Blogs from our 2019 trip from Denver to Las Vegas through Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Salt Lake City, Bryce, Zion, Grand Canyon and Las Vegas
We will touch down in Bali and make our way to Ubud to explore the beautiful nature. After that we plan to spend time on the nearby islands Gili Air and Gili Meno for diving and snorkeling before moving on
We will land in Cairns and spend 2,5 weeks in campervan along the coast and in the national parks inland. Great Barrier Reef is of course also on the agenda 🙂
We land in Darwin and will spend a week exploring the national parks in the area.
This is a travel blog about our family of 4 (Jesper, Line, Noah and Vitus) from Denmark and our travels overseas.
We have always loved to travel but in 2015 we took the big step and planned a 6,5 month trip around the world visiting Cyprus, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Australia, Hawaii, California, Mexico, Cuba and the Deep South (USA). That was a great experience and we documented it all on this travel blog.
In the summer of 2017 we headed out again visiting The Northern Territory and Queensland in Australia as well as Bali and some nearby islands in Indonesia.
In 2018 we spend the summer vacation on the Island of Sardinia (not documented on this blog), but in 2019 we decided to chase another dream and visit the States again to discover the national parks of Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone, Bryce, Zion, Anthelope Canyon and Grand Canyon.
Come a long and experience the world with us.
To find blog posts concerning a specific country just click on “Countries” in the menu and select the country – posts will be at the bottom of the page.
Splendid views in Bryce and Zion national park after a forgettable stopover in Salt Lake City
Days in Grand Teton National Park
Yellowstone Canyon and Fairy Falls hikes
Northern Yellowstone – hiking, “safari” and a fantastic Grizzly experience
First days in amazing Yellowstone
After our Yellowstone adventure we drove south to Grand Teton National park. As Grand Teton is much smaller than Yellowstone we only planned to stay 2 nights which turned out to be just perfect.
Grand Teton is known for the mountain views, great hikes, old barns and animal spotting and it delivered on all parameters. Grand Teton was also the first place we decided to take a chance and use a first-come-first-served campground. We had found three campgrounds with great ratings: Lizzard Creek, Colter Bay and Signal mountain. Colter Bay was our first choice as it had basic amenities as well as a beach and great location just a few kilometers north of the Grand Teton Loop. Most campgrounds fill up between 12 and 3 pm in high season and arriving at 11.30 we had no trouble finding a place. At the visitors center we noted that Signal Mountain had filled up already at 10 am the previous day so if you want to stay there you might want to get up early.
After setting up the tent we decided to drive the Grand Teton loop to see the main attractions and find a great hiking trail for the following day. The loop follows the Teton road and then the highway back to the starting point.
We did a short stop at Jenny lake
and enjoyed the beautiful views of the mountain range.
As we were doing the trip in early afternoon the chance of seeing wildlife was slim so we drove on to the Visitors Center to get some advice for the next day. The Visitors Center in Moose (a town) turned out to be an attraction on its own with lots of interactive things on display and the boys got a junior ranger book with lots of small assignments to complete. We also followed a ranger program on wildlife safety and learned that to use bear-spray correctly you need to aim at the front paws – not the head.
From all the great hikes around Grand Teton we chose the Death Canyon Trailhead and the hike to Phelps Lake and part of Death Canyon.
Going back to Colter Bay along the highway we checked out the famous Barns dated back to the first Mormon settlers in the area.
And took some pictures of the beautiful river
We ended the day with an Ice Cream at the Colter Bay general store (surprisingly good ice cream for such a remote place) and a walk to the Colter Bay marina
Heading for the Death Canyon trailhead the next day was a smooth drive until the very last section (be aware that RV’s and trailers are prohibited almost all the way from the main road) at first it was a bit scary with the huge potholes in the road but as we started to believe more in the off-road capabilities of our Nissan Amada it actually became a fun ride.
From the trailhead it was a gradual assent to the beautiful Phelps Lake lookout.
It did however surprise us how far down we would need to walk to get to the actual lake but having promised the kids a swim there was no way around it.
We had lunch right next to the lake and went for a nice but quick swim (not exactly warm water) and Line and Noah did some training on the beach.
Just as we were about to leave some other hikers pointed at the opposite bank where a Moose was making its way across a small section of wetland. FINALLY our first moose!!
After lunch we did part of the Death Canyon Trail, which provided some nice lookouts and a great workout.
We raced each other back to the parking lot and Jesper came in last. His bad excuse was carrying the largest bag, but that was not recognized as a valid reason and Line’s gloating lasted most of the evening.
On the way back we saw another Moose right next to the road.
Back at Colter Bay we went for a swim in Jackson lake and while cooking dinner a Grizzly walked right by (unfortunately we did not have the camera ready).
A bit scary as it must have walked right through the campground. Back at the campsite the boys spent the time solving the exercises in their Junior ranger book. Amazing how well Noah now reads and writes in English.
We left Grand Teton the following day but not before stopping by the visitors center so the boys could show their junior ranger book and take the ranger pledge.
Then they got their badges and they were very proud.
To avoid too much driving in one day we decided to do a stopover in Salt Lake City on the way from Grand Teton to Bryce National Park. A quick search for restaurants near our hotel in SLC surprisingly suggested
On our fourth day in Yellowstone we woke up to rainy and cloudy weather. The kids really wanted to try “mining” for gemstones at the Campsite so they got a chance to try that out We had yet to see
On our third day in Yellowstone, we wanted to somewhere where we were likely to spot some interesting wildlife. So we took a long drive, almost two hours, to Roosevelt Lodge in the northern part of Yellowstone. On the way
After Cody it was time to go to Yellowstone. Being as hyped as it is we were mentally preparing ourselves for a minor disappointment. Boy, were we wrong!! Yellowstone is anything and everything you expect from one of the world’s
Next stop on our trip was Cody – the town named after “Buffalo Bill” Cody, to experience a real wild west ton, go to the rodeo and visit the museum. Cody is a long way from Rocky Mountains, around 7
On the second day in Rocky Mountains we decided to the Fern falls hike. Unfortunately we could not find any parking space near the trailhead and ended up walking 2.5 kilometers just to start the hike. Of course a free
Arriving late the day before we spent our first day shopping the last items for the first part of our camping trip in Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone. Having been forcefully upgraded to a HUGE Nissan Amada we did not have
To say that we had been nervous about the boat-trip from Gili to Lembongan would be a huge understatement. Friends of ours, traveling 2 weeks before, had disembarked on the way (at Padang Bai) because they found it too
When we were finally able to leave Ubud early in the morning on July 29th, we were transported to Padang Bai to take the Bluewater express boat to Gili Air. The weather forecast said no wind, but that turned out
Arriving in Denpasar Bali the first thing we noticed was the humidity. It might not be much warmer than Australia but it sure felt like it. We were picked up in the airport by Nicktours and driven to our hotel
The day after snorkeling at Great Barrier Reef we went to Fitzroy Island to relax on the beach, snorkel and explore. Naively we thought we could just show up at the pier and buy a ticket, but unfortunately the 9
After having changed the date for our pre-booked Great Barrier Reef day tour for the second time because of unpredictable weather, we finally went. It was quite windy, around 10 ms and waves of 1,5 meters, and the boys
In the Tablelands we came across several posters for the Mareeba Rodeo. Going to local events has given us some of our best travel memories and this time it only took small change of plans to make it fit. Arriving
Checking the weather forecast for the 100th time it finally indicated abundant sunshine in the days ahead. Therefore we decided to go to Mission Beach as they have almost crocodile free beaches and Dunk Island (where you can go snorkeling)
