A bear had been in our campground the night before and knocked over a big dumpster. There were paw prints all over it! Thankfully the dumpsters are bear proof and it couldn’t get in. Hopefully it won’t come back because if it does they will relocate it, and in some instances they kill them.

We decided to stay another night in the Bitterroot national forest as it’s really nice and it’s cheap and we have power.

We went for a walk alongside Lake Como which was a stunning lake with the snow capped mountains as a backdrop. It’s named after lake Como in Italy. The cold wind had stopped and it was a beautiful day. A group of guys were training for cliff rescues but they were still setting up.

We drove into the old west town of Darby looking for a late breakfast but I didn’t fancy any of the cafes. So we bought some eggs and fresh rolls and went back to camp and did our own.

Other than that, it was a quiet day editing and cleaning our van.

On our evening walk, Mike thought he saw a bear, but it was just a man dressed in black, fishing.

It had been such a warm evening that it was still hot when we went to bed so we left all the windows open. It was freezing when we woke the next morning. We were parked under some trees which stopped the sun getting through to our van.

It was another beautiful day of driving through gorges, alongside the Salmon river. I don’t know why but I have a sudden urge to go fishing.

The hills surrounding us on either side reminded me of the king country but on steroids. They were massive.

We stopped in the quaint little town of Salmon. There were some outdoor stores here and I really wanted to go fishing. But Mike wasn’t keen.

We picked up a few supplies, and continued on over a big mountain up to about 7000 feet. At the top was a sign.

Welcome to Montana! As usual I was too slow to take a photo.

We found a nice little camping spot in the national forest which had power. It was freezing so we got our fan heater out, and then it snowed!

After the snow, we tried to go for a walk, but a vicious wind was blowing straight off the snow capped mountains. We both had fleeces and puffer jackets on but the cold wind managed to send its icy fingers into any gap it could find. Imagine being nice and warm and someone chucking ice cubes down your top. it was like that but all over your face and hands too. And it whipped straight through my long trousers. Mike’s bare legs didn’t stand a chance.

We scurried back to the van and turned the heater on.

Mike cooked up a chicken stew for dinner.

There was a bear in the campground last night. He knocked over a large bin!

We left our lava camp and mostly had a driving day. We stopped at the experimental breeder reactor museum but it was closed.

We found an outdoor store in the middle of nowhere and they had bear spray! Finally! Now we just gotta learn house to use it!

We are just driving north now, up highway 93 to Canada. We found a lovely spot to camp right beside the Salmon river in the sawtooth mountains.

We had our first attempt at campfire cooking but it failed miserably. We had potatoes in foil and these worked out ok, but when we put the bacon on, the wind picked up and blew ash all over it. We gave up and took it inside to cook.

I finally got to bed at 1.30am and heard no more rustling. I would have loved to stay another night in that freedom camp, but the thought of Russell coming back terrified me.

About ten minutes up the road was a natural hot spring. It was just on the side of the highway and a short walk down to it. There were only one other couple in there. I think they were Mexican as they didn’t speak any English.

The water was crystal clear and the perfect temperature. It was nice to have a warm bath as it’s a week or so since we showered. That’s part of the fun of van life!

After our soak we felt very refreshed and continued 30 minutes up the road to craters of the moon, which is a huge lava field.

We did some beautiful hikes, and climbed up a volcano with stunning views from the top. then we decided to camp at the craters of the moon national park camp for only $4 a night. It was pretty cool camping in a lava field!

We met a lady we’d met a couple of days ago. She’s touring on her own with her dog, Blossom. She invited us over to sit around her gas fireplace, which was like a real fire without the smell!

It was a nice evening chatting. She is from LA and works from home, and travels 3 months every year.

No critter noises tonight, so that was a bonus.

We woke up to a beautiful sunny day, but little did we know the drama that awaited.

We’d wanted to get an early start as there was a hike I wanted to do. But when we went to leave, Mike realised he had left the isolator switch off the previous day and we now had a flat battery!

Mike grabbed our neighbour at the campground before they could leave for the day. Thankfully he had some jumper leads and got us going.

Then we went to Walmart to find our own jumper leads, but ended up buying a jump starter battery pack so we don’t need to rely on anyone else. It also has an air pump in it.

Our first stop was Box canyon springs walk. We’d tried to buy bear spray but couldn’t find it. I think it’s the sort of thing you need to buy online.

The walk started along the rim of the canyon with stunning views down to the river. Then it was a steep rocky climb down into the canyon on an unmaintained trail.

We walked for about an hour to a waterfall. We’d been told there was a beautiful clear spring further on, so we continued for about 30 mins. Up ahead I saw a lot of bugs flying in the air. Not thinking too much about it, we continued.

Suddenly all these bees (or wasps) started flying at us. I quickly turned around and started heading back. Thankfully they left us alone and we made it back unstung.

Climbing back up out of the canyon looked intimidating, as we haven’t done much exercise since we’ve been here. But thankfully it was not hard, and no shortness of breath. We are at much lower altitude of about 4000 feet.

We did a little more sightseeing around the area then started driving towards craters of the moon.

Around 5pm we found an amazing free camping spot with table, chairs, shelter, fire pit and bbq, as well as a toilet. I can’t believe the quality of some of the free camps we’ve had.

That night, however, things took a turn for the worse. As we were settling down in bed, I hear that familiar rustle, rustle. ‘You better set the mouse trap,’ I said to Mike.

He set it up on the dash, which is where we caught the mouse last time. The rustling got louder, accompanied by thumping foot steps. This was no tiny little mouse. Something big was making itself at home in the engine.

