10-Day Road Trip Itinerary: Idaho, Montana & Wyoming
This was our first adventure since the world shut down for the Coronavirus pandemic and we knew it had to be epic so we create an itinerary to visit Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, and Grand Teton National Park - and we hit the road for a 10-day road trip to Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. It was also our first adventure since Dana’s “fun” hospital visit in Ecuador so we decided a US road trip was the way to go. Our itinerary took us through the iconic national parks with a number of must-see stops on the way to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming!
Day 1: Travel to Riggins, Idaho by way of Boise
We started our Idaho road trip from Boise to Glacier National Park in Montana with a stop in Riggins, Idaho. Boise was actually the only place we could find a rental car. I guess a lot of other people had the same idea for fun this summer. We arrived early afternoon and checked out our trusty steed for the trip, a blue 2021 Hyundai Accent which we named Huckleberry (it’s bad luck not to name your car for a road trip), and we were off! Well not quite. Alicia’s bag didn’t make the connecting flight and we had to come back and pick it up later in the afternoon.
This gave us the perfect excuse to check out downtown Boise. It was a nice way to kick things off with cold Idaho beers and world-famous Idaho potatoes in the form of french fries at Bittercreek Ale House. We dubbed Boise the “Orlando of the West” as the downtown areas are very similar. After our bellies were full, we swung back by the airport to pick up Alicia’s bag and started our Idaho road trip north towards Riggins.
One thing that stood out to us on this trip, compared to other road trips we’ve taken, was the beauty of the drives. We didn’t even play any car games with so much to see! On the way north to Riggins we drove through the Payette National Forest, enjoying the tree lined roads and mountain views. We also learned quickly that the beautiful scenic views came with a lack of cell service so for anyone planning this drive, download a couple playlists and pick up a paper map in advance.
Even though they share a border, it’s a long drive through Idaho to Montana and we love an adventure-packed pit stop so Riggins was the perfect place to stop on a road trip from Idaho to Montana. We arrived at the Big Iron Motel just before 9 (and it was still light outside!) and received our complimentary beers at check-in. It was the perfect place to stay for the night in this tiny, charming western town. Though in true Dana fashion (and much to Alicia’s dismay), the owner's dogs, who live on the property, somehow found their way into our room.
Day 2: Riggins, Idaho to Missoula, Montana
Post white water rafting on the Salmon River in Riggins, Idaho
The next morning we explored the town of Riggins (population 401) and ate lunch at Kate’s Cattlemen’s Homestyle Cooking, where we were served by Kate herself (get the biscuits and gravy, you’ll thank us later)! Then it was time to set out on our whitewater rafting trip down the Salmon River (we booked with the Idaho River Guides). You can’t visit Idaho on an adventure-packed road trip without whitewater rafting! We shared a small raft with two couples older than us who gladly gave us the front spots. The river was low, so the water was not running fast, but we still hit 3 good class III rapids on our run. Our favorite rapid was called the Time Change, which took us under a bridge where the time literally changed from Mountain to Pacific (our brains were very confused on time for the rest of that day since we went over and under that bridge multiple times). Definitely add whitewater rafting on the Salmon River to your Idaho road trip itinerary!
We left Riggins that afternoon to make our way towards Glacier National Park. On the way out of town, we stopped at Fiddle Creek Fruit Stand and sampled some Huckleberry pie (eating something huckleberry is one of the must do things in the area...and we sampled our fair share by the end of the trip). Don’t know what a huckleberry is? Neither did we but the kind owner at the fruit stand took pity on our eastern palates and let us sample huckleberry jam before we bought the pie. It’s similar to a blueberry but a bit sweeter and the fruit is smaller.
On the road, we did some quick research (when we were lucky enough to get reception between the trees and mountains in the middle of nowhere) and found the Weir Creek Hot Springs in Clearwater National Forest on our route to Montana. It was the perfect stopping point for a quick ½ mile hike and a dip in the relaxing, warm spring water. If you’ve never tried to change from a wet bathing suit into comfy driving clothes on the side of a road, well, you’re missing out. We recommend water hiking shoes for these types of adventures - Alicia loves these and has worn them on many hikes (they are also smaller than normal hiking shoes so easier to pack).
