June 18, 2026 White Salmon WA to West Linn OR

Helga made us waffles and coffee and tea and we said our goodbyes and headed off the hill to the Columbia river. We crossed the $3.50 bridge (they read our plate and will somehow send us a bill) and we caught Historic Rt 30 which runs on the south side of the river. It is shared off and on with the interstate. Brady told us last night about the waterfalls on Rt 30 which we found. This road was built in 1922 and it is in good shape but very narrow.

Google Maps took us straight to Beverly and Brett’s house in West Linn. Brett works remotely so he was busy all morning but Beverly had the day off so we had a long catch up. It’s been 12 years since we have seen these guys so we had a lot of catching up to do.

Beverly gave us a tour of her various Maker Space project spaces with 3D printers and laser machines and the various clothing projects and tons of other projects for the cosplay stuff she does. This is in her spare time after her full time hospital job.

Their son Zack came over and we all went to lunch and for a nice walk along Lake Oswego. Ice cream and then back to West Linn. Brett was done with work by this time so we got caught up with him and then went out to dinner at Salvador Molly’s, a favorite  restaurant of theirs with delicious food and good beer.

Back to the house and then everyone off to bed. Brett and Beverly work in the morning so we said our goodbyes.

June 17,2026 Yakima Sportsman State Park, Yakima, WA To White Salmon WA

This park was ok but not stellar. The showers were hot enough but not that clean, and only about a quarter of the sites were full. We were close to downtown Yakima so we looked up a well rated coffee shop (Aventura) which turned out to be not that great. So all in all an okay stay here in Yakima,

Today we will visit an old friend Helga Burkhardt who Deb first met when she was 6 years old and living in Germany. She and her husband Klaus later moved to Oswego and were friends with Deb’s parents. We have not seen Helga for 30 plus years.

Rt 97 took us almost all the way to the Columbia River and crossed an Indian reservation. We stopped for gas in Toppenish and Deb asked about the fire we had been warned about by Google Maps. The fire was the day before and we did see burned grassland as we crossed the reservation today. A few fire folks were keeping an eye on it but there was no smoke or fire to be seen.

Once we hit the huge Columbia River we took Rt 14 on the north side of the river which took us right to White Salmon. Helga lived high above the river in a lovely neighborhood. Helga’s 87 and has been here about 20 years and her son and daughter live nearby so she has a nice setup. We sat on her back deck and caught up. She then took us for lunch at a delicious local bakery, a hike overlooking the river and then back to her house. Her son and daughter (Walter and Jeanette) and their partners all came over and we had a  nice dinner on the back deck. We all got to know each other until late and after a nice evening everyone went home and we fell asleep in the van in the driveway. Thanks Helga for a wonderful day. 

June 16, 2026 Deception Pass State Park, WA to Yakima Sportsman State Park, Yakima, WA

Deb here. Well, today was a whole lesson in flexibility! Last night I’d decided to just relax and not worry about a ferry reservation between Coupeville on Whidbey Island to Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula. The ferry was all part of our new plan to head south through Washington a different way than we’d intended.

We had coffe and tea at the campground and then decided to head out. We stopped to walk over the Deception Pass Bridge (very scary) and then stopped for breakfast at the Island Cafe in Oak Harbor and I pulled up the ferry schedules. It turns out that the 3 morning ferries scheduled were canceled due to excessive tidal action (or something like that), and the remaining ferries were all full with standby only. We talked it over and decided it wasn’t worth gambling on standby status, so concocted a whole other plan to head back to the mainland and travel on Rt 2, up over Stevens Pass and through Leavenworth.

John here for the rest. We got gas at Costco ($4.84). So gas prices are screwy out here. Some stations sell it for $5.99 and the next station is $4.99, then $5.69, etc. Costco was the best price and right on the new route and not busy at all around 10 am.

We backtracked on Rt20 and then went south on I-5 for not too long before we turned onto Rt 2 East which we would spend most of the day on. It is a beautiful road and mostly 2 lane with a couple of passes (4-5K ft) and a few ice covered ragged mountains, and as the afternoon wore on we started to see things dry out. As we drove through Skykomish we stopped at LouSkis Deli and split one of their famous Rainy Day Reuben sandwiches. A great setting with picnic tables outside on the river.

