We recently completed the most epic road trip of our lives. We went 6,200 miles from our home in the Triangle area of North Carolina to Yellowstone National Park and back again in 13 days. Now, a lot of people think we are crazy – and we might be – but we LOVE a road trip vacation more than anything else. And this Yellowstone road trip was one we will remember the rest of our lives.

When you are planning a road trip you have to ask yourself the question – “Do you want to see a lot of a little or a little of a lot?” There is no wrong answer to this question. Depending on where we are going we can answer it multiple ways. Right now in our lives when we are traveling farther away from our house we want to see a little of a lot. We believe that if we can get a good feel for different areas, we will go back to the places we want to explore more in depth. This trip gave us plenty of those spots.

So, how do you pack 6,200 miles in 13 days? You do a lot of driving and you see a lot of the country. And it was incredible! Before we get to our itinerary, a couple of answers to some common questions.

What Did You Drive?

So, if you follow us on Instagram you know that we have recently converted a school bus into an RV. At the time of our trip, our skoolie was not 100% ready so we took our car. We probably would have done this even if the skoolie was ready because we had a lot of ground to cover and the skoolie doesn’t get places too fast. No way we would have made it and experienced all we experienced if we took the bus.

Where Did You Sleep?

Ok, we love to camp but for this trip we stayed in hotels, namely the Hampton Inn. We are Hilton Honors members and we were able to get some really great deals. it is easy to sign up and it saved us some cake. There were plenty of nights where we did stay at a couple of airbnbs and local hotels.

We are glad we did this because driving like that can get tiring. It was good to have a cozy bed and warm shower every night. We actually met a family from North Carolina while we were in the Badlands in South Dakota who was camping. They were loving it a couple of days into their trip. We just so happened to see this same family again in Yellowstone at Mammoth Springs. Though they loved their trip, they were starting to get pretty drained. Having a room to sleep in helped keep us refreshed.

Was It Expensive?

Well, we are not rich by any stretch of the imagination and we were able to do it. The key for us was saving up and budgeting while on the trip. We actually did it for under what we had budgeted. In all, the trip cost us around $4,000. This includes gas, hotels, food, souvenirs, and everything else. We have spent more on a week long Disney trip.

What Did We Eat?

One of the reasons we love to travel is because we get to try out all of the local foods. When we did our big San Antonio trip we had a blast trying out some incredible food. This trip though we weren’t able to do that as much. We visited a ton of National Parks (21 sites in total) and did a lot of driving so we mostly packed a lunch or got some fast food. Not our favorite way to do it (well, we love picnics, just not fast food), but we did what we had to do on this trip. This definitely wasn’t a foodie trip, but we did find a couple of good spots.

Now that those preliminary questions are out of the way, here is our itinerary for the trip…

Day 1 – Apex, NC to Richmond, IN

So, we left around noon on a Sunday and we wanted to get as far west as we could. We really did not stop too many places, we tried to get as many miles away as possible. On a long weekend we can visit most of the states that we went through, so we didn’t want to stop at too many places on this leg of the trip.

We drove through parts of North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana. In total we drove for about 9 hours. For future reference, we typically had the cruise control set at 7 or 8 over the posted speed limit.

Favorite Part Of The Day: Driving on the West Virginia Turnpike. This was the only toll road that we took the whole trip, but it was a beautiful drive.

Total Miles: 550 miles

Day 2 – Richmond, IN to Mason City, IA

So, this is where the trip really started for us. We got over 500 miles in the first day and we wanted to get going early so we could stop at a couple of spots on day 2. We cut across Indiana and Illinois, then crossed the Mississippi River on our way into Iowa. Pretty cool how all of the “I” states are right next to each other. We had never been to Iowa but knew we wanted to make a couple of stops. We ended up spending the whole day in Northeast Iowa and had a blast. This state is beautiful, green everywhere. And the people are amazing!

Field Of Dreams Movie Site

Our first stop in Iowa was the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville. This is one of Justin’s favorite movies of all-time so when we saw that we were passing through there we knew we had to stop. When we pulled up we felt like we were in Heaven. It is just like the movie. The house, the field, the bleachers – just spectacular. We packed our gloves and were able to play catch, field some grounders, and run around the bases. And, of course we walked in and out of the cornfields. You can go into the house but there is a fee for the 30-minute tour. If you are ever in the area, make sure you check it out!

Effigy Mounds National Monument

The first National Park unit we visited was Effigy Mounds National Monument. This park is in Northeast Iowa in Harpers Ferry on the banks of the Mississippi River. To get there you will have to take the Iowa Scenic Byway along the river, so pretty! This park is known for its American Indian mounds. These have been here for hundreds of years. We had a blast hiking around the beautiful grounds hunting down the animal shaped mounds. We also enjoyed learning about the different theories out there as to why they made them in the first place. If you go, know that the north end of the park is where you will do the climbing up to the cliffs. It is a tough hike, but doable for most people.

Pikes Peak State Park

Pikes Peak State Park is located just south of McGregor, Iowa. This is a great place to go hiking along the cliffs of the Mississippi. From this park you will have a ton of great views of the river. You even have a waterfall just a short hike from the main parking lot. There is no entry fee to get into the park, but there are fees for camping. Overall, there are 11 and a half miles of hiking with views of the surrounding towns, Bridal Veil Falls, fossil remains, and the sheer limestone walls. This is a great place to stop for the afternoon – or spend the night if you have a skoolie or RV.

Historic McGregor

McGregor, Iowa is a historic town on the Mississippi River in between Effigy Mounds and Pikes Peak State Park. This town rose to prominence during the 1870’s because the ferry service that ran between the two banks of the river. When a train was headed west, they would disassemble the cars, ferry them across, and put them back together in McGregor. At that time, McGregor was the busiest shipping port west of Chicago. Unfortunately for the town, the railroads decided to build a bridge, and the boom town went bust.

