Milestones of a Cross-Country Road Trip

Our 23-day cross-country road trip is coming to an end. It’s been an amazing trip. Exhausting, to be sure. Worth it? Absolutely.

In mid-July, my high school friend/college roommate and I, embarked on a cross-country road trip with our kids (Julie has twins, ages 9 and I have 2 kids, ages 9 and 7). She started in Virginia, her home state. I flew first to Pittsburgh, PA to visit another friend who has a daughter Harper's age.

Our trip took us on a northern route from Pittsburgh, through Chicago, Minneapolis, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon.

Several people have asked for some of our trip highlights so I wanted to share them here.

Number of States Visited: 11

Pennsylvania
Ohio
Indiana
Illinois
Wisconsin
Minnesota
South Dakota
Nebraska*
Wyoming
Idaho
Oregon

*We just crossed the state line, so it doesn't truly count. We decided, however, that we didn’t want to have 49 states on our deathbed and just be missing Nebraska when it was just 2 miles away from where we were in South Dakota.

Total Miles

4,300 miles

Total Drive Time (not elapsed time)

76 hours

Most mileage in one day

Minneapolis to Badlands, 505 miles, 7 hours 40 minutes

Museums Visited Across the Country

Andy Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh)

Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Pittsburgh)

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland)

Paisley Park (Chanhassen, Minnesota)

Idaho Potato Museum (Blackfoot)

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden (Minneapolis)

National Parks Visited

Badlands
Yellowstone
Grand Teton
Crater Lake
Drove through Wind Cave, and saw the bison and prairie but didn’t do the cave this time

National Monuments and Memorials Visited

State capitols seen or visited: 3

Other monuments, state parks, historical, local interest

Jeffers Petroglyphs (MN)
Crazy Horse (SD)
Lincoln Park Zoo
Millenium Park (Chicago)
Margaret Daley Park (Chicago)
Minneapolis’ Minnehaha park

Events We Attended

Chicago Cubs game (Cubs won!)
Second City Improv (adults only)
Astronomy night at the Badlands

Accommodation Types

Covered wagon (Heart Six Ranch near Grand Teton National Park)
Hotels: 4
Friends' house: 1
With family (numerous stops): 5

Types of Animals seen

Bison
Rabbit
Marmot
Ground squirrels
Chipmunks
Rattlesnakes (SD)
Mule deer
Pronghorn antelope
Osprey
Mountain bluebird
Horses
Cattle
·Alpaca/llamas
Horses
Goats
Donkeys
Coyote
Butterflies
Spiders
Salmon
Sturgeon
Lamprey
Turtle
Skunk

Most unusual insects

Mormon crickets
Japanese Lantern Beetle

Crops Grown Along the Roadways and Highways

Potatoes (ID)
Wheat (ID)
Corn
Sunflowers (SD)
Soybeans
Snap peas
Raspberries
Pear
Hops
Grapes
Blackberries
Peaches

Energy sources Seen

Turbines
Solar Panels
Oil derricks
Near nuclear reactors and the first atomic city (Idaho)
Coal
Hydro-electric

Geology observed

Volcanic (Craters of the Moon, Crater Lake, most of Oregon)

Waterfalls – MN, Yellowstone, Idaho, Crater Lake

Geysers

Hot Springs

Lakes

Rivers

Mountains

Woods

Creeks

Rivers

Oceans

Great Lake (Lake Michigan, Lake Erie)

Calderas

Lava cone

Total # of Junior Ranger badges earned: 20 (5 places, 4 kids)

Family Visited: 27

Julie and I said our goodbyes today at the Medford, Oregon Airport. The kids gave their hugs and took one last photo. Oliver promised Austin a phone call after his first day of first grade in a week, as Austin had requested. Seeing my kids bond with the kids of a lifelong friend is priceless.

Would We Do it Again?

Absolutely! We hit it hard every day and had the best sleep of our lives. Our kids adjusted to the non-routine routine of just getting up and going. They got lots of exercise, lots of laughs and I think they even learned some things along the way.

We all left with a better appreciation of what the northern U.S. looks like as you drive from east to west. You cannot beat the beauty of this country!

Happy Travels,

Chrissy