Then, after we climbed up and over Stevens Pass we eventually arrived in Leavenworth, a Bavarian themed village. Everything has the Bavarian thing going on and we stopped and walked around the village, splitting a frosted gingerbread cookie.. 

After leaving Rt 2 we followed Rt 97, finally turning on to super twisty Rt 821.We found a half dozen campgrounds between Rt 97 and Rt 821 that were either forest service or BLM. We skipped the forest service ones so we could get some more miles in and decided to stay at one of the BLM ones on Rt 821. Lo and behold, they were mostly all closed since they were renovating them. We then found a State Park in Yakima, Yakima Sportsman State Park, which was pretty empty with nobody to take our money so we had to call the nice State Park lady who told us to drive around, find a site and call her back. We called back and got another State Park lady who took all our information and credit card and told us to fill out a white form and put it on the dash. The white forms were back at the unattended park ranger shack so we got a little end of day walk in.

We reconned the bathrooms (B+) and sat in the breezy afternoon with a couple of beverages. Then cooked dinner, did dishes and hit the books then sleep.

Tomorrow we visit Deb’s old friend Helga and then on to the Portland area to visit with Beverly and Brett.

Another nice weather day just figuring it out…

June 15, 2026 Pearrygin Lake State Park, WA to Deception Pass State Park, WA

The couple last night said we had to go to the Rocking Horse Bakery in Winthrop for breakfast so we did morning coffee/tea in the van and headed out. Winthrop is a pretty hip town, in a good way. They made over the downtown to look kind of wild westy and not too cheesey. The people coming into and out of the bakery seemed a little younger and nicely dressed so we are thinking second homes folks or remote workers, but nice folks who have this amazing little bakery in their small town. Breakfast sandwiches all around.

The big excitement was the announcement yesterday that the pass over Rt 20 was open!. This pass was built in 1922 and then improved in 1972 and connects this beautiful area to Seattle and also acts as a conduit for the logging industry, although we did not see any logging trucks today so they must still be getting back to work.

We stopped at Washington Pass Overlook which had a loop hike to some gorgeous views. Then we stopped at Rainy Lake and hiked into there. Next we stopped at the Diablo Lake overlook for more great pictures, and then finally we stopped at the North Cascades NP Visitor Center in Newhalem. The weather was great and it did get into the 80’s once we came out of the Cascades. Deb had thought about another hike (Thunder Knob), but it was warm by this time and other trails were still covered in snow.

We had chatted with three women at Rainy Lake and they filled us in on routes after North Cascades to avoid the busy Seattle traffic. They highly recommended staying on Rt. 20 so we followed their suggestion, staying on Rt 20 and ending up on Whidbey Island after crossing the Deception Pass Bridge. We stopped at the Deception Pass Campground (Cranberry Lake) and site 179 was open for $43. Nice sites, flush toilets, hot water and showers. Living it up for sure. Deb explored the trail to the beach while I put my feet up.

Salad and soup for dinner, followed by a walk to the beach and microwave popcorn (decadence for sure). 

June 14, 2026 Best Western in Nelson, BC to Pearrygin Lake State Park, Winthrop, WA

Deb here again. We woke up to a beautiful morning, warm enough to wear shorts. We had breakfast at Marzano’s, the Italian restaurant that offered a special breakfast deal to Best Western customers.

After breakfast we drove through downtown Nelson and ventured across the bridge to the other side of the lake. What a beautiful location for a town. Nelson has 11,000 residents and I think I could be quite happy living there as well as Osoyoos!

Today’s goal was to get back into the US somewhere near Rt 20. Our route turned out to be spectacular, first traveling down Rt 6 to the border, where there’s a really tiny border crossing. The border agent looked through our van but was really pleasant.

