Road Trips - America by Highway

Day 7: Montana, the Last Best Place

July 21, 2024
By Adrian

There is a reason we take these trips, and that reason is Montana. We definitely try to enjoy ourselves on the way out, but the finish line is Angie’s family’s cabin on Lake Inez, and that is the Destination.

This sky, this lake, this Cabin. This is THE last, best place.

This is where we wait all year to be. We’ll settle in here for a few weeks before we pack up to, sadly, head back east. Now is the time for swimming, fishing, hiking, canoeing, board games, card games, exploration, and adventure.

For now, and for too many days to count, we will be enjoying all of the treasures of the Treasure State.

Once we decided to cut the road trip a day short and turn from Greybull, Wyoming toward the Cabin, the vibe changed. Suddenly, every mile was a drag and no one could wait to get here. We switched drivers a lot and ran through rest stops as quickly as we could. We pushed the speed limit and didn’t slow down, even on mountain passes.

When driving from the eastern part of Montana to the western part, the terrain changes from flat ranch and farmland to the greatest mountains you’ve ever seen, all under the umbrella of a sky that easily earns the title of Big Sky Country.

Once on I-90 in Montana, it is a race to Bonner, than Highway 200 to my second favorite highway in the world, Montana 83, and then the turn onto the dirt road of Beargrass Lane.

Turn left on Beargrass to the Hanson Cabin, one of the OG first three built on this lake.

Crossing the Clearwater Creek, with Lake Inez opening up on the horizon — We are here.

We didn’t have much to report from the road — we went as quickly as we could, grabbed some fast food for lunch and ate in the car, and got to the Cabin by dinner time.

A fishing line immediately went into the water, soon followed by all of our bodies. The air temp was in the 90s and the lake temp was in the upper 70s low 80s, so the fishing was terrible but the swimming was amazing. All of us will gladly accept that trade-off except for maybe Boyo, but he will have to deal.

Another summer of Boyo, Nephew, and Grandpop fishing, thank God.

Whatever you have heard about Montana, it is an understatement.

There is no place on earth like this place.

If Angie and I end up living here, after the kids are grown and flown and before we die, it will only be a surprise to those we know who weren’t paying attention.

Trip Details

Departure Time
10:17 a.m.

Daily Miles:
486.9

Total Miles
28111.1

Breakfast
Breakfast bars, protein shakes

Lunch
Wendy's on the road

Dinner
Fettucini Alfredo (at the Cabin)

Stops
As few as possible! Gas, bathrooms, and a fast-food lunch.

Weather
Hot, sunny, and a bit smoky and hazy in Montana.

Day 6: Devils Tower & the Bighorn Scenic Byway

July 20, 2024
By Adrian

What is In a Name

Devils Tower was not always called Devils Tower. Most of the indigenous peoples from the area referred to the monolith as something to do with a bear.

Most maps from before 1900 name it Bear Lodge or Bears Lodge (a translation from a common Lakota name for the Tower, Mato Tipila).

Most tribes find the name Devils Tower to be quite offensive.

In 2014, a proposal was submitted to the U.S. government by the Lakota to change the name from Devils Tower to Bear Lodge. However, Senators in WY have maneuvered to prevent this from being considered, so it is currently stalled.

Imagine taking a place held sacred by dozens of tribes and purposefully changing the name from something relevant to their culture to something that represents evil. And then playing games in Congress to make sure it stays that way.

Imagine how easy it would be to do the right thing here. Perhaps one day we will.

The Morning

Waking up in our tent was glorious. It was a dry, cool night and we left the “windows open”. When the sun came up, we were treated to a full, glowing view of the tower. It was spectacular.

We enjoyed a pancake breakfast at our campsite picnic table, and then got to work breaking camp. The heat was coming on quickly, and I taught the boys how to pack up the roof bag because I am getting tired of doing that.

We checked out, drove into the park, and then queued up in a line of cars waiting to gain admittance to the parking lots. We were in line for a while, maybe an hour, but we enjoyed the air conditioning after a sweaty pack-up, and the drive-up is beautiful so we didn’t care. Too much.

