see family for a couple days.  After that, it was Iowa for an overnight, and then the big haul…straight through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland where, sadly, real life set in once again…and exactly 3 days later we already had joined the pre-sale for EDC Las Vegas 2020, and plans are in the works for another far more epic adventure later in the summer.

Thank you all for reading, and I hope you’ve enjoyed spending time living vicariously through this 3-part series.  There’s a lot more in store in 2020, and I may even pop up a YouTube channel with some video goodies along the way.  Stay tuned!!