This post is SO LATE! I feel so bad about this particularly because this was such an amazing trip and reminded me again of why I love to go to the States and on roadtrips in particular.
To be honest, I kept putting this off because it was going to be a long post and I need to learn how to be more pithy when I post. Also, I was overwhelmed by the whole 2 weeks and how to condense that into one post. I think that writing it now, 8 whole months after having gone, I’m actually better able to summarize, as I can better pinpoint the highlights, the memorable moments, and the places I would definitely recommend.
June 7-16th, 2015
Creston, BC ->Yellowstone National Park, WY -> Rapid City, SD -> Minneapolis, MN -> Medora, ND -> Browning, MT
This is the first time I’m going to summarize a trip in a single post, rather than day by day. Especially in times when internet is not readily available and days are so jam packed full of stuff to do, it’s hard to write everyday. Plus, who am I to pretend that each day is really that exciting? Particularly when you’re driving up to 10 hours a day…with you, yourself, and your podcasts.
Incidentally, we hosted a couchsurfer last night, and we were talking about roadtrips and how to entertain oneself on roadtrips. Here are a few I listen to on roadies:
- Vinyl Cafe with Stuart McLean
- Risk
- StoryCorps
- Ted Radio Hour
- Invisibilia
- Snap Judgement
Anyhow, Yellowstone! A must! The buffalo and deer roam freely around the park. The sunsets? Insane. I met my friend Liza, who lives now in Denver, CO. We were neighbours and besties in Korea, having many adventures within Korea and abroad. We also have the strange tendency to dress the same, without planning it. I saw her last on my roadtrip with Leah, and it was great to coordinate another meet-up with her.
Within an hour of leaving home, my GPS died…DNR, no CPR, no intubation, nothing would resusc it. I figured out the cable that connected it to my car, supplying it with battery power, had a piece broken off and it wasn’t until I got to Mall of America and a Best Buy in Minneapolis that I would be able to replace it. Luckily, Jeramy, old-fashioned worried BF that he is, had insisted that Leah and I carry a paper roadmap of Canada and the US on our trip across the US. It lives under the passenger seat of my car permanently, so I pulled it out and along with road signs, I was able to continue my navigation.
We camped outside the Eastern gate of Yellowstone, at a small campsite, that was largely un-occupied, on a beautiful little site on the river’s edge. The hiking is incredible in this area and we enjoyed a day of hiking up a trail on which we encountered no other humans, forded/fallen-tree-balanced-across 2 overfull creeks, saw evidence of horses, bears, and deer, but only met birds and one deer from far away. From our campsite, we saw the most incredible thunder and lightening storms I have EVER seen, the first night from far off, down at the other end of the valley, and the second night, right in the midst of it, which I still hold clearly in my mind today as simply amazing. Of course, we also had time within Yellowstone Park itself, watching Ol Faithful and the other geysers and mud holes, and the unique and beautiful wildlife. Nothing like passing a buffalo going slow in the right lane first thing in the morning!
Sidenote: I got to use my new mini cam/videocam for the first time! It’s like a GoPro but cheaper…and honestly, gets the job done just fine.
We struggled a bit with lighting a fire the first night (copious amounts of lighter fluid was used, my girl guide mother would be horrified), but we got much better at it by our last night.
There was no shower at our campground, so we ingeniously (we thought) used the sinks at the seldom-used rest-stop just up the road. So fresh! So clean! I don’t know if your standards get lower when travelling, whether you become more creative, and more take me as I am, or what, but just to have clean hair and a quick once over with a proper bit of hot water was all we needed to feel recharged!
From Yellowstone, I left Liza and Wyatt (the dog) and moved on alone to Rapid City, South Dakota….still navigating with my trusty roadmap, highway signs, and my sense of direction. Who needs a working GPS anyways?! I went via Devil’s Tower National Monument, popular for rock climbers these days, saw a moose, and had a memorable moment at a gas station in Gillette, when a kindly funeral director helped me check the air pressure on and top up my tires. I have to say, in all my travels in the States, I have only experienced kindness and welcoming, although I do realize that I am a young, white chick!
I reached Rapid City, South Dakota that day, ending my day with a quick visit to Mt. Rushmore. I agree that while it seems quite large in photos and in movies, it is really smaller than I anticipated. However, considering when it was carved and the impressive likeness, it is still pretty impressive! I enjoyed the exhibits, and it was very mysterious with lots of fog rolling around the faces.
My bed that night was a Couchsurf, found at the home of a very kindly and well-travelled mother-daughter pair. The mother (over 80 years of age!) had many stories to tell, still sharp as a tack, and looking forward to a trip to Europe with her daughter in a few days. I hope that I am that wise and well-travelled by her age!
The next day I had a jam-packed schedule set up, with a trip to Wall Drug, a detour through Badlands National Park (very reminiscent of Cappadocia, Turkey), and taking the long way around via a route that to be honest….I can’t recall now! I decided not to stick the main highway though, and boy am I glad I didn’t! The scenery through South Dakota is absolutely stunning: canyons, grasslands, beautiful rock formations – this is the kind of big sky country I could live in! Wall Drug is a fascinating amalgamation of shops, and displays of things like old photos, licence plates, and other memorabilia. It is a great way to break up a drive.
Otherwise, the drive to Minneapolis was flaaaatttttt and straighttttt!! (AKA BORING!) This is where the podcasts come in! I was glad to reach my Airbnb that night for a rest before the wedding of Katie (who I met in Korea) and Brad the next day. Prior to the wedding, I met up with Ilona and Val and their significant others for breakfast and a trip to Mall of America. We had all met while teaching English in Korea, and hadn’t seen each other since then. It was awesome to reconnect and really cool to see the vast expanse that is the ‘American Breakfast’, as well as the Mall of America (huge, has really cool amusement park and giant Lego statues in the middle!). Katie’s wedding itself, beautiful, outdoors, travel-themed reception, lots of dancing, and great fun indeed.
After the wedding, I made another big day of driving through North Dakota, to end up in the town of Medora. Medora is home to the Medora Musical, a wonderful open amphitheatre performance including live horses, live music, and a general good time. I very much enjoyed myself. I was able to camp at another campsite right by a river, with very friendly and helpful staff, and a few other campers who were in awe that I would take such a trip all by myself. Honestly, with the pop-up tent (after I figured how to fold the darn thing up), it was SO easy to camp by myself.
Medora is also right across the highway from Theodore Roosevelt National Park. While a small park, it is chock-a-block full of prarie dogs, buffalo, wild horses, and other critters and plant life. The loop road through the park takes only about an hour and a half or so to drive through, and you have to be very careful not to run over (or get run over by) the multitude of prarie dogs and buffalo that inhabit the park!
My last overnight stop was a bit of a splurge, but SO cool. I stayed in Browning, MT, with the hope of taking the Going-To-The-Sun road home (not to be, still closed), at a tipi camp! They supplied bedding on the grass and had set a fire in the little stone fire circle in the middle of the tipi. It was SO cool to light my fire and then fall asleep next to it (yes, I was a bit afraid to light on fire). There was an amazing sunset that night, and the drive home next day was beautiful and sunny, the perfect way to end a wonderful trip!
A few tips for road tripping, since a roadtrip is basically the ONLY was to properly see the US and Canada:
1. Snacks!
2. Wet wipes
3. A roadmap
4. Route planning
5. Take the long way around
6. Reusable cutlery
7. A popup tent so you don’t have to waste time with set-up and take down.
8. Spare blankets for picnics/keeping warm by the fire
9. Tupperware containers (will come in handy for many things)
10. Portable USB charger(s)
tRNscontinental 