Westward Trip- Coming Summer 2014- 10 more states

This is our second roadtrip in our 50 states before they graduate adventure. My kids will be 11, 10 and 8 years old on this trip. Our goal is to travel from Michigan to Montana/Wyoming and back hitting 10 more states. We are very excited. We have not stopped talking about our East Coast trip last year. You can read about it on this blog. I am in the planning stages now mapping out our general stops and making reservations where needed. Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore areas fill up quickly.
Speaking of making reservations and things filling up, I was trying to make a reservation in Rapid City so we could visit the monuments and natural wonders. Nothing was available online. So I called a hotel. The woman asked me what was bringing us there. After I replied, she said, "Do you know that the Sturgis...something or other ... is going on." I didn't hear what she said but agreed. She sounded funny but I ignored it hoping she'd say she has a room. Oh, she did...for $500+ a night. What?! So I got off the phone and started researching events going on in Sturgis at that time. Holy rolling close call. The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is going on. I will post a picture. Needless to say, I rerouted our trip to miss the roaring thunder of motorcycles and other goodies I would prefer my kids didn't learn about yet. I'm guessing we will enjoy our share of motorcycle parades through Yellowstone and the surrounding landmarks. I'm planning our route and using Roadtrippers.com to find activities, landmarks and natural wonders along the way. We are months away but I am finding it hard to book things even now in March and we aren't going until August. I was warned about that.
I will post periodically as my planning progresses. If you are reading this, feel free to leave me comments about places you've been that we might be able to visit on this trip. Thanks for reading.

---

Trip Length: 2 weeks
Blog Entries: 17
Photos: 265
Words: 12216

---

Blog Entries

Date	Blog Title	Location
August 1st 2014	Van-is-a-Gogh	North America » United States » Michigan » Birmingham
August 3rd 2014	Flipside of Lake Michigan	North America » United States » Illinois » Chicago
August 3rd 2014	AnaconDells	North America » United States » Wisconsin » Wisconsin Dells
August 4th 2014	Mommy Meltdown Day	North America » United States » Minnesota » Minneapolis
August 5th 2014	10,000 Lakes and a Mall	North America » United States » North Dakota » Fargo
August 6th 2014	Crossing the Prairie	North America » United States » North Dakota » Medora
August 7th 2014	Medorable	North America » United States » North Dakota » Medora
August 8th 2014	Big Sky Montana	North America » United States » Montana » Billings
August 9th 2014	Gateway to Heaven on Earth	North America » United States » Montana » Gardiner
August 10th 2014	Paddle a Horse Up the River	North America » United States » Montana » Gardiner
August 10th 2014	White Water Rafting Pix	North America » United States » Montana » Gardiner
August 11th 2014	Boiling River	North America » United States » Montana » Gardiner
August 12th 2014	Yee-haw!	North America » United States » Wyoming » Cody
August 13th 2014	Made a Splash in Rapid City	North America » United States » South Dakota » Rapid City
August 14th 2014	Outrun a Twister	North America » United States » South Dakota » Rapid City
August 15th 2014	Change of Plans	North America » United States » Iowa » Davenport
August 16th 2014	Homeward Bound	North America » United States » Indiana » South Bend