The US side was quite a surprise, with mountains, trees, lakes and rivers. We started on Rt 31, going through Metaline Falls (cute town) and Metaline, then turning onto Rt 20 at Tiger. There was a rest stop there that included the General Store staffed by volunteers, which was really a museum of sorts with tourist info. We had a great talk with the volunteer there and ended up buying a few used kids’ books.

On Rt 20 we made a couple of stops, first at the logging flume historical site, which included a .5 mile walkway explaining the 5 mile stretch of wooden flumes that were built there in the 1920’s. Then on to Coleville (also a cute town), Kettle Falls, across the Columbia River and up over the next segment of 20. This time it was up and over Sherman Pass, which had a nice viewpoint spot near the top with an interpretive walk. 

Then on to Republic and through to Tonasket.  By this time we’d left the lush green forests and had entered a drier landscape with fewer trees.  At this point we got on 97 South and headed to Omak and Okanogan, where we turned off on 20 once again to Twisp and Winthrop. I hadn’t thought we’d make it this far today, but we kept plugging along and before we knew it we were in Twisp.

I’d read that Pearrygin Lake State Park was a good campground, so we headed here (just outside of Winthrop) and found they had lots of available campsites. The ranger gave us a site on the water and although it was 87 degrees when we arrived our max air fans cooled the van off nicely. After a walk around the park we set our chairs up in the shade near the water. I eventually went swimming and it was perfect.

Dinner in the van, blogging, reading and bed. 

June 13, 2026 Allison Lake Provincial Campground to Nelson, British Columbia

Deb here. It was cold again this morning but once again we’d slept really well. We’d thought that we’d cross back into the US today, but I realized we weren’t far from Nelson, which our friend Cooper had highly recommended. Also high on our list was laundry and showers, so we decided to head to Nelson for a hotel night.

This turned out to be an excellent decision, since we drove through amazingly gorgeous scenery once again. This time we mostly followed Rte. 3, which skimmed right above the US border in BC. So many fruit orchards, fruit stands, wineries and lush growing fields. Lots of lakes, so much green, mountains and blue sky. What’s not to like? When we passed through the lovely town of Osoyoos I commented that I could be quite happy living there. 

I made a reservation at the Best Western on Baker Street, which turned out to be perfect. Parking was included and Baker Street is the hub of downtown. We arrived in Nelson at 1 p.m., so we parked and walked to the farmers market. Some beautiful produce there, but heavy on crafts, so we walked around checking out the Nelson Friendship Garden and waterfall, then walked up Baker St to the center of town.

We stopped at the Kootenay Bakery Cafe for a bagel (John) and handheld cheeseburger pie with a chai latte (me). All was delicious. It was a treat to see so many fresh and local food options in Nelson. Folks were lining Baker St and we learned that a parade of the local high school graduates was about to happen. Always nice to see a community recognize their graduates!

Next stop was the Nelson Museum, Archives and Gallery, where we paid for admission and a tour of the Cold War Bunker. I’d read about the Cold War Bunker and was pretty intrigued. The museum had an art gallery with local artists downstairs, then a history museum upstairs. We spent a quick hour viewing the museum, then met our tour guide at 3 for a tour of the Bunker.

The Cold War Bunker tour was fascinating. Apparently it’s one of only 3 still intact bunkers in Canada, and it was left as it was back in the day. It was created in 1963 to house a group of 60 individuals who would be in the bunker if there was a nuclear attack. Really wild to see the space and hear the stories. 

After the museum and tour  it was back to the hotel for two loads of laundry and showers. At 6 or so we walked back up Baker St and had delicious fish and chips, along with a local cider and beer at Main St Vintage Diner. We ate outside and had a nice talk with one of the servers.

Back to the hotel to collapse.

June 12, 2026 Wilcox Creek Campground, Alberta to Lake Allison Provincial Campground, British Columbia

Woke up to a foggy drippy morning with views of only clouds and fog. The snow covered mountains were there when we went to bed bu somehow disappeared overnight. Coffee and tea as usual and we decided to keep going north on the Icefields Parkway to Jasper which was 1-½ hours. Not much traffic going north but quite a bit more going the other way toward Banff.

