Nash 5th Wheel Camper at EBR 1 museum, 16 miles southeast of Arco, Idaho, July 24, 2010

Camped at the KOA in Arco, I had driven out to explore the museum at the EBR1 Historic National Landmark.  Located 20 miles southeast by road from where we lived in the late 1970s and 12 miles south of where I worked back then, Experimental Breeder Reactor 1 had been decommissioned for 12 years when we first visited it in 1978. The initial power was used to power a string of lights. The next day, the unit began providing power for the whole building.

EBR1’s claim to fame is that it is the location where, on December 20, 1951, electricity was first generated from the heat produced by a sustained nuclear reaction providing steam to a turbine generator.

This Nash Fifth Wheel trailer by Northwood Manufacturing was in the EBR1 parking lot.

Grand Teton from the west side, Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Wyoming, September 6, 2014

We were actually camped on the other side of the mountains in Grand Teton National Park but were going to hike a trail along Teton Creek called Teton Canyon Trail. The trailhead is near a campground that was a favorite when we lived about 150 miles further west in Idaho in the late 1970s. (These mountains are so tall that on clear pre-dawn mornings when driving to work, I could see these peaks silhouetted against the sky that was growing lighter.)

To get to the trailhead from Gros Ventre campground, we went out of the park to Jackson, Wyoming, and, from there, headed east on highway 22 over 8,432 ft Teton Pass into Idaho.  At the state line, Wyoming 22 transitions to Idaho 33, which, if followed goes almost all the way to where we lived in Arco, Idaho.

To get to the trailhead, though, we turned back east in Driggs, Idaho, and traveled west 11 miles via Ski Hill Road back into Wyoming and, then, Teton Canyon Road.

We didn’t hike as far as we did when were younger, but it was good hike.

Offroad RV expedition vehicle built on a Steyr all-terrain general utility truck, Snake River between Hoback Junction and Alpine, Wyoming, September 5, 2014

We had first seen this “expedition vehicle” a few days earlier at Canyon Village in Yellowstone National Park.  Seeing them here when we had pulled out for the view, I exchanged some pleasantries with the driver, but speaking different languages was a bit of a barrier.  They had a “.de” website address across the back of their vehicle, but that domain is no longer active and, in fact, is available for purchase.

Steyr 12M18

Second Wiki
Accessed August 10, 2022

The Steyr 12M18 is an all-terrain truck from the former Austrian vehicle manufacturer Steyr, which was originally developed for the Austrian Armed Forces.

The vehicle has permanent all-wheel drive , with limited slip differentials on both axles and a longitudinal lock that can be engaged in difficult terrain. The power is transmitted by a nine-speed gearbox (one gear designed as a crawler) with an off-road reduction. The six-cylinder engine of the WD 612 series with direct injection has a maximum output of 130 kW and develops a maximum torque of 630 Nm at 1200 rpm. This engine series was designed according to the HPCE process ( High Performance Controlled Emission ). The vehicle reaches a top speed of 98 km / h; the range is about 700 km. The cab was designed by French industrial designer Louis Lucien Lepoixwho had previously designed cabs for manufacturers such as Henschel , Magirus-Deutz and Büssing .

Dark Skies, Cooke City, Montana, August 13, 2014

Wikipedia
(Accessed August 9, 2022)

Cooke City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Park County, Montana, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 75. Prior to 2010, it was part of the Cooke City-Silver Gate CDP.

The community sits northeast of Yellowstone National Park on the Beartooth Highway, which leads east to Red Lodge, Montana, on a scenic route climbing to 10,947 feet (3,337 m) in elevation through the Beartooth Mountains and across the Beartooth Plateau. The town’s chief industry is tourism, which during the winter includes skiing and snowmobiling.

It is named for Jay Cooke, financier of the Northern Pacific Railroad.