I90 West

Disclaimer: **what is to follow will be too detailed for most** This is a journal outlining memories of our year long trip. See below the map of our planned travel. Let us know if you want to meet us for part of the trip!

The route

 

Preparation- busy two weeks leading up to our departure day! Maurits quit his job June 8, his parents Harry and Henny came for a one week visit, we packed up our apartment, moved our stuff into a pod in 100 degree weather, stayed in Lexington for the remaining nights with LB's parents Peter and Shelley, LB signed an agreement to work at East Boston Neighborhood Health Center next year, she finished residency on Friday June 21 and we left 3 days later!

 


Tue June 26- despite Maurits' desire to drive all the way to Chicago in 1 day... we drove 11 hours west on I-90 to spend our first night camping at the KOA in Sandusky, OH. After five minutes on the road, we received a call from Shelley that we forgot the Turkey sandwiches- we could not pass up a homemade Chamberlain meal for the road- so quickly turned around and got the food! Starting milage on our 2006 Subaru outback 129381. Thanks to Justin Drew (Maurits coworker) for the audiobook Inferno: The World at War- we are learning about the military war of WW2 in excruciating detail on our drive west.

Our first camp

 

Wed June 27- the heat wave begins!! Sorry about all the future references to heat- cant help it- its been so hot... Drive to Chicago and arrive to 103 degree weather- no choice but to go straight to the rooftop pool at the Doubletree hotel. Found this hotel randomly on priceline- lucky choice because it was in the same building complex as Elizabeth Patton's apartment (LBs med school friend.). Wandered the city past the "Married with Children" fountains... had a beer under the "L"... then met Elizabeth for dinner and a PPD reading. Evening stroll to Navy Peer where we happened upon a beautiful display of fireworks set to pop music.

The 'mirror kidney' in Chicago

 

 

Thu June 28- OMG it is so hot! Started the day with a very interesting architectural boat tour of Chicago- thank you Aunt Jane for suggesting it. To escape the heat we headed to a campsite at Illinois State Beach Park on Lake Michigan- where the water was as cold as the Maine coast. Amazingly it took 1/2 hour to check us into our alcohol free campsite- the three park rangers that struggled to check us in were quite the motley crew. Nice to sit on the lakeshore and read in the cool breeze.

Alcohol free campsite

 

Fri June 29- 6 hour drive to Des Moines Iowa passing through two huge thunderstorms- one causing a 1 hour wait because a semi truck jackknifed blocking the interstate- to visit LB's college friend Kat Meeker and her boyfriend Josh. Highlight of the drive was stopping at the world's biggest truck stop on Iowa 80 and a visit to the roadside trucking museum!!! We also passed the birthplaces of Reagan, Hoover and John Wayne on the way! Kat and Josh were superb hosts letting us crash at their loft despite just moving in the day before and touring us around all the hot spots of Des Moines. Great to catch up with them!

Big thunderstorm fom the car

 

The world's largest Truckstop! And yes, we did visit the museum...

 

Sat June 30- Started the day with Kat and Josh at a fantastic farmer's market in Des Moines. Unfortunately they had sold out of corn by the time we hit the stand, but we were able to stalk up on lots of great fruits and veggies for the road (thanks to the giant cooler in the trunk of our car). Continued on the road west- but this time got off the main highway onto the Loess hills scenic byway. We enjoyed the beautiful rolling hills and miles upon miles of farmland. Happened upon a beautiful campsite in Southwood conservation area where we spent the night- the only tent on a large grassy golf-course-like field (the RV part of the campsite was full!).

Des Moines with Kat & Josh

 

Sun July 1- Next stop- Badlands National Park. Back on I-90 west- we think there were more billboards lining the side of the road than cars on the road (eg Walldrug.) But, still plenty of huge RVs pulling a large car in tow, which continues to amaze us. What a striking change of landscape- from the lush farmland of Iowa to the dry prairie- now we are in the wild west! The heatwave was definitely in full force here- the temp was still 93 degrees when we got into the tent that night at 10 pm- felt like we were camping in front of a large hot blowdryer! It was certainly amazing how many tourists were walking around the park in100 degree heat in the middle of the day.

Chamberlain in Chamberlain, South Dakota

 

The Badlands...

 

Mon July 2- Started the day at 5am with an early morning hike in the "moon-landscaped" badlands. To learn more about the geology we next went on a ranger led walk- the badlands started 70 million years ago when the american inland sea disappeared due to the rocky mtns forming, etc... After a disappointing stop at Walldrug (a tourist trap wild west town), we continued on to Mount Rushmore. As a side note we saw many motor bike riders, must be a white overweight baby-boom hobby! Also stopped at Walmart for groceries: America's favorite exercise room, unless you take the motorized shopping cart. Mount Rushmore- sort of like the White Mountains- Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt (T), Lincoln. Why is the mountain called Rushmore? There was a NYC lawyer called Rushmore who made the first donation of $5000 for the project. Sad ending to the day when our camera fell out of the car and the lens snapped off! :(

Mount Rusmore!

 

Tue July 3- Day spent driving to Jackson Hole Wyoming and trying to figure out how to get our camera fixed. Beautiful driving through the back roads of Wyoming- very desolate- with wildfires pluming in the distance. We had a running tally- 2:1 more pickup trucks than cars!

Hiking in the Badlands

 

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