Dog Friendly Travel

Tour of America Day 8 – Utah to Wyoming

Road Trip Day 8 - Welcome to Wyoming
Written by Kevin Sando
  • Join us on ourย Dog Friendly Tour of America!ย We are recapping each day of our road trip toย help you plan your own pet friendly vacation!

Weย were blown away by the scenery when we awoke on day 8 in Provo, Utah. Havingย arrived so late at night we had completely missed the surrounding mountains andย beautiful Provo River on the way into town! The general plan for the dayย was to make our way into Wyoming and hopefully settle into the Jackson area for a couple of days…

Baymont Inn & Suites

Last nightย marked our first stay at a Baymont Inn & Suites and we were extremely pleased. We have started to realize that “pets allowed” does not necessarily mean “pet friendly” when it comes to the grounds and surroundings. The Provo Baymont Inn & Suites was a wonderful exception however withย a great space for letting the dogs out to use the bathroom. Not only that, but the hotel itself backs up against the Provo River Parkwayย which is a 16 mile paved trail winding along the Provo river. This is a great path forย talking a walk and getting the dogs some exercise. Rach was able to take advantage of this trail while I loaded up the car before we left.

Dr. Harvey’s – Breakfast of Champions

Dr. Harvey's Oracle is a freeze dried complete dog food and thus a great option for traveling with pets.

When we are at home we feed the boys a homemade diet with the help of Dr. Harvey’s Veg-to-Bowl and other supplements. For this reason, many of you have been wondering what we chose to feed the boys on this two week road trip. Well, there was no way we could bring along enough prepared food (or keep it cold) during this entire trip! Thankfully, Dr. Harvey’s offers another product, Oracle, which is a complete balanced diet for dogs. As trip sponsors, they were kind enough to supply us with enough food for our journey, and we were thrilled to be able to continue giving them the level of nutrition that they are accustomed to.

Oracle is a dehydrated food which means it saves us big time on space, and it also does not require refrigeration! All we need to do is mix with water and it is ready to eat!

Tip: Another thing that we love about Oracle is that you control the water content. As you can see in the photo above we have been making it a bit “soupy” to encourageย the boysย to take inย more water in this oppressive heat!

Driving from Utah to Wyoming

Beautiful mountain scenery while driving through Provo, Utah

The drive out of Provo, through Orem and into Wyoming was absolutely picturesque. Gorgeous snow capped mountains surroundย lusciousย lakes, rivers and streams. I imagine the hiking in this area is just phenomenal. This is definitely a place we would love to come back to and explore on a future trip.

Hello Wyoming!

Stopping at the Prairie of the Mass on our drive from Utah to Wyoming.

Bear Riverย State Park

Shortly after hitting Wyoming, while driving alongย I-80, we saw a sign for Bear River State Park and decided toย take a look and give the dogs a chance to stretch. This turned out to be such a great find! Not only were there nice facilities to use the restroom, but there was a great path to take the dogs for a walk.

Charlie looking for Moose at Bear River State Park in Wyoming

As it turns out, this park is home to a small herd of elk and bison and moose also frequent the area! Although we we did not see any wildlifeย during our visit, we really enjoyed the walk along the river and reading the displays about the local wildlife. This turned out to be the PERFECT stop, and was literally within a mile of our route!

We were surprised to stumble upon the gorgeous Fontenelle Reservoir in our drive through Wyoming

After this stop, ourย route throughย Wyoming wasย wide open and flat, although we were surprised when we ran into the gorgeousย Fontenelle reservoir! Other than that we saw lots of oil fields and salt deposits along the way which were actually quite interesting. Check the video below to get a idea of what this leg of the drive was like…

We had hopedย to reach Bridger-Teton National Forestย and have the chance toย hike around a bit. As tends to happen, we got on the road a bit later than expected soย did not have the time, but we were able to drive around and get acquainted with the area. No worries, we have the time built in to explore tomorrow!

Harley is not sure what to do about this cattle grate!

Turns out a cattle grate will stop a dog in his tracks as well!

Entering Bridger-Teton and Hoback Junction

We planned to spend the night in Jackson, WY but did not realize how expensive of a town it is! There are a few surrounding towns to consider however if you are booking a stay including Hoback, Alpine, Bondurant, and Moran. Hoback serves as sort of a central junction pointย where you can head North toward Jackson, Southwest toward Alpine, or Southeast toward Bondurant. Here you will also find a gas station and a market to stock up on supplies.

We lucked out and secured the last room at theย Bull Moose Lodge in Alpine, Wyoming to spend the night. As it turns out this was a fantastic find. We will talk more about it in Day 9, but the lodge also has a bar and restaurant right next door!

What we Learned on Day 8

Fill up on Gasย in Southern Wyoming

Whether you are taking Route 189 or 191, you will want to fill up on gas as you can on your way North through Wyoming. We filled up as we left Provo, Utah but opted not to top off in Kemmerer or Big Piney. As it turns out, most of the small towns on the way up towardย Hobackย do not have gas stations. We started to get a bit nervous in this 1.5 hour stretch, but did find one (luckily) in Bondurant. We made it, but it was not worth the nerves or extra cost (it was no doubt a bit more expensive than we would have paid back in Big Piney!)

