1728 miles (no, that is not a typo). 5 states, 2 air b&bs, 1 friend and her sister, 1 National Park, 1 state park, 40+ shooting stars, 1 bar with karaoke, currently $380 over budget for the month.
Driving, driving, driving, driving…..and more driving. Getting across the plains from Montana to Chicago is far but sometimes you gotta bite the bullet and just sit in the car for 6-8 hours until you get where you’re going. So driving was the theme this week as we made up for last week’s slower pace. We started the week in Glendive, MT ended up in Vernon, IL with stops in Teddy Roosevelt, NP, Fargo, ND and Eau Claire, WI along the way.
I’m sure that Glendive, Fargo and Eau Claire are lovely towns worthy of longer visits in the future, but the real star of the show was Teddy Roosevelt National Park. I was really looking forward to spending time in the the North Dakota Badlands, and TRNP did not disappoint. We stayed at Cottonwood Campground in the Southern portion of the park where we met up with our friend Bailey and her sister Kendall. Their campsite was across the little road from ours, and we were able to sit with them for a fair amount of time chatting away while we watched the Perseid Meteor Shower as nighttime came on. This meteor shower happens every year right before my birthday & I’ve never gotten up to see it. Thankfully TRNP is a dark sky park and we had amazing clear skies so I could watch the meteor shower early and go to bed at my usual time. What a way to close out a day!
Erin had a great post about this last week that really describes the experience far better than I could.
So grateful for the time & space to explore these places. I can honestly say that even the weirdest places we’ve been so far (I’m looking at you Winifred, MT). have still had something charming about them. So far, the food has been consistently good, especially in breweries. The people we’ve met along the way have been friendly and helpful ~ except for one cop in Chicago, but that’s a story for next week. The scenery has been mostly interesting as we try to take the slower two lane roads rather than always being on the Interstate. The weather gods have been incredibly kind to us, giving us hazy but not smoky skies, warm but not hot weather, and only a couple of rain showers here and there. I don’t expect all of this good fortune to continue, but I’m grateful for the gifts we’ve received so far.
Next week; Chicago and Michigan! Woo hoo!!!!!
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