Nights away: 10
Hendrik's longest trip to date. And ours as married folk, I believe.
New states: 6
Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota
Miles driven: 3,669
When Dirk kept pushing to go further and further west, I reacted somewhat negatively out of fear most of vacation would be spent inside the car. But I have to hand it to him-- if we had stopped in eastern Montana, we would have missed the most majestic and gorgeous parts of the trip. It was so worth it!
Hours in the car: 67 That is right. It seems like an awful lot for 11 days, but when you consider the 171 hours we were not in the car, it's not so bad. Here's H in his natural habitat. He did really well... As a matter of fact, I think he forgot how to sleep in his crib over the course of the trip, but every time we've driven somewhere since then he has konked out really fast. |
One night at Lost Creek State Park near Anaconda, MT. The next and best one was the Alta Campground in the Bitterroot National Forest. Beautiful!!! And spacious, and minus any neighbors. And we spent a night in the Helena National Forest at the Vigilante Campground, our last night camping, and of course the only one that it rained.
Scary mountain roads: 2 Meltdowns from scary mountain roads: 1 (completely on my part-- Hendrik was all smiles and Dirk thought the roads were fun) My pictures do not do justice to the roads that snaked along on the sides of mountains, switchbacks with hairpin turns and nothing between you and steep slopes down hundreds of feet. We drove on a scary logging road that was all gravel, and I kept imagining the van tumbling over the edge and rolling down forever... When we drove on the Skalkaho Pass I kept leaning into the middle of the car as if that would help us not tip over. I guess I have developed a fear of edges. But the scenery was breathtaking, worth the pounding heart and fluttery stomach. Bear sightings: 0 I was thrilled about this, but Dirk was disappointed. When we entered Yellowstone they gave us directions of what to do if we saw bears. Yikes! As we decided later in the trip, I am severely adventure challenged. |