Back on the road, we crossed over the border to Montana and stopped for the night in Missoula. We of course went out for some dinner and beer sampling at Tamarack Brewing before calling it a night. Missoula has a plethora of hotels so we booked this Comfort Inn near downtown on our way into town. Missoula was a great place to stop on a Montana road trip because it gave us a really good sense of Montana culture while also offering the conveniences of a city (like cell service!). We recommend adding it to your Montana itinerary. With so many people road-tripping, the prices were exorbitant so it was challenging for the budget-conscious traveler. If we had booked months in advance, I’m sure we would have saved money but we would have lost out on the flexibility that makes road trips such fun adventures.
Day 3: Missoula, Montana to Glacier National Park
Alicia went for a run this morning on the beautiful Milwaukee Path along the river (Alicia loves to run on vacation! Pro tip: if you don’t need specialized hiking shoes, packing trail runners gives you the option to hike and run in the same pair of shoes. Alicia loves these and has taken them all over the world! For this trip, I brought water hiking shoes and trail runners given the plethora of activities but I love any shoe that does double duty and saves room in my suitcase), and it was Dana’s job to book us tickets to Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park (they were limiting the number of cars in a day due to the amount of post-Covid 19 travelers to the national parks). The tickets were open at 8:00 that morning...and were gone by 8:03. We unfortunately were not one of the lucky winners of said tickets (Dana may or may not have thrown her phone across the room in frustration). We set ourselves to brainstorming and researching what our other options for the park would be, but in the meantime, we weren’t going to let it spoil the rest of the day. Visiting Glacier National Park was top of the list on our Montana itinerary so we knew we’d find a way to make it happen!
We had brunch at a small but very crowded Farmer’s Market (who knew Missoula was such a hip and happening place?!), and then set out on the road. We took a rather long detour on our stop to Glacier National Park at the National Bison Range in Charlo, Montana. This consisted of a windy, scenic drive (poor Huckleberry was a champ struggling on the inclined, unpaved roads), LOTS of bison sightings, and two short hikes with gorgeous views. This also was the start of our educational “What’s the difference between...?” series that became a theme of the trip.
A bison at the National Bison Range in Charlo, Montana
“What’s the difference between a bison and a buffalo?” In case you were wondering, they are completely different animals that are often mistaken for each other, but only bison can be found in North America. This revelation resulted in frequent singings of “Oh give me a home, where the Bison roam…” throughout the remainder of the trip.
We arrived at the Glacier Haven RV Park & Campground in the early evening. The cabin we stayed in was adorable. We each had our own twin bed (the most comfy beds of the whole trip!) and we had a shared campsite bathroom (which was actually quite clean and close to us). Our brainstorming and researching along the way paid off, as we learned we WOULD be able to access Going to the Sun Road IF we arrived before 6 AM or after 5 PM. We only had one day scheduled in the park so we only had one shot to make it in before they stopped letting un-ticketed cars in at 6! With that being said, it was going to be an early night with our alarms set for 4 in the morning.
Day 4: Glacier National Park
Our alarms jarred us awake in pitch black (which felt strange since we had woken with the sun at 5:30 on the previous mornings) with the pounding of rain on the roof of our cabin. Awesome. But nothing was going to keep up from experiencing the wonders of Glacier National Park! We readied ourselves quickly (let’s be honest, Alicia stared Dana down with as much intensity as one can muster at 4AM to make sure she was moving quickly enough for Alicia’s type-A liking) and headed out to the West entrance of the Park. We were stocked up with essential items (PB&J fixings, fruit & snacks, water, bug spray, and most importantly, bear spray). We hit the beginning of the main road when it was still dark and rainy, but we found a spot to camp out along Lake McDonald to watch the sun rise.
We continued our way down Going to the Sun Road, enjoying the many scenic turnouts along the way. We were only able to make it about a third of the way through since a chunk of the road in the middle was closed. Because we didn’t have the special tickets to enter the road during normal hours, we couldn’t check out the east side of the park until after 5PM so we decided to hike up the road itself for a little bit, which was a great call. It was lightly trafficked, and we got to see more great sights in the stillness of the natural surroundings. The early morning rainy start actually ended up working out in our favor, since we got to enjoy the park without the large crowds of people. Everything’s coming up Dana & Alicia! After about 2.5 miles walking east on Going to the Sun road, we decided to turn back and go for a hike. By the time we got back to the campsite where we parked, the park had come to life with tons of rangers and visitors out and about.
The colorful and unique rocks at Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park
As the day went on, the skies began to clear and we were able to experience the sheer beauty of the park. The water is the most beautiful turquoise color flowing over smooth, multicolored rocks with tree lined mountains as the backdrop. Pictures just can’t do it justice. The sheer magnitude and untouched rugged beauty make you feel small in the most wonderful way. The stresses of day to day life feel less important and slowly start to drift away.