Driving into Jasper we saw the remnants of the 2024 fire that burned a whole lot of trees and a third of Jasper. Pulling into Jasper we saw row after row of temporary housing, mostly unoccupied now, but we assume housed the refugees from the fire and all the workers needed to rebuild the town. We found the Jasper Waffle Shop and both had waffles, blueberry and strawberry. After brunch we drove through town and saw the parts of town that didn’ burn and filled up with gas ($1.83/liter).

Jasper is the end of Rt 93 which we started on June 2 in Wickenburg, AZ. Now we head back south. If we go any further north we will be way north since the inner parts of BC are pretty wild still.

So west on Rt 1 and then south on Rt 5 to Kamloops, which is a big town (5 McDonalds big) and then turned onto Rt 5 south which is a slower two lane picturesque road. We stopped at Kentucky-Allyene Provincial Park but it was full. Then we went south another 30 minutes and found a site at Lake Allison Campground. Met some folks from New York that were returning from Alaska and had a nice chat. Supper was ravioli and salad then reading and bed. Hotel tomorrow night?

June 11, 2026 Wasa Lake Provincial Park, BC to Wilcox Creek Campground, Alberta

Quiet and pretty empty campground this morning. We took showers which it seems runs off the passive solar panels on the roof which did a good job of dissipating any heat it collected yesterday, that is to say, we had cold showers this morning. Coffee and tea and then hit the road looking for a Tim Horton’s, because we are in Canada after all. Milo had Tim Horton coffee and a bagel and Deb had a London Fog Latte and a breakfast sandwich. The young guy at the counter told us about a beautiful stop at a scenic lookout which we later stopped at and it was indeed very scenic. We drove up Rt 93 until it hit Rt 1 and then headed to Banff, the town and the hotel. The town was swarming with people shopping mostly, and filled up with gas ($1.80 per liter as opposed to the usual $1.72). There are not many gas opportunities on the Icefields Parkway so we take no chances.

We found a coffee shop (Wild Flour Coffee and Cafe)  and then found the Banff Springs Hotel (the castle looking pace) but we were ready to get on the road. But it turned out that the train that runs through town ran through town but the lights and crossing gates did not return to the vertical position, so the whole town locked up. Over an hour went by with nobody moving, just sitting in our cars. After about an hour we noticed that there was a back way out of Banff about 5km east (I think). So we escaped and another train was just coming into Banff as we left so maybe they are still there trying to get the gate open.

It sprinkled off and on all day but mostly off. The mountain scenery is just never ending. As soon as you get your jaw off the dashboard from one mountain view, another one comes around the corner, then another and then another, all day long.

We stopped and hiked into Peyto Lake, about 700 meters, along with quite a few other folks. Snowbanks were still everywhere so some of the trail was on packed snow but the view of turquoise Peyto Lake was well worth it.

For lunch we had cheese and crackers and apples and then we played the “where do we camp tonight” game. Some campgrounds were full and some were closed, probably due to snow but the furthest one, Wilcox Creek was open with plenty of empty sites ($33.50).

We made a fire, cooked soup and made sandwiches for dinner and popped popcorn in our new microwave experiment (works great).

Reading and bed.

 June 10, 2026  Bowman Lake, MT to Wasa Lake Provincial Park, BC

Deb here. Wow, darkest night ever last night. I think there were perhaps three of us camped in the campground and it was super quiet and unbelievably dark.

When we woke up it was in the 40’s and drizzly. I walked to the lake and the clouds were low and no sign of sun. After coffee and tea in the van we came to the decision that the weather wasn’t going to improve so we decided to move on. We packed up and headed back down the narrow dirt road and through Polebridge. We stopped at the ranger station on the way and had a great talk with the two rangers on duty (one from Rutland, VT and a Castleton grad) and they confirmed our weather suspicions. They also told us that instead of the 20 miles of rough road ahead we could cut through a piece of Glacier NP on our way back for an easier ride. We followed their recommendation and came out at the Apgar Visitor Center, where we stopped for a passport stamp and sticker.

