Dirtbag Writer

Crash Courses in Tent Living: Lander, Wyoming

Posted on 16. Aug, 2009 by Writer in On The Road

Having been a fairly busy summer, I am a little out of practice with the whole ‘dirtbag’ living thing.  With only 2 weeks to go, a quick 5-day trip to Lander, Wyoming got my feet a bit wet (literally) with the tent living life.   Days of 40-degree mornings and relentless rain have made me second-guess the whole fall camping in Colorado idea.  I am thinking I am going to need one of these – a sleeping bag you can wear for those frigid mornings where I can roll out of the tent without ever leaving my sleeping bag.  Maybe I finally need to break down and pick up a Patagonia Puffy.

Note to self (and world) – Lander, Wyoming is the answer to the prayers of any budget, road-trippin’ traveler.  The dirtbag friendliest city of the Western US, Lander is located in the middle of Wyoming south of Yellowstone and Teton National Parks.  The area offers incredible rock climbing at Wild Iris and Sinks Canyon and amazing hiking and backpacking in the nearby Wind River Range.  Lander is so overly friendly to travelers that it offers free camping in the Lander City Park just blocks from Main Street.  The City Park is a booming village of climbers, bike tourists, and motor home retirees.  I see some serious Lander time in my future travels.

I will get the second installation of my refresher crash course in tenting before making the official leap.  On the eve of my last day of employment, the boy and I are heading out for a 10-day road trip of sorts.  I believe we are headed to Northern California and a bit of Oregon, but who knows the Subaru might just head east for a surprise trip to the Midwest.  After living West for eight years I have never made the trek back via car and I can’t quite imagine anything more miserable than 1400 miles of driving through Middle America.  What about Baja?  I am surprised I can ever make any decisions – the options are endless…

After the just-left-my-job-new-life-inaugurating trip I have a week to pack and organize the car before leaving for Colorado and beginning an internship at X outdoor magazine on September 14^th.   Ready to make the leap.

Tags: Camping