Today though McGregor is a quaint little downtown that transports you back in time. They have some pretty cool shops, a lot of food options, and even an “old west” themed area. McGregor is a great place to take a break after a day at one of the two local parks.

Barrel Drive-In

Barrel Drive In. Yep, that’s the name. The Barrel Drive In is a 1950’s era drive in diner located in West Union, Iowa that specializes in broasted chicken. If you are wondering what broasted chicken is – we were too. We asked our carhop what it was. His response “it is chicken that is put in our broaster.” Well…thanks, I guess? We laughed and laughed because we have no idea what a broaster is anyway. (The service here was awesome, the kid we asked was like 13 and had no idea, but they were amazing!!!)

So, broasted chicken is a midwest tradition. It is kind of like fried chicken but cooked with a combination of pressure cooking and deep frying. It is pretty delicious. The best things that we had there though were the onion rings, the milkshakes, and Megan especially loved the chocolate malt. We felt like we were in Back To The Future when we were there. Definitely check that out.

Favorite Part Of The Day: Playing catch with our son on the Field of Dreams.

Total Miles: 641 miles

Day 3 – Mason City, IA to Wasta, SD

This was our last day of really burning up miles on our trip. We knew the first three days would be full of driving, and at the end of this day we would have close to 1700 miles under our belts. Our destination for the night was an awesome little airbnb in Wasta, South Dakota about 30 minutes outside of Badlands National Park. In order to get there, we had to head north to I-90, which so happens to have plenty of quick roadside attractions to stop at. This was that kind of day (except for our stop at Pipestone).

Stockman House

Frank Lloyd Wright is considered the greatest architect in American history. In 1908 he built a house, The Stockman House, in Mason City, Iowa. This house remains as an early example of the Prairie School style of architecture. We aren’t really into architecture, but were wowed by this building. What stood out to us the most was the fact that it was built so long ago. The house feels so modern yet it is over 100 years old.

Tours are available on a first come, first served basis. They can get expensive, around $15 per person and they last an hour. If you want to just walk around the grounds you are able to do that. We happened upon someone who was part of the historical society. They were great and told us all we needed to know.

Jolly Green Giant Statue

Yes, we stopped in Blue Earth, Minnesota to visit the Jolly Green Giant statue. This is actually a really great place to stop and stretch out your legs. They have a great visitor’s center with really clean bathrooms. Naturally, we picked up a pin for our collection.

The statue itself is massive, standing over 55 feet tall. You can climb the stairs and get a picture underneath the massive vegetable mascot. It is a quick stop off of exit 119. You can visit it and be back on the road in about 15 minutes.

Lange’s Cafe

We went to Pipestone, Minnesota to check out Pipestone National Monument. This is about a 30-minute drive off of I-90. We got there around lunch time and stopped at Lange’s Cafe. This is the place that everyone told us to check out and we are so glad we did. It is an awesome little diner that has some great comfort food. All of it was extremely fresh, I guess because it is surrounded by so many farms. Their specialty though is their desserts. They have just about every kind of pie you can think of. We got a slice of the lemon merengue and it was bomb!

Pipestone National Monument

Our next stop was Pipestone National Monument. We had no idea what to expect and that is a really great thing. It is so fun to be unexpectedly blown away and this place did that for us. Pipestone is an old quarry where American Indians dug for the pipestone that they turned into different items, most notably pipes.

There is so much natural beauty here. The main trail takes about an hour to do and it takes you through the whole park. You walk through the Tall Grass Prairie, the Pipestone Rock Formations, climb to get a view up top and see the oracle, walk to Winnewissa Falls, follow the river path and see an active quarry. So much to see in less than a mile! This really is a great place for kids to run and explore. Don’t forget to get your junior ranger badge too!

Corn Palace

Our next stop was the world’s only Corn Palace. This is a tourist spot for sure, but we wanted to get off the highway and take a quick break so we checked it out. The Corn Palace is in Mitchell, South Dakota off of exit 332 on I-90. It is a basketball arena made out of corn (not entirely, but the murals on the outside are). Admission to get into the building is free (and we even got free popcorn while we were there). There is a fun gift shop area on the basketball court and some other displays. The surrounding area has a bunch of little shops, restaurants, and places to get some sweets. For us, we were glad to take a little break and see something unique. You should see it once in your life, that might be it.

Dignity Statue

Another stop right off of I-90 is the Dignity Statue at exit 263. We would not call this a roadside attraction, it is a beautiful work of art celebrating the Lakota and Dakota people of South Dakota. This incredible 50-foot tall monument overlooks the Missouri River outside of Chamberlain, South Dakota. They have some hiking trails there that you can take down to the river. It is pretty steep so be prepared for that if you want to take the hike. This is definitely a can’t miss in our minds.

Wall Drug

Well, what trip to South Dakota is complete without a trip to Wall and maybe the world’s most famous tourist trap, Wall Drug. This isn’t usually our thing, but we felt like we had to stop because we were there. This place is massive, the whole town block is owned by Wall Drug, and the surrounding area is full of stores and restaurants.

Wall Drug is something, just room after room of souvenirs, $.05 coffee, statues of famous cowboys, animatronic scenes, stuffed animals and playgrounds. There are plenty of places to put quarters in machines and to spend your money. Come prepared – one way or the other. Our favorite part of our time in Wall was by the giant dinosaur at Exit 110.

Favorite Part Of The Day: The unexpected greatness of the Pipestone waterfall.

Total Miles: 569 miles

Day 4 – Wasta, SD to Rockerville, SD

Day 4 of our trip was the day that we were able to kind of breathe and not travel as much. We wanted to spend the majority of our time exploring the Badlands and that is what we did. This National Park is amazing, we would go back there right now. When we go to National Parks we try and get there as early as possible. It is so much better to beat the heat and crowds. This is what we did this day.

Wasta is about 25 miles to the west of the Badlands, so we had to circle back east to get there. Not a big deal and we were happy with our place in Wasta. And, it just so happens to be that there is another National Park Site at the exit to the Badlands (Exit 131 off of I-90).

