We set out on our summer road trip on the 5th of July. We got to our church meetings and and then came home and packed up the car and headed North.
Our first stop was a five hour drive to Big Sky MT. We brought along some pb&j's for dinner and had a bunch of snacks to last us for lots of days. We arrived in Big Sky just before dark and were so happy to get to our place of rest. As we drove into Big Sky we were overwhelmed with the beauty of the place. It was situated in a beautiful valley with mountains surrounding it. There was a nice river flowing right next to the road and everything was so pretty and green.
Our hotel was super nice, as well. It was called The Wilson (Residence Inn) and was a resort type hotel. We were grateful to be there.
The next morning we knew we wanted to ride the Explorer Gondola up to Lone Peak. It was WAYY up there and super cool! We got to see into three different states from that vantage point. We could see into Yellowstone and even could make out the Teton Range from there. I was grateful that Rick let me borrow his hoodie because with the wind it was definetley cold!
We wandered around the peak for a bit enjoying the views and taking pictures and then we headed back down on the gondola. We could see mountain bikers coming down the mountain. Even kids were biking down. That seems like it could be sorta dangerous on those steep trails. Anyway, apparantly a lotn of people do it.
After grabbing a bite to eat we rented some bikes and took a spin around the area. There were lots of cabin neighborhoods and just beautiful surroundings. We were hoping to find a moose but...no luck.
After our bike ride we headed towards Billings. We were able to meet up with Brandon Orr who lives there now. We gotn to visit at his apartment and catch up on what's happening in his life.
We stayed the night in Billings and the next morning got to our first temple of the trip.
The Billings Temple. It was small but we enjoyed doing initiatory here.
After the temple we had a long drive to get to Bismarck., North Dakota. ND is one of the three last states that we had not gotten to. This trip we were going to get to these three states, North Dakota, Missnesota, and Wisconsin to cross ALL fifty states off of our bucket list.
Brandon had suggested that we check out the Medora Musical on our way to Bismarck. We had not heard of the musical but his coworkers had been just a few days before and had loved it. We thought, "Why not?" and drove to Medora. First we found that there is the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library there. It had just opened up the holiday weekend so we thought we'd check it out since we had four hours to kill before the musical started.
It did not dissapoint. We learned a lot about TR and all that he was involved in from the time he was a boy until his presidency. He was a very interesting person and I was happy we were able to go learn more about him.
Rick wanted to see a little of the Badlands National Park so we took a drive and got to see some beautiful country. We had never really had any interest because the name Badlands does not sound too nice but we were pleasantly surprised at it's beauty. The reason it is called Badlands is because the land is not condusive to farming. It is very hilly and not much flatland at all. It was really breathtaking and I am glad we decided to take that drive.
Of course, we had to stop at the candy store in Medora and get some goodies.
This was the lone buffalo we saw on our drive.
We saw another buffalo lying down at a rest stop off the hightway.
Those things are massive!
This was the view as we walked into the Medora Musical venue. Just gorgeous!
We got a bag of popcorn and sat down to watch a really entertaining show!
The performers came from all over the country and really had some great talent! They sang a lot of well known pop songs, some patriotic songs, as well as some new songs. We were really glad that we changed our plan to be able to see it.
Rick especially loved the intermission entertainment.
I'll admit the guy was pretty funny!
That night after the show we drove the rest of the way to Bismarck.
We didn't get there until midnight. I'm so thankful for Rick for his getting us there safely.
The next morning we got to go to the Bismarck Temple.
We did initiatory again because we had a loooong ride to get to Duluth, afterwards.
This was our longest drive yet at seven hours.
We did stop along the way and grab some dinner.
We were grateful to arrive and grateful for the fact that we would be staying TWO nights:)
After a good rest, the next morning we drove down to downtown Duluth to rent some bikes to see the sights. We were pleasantly surprised with Duluth. It is a cute historic town right on Lake Superior. There is a lot of shipping that goes on from this city. It's a pretty good size city but didn't feel like it.
We stopped to see this lighthouse on the pier.
And then got to ride across the Aerial Lift Bridge. It lifts up every thirty minutes to let ships in and out of the harbor. It is a nice gateway to the Lake.
We rode for a couple of hours and then stopped at a cute pub for some lunch.
It was yummy!
After lunch we walked over to the harbor to take a boat ride. We were able to be on Lake Superior which was pretty cool. The guide gave us lots of information about the lake.
Next we drove over to Enger Tower. It was located amongst a beautiful Japanese Garden.
The tower itself has 105 steps to get to the top. What a beautiful view it gave us! The lake and city were so pretty from there. We also could see across the harbor into Wisconsin.
For dinner that night we stopped at an Irish pub.
We had some good food and then went back to the hotel to rest a bit.
