When I first started dreaming about actually creating a blog that would share vignettes about my travels, I knew many stories from the two road trips out west with dear friends would make regularly appearances. These trips have been foundational in how I view travel, friendship and contentment. They taught me so very much and I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to take a road trip with their sisterhood.

*The Sisterhood: Alison, Elizabeth, Meg and me*

One of the best ways I believe I can celebrate Women’s History Month is to share about the first of these two trips. As we celebrate the accomplishments women have made through the years, it is not lost on me that it was not always the case that 4 single girls could have the freedom, ability and opportunity to travel the country.

There is something unique about traveling with a group of friends where an unforgettable sisterhood forms. While we were planning the trip, people would joke that catty fights are bound to happen after thousands of miles travels and several late nights and early mornings. However, I have not found this to be the case and as minimally annoyed I have been with travel friends, I’m sure they are much more annoyed with me as a travel companion. The benefits of traveling with friends far exceeds any frustration that could arise.

So I would like to invite you to come back in time to 2015 when a group of four girls, all over-worked, single and desperate to get away took their first road trip together. We embarked on ourfirst adventure to the Great West and for many of us - it was our first time to see many of the National Parks that are so popular. If you are expecting a blog full of drama, pettiness and bar fights - you will be disappointed. If you are looking for a story of four friends having a trip of a lifetime and creating life long memories while getting a few travel tips along the way - I hope you enjoy coming along for the ride. (Also - the bar fight happened during the second Great West Road Trip).

Denver

There are many strategies for seeing National Parks in the West. Renting an RV? No way! Maybe someday - but that just sounds stressful! We opted for the financially prudent option of renting a fuel efficient Toyota Corolla at the Denver Airport and completing a massive loop to return the car at the same location so as not to incur fees. We mostly stayed in the same room at reasonable hotels and even though some of the group appreciate camping, some do not (me!) so that was not on this trip. In addition, we would make various stops at Walmarts to pick up food we would use to picnic and are proud of our ability to create a well curated hiking charcuterie.

Upon arrival into Denver we decided to check out a few of Denver’s notable breweries to decompress after the flight. We were limited in what we could do as we only had one night. After enjoying a bite to eat and a flight at Great Divide Brewery we went to Renegade Brewery of which I had heard great things. Our plan was to grab a drink and then take one of their brewery tours that they offered at the time. As we were waiting for our tour to star, a well intended bartender came to get our order. As I was looking at the beer menu I said to my fellow traveling companion that I was not in the mood for an IPA and before I had a chance to say what I wanted, he proceeded to pour me the Hefeweizen - What? I took this personally as I felt so very stereotyped.

So here is a suggestion for any male bartender who could be reading this blog: If a girl says they don’t want an IPA, don’t assume they want a light beer. Wait for her to make up her mind and please don’t act surprised when she says “the Imperial Stout please.”

Cheyenne, Wyoming

After a good night’s rest at our first Marriott of the trip embarked the next morning with Mount Rushmore as our destination. We passed the state capital as well as Mile High Stadium - so obviously we don’t need to visit Denver again (just kidding!). For breakfast we stoped in Fort Collins at a lovely french bakery for crepes (because when you think of crepes - Colorado comes to mind right?).

Then we journeyed to Mount Rushmore by way of Cheyenne.

Jeopardy Time:

Answer: Denver, Cheyenne, Salt Lake City and Phoenix

Question: What are the 4 state capitals we visited on the first Great West Road Trip?

I won’t go into detail about each of the capitals we saw, but Cheyenne deserves attention - especially since this post is a way to celebrate Women’s History Month! In front of the capital is a statue Esther Hobart Morris, who was a leader in the Wyoming suffrage movement. #FunFact: Wyoming was the first state to grant women the right to vote, 50 years before the 19th Amendment was ratified. The statue is prominently displayed in front of the state house and a similar statue of Morris is also in the U.S. Capitol - which during my Capitol Hill days, was one of my favorites to point out during constituent tours.