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

Minuteman Missile tells the story of the thousands of Cold War Era missile silos spread throughout the plains of the United States. These were hidden in plain sight and you can still tour some of these facilities today. In order to do that you need to get a reservation. When we were traveling here they were not offering tours underground, so we were only able to go to the visitors center and tour the museum. They have a great place there and it is worth a quick 20 or 30 minute stop to learn a little, get your Junior Ranger badge, and pick up your stamp.

Badlands National Park

The highlight of our day and one of the highlights of our whole trip was our time spent in the Badlands. We had driven by the day before and were blown away from the road. When we got to explore up close – just wow! This is one of the best National Parks we have been to. There is a north unit and south unit to this park. When we went the south unit was closed.

We got there around 9:30 because we had to hit up Minuteman Missile first, but we still beat most of the crowds. In total we spent about 7 hours at this park. This was one of the days were we packed a lunch because there isn’t a lot around. We feel like we got a good overview of the park, we didn’t get to hike some of the longer trails, but we did do the ones that we wanted to.

We were able to hike the Door Trail, Window Trail, Notch Trail (has a fun ladder and great views at the end), Cliff Shelf (straight up), Saddle Pass, and Fossil Exhibit. That is only 3.5 miles of (marked) trails, but the Badlands has an open hiking policy, so you can hike wherever you want to in the park, on the trail or off. For instance, the Door Trail goes on and on and on past the maintained entrance. We loved climbing all over the place here. Our kid especially loved it – no rules! He loved jumping from rock to rock, just be careful, there are some pretty big drops (and snakes!). It gets hot hiking here so make sure you have plenty of water.

Most people exit the park at the Pinnacle Entrance and head north on 240 to Wall. We decided to drive all the way down the Sage Creek Rim Road and exit to highway 44. This took us through the wilderness area and we saw a ton of bison, bighorn sheep, pronghorns, and prairie dog towns. There are also a ton of really great overlooks and the drive is just beautiful! Much of this section is gravel road, so be prepared for that.

Dinosaur Park

When we left Badlands we headed to our hotel in Rockerville, the Rockerville Lodge. They have cabins and a hotel, we stayed in the hotel. This place was great – an awesome price, great location, friendly staff, and wonderful rooms. We highly recommend this place.

We had to drive through Rapid City to get there so we got some food at a Culver’s and had a picnic at Dinosaur Park. This park is located on Skyline Drive overlooking Rapid City. We recommend this road even if you are not visiting the park. It has a ton of great views of the city. Dinosaur Park is full of giant green concrete dinosaurs. It was built in 1936 and has entertained visitors for generations. It looks old, but it is something fun for kids. You do have to climb up a bunch of stairs to the park from the parking lot. Not fun after climbing all over the Badlands.

Rapid City is a cool town as well. The downtown is great and has plenty to do. Many people use this as a launching off point for a South Dakota vacation. It is centrally located and a good option.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

We still had about an hour of daylight so we headed up to Mount Rushmore. We were planning on doing this the next day, but because of the time we decided to go ahead and do it. This was one of the most disappointing parts of our whole trip.

When we went everything was closed off. The walkway with the flags, the trail down to the base of the mountain. The only thing that was open was the plaza. It is beautiful, we just had a pretty bad experience. We actually liked our views from the Iron Mountain Highway the next day better. Sometimes when you are traveling things don’t go as you had hoped, it is part of it.

Favorite Part Of The Day: The Notch Trail at Badlands National Park. The ladder was great and we had the whole trail to ourselves.

Total Miles: 201 miles

Day 5 – Rockerville, SD to Deadwood, SD

This was a day we were super excited about. Our plan was to explore the Black Hills of South Dakota and see all that we could. We pretty much did a giant loop in the order listed below. We were able to visit two National Park sites and probably the best State Park we have ever been to.

The reason why we were able to visit so much was because the two caves that are part of the National Park System that we went to were both closed. We were only able to do some hiking above ground, check out the visitors centers, and drive around. We did get in plenty of fun at Custer State Park which made it an amazing day.

Custer State Park

We woke up really early and headed to Custer State Park. This was a place that we were really excited to visit. We have a full day trip post on Custer, so check it out. We will just give you the highlights here.

Custer is all about the roads you take. We entered by the Iron Mountain Highway. This is an incredible drive and one you can’t miss. There are some epic views of Mt. Rushmore through the tunnels and they have some awesome corkscrew bridges. We had never been on these before and they are so much fun. This takes you through Black Hills National Forest and drops you off at the east entrance of Custer.

The next drive is the Wildlife Loop. We went there first because we wanted to be able to see the wildlife in the morning. We were not disappointed. The highlight of the road was getting stuck in a bison traffic jam. It is scary and fun to have these massive animals walk all around your car. You get up close and personal. If you are lucky you might even see the begging burros.

The third main drive is Needles Highway. You have to do this. It takes you high up to the needle shaped rock formations. It is like you are in another world. This road is unlike anything we had ever seen. Just spectacular.

At the end of Needles Highway you get to Sylvan Lake. This is one of the four main lakes at Custer. All of them have their own beaches and you can swim in them. We visited all of them but Sylvan stands out as the best. The rock formations and trails in and around the lake are so unique. We loved our time here.

Overall we were in Custer for about 9 hours. We could stay there for multiple days no problem. We did a lot of hiking, but we weren’t able to do all of the trails we wanted to. This should be a National Park, it is that good.

Wind Cave National Park

Wind Cave is the 7th National Park in the whole system. This park is just south of Custer State Park. When we went the cave was closed, but there were still plenty of activities to do. This park is beautiful; full of bison, prairie dogs, and other wildlife. There are plenty of trails to keep you busy as well. We were able to hike to one of the entrances to the cave, but we really only were here for about an hour total.

Jewel Cave National Monument

This was another quick stop that would have been longer had the cave been open. We ended up taking the trail along the visitor’s center. There are some pretty cool views from up there. The visitor’s center is pretty great, the main area is a replica of the cave, but it would have been way cooler to be able to get into the cave.