Back on 93, this time with a stop in Whitefish. Fresh bagels are something we don’t get in Bisbee, so we looked for a bagel place in Whitefish and found Cutthroat Bagels. Delicious salty seeded homemade bagels.

On up the road on 93, eventually coming to Eureka where we stopped to fill up on gas before crossing the border into Canada. The border crossing was easy, with the border patrol agent only concerned that we weren’t carrying any firearms. Rte. 93 in Canada turned out to be jawdroppingly beautiful, with huge snowcapped mountains on our right and more mountains everywhere you look. We stopped at a McDonald’s for drinks mid-afternoon in Cranbrook (note to self, Canadian McDonald’s actually offer Earl Grey tea) and decided to find a camping spot nearby.

Lots of provincial and other parks up this way and we chose Wasa Lake Provincial Park. The campground wasn’t full at all and includes showers, flush toilets and level spots. We picked a site and went for a walk down to the small lake. The camp host and a ranger later came by with a golf cart to collect our money. The site is $30, but we were charged an additional $20 as a national park fee. Apparently anytime we camp at a provincial park we’ll have to pay the additional non-resident fee. Still, $50 Canadian translates to about $35 US, so not outrageous for a decent campsite. The two women were really nice and we made it clear we’d rather spend our money in Canada with the way things are going in the US.

Fresh corn as an appetizer, then steamed broccoli with rice and sausage for dinner. We finally had a campfire and actually tried plugging in our small (old) microwave for some popcorn later. After looking at maps we decided we’ll keep heading up on Rte 93 all the way to Jasper.

 June 9, 2026 Flathead Lake to Bowman Lake MT

We left our beautiful lakeside campsite at Finley Point State Park after one last chat with the nice neighbors Dave and Martha and their two grandkids. They were from Whitehall, MT and the grandkids wee from Salmon, ID. Nice folks.

We headed north on the east side of Flathead Lake which is a small 2 lane road and more scenic than the west side which is RT93. We stopped in Big Fork, MT at the Pocketstone Cafe. Breakfast sandwich for Deb and Montana Mush (oatmeal) for Milo.

Next stop Walmart to resupply while Milo made a few phone calls (dentist, brothers).

Our end destination today is Bowman Lake which is actually in Glacier Park but in the remote northwest corner. It rained off and on today and is expected to tomorrow as well. The road to Bowman is 21 miles to the interesting “town” of Polebridge (they made a bridge out of poles way back when). You have to stop at the Polebrifge Mercantile and get a Huckleberry Bearclaw, which we did, and then headed up the muddy, pohole filled road to Bowman Lake. It’s 21 miles of awful road over beautiful terrain. Today was grader day so a few miles were a muddy mess like we had back in Vermont. Where the grading stopped it was nasty potholes so 20 mph was about all you could do. Then out of nowhere it turns to smooth paved road and then back to potholes again. All in the intermittent rain.

When we made the turn to Bowman Lake there was a pleasant National Park Ranger to greet us. This must be a lonely job way up here. From there it was a 6 mile rough 1 to 1-½ lane wide dirt potholed road to the campground where we found about 26 empty campsites (out of 30 or so). No camp host so put your money ($12.50 with the pass) in the envelope and drop it int the box. We signed up for two nights.

It cleared briefly so we went down to the lakeshore and got the classic Bowman Lake pictures, then it started raining again so back to the van to read for the afternoon. It’s nice not to have internet!

We ate the Subway sub we bought earlier for dinner (no dishes!) and then off to bed.

P.S. Deb bought bear spray today…

June 8, 2026 Missoula MT to Flathead Lake MT

Deb here. Not too surprising, but we slept well, even in a hotel. We decided to pass up the standard Super 8 breakfast and find a real-live bagel joint. This is something we miss in Bisbee! We found 3B Bagels in downtown Missoula and had great bagels, coffee and delicious Earl Grey Blue tea. I liked the tea so much, which was from the Lake Missoula Tea Co., that I set off to find some downtown to buy. Downtown Missoula is a fun town, very reminiscent of Burlington, VT.

On in the van out of town to follow Rt. 93 north, and what a gorgeous stretch of road once again. Mountain views, sunshine, some wildflowers and ultimately views of Flathead Lake. 

