Creative Miles with Jolene and sometimes Fred.

We were on the road while the sun was still sleeping behind the mountains, the chilly morning air carrying that quiet, electric feeling of anticipation that only a big road trip can bring. With a fresh coffee for Fred, my travel sketchbook on my lap, and camera mounted, we set out pre-dawn from Cody, Wyoming.

Our goal for the day: a breathtaking 12-hour journey along one of North America’s most stunning routes, leading all the way through Yellowstone National Park down to Grant Village.

There is a unique magic in combining road travel with art and writing. While a camera captures a precise moment in time, pausing to sketch a silhouette or put words to the way the early light hits a canyon wall forces you to really see and feel the world around you. Every curve in the road becomes a scene in a story; every quiet overlook becomes a sketchbook page waiting to be filled.

Below is a look at our itinerary, the visual highlights that made it into my sketchbook, and the exact path we took. (Be sure to check out our companion YouTube video linked at the end to ride along with us in real-time!)

Phase 1: Waking Up on the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway

Leaving Cody behind, we jumped onto the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway (WY-296). Driving this highway in the early dusk feels like traveling through a oil painting—rich blues, deep pine greens, and the soft amber glow of the rising sun touching high granite peaks.

• Sunlight Creek Bridge: Spanning a dizzying gorge, this stop offers panoramic views that instantly demand that you stop and just absorb the majestic landscape that took billions of years to form.

As soon as I was back in the car, I had to do a quick pencil sketch to capture the canyon’s depth. Or try to anyway… I failed but still enjoyed the process of trying.

The finished page is at the bottom of this page.

• Crazy Creek Falls: It was tucked away and kind of hard to find. There is a campground called Crazy Creek Falls. It’s in the Shoshone National Forest. The camp entrance is on the left. Just a short drive forward, the pullout to park at the trailhead is on the right. A short walk brings you to cascading, white-water rapids rushing over ancient rock. You will hear the river before you see it. The sound alone is enough to inspire pages of descriptive notes.

• Cooke City, Montana: Before hitting the park boundary, we pulled into Cooke City to top off the tank—complete with a fun wave to the iconic Sinclair dinosaur! It was the perfect spot to sit for ten minutes, sip coffee, and add quick watercolor washes to my daily sketchbook page.

Phase 2: Yellowstone’s Northeast Entrance & Lamar Valley

No lines at this entry to Yellowstone National Park. As you cross the Northeast Entrance, the landscape opens wide into the legendary Lamar Valley. Known as America’s Serengeti, Lamar Valley in the morning light is nothing short of majestic.

• Bison Grazing in the Valley: Hundreds of bison dot the sweeping golden hills. Watching these massive, gentle creatures move through the misty lowlands gave us our first major stop to film, write down field notes, and render quick ink outlines of their iconic silhouettes.

• Tower Fall: Further along the road, the dramatic rock spires frame the roaring cascade of Tower Fall. The dramatic vertical lines here make for fantastic compositional practice in any travel journal.

Phase 3: High-Altitude Views at Mount Washburn & Dunraven Pass

From Tower Fall, we climbed higher into the mountain air, seeking out sweeping alpine vistas. Saw a few cowboys along the way.

• Chittenden Road: We turned off onto the bumpy dirt-and-gravel stretch of Chittenden Road, winding up toward the Mount Washburn viewpoint. It is a bit narrow, and the edge is a sheer drop-off. But we saw large vans and even an RV make the drive. The rough terrain was worth every rumble as the vast wilderness unfolded below us. This is a seasonal road, open only in the summer. The road had just been opened the week before due to snow. We were there the first week of June.

• Dunraven Pass Trail: At 8,859 feet, we laced up our boots for a brief partial hike along the Dunraven Pass Trail. We just went 1 mile in then turned back due to time. The full hike is over 7 miles. I can’t imagine the views from the top if this is what we get for the first mile. Standing on the ridge with the wind carrying the scent of pine and high-altitude wildflowers, the views literally take your breath away. It’s the kind of vast, boundless landscape that reminds you why we pack up and explore the wild places in the first place. I believe we could see the Grand Tetons from here.

Phase 4: Winding Down to Artist Point & Grant Village

We made a stop at Canyon Village. The displays were well done and worth the stop. Then you drove to Artist Point to see the long view of the Yellowstone Grand Canyon.

If you squint your eyes and focus on the right side of the falls you will see little specks. Those are people! That’s how huge this is…so hard to capture in photos.

By the time the afternoon light began to soften into rich golden hues, we were making our way south along Yellowstone Lake, eventually rolling into Grant Village. The room was nice. We unloaded and got ready for our last adventure for the day. A kayak trip on Yellowstone Lake. But that’s for another post.

12 hours on the road. Dozens of miles covered. Countless memory cards filled, video clips logged, and fresh watercolor ink dry in my travel sketchbook.

Road trips like this remind us that travel isn’t just about reaching a destination—it’s about the stories you collect along the way, the artwork created in spontaneous moments, and the awe that stays with you long after the ignition turns off.

Watch the Full Journey on YouTube!

Want to see these roads unfold in real-time, watch the bison roam, and see the daily sketchbook art come to life on location?

🎥 [Click here to watch the full Yellowstone Road Trip Video!]

If you’re planning your own adventure through Yellowstone, don’t skip the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway or the trail up Dunraven Pass—they are worth every single minute.

Have you ever taken the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway or sketched on the road? Drop a comment below and let us know your favorite road trip memory!