Deadwood

We ended the day in Deadwood. This place was on our list because it is one of the main Old West towns that you can visit today. This is where Wild Bill was gunned down and the Dead Man’s Hand originated. We visited the tombstones of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane and checked out the super touristy downtown area. There are plenty of re-enactments and Old West saloons that you can check out. For us, it was a little bit of a let down. It wasn’t what we expected from Deadwood, just a little too commercialized for us. We would recommend going and checking it out (especially if you are into the Old West), we didn’t hate it, just didn’t love it.

Favorite Part Of The Day: Getting stuck in the bison traffic jam.

Total Miles: 143 miles

Day 6 – Deadwood, SD to Gardiner, MT

This might have been the most frustrating travel day we have ever had, but we had some amazing experiences along the way. Our goal was to get to Gardiner, Montana outside of the north entrance to Yellowstone. We wanted to hit up Devil’s Tower, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area and Little Bighorn along the way. We made it to two of the three and ended up driving about 300 miles that we shouldn’t have.

The reason is because the website for Little Bighorn had the wrong hours of operation. If it had the right times, we would have just headed to Gardiner after Bighorn Canyon. Instead, we drove for hours and hours out of the way. This area of the country is so difficult to get to, so we wanted to hit up Little Bighorn while we could. We probably would have gone to the north end of Bighorn Canyon instead of the south if we had the right hours. Of course, we think that the south entrance is where it is at! One negative of taking this route was we didn’t get to do the Beartooth Highway. This is one we will be doing next time.

This was the second latest we arrived at one of our hotels during this trip. We got in around 11:00 pm. Not ideal because we had to get up super early the next day to go to Yellowstone!

Devil’s Tower National Monument

Devil’s Tower is the first National Monument in the United States. The tower is an awe-inspiring 1,200+ foot rock formation that looks like the trunk of an ancient tree. This rock has meant so much to so many through the years and looking at it you can easily see why. The cost to get in is pretty steep (pardon the pun) at $25 per car (thank you National Park pass). There are some great hiking trails, but there is little to no shade and the trails are steep the farther you get from the mountain (is it a mountain?). If you are going, get there early because parking is limited and it fills up fast.

Wyoming Scenic Byway/Bighorn National Forest

So, in order to get to the south entrance of Bighorn Canyon from the east you have to take Highway 14 through the Bighorn National Forest. Let us tell you, this is one of the most beautiful drives you will ever go on. But, you better be comfortable with steep grades both ways. We are talking first gear all the way.

Bighorn National Forest is gorgeous. Highway 14 takes you to the top of the mountains and you get to drive through beautiful mountain meadows covered in flowers and streams. It is like you are in the Sound of Music. There are plenty of places to get out and walk around. Simply stunning. the views coming down on the western side of Burgess Junction are just ridiculous. It is almost like you are going to take off through the clouds. We did this in July and there was still snow on the ground. That was kind of weird for us North Carolinians.

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area is one of the lesser known National Park sites in this area. With so many other great options this one is just passed over (and it is tough to get to). The south unit visitor’s center is in Lovell, Wyoming. We had a great experience there with the park rangers. The actual entrance to the park is about 15 miles away. We had the whole park to ourselves.

There are a bunch of trails but because our schedule was so wacky this day we only had time to check out some of the scenic overlooks. They were spectacular! The Devil’s Canyon Overlook was one of the coolest things we saw this whole trip. We were all in awe of how amazing it was. This canyon is massive and nobody has heard of it! If you have time, check it out. We would love to one day take a boat along the river at the bottom.

We made it to Gardiner and checked in to the Yellowstone Big Rock Inn. This place was great. We got a really good price for the location. Room was really big. If you are staying for a couple of days, this place would be perfect. Unfortunately, we were only in the room for about 8 hours!

Favorite Part Of The Day: Getting to our hotel room after 16 hours on the road (but also Bighorn Canyon).

Total Miles: 735 miles

Day 7 – Gardiner, MT to Island Park, ID

By this time we had already had enough fun and made enough memories to last until the next road trip, but we were only halfway there! This was day one of two here in Yellowstone. We still had plenty of fun and adventures left.

The main reason why we stayed in Gardiner was because it is by the north entrance – home of the Roosevelt Arch. Roosevelt just happened to be vacationing at Yellowstone when the cornerstone to the arch was going to be laid. He was asked to say some words and lay the cornerstone, because of that, the arch was named after him. We got there early in the morning, were the only ones there (except a jogger who took our picture), and had a blast walking in and around it.

Yellowstone National Park Day 1

What can you say about Yellowstone? This is America’s first National Park. We had never been here before and honestly we were worried that our expectations would not be met. Everyone who has come here has gone away just scratching their heads at how crazy awesome this place is. After two days this place had the same impact on us.

You can’t grasp how big this park is until you actually go there. Because of that, it takes a long time to get from one place to another – that isn’t a bad thing, because the drive is full of awesome stops. We had a bunch of people tell us that you could spend months here and never see it all. We thought there is no way. They were right. We felt like we did a ton in two days and yet there is so much that we left unexplored. We cannot wait to get back to this place. It is like you are in another world.

There were a ton of other things that we did at Yellowstone, many not mentioned below. So many quick stops for animal viewing or viewpoints. These are just the highlights.

Lamar Valley

We entered Yellowstone around 6:30 am and headed to Lamar Valley. This is where you go to see wildlife. We wanted to get there early because that is when the animals are the most active. It took about an hour to get there. We would recommend getting there by 7. Lamar Valley is huge – make sure you bring binoculars. There are plenty of places to pull of and check everything out. When we were there we saw tons of bison, a brown and cinnamon bear, pronghorns, and a couple of wolves. It was awesome.