Once parked, we started on a hike around the tower, but Julien protested a bit by the time we were 1/3 around, so we headed back. You have to pick your battles.

Third time visiting, including once as part of our honeymoon in 1998,

Julien, soaking it all in from the Visitors Center

We really tried to hike… Julien was doing just fine in the Visitors Center though.

The Day

Now that it was early afternoon, we drove to Sheridan, WY to try out a pizza place that people from the East Coast swear tastes like pizza. But, the only seating they had was outside in full sun, no shade, and it was 91 degrees.

We know from experience that there is not a lot of places to eat between Sheridan and our destination that night, Greybull WY, so we needed to find a place to eat there.

After doing a quick search, we settled on either a Perkins restaurant or a place called the Cowboy Cafe. Perkins is a known thing, being an easy place with a big menu and decent food; everyone could find something they liked and no one would leave hungry. But we decided to try the Cowboy Cafe, once we confirmed that they had some items Julien would like to eat.

What a treat!

The decor was eclectic cowboy, and the food was fantastic, and as we were eating they put up a whiteboard filled with that day’s available pies. So many pies. We ended up with 3 different slices for dessert and they were all fantastic.

We left there happy and very, very full and piled into the car for a jaunt over the Big Horn mountains.

This route, a 47-mile road known as the Bighorn Scenic Byway, is another must-drive. You start at about 3,500 feet of elevation, climb to 9,033 feet atop Granite Pass, and then drop down to about 3,800 feet on the other side. The entire climb and descent is “filled with sharp, twisting corners, drop-offs and gorgeous rock formations.”

It is an excellent drive, fun and beautiful.

However, on the way down, the smell from our brakes was overwhelming. We pulled into a scenic view parking lot and let them cool. We got new brake pads put on before we left, and that was 2,000 miles ago so I don’t think they are still bedding. The brake pedal was feeling a little soft, too, but it felt normal after we let things cool down.

The Evening

Once on the other side of the Big Horn mountains, we saw a huge, open valley open up in front of us… and a massive thunderstorm on the horizon driving straight toward us. The storm was intense but we were able to keep going. Our new Bosch wipers and a good coating of RainX applied before we left did the trick.

We arrived at the very sincere Sage Motel in Greybull, WY, which is an oasis after two nights in a tent. Just the work of setting up and breaking down has started to feel like a lot, and being able to park and just walk in with our clothes to go to sleep in a clean, dry bed is sweet.

This is a perfect little family owned roadside motel. 10/10.

Change of Plans

Perhaps it is nothing, but I want to get the brakes checked out ASAP.

We were planning on driving to Yellowstone National Park tomorrow, and then to take the famous Beartooth Highway into Montana, but I think we are going to change plans.

We are only about 6.5 miles from the cabin right now if we bypass Yellowstone, and even though there is a big pass on I-90, it is nothing compared to the 12,000-foot passes on the Beartooth.

I think we will head straight for the cabin. Driving the Beartooth was the thing I was looking forward to most, but we have had two spectacular drives in the past two days. Our car is probably way overweight and, at this point, it feels best to pivot and be safe.

Besides, we can always hit the Beartooth on the way home, and maybe this will give us a chance to visit the world-renowned Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Mt.

More important than any of that — we should be at the cabin on Lake Inez by dinner tomorrow!

Trip Details

Departure Time
10:41 a.m.

Daily Miles:
264.7

Total Miles
2324.1

Breakfast
Pancakes!

Lunch
PB&J, Protein shakes, granola bars

Dinner
Cowboy Cafe in Sheridan, WY

Stops
Devils Tower ★ Sheridan, WY ★ Bighorn Scenic Byway

Weather
After a spectacular night of clear skies and cool air, the morning started to heat up quickly. Sunshine and temps in the low 90s. A decent thunderstorm on the other side of the Bighorn pass in Wyoming just before the town of Greybull, followed by a rainy night in Greybull, WY.

Day 5: Wow, South Dakota. Just WOW

July 19, 2024
By Adrian

One of Our Most Favorite States

We have heard some people describe driving through South Dakota as boring. I believe they must have stayed on I-90 and only seen the Black Hills from a distance.