Consider booking ahead for the Jackson Area

We had been having great luck with last minute Priceline deals, but had no idea how expensive the Jackson area would be. The only options left at the time of our search (same day) were between $200-400/night!ย 

Watch your speed in Wyoming

There is always a grace period when it comes to speed limits – or at least that’s what we thought. As it turns out, 70 means 70! Rach was pulled over for 75 in a 70, which is right where most consider the “safe zone.” The officer was very kind and let us off with a warning, explaining that in Wyoming the speed limit is the speed limit!

Quick Stats

  • Miles traveled:ย 321
  • States passed through:ย  2ย – Utah, Wyoming
  • Gas fill ups:ย 2

Stay tunedย to see where we visit tomorrow!

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About the author

Kevin Sando

Kevin is a mechanical engineer with a degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He has move than a decade experience in new product design, prototyping and early stage manufacturing. Pairing this background with his love of dogs, gives him a unique perspective to evaluate the design and execution of new and interesting pet products.

25 Comments

  • that is scary abt the gas. i would hate to be out in no where with 2 dogs and no gas and with the hot sun. maybe you needed a hybrid. jackson wy is supposed to be expensive i think b/c celebs make it a place to live. many of the small town are expensive. i have some of Dr. Harvey’s veggie. i like it but i think it is hard to measure how much to feed each of the girls after it is mixed. i use it w/ their other veggies, raw venison or sardines in water (their very fav). wyoming looks sort of desolate and dry. not sure i would want to live there, but a good place to visit. i guess the dogs would have to jump over the cattle crate, i did not know they had these in the roads. interesting.

  • Excited to learn about the Oracle from Dr Harveys. I’ve tried the veg to bowl but this seems like a great on the go option that sounds supa yummylicious!

  • I’m falling in love with that area through your photos and descriptions! I really hope I get the chance to go there someday. And Oracle sounds interesting, I’m going to have to read more about it.

  • We did that trip back a few years ago…Wyoming really is quite desolate!! Devil’s Tower was really interesting though. You definitely do not want to run out of gas while driving through that state!! Can you even imagine what those roads are like in the winter?? Glad to hear that Rachael only got a warning! We were fortunate to be traveling in the RV so we didn’t have to worry about a place to stay…and those cattle gates could swallow up the girls! ๐Ÿ™‚ Be careful out there! Hope it cools down a bit for you.

  • You got us hooked on Dr. Harvey’s we haven’t tried the oracle but soon. Also all of you pictures are so beautiful!

  • We have been wanting to try Dr. Harvey’s food. My dog loves their sweet potato chews. ๐Ÿ™‚

  • I wish the Oracle did not contain flax seeds. My dog is allergic & so many dog foods (even the good brands) contain flax seeds. She eats The Honest Kitchen Thrive right now because it does not have flaxseeds. They have 2 other flavors she can have too but they both smell really fishy.

  • Utah looks soo beautibull! And I’m soo glad the officerman let your momma off with a warnign. A ticket would’ve spoiled the fun (and taken away valuable treat bones ($))!

  • I understand the comment pet’s allowed does not always mean pet friendly, we stayed at a hotel on the Oregon coast last summer and the potty area was very very small and there was a sprinkler going the whole time we were there so we couldn’t use it anyway.

  • In Wyoming it is mostly miles & miles between towns, no place for gas, bathroom breaks or to get something to drink, so be prepared and no, not too much grace period with speeding. Which people tend to get caught up in when it is miles between towns. I use to travel 50 miles to work and the only vehicle I would meet is the Budwieser truck. Jackson Hole is very expensive i have seen garages rent for $900 a month probably rent comparative to New York City.

  • No fun when you can’t speed at least a little! We dislike Utah, and that is another place you can go for an hour or more without seeing anything, let alone a gas station!

  • Good tip on traveling with Dr. Harvey’s dehydrated food, we feed LaMancha dry with a little bit of wet food but keeping the can cold during the trip can be a pain if we aren’t traveling with a cooler bag with other food. We just bought a new (used) car yesterday for our road trip next weekend, now to cover all the carpet so we don’t end up with as much hair as the other car.

  • How did you end up getting over the cattle grate?? Did you pups jump over? or was there a way to go around? I don’t think I would have liked those!!

    • We didn’t actually need to go past it! We just were walking by and Harley was confused by it!

  • Do you know some places just paint lines on the road as a “virtual” cattle grate? Apparently, cattle don’t have very good depth perception so the light/dark color difference of the paint causes them to stop. The only issue is that it has to keep bring repainted & if is ever challenged (like during a stampede or if someone baits them with food on the other side), then they realize it is safe & it stops working.

  • Good thing you didn’t get a ticket. I wouldn’t have thought going 5 over would be a problem.

  • I love it when trails have plaques that describe the area or wildlife, we have been on a couple in our area and it adds something to the walk.

  • such beautiful sites. i envy you so much that you were able to travel across country and see so many wonderful sites. i have never been to Wyoming or many of the places you went to on your journey. i hope to see them someday. that was nice of the officer to let you off when you were speeding. cant believe 5 miles over warrants a speeding ticket though. did he say anything abt the dogs?