What could it be? A few things crossed my mind. Skunk, squirrel, chipmunk. That cute little ground hog I saw the other day, appeared in my thoughts, but now with an evil grin on plastered on its face. I shuddered at the thought.

I kicked Mike out of bed to investigate. Armed with our phone torches, we lifted the bonnet, but no sign of anything. We got back in the car and rustle rustle, thump thump. It sounded like it was under the dash.

I rang brother Paul for advice. He suggested spraying something smelly underneath. I grabbed some fly spray and tick spray and sprayed under the bonnet. It didn’t work.

By this time it was midnight and Mike was looking tired, so I sent him to bed. My job, however, was to make sure the critter did not enter the van.

I sat in the front seat. Every time it moved I thumped on the dash and told it to get out. This went on for about an hour when the rustling stopped. Has it gone out to get more supplies? Gone hunting? I wasn’t sure but I lay back down in bed.

I must have fallen asleep as I heard no more rustling. But that doesn’t mean it’s gone. We’ll investigate further in the morning.

It was a drizzly day today so we stayed put at our camp and had a maintenance day.

We took Rodger to Walmart for an oil change. While we waited I uploaded two videos using Walmart’s free wifi.

Then we found a laundromat and did laundry while a storm rolled over.

And that was our Monday.

Mike cooked us a chicken curry and rice for tea and it was yummy!

The weather has finally warmed up! No need for heater this morning and the day got progressively hotter.

It’s amazing how just two days ago we were rugged up in 5 layers in sub zero temperatures feeling like I was in the middle of a London winter, to the middle of a hot summer!

Today we headed to Twin Falls in Idaho. We wanted to see the Shoshone falls which are supposed to be spectacular at the moment. But when I got Google to navigate us, there was a lot of red on the windy road with traffic jams . Of course it’s gonna be busy on a Sunday afternoon!

So instead of driving there, we parked up at the visitor centre and cycled there. It was an amazing ride along the top of the canyon, sheer drops down to the snake river. We passed the ramp where evil kinieval tried to jump over the canyon in 1974 in his rocket powered motorbike. He didn’t make it.

The views of the canyon walls and the falls were amazing without all the crowds. We also kept seeing little critters that looked like groundhogs.

It was perfect weather for a bike ride, but very warm. And a very steep uphill climb on the way back where we had to push our bikes up.

By the time we were finisher it was 5pm and time for the daily task of finding somewhere to sleep. But first a Walmart shop! $100 later we were on our way.

We probably could have parked the night at Walmart for free, but it was very busy there. So we found a little camp in town by a river for $25 including power and water and enjoyed the balmy evening. Mike cooked us a vegetable and mushroom stir fry with noodles and it was delicious!

Today we made some bad decisions which ended up being good decisions.

We continued our journey to Idaho, and it was an absolutely stunning drive beside lakes and over mountains. Google was navigating us nicely but then told me if I went a different way, it would be 10 mins quicker. So why wouldn’t I choose the quicker route?

It was a lovely drive past the upper end of the great salt lake. We travelled for about 1 hour before the road turned to dirt. Dammit, bloody Google!

We continued on straight and arrived at a national historic site called golden spike. This was our first bad decision turned good. They were celebrating 155 years since it happened. It was the point where the first trans continental railroad was completed. And there were steam trains there which kept Mike happy. They were replicas of the original trains we watched as they tootled up and down. We also got a free t shirt.

We then had to back track just a short way, but there was no choice but to take the interstate. Otherwise we would have had to drive all over the place to continue. And who knows where Google would send us?

This was the second good decision as it took us straight past a rocket site, where there were display rockets on display. This was cool to see as well.

Then we headed on to Idaho, stopping for a photo with the sign. We headed for rock city, which had part of the California trail where over 250000 people travelled from Missouri to California to find gold. On their way, they stopped in rock city, which is a bunch of rocks, and signed their names with the date they passed through. It was really cool looking at all the signatures from the 1850s. It’s a beautiful area and is now popular with rock climbers.

We found a little rv park near there to stay the night.

It was a chilly ole morning and we were thankful for power and our electric heater.

We wanted to book another night in our spot overlooking the lake but it was booked for the weekend. So we hung around until midday, doing some editing and tidying the van.

We then visited the homestead crater, which is a natural hot spring inside a crater! You had to book online to swim and you can even scuba dive there. We were too late to book, but they said we could go in if there were any no shows. We opted against swimming but had a look around and it was pretty cool. Basically an underground hot pool.

We stocked up on a few supplies at Hebert city, Utah and we are now heading for Idaho, avoiding motorways.

The town we are heading for takes 3 hours but motorway, or 6 hours avoiding them. So obviously we will avoid them. What’s the fun in getting there quicker!

Storms were brewing ahead of us as we climbed into the mountains. But still it was a wonderful drive. At 4pm we past a beautiful lake camp. Mike didn’t want to stop so we kept driving. But I know it’s a Friday night and we may have trouble finding somewhere with power. So I made Mike backtrack.

It was a beautiful spot right on the lake, surrounded by snow capped mountains. Freezing though! I think we’re getting acclimatised for Canada.

A pleasant evening capturing Auroras on my phone, but I think there was too much light pollution from Salt Lake City. Pity we weren’t in the desert still.

We woke up at our lovely free camp to -3 degrees, but the sun was out and warming our van. I tried sitting outside but then the cloud came over and it was freezing!

It was a driving day today. We drove to over 8000 feet and had flurries of snow!

It was mostly mountain driving today and we are back in northern Utah, near Salt Lake City. We came through this way a few weeks ago on our way back to Moab.

Tonight we are staying at the same campground overlooking a lake, that we stayed at when we were racing home last year. the only difference is the mountains surrounding us are covered in snow!

We had our first shower in over a week!o