There is absolutely no way that a person could take SD Highway 87 N through Custer State Park, aka Needles Highway, and be anything but awestruck and stunned.

First, A Little History

The Black Hills in South Dakota is the heart of the land stolen from the Lakota, some of their most sacred ground. And when I say stolen, I mean it was guaranteed to them in a treaty that is still valid, and then we sent colonizers in and protected them with the U.S. Army, leading to the slaughter of thousands of Lakota. It is not a complicated issue with multiple sides; it was perhaps the most egregious theft of all the crimes we perpetrated against the people who lived in the lands that the government lusted after from coast to coast.

The U.S. government has even admitted guilt in this theft and has offered the Lakota over $2bn for the crime. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled “A more ripe and rank case of dishonorable dealings will never, in all probability, be found in our history.” The government awarded the Lakota $102 million. The U.S. Treasury holds the settlement in trust and has a mandate to maximize returns on it, explaining its amazing growth, the equivalent of 7.23% compounded annually for 43 years, now totaling over $2 billion.

But the Lakota have refused the money.

They just want their land back.

LAND BACK is what they and their protesting supporters chant.

It is a fascinating, tragic, embarrassing, infuriating story, of the way our government stole from, massacred, and dispersed the Lakota. If you want to read more about it, I highly recommend this book by Jeffrey Ostler, The Lakotas and the Black Hills: The Struggle for Sacred Ground, which is part of The Penguin Library of American Indian History.

I think everyone in America should visit the Black Hills in South Dakota, and I think everyone in America should know the history of this land and respect the people to whom it rightfully belongs.

We started the day, ironically enough, in what the Lakota sometimes refer to as the White Hills, or the Badlands; this harsh and beautiful and unforgiving land is part of where we forced a large part of the Lakota to relocate. A part of Badlands National Park is co-managed by the Oglala Lakota, as the part occupies part of the Pine Ridge Reservation (you should have recognized Pine Ridge, it is the home of Wounded Knee, the deadliest mass shooting in American history, where the U.S. Army massacred nearly 300 Lakota) which is the home of the Oglala Lakota Nation. It is also the part of Badlands National Park, the part that belongs to the Lakota, that was used by the U.S. military in WWII as a bomber training ground, and is filled with debris and unexploded ordinance, that the U.S. government continues to drag its feet about and very slowly is cleaning up.

Our day began in Cedar Ridge campground, on the other side of Badlands National Park.

The Morning

After a surprise overnight thunderstorm kept waking us up for hours with all of its glorious drama, we slept in a little bit and got up to break camp with a quick breakfast. The plan was to get out and get some hiking in around Badlands National Park before it got too hot… but it got too hot too fast.

The mud nests of cliff swallows from Mexico.

We left our campsite around 10:17 and headed for the Notch Trail, or the “ladder hike”.

All five of us managed to hike out to “the ladder”, and the boys climbed it and hiked it bit along the ridge. Julien was overheated and went back to the car with Angie. The heat was impressive and oppressive, our water went quickly, and for safety, we called the boys back via walkie-talkie.

Waiting at the bottom, for a little while…

The National Park Service had a pair of SAR (Search And Rescue) Rangers at the trailhead with free ice water and stern warnings to drink water and look out for heat stroke. It was a super legit risk, and more than we needed. We got enough of a hike in and decided to drive around the park, pull into some scenic lookouts, and then exit Badlands for this year and head out on our way.

This is our 6th time here, including part of our honeymoon in 1998

The Day

We left Badlands National Park in the early afternoon and stopped at the Delta 09 Missile Silo, also managed by the National Park Service. This is the second of three parts of the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site; yesterday we visited the Welcome Center, then this is this actual missile silo with a missile in it, and there is also a tour of the underground launch center but tickets sell out months in advance. Maybe next year for that part.

Who doesn’t want to see a nuclear missile silo with a missile in it?

Leaving the exhibit, we switched drivers, and Angie drove the rest of the day. I did some work from the passenger seat and struggled to get photos uploaded to yesterday’s blog as 5G and LTE coverage was very spotty.

