Travel Camp 2012 Update

Hello from Montana!!

We are a car full of champions! After getting eaten alive by ferocious mosquitos at a campground near John Day, we had a trying day in Boise, ID. The drive to Boise was relatively uneventful; the rolling brown hills don't provide a lot for scenic entertainment. During a small leg-stretching stop in the small town of Vale, OR, we were warned about Idaho drivers by a friendly local baker. He compared them to “bad Eugene drivers on a bad day during a Ducks game.” What were we getting ourselves into?

We made it to an enormous Fred Meyers on the outskirts of Boise where we had a monster shopping session, collecting provisions for several future meals. It felt good to plan ahead! We then headed towards campgrounds that we had previously researched, called about, and decided on but upon reaching the area, we discovered that all of our research had left out one important detail: all of the campsites were only accessible by boat. We made a spaghetti dinner in a nearby State Park and enjoyed the sunny weather while casually planning our next move. I spoke to some local cyclists passing through the park about camping ideas and they recommended an RV park in Boise. The only other plan we had in Boise was to rock climb any time before 10pm. Leaving the park a little later than planned, we headed towards the RV park only to be chased by an intense dust storm; the weather had changed within seconds and, with the surrounding strip malls associated with our environment, we felt an increasing gloom. So far we were unimpressed with Boise, and thus made general assumptions of Idaho. In the Fred Meyers, some of the campers encountered offensive remarks against inter-racial marriages, while the other campers noticed how “white,” “sterile,” and “hostile” Boise felt. The compressing heat and sprawling city roads did not improve our opinion of Boise.

When we finally reached the RV park in the impending storm, we realized it was unfit due to the lack of tent space and suffocating environment. It became clear, much to our dismay, that rock climbing was no longer an option; we had spent all our time driving from one side of Boise to the other looking for adequate accommodation. We decided to put forth our energy into finding an affordable, yet comfortable hotel room and eventually found a Shiloh Inn. Although we arrived late, many of the campers enjoyed the sauna and everyone took pleasure in the hot showers, electrical outlets, and soft, clean, bug-free beds.

The next morning we took full advantage of the continental breakfast and took off to the Craters of the Moon National Monument. The drive was dry, hot, and dusty, but when we reached Craters of the Moon, it was like stepping out into an alien world. We rolled into a campsite surrounded by lava rocks and ruins with total exposure to the sun. After setting up camp, we drove out to explore the area and hiked up a giant black, scree-covered hill. The view was incredible – one good thing about Idaho's flatness is the distance you can see from a viewpoint. We could almost see the Tetons off to the distance, and spent time gazing down at the strange lava ruins below us. We then drove to lava caves through which we crawled and explored. It was a quick climate change from the intense heat above ground to the coolness of the world underneath the surface. We enjoyed rock climbing among the stalagmites and boulders.

Later in the evening, after a successful quesadilla dinner courtesy of Jose, we attended a ranger talk on the sky seen from Craters of the Moon. Because of the remoteness of the area, the sky above Craters is one of the darkest in the country, therefore allowing prime star-gazing conditions. We learned all about the night sky while trying not to be too distracted by the fireflies and the planets over our heads. After the talk, we drove back out to the caves to attend a Star Party: a telescope event focused on specific sights in the sky. We saw Saturn, globular clusters, Mars and Jupiter, galaxies, supernovas, and learned all about the constellations that are visible in the night sky.
The next day we set off for West Yellowstone. The drive was moderate – we stopped in Rexburg for lunch where we sadly left behind our camera, which had been a beautiful documentation of our trip thus far. Fortunately, there are enough personal cameras through which we can collect photos. West Yellowstone was a refreshing experience. We found a campground just outside of the town and Yellowstone National Park and spent the evening swimming in the Madison River, eating pizza and enjoying the picturesque, touristy town. That night we had a value session on stereotypes and identity. The comments were astoundingly thoughtful; everyone took away something powerful and our discussion dived deep into the issues that we are all conscious of. Cloud and I were blown away by the extension of the discussion. We feel incredibly lucky to have such intelligent and introspective young adults as our companions. We slept soundly that night despite our awareness that we were in bear country and that the sounds of the forest were filled with unfamiliar sounds.

The next day we were in Yellowstone. This was a monumental experience for us and brought travel camp to a whole new level. I will write about our incredibly Yellowstone experience in the next blog post. Tonight we are in Missoula, taking the opportunity to rest, shower, do laundry, and revive ourselves before full immersion into the rugged terrain of Glacier National Park.

We have encountered many challenges along the way – bugs, intense heat, extremely long days, a difficult hike, and exhaustion. But like I said, we are a car full of champions, and these kids bring so much to the places we travel to, I feel immensely grateful to be a part of their experience.

More soon,
Platy