Roadtripping with Chinook (Our Campervan): Boise Ain't so Bad, and Yellowstone too

After finishing up with Zion, we headed to Salt Lake City to visit Simon's friend Matt and his wife Shannon. We only stopped by for a night, but we got a nice tour of SLC and got to try an awesome Mexican restaurant that was featured on the food network. Most of all, it was really nice catching up with them.

Next stop was Boise for a few days to visit our friend Colin. We got there on a Friday, and immediately upon arrival he threw us a quinceañera. Traditionally these parties are reserved for Mexican girls on their fifteenth birthday to celebrate womanhood, but Colin has expanded the tradition to mean a party with guacamole, lots of beer, and a piñata. About 15-20 people showed up, and the party was a good time.

Rooftop quinceanera - pretty chill

Complete with a chili pepper pinata and a blindfold made of paper towels

The rest of the weekend, we went whitewater rafting, checked out a birthday party, went paddle boarding, ate good food (like Boise's world famous pizza joint, Pie Hole), and hung out with some awesome people. Bo was surprised that Boise had so much (even anything) cool to offer, and we were both sad to say goodbye.

On our way out of Boise on Monday, we stopped by Craters of the Moon National Monument on the way to Yellowstone. It's a crazy park area that was formed by the eruption of a volcano, and the volcanic rock everywhere gives it an alien-like feel. It was surprisingly cool.

We got to Yellowstone Monday night where we spent three nights just outside of the park in a small campground in West Yellowstone. The first day, we checked out old faithful and the hundreds of other geysers and pools in the area, as well as a small hike to fairy falls.

Old Faithful

so many geysers

Turns out geothermal rock make pretty landscapes

Fairy Falls

While it was really cool, Yellowstone isn't exactly the place to go to get away from the crowds, more so even than most national parks. We even had to wait in line for 20-30 minutes just to get through the entrance, and hit more than one traffic jam of cars while we were there (and this was on a Tuesday).

The second day, we hit up the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and Mammoth Hotsprings. We did a handful of short hikes in the area, all of which were pretty awesome.