We were headed next to Devils Tower, but saw that there were severe thunderstorms expected there for the afternoon, so we decided to go explore a part of the Black Hills that we had never seen before. It was going to add several hours to the day’s driving and would get us to our campsite after sunset, but we hoped it would be worth it.

Worth it is an understatement. This “side quest” became, as these things usually do, the highlight of the trip so far.

Angie plotted a course into Custer State Park so that we could drive SD Highway 87, or Needles Highway.

Of all the many tens (hundreds?) of thousands of miles I have driven in almost every state of this country, this road is, BY FAR, the most extraordinary drive I have ever experienced. It was rolling switchbacks, up and down and sometimes through 16′ wide tunners carved into the Black Hills. You are literally almost brushing against the rock on one side, and staring across a 6,000 foot drop on the other.

It was a pure dopamine rush, every mile.

Go here. Please. Everyone.

Julien was over the moon to go into a cave

“Boys,” we said, “You are not allowed to fall!”

Looks best in full screen.

The Evening

When we finally left the Black Hills and got back on I-90, it was not long until we said goodbye to South Dakota and crossed over into Wyoming. I think most of us in our family would agree that three of the most wonderful and jaw-dropping states in America are South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. And for the next month, that’s where we will be.

We raced across Wyoming to get to Devils Tower before it got too dark. While are competent enough to set up camp in the dark, we try to avoid that when we can.

We camped in a KOA that is right next to Devils Tower National Monument, with commanding views of America’s first National Monument from everywhere. In fact, I don’t think we’ve ever had a cooler campsite:

Newish tent, oldish car, and Devils Tower

KOAs can be really nice, or really sketchy. This one, Devils Tower / Black Hills Journey KOA, is fantastic. The usually provided some much-needed amenities on a long road trip, including a pool, playground, laundry, and most importantly — showers. This one also has a restaurant and gift shop and mini golf course, as well as a nightly outdoor viewing of Close Encounters of the Third Kind which, while we did not have the time to partake, I give them full points for their program.

Boyo and I set up the tent, Angie got dinner started, and Nephew took Julien to the playground. Within an hour we were all eating fresh, homemade tacos, and within 2 hours we were all showered and zipping into sleeping bags.

The weather looks to be fantastic overnight; 0% chance of rain, and temps in the 50s.

Looking forward to a crisp night of sleep followed by some hikes around Devil’s Tower tomorrow morning.

Trip Details

Departure Time
10:17 a.m.

Daily Miles:
274

Total Miles
2,059.3

Breakfast
Breakfast bars, protein shakes

Lunch
PB&J

Dinner
Taco Night!

Stops
Badlands National Park ★ Delta-09 Missile Silo ★ Custer State Park ★ Needles Highway ★ Devil's Tower KOA

Weather
After a rough and tumble, wild thunderstorm of a night, we woke up to mostly sunny skies and rising temps. There was some light rain as we drove the Needles Highway,

Day 4: Finally, the West

July 18, 2024
By Adrian

Rivers, as they always have, mark borders and present boundaries. In the days of the Oregon Trail, crossing the great rivers of the nation was no small feat. Today, we marvel at the engineering and architecture that produced bridges, and we drive over our rivers in mere moments.

But once, they were the test. The test to the West.

I respect each one and acknowledge their provenance. I note the five great rivers we cross on our journey each time: the Susquehanna, Ohio, Illinois, Mississippi, and Missouri. These are the big waterways east of the Rockies; the one-time captains of industry. The life-givers and the life-takers. The paths we took to invade and colonize the West, the paths we took to monetize the resources of the land. The judge, jury, and occasional executioner of travelers.

Perhaps just a river, just a bridge, to some; but to me, I feel the history — good and bad — that these arteries of the continent still proudly carry. I nod my head, say a little prayer, and am thankful that the people who build things are much better at math than I am.

Today we crossed the last great river, the Missouri, and now we are truly, finally, in the West.

The Morning

Waking up in the cabin late, we knew it would be a bit of a late start. Which was not great for our plans, as we had some deadlines, including needing to get to Interior, SD, by 4:00 p.m. to get to the museum we wanted to see.

Angie prepped some great breakfast bars before we left, and we heated them in the microwave, downed some protein shakes, and got busy.

