My husband and I had been talking about taking a vacation for what feels like forever; taking a weekend here and there to go to the coast but never taking off any real block of time for us. I’m sure you can relate. We live some two thousand miles away from our families and any time we leave Portland we feel we must visit them and not just take the time for ourselves. We need to see my parents, his parents, his sisters, my sister, our nieces, etc. After a job change last year kept us from taking time off and having talked his family into it being their turn to visit this year we thought it was finally our chance to go somewhere together. Corona virus then cancelled our friends’ and families’ plans to see us and yet gave us this opportunity to have an adventure. What if we went to social-distance in nature? What if we could take a road trip and hike and not spend our time being obligated to go from one thing to the next? What if we dared plan it as we go?

Cory (my husband) finished a work project at the end of July and an art show I am in in Joseph was starting the same time so we had a loose plan. Cory took off work the first week of August and we decided to road trip to our friends Jeremiah and Nyssa’s house in Grand Junction, CO to stay with them for a few days and then plan as we go, seeing my art up on the return trip.

The first day we drove to Provo, UT and hiked to the base of Bridal Veil Falls before heading on to Grand Junction. We didn’t have enough time to hike to the top and be at our friends by dinner as we planned so the base was enough for that day. It was hot out and the sun was shining so it was a nice amount for the day after spending so many hours in the car.

The next day we went to a couple of vintage stores on Main St in Grand Junction and then hiked on top of Grand Mesa with our friends. We went to our friend Nyssa’s secret waterfall and had a view over the desert thousands of feet below. We even saw a giant porcupine scuttle across the road on our way back down. I hadn’t seen one in person before and was shocked how much it looks like a bush-like sagebrush or something at first glance!

The next day we largely took it easy hanging out at our friends’ place before leaving the following morning for Moab. Both of us had been to Arches National Park before and couldn’t resist a trip there with it being an hour and a half drive from our friends. Arches is the cheapest trip to Mars you will ever take. The rocks are red/orange. The sand is too. The rock formations-arches, pinnacles, mesas, towers, etc, are all so other-worldly and they tower above dwarfing anyone below. We hiked to Sand Dune Arch and to Broken Arch. So often on our trips we are pressed to see so many people that any time we make to sight see is crammed into the drive to or from and we try to do as much as possible and feel so hurried. This time we decided to hike to arches we hadn’t hiked to before, drive to see more of the park, and go on to the next. The hike was nice, albeit hot, and the rock formations were a fun change to what we had experienced on the last hike there. There was a slot canyon sort of section at Sand Dune Arch that was so wild to be in with the walls so close and the sandy floor. My husband was really happy to see prickly pear cactus along the trail (ok, I admit I was too) as I am planning a desert painting featuring it.

Our hikes were done by lunch time so we ate and decided to go to Canyonlands. Neither of us had been before and it’s twenty five miles outside of Moab. Why not? The drive there was so empty and coming up on the park shop it was fairly small compared to others we had been to before. We were both a little shocked how relatively few people there were for it being summer when people tend to be out on vacations. I know there’s a pandemic going on and so I was thankful not to battle crowds there or at Arches, but even so it seemed like we had found a “secret spot”. It’s possible the heat was a factor as it was 100 degrees and hiking in heat at elevation is no joke. We hiked to Upheaval Dome and then to Mesa Arch and drove around, getting out and walking at a lot of viewpoints. The landscape is so different in Canyonlands even from Arches. You are above looking down on all these striped rocky canyonscapes that seem straight out of a Western. I cannot wait to paint so much of it. If you are looking for a wild landscape and time away from people, Canyonlands is your spot.

That night we drove on to SLC to have a four hour drive in to Grand Teton the next day. Grand Teton was amazing. Cory had been before and says he thinks it is his favorite National Park. I can see why. Cory loves hiking near water, climbing on rocks, and being a pale person like myself does better in less heat. Grand Teton is a fairly small national park but offers so much. We took a boat ride across Jenny Lake to hike in the mountains. We hiked to Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point, and a little up from there for a better view. The air is so piney and fresh that I wish I could bottle it. The mountains tower and are so jagged they are a change from our forest covered mountains here in the Pacific Northwest. Sure we have the cascade peaks but those aren’t all together in the same way. It’s a total different feel. There were more people around here than in the desert but it was really easy to keep our distance and stay safe. I am so thankful we went. I have been near there a few times and have never had the time to check it out. You could spend weeks hiking the mountain trails, I know. Now I know to plan to come back!

We stayed that night in Driggs, ID after some prayer and a small miracle of finding a room. Our motel booking for the night hadn’t solidified the way we had believed and we had to find something on the spot. Next time (fully counting on a next time) we may bring a tent for our back up plan. In the morning we left for Yellowstone, coming in the west entrance. West Yellowstone and Jackson the day before coming into and out of Grand Teton was the busiest we had seen any place on our trip. I was pretty glad we had stayed in the small town of Driggs and far removed from all of the hustle. I think in non-pandemic times Jackson looks like a fun place to vacation.

Yellowstone is my favorite park. I haven’t been to all of the parks as much as I would love to but I still know Yellowstone is the very best. It’s huge, it’s the oldest, has varied landscapes, the geysers and hot springs are in constant motion and you always see wildlife. It was my third time at the park and we spent a full day there going to the Paint Pots, Biscuit Basin, hiking to Mystic Falls, seeing Grand Prismatic, Old Faithful, and Mammoth Hotsprings. We saw buffalo, elk, and lots of people. We did our best to give space and we skipped some things like the hike to the overlook for Grand Prismatic as there was too big of a crowd to keep six feet apart. It is so hard wanting to see all of the sights and making the trip and feeling like you are missing part because you have to play it safe and don’t want to chance being in a crowd. Nonetheless we did exactly that. Life in the time of corona virus is strange for everyone, we do our best to uncomplicate it.

We stayed that night in Butte, MT and drove on toward Wallowa, OR the next day. We stopped at a few outlooks and checked out a bridge that crosses the Snake River in ID. The Snake is beautiful and the route we took followed it as it winds through forested mountains. Nearing Wallowa we once again saw a bunch of buffalo, an unexpected surprise on this leg of the trip. We stayed in Wallowa as the tiny town of Joseph was all booked but Wallowa is close and our accommodations there were our favorite on the trip. The next and last day we went through a local drive through cafe and picked up breakfast burritos and coffee and at them at Wallowa Lake looking across to the mountains.

I love hiking in the Wallowas and it was hiking them and the paintings that I did from that that inspired this trip in a way. The art show we went to this day was an exhibit on wild landscapes of Eastern Oregon that one of my paintings inspired by hiking on our previous trip had been juried in to. We checked out the show at the Josephy and saw my art as part of it. The space itself is a really beautiful building with a cabin feel. I recommend visiting there if you can.

This was the very best vacation and the timing of it being during a pandemic only served to brighten the experience after having been at home so much for so long. I believe time spent recreating outdoors is healthy and I know for myself is what serves as inspiration for my art. I have a project on my desk now to finish and I cannot wait to jump into the next of something fresh from our adventure!

Inspiration Point, Grand Teton National Park (Cory & I)

Art Store