Two Month Road Trip Through the USA - East to West and back Again

Breakdown of our 2 Month Road trip across the states:

Total Time: 2 Months

Total States: 25

Total National and State Parks: 9

Total Distance: 10 000 Miles / 16 000 Kilometers

Fuel: 330 Gallons / 1250 Litters

RENTING A CAR IN PA - For more info on renting a car

Days stayed:

In Motels: 12 (45-80 dollars per night)

Camping: 14 (15 – 25 dollars per night)

with friends: 36 (Free)

Food: Avg of 30 dollars per day

Fuel Cost: 1235 Dollars

Our Two Month Road trip through the states in a Nutshell

We packed all our stuff and we were off on our road trip across the US. Our first stop was Lindsay’s cousins’ wedding that was held on a beautiful horse farm on the country side in Virginia. It was a traditional Jewish wedding and everybody had loads of fun. We had a day free so we visited Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s house. If you are in the area it is definitely worth a visit. The free tours are really informative and the tour through the house was a highlight. Click here for more information. 

After our short stop for the wedding we continued onwards toward Knoxville, Tennessee to meet up with Lindsay’s old friends from Boulder, Leah and Taylor. Such amazing people. We spend a few days chilling and catching up. Lindsay and I set of for the Great Smoky Mountains for a day hike. We drove through the little gem of Tennessee called Pigeon Forge, the home of Dollywood and mini golf. A little wonderland of amusement. The hike we did in the Smoky’s was called the Alum cave hike. Not too hard and gave us a taste of the park. The hike we wanted to do was closed for repair.

Next we headed to Tuscaloosa, Alabama where we spent a week catching up with our old friend we met in Korea. Kim definitely has one of the biggest hearts of anyone we have met. She is such a blessing and made us feel right at home. She showed us around campus and we had a taste of real southern BBQ. We also went to an old Victorian style house. The Van Der Graaf house. Click here for more info. We got a personal tour of the house and its history. The guy that took us through the house was full of knowledge.

We left the hot humid air of Alabama behind and headed for New Mexico. Yes this was a VERY long drive through the great lone state Texas. Two days driving to be exact. Hmmm how to describe Texas. Cowboys, Oil Drills, Cornfields, Big Trucks, Country Music, and aggressive drivers. We did hit up this little gem an old abandoned diner/fuel station. Click here for the pictures. We did not do a lot in Texas except try to get through it a.s.a.p. No offence Texas.

New Mexico! What an amazing place. We arrived in Mountainair unscathed and set out to see the Salinas Pueblo Missions. Click here to read more about them. But in short they are old Spanish and Indian ruins. After we got our fill we headed up north to Albuquerque to spend some time with Lindsay’s old roommate Claire. She has this nice adobe style house. What a week. Claire and her boyfriend Adam were loads of fun. They made us feel right at home. We went and walked around down town and had some lunch in a saloon dating back ways when. We also drove out to the mountains and spent a relaxing afternoon in natural hot springs. Click here to read more. They also took us to a comedy club at an Indian Casino. Lindsay and I went to the Petroglyph National Monument which is an area scattered with volcanic rocks with old Indian petroglyphs carved out on them. We also stumbled upon a car show in Albuquerque on route 66. Click here for some photos.

Still in New Mexico we went to Bandelier National Monument where Lindsay used to live. Bandelier is made up of hundreds of Indian caveats carved out of a huge rock face. Click here to read more. After we walked around there for a few hours we headed to Los Alamos where the first Atomic bomb was made. To say the least it was weird. It is this small little town where you have to show ID before entering. We went to the little museum there showcasing the towns development. That same day we drove to the Valles Caldera on our way back. A huge volcanic caldera. Click here for some pictures. Arriving there we found out that they were busy shooting a film there. Valley of Violence with Ethan Hawke and John Travolta on set (But we did not see them). We were able to get to walk around in the Caldera for a while.