Once packed up, it was back on the interstate and soon we crossed into one of the truly elite states in the nation: South Dakota.

Our plan before we left was to hit the Walmart in Sioux Falls, SD, to resupply some food items. Instead of over-packing, we brought food for the first few days with a plan to pick up the rest mid-trip. We ordered online for pickup, as we knew this would save time and money. As I received the order in the parking lot, Angie went inside and picked up some hot fried chicken and mac and cheese from their deli, and we packed that away for lunch.

It was going to be a long day of driving west on I-90, and so back on the interstate we went.

The Day

We always mix in a few free stops that have high interest, clean bathrooms, and water refilling stations. The I-90 rest stop in Chamberlain, SD, is one of our favorites. It is always busy. It boasts commanding views of the Missouri River that we were about to cross and hiking trails around the hillside. It has a fantastic Lewis & Clarke educational exhibit inside, including a two-story, full-sized keelboat you can climb into and walk around.

Every rest stop in SD has these awesome monuments to the Lakota.

The Missouri River, with one sign that should read “venomous” and another sign with some well-placed graffitti.

Best of all, it has the Dignity of Earth and Sky sculpture. This is one of my most favorite things we try to see on each trip west. It is a 50-ft tall, stainless steel statue, erected in 2016, that honors the culture of the Lakota and Dakota peoples who are Indigenous to South Dakota.

We paused there for a picnic lunch and then walked around a bit to stretch legs, take in the views, and pay homage to Dignity. She is really something.

The next stop was originally going to be Badlands National Park, but we when checked the weather, it was calling for 100-degree temps in the afternoon and a strong, but brief, thunderstorm in the evening. So we decided to stack some other local places we planned to visit up front, to do them first, hopefully, miss the thunderstorm, and then set up camp inside the National Park after temps dropped.

The first place we wanted to visit was the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. This is located on the same exit off of I-90 as Badlands NP is, but we always seem to miss it because it closes a little early. Last year we got there in time, but it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

We did not think we were going to make it this year, but then we crossed into Mountain Time, which we forgot about, gained an hour, and had just enough time for a quick visit.

This is a small but tremendous museum. I am so glad we there in time. It is full of artifacts from the Cold War — Soviet propaganda posters, replicas of backyard fallout shelters, instructions for school children to hide under desks, and a fully interactive room detailing the madness that embodied the philosophy of MAD — Mutually Assured Destruction — that likely kept the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. from actually pushing the launch buttons.

Soviet propaganda was really the best designed of all time.

It was a very well put together, we thought out, very sobering place. I highly recommend 10/10. Visit it when you can.

Next, we drove a few miles up I-90 to Wall Drug. Everyone should experience Wall Drug at least once. For some, that will be enough. For us, we go back often. Last year we picked up cowboy hats for me and the boys, which we wear whenever we are adventuring. This year: cowboy belts. When in Rome…

Finally, we drove east on I-90 back to Interior, SD, and drove into my most sacred place: Badlands National Park.

The drive into the park is spectacular, and we got the last available campsite (which we reserved in May). We got the new tent set up (I made everyone watch the set-up video in the car), got our kitchen set up, and all enjoyed our favorite campsite meal: Jambalaya.

Cowboys planning their cowboy camping adventure

The Evening

After eating, we had about 40 minutes of sunlight left, so we drove out to catch some sunset views.

And it was worth it.

We got back in time to catch the Ranger program, which had lots of cool history about Badlands, and lots of stargazing telescopes. The almost full, moon ruined any serious stargazing, but it did allow for some spectacular views of the moon.

The weather forecast called for a clear night, so the boys opted to “cowboy camp” outside the tent on the ground. We all settled into sleep before 10:30, exhausted and happy.

Addendum

A note added on Friday morning: last night, a wild and angry thunderstorm appeared, perhaps manifested by us and all of our talk of last year’s Badlands thunderstorm that was the destroyer of our old tent and a scatterer of plans. This storm last night was intense, and we were in tents (ha)… at least after Angie snapped awake and ran outside the tent to ake up the boys (who were not easy to get up and we might have left out to get soaked but for the lightning risk). Thunder crashing all around us, loud enough to keep you awake. Lightning flashed all around us, bright enough to make you think it was day. And rain, rain, rain, rain.