We decided to hike the Trail of Cedars to Avalanche Lake, about a 5 mile out and back trail. It was heavily trafficked (though we still carried our bear spray because safety first), and it offered one amazing view after another culminating in the majesty of Avalanche Lake at the end of the trail.
When we were done with our hike, it was lunch time. We stopped at the village near the park entrance for soups and sandwiches, and a little bit of shopping. Then we headed back to the campgrounds where Dana (of course) took a nap in preparation for our evening excursion into the East side of the park, and Alicia made friends with some people at our campground.
Rest time was over at about 5 PM, and we were back out on the road heading to the East park entrance. Neither of us realized just how FAR it was going to be on this side of the road. It took us about 30 minutes to reach the turn off from the main road, and then another 90 minutes until we even reached the official park entrance (so much for the nice dinner we planned for the night...PB&J again it is!). The drive in itself did have beautiful views, even before we reached Going to the Sun Road. About halfway there, we had our first animal encounter - a dog darted out in front of our car. Of course we had to stop and try to help said dog (whose name we learned was Hank). Another car stopped as well and the two of us and the gentleman from the other car tried to coax the dog to us so we could read his tag. Once we got ahold of him though, we weren’t sure what to do! We had no cell service, and there was no one around. The man who was helping hopped the fence to check the farm house a little ways up. While we were waiting for him, a pick up truck pulled up to us and the driver yelled “Let him go, he’ll follow!”. So we did, and the dog followed as promised, but....rude!!! How about a ‘thank you,’ Hank’s dad!? Now we were quite behind on our excursion (farther behind than we realized at the point). It was already 7:00...good thing it stays light until 10 that far north!
Jackson Glacier seen from Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park
We continued on with no further interruption and made it to the park entrance. We got to view Jackson Glacier, one of the few glaciers left at Glacier National Park and watch the sun starting to set over St. Mary Lake. We moved along quickly because we wanted to make sure we made it out to the main road before it was completely dark. The road coming in was very windy with a huge drop off over the side of a cliff (this made Alicia especially nervous since the cliff edge was just inches from the passenger side door). About halfway through our drive back we had our second animal encounter. This time it was not a dog but a Black Bear that darted out in front of our car! We were very excited to have a bear sighting...from the safety of our car, and not on a hiking trail. We enjoyed the warm hues of the setting sun as we continued our way out to the main road and back to our little cabin in the woods. We were exhausted and crashed quickly.
Note from Alicia: I would go back to this park a thousand times. I would like to spend more time digging into some of the more challenging hiking trails and exploring the Many Glacier and Medicine Road sections of the park as well.
Day 5: Glacier National Park to Helena, Montana
Today was one of our main driving days, which can be some of the best days of a road trip! We traveled through Montana as the trees and mountains gave way to vast farmlands. And in the second installation of “what’s the difference between…” we learned:
“What’s the difference between a farm and a ranch?”. A farm is where crops are grown and a ranch is where livestock are raised.
We drove with the intention of finding a cute town to visit and we were not disappointed in Augusta, Montana . We were drawn in by a shop called Latigo and Lace, which featured authentic and local artwork. Did we spend too much time looking at all of the amazing pieces and come home with a few prize possessions? Obviously. Across the street we went to lunch at Buckhorn Bar, where we sampled local beers, fried food, and most interestingly, the musings of the local people. We learned that it is not uncommon for people living in these small towns to drive 1 ½ hours to get to everyday events (like baseball games or getting your tractor fixed). We were very entertained by a lady sitting at the end of the bar, who was probably around the same age as us, talking about running her own farm (“Can you believe he asked me that, I’m busy, I have my own farm to run!”). We laughed as she made fun of tourists she would encounter who called her way of living “primitive”. Getting little glimpses into the real lives of the local people is one of our favorite parts of traveling the world!
We continued on our way until stopping for the night in Helena, Montana. We found a hotel a couple miles from downtown and had enough time for Alicia to squeeze in a quick run before heading out for dinner. One thing we had been noticing by this point is that things around here close early. Most restaurants are closed by 9 PM at the latest. We set out around 7 and headed first to Blackfoot River Brewing Company (which closed at 8) and sampled some very delicious IPAs. After closing that place down, we went next door to a little Italian place for dinner (which closed at 9), and then ended the evening down the street at Lewis and Clark Brewing (which closed at the very late hour of 10 PM). The Lewis and Clark Brewery had one of our favorite beers of the trip: the Halo Huckleberry Hefe. Yum!