Cooke City

At the end of Lamar Valley is the Silver Gate. This is one of the least used gates to the park. We decided to slip out real quick and head to Cooke City to get some breakfast. This is a cool little mountain town with some fun shops and cafes. We stopped at Pilot’s Perk for some good coffee and breakfast sandwiches. While we were waiting for our food on the outside deck we watched a bison walk right down the middle of the street. Too cool.

Random Stops

Lamar Valley is in the northeast corner of the park. In order to get back to the main part of the park we had to double back through the valley. We stopped at a ton of great spots – don’t miss that at Yellowstone. Right by the Silver Gate there is a sheer rock wall that has mountain goats on it.

We were not able to take the road between Tower Falls and Canyon Village because it was closed. If it wasn’t, we would have hit up Tower Falls and Mt. Washburn. We were pretty bummed about that.

Because that road was closed, we took the road back to Mammoth Hot Springs. Along the way we hit up Slough Creek, a nice trail where you can see some wildlife and saw the petrified tree. Just a couple of little stops along the way.

Wraith Falls

We were driving to Mammoth Hot Springs and saw a sign for Wraith Falls and we thought, why not? This is a quick half-mile trail to the waterfall. This is why Yellowstone is so cool. There is so much to see and do. It might be crowded, but you can always find a place to get away from people. Wraith Falls is one of those places. Such a peaceful place.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Mammoth Hot Springs was the first of the incredible hydrothermal natural wonders we saw. This one is in the the northwest corner of the park. The old Fort Yellowstone is located here as well and you can tour the grounds and hit up the restaurants and gift shop. We highly recommend going into the gift shop and getting some huckleberry ice cream.

There are upper and lower terraces where you can check out the springs. The lower area has boardwalks surrounding it. There is plenty of room to maneuver and you get up close and personal to these features. There are a lot of stairs, so if you don’t like them, you can just stick to the lower areas.

You can take the stairs to the top or you can drive around to the top and take the walking trail around the upper area. This loop trail is not that bad and can be done in about 30 minutes.

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Before we headed out for the night we drove over to Canyon Village to check out the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We stayed on the north rim and walked to Lookout Point, Grand View, and Inspiration Point. These views were all spectacular. The upper and lower falls are amazing, but don’t sleep on the view of the canyon from Inspiration Point. It is spectacular but nobody was there except for us.

West Yellowstone and Island Park

We headed out to our place for the night in Island Park, Idaho. This is about 10 minutes outside of the town of West Yellowstone. We stopped in West Yellowstone for a little bit to get some supplies and check out the town. This place is busy! People everywhere, every restaurant was a super long wait. If you are trying to eat here, go early or stay in the park really late and grab something after.

We found a super cool cabin in Island Park on airbnb for a pretty good price. This is not a secluded cabin, more like a cabin park. They are all private, incredibly comfortable, and a great place to sleep for the night. Also, we got to spend the night in Idaho at the foot of Sawtell Peak. This is a 9,875 foot mountain that you can drive to the top of and enjoy some views of Yellowstone and the surrounding valley. Definitely check that out if you have the chance.

Favorite Part Of The Day: Checking out the animals in Lamar Valley. We felt like we were in a National Geographic documentary.

Total Miles: 275 miles

Day 8 – Island Park, ID to Jackson Hole, WY

Our second day in Yellowstone was just as amazing as our first. We did a lot of driving around this day because we hiked about nine miles the day before and we knew we were going to do about the same the next day. On this day, we hiked around four miles. This was kind of a surprising day because a lot of what we did just kind of snuck up on us – especially with Firehole Canyon and West Thumb. We think this is what makes Yellowstone so special. There is so much to do and so many amazing places that people don’t really know about.

Yellowstone National Park Day 2

Firehole Canyon

As we were heading into Yellowstone from the west entrance we saw a turnoff for Firehole Canyon. It is right after you turn south on the Grand Loop to head toward Old Faithful. We decided to take the scenic two-mile drive and we were so happy that we did. You drive along the canyon floor along the Firehole River. Take some time to get out and look up at the canyon. There aren’t a ton of turnoffs, so when you find one you will have the whole place to yourself.

You gradually climb up out of the canyon and get to have some awesome views of waterfalls and the river. Our favorite stop along the drive was the Firehole Falls overlook. Just another amazing waterfall that we just happened upon. You can also swim farther up the river, so bring your suit if you are feeling that.

Grand Prismatic

Our first planned stop was the Grand Prismatic Pool in the Midway Geyser Basin. We stopped in the main parking area and walked around the Midway Geyser Basin Trail. This is a boardwalk that takes you to the different pools in the area. They are full of color and so beautiful. If you want a bird’s eye view, drive about a mile down the road and park at the Fairy Falls trailhead.

This is a short hike to the overlook, about 1.2 miles roundtrip. It is definitely worth the views. Great perspective from up there. You can continue on the trail to Fairy Falls. If you do this, it is about 3.2 miles roundtrip.

Old Faithful

The icon of Yellowstone is definitely Old Faithful. There is a whole village surrounding Old Faithful. We were so surprised about how big this area is. This is the one place where parking is plentiful! This is also the place where we battled the most crowds. It was cool to see Old Faithful erupt, you have to make the stop if you are in Yellowstone, but it definitely isn’t our favorite thing in Yellowstone. We saw it, but if we never see it again we will be ok.

West Thumb

In doing our research for Yellowstone we didn’t see a lot of people talking about West Thumb. After going here, this might be the best place we went to during our two days there. This is another geyser basin but this one is right along the shore of Yellowstone Lake. The lake itself is spectacular, but couple that with the colorful pools and you have something out of a storybook. There is a great boardwalk trail that takes you through the geyser basin, a perfect place to get away from the crowds and enjoy a leisurely stroll. West Thumb is definitely a hidden gem of Yellowstone.

Lewis Falls

We left Yellowstone through the southern entrance but before we got totally out of the park we stopped by Lewis Falls. This is just a small pullout from the road but the waterfall is really beautiful and it makes for a great place to relax for a bit. There is a trail to the top, but we went the other way by the river and got down to the bottom. We had the whole spot to ourselves, it was awesome. This was just another one of the many unexpected spots we came upon.

