tony.latham wrote:Tonight we are in Blue Mounds...
Thanks for sharing this great trip with your marvelous camper.
Have you kept track of the number of teardrops you've seen?
Tony
western traveler wrote:Like Tony curious if you got a tear count.
We set a rule that we would only count teardrops that were home built. We counted 6 total. 2 were CLC kits, 2 were squaredrops, and 2 were true teardrops. I spoke with both of the teardrop owners and one of the squaredrop builders. It was really fun to talk about our builds and bounce ideas off of one another. Had we counted factory built tears that number would have easily pushed over 20 with probably 18 of those being T@G's.
Bezoar wrote:...You'll need a few weeks back at work to recover from your vacation!
This proved more true than I could have ever anticipated....Just starting to get back in the groove at work nearly two weeks after getting back from vacation.
What follows is a detailed breakdown of our trip. Probably TLDR for some of you, but figured I'd include some insight into the places we visited and the successes and failures we faced on our first voyage.
We left early morning July 16 from Westmont, IL to drive straight through to Denver, Colorado. We were within 90 minutes of Denver when we ran into a nasty hail/thunderstorm that dropped buckets of rain on us. Thankfully we were able to duck for cover under a gas station awning. The torrential downpour brought on a very slow leak in the sunroof that I would address prior to making it to our first camping spot. After about an hour delay we were back on the road and made it to Denver at about 9:30PM.
Sunday July 17: We slept in, tired from weeks of grinding on the trailer build and 14 hours on the road the day prior. Once up and moving I addressed the leak we had in the sunroof with some Trem Pro I had packed in the event of such a leak. Following that quick fix I installed the solar panel on the roof of our teardrop with VHB tape. I routed the wires through the vent fan assembly where I had left solar panel wire pre-wired under the interior fan trim. I wrapped up the wiring and got the fan re-assembled fairly quick. In retrospect, I'm super thankful I took the time to install the panel before we got out camping. We only had an electric hookup on the last night of our trip. The 100W panel was more than adequate to keep up with our usage when it was positioned in the sun. We had a good dinner and some drinks with friends and got to bed in anticipation of an early departure the following morning.
Monday July 18: We filled our water tanks and hit the road at 6AM. It was another long 8 hour drive to Jackson Wyoming. About 120 miles into the drive the upper ball joint on my truck started squeaking pretty badly. We pulled over at an auto parts store and picked up a grease gun and a tube of chassis lube. A few squirts of grease into the ball joint grease zerk and the squeak was resolved and we were back on our way. We stopped off at a sporting goods store in Jackson to pick up a few items we left behind. After acquiring some bear spray (which we thankfully would not need to deploy) and some head lamps, we set out for the Curtis Canyon campground in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. At the foot of the trail it was difficult to tell exactly how rough the trail would be, but once we started our ascent I was sure glad that A.) I had opted for LT all-terrain tires on the trailer and B.) the Timbren suspension installed provided us with good ground clearance. The forest service road was extremely rough with large boulders everywhere. We manage to make it to the campground with the truck and trailer unscathed but unfortunately found all the campground and the surrounding dispersed camping sites full. Given the time of day ~5PM and the impending thunderstorm (sunroof leak was resolved) we thought it best to hunt for a campsite in an area that may be less populated so we drove about 20 minutes west of Jackson to the Mosquito Creek area of Bridger-Teton. Success! The first site was came to was available and seemed a fine spot to spend the first night in our trailer. We set out to make our first dinner, a sautéed vegetable and sausage over stuffed tortellini, only to find that we had broken 10 of our 12 eggs on our jaunt up Curtis Canyon. The balance of our groceries were swimming in a lovely pool of yolks. After an extensive cleanup, my wife whipped up dinner and I completed our site setup. We went to bed exhausted from our day of travel, but excited to try to score a prime campsite early the next morning.
