From Grand Teton National Park, we head due south. We have five days to cover 480 kilometers. So we’ve got time. A lot of time. That’s why we decide to take it slow and make our way to Salt Lake City via the BDR. BDR stands for Backcountry Discovery Routes, public trails and roads for ATVs, motorcycles, buggies, 4x4s, and other off-road vehicles. There are all over the U.S., including Wyoming and Utah! Jeepy’s going to have a blast 😁
Sunday, September 25, 2022
When we wake up, our campsite in the dry lakebed is in the shade and it’s freezing! Braving the cold, Rémi crawls out of bed, moves to the front seat, starts the engine, and drives a few meters to park Jeepy in the middle of the lakebed, right in the sun. Phew, much better! So much better, in fact, that we end up spending the whole morning there, making pancakes, doing a bit of mechanical work, tidying up, cutting each other’s hair, etc., etc. A productive but above all peaceful morning!
We don’t hit the road until 1 p.m. First we pass through Montpelier, then twenty minutes later… Paris. That must be the fastest Montpelier-to-Paris we have ever done 😅 For our non-French readers, these cities exist in France and are 750 km (450 miles) apart.
We stop just two hours later. At the end of a forest road, we find a campground. It’s off-season, so it’s free. But it’s full. We keep driving. A second campground, also free, and it’s empty! Perfect! We pick the best spot and enjoy the whole place to ourselves.
Monday, September 26 🥳
It was cold last night. Really cold. I slept wearing a beanie, gloves, thick socks, a thermal base layer, and a sweater on top… In the morning, we stay in bed until the sun hits the tent. Once things start warming up, we finally crawl out for breakfast. An hour later, we’re in t-shirts! We get back on the road late in the morning and spend a few hours at the Bear Lake library, where we’re treated like royalty, we even get our own private conference room to work in peace.
Today’s a special day, it’s Rémi’s birthday! 😚 To celebrate, we find a great spot out in the countryside, surrounded by cows. And we bring out the birthday meal: a big, juicy ribeye steak Rémi’s been dreaming about for… four months! It’s delicious. Happy birthday, my love 😍❤️
Tuesday, September 27
Again, we don’t leave our campsite until late morning. Taking our time in the morning is a new thing for us, but we are really starting to enjoy it 😀 We have breakfast in the sun. It’s already hot! We rejoin the BDR. After deflating a bit the tires, we head off onto the rocky, dusty trail.
It’s the start of a full day of driving through Wyoming. Everything here feels wild. We alternate between forests, where the trees range from fading green to blazing orange, and vast, arid expanses where vegetation is sparse. The trail is mostly manageable, aside from a few particularly rough sections that toss the Jeep around. We see quite a few buggies and some dirt bikes, but for most of the ride, we’re alone, under an intense, scorching sun.
The great thing about BDR routes is that they run through public land. Which means we can stop and camp just about anywhere along the trail. By late afternoon, we find a peaceful spot to spend a peaceful night!
Wednesday, September 28
Another day on the BDR. All day, we pass lots of cows and a few buggies.
Thursday, September 29
We’ve made it to Salt Lake City, the capital of Utah! It’s huge. We spend the day here: deep-cleaning the Jeep inside and out (it really needed it!), doing laundry, enjoying an Indian restaurant to celebrate our third wedding anniversary ❤️ and stocking up at Walmart. Then we hit the road toward the Salt Flats, a vast salt desert. Jeepy ends up completely white — so much for washing it!
Tomorrow, a new adventure begins! My mom is flying into Salt Lake City to join us for ten days on the road in the U.S. It’s bound to be full of great memories — starting with the stunning Arches National Park! 😁