Rockefeller Memorial Parkway

The road that connects Yellowstone to Grand Teton is the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway. This is actually a National Park Unit. This is an iconic drive and you have the first views of the Tetons while driving on it. They took our breath away. There is a small visitor’s center where you can get the National Park passport stamp. It is closed often. If you are there and it is, you can get your stamp for this place at Colter Bay Village in Grand Teton.

Entering Grand Teton

We got into Grand Teton about 5 pm and spent about an hour driving through the park heading to Jackson Hole. There were a couple of places that we stopped off, but for the most part we just cruised through and scoped out places we wanted to visit the next day.

Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole is an awesome town outside of Grand Teton. It is an expensive place to stay, but is super convenient and has plenty of places to eat. The downtown area is really great, tons of shops and restaurants. Also, there are a ton of people everywhere. We ate at a place called Cutty’s by our hotel. Food was really great and the atmosphere is really cool. They have a fantastic outdoor patio and lawn area. This was a perfect place to relax after a couple of days in Yellowstone. We went back to the hotel and got to bed early. We wanted to wake up really early to get as much of the Tetons in as we could.

Favorite Part Of The Day: West Thumb was spectacular. That is hard to beat for us.

Total Miles: 235 miles

Day 9 – Jackson Hole, WY to Casper, WY

We woke up early and headed into Grand Teton National Park, knowing we only had about 10 hours in the park and wanting to get in as much as we could. We are glad we got there early because boy did some of these places get crowded. There are so many trails here and we will be back to hike them. For this trip we were only able to do two of them for a total of about 9 miles.

Grand Teton National Park

Jenny Lake

We got to Jenny Lake around 7:30. We had heard that this was one of the most popular hikes so we wanted to beat the crowds. All of this is true. Get there early. We were able to do what we wanted to do before the crowds came. On the way back there were so many people going to where we were.

The Jenny Lake trail takes you from the main parking area to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. You can opt to take a boat across the lake which cuts about two miles off of your hike. We decided to do this because we wanted to ride on the boat. It is a 10-15 minute ride and costs $10 per adult and $8 for kids. It was worth it to us for the experience.

From the boat landing we went up to Hidden Falls (wow!) and Inspiration Point. You can continue farther down the trail into the mountains, but we headed back after Inspiration Point. The trail up to Inspiration Point is stunning. Great views of the Tetons and along a rocky ledge. A great experience.

We only did the boat one-way so we were able to hike back on the Jenny Lake Trail. This trail is beautiful, great views along the water. It is pretty narrow, so you will be stopping often for people heading the other direction. We didn’t see any wildlife, but we heard there are a lot of moose and bears around where we were. The crowds probably scared everything away.

Colter Bay Village

Our next stop was Colter Bay Village. We needed to stop by the book store to get our Passport stamp for Rockefeller. This was pretty out of the way but it allowed us to grab our stamp and enjoy a drive through the park. Driving in the Tetons is so cool. Great views wherever you go. We stopped at a bunch of places for the views, had a picnic by the lake, and just rested from our morning hike.

Taggart Lake

Out of all of the hikes we did on our trip this was probably our favorite. We were pretty tired and weren’t really feeling another 4-mile hike but we figured we better do it because we weren’t sure when we will be back. This trail is just amazing. We began by crossing over a cascading river, by a horse farm, and through a beautiful meadow. What is really cool about this hike are the incredible views of the Tetons. This was easily the best views we had of the range.

We went at just the right time, middle afternoon. We had the trail to ourselves for the most part and just enjoyed being a family together. It was tough for us that afternoon, not a difficult hike, we were just exhausted. However, we pushed each other and made it to Taggart Lake. Boy, that was an awesome feeling. What an incredible view. We jumped in the lake and celebrated on the rocks. Such a special memory.

Mormon Row

The most iconic view of the Tetons is from Mormon Row. We stopped by there on our way out to check out this cool spot. It is best visited in the morning so you get the light on the mountain range, but we did what we could. We had a good time just walking around for a couple of minutes and heading out.

The Road To Casper

This was terrifying. We headed out of the park around 6 pm and started our drive back east. This was a big mistake. Our trip started beautifully heading on some pretty scenic roadways on Highway 26. Eventually, the sun went down and when the sun went down the animals came out. It is so frightening to be going the speed limit and have animals jump all around you. Plus, there is one town with more than 50 people on this road. There is absolutely nothing. We ended up driving 40 mph in an 80 mph zone. The drive took 6 hours instead of the 4 it was supposed to take. We will never do that again.

Favorite Part Of The Day: Taggart Lake Trail, easily.

Total Miles: 378 miles

Day 10 – Casper, WY to North Platte, NE

At this point in our trip we were starting to feel all sorts of emotions. We were traveling back east and we knew that our trip was coming to an end in a couple of short days. Also, we were starting to get pretty tired. We knew we had to go two-thirds across the country in a few short days, but we still wanted to see what we could while we were heading home. We feel like we did just that, hitting some special stops along the way, but still putting those miles on the dashboard.

Fort Laramie National Historic Site

Fort Laramie was originally a trading outpost for fur traders, but as America moved west it became the largest military post on the Northern Plains. This is a sprawling compound with plenty of historical significance. You can explore the different buildings. Old Bedlam is probably the most famous. It is Wyoming’s oldest building. Our favorite was the store that had been restored to its original. We had a lot of fun talking to the shopkeeper. As with most National Park sites, the Rangers and volunteers are just amazing here.

Scotts Bluff National Monument

Scotts Bluff was another one of those beautiful, unexpected stops. The bluffs shoot up 800 feet seemingly out of nowhere in the middle of the plains. They are sheer cliffs with a beautiful color no matter what time of day you visit. The day we visited it was over 100 degrees. We checked in at the visitors center and drove up to the top. There is a trail, but with the temperature we opted for the road. Of course, one of the reasons you have to drive is because this is the home of the only tunnels in all of the state of Nebraska. We couldn’t pass that up.