And our new tent was easily up to the challenge.

Trip Details

Departure Time
9:40 a.m.

Daily Miles:
427

Total Miles
1779.6

Breakfast
Breakfast bars, protein shakes

Lunch
Fried chicken, mac & cheese (from supermarket)

Dinner
Jambalaya (campsite)

Stops
Walmart Chamberlain, SD, Rest Stop Minuteman Missile National Historic Site Wall Drug Badlands National Park

Weather
Another beautiful morning and day, with temps hovering in the mid-80s until we reached Interior, SD where temps jumped into the upper 90s. A thunderstorm was predicted there for the evening that did not show up until 2am, but it showed up big! Temps were in the 70s and then 60s overnight.

Day 3: I Could Have Sworn This Was Heaven

July 17, 2024
By Adrian

I know… making Field of Dreams references about Iowa is corny. See what I did there? Corny? But the fact remains that Iowa can be glorious. It is a controversial state-opinion to be sure — like having an opinion about South Dakota or Wyoming. People either love driving through them or hate it.

We love Iowa. We also love South Dakota and Wyoming. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Iowa just rolls like ocean waves through a sea of farmland (mostly corn, of course), and every time you peak you see the highway stretching like a ribbon to the western horizon. It is a place of quiet movement, a place of farmers, a place where maybe things don’t move quickly but they never stop moving.

And when the sun is getting close to setting, when the “golden hour” hits, Iowa is something else.

Iowa landscape as the sun sets. — Iowa landscape as the sun begins to set.

“It’s a peaceful beauty,” Angie said. “Not a violent beauty, like the Rockies or the ocean, where, sure it is beautiful, but it can kill you in so many ways. Iowa is just… life. Simple, quiet, comforting. It is like heaven.”

Iowa is a favorite of ours… but that is not where we started the day.

The Morning

The Comfort Suites Normal University Area gave us all a great night of sleep. I was up early and got our still-damp pool clothes into the dryer. Breakfast was standard “free breakfast” fare: eggs, sausage, potatoes, and a waffle maker for the hot (warm) foods, and a great selection of fruit, yogurt, cereals, and pastries. And hot coffee. No complaints and, really, is it even a road trip without a Golden Malted waffle?

We got out a little earlier than the day before and headed for the border. Illinois was good to us, but the Mississippi was calling, and we crossed it going from Illinois into Iowa.

Our first stop was a place we have stopped three times before: Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. This is a really unique place where you can walk around and through restored buildings from Herbert Hoover’s birthplace.

Home of Herber Hoover (his dad’s blacksmith shop)

For me, as cool as the tiny homes, quaint schoolhouses, and rich-smelling Quaker meetinghouses are, the highlight is always the statue of Isis gifted to Hoover from the people of Belgium. It’s a long story, but Hoover was larger than life. Just an amazing person.

You could do a lot worse than to be remembered thus.

We love this stop because it is free, the bathrooms are clean, it is safe, you can refill your water bottles for no charge, and it is a wonderful place to walk around. It checks all the blocks for a stop on a long road trip.

We wandered up to the town and got some ice cream at a shop recommended to us by a friend. We sat outside for a bit and watched the people of this busy little slice of Iowa going about their day. The sun was out, the temp was perfect, and everyone felt recharged.

The Day

After Hoover, we refueled and set out to put about 250 miles behind us before our next stop in Des Moines. The highway was mostly empty and I was able to keep the car on cruise control almost the whole time and just enjoy the light and life passing by.

With full bellies of ice cream, we pushed on for a late-lunch, early dinner at a local restaurant chain we discovered last year: the Machine Shed. We ate at one last year in Illinois, and the boys talked about it all year. We couldn’t hit the same one, as we are going a different route, but the Iowa Machine Shed in Des Moines was right on the way.

It did not disappoint. Huge servings of probably the most midwest, American classic fare you can imagine. Our table hat chicken pot pies, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, fresh rolls, and more. We were too full for dessert and staggered out of there to drive a few minutes across town to the REI.