Now that I had properly recovered from the sexism I experienced at Renegade Brewery we once again started our journey to Mount Rushmore, but of course had to stop at the Purple Pie Place. Any visit to Mount Rushmore is not complete without stopping at this gem of a pie place. More importantly for us, Alison loves all things purple and this definitely makes the Top 10 List for Most Purple-est things in the world.

Mount Rushmore

So now that we had paid our respects to suffragettes and had bellies full of delicious food - we made our way to see Mount Rushmore. There is much to say about Mount Rushmore, but it is important to get this out of the way… if you are wanting to visit Mount Rushmore to see where Cary Grant climbed the statue in the movie North by Northwest - you will be disappointed. On this trip I learned that, except for some panoramic shots, the majority of the scenes with Mount Rushmore, Hitchcock filmed on an MGM soundstage.

Fortunately it is easy to get over this disappointment as there are many great viewing areas as well as an easy “hike” to enjoy. Visiting a few hours before the sun sets allows for some great lighting opportunities for pictures and we didn’t think it was overly crowded when we visited.

Before going, I would suggest reading a bit why indigenous people boycott Mount Rushmore. You can click here a good entry point on this topic.

Battle of Little Bighorn

This part of the trip made for some difficult decisions. On the path to Cody, Wyoming (our next stop) from Mount Rushmore is Devil’s Tower National Monument and we opted not to visit as none of us are huge fans of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. However, I’m willing to admit this could be a mistake! Instead, we chose to visit the Battle of Little Bighorn National Historic Site - In case you were wondering the “nerd-level” of our group, you now have your answer - very high!

I adore National Historic Sites as 9 times out of 10, the interpreters are top notch and are unforgettable. The park ranger who described the Battle of Little Bighorn did not disappoint on this day and I highly recommend making stops like this during your travels. They may not receive the attention of other more historically significant or popular sites, but confluence of history and beautiful landscape helps me appreciate the complexity of our nation’s history.

Another interesting part of this day was the abundance of motorcycles that were on the road while we traveled. We had no idea that the wonder which is the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally would impact our travel the way it did. Also no-offense to people who like motorcycles, seeing these motorcyclists on the road made me never want to visit the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally - ever.

Bill Cody Ranch

We decided on making Cody, Wyoming our home base for enjoying Yellowstone National Park and more specifically the Bill Cody Ranch which had superb reviews on TripAdvisor and our favorite positive review mentioned the staff being “good Christian youth.” So with dreams of being on a dude ranch like that of the Nickelodeon show “Hey Dude!” we were looking forward to our upcoming stay.

Upon our warm welcome, we made ourselves comfortable in our very “western-ish” accommodations - fortunately it was HUGE which was a pleasant surprise as we were all sharing room. After enjoying local beers and s’mores around the campfire paired with plenty of laughs we knew we found a special place.

After a long day of travel, we opted for the following day to be a bit “slower” and enjoyed the ranch in the morning. As you can expect from a down-home dude ranch - breakfast was fantastic and having little cell reception made meandering through the grounds and sitting by a stream all the more relaxing.

The first highlight of our day was taking a trail ride. As all four of us got on our horses we instantly knew we would be in for a good time -of course my horse was the one who tended to have a mind of its own so that provided for plenty of comic relief.

Now as a group we have done many ordinary as well as out of the ordinary things: joined a bowling league (Go Incredibowls!), roller skating, show tunes at piano bars, races, all sorts of sportsing events, royal wedding watch parties - enjoying a trail ride together? Nope! Hadn’t done that yet and we had a blast!

This was also an amazing small world instance as well because our guide was actually from my small hometown of Brownsburg, Indiana (Go Bulldogs!). The guide and I were several years apart but it was a bit surreal that in the middle of in the middle of nowhere Wyoming I was chatting about mutual friends back home in Indiana and a shared love of various haunts.