We Left Albuquerque on the famous route 66. Or the sections that are left anyway. We headed towards Flagstaff. The gateway to the Grand Canyon. We booked into a motel and got our bearings straight. We spend the day looking around town and the next day we headed to the Grand Canyon. Click here to read more about it. The day after we did the canyon we headed to Sedona for a short hike to Devils bridge. Seeing it was summer the Grand Canyon and Sedona red rocks was HOT. Really Really hot. Sedona turned out to be one of those gems we did not expect to find.

Lindsay was not so adamant to go to Las Vegas but when you’re in America you and in the area there is no way that you should not spend at least one day in Las Vegas. The drive there was alien. The landscape of Nevada is something else and the heat even worse than what we thought it would be. A scorching 115 degrees Fahrenheit or 46 degrees Celsius. We stopped off at the famous Hoover dam and got out of there as fast as we arrived. The heat was just too much. We got a place right of the strip. Not the fanciest but it fit our budget. Click here to read more about our experience in Vegas.

So we headed down to San Diego to meet up with a few friends we also made in Korea. Amber and Elliot the climbing duo from Daejeon and Corey my board game friend also from Daejeon. When we arrived in San Diego not even 5 minutes has passed and ‘Elber’ (Amber+Elliot) waved two passes to Comicon in front of our noses. There was still a few hours left before it ended that Sunday. We jumped at the opportunity and walked around the madhouse that is Comicon for a few hours. We stayed with ‘Elber’ for the week. Corey showed us all the little budget eating places around town and I got to get my nerd on for a night. Amber was really amazing and gave us a free surfing lesson. I think the bug bit both of us a little.

Next we made our way up toward Yosemite National Park. We stayed in a small town outside called Groveland. Click here to read more about our stay and Yosemite. We did Yosemite Valley on bikes and did a short hike one day and went to the big sequoias in the southern part of the park the second day. The last day we went on the most amazing hike called the Cathedrals hike, a must do if you are fit enough.

Just east of the park is a real gem. An old Ghost town called Bodie. Bodie State Park is kept in a state of suspended decay and there is no gimmicky tricks here. Just pure ghost town. Click here to read more.

After our fill of the wild wild west we headed up to Yellowstone. Now if there is anywhere on earth that would make me second guess my sanity and be transported to a magical realm full of otherworldly creatures and dragons it is Yellowstone. Elk, Bison, Bears, Hotsprings, Exploding geysers, and steaming earth. It is definitely packed with tourists in peak season but for a reason. Click here to read more on our experience.

Just south of Yellowstone is the Grand Tetons. Think majestic mountains, horseback riding, a huge lake, and some great skiing in winter. We camped out here for a few days and hiked around a bit and just took in the place. Click here to read more.

Our second last stop was Colorado. We were blessed enough to be able to stay with Coen and Heleen and their three little boys. Heleen is my aunt’s sister’s daughter. They were so inviting and made us feel like we were back in SA. Lindsay left a bunch of boxes in Boulder when she rushed out to teach in Korea. Not knowing that it would be almost 5 years before she would return. John one of Lindsay’s Boulderite friends kept all her stuff. So first thing on the agenda was to say hi to John and try to pack all the stuff in the rental car. Lindsay showed me around Boulder and where she used to work, Movement Climbing and Fitness. We did not have loads of time left so we managed to visit Rocky Mountain National Park for the day. 

This was basically the end of the trip but we still had to get back to Spring City Pennsylvania. Lindsay’s old roommate and my old friend from SA lived in Indiana so on our journey home we made a quick stop with them.

All and all America is an amazing place. Expensive at points but the majesty and beauty takes your breath away. I almost want to end this by saying “God Bless America”. 

Grand Tetons in three days

Camping: Free

Cellphone reception and/or WIFI: Signal hill. You can use some hotels lobbies for free for WIFI. The laundry mat in Colter Bay has free WIFI as long as you do laundry.