Day 6: Helena, Montana to Yellowstone National Park
Alicia ready to slide down the Beaver slide at the Lewis and Clark Caverns
After leaving Helena, we started our day with a stop at Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park in Montana on the way to Yellowstone in Wyoming. We enjoyed the 2 hour tour through the caverns - put this on your Montana itinerary! Our favorite part was the beaver slide, an area so narrow you literally had to sit and slide down to get through.
“What’s the difference between a cave and a cavern?” A cave is any cavity in the ground that does not receive sunlight, while a cavern is a type of cave that includes stalagmites and stalactites.
After leaving the caverns, we continued on from Montana to Yellowstone National Park to start our Wyoming road trip. Once again, Dana’s steller itinerary planning came in handy with a great path through the park for our two days in Yellowstone. We started at the north entrance and made our way to Mammoth Hot Springs. To our disappointment the Boiling River (which normally you can swim in like a hot spring) was currently closed to swimmers because of dangerously fast running water. Bummer. We continued south until we got to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We explored both the Brink of the Lower and Upper Falls, as well as Artist Point. The views of the powerful waterfalls were breathtaking and a must see in this park.
As we headed on towards our cabin at Lake Lodge, we got to experience some of the awesome wildlife that Yellowstone has to offer. We saw many more bison, along with elk, coyotes, and even a groundhog.
As we passed through Hayden Valley (known for its wildlife sightings), we noticed a lot of people pulled over at a turn out, pointing and taking pictures. We stopped to see what the fuss was about, and as soon as we got out of the car, we heard the murmur of “wolf” throughout the crowd of people. There were several people who had walked out into the brush (not on a trail or path-stupid people) looking to get a better glimpse of the animal. Alicia and I stayed the recommended 100+ yards away and watched through our binoculars. All of a sudden, we saw her pounce up from behind a ridge, just inches away from 2 of the male tourists. It bared its teeth and pulled back on it’s paws like she was going to strike. We thought for sure we were about to watch someone get eaten by a wild animal! Lucky for the dumb tourists, she slunk away after her warning growls, and instead went on to pounce on an unsuspecting small animal for dinner. Yellowstone travel tip: keep your distance from the wildlife!
Meanwhile, Alicia and I were so excited about our wolf encounter! We told all the random people we encountered back at the lodge about our experience. There are only 100 wolves in all of Yellowstone, and some people we talked to had been working at Yellowstone for years and never saw a wolf! Well...we learned from a ranger the next day that what we saw was actually a coyote. In retrospect, I wonder if some of the people we told were thinking to themselves that we were the dumb tourists who thought a coyote was a wolf (which, let’s be honest, we were). Guess we should have had wolf vs. coyote in our “what’s the difference between…?” series!
We ended our night with dinner at our lodge, watching the sunset over Yellowstone Lake while a herd of elk and their babies grazed on the grass in front of us. It was the perfect way to end the first day of the Wyoming portion of our road trip.
Day 7: Yellowstone National Park to Grand Teton National Park
The Norris Geyser Basin at Yellowstone National Park
We spent the morning exploring the different geyser basins throughout Yellowstone. We started at the Mud Volcano area, where we had to tiptoe our way past a bison that was a little too close for comfort (turns out, those lazy-looking giant cows are actually really aggressive). Then we headed to the Norris Basin Geyser, where the pools ranged in color from milky sky blue to emerald green. We really enjoyed experiencing the beauty of the different thermal pools, as neither of us had really seen anything like them before. These unique and beautiful formations are a must-see on any Wyoming itinerary.
From the Norris Basin, we continued on to the famous Prismatic Spring. Although the parks had been fairly crowded this whole time (Yellowstone more so than Glacier), this is the first time it began to feel a bit too touristy. We had to wait in a long line just to get up close enough to see the spring, and then we had to keep the line moving, so we didn’t really even get to enjoy it. It literally felt like being at Disney World. This is one of those things you kind of just learn to deal with when traveling. It is going to be crowded, people are going to be annoying. Try not to let it bother you and focus your energy on appreciating the incredible natural phenomenon in front of you (easier said than done, sometimes).
Slightly disappointed, we continued on to see Old Faithful, which we were anticipating having the same tourist quality. We made it in perfect time, just 4 minutes before the geyser was set to blow. Yellowstone travel tip: Old Faithful is, well, faithful and you can check the times it is set to go off and plan your itinerary around it. It was crowded, as we expected, but we stayed a ways back and got a leg up on a log for a good view of the show.