In addition to discovering how great the Bill Cody Ranch is we also fell in love with the town of Cody, Wyoming. I’m sure it comes as no surprise that a town named after Buffalo Bill Cody takes all things “cowboy” very seriously - especially their stampede. Surprisingly Cody did not have a touristy feel and in all of our experiences, four proud East Coasters felt warmly welcomed. I understand the allure of Jackson Hole, but in light of recent issues regarding crowds and expense - I highly recommend staying in Cody for trips to Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons.

The second highlight of the day was crossing off “Go see a rodeo” from our bucket list. Neither of us quite knew what we were getting ourselves into but Wow! The Cody Stampede is something! Please forgive my lack of technical terms but pretty much there were all these games that people played with animals. Some looked pretty dangerous but fortunately it seemed as though not only were no animals injured but rather they were among the most well taken care of beings on the premise. There was denim and plaid as far as you can see as well as belt buckles, boots and bandanas. All around a fantastically good time.

Yellowstone National Park

After several days of seeing beautiful scenery, mountains, streams, etc. I thought I was prepared for my first visit to Yellowstone National Park. However, it is true that there is just something so special about our National Parks and going to a place like Yellowstone is hard to describe. Since it was our first trip and we were only spending the day we did not try to do it all. We stoped at the Visitor Center and got recommendations for how to best see Old Faithful and the Prismatic Spring. This allowed for us to meander and enjoy the day rather than being stressed and trying to “do it all.”

This day was such a game-changer for me. Yellowstone was where I first fell in love with our National Park system and it is hard to believe in retrospect that I was in my mid-30s when I first experienced a National Park. I don’t see this as a regret as I’m so grateful for all of the travel experiences that I had up to this date. Travel is a privilege and there is no way to “do it all.”

However, this day showed me that although I do not see myself as an “outdoorsy” person, I can still enjoy our national parks.

Grand Tetons National Park

The next day we packed up our things from our beloved Cody Ranch and made our way through Yellowstone again and headed south to the Grand Tetons National Park. Once again, we would think we’d get tired of seeing pretty scenery but that is something special about being out in nature - it never seems to get redundant.

When we entered the Grand Tetons we stopped by the visitor center and asked for information for a hike that we could enjoy but not take the entire day. Despite our fear of bears and my rookie status as a hiker - we made our way to hike Taggart Lake and wow! What a fantastic day this was.

The weather was beautiful, the hike was not hard and we found ourselves chatting, laughing and having such a good time. This group had been through a lot together - job changes, break-ups, apartment moves, apartment flooding and tragedies family members passing away. To spend this afternoon hiking to Taggart Lake, sitting on a rock overlooking the lake was something new, it was simple, yet made our friendship all the more sweet.

Golden Spike National Historic Site

You know you have amazing friends when you say something like - “A place I’ve always wanted to go to is Gold Spike National Historic Site” and the group responds with a “Sure! Why not?”

I grew up in a family that loved all things trains. My grandfather had a remarkable model railroad set up and he created a more modest, but still impressive, layout for my brothers and I to enjoy. I remember stories of trains growing up (who didn’t love The Little Red Caboose?). I also really enjoyed the Little House on the Prairie episodes when Pa and Mr. Edwards went to go work on the railroad. So needless to say I was super excited about seeing Golden Spike in real life. In case you are a normal person and have no idea what Golden Spike is - it is the location that the railroad from the east, met the railroad from the west to complete cross continental travel by train.

Little did I know how in the middle of nowhere of Utah this site would be. Driving through this area of Utah was unforgettable in a very boring way.

The set up of the trains at Golden Spike National Park is very well done - it’s a stunning view that captures the gravity and accomplishment of this technological feat. However, unlike Battle of Little Bighorn we were not able to get a ranger interpretation so I feel as though we could have gained a bit more.