Day 1: Getting there and setting up camp

We headed to the Grand Tetons from Yellowstone. Right when you enter the Tetons from the north

there is a little ranger station. We stopped there to get a map of the area and they told us about this great little FREE camping spot not far from there. They gave us a map and we decided to give it a look. The paid camping was convenient but again it will be “rock festival” camping (bumper to bumper). So we headed down this dirt road and came upon camping spot number one. It was full. We ended up getting to spot 4 and alas it was open. There were two spots and a very nice toilet. It was amazing. Secluded and beautiful. Of course there was a bear box to keep you and your food safe. This time we were going to use it. The ranger also told us a little secret of where we can shower for free. We promised not to tell. Just ask they will give you the low down ;).  After we set up our tent and got some firewood, we headed out to some of the lookouts and got some food to make. When we got back there was an older couple from Boston camped next to us. I did actually learn something. He had his American flag out and it seems that the American flag is not allowed to be in darkness so he had his little lamp shine on it all night.

Day 2: Day hike

The next day we headed out on a day hike we did the hike around the two oceans lake and Emma lake. There are more popular hikes that take you into the Tetons themselves but we heard from a ranger that for views of the Tetons from afar this was the hike to do. You also had the option of bailing sooner seeing that there is more than one loop. We saw two bold eagles fishing and playing with a fish in the air. We also came across some really friendly people out with their horses.

Day 3: Sightseeing and maintenance day

We decided to see as much as possible of the park and do the tourist lookout points and stop at some of the historic spots. We did some laundry etc before heading out. We headed out the east part of the park and headed south. We stopped at Cunningham’s cabin and continued down. We visited the chapel of Transfiguration and had a great experience getting a ride on an old Ferry system at the Menors Ferry historic area. The ranger was great and gave us a bunch of information and history of the area. We made our way back up through the park and relaxed at camp. The next day we were heading off to Denver.  

Yellowstone in 4 days

When you think of American national parks, usually Yellowstone is the first thing that comes to mind. After all it is the oldest national park in the world. Buffalo, wolves, Elk, Bear, and of course old faithful. It is situated on a giant volcano. Yellowstone definitely deserves days to really appreciate. We spend 4 days there and we wished we had more time. But we did manage to see everything.

Getting there

Seeing that we were coming from Yosemite we decided to this time just give it a shot with the first come first serve camping spots. We entered the park from the West. We arrived at the gate and were amazed at the line of cars trying to get in. We knew then that this was going to be a ride. People galore. Everywhere. We went to the first ranger station and enquired if there was any camping. No luck. She gave us some advice on getting camping and which camps fill up last. So we headed north. One thing to remember is that the park is really big so driving from place to place takes a long time. There was also road construction on the road north so it took even longer. We arrived in the northern part of the park and decided to head out to the little town just outside of the entrance. We were hoping to find some place to stay for the night in town. We ended up finding out about this hostel a few miles out of town. Hostels in America are far and few in between. We arrived there and as our luck was going for the day they were full. Thankfully they said we can pitch our tent outside. Amazing. We found a nice little spot next to the river and we were set. It was a really great place. Planning our trip for the next day. We ended up staying there for two nights and booking a camping spot in the park for the days after.

Day 1: Mammoth Hot Springs and Bunsen Peak Hike

We finally got settled and we were of. The Mammoth hot springs are ever-changing. Water flows from the earth and makes carbonate deposits. Over hundreds of years it formed the massive area now known as Mammoth hot springs. The different colors you find is actually bacteria growing in the warm water. We did the free ranger guided tour around the springs. This is one trick we learned. Whenever there is a free ranger tour it is a good idea at least to contemplate going on it. They are very informative. After strolling around the springs for a while we decided to go for a short hike to one of the nearby peaks. The hike was called Bunsen Peak. The views were amazing. It is a bit of a steep climb but it was worth it. We saw some kind of ground bird showing of and two eagles battling it out in the air. We drove a bit around after that just to see if we can spot some wildlife and indeed we did. The elusive Buffalo or as I would soon discover not so elusive. At first I was a bit disappointed with the amount of Buffalo but that would change in the next few days. Also I did realize that humans are very selfish and stupid. I don’t want to rant but stay in your car or at least if you get out have a safe distance and DON’T APPROACH THE ANIMALS. We saw A LOT of people doing this. We headed back to our little tent seeing it started to rain in the park.

