Sunday, June 20, 2010

Wyoming weather & Travel Plans

The graphics above are from the Riverton, Wyoming NWS Office. Riverton is about 80 miles easterly from Dubois. From what I can discern from the Riverton AFD, it looks like this pattern is going to possibly intensify tomorrow. The thunderstorm pattern tomorrow may even affect areas farther west than shown on these maps. The pattern is prognosticated to break up by Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest. All we have to do today is look out on the Snake River Plain and also look east into the Snake Highlands and see that thunderstorms are already forming even here in Eastern Idaho. There are some large t-storm cell roaming the hinterlands this afternoon.
So....this type of weather pattern and the accompanying forecast(s) have an impact on our travel plans. We're certain that we won't be driving straight through to Dubois tomorrow. Nope, we will select an intermediate camp someplace, maybe even inside the Grand Teton National Park. Another option might be to investigate the campground in the Snake River Canyon between Alpine and Hoback Junction. Lots of protective trees there and probably fewer mosquitoes than the Gros Ventre Campground inside GTNP. It's a dice game, that's for sure. I'm think this is a tentative agenda for this trip:
Day One--Camp in far western Wyoming
Day Two--Camp near Towogtee Pass
Day Three--Check out Dubois, visit musuems, etc. Camp at an RV park in the city.
Day Four--Drive over Union Pass--Camp at Fremont Lake above Pinedale
Day Five--Return to Idaho Falls

If we truly find something extra special Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, well then we might stay as long as 2-3 extra days out on the road. A lot of it depends on these factors:
A) Overnight low and daytime high Temperatures
B) Thunderstorm & lightning activity
C) Mosquitoes and blackflies
D) Uncomfortable campgrounds
E) Annoying goat ropers and/or Bear Nazis
F) High bear danger on targeted trails

We do know that when we return here to Idaho Falls, we're going to be pretty well grounded until July 7th or 8th or 9th. That's when we are heading down toward Montpelier, Idaho, to see Bryan B. and his sons Nathan and Sam. Chances are we will be there two nights and then return to River City July 11. I really, really want to attend the July 12 Parks & recreation Commission meeting.

Our next trip after than one will commence sometime a few days before July 24th. As LBRs know, the 24th is when we are to judge the Clayton Heritage Days Chile Cookoff. Hopefully, we will have been able to go boating for a few days beforehand.
We'd like to return to Idaho Falls that very same day--the 24th. Our travel schedule beyond late July is undetermined. I do have that August 7th Middle Fork permit and continue to be ambivalent about whether to go or blow it off. Hopefully, we can squeeze in at least 2-3 more camping trips between late July and Labor Day. We really NEED to get up there to Riverside in Island Park and enjoy Harriman for at least a few times this year. After Labor Day is the annual Jenny Lake adventure. Then Susun flies out of Salt Lake on 9/11 for San Diego to see Sarah and The Boyz (Peter, Gage and Van). She'll be gone roughly 10 days. This will then be putting us pretty close to the autumnal equinox. Our camping focus then changes to areas such as City of Rocks. Gee, the summer hasn't started and it's already over. What happened?

Cheers, jp

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