I would have liked to hear from the park service the significance of the transcontinental railroad’s completion while recognizing the sacrifice of countless laborers, many immigrants, whose toils completed this achievement. There was an exhibit - however, I do think it could have been done better. This is said with the caveat that we went almost 10 years ago so changes and additions may have been made and despite all of this - I do recommend making this stop regardless of your love for trains!

Zion National Park

Of all the places we visited I think Zion National Park is where we shortchanged the most. When planning a trip you don’t know what you don’t know but you can still make the most of it. We started the time at Zion by stopping at the Visitor Center and they provided information on how to do the first half of The Narrows hike (I’m sure you are gathering a common theme here: always stop at the Visitor Center first!). Because of the way Zion’s roads are set up there is a shuttle service for certain hikes. Which means you need to be more conscious of time than other places as if you miss a bus - you’re in a bind.

The first half of The Narrows is a very easy hike. The path to the initial water is very smooth and wide. It was inspiring to see various people with physical limitations and even wheelchairs enjoy the path. The National Park does a great job providing opportunities for people who are limited to still enjoy the parks. Little did I realize at the time how much I would enjoy trails like this years later with my husband and toddler son - stay tuned for future post on best stroller friendly hikes!

We ended our day in Zion by driving to a location where we could take a short hike to a beautiful lookout to view the sunset. Wildlife was in abundance along the path (which was not all of our favorite thing). Although, after experiencing The Narrows hike with an abundance of people, it was great to enjoy the sunset together with fewer people around us. There is a tension in the National Parks as it is great that so many people are experiencing them in person, however the flip side is that it can be a challenge to maintain the ecosystem. I think this is another reason why stopping by Visitor Centers is not only helpful but also beneficial to the park as the rangers know what the capacity is and where best to direct people to maintain responsible crowd management.

Bryce Canyon

After experiencing stunning yet “classic” natural Western beauty - the otherworldly-ness of Bryce Canyon National Park is jarring! Since our time limited us, we needed to decide between Arches and Bryce Canyon - and although I can’t wait to experience Arches - I’m so glad that the four of us trekked to Bryce together.

As I’ve mentioned, hiking is not my “thing.” However, Bryce taught me a very important lesson in hiking - if you go down, you must come up. The walk going down into the canyon is amazing! The hoodoos, vegetation and the wildlife with a brilliant blue sky in the background was stunning. However, the sun, in the brilliant blue sky, in the middle of August would quickly become my nemesis as we traversed the switchbacks up the canyon. This red-headed, non-hiker, pale-skin, heat sensitive traveler had met her match! The hike back up the canyon was officially Not Fun! However, there is nothing like a true friend walking by you in these instances reminding you that cold beers are awaiting once we reach the top.

Grand Finale: Grand Canyon

One of the realities I’ve briefly mentioned while visiting the National Parks during August is that they are busy and at times over-crowded. We expected this to be most true at The Grand Canyon. So when budgeting for the trip we decided our two splurges would be the trail ride at Cody Ranch and a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon.

We were at the conclusion of our trip. We had enjoyed countless picnics curated from Walmarts along the way, countless playlists and podcasts in our practical fuel-efficient car, nights of sharing hotel rooms all to be financially prudent in order to have the euphoric joy of experiencing the the Grand Canyon from above. Not only did this frugality develop skills like creating amazing picnic charcuteries, singing along to countless Taylor Swift songs together, laughing at the Gilmore Guys Podcast and getting ready each morning super efficiently - it allowed all of these experiences to culminate in a highlight that so perfectly encapsulated our trip together.

As we were hovering over the trees in the helicopter, listening to U2’s “It’s a Beautiful Day” and seeing the canyon ahead, I had no idea what the experience would hold, Would I freak out? Get motion sickness? Have the time of my life?

I had the time of my life.

And that perfectly summarizes the first half of the First Great West Road Trip.

… To Be Continued with Great West Road Trip v1.2 (at a much later date!)

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