Average Cruising Speed

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It was a beautiful, but freezing morning in West Yellowstone when we drove off. We pretty much put a 150 mile or so max on our days. Any more than that and we don’t enjoy ourselves. Thanks to a lot of rewards points we’re also hopping across the States from … Read More

Yellowstone

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First off, just let me say, Yellowstone is no place to see in one day. It’s ridiculous, really. But when on a cross-country drive, having Yellowstone fall in between Point A and Point B works out okay. Our day in Yellowstone left me feeling a little dirty, like the worst … Read More

Cowboy Country

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After a night in Buffalo we continued west into the Bighorn Mountains. Gorgeous. The absolute best time of year with the crisp air, bright fall colors, and blue skies. We crossed over a pass at just about 10,000 feet but really had no idea we had been climbing so far, … Read More

Devil’s Tower

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Into Wyoming we go. Eighth largest state, and also the least populous. Also a place where entire towns are for sale. This one looks promising. From about fifteen miles out Devil’s Tower starts to appear around bends in the road. The horses came sauntering in about five minutes late. And went … Read More

Crazy Horse

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We spent the night in Hill City, and after a quick breakfast zipped down the road a few miles to the Crazy Horse monument. We hadn’t been expecting too much. You can see it from the road, and it’s cool and all, but, well… Well, we went in, and the … Read More

Mount Rushmore

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We love this place. Nothing—aside from maybe the Statue of Liberty—screams “America” quite so loudly. We’ve been telling the kids about Mount Rushmore for months now, and I was a little afraid that maybe we had overdone it. But then, a couple of hours after we had left, Lowe said out of … Read More

Badlands

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The Badlands begin right down the street from Wall. I can’t imagine how unexpected this land had to be for the early pioneers—and how unwelcome. Somehow every time we come through the Badlands the temperature soars to one hundred. It doesn’t matter what the weather is like in the rest … Read More

Wall Drug

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A couple of months back we started telling the kids about Wall Drug. We told them all about the abundance of toys, sweets, and weird things that you wouldn’t see anywhere else. They were sold. We drove the backroads until we got close to Wall, then we bombed the interstate. … Read More

Corn Palace

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We motored back out onto I-90 this morning with Mitchell, South Dakota on the radar. Along the way we spotted a giant bulls head (sort of) and had to stop, because it was ridiculous, and we needed to pee. Turns out some farmer with moderate welding skills is also a … Read More

Little House on the Prairie

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Up early in Springfield, MN, this morning we gathered ourselves up and went for a stroll around town. Came across a beautiful mural without any hint of graffiti. I don’t know if kids are just this good in Springfield or if they’ve been threatened with death, but it’s working. The … Read More

Porsche Roads

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I love this car, and these three people squeezing into it with me. We’ve all been looking forward to this road trip since we first conceived of it back in April. The car had been sitting too long, and we always wanted it out at my mom’s house anyway (because … Read More

A Minnesota Send-Off

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Since the State Fair life has been one big letdown. No cheese curds, no corn dogs, no mini-donuts, nothing. We did hang out with friends, go boating at my dad’s house, and spend a long weekend at the lake with Ali’s family—all of which was nice too, I guess. But … Read More