Tuesday July 19: Up and out of our site at 5AM, we made our way to Atherton Creek Campground. We rolled into the campground at about 6AM and were pleasantly surprised to find an unoccupied lake side campsite. For anyone visiting Grand Tetons National Park, I can not recommend this campground more highly. There are very few sites available, and it's first come first serve but the campground was quite, the pit toilets were exceptionally clean and Lower Slide Lake provides great fishing, swimming, paddling opportunities. The campground was a nice quite respite from the hustle and bustle of the crowded park and it's surrounding areas. We reserved our site for three nights, planning to explore the Grand Tetons for two days, then depart early for a campsite in Yellowstone National Park. After getting the camper set up we made a quick breakfast and headed over to Grand Teton National Park. We did a hike out to Bradley and Taggart Lake and ended the day with a stop at the Jenny Lake Visitor Center.
Wednesday July 20: We got up early and entered the park for a quick hike around the backside of Jenny Lake. I would definitely advise getting in the park early if you intend to do any hiking around Jenny Lake. The lots were filling fast at 7:00 AM. We did a quick 2 mile out and back just to see the lake. On our return hike we saw a giant Bull Moose along the shoreline. We heard rumors of a sighting of a big female bear and cubs, but never did see her. Once we got back to the car we drove out to Two Ocean Lake and did an 8 mile round trip out and back to Grand View Point. Two Ocean Lake was at the north end of Grand Tetons and was much more quite than the main park. We saw less than a dozen hikers the entire afternoon and got a great look at the Tetons from Grand View Point. The hike around the trail is pretty flat with little scenery change, but it was nice to get away from the crowds. Upon our return to the campground, we took a quick dip in the lake and organized our campsite for an early departure up to Lewis Lake Campground in Yellowstone.
Thursday July 21: We were on the road at 5:00 AM. In the wee hours of the morning we had a bear encounter on the road. I pretty healthy black bear was taking an early morning stroll down one of the forest service road. Pretty neat to see at that time of the day. We arrived to Lewis Lake Campground at 6:00 AM. This is the southernmost campground in Yellowstone. We definitely didn't meet the length requirements for the campground but managed to tuck our camper far enough into a spot to leave plenty of room to park our truck. We didn't catch any grief from the campground host and they were very friendly. This campground was a true first come first served situation. We rolled through the campground as soon as we got there and staked our claim to an open spot. We setup camp and laid down for a couple hours of shuteye. By 8:00 AM there were multiple vehicles circling the campground waiting for a spot to open. Again, the early birds seem to get the worm. If you are attempting either of these parks without a reservation, be up and in the campgrounds bright and early to be sure to get a spot. After our morning rest we headed out to explore Yellowstone. We hiked out to Ferry falls and got a peak at Grand Prismatic Hot Spring on the overlook trail on the way back. We checked out a few roadside attractions and got a feeling for the lay of the land in the park. Traffic is heavy in Yellowstone between 11:00-4:00. We witnessed a horrific car accident. A vehicle behind us was struck by a car pulling out of a pull off at a fairly high rate of speed. The car behind us did a full cartwheel before rolling back over onto it's wheels. As far as we were able to tell there were no major injuries which was extremely fortunate for all involved. Words of advice: Keep your head on a swivel, drive the speed limit and keep your space on the park roads. There were plenty of tailgaters and people driving well above the speed limit. Most of the pullouts were right along the road and a good number of them were on blind curves. Witnessing that accident was pretty sobering and left us feeling a little uneasy the rest of the day.
Friday July 22: Friday morning we hit the road early with the goal of driving up to Lamar Valley. Unfortunately a road closure between Canyon Village and Tower made that plan all but impossible without another 5-6 hours in the car. Yellowstone is HUGE! We improvised and started a driving tour of Yellowstone. We first stopped off at Mud Volcano which was pretty neat, followed by a drive along the north side of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. There were a number of scenic pull outs and short hikes along the way. I would definitely recommend putting the canyon on your list of things to see. Next, we went for a hike around Norris Geyser Basin. While it was a crowded hike, it was a worthwhile pursuit. The myriad of hot springs and geysers were captivating and such a unique experience. The second half of our day was spent driving up to Mammoth Hot Springs and exploring the Northwest corner of the park. We got a healthy dose of Bison, Elk and Pronghorn throughout the day. I especially enjoyed the Bison. They're incredibly fascinating to me, especially considering we nearly wiped them off the face of the planet. It was great to see them in their natural habitat and thriving.