Day 2: The Mud volcano

The next day we went to Mud volcano where once again we took the free ranger tour. This time she was really amazing. The place itself was also magical. I now totally understand why people believed in dragons and other creatures. One of the ones we visited actually sounded like a dragon breathing and steam came out of the mouth of this cave. There were many others that if I didn’t know any better would have made me believe that there actually is a dragon inside. I’m sure I don’t even need to mention the sulfur smell everywhere. Here we experienced our first Bison (Buffalo) traffic jam. We were in the parking lot so it was kind of funny seeing it from the sideline. We moved camp the same day so we only went to the mud volcano. Now camping in Yellowstone in peak season is like camping out at a rock festival. Lines and lines of tents. But hey at least we got a camping spot ;). So we set up our tent and got settled in. We never used the bear lockers and just kept it all in the car. Not long after we made food a couple of Chinese showed up next to our spot. You could see that they have never put up a tent in their live. We helped them out and had a chat. They left the same day we did. They wanted to throw away their tent and sleeping bags because they were flying out again ad didn’t want the hassle of taking it with them. We offered to take it of their hands and we ended up giving the tent to Coen and Heleen’s three little kids.

Day 3: Old Faithful, Artists Palette, Grand Prismatic Springs

Day three was packed with thermal features. We got up super early to see Old Faithful blow. We made it just in time with us still approaching it while it was going off. Lindsay was not too happy with me that morning. Old faithful is the most famous geyser in Yellowstone so I was happy we saw it without too much of a crowd. To tell you the truth it was better in my head. Don’t get me wrong. It is amazing but I guess I blew it up in my mind. We headed out to see the Grand Prismatic springs in the Midway Geyser Basin. Well turn out you should not try and go to early. The steam does not really clear until 11AM. We headed to the Upper geyser basin in the meantime and did the side loop. This turned out to be worthwhile seeing that Great Fountain Geyser was about to erupt. (Okay within the next hour) So we continued on the loop and backtracked to see the eruption. I think this may have been my favorite eruption. We headed out and finished the Lower Geyser Basin and headed back to the Grand Prismatic Springs. We were told that there is a hiking trail at the back of the springs that takes you up the mountain where you have a better view of the springs. The parking lot for this hike is about 200m towards the Upper Geyser Basin. I have to say that the spring was one of the most beautiful natural things I have ever seen. We headed back to the Lower Geyser Basin where old faithful is and low and behold it took us about 40 minutes to get parking. We did the loop and headed back to our camp. Oh yes I forgot to mention if you want to take a shower you need to do it in one of the nearby villages. Turns out it is REALLY expensive to shower.

Day 4: Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and Norris Geyser Basin

The last day before we headed out we hit up the grand canyon of Yellowstone. This was a much easier day seeing we could drive to most of the spots. We started with Artists point and then we did the Tom’s trail down to the lower waterfall. We then drove around to the other side of the canyon and did most of the stop offs. We ended the day by going to the Norris Geyser Basin and almost saw the biggest geyser in the world erupt. Actually it did erupt a few months after we were there. We ended up driving south out of the park and into the Grand Tetons. 

The Ghost town of Bodie

Bodie is probably the best ghost town in the States. It is situated east of Yosemite in the Bodie Hills. We stayed in Bridgeport camping next to the lake. It was probably the most scenic camping spot we had in the states. As a lot of towns formed Bodie started out as a gold mining town in the 1859. People still lived in town into the 1900’s but the decline started in the 1870’s. Now only 20% of the town remains seeing that a young boy feeling angry about not getting cake at a friend’s birthday party (this happened during the depression) played with matches (as it seemed he always did) and set the town on fire. Most of the town was abandoned by then so there weren’t a lot of people to fight the fire. Also the fire departments hydrants did not work seeing to the fact that the filters in the pipes that bring down the water from the reservoir were never cleaned hence there was no water. If you ever have a chance this is a must see! No gimmicks or wild west shows. It is just an old town in a state of suspended decay. Be warned you are not going to be the only people there ;)