My first stop in Ohio was lunch in Toledo at a hot dog restaurant where they’re known for having celebrity signed hot dog buns. Yep. That’s their thing… and yep, it was actually pretty cool for a gimmick. Legend (or you know, their own wall plaque) tells that Burt F’n Reynolds started the tradition by …
Continue reading “Ohio: hot dog buns, a sparkly cave, waterfalls, and an amazing alley”
North of the twin cities quickly turns into the land of Paul Bunyan and his woodland entourage. Outside Brainerd I spotted Paul’s giant footprints in the scenic Kohl’s parking lot (my sandals for scale), Babe the blue ox in Elvis style, a corn cob man named Colonel Cobber (story here), a giant statue of Paul’s …
Continue reading “Minnesota: the Paul Bunyan trail to Voyageurs National Park”
After my detour around the big rainstorm, I arrived at the Shadehill Reservoir close to the state line where I camped for a few days to regroup and relax. The water wasn’t the best swimming (lots of algae) but I went in anyway, and between that and being a hot sweaty mess this was great …
Continue reading “North Dakota: Theodore Roosevelt Park and more”
Driving east from Rapid City I was treated to one of the most well known rest stop roadside attractions out there- Wall Drug! This reminded me of South of the Border on the east coast with an old west theme rather than a Mexican theme. The billboards for this place range from Montana to Minnesota, …
My first day crossing from the Black Hills of Wyoming into those of South Dakota was jam packed with sights. After finding my intended route blocked off for a parade (don’t worry, we’ll get back to this), I took a longer and less scenic route to Mount Rushmore via highway rather than byway, but also …
I was super excited to go back to Glacier National Park, despite the fact that the famed Going to the Sun Road was only open for 15 miles and there was only one entrance on the west side of the park open because the eastern entrances, which all lie on reservation land and the tribe …
I left the Tetons reluctantly, heading north through the National Forest in hopes of stumbling upon a campsite in the stretch between Grand Teton and Yellowstone parks. I was unsuccessful, but stubborn (perhaps persistent is a nicer word, but perhaps less accurate) and thus continued on the rutted, dirt and gravel forest service roads across …
From Idaho I crossed the border into Wyoming, rolling into Jackson midday where I got the best pizza lunch special deal thanks to a rec from a friend, and wandered through the town square for about 5 minutes before deciding there were too many dumb non-social distancing, non-mask wearing crazies and hopping back in the …
We next dipped back south to visit Carlsbad Caverns. In another internet research fail, e arrived in the early afternoon to discover that they were limiting cave tour numbers for social distancing (totally smart and good) by handing out timed passes in the morning (just wish they said this part online). So we were out …
The next stop on our little Colorado tour was kind of a roadside attraction stop to fill some time on our way towards Rocky Mountain Park- a few hours in a funny little amusement park in Glenwood Springs. We really went so we could ride the scenic gondola up to the top of the hills, …
The Van is Go