Dinosaur National Monument North Platte to Craig August 10, 2016 Miles Driven: 332 Parks Visited: 1   Holy Moly! I do not understand why Dinosaur is not a national park. It’s like a slightly shallower Grand Canyon with piles of dinosaur bones. In fact, I did ask the owners of the Bedrock Depot, while I was sipping…

Scotts Bluff National Monument & Fort Laramie National Historic Site North Platte to Craig August 9, 2016 Miles Driven: 653 Parks Visited: 2   I saw a moose!   In the middle of a clearing. He was just standing there. No mistake about it. I think I saw two moose in Yellowstone, but I’m really not sure….

no destinations Chamberlain to Morton August 2, 2016 Miles Driven: 700 Parks Visited: 0   700 miles is a long drive in the car by yourself. Wait, I wasn’t really by myself. Chickie was with me. For those who don’t know, Chickie, my brother’s, bedraggled, 35-year-old, stuffed chick, travels the world with family members. Truly Chickie has been…

Badlands National Park Spearfish to Chamberlain August 1, 2016 Miles Driven: 278 Parks Visited: 1   As I sit down to write this entry, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly just came on television. How oddly appropriate given that I just passed through the Badlands and got a belly full of Western kitsch in Wall,…

Jewel Cave National Monument In Spearfish July 31, 2016 Miles Driven: 205 Parks Visited: 1   I did it! And it was great! What might that ‘it’ be, you ask? Today I dared myself to take the ~800 step, Scenic Cave Tour at Jewel Cave and I finished without having to be rescused. Basically, I started…

Wind Cave National Monument & Mount Rushmore National Memorial In Spearfish July 30, 2016 Miles Driven: 239 Parks Visited: 2   I’ve been on the stairmaster today. I’ve had philosophical thoughts. And I’ve eaten more pizza.   Bison and bison ‘pups’ were in abundance to greet me as I drove into Wind Cave this morning. The signs were…

Devils Tower National Monument Sheridan to Spearfish July 29, 2016 Miles Driven: 237 Parks Visited: 1   Let me start at the end again. I just ate dinner at the cutest, most eclectic, incredibly yummy pizza place with the nicest (ever) staff. I stumbled upton The Dough Trader simply by looking on Yelp. What a find! If you…

Big Hole National Battlefield & Little Bighorn NM Butte to Sheridan July 28, 2016 Miles Driven: 527 Parks Visited: 2   Life imitates art once more. As the long day was coming to a close, I pulled out my trusty list of accommodations to check the hotel where I’d be staying this eve. I abruptly discovered that there…

Big Hole National Battlefield Yellowstone National Park Idaho Falls to Butte July 27, 2016 Miles Driven: 374 Parks Visited: 1   My word for the day is ‘detour’. I suppose it was inevitable. I had planned to drive near to Yellowstone twice over these two days, just to get close. After all, I knew that I didn’t have any…

Craters of the Moon NM Twin Falls to Idaho Falls July 26, 2016 Miles Driven: 195 Parks Visited: 2   What a spectacular day! For a change I’ll work backwards. First, I arrived to find the motel I booked was the cutest accommodations. It overlooks the river and falls. It has that quaint feel of a…