The next morning was our day to drive into Minnesota. We were able to do sealings in this temple. Our sealer was very nice and at the end of the session he recited two quotes that Rick loved. He asked the sealer to email them over. Rick was able to memorize them in the quiet moments during the rest of our road trip as we drove along.
After the temple we drove into downtown Minneapolis to go to the Mall of America. We didn't have tons of time here but we knew we wanted to go on the Fly Over America ride. We had done that in iceland last year and thought it was so cool. This one showcased America and we LOVED the experience!
Rick wanted a treat so he grabbed an ice cream cone before we left the mall.
That night we were able to attend the Minnesota Twins MLB game. What a fun night! Rick had gotten us some really good seat and we just really enjoyed being there. We are sure making some fun memories with this MLB game fixation that we've been on. We got some team merch and cheered on the Twins for the win!
It had been a long day so we were grateful to get to sleep that night.
The next day was the Duluth Air Show. We had been thinking that it was going to be held in Minneapolis and just a few night before I noticed the tickets said DULUTH Air Show. Oh man, that meant we were going to have to drive the two hours back north to Duluth to get there. That was kind of a kink in our schedule but we made it work. It just added extra miles to our already long trip. No worries my trusty chauffeur got us there and back safely.
The airshow was a lot of fun. It was an absolute SWELTERING day but we enjoyed watching all the planes fly ESPECIALLY the Thunderbirds. They were truly amazing!
On our way back to Minneapolis we stopped at the Whistle Stop Cafe.
Did they have fried green tomatoes?? Nope...And the young waitress looked at us a little funny when we asked. I think that movie was just a little before her time.
Anyway, we got filled up and headed back to our hotel.
The next day was Sunday. We got to enjoy going to the full two hours of church. It's not something we get to do very often in our current calling. I loved it. I loved going to Relief Society and taking part in the lesson. I miss that!
After church we packed up our bags, made some sandwiches for the road and headed into Wisconsin, our last state on the list. We decided that we love Wisconsin. It's so pretty with all of the farmland.
We stopped in a town that makes the Timberland
We stayed in LaCrosse, right on the Mississippi River.
This is the only picture I got of us there.
The next morning we drove a little further into Wisconsin. We stopped at a really cool cheese shop. There was all kinds of different cheeses to see and taste. There was a little window at the back of the store that showed men in the factory working. Unfortunately, they had gotten all the cheese made early that day so we just saw the cleanup process.
But, the real fun was inside the store. We bought a BUNCH of different kinds of cheeses to take home to family. The worker cooked up some grilling cheese for us to try and it was soo good. We had never had grilled cheese like that before. She served it on a a cracker with some orange fig jelly. You know we ended up buying some. We had three bags full which meant that every night for the next week we had to bring it all in and transfer it from our little cooler into the mini fridge in our rooms. Worth it! We were able to get them all home in good condition!
After our cheese adventure we went to a place called Wisconsin Dells. It is a touristy town on the Wisconsin River. They have different boat rides on the upper and lower dells. we decided to do the fun jet boat tour on the upper dells. It was super fun. Our pilot made sure we all got wet in our speed boating adventures with full stops when going fast and full on three sixty's. The cool water was a welcome surprise! We went to a place called the witches gulch. It was a really pretty place with different formations of rock.
One thing that was not fun was one of the ladies on the boat, an large older lady was having trouble getting out of the boat. With the pilot and Rick's help she was able to get out but fell straight onto her knees on the hot pavement. After getting her up we thought all was well so we started walking to the foot path. All of a sudden there was a loud noise and we looked back and the lady had completely fainted. We ran back and the poor pilot was trying to get her to come to. She was out for probably four or five minutes and by the time the guys could get her up she had been laying on the hot metal dock. We could see that she had skin falloing off of her from where the dock had burned her. Anyway, with the help of another pilot and her family members they were able to get her up and into the shade. The medics came and took her away to get some care. Scary stuff! I felt so bad for her.
After the commotion we walked through the gulch enjoying the beautiful scenery.
After the jet boat tour we walked around town to find some lunch.
We ate at a bakery that had sandwiches and salads:)
Afterward we walked in a couple of gift shops.
I was glad to get a picture of dad with a cheesehead.
After Wisconsin Dells we drove around and saw the beautiful farmland. We stopped at one more cheese shop and got to see people actually making cheese. It was pretty cool!
We ended our day back in La Cross at our Courtyard Hotel.
The next day was Monday and we drove back into Minnesota over to Lanesboro. I had read that they have a cool biking trail and I had been excited to try it out. Lanesboro was a cute town and we got there early to beat the heat. We rented a couple of ebikes and rode the ten miles to Preston. It was a really nice ride. At one point we saw a sign that said selfie station. We decided to veer off our route to go see the beautiful view at the selfie station. We rode for about a mile and couldn't see anything that might be it. We did ride over a couple of bridges and thru some nice foliage but we ended up turning around to get back on the right trail. As we came up to the crossroads I laughed when I saw the "selfie station" right there. It was just a little sign that could hold your phone while you take a picture. We both had a good laugh and then took a selfie.
