The Blogger Extraordinaire (TBE): The Whole Story

If you have not already heard about The Blogger Extraordinaire (TBE), welcome! TBE was a ~ 4,000 mile road trip across the Midwest and West that I did with Birchie in August. She did a fun wrap up last week and I thought I would do a similar one (but different!) So, buckle up and let's get started!

I love a good spreadsheet. I also like to have lots of possible plans, although I do not always do all of them. TBE started as a seed where Birchie wanted to do some Amtrak travel, I was going to be "close to her" and available, and with that, a tree began to grow. This tree was the TBE spreadsheet! On the spreadsheet were the Amtrak routes, some national parks, some capitals, and lots and lots of friends! Then we looked at the map to see what was even possible and went from there. Unfortunately, given some of the locations, an Amtrak trip would have meant getting off and on the train and/or renting a new car in several places. This led to Birchie suggesting that we just take Brad (her car) instead, and me volunteering to stay around for the entire trip, aka back to the starting point, before carrying on with my own plans. 

We then had several "meetings" where we video chatted and drank our respective beers while scheming to determine what would actually be possible vs what would be too much. Here is what we came up with: 

Too much? Maybe. 

The general plan was this: Four state capitals. Five national parks. As many friends as possible! Let's see how we got on, shall we? 

Day 1 - 4: Ohio. I flew to OH, and stayed there! Previously, I have been through the Cincinnati airport several times, but, since it actually is not in Ohio, but in neighboring Kentucky, plus I don't count airport layovers anyway, I did not count it on my "states visited" list until now! In Ohio, we went thrift store shopping so that I would not look like a complete bum, then went hiking in a new to me National Park, Cuyahoga Valley, strolled around Cleveland, met up with some friends, went on a boat, drank beer and took lots of photos of Cleveland signs!

Ohio

Day 5: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois. Day one of road tripping! We got on the road, stopped at Indiana Dunes National Park, and ended up in Chicago, where we met up with Ernie for a Mediterranean dinner and lots of catching up. 

Lake Michigan

Day 6: Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota. After a quick morning run around the hood, we drove from Chicago to Madison, where we met up with Engie and Sarah at the Marigold Kitchen for some yummy breakfast and even better conversation. We ended the day in Minneapolis where we annoy Phil and have a great time hanging with the boys and catching up with Lisa. 

I did not test these

Day 7: Minnesota, North Dakota. We had a nice morning walk around Lake Harriet before it is time to say goodbye! We head towards Bismarck, but have a nice stop in Fargo, which has a cute little downtown, and...no visible woodchippers! We ended the day in Bismarck with a ramen so hot it made me cry (in a good way)! Random fact: Bismarck and it's twin city, Mandan, are both in the same time zone, despite the fact that the majority of ND west of the Missouri river is in Mountain time. 

Lake Harriet

Day 8: North Dakota. After a nice run around our super cute neighborhood, we went and toured my first state capitol building for the year! It has a plain exterior, but the inside is art deco and it sets the tone nicely for our future capitol explorations. It is also the tallest inhabited building in the state. Once done, we headed to Richardton, where we met up with a friend I met on my repositioning cruise! He is excited to show us everything, and we went on a whirlwind tour of brunch, Theodore Roosevelt (TR) Presidential Library, TR National Park and Medora before heading to the Pitchfork Fondue, which is actually steak cooked on a pitchfork (in hot oil). Then we headed to the Medora musical, which is in a cool outdoor theater. 

I am not the first person to take this guy's photo

Day 9: North Dakota, Montana. We headed from Richardton to Billings with a stop at TRNP to take a quick hike around the Badlands. Fun fact: Billings is the biggest city in Montana, with ~ 120,000 people. 

TRNP hike

Day 10: Montana. I had a morning run in Billings, then we did a quick walk near the Yellowstone river, then we scooted to Helena, arriving early enough to take a hike on the hill near our Airbnb. After we got settled in, we headed to the Windbag Saloon for some burgers and beers. We finished the day off with trolley ride around town, and learned a lot about the Montana gold rush. 

Keep Helena weird!

Day 11: Montana. I did a quick trail run in the hills near our Airbnb, then we had homemade scones for breakfast. A tour of the capitol building topped off our Helena morning. Then we headed to Michelle's for some excellent cow education, four wheeler driving, dollhouse viewing, dinner and conversation! 