Our first goal was to stop at the Miracle of America Museum near Polson, a quirky spot that Cooper had recommended. 

We pulled into the museum parking lot and spent about 2 hours wandering through the huge collection of stuff. From old farm equipment, to dolls, to beauty parlors, to guns… everything you could imagine and then some. Very quirky and very fun.

From there it was on to Finley Point State Park, where we hoped to score a campsite. Once again luck was with us and we were given site 16, right on the water. What a beautiful little state park. 

We made some lunch then opted to walk a nature loop through the woods. The loop was really fun because a local resident hid painted rocks along the trail, making it into a sort of scavenger hunt. Lovely woods and a cool idea.

After our walk I put on my suit and headed to the beach with a chair and reading material and John opted to read in the van. I had fun watching grandparents and their six young grandkids navigate kayaks. I finally screwed up my courage and went into the super cold water. No swimming, but a couple of dunks. Brrr!

In the evening we drove into Polson and had a great dinner at The Shoe Lakeside Dining in Polson. Beautiful views over the lake and good fish and chips and cobb salad.

Back to our campsite to end another great day on the road.

June 7, 2026 Indian Trees USFS Campground to Super 8 (Missoula, MT)

 

We drove out of the forest and once we got cell service again, we had a note from Shelly Meyer, who we have not met before, who lives in Missoula and is the mom of our daughter's friend Melissa from years ago backpacking in Peru (wow, that’s complicated). Shelly and her husband Skee have lived in Missoula forever and offered to show us around. We decided it was time for a hotel night and to do laundry so we were going to stay in town anyway.

We met Shelly and Skee at their home and they drove us around town, took us on a walking tour of town and took us out to lunch in town at Cafe Mimosa. Missoula is a great college town with lots of energy and no boarded up storefronts like a lot of towns these days. The new library is gorgeous and the college has around 11,000 students. It’s a very vibrant town.

After our grand town tour (thanks again to Shelly and Skee) we contacted Celia, who’s a friend of our friend Carter in Bisbee, and we met at The Missouri Club (locals call it the Mo Club) for a beer and a burger. Kind of a dive but it’s a local institution. Great burgers. We had a nice catch up with Celia and then headed to the Super 8 to do laundry and sleep. We are coming back to Missoula for sure.

June 6, 2026 Craters of the Moon National Monument (Arco, ID) to Indian Trees USFS Campground (Sula, MT)

Deb here. Once again we slept amazingly well. We’d lost an hour yesterday jumping to Mountain Standard Time so maybe that had something to do with it?

We packed up and drove the park 7-mile or so loop. The road was excellent, with several stops that led to paved trails. We stopped at a few pull-offs and hiked a couple of the trails. It’s kind of cool that all of the trails are paved in black, as are the sidewalks, probably because it looks like the lava that’s everywhere. Very bizarre landscape, and particularly strange that wildflowers manage to grow through the hard lava rocks. Beautiful in an unconventional way.

By the time we finished exploring the driving loop it was time for breakfast. We headed up Rt 93 (of course), stopping in the small town of Arco to eat a late breakfast at Pickle’s Place. The diner was hopping but the service and food were good. Arco has the distinction of being the first town in the world to be powered entirely through nuclear power, and it has a few quirky attractions.

From Arco on up Rt 93 the drive was incredible. First up was passing snow covered mountains in all directions, including Mt. Borah, a 12,000+ foot montain that’s Idaho’s highest. The landscape then changed, Rt 93 became the Salmon River Scenic Byway, and we were winding our way along the Salmon River through canyons with spectacular rock faces. 

We passed through the charming little town of Salmon and then eventually we started to climb and left the dry mountains and fields for much more green. The terrain started to feel more alpine and the road was beautiful, taking us to the top of Lost Trail Pass. Lots of Lewis and Clark info along the way, since we’re following in their footsteps along this route.