We got back on our path until we came up to the town of Preston.
It had this cute old train station next to a historic mill. It looked very picturesque so I had to get a picture. We rode around the small town and took a few pictures then got back on the trail to head back. We put our bikes in turbo gear and flew down the trail to get back to Lanesboro for lunch.
We turned our bikes in and stopped at a cute place for some grub. Coincidentally, the restaurant was called Pedal Pushers. My salad was super delish! Rick got a pot pie with some cole slaw.
After lunch we got back on the road to head to Dyersville, Iowa. the home of "The Field of Dreams". We love that movie and Rick likes to go to places where movies have been filmed so we had to get there. I got a couple nice shots of the house and field...and the magical corn, of course.
There was a nice gift shop on the property and we thought about buying a hat or something but we didn't we just enjoyed being there.
"People will come, Ray"😁
We stayed that night in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
We stopped at Almost Famous popcorn store and bought some of their "famous" crunch berry popcorn. Who knew but Cedar Rapids is the hometown factory for quaker oats and they make captain crunch cereal and even have a day to celebrate Crunch Berry Days. I found out that this Almost Famous popcorn has a specialty popcorn called Crunch Berry. You know I had to get some because Crunch Berry is one of my most favorite sugar cereals. Also, while we were there we found some really fun bottled sodas. One brand waas called Totally Gross Soda. It had names like Kitty Piddle, Bug Barf, Alien Snot in wild colors. We thought the kids would like them so we bought a bunch to bring home!
Rick also wanted to stop at the Quaker Oats Factory. This is the picture below. Kind of anticlimactic. It was just a factory. I think he was hoping to go inside and go on a tour, I mean wouldn't that be so awesome to see these cereals being made? But alas, no tour available.
Next we drove about twenty miles to the south to get to a place called Amana Communities. It is seven historic religious German communities that used to live as a communal society. It was a co-op system rooted in their religious beliefs. There was no private ownership. The community owned everything. They all ate together and worked together. They disbanded the communal society in 1932.
Now the old buildings are restaurants, and gift shops. I enjoyed perusing the shops while Rick took a nap on a bench in the shade. He woke up for the candy store, though!😅
After the Amana Colonies we drove the next two hours to get to Des Moines. Our next overnighter.
The next morning we traveled a few miles to get to a town called Winterset. It is the birthplace of John Wayne. The museum was very nice. We started out with a short film about his life and movies. We then were able to go inside two different large rooms that told about all of his movies. There were awards, old costumes, posters of his movies, signs telling us of his career, and even his old station wagon that he had refurbished to fit his tall stature. He was married three times and had quite a few children. He loved his family and sounds like a really good man. We got to walk through the tiny home that he was born in. he only liived there a couple of years before his pharmacist father found a different job in another city. But this place has grown to be the biggest museum of his life.
How about this AI picture of us??
Rick trying on some John Wayne getup.
We didn't buy any clothes but I did find a cookbook and Rick found two different books that he wanted to buy.
Here is the Duke's birthplace house.
That night we drove to Omaha and attended the Winter Quarter's Temple. We had been to that temple many years ago but only walked the grounds. this time we were able to go in and do an endowment.
The grounds were very beautiful and have a special area dedicated to the pioneers who died there.
The next day we drove towards Kearney, Nebraska. We were hungry when we got there and found a cool place called tasty bowl. We got to choose our noodles, meat and veggies to go in our bowl and then it was cooked by a robotic wok. We thought it was pretty cool to watch. And then we got to eat it and it was super delish!
Next we stopped at the Archway Museum for a couple of hours. The museum spans I-80 and is a tribute to the westward expansion as well as the innovation of travel from the handcarts and wagons to trains and cars. We learned all about the highway system and how it changed the way people lived and could travel. It was a really enjoyable stop.
We also learned of the Martin Brothers and there harrowing experience with some hostile Indians. They lived to tell the tale and a statue was made in their honor and sits outside the museum.
We stayed in North Platte that night. The one fun thing that we did in North Platte was eat at a Tepanyaki style restaurant. We slept well and then got on the road to Fort Collins for our last temple. We grabbed a quick lunch and then headed to the temple. This temple is really beautiful (with a unique blue roof.) It is in a new neighborhood of the city. We did a session and then made our way to Rawlins where we spent our last night.
The next day was Sunday so we found a church to attend and then drove the six hours to get home. After two long weeks we were happy to walk through the door. We put over FOUR THOUSAND MILES on our car and finally got to the last three states on our list. FIFTY STATES, YAY!! A momentous occasion! We got to see and do o many wonderful things on this trip. I am so grateful to be able make these wonderful memories with my best friend at my side!
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