Got back yesterday. We covered 5700 miles. The trip was kind of rushed because we wanted to fit so much stuff in, but it was a lot of fun.
Leaving from here (southern Indiana, 45 minutes from Louisville, KY), we took I-64W to St. Louis where we got onto I-70W. After reaching Kansas City, we took I-29N into Iowa and then into South Dakota. That was day one. We slept in the car that night at a rest stop.
The next morning we got onto I-90W and drove across the state and saw the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore. I had seen both of them before but it was a first for my dad. We then continued on into Wyoming and drove out to Devil’s Tower. We stayed that night at a Super 8 hotel close to the Wyoming/Montana border off I-90W.
The next day we drove across Montana and then into the northern portion of Idaho. We then continued on into Washington where we got off the interstate and onto US Route 395. We took 395 south until we reached Pasco, Washington. We camped that night along the Columbia River at the Washington/Oregon border. The campground we stayed in was called Hood Park and was located in the McNary Wildlife Refuge. The campground we stayed in was so serene and peaceful. We were shaded by trees and overlooked the river. Very few people were in the campground that day, so we enjoyed some solitude, as well.
The next day we continued on 395 going south in Oregon. We then proceeded to Crater Lake National Park. Unfortunately when we got to Crater Lake, they were in the process of getting a 2 foot snow. We drove up the mountain to the giftshop in the park, but the snow was coming down so hard that we couldn’t see the lake. It was crazy, they said they get 40 feet of snow in the park per year, and we couldn’t climb up to the see the lake because of 20 foot snow banks around the rim. After carefully making our way back down the mountain and out of the park, we drove to I-5S and went to Redding, California where we stayed the night in a Motel 6. We ate at a Mexican restaurant and the food was awesome.
The next day took California state highway 299 through the mountains and alongside the Trinity River. We drove till we got to US Route 101 and then along side the ocean and into Redwood National Park. We stopped at the visitor center near Orik, California and got a map of the park. We then drove into the park and stopped at the Big Tree Wayside. We hiked back into the woods a ways and came to a tree that was 23 feet in diameter (72 feet around) and over 300 feet tall. It is the biggest tree I’ve ever seen. The path continued further in the woods and we got a chance to take some amazing photographs and videos of these huge trees. The thing about these trees is that photographs do not do them justice. You can’t tell how large they are from a photograph unless you have a person standing in the photo to use for scale. After leaving the park, we stopped in Orik, California again and ate another Mexican dinner at a place called the Hacienda (I think). I love Mexican food, I eat it a lot, even here in Indiana. This was the best Mexican food I have ever had. Period. I had a chimichunga (deep fried burrito) filled with rice and beans and pork al pastor. After leaving the restaurant we drove back to Redding and stayed at the Motel 6 another night.
The next morning we left Redding, California and began our trip home. We drove down I-5S to Sacramento, California and got onto I-80E. We left California and went in Nevada and then into northern Utah. Once we got to Utah, we entered the Great Salt Lake Desert. I have driven through this area before, and I am always amazed at how desolate and surreal the landscape is. As we left the desert, we came to the Great Salt Lake and Salt Lake City. That night we stayed at a Ramada Inn close to the airport and had a nice meal and some drinks at the lounge.
After waking up in Salt Lake City the next morning, we moved on into Wyoming. From time to time snow flurries would come down, but we didn’t really think anything about it. After driving half way across the interstate, however, the ran into a road block on I-80E and discovered the interstate was closed down because of high winds accompanied by snow close to Laramie, Wyoming and Elk Mountain. As we waited at a truck stop (close to exit 215, I think), more and more vehicles began to pile up on the exit. There were hundreds of cars a semis pile up and parking along side this little country road off the exit. It was chaos. We sat like this for several hours, and the state high way patrol was telling people that it could be the next day before the interstate opens back up. My dad and I decided we should probably go get a room instead of sleeping in the car because it was supposed to get down below 20 degrees that night. Unfortunately all the hotels in the area were full or charging exorbitant rates due to people being stranded. Fortunately, though, we found KOA campground that had little heated cabins for $45 a night. Since we had sleeping bags and other camping gear, this worked out great. The cabins were very rustic. Just a 12’X12’ room with two beds and a small desk. The bathroom and showers were in a different building for the whole campground to share. The campground had 5 cabins, and we were the only people who stayed in them that night. We got out the laptop and watched an Indiana Jones movie, drank a few beers and listened to some music and read. It was a great afternoon/evening. We turned a really sucky situation into a great time. Looking back, the cabin was probably one of the best times I had on the whole trip. I’m thinking of trying to get a small lot near one of the local lakes close to here and building one myself now.
After reluctantly leaving our cabins, we continued on the next day. Continuing on I-80E, we left Wyoming and drove through Nebraska. Once we got to Iowa, we caught I-29S and moved back into Missouri to Kansas City. In Kansas City we took I-70E. We stopped about 45 minutes from St. Louis and got a room off the interstate in a dive (a really run down motel). We had thought that we could try to just drive through the night, after 16 hours of driving, my dad was getting really tired. I wasn’t sure if I could finish driving another 5 hours home by myself, so we made the choice to get the room.
The next morning we woke up and got out of dodge as quickly as possible. Nasty motel. Anyways, we continued on across Missouri and caught I-64 in St. Louis. After moving across Illinois, it was nice to be back in Indiana. We got to my dad’s house about 2:00 pm. After sorting out all the stuff in the car, I left and drove to my house.
The End. :)
Oh, and here’s a map of the states we saw on this trip.
create your own personalized map of the USA3 years ago