The majority of the drive from Yellowstone to Grand Teton was actually going to be through the remainder of Yellowstone. We enjoyed the views of Yellowstone and the beautiful Wyoming scenery from the drive and arrived at our Grand Teton cabin at Signal Mountain Lodge right before dinnertime. We enjoyed our meal with a nice view of the sun setting over Jackson Lake and had our first local beer (a local beer and a local meal is our required criteria for getting to claim having “been” to a place). Combining Grand Teton and Yellowstone is perfect for a Wyoming road trip.
Day 8: Grand Teton National Park
In the morning, we joined Papa Elk (aka a male elk) for breakfast. We ate our oatmeal and eggs while he grazed on grass and leaves just 50 yards away. From there, we set out to Jenny Lake where we rented a canoe to paddle across to Inspiration Point - a great thing to do in Grand Teton.
Canoeing on Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park
It was an easy and relaxing ride. We passed a kayaker who told us to keep a lookout for a black bear he had just seen not too far from where we were going so we quietly paddled by and tried to catch a glimpse but he had disappeared back into the woods. We tied up our canoe on the bank and hiked halfway up to Inspiration Point, enjoying the views of the Hidden Waterfall on the way. By the time we got ready to canoe back, a storm was starting to roll in. It was windy and the water was choppy, which made it a much more difficult journey! At some points, we felt like we were paddling with all our might and not moving at all, but we eventually made it back to the dock. Just in time too, because about 20 minutes later the skies opened up.
Unfortunately, the bad weather thwarted our planned 2nd hike of the day, so instead, we did a scenic drive, hitting all the “Big 4” things to do in Grand Teton National Park along the way.
First stop was Moulton Barns on Mormon Row, an old Mormon settlement before the national park was established.
Next was Schwabacher’s Landing (poor Huckleberry had to endure more rocky unpaved roads), where we walked a short way down to the river with a beautiful view of the Tetons.
We spent some time here watching the chipmunks and ground squirrels play.
The next two stops, Snake River Overlook and Oxbow Bend, had gorgeous views of the Tetons and Snake River. We were also able to see Teton and Middle Teton glaciers (ironically more glaciers than we saw at Glacier National Park).
If you only have a short time in Wyoming, add this drive to your itinerary to really see the park. We headed back to our lodge where we (annoyingly) had to change rooms, since there were no rooms available 2 nights in a row. We were very happy to see our new cabin was much larger (3 beds with 2 separate rooms!) and we had a view of the lake! We spent another relaxing evening having dinner and drinks with the Tetons.
Day 9: Grand Teton National Park to Twin Falls, Idaho
Today was another driving day from Wyoming to Idaho and our first stop was the Snake River Brewing Company in Jackson Hole. Then we crossed back over the border and found a perfect place to stop on the drive between Wyoming and Idaho: Idaho Falls for some yummy Huckleberry Ice Cream at Reed’s Dairy. They had the dairy cows right on site, along with a small petting zoo! You know Dana touched ALL the animals and then Alicia doused her in hand sanitizer before letting her back in the car. We also found another great place to see on the drive back to Boise in Arco, Idaho, the first city in the world to be lit by atomic power. We continued for a stop at must-see on any Idaho road trip, Craters of the Moon National Monument - an insanely unique landscape in the middle of nowhere. We learned there used to be 7 volcanoes in the area, the last of which erupted 2,000 years ago. The variation in topography that we have seen on this short trip has just been amazing!
Huckleberry ice cream at Reed’s Dairy in Idaho Falls
“What’s the difference between a national park and a national monument?” The primary difference is the reason for preserving the land. National parks are protected for their scenic, inspiration, recreational, and/or educational value. National monuments have objects of cultural, historical, and/or scientific interest.
By the time we left the monument, it was around 7:00 and we decided it was a good time to start looking for a place to stay the night. So far on this trip, rooms had been expensive due to the amount of travelers in the area. We were averaging about $250 a night.
This is the first night of the itinerary when we went “true road trip fashion” and basically drove as far as we could for the day and then started looking for a place to sleep (we hadn’t booked all of our other hotels well in advance, but had a general idea of where we’d end up so we booked them earlier in the day. For the national park lodges, we booked a few weeks in advance). We figured, worst-case scenario, we would be paying double what we had been paying already...but worth it for a little bit more flexibility during the day.
