Road Trip

6 AM

We are packed and heading off for Spokane

10 AM

280 miles down. 400 to Chicago. Went through Maryland and Pennsylvania. Stopped at a service plaza in Ohio. Rained most of the way through Pennsylvania

3 PM

540 miles down. 140 to Chicago. Went through Ohio. Even took a detour through the Ohio farm land because of a traffic delay. Stopped at a service plaza in Indiana. We are near the border of Michigan here.

5 PM

630 miles down. 50 to Chicago. We stopped at Indiana Dunes State Park. Very cool.

6:30 PM

680 miles to Chicago complete. We finished Indiana and entered Illinois. Eating Pizza at Giordanos

6:30 AM

Today is a sightseeing day in Chicago. My day started at 4 AM when Sadie needed to go pee. Sadie and I went out at 6:30 and went to Millennium park

9 AM

We tried to go up the Willis tower but the line was too long. So we took an Uber to Hancock Center and the 360 Panorama.

11AM

We walked from the Hancock building to the Navy Pier which took us down the Magnificent Mile.

12:30

We took a boat tour on Lake Michigan. It was 90 minutes long and gave us a view of the Chicago skyline.

4:30 PM

We took a tour of Wrigley Field. We got to hear the history of the second oldest ballpark in America. We ended the tour by sitting in the Cubs dugout.

7 PM

We Ubered back to Willis Tower but it was too busy. So we got Sadie and grabbed some Italian Beef sandwiches at Big Al’s. Then we walked over to Millennium Park.

8:30 PM

We took Sadie to a Dog Beach and let her run. After that we went to Margie’s Fine Candies for ice cream.

Today we went up the Willis Tower before we hit the road. They have the sky deck which is a clear plexiglass overhang. Very scary.

11 AM

Hitting the road for Sioux Falls SD. 575 miles. Just over 8 hours.

8:30 PM

575 Miles done today. 1,200 to Spokane. Finished Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and stopped in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We are at the halfway point mileage wise.

Today our destination is Keystone, SD. We will go through the Badlands NP. Miles to go 366

9 AM

Hitting the road

10 AM

Stopped at the Corn Palace in Mitchell SD.

1:30 PM

We made it to Badlands NP and drove the scenic byway. It is a very unique and cool place.

2 PM

We stopped at the infamous Wall Drug and got our free water. It is a fun place.

From Wall Drug we drove to Keystone which is near Mt Rushmore.

Today was a busy day. We got up early and went to Mt Rushmore. Then we went to the Crazy Horse Memorial. After that we drove the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway and through Custer Park. After lunch we headed out for our destination of Gillette Wyoming stopping at Devil’s Tower along the way.

Today is a long haul from Gillette WY to Gardiner MT. We thought about stopping at the Little Bighorn Battlefield but decided to keep going to Gardiner. We got into Gardiner early enough to head into Yellowstone to go to Tower Falls and Mammoth Hot Springs.

Today we got up early and spent most of the day touring Yellowstone. After we left Yellowstone we made it to Butte MT to spend the night.

7:30 AM

Today is the last day of our trip. We are less than 5 hours from Spokane.

1:30 PM

Drive through to Couer D'Alene and stopped for lunch at Zip's. Our traditional first meal when we come to Spokane. Only 30 miles to go!

We left Spokane today around 11 AM. The time went very quickly. Our destination today is Billings MT around 550 miles – 8 hours.

Today we drive from Billings, MT to Fargo, ND. 610 miles / 8.5 hrs.

Today we go from Fargo ND to Omaha NE. 420 miles / 5hr 45m

Today we go from Omaha NE to Springfield IL. 420 miles / 6 hrs.

Today we go from Springfield IL to Columbus OH with a detour through Taylorville IL. 380 miles / 5 hr 40 min

Today is the last day of our 2017 Road Trip. Today we travel from Columbus OH to home. 390 miles / 6 hr

2:30 PM

25 miles from home and we are in bumper to bumper traffic. Welcome to Maryland!