Saturday July 23: We woke up early Saturday and made our way just a few miles up the road from Lewis Lake campground to the Hart Lake Trailhead. We spent the day hiking out to Hart Lake and back, a total of 15 miles. This hike may have been both my wife and my favorite hike of the entire trip. You get a lovely sampling of all the things that are so wonderful about Yellowstone. Along the way you'll hike through lodge pole pine forest, encounter hot springs, geysers and a warm water creek fed by all the thermal features along the way. The mid-point of the hike is the tranquil Hart Lake. We didn't encounter much in the way of wildlife, but it wasn't too difficult to imagine spotting bears, elk and deer on a different day. The entire day we encountered less than a dozen hikers. I would definitely recommend this hike if you are looking to get into the wilderness and away from the crowds.
Sunday July 24: Once again we were up and on the road early for a long and smoky drive through Montana. We arrived at Glacier at approximately 4:30. Timed entry ends at 5:00pm so we parked near the gate and waited patiently to try to grab any of the last few remaining camp sites in Fish Creek or Apgar campground. Fish Creek hadn't filled the day before so we were hopeful we would land a spot but were ultimately unsuccessful. We headed back out of the park to try to track down a spot at one of the campgrounds around Hungry Horse Reservoir. Ultimately that proved unsuccessful as well so we drove a short ways up one of the forest service roads and boondocked for the night.
Monday July 25: We left the Flathead National Forest at 4:00 AM and arrived at Apgar Campground at 4:45 AM. We were expecting to be able to circle the campground and try to grab a spot from early risers that had checked out of the campground but found a line of people waiting to get into the campground. We were about the sixth party in line at 4:45 AM. The first group in line said they had been waiting since 3:00AM! Unfortunately, the campground hosts don't allow anyone into the campground until 8:00 AM and you have to physically sit in line until 8:00 AM on the nose.
I was a little frustrated with this entire process. It seemed to me that there had to be a better way to reserve a first come first served campsite rather than force people into a line at all hours of the night. You can't enter the park without a ticket after 6:00 AM and the timed entry tickets are sold out multiple days in advance of their release. This forces people to line up before 6 but then have to wait around until 8 to find out if they are even able to get a camp site. By the time 8:00 rolled around there were well over 100 people in line. We were thankful that we were up early but felt like we had wasted a good portion of our day. Obviously the easy way to avoid all of this would be reservations. If you haven't made them for 2022 yet, you might be waiting until 2023. Glacier as a park is incredibly stunning and a place I would love to spend more time. That said, both my wife and I left feeling like we had visited an amusement park, waiting in long lines to park/reserve a campsite/hike popular trails. If you weren't up and in a parking spot for a trailhead west of Logan's Pass by 6:00AM, you weren't getting a spot until after 5:00pm. I wish that was an exaggeration, but we tried for three days straight to park at Logan's Pass and were never able to. The last day, we were at the Pass at 6:30 AM and had to settle for a parking spot a half mile from the Highline Trailhead. I know NPS is doing all they can, but I don't necessarily agree with their tactics. We though we would use the shuttle system so we wouldn't have to worry about parking the car. We found out that you have to get a shuttle ticket 3 days in advance and they pretty much sell out as soon as they are released. The timed entry causes a flood of people to hit the park between 5:30 and 6:00. It was bumper to bumper up Going to the Sun Road every morning before the timed entry began. If I had a 6:00AM timed entry ticket and found that I was unable to find a parking spot at any of the major trailheads by the time I was allowed into the park, I would be pretty upset. The crowds, and the parking definitely tried my patience throughout the three days we were there. I know that sounds like an awful amount of ranting but the park was absolutely worth visiting. We will just be visiting in the shoulder seasons in the future.
