Sand Dunes and Alpacas

We returned to Oregon from southern Utah using our now-normal route up through Salt Lake City, across Idaho, then into the Columbia Gorge.

Fuzzy alpaca in Utah

Dispersed camping can be a bit of a challenge in the Provo / SLC / Ogden corridor. It isn’t impossible, but many of the locations are short turnoffs in the Wasatch foothills near private property. We opted for a Harvest Host instead, staying at yet another Alpaca farm – the fourth or fifth we’ve stayed at. Easy parking, nice people, and the obligatory “stop in the shop and buy some alpaca dryer balls” experience. We obliged and will happily use our new balls.

Sand dunes in Bruneau

In Idaho we stopped at a state park we first visited in 1996: Bruneau Dunes State Park. Near Mountain Home, these dunes seem to appear out of nowhere and look to be going strong. The campground was very quiet, and very windy. We went for a nice trail run around the lake near the dunes.

Oregon dispersed camping

Returning to Oregon we found some amazing dispersed camping in national forest near La Grande. We were about 2 miles off the interstate, and near the end of the dense alpine pine forests before they disappear on the descent into Pendleton.

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We were in Oregon to start the process of emptying out our storage unit there, moving most of the goods down to Fairfield CA and reserving some for the drive back to Keuka Lake.