WY, UT, NV

 08 July     Rapid City, SD - Gillette,  WY       144 miles     2 hours  25 minutes

We got out of Rapid City very late. By the time our RV was finished at Floyds Truck Center, it was about 630pm. We gassed up and picked up some dinner and finally got on the road at 740 pm. This is very, very late for us. The sun goes down around 9 pm, so we thought hey, why not! 

Made it to Wyoming

It was a nice drive but once the sun went down it was kind of weird to be driving at night. A little scary for us because we almost never drive at night. 

We pulled into Walmart in Gillette, Wyoming at 10 pm. Walked around the parking lot a little to make sure we were in the right parking area, and settled in for the night. This is a very nice, quiet parking lot. It was a long day and we were tired. 

09 July     Gillette - Thermopolis, WY      197 miles      4 hours

The drive today was beautiful. We went over a mountain pass that was almost at 10,000 feet elevation. Lots of curves in the road, and lots of climbing. Joe had to really concentrate on driving but I really enjoyed the scenery. 

We stayed two nights at Eagle RV Park in Thermopolis, Wyoming. They offer a Good Sam rate so we paid a total of $104.  Pretty nice park, very convenient to Hot Springs State Park which is the reason why we're here. 

On the first afternoon, we went for a drive to the Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway. It offers 34 miles of fascinating Wyoming geology, history, and recreation. Rugged Wind River Canyon offers plenty of scenery year round where 2,500-foot walls of rock swallows the rolling hills of the Big Horn Basin before releasing travelers into the expansive Indian reservation. 

Beautiful Views

Over a billion years of geology is exposed in the canyon between Thermopolis and Boysen Dam. There's whitewater rafting through this canyon but Joe didn't want to go. 

At Hot Springs State Park the main draw is the hot springs. They have a modern Wyoming State Bath House with 2 pools, one inside and one outside. The pools are filled with 100 percent mineral water; no chemicals or municipal water are used. The temperature is kept at 104 degrees and the pools are drained and cleaned every 48 hours. There is a 20 minute soaking limit and is free.

There are several great places around the park for walking and hiking. It was too hot to do any hikes but we managed to do some walking during our stay. The rainbow terraces are beautiful it reminds me of Mammoth in Yellowstone. There's also a suspension bridge that gives the best possible view of the Rainbow Terraces as you cross.  

So for the 2 mornings we were there, we would take a walk around the park, then go for a 20 minute soak. So relaxing, we really enjoyed ourselves. 

This state park has a herd of bison. We drove in the different loops around the pasture to find  them. 

We ate at two really good restaurants. The first evening we went to Los Cabos Mexican Restaurant. So much food and  it was excellent. The service was good and the prices were decent.

Then the next morning we had a late breakfast at Black Bear Cafe. Excellent food and the service was very good. A lot of their items are home made, even their hot sauce. The cinnamon buns were huge and very good. We overdid it! 

This was a good stop for us. We really enjoyed ourselves even though it was super hot. 

11 July     Thermopolis, WY - Heber City, UT     357 miles     7 hours  20 minutes

We left a little late this morning because we wanted a last soak in the hot springs. We stopped for an hour in Fort Bridger to gas up, rest, and have something to eat. We boondocked at Walmart in  Heber City, Utah. This wasn't a very good stop. It was pretty noisy with cars driving by late at night and some jerk was running their generator all night. 

12 July     Heber City, UT - Mesquite, NV       329 miles      5 hours

We stayed in  Mesquite for 1 night because we always drive by Mesquite but have never stopped. Casablanca Casino has an RV park in the back. Regular rates are $35 but I picked a corner site with some shade so that was $45. We needed shade because when we pulled in, our truck read 124 degrees! 

This park is like a parking lot, hardly any shade and very hot. We enjoyed the pool, we could use the hotel pool and it was a very nice one. 

We drove around town and checked out three different RV parks in the area. Glad we came to check everything out but probably won't be back. 

13 July     Mesquite - Las Vegas, NV        87 miles     2 hours

We made a stop to fill gas for the last time on this trip. We'll be staying 2 nights at Las Vegas RV Resort. We pulled in mid-day and it was very hot. The temperature in the truck read 126 degrees!

15 July      Las Vegas RV Resort - Henderson   6 miles   15minutes

We put the rv and truck in storage today and checked into Main Street Station for 2 nights. Then we'll stay at Orleans for 2 nights before heading back to Honolulu on July 19th. 

Another awesome rv trip has come to an end. We didn't make it to North Dakota because of the problem with our hitch but maybe next time. On this trip we travelled 2,879 miles in the rv and about 2,350 in the truck. This trip was a little over 8 weeks long.

We love our rv adventures but always miss our kids and grandbabies. JJ is almost 8 years old and starting 2nd grade soon. Jade is almost 6 and will be starting kindergarten. Then there's our newest addition to the family, Blake is only 3 1/2 months old. We love spending time with them but after a month of being home in Hawaii, we start to get the itch to hit the road again. 

Wonder what our next adventure will be...