On the Road Again

Greetings from the road again!  It's another looooong day in the car as we make our way to Yellowstone. I left off on Tuesday as we were making our way to Mt. Rushmore. 

South Dakota is a flat state without a lot going on until you get to the western part of the state.  It was really weird to see for miles and miles without trees, houses, or anything. We randomly stopped somewhere for gas and met a guy from Henderson, KY. Small world!!  

One of the best things about crossing South Dakota was the billboards. We saw a billboard advertising the largest bull head in the world, a corn palace, and our favorite, WALL DRUG!  Wall drug in an amazing touristy town located in Wall, SD. We saw the first billboard advertise "Wall Drug, only 355 miles!"  ONLY, you guys. ONLY!  After that, every couple of miles it was: free ice water!  5 cent coffee! Giant T-Rex!  Good eats!  We decided that we HAD to go, and said that we would only stay for thirty minutes to check it out and get back on the road. Well, thirty minutes turned into two hours because it. Was. Too. Awesome. 

By the time we reached the campground in Keystone, SD all of us were ready to get out of the car.  We pitched our tents and settled in for the night as darkness approached. Our KOA campground was fantastic!  It was almost like not camping at all.  We had a great grassy area all to ourselves with water access right across the gravel drive, bathrooms and showers a short walk down the road, an outdoor tent area that provided an all you can eat pancake breakfast, great lodge area with helpful staff, a coffee shop, restaurant, swimming pools, and tons of other amenities. Ian and I went to take showers after we settled in, and just as we got back to our tent heard a sprinkle of two on the top of the tent. Within a few minutes, it was a downpour and full thunderstorm. Lightning flashed, thundered crashed through the hills, the wind whipped around the sides of the tent, and the rain just wouldn't stop. Well, we survived!  That was our first time camping out in the USA, and it was definitely a trail by fire. 

Chicago

Good morning from the road!  Yesterday was a looooong day of travel, and today is even longer!  Yesterday we were up at 5:30 and on the road shortly after 6. By noon we were in Chicago and spent the rest of the day sight seeing.  

I've been to Chicago before, but one thing that I really enjoyed was the architecture. Chicago has a ton of gorgeous buildings!  The picture above is the iconic Trump Tower, which is currently the second tallest building in the Windy City. 

No trip to Chicago is complete without  a stop in Millennium Park to see The Bean. It could quite possibly be the birthplace of selfies as everyone and their mother wants to take a picture of themselves in the shining reflective surface. 

Our next stop was the Sears Tower (..or Willis Tower...or whatever they're calling it these days). The last time I was at the top of the Sears Tower, I wasn't able to go in the little plexiglass box that extends four feet from the side of the building. It's a little trippy because you can look down and see the city right below your feet. CRAZINESS!!

We wrapped up our day in Chicago with (what else?) a deep dish Chicago pizza at the BEST pizza place on the face of the Earth, Giordano's. 

It was an early night so that we could have an early morning. That 3:30 wake up call came just a little TOO early, but we knew we had to get on the road. Our mission for today is to travel over 900 miles to Hill City, South Dakota. Tomorrow we'll tour Mt. Rushmore and Crazyhorse. 

Making a List and Checking It Twice

It won't be long now!  In a few short days Melissa B, Mollee, Will, Ian, and I will be crammed into my car and ready for our adventure!  

This week I've been keeping a to do list of things that need to be taken care of before we leave. I've scratched off a great number of items, but it seems like for every ONE task I complete, I think about five more that need to be taken care of. Sad day!  

I was talking to Mollee earlier today and I realized that I really don't have THAT much camping experience. (I guess if you consider and overnight to Girl Scout camp "camping"...)  Ian and I did it once or twice in Japan, and that's really the only experience we've had. So I think this trip will be quite an experience for us.....especially considering that the night time lows in Yellowstone have been hovering around 35 degrees each night. Brrrrrrr!!!  Another thing that has me slightly worried is WiLd aNiMaLs!  We don't have the big and scary creatures like grizzly bears, buffaloes, elk, etc. I don't know that I've ever seen these critters (let alone in THE WILD!). Here's to hoping that no one reads about a couple from Kentucky who were attacked by charging elk or something!

And so it begins....

EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!  I'm so stinking excited about this adventure that we are about to embark.  This all started over a year ago.  Ian and I realized that we should do something for our fifth wedding anniversary.  We talked about doing a couple of different things, but we both agreed on a road trip.  We have so many friends out west now, and we thought that our anniversary was a good excuse to have an epic road trip to visit them.  Although the trip started as just Ian and I, somewhere along the way we invited a couple of friends to join us. The Kuma goonies are back and ready TO TRAVEL.  Melissa B and Mollee (for some weird reason....) agreed to pile into one tiny car and ride for hours upon hours with the Reeds.

So where are we going?  Google maps tells me that this will be a 71 hour journey if we drive straight.  We're starting in Paducah and beginning our journey by going to Chicago.  Then, we'll head to Mt. Rushmore and Crazy horse.  Next up is camping in Yellowstone!  We'll round off our first week of travel in Washington to drop off Melissa.  We'll begin our second week by driving down to the Salt Lake City area and spend a few days.  Next is Douglas, WY.  Then, we'll cross the cornfield wastelands of Nebraska and Kansas for our final stop in Concordia, KS to see the world's largest ball of twine!  Our last day of travel leaves us back in Paducah.

It's been a while since I've blogged, so this might take a minute to get back into the habit.  I had so many friends and family members tell me how much they enjoyed my blog that I wrote in Japan (plus it became a journal for myself for future reference).  I love traveling.  I love journaling.  What's a better way to combine these two passions?  BLOGGING!

I'm not going to lie.  Our schedule for this trip is PACKED.  Therefore, I won't be able to write as much as I did for my Japanese blog.  I'm not taking my computer, so all blog updates will have to be through my phone, and in many places I won't have a reliable internet connection.

Ian and I are both SO.  FREAKING.  EXCITED. about this opportunity and CAN'T WAIT