At the top parking lot there are a couple of really fun trails that give you spectacular views any direction you look. If you can, check those out – just watch out for the rattlesnakes. At the base of the bluffs, they have a couple of covered wagons because the Oregon Trail went right by here. You can actually see some of the original wheel ruts. We had a lot of fun reminiscing about elementary school, hunting for bears and squirrels and trying not to die from dysentery.

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument

Our next stop was a little off the highway, but we had to hit up Agate Fossil Beds National Monument in Harrison, Nebraska. As with most of this trip, National Park sites guided us. This is where they have found fossils and you can check out their location on one of two trails, the Daemonelix Trail and the Fossil Hills Trail. It is beautiful out here, the grasslands and the Niobrara River make for some incredible landscape. Best part about this place for us though might have been the porcupine we saw on the way to the park.

Favorite Part Of The Day: Driving up Scotts Bluff.

Total Miles: 455 miles

Day 11 – North Platte, NE to Brookfield, MO

Ok, not going to lie. Nebraska is massive. We had no idea until we drove the whole stretch of I-80 from the northwest corner to the southeast corner of the state. That is a long haul. Nebraska is great, but it isn’t for anyone. Seriously, the state Tourism Commission literally used the slogan “Honestly, it’s not for everyone.” For our day and a half in the state, it was for us. Not sure when we will be back, but we did enjoy our time there.

Buffalo Bill Ranch

We had no plans to stop here when we initially planned our trip, but when we were looking at things to do on our way home this came up in a search. We actually stayed the night in North Platte because of its proximity to the ranch. The ranch was Buffalo Bill’s home from 1886 until 1913. At one time the ranch covered 4,000 acres. Now, it is significantly smaller, but there is plenty to see and do.

On property you can wander through the restored buildings, by relaxing ponds and creeks, and even see a couple of buffalo that they have on site. The highlight of the ranch is the barn. This barn is original and used to hold Bill’s horses. Now, it is a museum for the world famous Wild West Show. The memorabilia that is here really is one of a kind. Our favorite items had to have been the giant posters that were plastered about. They are true works of art.

There is a small fee to explore this property, but we found that it was well worth the price of admission.

Pony Express Station at Fort Kearney

The Pony Express was a mail service that delivered mail from Missouri to California for about 16 months in 1860-61. I always thought that it was longer than that, but that was it. In that time it became the stuff of legend. Riders on horseback would sprint from station to station as fast as they could in a giant relay race to get the mail across the country as fast as possible. It made it so mail would only take 10 days to travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. When the telegraph came along, it went away.

There are numerous Pony Express Stations found throughout the Central Plains, the Rockies, and into California. The National Park Service actually has a Pony Express National Historic Trail that stretches from Missouri to California. Along the route there are numerous National and State Parks that you can visit. It is 2000 miles of history in some pretty crazy and remote places.

We saw a sign for Fort Kearney as we were driving down I-80 in Nebraska so we pulled off for a bit and explored the little museum. This was the site of one of the over 150 stations on the trail. It made for a fun little stop with some pretty interesting history. It is pretty weird that this building sits in the middle of a neighborhood. The town just built all around it and made it a park.

You can’t get a National Park stamp here, those are found in Old Sacramento in California, the Fort Sedgwick museum in Colorado, or the Pony Express museum in Kansas.

Runza

On most of our trips, we do a story on Instagram or Facebook. We had some people reach out to us when we were going through Nebraska and they told us we had to stop at Runza, it is a Nebraska institution. Hey, we understand, we are from North Carolina, home of Bojangles. We did, we loved it, and we will be back. Just wanted to let everyone know we went to Runza.

Homestead National Monument

Our last stop in Nebraska was Homestead National Monument in Beatrice. This National Park unit tells the story of the homesteaders who settled the west. We had way more fun here than we thought we would. This is an incredibly well put together museum and grounds, they make the story come to life. There is an original homesteader cabin on the grounds and a school a mile down the road. You can go inside these and explore.

We learned about what homesteaders went through to get their land, and learned of the last homesteader in America – a dude in Alaska who moved there, built a cabin, and was given the deed to the land. The U.S. government used to give people 160 acres of land if they lived on the land for five years and improved it. Pretty crazy.

Favorite Part Of The Day: The unexpected greatness of the Buffalo Bill Ranch.

Total Miles: 484 miles

Day 12 – Brookfield, MO to Vincennes, IN

This was our American legend day. We went to the hometowns of two men who have helped shape America through their creativity and art. Walt Disney and Mark Twain. It was such a fun day walking around where these two icons grew up.

Marceline

Why in the world would we want to make a stop at a small town of just over 2,000 people in central Missouri? Because it is the hometown of Walter Elias Disney. We are pretty big Disney fans and we were very excited that our route would take us by his hometown. Main Street in Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom over in Disney World are modeled after this fun little town. This is a great stop for any Disney fan, or anyone really. We were able to check out the family farm, the museum full of awesome Disney collectibles, have a yummy meal at Ma Vic’s and walk right down the middle of Main Street.

Disney Family Farm

The Disney family farm is located on W. Broadway just outside of downtown Marceline. It is a private property now, but near it is a small parking area with a path that takes you to the replica barn and dreaming tree. The barn was raised in 2001 and is an exact replica of the one that was on the Disney farm while Walt was growing up. You can walk all around this area, inside the barn, and add your signature to the thousands that are already there. We recommend bringing a sharpie with you. See if you can find any familiar names – including Go The Adventure Way!

Walt Disney Hometown Museum

This is one of the coolest museums we have ever been to. There are pieces of Disney memorabilia here that you can’t find anywhere else. This museum tells the story of Walt’s time in Marceline and where he got his inspiration. The coolest part of the museum to us though was the collector’s wing. Here, Disney fans from all over the world donated their collections to be on display for everyone to enjoy. Some really great pieces of Disney history are in this area.