Well...we were wrong. We passed through several dying towns of boarded-up windows before driving to Twin Falls, Idaho. This was one of the biggest cities we had been to so far, so we had high hopes of finding a room. We stopped off first at the Holiday Inn. The ladies at the front desk informed us that they had no rooms available, and as far as they knew there were no rooms anywhere between Idaho Falls and Boise (3 hours away and our final destination for the trip). The ladies were very nice and gave us some numbers of local mom and pop places we could try. No luck. Alica tried looking online. The closest hotel we could find available was in Ontario, Oregon - 7 hours away from where we were and 5 hours past where we were going.
We had a few moments of panic, but quickly realized we were going to be sleeping in our car and had to figure out the details. We headed to the Target across the street (6 minutes before it closed) for pillows and blankets (we took the extra 30 seconds to get blankets that matched our houses, obviously). We ate dinner at Applebees, where we also changed and got ready for bed in the bathroom (it’s about 11 PM at this point and we are brushing our teeth at an Applebees in Idaho...probably the high point of the trip). Then we went back to the Holiday Inn where the front desk ladies were nice enough to sneak us a key card so we could use the bathroom in the middle of the night if needed. Not an ideal situation, but you have to be flexible on a road trip! The hiccups are part of the adventure. If nothing else, it gave us good story to tell later...but we decided to wait to tell family and friends of our predicament until we survived the night (which obviously we did and to be honest, it was better than some of the s**tholes we’ve stayed in on other trips).
Day 10: Twin Falls, Idaho to Boise, Idaho
Our car bed was actually not too bad. It was more comfortable than tent camping anyway! We woke early and went into the Holiday Inn to get changed and ready for the day. When we got back to the car we realized...Dana had locked the keys inside. Whoops! Just another good story to tell, right? Alicia was surprisingly calm about the predicament Dana put us in. (note from Alicia: Who in 2021 locks a car from the door and not from the keys!?)
About an hour and $50 later, we were on our way to the last stop on our Idaho itinerary before Boise. We arrived at Bruneau Dunes State Park just after 9:00. The plan was to go sand sledding and sand boarding. We knew we had to be there early because they stopped renting boards when the temperature outside reaches 80 degrees. We thought we made it on time, but when we went to the rental desk, we were told it was 81 degrees outside. No boards for us. Boo!
We decided to drive through the park anyway just to see the dunes. When we arrived at Small Dune (where the sledding was done), there was a couple heading back to their car. They had to go take care of a parking ticket and let us borrow their board until they came back. Yes! We headed over to the dune and met another family with 2 sleds. These three were runners so Alicia got to chatting with them and it turns out, the older women actually ran the Boston Marathon! They let us borrow their sled and Alicia and I took turns sliding down a few times. It went FAST!! I didn’t even go all the way up to the top of the hill, and I still had to put my hands in the sand to slow myself down. It was fun though, and I’m glad we got to try it. It may not have happened exactly how we planned, but...it all came up Dana & Alicia in the end!
One of the many amazing pieces of street art in Freak Alley in Boise, Idaho
On the way into Bruneau Dunes, we noticed a sign for a winery from the side of the road. Another fun place to stop on the drive between Wyoming and Idaho! We decided to backtrack a little to check it out since it was still fairly early and we were only an hour away from our final destination. Plus, who can resist a random winery stop on a road trip?!? When we arrived at the Cold Springs Winery, the owner was out fixing the pond and opened for us even though we arrived before opening. This is why we love small, local places. We sampled some wines (he joined us because why not!?) and enjoyed chatting with the owner and his father. We each purchased a bottle and said our farewells as we headed on to our final destination.
When we got to Boise, we ate a delicious lunch at Forks and then checked into our hotel to get ready for the evening. We tried to book a Foodie Tour, but they were sold out, so we decided to make our own! That was more budget-friendly anyway and we got to set our own itinerary. We stopped first to walk through Freak Alley, an awesome display of street art and fun thing to do in Boise, and then got appetizers and drinks at Juniper (potatoes of course) and Chandlers, a fancy steakhouse. As we were walking around, we were drawn to music and ended up catching the tail end of a free, outdoor show by the band Afrosonics. The group has a very unique sound and its members come from multiple nations who come together in one musical destination. After our musical detour, we grabbed a final meal of our road trip at Wild Root and headed back to the hotel to get some sleep before our early - and long - day of travel home.
Day 11: Boise International Airport to Orlando/Boston
Our final itinerary: 3 states, 3 national parks, 1 national monument, 2 state parks and 2,000 miles driven in our trusty steed, Huckleberry. It was another awesome Alicia & Dana Adventure! Until next time. :)
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