Western Expedition 2021
Our story begins like everyone else's "We had grand plans for 2020.... then the pandemic hit". This trip was firming up in early 2020. We planned a National Park loop for Genna's 4th grade year (Every Kid in a Park) since she has always had a desire to see Yellowstone. Google was mapped, spreadsheets were tallied, campsites in popular parks were booked, and All Trails was consulted. When Covid hit we wavered until the last minute and eventually canceled those August dates. Thankfully all sites had generous cancellation policies in 2020. We were fairly Covid cautious, so cancelling was prudent. Some parks, like Yellowstone and the Tetons counted more recreational visits in August 2020 than 2019. We were resolved to stay out of the fray and expand the garden instead.
In early 2021, halfway into a fully virtual school year, we wondered if we should reschedule our trip for this summer. Every Kid in a Park had extended its free pass to 5th graders this year due to the Pandemic and Genna had even studied the wolves of Yellowstone in her science curriculum this year. I let the advance booking windows come and go as we left many what-if boxes unchecked all spring. What would Jeff's work obligations be? What would we do with the garden? Would the Boyan Grandparents be able to come to Michigan (to watch the garden!)? What was up with vaccines and the peaks and waves of Covid?
In mid-April the eldest 3 of us were vaccinated and Jeff had a summer gig with 2 farm garden outfits which he felt obligated to see through the season. As soon as he floated the idea of making it a girls-only trip, I immediately engaged Mom (AKA, Babçia) to see if she was in. I think I took his offer faster than he expected and just like that, Papa was out and Babçia was in.
There were some route changes from the original 2020 itinerary. Rocky Mountain National Park was combating overcrowding with ticketed entries and had no more reservable summer campsites by April. Routing through northern Colorado would have enabled stops at Dinosaur National Monument and my old CCO haunts near Snow Mountain Ranch. Last year we would have also stayed in a covered wagon at the Ingalls Homestead in South Dakota, as Genna had just finished bingeing the book and TV series.
With RMNP out of contention, I came across the Snowy Range area of Medicine Bow National Forest in southern Wyoming. It was the perfect addition to the loop and was more off the beaten path of popular National Parks. I specifically wanted to add some genuine backpacking to our car-camping itinerary. With the change in my co-pilot, I tried to find trails that were both grandma, tween, and flatlander friendly.... and fretted about those choices endlessly. Our dates were pinned in by the meager availability of campsites left in Yellowstone and the Tetons. I quickly booked all the sites possible for the first 2 weeks in August. With that, I present the following trip report, fondly remembered as, "Rough Terrain, Eh"
Babçia, co-pilot.
First in the rotation of music selectors - oldest to youngest.
We learned many new country songs.