REI is not really a destination, although it is a magical place, but I needed a piece of equipment that I left at home. It was the Coast EAL 22 lantern. I bought one for my daughter earlier this year and fell in love with its ruggedness and brightness, and wanted one of my own. Now, I will have two, because we start tent camping tomorrow and I was just stuck on having this with me. Sue me.

The Evening

We switched drivers for a bit and Angie took us to the border of Iowa on I-80, and then we turned north for a bit. We switched drivers again not too far from our destination, the cabin we rented at Snyder Bend County Park. This place is dreamy, right on a small river/lake, at a spot where Lewis and Clarke once set up camp. The boys immediately started fishing and we enjoyed the spectacular sunset.

This is the end of the long drives through the not-terribly-exciting parts of the country. Now we are about to be in the West. Tomorrow, we will tour a minuteman missile silo, stop in Wall Drug, and then set up our new tent in my most sacred of stops, Badlands National Park.

Of the next four nights, 3 of them will be in a tent and one will be in a roadside motel.

This is the part of the trip we’ve been waiting for.

Is this heaven?

Trip Details

Departure Time
9:08 a.m.

Daily Miles:
500.7

Total Miles
1353.3

Breakfast
Hotel free breakfast

Lunch
The Iowa Machine Shed

Dinner
Light snacks (at cabin)

Stops
Herbert Hoover National Historic Site Iowa Machine Shed REI

Weather
Glorious day, never got out of the 80s, mostly sunny all day, at times not a cloud in the sky. Low humidity and very, very pleasant.

Day 2: It’s Giving Eastern Forest

July 16, 2024
By Adrian

The Mississippi River is my 50-yard line of the country, dividing the East from the West. When traveling from the East, until you cross it, you are still in the East. Almost nothing confirms this as much as trees. So far, most of this trip has been on I-70 through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois and although the amount of farmland continues to increase, when you see the trees through the forest, they all look pretty much the same.

At least, from the interstate. When you get out into them, even if the woods look and feel like the Wissahickon back in Philly, the terrain changes. The light is different. Even the time zone changes.

Today we spent time in some fantastic Eastern forests.

The Morning

Waking up at the cabin was nice… if a little jarring. The wave of anxiety that hits each morning on a road trip — where am I, did I oversleep, where are we going today, what do I need to do right now — is real! But it was made right by having some coffee with Angie on the screened in porch. Everyone slept well, ate well, and packed up well. We rearranged a few things (now we have a rear window again!) and hit the road by 9:16 a.m.

We drove for about an hour and a half and then pulled into a new place that Angie found for us to explore: Glen Helen Nature Preserve | Yellow Springs. This place was incredible. I highly recommend stopping for a stunning little “stretch your legs and your mind” walk. It is privately owned, so they ask for a $10 donation per car when you pull in, which is a bargain for what you find.

The main trail looped around past a beautiful little waterfall over a cave called The Grotto, then to the legendary Yellow Springs, and then past a really cool swampy marsh that we think we made by a beaver dam and you traverse via a little boardwalk above the dark water. The terrain was manageable in sneakers for the young and strong, but hiking boots would be appropriate in some spots. The shade was lush and we caught a day with little humidity.

Everyone (except me) taking a sip of the Yellow Springs

At the parking lot there is a large, airconditioned welcome center with nice, clean bathrooms. It was a great first stop.

The Day

We left Ohio and entered our nemesis state: Indiana. We never have good luck or good roads in Indiana, and occassionally have awful experiences (like the blood filled bathroom of 2019 discovered, unfortunately, by our then 11 year old. But we wanted to give it a fair shake, and we planned to visit the Indiana War Memorial Museum and hit the kids favorite midwest fast-food joint for lunch, Culver’s.

Except we found out (before we drove to Indianapolis) that the museum was closed. Just on Tuesdays.

Because: Indiana.

So we found a Culver’s not in the middle of a major city, skirted Indianapolis, and switched drivers at a gas station. As we drove past the city you could see Lucas Oil Field, home of the Indianapolis Colts; I woke up boyo from a dead sleep because I thought he’d like to see it, and he opened his eyes, saw the stadium, said “Combine. That’s where the NFL has the combine.” and immediately fell back asleep.

