2003 Great Plains road trip

Was doing some spring cleaning and found my 2003 trip notes.  This was my first "proper" road trip/vacation.  I was finally out of school and had more than $25 in my checking account.  I bought a nice 3 megapixel digital camera and rented a full-sized Chrysler Concorde.

I would do a lap.  The starting point was Chicago.  I would drive west to the Idaho border and then drive back.  I would visit Illinois-Wisconsin-Minnesota-North Dakota-Montana-Wyoming-Montana-Wyoming-South Dakota-Minnesota-Wisconsin-Illinois.  I had a week to drive 3,500+ miles.  This is what I saw.

Day 1: As soon as I got out of Midway Airport, I got lost and I was stuck in traffic for an hour.  I took a detour that wasted another couple of hours.  It rained continuously until 11 p.m.

Wisconsin and Minnesota are flat and unremarkable.  Only the skylines of the Twin Cities were cool.

I stopped at a Perkins in central Minnesota for a midnight dinner.  A 50 year old guy with a heavy Minnesota accent struck up a conversation with me in the restroom (no foot tapping or wide stances were involved) about Fargo and the weather.  I stayed at a $38/night motel room in Rothsay, Minnesota.  It was really comfortable and clean.

Day 2: I begin driving at 8:30 a.m.  It rained for most of the day.  Had a great breakfast (but poor service) in North Dakota.  I visited Teddy Roosevelt National Park, one of the least visited parks in the country.  It was wet and foggy.  A buffalo was 15 feet from me (my car) and I even saw a white tailed deer.

I had a $6 dinner in Montana-- 2 chicken fried steaks, soup, and big toast.  Delicious.  There was no sales tax.  The meal was cooked and served by two old ladies.

I met an old man named Jim at my motel in Butte.  He was very helpful and made suggestions on what I should visit tomorrow.  I had to drive through some mountains to get to Butte.  There is still snow on the ground (it's May) and it's 32 degrees F.  I may have to skip Yellowstone.

Day 3: Butte is a cool ass city.  It's a mining town and there are a lot of fancy buildings from the 1900s.  There's mining equipment everywhere.

I went to the Berkeley Pit (7000 foot deep copper mining pit) just outside town.

I had a lot of time so I briefly visited Yellowstone.  Saw elk, a bear cub, and Old Faithful.  Buffalos caused several traffic jams.  One even brushed up against my car while I was sitting in traffic.

It snowed heavily for 30 minutes while I waited for the great geyser to gush.

I end the day in Hardin, Montana, near Little Big Horn.

Day 4: I visited Custard's Last Stand at Little Big Horn.

Then it was to Devil's Tower.  Stunning.

I stopped in Deadwood and visited the grave of Wild Bill Hickok.

Then it was to the Crazy Horse monument, which will take forever to complete.  I kept two dynamited rocks as souvenirs.

I finished the day with a buffalo burger for dinner.  It was so-so.  I only drove 350 miles today.

Day 5: Saw Mt. Rushmore.

Then the Badlands.

And the world-famous Wall Drug Store.

There was a heavy storm between the Badlands and Wall Drug.  Am in Worthington, Montana tonight.  "Tired of driving, eating greasy food, staying in motel rooms.  Just tired."  End of notes.

Day 6: I have no record of the remainder of my road trip except for this shot from the Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota.  That wall is made of Spam cans.