<![CDATA[Audinets on the Run - Mountains, Glaciers, and Geysers]]>

<![CDATA[Audinets on the Run - Mountains, Glaciers, and Geysers]]>Wed, 15 May 2024 12:07:57 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Day 25: Home]]>Mon, 14 Aug 2023 03:04:40 GMThttp://audinetsontherun.com/mountains-glaciers-and-geysers/day-25-home

We are home!!!! We made it back safely!! A huge shoutout to Cliff for driving us safely all across the country with our "apartment on wheels" in tow. Another shoutout to our son Philip who watched our house and cats. As always, both house and cats gave him some trouble (air conditioning broke and cats were upset that we left), but he managed everything well.

Here is a quick summary of our road trip 2023:

Total miles driven with RV in tow: 4897
Total miles driven with and without RV in tow: 5941
Total number of states driven through: 10
Total number of states we camped in: 7
Number of huckleberry milkshakes consumed: 16
Miles hiked through national parks: 31.3
Number of pictures taken: Undisclosed, but I ran out of space on my computer...
Number of severe storms we lived through: 3
Number of sandwiches made: 66
Value of family time and memories made: Priceless

We hope you enjoyed following our journey!!

]]><![CDATA[Day 24: Almost Home]]>Sun, 13 Aug 2023 04:06:55 GMThttp://audinetsontherun.com/mountains-glaciers-and-geysers/day-24-almost-home

We made it to Nashville, Tennessee, driving through Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky. It was another long driving day, but Cliff got us safely to the Music City. Driving through St. Louis, or any other large city, is not an easy task when pulling a 40-foot fifth wheel and having an anxious passenger who hollers "stop" at any sighting of break lights.
Since we did not take any pictures today, we are posting some additional pictures from previous days.... (yes, I had some fun with Photoshop).

]]><![CDATA[Day 23: Long Drive]]>Sat, 12 Aug 2023 03:03:39 GMThttp://audinetsontherun.com/mountains-glaciers-and-geysers/day-23-long-drive

After driving for 11 hours, mostly along cornfields, we arrived in Kansas City, Missouri, at night and immediately noticed the high humidity here. Gone is the dry air we enjoyed out west. We set up the RV in the dark and will be going to bed early. Tomorrow we are planning to drive to Nashville, Tennessee.

]]><![CDATA[Day 22: Sturgis Motorcycle Rally]]>Fri, 11 Aug 2023 02:13:56 GMThttp://audinetsontherun.com/mountains-glaciers-and-geysers/day-22-sturgis-motorcycle-rally

We have made it back to Belvidere, South Dakota. Unbeknownst to us, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is in full swing in Sturgis, SD, and we had to navigate the freeway with our 40 foot fifth wheel around the many motorcyclists that are out and about. There have been quite a few crashes already (7 on Tuesday alone) according to the SD Highway Patrol who releases crash information through their daily "Rally Tally". Needless to say, Cliff drove very carefully!
Tomorrow we have an 11-hour drive ahead of us and we are planning to get up very early.

]]><![CDATA[Day 21: Heading Back]]>Thu, 10 Aug 2023 03:39:06 GMThttp://audinetsontherun.com/mountains-glaciers-and-geysers/day-21-heading-back

Today we started heading home. Glacier National Park was stunning and we have already decided to come back to explore the eastern side of the park and do some of the longer hikes to see the turquoise colored lakes. Montana is such a beautiful place!
After an 8-hour drive we made it to Billings where we stayed at the same campground as we did on our way up to Yellowstone. We enjoyed a delicious Mexican dinner from at the campground and played some minigolf. Tomorrow we plan on making it to South Dakota.
Note: The gnats might not have survived the trip. Oddly, they seem to be gone, although we do not see any remnants of a potential mass extinction event.

]]><![CDATA[Day 20: Smoke and Gnats]]>Wed, 09 Aug 2023 03:34:07 GMThttp://audinetsontherun.com/mountains-glaciers-and-geysers/day-20-smoke-and-gnatsThis morning we woke up to the smell of wildfire smoke again. It permeated the RV and definitely made my eyes burn - apparently I am the only one with sensitive eyes. Once again the smoke was so thick that we could not see the mountains. I posted pictures of our view of the mountains from this morning and then again in the evening, after some of the smoke cleared. In the morning, we could not even see the mountains that are right next to the campground.
Since this was out last day here and it was Cliff's birthday, we relaxed at the campground and enjoyed a nice dinner at our favorite restaurant. Tonight we are packing up the RV to start the long trek home to Atlanta.
The gnat problem has surely gotten out of control as there are hundreds in the RV. We have tried to drown them in a bowl with sugar/vinegar/dish soap water but no gnats have even gotten close to the deadly bowl. The boys were up for hours last night, on a gnat killing spree. It was quite amusing. We have talked to other campers and apparently everyone is struggling with gnats right now. On a positive note - we all know a lot about gnats now.