Once through Indiana and into Illinois, we drove to another cool new place Angie planned for us: the Vermillion River Trestle Bridge. This was a really neat stop, and another great leg-stretch. Walking out onto the bridge was really fun, and the views were spectacular. Suddenly, a large number of dark clouds started rolling in, and having had experience with sudden Illinois lightning storms last year, and realizing standing out in the open on an iron bridge with our heads being the highest point around was no good, we hustled back to the car.

The Evening

We got to our hotel early (for us) around 6:00 p.m. We had planned to spend a few hours at the Indiana museum, and when that fell through, we didn’t replace it with anything; we figured best to cut our losses in Indiana and head for the border.

The hotel — the Comfort Suites Normal University Area — will be our only hotel on this trip out to Montana. Finding reasonable lodging is always a struggle in Illinois, and camping here is suspect as often in July we find massive humidity and massive thunderstorms. This hotel is a gem — 10/10 recommend. Very clean, spacious room with two queen beds and a pull-out sofa bed, a nice pool (small, chilly, but clean), and a great free breakfast. The shower is hot and strong, and the beds are new and firm. We got a great AAA rate for under $100 and anytime we can get a decent room for under 3-digits it’s a win. This place, even though some walls were banged up and a little dingy, was a home-run. Would stay again.

We ate the rest of the cold cuts we brought from Philly for dinner, and the kids went to the pool while I took advantage of the wifi and room desk to catch up on some work for a few hours… and to write this.

Tomorrow looks to be a fun day — we plan to stop at the boys favorite restaurante we discoved last year: the Machine Shed.

Also, we hope to stop at the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in Iowa. This is a place we have visited three times before, and we always love it. The National Park Service faithfully restored and rebuilt the small village Herbert Hoover was born in, including his home, his schoolhouse, and the blacksmith shed where his father work (and a young Hoover once burned down). We love to walk around there; it just feels good. Besides, maybe harnessing a little energy from a leader who espoused a philosophy of “To Look Forward With Unbounded Hope” is exactly what we need right now.

And I really need to hit that REI (now going for the Des Moines, IA location).

These first few days are not as exciting as what is to come;but they are special in their own way. Anticipation mounts. The terrain starts to change. We look forward to crossing the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers to get to the good stuff.

We all getting closer every mile!

Trip Details

Departure Time: 9:16 a.m.

States: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio

Weather: Much less humid today and surprisingly comfortable. Ohio was a little sticky, but by the time we got to Illinois is was pleasant. Highs in the upper 80s / low 90s. Mostly sunny day, though some ominouse clouds rolled into Illinois by the end of the day.

Route: Ohio 146 West to Ohio 37 West to Ohio 161 West to I-270 West, I270 W to I-670 West, I-670 West to I-70 West, I-70 West to U.S. Route 68 West to Glen Helen Nature Preserve, U.S. Route 68 East to I-70 West, I-70 West to I-65 West, I-65 West to I-465 South, I-465 South to I-74 West, I-74 West to U.S. Route 150 West to Vermillion River Trestle Bridge, U.S. Route 150 West to I-74 West, I-74 West to Exit 142, local roads to U.S. Route 150 West, U.S. Route 150 West to Hwy 29 North, Hwy 29 North to Fort Jesse Road, Fort Jesse Road to Veterans Parkway, Veterans Parkway to I-55 North, I-55 North to Exit 163 to I-74 West, I-74 West to I-474 West, I-474 West to I-74 West, I-74 West to I-80 West, I-80 West to Exit 254 to Herber Hoover National Monument, I-80 West to I-880 West, I-880 West to I-29 North, I-29 North to Exit 134, local roads to Snyder Bend County Park.

Daily Miles: 404.6

Best MPG: 21.95 MPG (Yellow Springs, OH to Richmond, IN | 60.72 miles)

Total Miles: 825.5

Breakfast: Scones, Smoothies, Protein Shakes (at cabin)

Lunch: Culver's (in Richmond, IN)

Dinner: Cold Cuts (at hotel)

Stops: Glen Helen Nature Preserve | Yellow Springs Vermillion River Trestle Bridge

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