19 days in the Northwest-Butte, Glacier, Big Sky Lake, Issaquah, Olympic, Wind Cave, + Badlands '23

For my fifth major car camping adventure of my adult gap year I went to the great northwest. Due to jury duty, I had to stay in Wisconsin until mid-October, but then I headed west. Here's a map and overview of the major stops on my sojourn. (I'll go back and tell more detailed stories down the line.)

Butte, Montana - I saw my friends Matt and Jeannie for dinner and a show in historic Uptown Butte. I've known Matt since he was about 12 years old and a camper at YMCA Camp Benson. Now he's a full-grown human and a wildlands firefighter in Yellowstone National Park. What a joy to catch up! And the show? Christy Hays opening for Jeffrey Foucault & Eric Heywood. Hot damn! I got a great night's sleep in the historic Miner's Hotel, and the next day at 6am I headed to Glacier.

Glacier National Park, Montana - Amazing, majestic, gorgeous...but I only got two days there before a winter storm rolled in. I saw enough to know that this is one of our most beautiful national parks, and one I will definitely be returning to.

I started at the Apgar Visitor Center, then skipped rocks on Lake McDonald, hiked up to Avalanche Lake, and, then, um, napped in my car. In my defense, a construction crew was working on Going-to-the-Sun Road, and that caused a traffic back-up. The sun was shining and I had just eaten a huge bagged salad with hard boiled eggs and peppers...and I got sleepy. Sometimes it's very tempting to have an air mattress set up in the back of the car. It's nice to be able to pull over, enjoy the view, and snooze. One of my more memorable road naps!

Big Sky Lake, Montana - This trip was a great opportunity to see friends who live west of the continental divide. Jeff Harrits was the best man at our wedding back in 1997, as he was a close friend of my late husband, Mike. I'd been warning Jeff that I might drop in, but he definitely got more than he bargained for! Jeff and his wife Cathy were kind enough to welcome me into their beautiful home on Big Sky Lake to wait out a winter storm. The storm turned out to be three days long! Temps reached down to 15 degrees and we ended up getting about 12-14 inches of snow. Oh me, oh my, the hospitality! Cathy is an amazing cook, so I ate better in their home than I have all year. We played cards, played games, read books, shoveled, hiked, and talked a ton about Mike. It was idyllic!

Issaquah, Washington - When the weather cleared, I drove west and stayed with my brother Paul and his family out in Issaquah around Halloween. Highlights? We hiked Poo Poo Point, watched my niece in a "Zombie Walk", watched my nephew in a youth basketball tournament, saw Jacob Two Trees, biked 20 miles on the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail through Snoqualmie Tunnel, hiked to Snoqualmie Falls, and celebrated Halloween in style! I loved being in their world for a few days - meeting their friends and sharing meals together. Due to the blessings of family, I drove away with new clothes, food that would last me for days, and, most importantly, a full, full heart.

Olympic National Park, Washington - After Issaquah, I drove to Olympic National Park through cool towns like Sequim and Port Angeles, stopping only for bookstores, state parks and public libraries. I entered Olympic NP through the north entrance. I camped and hiked for three days, staying at Heart o' the Hills campground the first night, and Mora campground the next. I loved the hike to Marymere Falls, driving along Crescent Lake, then exploring the Hoh Rainforest - including the Hall of Mosses trail and the Hoh River trail. Elk were everywhere, including crossing my trail just 10 feet away at one point!

Beyond the trees and mountains, the coastline of Olympic NP is also incredibly beautiful. And I only explored a fraction of Olympic National Park's 73 coastal miles. I saw sunrise at La Push, then drove Hwy. 101 through Forks to go to Ruby Beach, Kalaloch Beach and others.

I also visited the great lodges of Olympic, including Crescent Lake Lodge, Kalaloch Lodge and Quinault Lodge. I hugged the world's largest Sitka Spruce, then reluctantly left Olympic, vowing to return for more backcountry and coastal hiking in the future.

Wind Cave National Park - I drove home through Oregon, then Utah, Idaho and Wyoming. There was so much that I wanted to stop and do, but I was also acutely aware that it was November and there were big mountains between me and home that would be better traveled without snow. So I hauled hard for two full days, and only slowed down once I hit South Dakota.

Temperatures were back in the fifties and sixties, so I visited two more national parks. The first was Wind Cave National Park, where I took the Garden of Eden tour and visited the natural cave opening.

I also enjoyed a 5 mile loop hike on Lookout Point Trail and Centennial Trail. Prairie dogs and bison were everywhere, and it was a little insane how close I was to them. (Safely, of course.) I also visited Custer State Park, just to the north, and found wildlife just as abundant there.

Buffalo Gap National Grassland was my next stop for dispersed camping just north of Badlands. It was a great location with amazing views. It was foggy and dark when I drove in and parked. And this is the vista I woke to at sunrise!

Badlands National Park is one of a kind. I had been there before, but only in passing, and only in the southern part of the park. This time I checked out the east side and took Hwy 240 for a scenic drive through places like the Burns-Basin Overlook, Yellow Mounds and Panorama Point. Highly recommend! I hiked Door Trail and then made my way out the NE entrance and back to Hwy 90. From there it was a straight shot home.

My books on CD got me all the way across Iowa, and then podcasts took me the rest of the way home to Whitewater, WI, where my cat Abra meowed and purred for 2 solid days after my arrival.

Sojourn on!