Last winter I began thinking about a road trip to Idaho to visit our son Drew and his family. Then when he told us they had decided to move back to Georgia, I knew time was running out to visit Idaho. So I volunteered to help with the move. That resulted in an epic road trip involving 1700 train miles, about 2600 truck miles, 1150 air miles, and 300 car miles for a grand total of about 5750 miles, through 14 states in 12 days. (For comparison purposes, NY to LA and back is 5600 miles.)
In the first post of this series, I detailed my cross country train ride. Then a few photos from my time in Idaho. But then it was time to hit the road.
Loaded and Ready
The suns up, it’s time to move out; we’ve got a lot of miles ahead of us. When I went to bed last night one of the trailer tires was flat. But Penske sent out a crew and it was changed when we woke up this morning. We’re good to go.
Final family photos
As soon as last minute photos, hugs, and kisses are done.
Headin’ down the road
Then we were on our way east.
Beautiful Idaho
Past beautiful lakes and mountains
Wallace ID
Wallace, still in Idaho
Headin’ round the bend
Around the bend and into Montana
Everybody takes a turn at the wheel
It’s not as scary as it looks.
In the middle of nowhere
Best beef jerky in Montana
More mountains
The mountains became less forested
Breathtaking scenery at every turn
One scenic valley after another…
…
Right out of the tunnel
past long oil trains…
Somebody lived here once
past abandoned farms and ranches…
Maybe next time
places where I know my brother would stop, but I pressed on.
Butte
Butte MT
Still lots of highway to cover
Across broad valleys
Someone lived here once
More lonesome homesteads
The mighty Yellowstone
Following the Yellowstone River from Livingston to Billings
Crossing the border
Made it to Wyoming before sunset.
Along the Bozeman Trail
The next morning the mountains started to recede into the distance.
Lakes and highways
The land started to flatten out.
Home on the prairie, amidst the buttes
Still a few dramatic vistas.
Exit to Pierre
South Dakota has its own dramatic beauty
Traveling in style
and ancient attractions
Remembering Lewis & Clark
Enjoyed the rest stop at the Missouri River crossing near Chamberlain SD.
The wonders of corn
Drove by the corn palace, one concession to the creative roadside attractions of SD.
Rest stop
The sun was setting as we crossed MN.
The night is bearing down on me
Still got a long way to go.
Sleeping giants
After midnight at the last rest stop, somewhere in WI
Fruit salad
The next couple days were filled with sumptuous feasts…
Buckled in
…field trips to the zoo and the children’s museum
Splash!
…and relaxing by the pool. Then it was time to hit the road again.
RADIOSCRIBE 