This bull don't take no $hit. 

Day 12: Montana, Wyoming. I learned how to play Connections (badly) then we "helped" Michelle's husband by driving his tractors around the ranch. I am sure he would like me to come back next year to help some more! Then we sadly said goodbye and headed towards Yellowstone, where we found a couple of steaming pools, a hike and some colorful holes to look at before settling at the Old Faithful Lodge. More burgers and beers are had, and I see an eruption before the night is over. 

My kind of place...

Day 13: Wyoming. The drive out of the park is a fun one, with lots of things to look at! We spotted the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, did a quick hike at the Natural Bridge and headed east. The drive was very scenic, even outside of the park, and we saw plenty of big rocks (my favorite). We made a quick pit stop for some kettle corn (and a free drink) in Cody, then we headed to Ten Sleep, where we had another burger and beer before walking back to our motel. 

The drive from Yellowstone to Cody (east)

Day 14: Wyoming, South Dakota. We left Ten Sleep and stopped in Buffalo, which ironically is the first place that Birchie and I met IRL (NY last time, WY this time). There is a nice creek path for our daily stroll, plus a picnic table in the shade for our daily picnic. We carried on to Hill City, where we met up with a friend of mine for dinner (the choices: big steak or small steak; cash only). We stayed in a lovely place, the Horse Creek Resort, where we decided to take a "rest day" and stay two nights. 

Good advice (found in Buffalo, WY)

Day 15: South Dakota. The HCR abuts the Black Hills national forest, and so I started the day with a walk through the woods. After that, it is back in the car, to Mt. Rushmore, the Needles Highway, and the Crazy Horse Monument, with a stop in Hill City for pizza. We got smart and got enough leftovers for dinner so we could just veg out after we got back. We get back, veg out, and decide to start watching Traitors UK, which I first saw about a year ago at my friends' house in Scotland, but never pursued more of before this. 

My happy place: porch, book, beer

Day 16: South Dakota. Sadly, we have to leave our relaxing abode, and so we headed to the capital of SD, Pierre, pronounced like peer. It's not a bad drive, but it is a little bit boring, except for the section where we went through Badlands National Park (if you are counting, this is NP #5!) We got to Pierre, checked into our hotel, and walked to a BBQ place nearby. We discover a riverwalk along the Missouri, which is quite pleasant. Random fact: Pierre is split into two time zones, with the river being the dividing line. We watch Traitors again; I fear we are hooked. 

Black Hills NF

Day 17: South Dakota, Nebraska. We did a self tour of the capitol before heading out and towards Nebraska. This drive seemed long, or I was tired, but I was really glad to get out of the car, and even happier that Lincoln was a happening town with a fun walkable old town and downtown area. We went for dinner, and I got BBQ again. I am beginning to see a trend here. (#beefitswhatsfordinner!) More Traitors. 

Downtown Pierre

Day 18: Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois. I ran, we toured the capitol, we got back on the road. The tour was loud, the group was big, the building was echoey, and the tour ran loooooong. The guide had a lot of energy, and the class of '71 group keeps talking and asking questions. It was a beautiful building but I was happy to get back on the road. We drove until basically the halfway point to our endpoint, including all the way across Iowa, before stopping in Ottawa, IL. More Traitors ensues. 

Lincoln capitol garden

Day 19: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio. I did a quick shakeout run among the corn fields in the rain before having breakfast and getting in the car. We stopped for a quick hike before leaving IL, and its clear that we are getting back into humid-land. The drive contained a lot of freeway, but it didn't seem too bad. We got some more rain along the way, but are back in Ohio in time to go grocery shopping, buy beer, and have a nice dinner before we head to bed. 

Humid IL hike

Day 20: Ohio. I took a run, we took one last group Doggo walk, we ate, and we finished binging the first season of Traitors. I mean, we can't leave things unfinished, right? Plus we are both tired and it is nice to just veg out and relax. Also laundry is a must! 

I wonder how hard it would be to ride this

Day 21: Ohio. I get on a plane and head west again, to get Cristof and head out to the next leg of my adventure. 

Goodbye, Ohio

Want more? Here is my quick and dirty August wrap up. Here are some interesting things we found out about each other. Here are Birchie's mid-trip updates: Days 1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, 13-15! Also coming soon: Rate my trip posts!! 

When was the last time you did a road trip? Where did you go? How long was it?