Yellowstone

Made it to Yellowstone late last night. Watched a gorgeous sunset as we drove through the park on the way to our campsite. After a cold (30 something) night in our tent we got up and did some exploring. The landscape is even more beautiful than we expected and it makes us wonder why people go to places like Disneyland when this natural wonderland exists.
Cell coverage is spotty so we probably won't update again until tomorrow night. Here are some pictures of old faithful and other geysers that hardly do them justice.

Rushmore, Black Hills & Big Horn

Today has been packed. In the morning we stopped at Mt Rushmore. What a ridiculously American thing. Pretty impressive actually. Did you know that there is a room behind Lincoln's head that was blasted into the rock that was intended to be used for secure document storage!? Pretty weird!

From there we set out towards Yellowstone, driving through Black Hills and Big Horn National Forests. This was probably the most picturesque part of our journey thus far. Truly impressive.

We're still driving and should get to Yellowstone about 8pm Mountain Time. More to come...

Mystery solved!

After our last post yesterday we headed out towards Forestville/Mystery Cave State park. We knew we wouldn't be arriving until about 11pm, so we called the park to let them know. They were very nice, and advised us that a bridge to the park was out of service and that we might not want to follow our GPS.

We'll write a longer update later, but needless to say we made it to our campsite by 12:30am. Special thanks to the police officer from Lewiston Minnesota who not only pointed us towards the only open gas station for miles, but provided us with proof that Minnesottans truly do have fantastic accents, in addition to being incredibly nice people.

We also got a tour of the 'Mystery Cave' which we'll post about later.

More to come, currently driving to Rapid City South Dakota while listening to big band music courtesy of 91.1fm.

I Approve of Madison

We were fortunate enough to have lunch with my friend Beth and coffee with my friend John in Chicago (thanks guys for making time to meet up!) and then hit the road again - after a short stop at REI (new tent!!).

After hours of driving and traffic we decided to eat in Madison, Wisconsin. What a genius idea. If you ever find yourself in this fine city, I highly recommend eating at The Old Fashioned. Two burgers for the price of one (and Chris just said "this is the best burger I've ever had" with a starkly serious expression on his face. Will Reinhardt - you know what I mean.) and lots of local beer on tap.

We have another 4 hours of driving tonight so we will get to the campsite around midnight. Then we will set up our new tent. And we will do it with full bellies. I approve of this city. Nicely done, Wisconsin.

PS We got fried cheese curds and they are delicious. Look gross. Taste good.

Chicago!!

We made it to Chicago. We also hit two milestones on the drive this morning.

1) We gained an hour by crossing into central time.

2) We hit 1000 miles since leaving Concord!

Last night we were stopped by a torrential downpour on the highway. We stayed in a hotel which turned out to be a great idea because the shower this morning felt amazing.

Tonight we arrive at mystery cave state park for another night of camping. And tomorrow we plan to crack the muster in that cave!!.

Niagara Falls!

Had a great day yesterday. The drive was really easy and went fast, even with the slight detour due to Julie missing an exit off 89. Oops. We took the scenic way.
Our camp sight was calm, peaceful and beautiful. Lake Ontario is vast and amazing. Chris took some night shots that came out beautifully. The campground was called Golden Hill and it had an old lighthouse on it which made the campground feel like a little town.
We left our campsite today at 1030 and drove to the falls. It's so impressive. Many pictures are being taken. Here are a few. Next we head into Canada!

First night

Lake Ontario campground.

Sleep finally

Tomorrow is the big day! Everything is packed and ready to go. I feel like I'm leaving for a vacation- not a move because only about a third of my stuff fit in the Honda Accord. It's all good. I have the essentials. My enormous bag of shoes, for example.

I know that I will miss New Hampshire because of how I've been feeling all day- a slight tightening of the chest and appreciation for my years living here. I've decided to focus on the things I WON'T miss, so that it will be easier to get in the car and drive away tomorrow morning. Here is a short list:

1) Getting stopped on Loudon Rd by all four stop lights in the .3 miles between main st and fort eddy rd. Really? These things can't be timed better?
2) Walking to my car in 10 degrees when the wind makes my eyeballs freeze.
3) Digging out my car after a big snowstorm. That was fun the first time but it gets really annoying in work clothes when you're late for a meeting. I guess this is why people have garages, but I never had that luxury.
4) Massachusetts drivers.
5) Businesses that I never get to go to because they close at 5pm.

It's much easier to think of the things I love about this place and I guess that seals the deal that I will be back. That and the other two thirds of my stuff that I'm leaving in Chris's apartment.

I'm excited for the road trip fun time adventure that begins tomorrow. It's been a long day and now I will sleep, finally.

So, here's the plan!

Day 1: Niagara Falls
Day 2: Chicago
Day 3: Mystery Cave State Park
Day 4: Badlands, South Dakota
Day 5: Mt. Rushmore
Day 6: Yellowstone
Day 7: Missoula
Day 8: Oregon

Are we ready? I hope so! Stay tuned for photos, stories, updates, shout-outs (like this one for you, Mark Coen!) and more!