Before I got started on my drive today, I decided to stop and get an oil change on the van. The manual for my van states the first oil change should be done at 7,000 miles and/or when the oil light comes on. However, my van recently passed 5,000 miles and I decided to get it changed a little early. I’ve really run the van hard and have driven on hundreds of miles of dirt and gravel roads at this point, and on top of all of that, I usually like to get the first oil change done early anyway.
Not that oil changes are all that difficult, but one of the reasons I chose this van is because it’s very easy to work on by just about anyone. By comparison, I was looking at some vans with a Mercedes diesel engine, and while diesel has some distinct advantages over a gas engine, they are also much more difficult and more expensive to work on.
There was a decent looking oil change place in Cody, WY, so I decided to pull in and have it done. Took them about 10 minutes and I was back on my way.
Today was an unexpectedly fun day.
I mean, every day out here is amazing, but after leaving Yellowstone, I sort of figured the scenery would a little less interesting.
Boy was I wrong! This was a really fun drive as I went through several different types of scenery. First it was a windy canyon with really cool views, then it was wide open space, and finally I ended up on the top of a mountain that still had quite a bit of snow.
Special shout out to the Beartrap Meadow County Park just outside of Casper, WY. This was a fantastic campground and the first county campground I’ve stayed at. Plus it was free until June 1st!
Here’s some pictures I took during the day.
This picture was taken from a little overlook area on my windy drive up the mountain to my camping spot.
Some pictures of the (still snowy) campground.
Here’s some videos I took.
The route we took.
Highlights of the drive.
Full timelapse of the drive.