The museum is open year round Tuesday – Saturday 10am to 4 pm, and Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm. It is closed on Mondays. The museum is located right in downtown, fittingly in an old train station.

Ma Vic’s Corner Cafe

Ma Vic’s is the place to grab lunch in Marceline. It is located right on Main Street across from the town square and museum. They have plenty of great food to choose from here and the service is awesome. It is run by a family and you could tell they loved it. We spent some time talking to them and it was good to get to know them a little bit. That is what is so cool about traveling the States. There are so many interesting people with interesting stories to tell. Try and go to the museum before you go here. If you bring your museum ticket in, you get a free dessert. The Dusty Miller. Once you get the small size, you might opt for a larger one! We loved our time at Ma Vic’s!

Hannibal

Hannibal is the hometown of Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. This town is only 90 miles down Highway 36 from Marceline. The town sits right on the banks of the Mississippi. Hannibal is a blast from the past. They have kept a lot of the historical waterfront buildings and it is so fun to walk through the old town. it is like you are back in time getting ready to hop on a riverboat (which you can do here). Most people tour the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum. It is an incredible little town block where you can whitewash a fence, see Becky Thatcher’s and Huck Finn’s houses, and go into an old drug store. There is a fee to enter them, but one ticket covers all of it.

On Main St. there are a bunch of great shops and restaurants to visit. All of them selling your typical souvenirs. We did buy a coffee mug and a pin here. Make sure you go to Dutch Country General Store. This is a super fun place to shop and walk around. But they do something here that nobody does – they give you free ice cream, popcorn, and coffee! And the people there are some of the nicest people we met on our trip. Just fantastic.

Take some time to climb (or drive) up to the top of the hill where the lighthouse is at the end of Main St. This was a fun little adventure that we went on. There are a lot of stairs, so if you can’t do them, take the winding road up to the top. We always love a good river lighthouse.

We were only here for about two hours, though you could spend a week here. No doubt we will be back to visit.

Gateway Arch National Park

The Gateway Arch is one of the icons of America. It stands 630-feet over the Mississippi River city of St. Louis. The arch symbolizes the westward expansion of America. This National Park unit is by far the smallest unit with a National Park designation.

We stopped here in the afternoon and had just enough time to go underground, get our stamp, and talk to the Rangers. There is a great museum down there that tells the story of the arch and the move west for America.

The elevator to the top was down when we got there, but we will be back one day to travel to the top. There is a fee of $12-16 for adults and $8-12 for kids depending on what day you go.

Even though we couldn’t ride to the top, we had fun walking around the grounds, sitting under the arch, and checking this place out from all sorts of angles. It is something to see in person. Another really cool thing about it is it is right on the banks of the Mississippi. A great place to sit and watch the riverboats roll down the river.

Favorite Part Of The Day: Walking right down the middle of Main Street, U.S.A.

Total Miles: 375 miles

Day 13 – Vincennes, IN to Apex, NC

This was our last day on the road and the one that we covered the most ground. We originally planned to do this in 14 days, but we decided it would be best for us to get all the way home and have a rest day before going back to work. After this epic adventure, it was pretty wise. However, we were still able to make four more stops along the way. That is what makes road trips so awesome, getting there is half the fun.

George Rogers Clark National Historical Park

Ever heard of George Rogers Clark? We hadn’t either until this trip. He was an American Revolutionary War hero who led the army in what was then the Northwest Territory of the United States. There is a National Park unit bearing his name in the town of Vincennes, IN. The grounds here are quite stunning and the monument is one of the most unique in the U.S.

The park is located on what is believed to be the site of Fort Sackville. When Rogers and his men captured this fort, it solidified the western frontier for the colonists. It has a beautiful rotunda with a statue of Clark. Inside are massive paintings depicting the westward movement of the U.S. This is the largest memorial on any battlefield in the country. There is a nice little visitors center as well here, so don’t forget to pop in and get your passport book stamped.

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

This was the first of our two visits to a Lincoln National Park unit on the day. There are a handful of these spread throughout the midwest. Lincoln’s boyhood home is located Lincoln City, Indiana right outside of Santa Claus (more on that in a minute). This park is on the property where Lincoln grew up. The visitors center is really great, very unique. The outside is its own museum with great art telling the story of Lincoln.

You can take a short half-mile walk to the actual land where Lincoln grew up or drive to the nearby parking lot. The Lincoln historical homestead is awesome. The Rangers on site are dressed in clothing from that period and they teach visitors what it was like on the farm in those days. They also have animals on site. If you have time, check out the Trail of the Twelve Stones which does a great job telling the story of Lincoln’s life.

Santa Claus, Indiana

We weren’t planning on stopping here, but when you pass by a town called Santa Claus, you have to take the time. We were just here for a quick minute, but we had fun going to the Santa Claus Christmas shop, buying an ornament, and grabbing some fudge and cookies. Also, check out the post office in town. This is where all of Santa’s mail gets delivered to.

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park

Our last official stop for our whole epic road trip was the Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park in Hodgenville, Kentucky. There are two sections to this park, the main section is on Highway 31E. This is a beautiful park with a great museum and movie on Lincoln’s life. The highlight is the Memorial Building. This building houses the actual log cabin that Lincoln was born in. It was really special to be able to walk around this cabin. It was one of those things we will never forget.

When we got done with our time with Lincoln we decided to just hit the road hard and get back to our house. It was 570 miles but it was a good choice to sleep in our bed. It was great spending the afternoon and evening enjoying the open road and reminiscing on the previous two weeks. A great way to end our trip.

Favorite Part Of The Day: Seeing the cabin that Lincoln was born in was pretty sweet.

Total Miles: 747 miles

This was the most epic trip we have ever been on. We loved every single day, experienced so much, and made so many memories. This trip was something we wish everybody could experience. Life is good when you Go The Adventure Way.

If you want some more in-depth information on some of our stops, check out our post on Pipestone, Grand Tetons, Custer State Park, and our time in Iowa.

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