]]><![CDATA[Day 19: Hidden Lake]]>Tue, 08 Aug 2023 05:57:45 GMThttp://audinetsontherun.com/mountains-glaciers-and-geysers/day-19-hidden-lakeThis morning we awoke to the smell of wildfire smoke again and stepped outside to see if the smoke had moved into the mountains. Unfortunately, it did and once again the mountains were barely visible in the smoke. With only two days left here we were determined to make the best of the day and headed out again. While driving on a very narrow part of the "Going-to-the-Sun Road", and a thousands of feet steep drop-off to the right (where I was sitting), our rental car was hit by a large rock, giving us a good scare. We pulled over at the next viewpoint to inspect the roof, and could not see any damage. That size rock would definitely have caused some damage, but we think it hit the the roof rack.
We made it to Logan Pass, where we had to circle the parking lot for an hour before securing a spot. From there we hiked to Hidden Lake on a trail that only went up, all the way to the lake overview point. At almost 7000 feet high, it was quite strenuous, but the views were worth it! The sun was out and while the haze from the smoke was noticeable, it was not as bad as it was at the campground.
On the way back we stopped at Red Rock Point at McDonald Creek. The water in all the streams here is unbelievably clear and you can see the colorful rocks in the water.
In the evening, the boys spent hours killing gnats. The gnats must be getting into the RV somehow as we have hundreds inside. We have not been able to figure out how they get in, but the boys are highly annoyed as the gnats have chosen their room to hang out.

]]><![CDATA[Day 18: Avalanche Lake]]>Mon, 07 Aug 2023 05:51:12 GMThttp://audinetsontherun.com/mountains-glaciers-and-geysers/day-18-avalanche-lakeToday we hiked the "Trail of the Cedars" all the way to Avalanche Lake, both of which were absolutely stunning. Surprisingly, we were able to find parking, which is always a challenge at any of the trail heads in Glacier National Park. With bear spray and photo gear in tow we hiked through the beautiful forest. The vegetation and look of the forest here is quite different from Yellowstone, with more moss and fern covering the forest floor. The sun came out as we arrived at the lake, emphasizing its beautiful color.

]]><![CDATA[Day 17: Glacier National Park]]>Sun, 06 Aug 2023 05:14:16 GMThttp://audinetsontherun.com/mountains-glaciers-and-geysers/day-17-glacier-national-parkAfter picking up our rental car early in the morning, we headed into Glacier National Park. What an absolutely amazing place! Stunning and beautiful. The "Going-to-the-Sun-Road" is definitely not for the faint of heart. The narrow road was built into the mountain sides, with barely any guardrails, and it drops off steeply thousands of feet. I held onto my seat for dear life with white knuckles, not daring to look to my left. I had to cover the view with my hand so I would not panic. Everyone else enjoyed the ride. Cliff managed to get us safely to Logan Pass and back down the mountain. And, then all the way back to our campground on that same road. We were glad we had the smaller car as turns were extremely tight, the road was very narrow, and occasionally other drivers would swerve into our lane. Very scary.
We had planned to hike to Hidden Lake from Logan Pass today, but there was no parking. We tried multiple times and were not able to park. There are way too many people for the number of parking spaces. In addition, as most people park their cars for hours as they go hiking, chances that someone will leave while waiting for a parking spot are slim; sometimes there were not even any spaces to pull over at the viewpoints.
The sun did come out a bit, but it was still very hazy from the smoke. Unfortunately, many of my pictures did not turn out the way I had hoped. Nevertheless, seeing the scenery in person was beyond amazing!!

]]><![CDATA[Day 16: Smoke]]>Sat, 05 Aug 2023 04:53:19 GMThttp://audinetsontherun.com/mountains-glaciers-and-geysers/day-16-smoke

Early this morning we packed up the RV in the rain and left West Yellowstone to head north to Glacier National Park. We drove for about 8 hours and arrived safely in West Glacier in the late afternoon. After we passed Missoula though we started smelling wildfire smoke and within minutes we were driving through thick smoke that made our eyes burn. We could barely see the outlines of mountains and could only imagine how breathtaking the scenery would be if we could actually see it. Unfortunately the smoke did not let up and 140 miles further north here in West Glacier we can still see and smell it. It was sunny when we arrived, but, per weather forecast, will be cloudy for the next three days. So now we will have overcast skies with wildfire smoke. I am so disappointed and am not sure how well we will be able to see in the park, but we will try to make the best of it.
In addition, we found out that cars driving through the park on the "Going-to-the-Sun Road", the road which leads through the park, have a vehicle length restriction of 21 feet. We quickly measured Cliff's truck and were shocked to find out that it is 22 feet long. Since we were told that cars are measured and the road is too narrow and curvy for large vehicles, we assumed we would not be allowed to drive past the first 16 miles. That meant we had no vehicle to drive through Glacier National Park. I could not believe it. We drove from one corner of the country to another and now we would have bad weather conditions and no car. Thank God, we found a 24h rental car place, called at 10pm, and were able to find a rental car, which Cliff will pick up early tomorrow morning. What a day!

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