Barking Embarkers

I really, truly love the state of Oregon. I can’t even describe how insanely GREEN the pacific north west is! It’s like, every corner there is a fern, or moss covered logs, or a massive green tree. And the climate is bliss; not to hot, not too cold. And the mountains are REAL mountains; the beaches rocky. I love it here. I am prepping to leave for my next adventure and I am reading lord of the rings to help with this adventure.

“It is a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no telling where you might be swept off to. ”

J. R. R. Tolkein

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But let’s go back to a year ago where I was in this same position. I was working with Kaiser Home Health in Portland; living at this awesome RV park in Tualatin, Oregon. I didn’t realize that was the last time I would be in an actual RV park for a while. Nor did I realize how awesome that would be. But I did know it was time to stalk up on jelly beans, pack up the camper and embark on an amazing adventure. We found a beautiful free campsite in Idaho; followed by a night in Helena with family. Then we continued to the Grand Tetons, the Black Hills (including Harney’s Peak), and finally made it to good ole’ rural, Hardwick, Minnesota.

From Portland to Helena

Has anyone ever used ‘freecampsites.net’ before? Okay; let me tell you; you find the COOLEST spots on here. I found a wicked awesome free campsite in Idaho that had one other couple SUPER far away, who had been there fishing for a couple of weeks already. Check out these views; it was so beautiful.

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It was uneventful towing; until we made it to Helena. I learned the hard way that Chloe has a very hard time with cats and most farm animals. Mostly cats. She loves them so SO much, that she terrifies them all away. We did have a great time meeting horses and lambs; and spending time with family in Helena.

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The Grand Tetons

If you drive an F350 Super Beauty, towing a camper you get about 10 miles to the gallon. Unfortunately; when you are in rural Montana taking an off road adventure in the middle of nowhere; that means you REALLY should have some extra diesel. Especially when you realize, with a cringe, that your monitor says 0 miles to empty.

Of course, that means you pull into a very rural, very tiny gas station that actually has diesel!! However getting out of these small gas stations can be a huge challenge; especially when you’re by yourself. See Chloe is a great help but she does get distracted by cats frequenty; and doesn’t really know how to direct the camper yet. That’s how I found myself with a full tank of diesel; but a very broken gray tank. Thank God it was empty and I was able to patch it together with my bright red OT duct tape. You would never believe that it actually held in place would you? It sure did; the rest of the trip I did not have any issues with that gray tank!

We continued to embark toward the Grand Tetons and let me say; the off season is such an amazing time to see National Parks. First, it was free! Second, there were hardly any people! And it was also migrating season- we watched elk cross the road our first night. We did find a decent free campsite here as well; and managed to stay 2 nights there with no problems.

Towing 7500 pounds over the grand tetons is supposed to be scary. Right? Well, the superbeauty was a TROOPER and it was actually really fun! I was able to downshift and with the low crowding we coasted down the mountain side, savoring every view from every sharp corner. It was extremely fun, in my opinion.

We also hiked to Lake Jenny! It was such a fun trek. Dogs have to stay on roads in National Parks; so we didn’t do a lot of hiking within the park except for along this road that is closed in the winter. It was a really great hike; and made for some incredible views of the tetons.

The Storm

Chloe and I drove along through Wyoming, enjoying the sunny day. She listened to my horrible singing, my audiobook (Marissa Meyer sure knows how to narrate a crazy journey halfway across the country), and looked at me strangely when I listened to the National Geographic podcast with funny whale sounds (they are so educational!).

I became aware of the wind picking up. I was following a semi; and though I have anti-sway bars, the camper was swaying pretty significantly. When I looked to my left, I saw a scary sight…

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There was no cell service. Very poor radio reception; but no alerts on the radio were coming through. And I was in the middle of nowhere Wyoming with a nasty storm brewing right next to me. The semi pulled off to the side after a horrific rain started; but with no one behind me and the camper staying upright, I continued at a measely 30 miles per hour. In hindsight; I probably should have pulled over.  But it really didn’t seem to be moving the camper around that much, and we had a destination in mind.

The rain stopped, the wind let up; and there were still no warnings on the radio. I pulled over to check for any damage; and would you believe: The vent cover had flown off the camper. The propane cover was nonexistant. The locks on my storage had actually BROKEN. But that red duct tape holding the gray tank together? Totally untouched. Chloe helped me patch things together and we continued our journey North to the lovely black hills.

Harney’s Peak

Okay, if you go to the black hills YOU NEED TO FIND THIS CAMPSITE.  It is about 30 mintues south of Sylvan Lake on a beautiful, untouched valley. We parked here and noted gravely the state of mess the poor camper was in. After exploring the campsite; we parked happily and spent the night; ready for a sunrise hike to the top of Harneys Peak (also known as Black Elk peak).

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This hike demands to be hiked at sunrise on a weekday during the off season. I read reviews about crowding and many, many dogs on this hike- and it was completely deserted. Chloe was off leash most of the hike; and we did not see a single other person the entire time. The castle at the top was insanely beautiful; with views of the rolling hills and plains so far away.

Minnesota at last!

After towing the camper incessantly for about a week; I was looking forward to a landing spot- and a spot I sure did land! There is a teeny tiny town called Hardwick, Minnesota. They allow people to park at the very south west part of town- mostly construction workers; but it is so inexpensive! And I spent the majority of the time at that campground by myself; enjoying the burgers at the Green Lantern; and especially enjoying Luverne, MN’s adorable small town attitude. For rural Minnesota; the area had a lot to offer!

In the end, we made it once more from Oregon to Minnesota in a blaze of adventure and mountain explorations. Maybe JRR Tolkien says doors are dangerous things- I say doors are around every corner of our life; and we should blaze through them holding God in one hand and our adventure dog’s leash in the other. Don’t miss those opportunities! Chase after them and no matter the lack of diesel, the crazy storms, the loss of a gray tank; know that the mountains, the hills, the beauty of secret secluded camping spots make it all worth it in the end.

Find BarkingEmbarkers on Social Media! You can find us on our

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Check out our brand new Youtube Channel with a PCT “Captains Log” journal right here.

You can also ALWAYS reach out with questions by emailing us at barkingembarkers@gmail.com.