3 days in limbo and the drive to minneapolis

 tuesday through thursday last week felt a bit weird. we were a little jet-lagged, catching up on work, catching up with a couple friends, trying to buy the right amount of groceries for just 3 days at home, doing lots of laundry, re-packing some of the same things and some different things. and then we were off again! 

 we drove to minnesota with the kids in 2020 and while it was a fun experience, i told thatcher if we were to do it again, i'd want to take a diferent route, because i love experiencing new places. so he planned a more southern route through oregon, idaho, wyoming, and south dakota this time.

we eased into our drive by leaving in the late afternoon on thursday to get a few hours knocked out (we were originally going to leave on friday). we drove to prosser, wa which is about 3 hours east of seattle. on the way, we stopped for dinner at a taqueria food truck in ellensburg. it was delish!

 

 i always love watching the landscape change as we cross washington. western washington is lush and green and central and eastern washington are more arid and dry. 

  

when we arrived at our hotel in prosser, the kids were chomping at the bit to go in the pool. then we hit the hay. 

friday morning we had breakfast at the hotel and then hit the road for hailey, idaho. on the way, we stopped for coffee in prosser at brewminatti (finding the best local coffee shops is our jam). 

then we continued into oregon, stopping at some road side pullovers for beautiful views. 

 

we had lunch in baker city, oregon at a cute little local cafe. everyone stared at us when we walked in. and i got a hot turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes for lunch, so overall it was a win! ;)

 

 then we crossed into idaho. 

 

thatcher planned a stop in boise because he read there is a donut shop with dairy/gluten free donuts he could eat. it turns out they only have them on the weekend, but we were able to get donuts for the kids and me. 

 it was really hot in boise! and we encountered a bus that caught on fire during our short time there, so it was kind of a strange experience. a ways from there was a beautiful lookout called castle rock. and a cool abandoned old school house. 

  

we made it to hailey, idaho and went to a pizza place/brewery for dinner, which was great. then the kids got ice cream and swam in the hotel pool. 

 

  

saturday morning we checked out of our hotel and got coffee in hailey at a super popular, busy place called black owl. 

 

 

then we drove about an hour to craters of the moon, which is a national monument of old lava flows. we did a couple short walks there to see the scenery. it was really unique! 

 

 

for lunch, we proudly found what is likely the western most culver's in the entire u.s. :) 

 

 

 

after lunch, we stopped at a hidden gem in idaho: fall creek falls where people where swimming on a hot day.  

 

 

then we made our way across the wyoming state line. we stopped again at big kahuna on the snake river to watch people white water rafting. 

 

 

 we drove through jackson and along the grand tetons, but we didn't have enough time to drive through the actual park. 

 

 

we ended the day in dubois, wyoming at a cute little mountain motel. 

 

 

we got dinner at z2 bbq, which was the best find! it was right on the river and had great food. 

 

when we got back to the motel, they had a campfire going with supplies for smores, live music, and a resident dog named ranger that the kids fell in love with. 

 

 

 

when it got dark, the kids checked out of a movie and popcorn from the office and stayed up late watching. 

sunday morning we got coffee from a shop in dubois and then hit the road for rapid city, south dakota. sunday was a long day of driving without many stops or pictures. we had lunch in casper, wyoming at a great pizza place. then drove and drove until we crossed the south dakota state line and reached mount rushmore. we picked a less busy time of day to visit mount rushmore, but the sun was at a weird angle, which made the monument harder to see/photograph. oh well. 

 

we were all pretty drained by that time anyway, and ready to just check into the hotel. we ate leftovers from lunch for dinner and then went in the pool and hot tub.

monday morning we got coffee in downtown rapid city. then we drove about an hour to wall drug. if you've ever been through south dakota, you know wall drug :) it's a huge tourist trap, but it's fun to stop. 

next we drove to the badlands national park. it's such a beautiful area of the country, i was excited to show the kids. we loved seeing the cute prairies dogs and the kids loved climbing the rocks.

 

 

after leaving the park and crossing into central time, we had a very late lunch at a drive-in in murdo. we were expecting basic burgers and fries, but it was really good. the kids and i also got 'cyclone' shakes which were amazing, but sooooo filling. after a few more hours of driving, we made it to brandon, sd for the night. the kids were ecstatic to find out that our hotel pool had a water slide and other water play area. we ate a late dinner and headed to bed for our last night on the road. whew! 

tuesday morning we crossed into minnesota (wahoo!) and got coffee at a shop in luverne. then we had about 3.5 more hours on the road to get to thatcher's parents' house. it's always a relief to roll into town safely and sanely. ha! 

now we are settling in for 3 weeks (2 for thatcher) of catching up with family and friends and trying not to melt in the minnesota heat.