Leaving Capital Reef, we headed north toward Provo for a good sleep at Rowley’s Red Barn, a free Harvest Host just off the highway with the mountains for a backdrop. We planned for the next two nights to also be Harvest Host locations as we neared Jackson, Wy.
We chose Melvin Brewing in Alpine, Wy thinking it looked like a good spot for our next evening. It turned out better than good. It really was great! We had our choice of sites on a small peninsula that jutted out into the reservoir. Not only did we have beautiful views, but the beer was darn good too.
The next day was a short drive into Jackson and an opportunity to be a tourist and do some shopping. We weren’t as thrilled with the location of Jackson Hole Still Works- notice I didn’t take any pictures- but their vodka laced slushees made up for the lackluster location.
Just something to throw in here. As we like to do a lot of boondocking, finding places to dump and take on potable water is an important piece of business for us. I may have mentioned before that we use the app Campendium quite a bit for this and for finding places go camp for the night. Campendium led us to the Afton City Park RV Dump Station. But after watching the Lady in front of us dump her black tank contents onto the pavement and using the hose to wash the sewage into the dump, we decided to move on. Up the road, we filled our propane tanks at the Exxon station. They were even kind enough to allow us to use the spigot on the side of their building to fill our water tank. Using Campedium again we found KJ’s Alpine, a gas station/convenience store. The town of Alpine and KJ’s put in a dump for RVers. Cost- just a donation. Not a bad deal. We are constantly impressed by the resources some small towns provide for travelers. We greatly appreciate it.
It was time to think about heading west to Rapid City and we chose a route that would take us through the Bridger-Teton National Forest, through Casper, Douglas and the Thunder Basin National Grasslands. We saw snow banks in the mountains and cattle drives in the Grasslands. That evening was spent at Douglas’ free Riverside Park; a nice little find right on the N. Platte River. Free potable water and dump. You know Tim and I enjoy a bit of history along with our enjoyment of scenic beauty. Well little did we know when we chose Douglas for our overnight stop that the town played a very important role in the discovery of the first Jackalope. It is said that two hunting taxidermist brothers “discovered” the Jackalope in the 1930s and sold its carcass to a local hotel thus beginning the search for the elusive creature.
Continuing east through North Dakota, we were surprised to find Freedom Mines, the largest lignite mine in the US.
Coming up- The Marina at Sheridan Lake, Boondocking in the Badlands, and the mother of all storms.
Your journey continues to be interesting and fun, even from a chair in Minnesota. Thanks for sharing.