After the whole campground fiasco, we did score a great spot in Apgar campground. After setting up shop, we headed out to St. Mary Lake trailhead to start an 8 mile round trip hike out to Virginia falls. The hike starts out through a recent burn area and provides little shelter from the sun, but the falls were incredible. It was a crowded but very enjoyable hike.
Tuesday July 26: Tuesday morning we were anticipating parking at Logan's Pass at around 7:00 AM to hike Hidden Lake and Highline Trail. As I've already discussed we struck out on parking at Logan's Pass and to make matters worse, literally all of the trailhead parking was full on the way back towards Apgar Campground. We settle for a short 3 mile loop around Sacred Dancing Cascade and John's Lake. Following our hike we went down to Lake McDonald Lodge and treated ourselves to some Huckleberry Lemonade. If you are a fan of sweets, try the Huckleberry lemonade. It is exceedingly sweet, but very refreshing on a hot day.
Wednesday July 27: We finally scored a parking spot a half mile from Logan's Pass. We hiked up to the pass and went 4 miles out onto the Highline Trail. We made our way out to Haystack Butte before the weather turned on us. We had originally planned a one way hike down to "The Loop" with a shuttle back up, but were unable to land shuttle tickets. We settled for an out and back followed by a hike out to Hidden Lake. Again, a crowded trail, but a very picturesque trail. We look forward to returning to Glacier and exploring the Many Glacier and Two Medicine areas more. We felt like we should hit the main attractions so we could check them off the list and return for a backpacking trip at some point in the future.
Thursday July 28: Thursday we set course for the Black Hills Forest. It was a long 12 hour drive but we made it with just enough light to setup camp just off a forest service road. Big thunderstorms and heavy rain rolled in that evening. The sunroof developed another very minor leak that I attributed to the factory seal on the window. We've had heavy rains since then and the leak hasn't surfaced again. I'm wondering if it wasn't the real driving rain that caused the issue.
Friday July 29: With the storms came a lovely wind from the North that blew in a horrible amount of Canadian wildfire smoke. It looked like we were driving through fog all day. The air quality was so bad that we bailed on our plans to stay at the Badlands National Park. We did visit the park but really only did a driving tour as the smoke was really burning our lungs if we spent more than 30 mins walking around outside. We stopped in Wall at Wall Drug Store at my wife's recommendation. If you've made it to this point, you've probably picked up that I'm not a huge fan of large crowds. I asked my wife to bail on Wall 10 minutes after walking around. It wasn't my scene. Lot's of people and lot's of expensive junk. Once back on the road we snagged a reservation at Blue Mounds State Park in Minnesota. It was our first site with electric and showers! We had been showering with our solar shower which was plenty adequate, but it was nice to have real water pressure. We setup to make dinner only to discover that our bottle of maple syrup had managed to make it 4000 miles before imploding in the cooler. Mess #2 for our new fridge! The state park was very clean and very nice. It was a great place to spend our last night in the teardrop.
Saturday July 30: The final leg home. An uneventful drive that found us back home by 2:30pm clocking in at almost exactly 4530 miles for the trip.
What we learned:
Eggs need to be scrambled or in a hard sided container
No glass in the fridge
Remember to put raw meet in the fridge....I didn't tell that story but three days without refrigeration does wonders for ground beef.....
With some patience and strategy, you can visit and camp in major National Parks without reservations so don't let that stop you!
The early bird gets the worm, campsites, parking spots, and beats the heat!
Our galley needs more organization and will be undergoing a small redesign.
A fully loaded fridge is heavy and may require some extra bracing in your fridge drawer if you have a large fridge drawer.
Homemade Teardrop Campers Rock!
by Capebuild » Sat Jul 31, 2021 5:08 am 
I was finally able to clear enough space in my garage to store our trailer. No small feat given the size of our garage, the quantity of tools and toys we own and the amount of materials we had leftover from our build. We'll be out on our first trip of the year this weekend. Currently we have a trip to the Porcupine Mountains scheduled for June. I'm hoping to have a few galley upgrades completed by then.