Down the other side of the pass to our destination, Indian Trees USFS Campground. I’d read good reviews about the campground and they were spot on. A paved road through the campground, big sites, campground host, and a half mile walk to Lost Trail Hot Springs. When we pulled into the campground at 3 or so there were lots of empty spots. After settling into #8 we put our suits on and walked to the hot springs.

The hot springs turned out to be a great pool at the perfect temperature ($7/person), and even better we had hot showers (with shampoo) after our time in the pool. Quite a treat after several nights of camping with no showers!

Back to the campground for dinner, plotting our next destinations, reading and bed.

June 5, 2026 Thomas Canyon Campground (Elko NV) to Craters of the Moon Lava Flow Campground (Arco, ID)

Well we are completely digitally detoxed after 2 days up in the Ruby Mountains. This is the kind of place you could come back to over and over. Snowcapped mountains, mountain streams, great hiking trails.

We went into Elko and found the Coffee Mug restaurant where we had been a couple years back. Still great, full of people half of which looked like they were in town for the mining trade show.

After breakfast we went east on I-80 to the turnoff north to RT93 at Wells. Then across the border into Idaho at Jackpot NV. Then Twin Falls, ID where the Snake River runs, north to Shoshone where we turned east to stay on RT93. Craters of the Moon National Monument it right on Rt93 and we got into the park free with the geezer pass and found a nice campsite (for all of $7.50).. It was 3:00 and there were a lot of campsites left. As I write this around 7:00 there are just a couple left so it paid to get here early.

We walked to the Visitor Center, watched the movie and looked at all of the displays, bought a couple of trinkets and then back to the van for dinner. Sausage, carrots and rice. We’d stopped at a Walmar in Elko and picked up a few things including a couple of  pte-mixed margaritas, which turned out to be ok, but we had no ice. We will try again tomorrow.

After dinner we walked on a trail across the lava fields and then took the auto-road back to the campsite. We’lldrive the 7-mile park loop in the morning. Temperature was around 80 when we arrived and the weather guy says we should see 58 tonight so perfect sleeping weather. Another great day. 

June 4, 2026 - Thomas Canyon Campground

Deb here. The temperature dipped to 36 degrees overnight, but all was well in our van with our cozy heater. I didn’t put coverings over all of the windows since it was so dark last night, and it was so nice to wake up this morning and see the blue sky, mountains and rushing brook. Pretty perfect.

We decided last night that we’d hike the Thomas Canyon Trail this morning. Last time we were here we hiked the trail at the end of the road and it was spectacular, leading up to a series of alpine lakes. I learned last night from a woman in a nearby campsite that there was still a lot of snow up there, but that the Thomas Canyon hike is a winner. And to make it even better, the trail departs across the road from our campsite.

After leisurely coffee, tea and breakfast, we took off up the trail by about 8:45 am.

The trail is an out and back, going up about 1,300 feet in elevation over 2+ miles (one way). It was a constant up but oh so beautiful. Wildflowers were just starting to pop, so I took lots of photos along the way. And then there were many waterfalls, blue sky, aspens, sunshine and snow covered mountains. All in all an absolutely perfect alpine hike.

We took our time and arrived in the big meadow underneath the snow capped peaks at the end of the trail by 11 or so. I found a big rock and we hung out for quite a while, enjoying our snacks and talking with a couple of other hikers. The couple we met live about 70 miles from here and just came for a day hike. They’ve been hiking around Nevada for 40+ years and confirmed that the Ruby Mountains are among their favorites. They also suggested checking out Jarbridge, an old mining town with lots of great hikes and camping on the Idaho border, northwest of here.

We eventually headed down the mountain, returning to our campsite by 12:30 or so. The afternoon was pleasantly spent reading, napping and hanging out. There’s something to be said for our enforced digital detox!

Later in the afternoon we drove to the end of the road, about 5 miles beyond the campground. There’s a large parking area there with several trailheads, and we talked with a couple of men who’d tried to hike up to the Dollar Lakes (where we’d been in 2023) and had turned around due to the snow. We definitely made the right decision to hike in Thomas Canyon.

Back to our campsite for happy hour and then dinner later (grilled cheeses and corn chowder). More reading before bed. What a relaxing day!