This summer we were going to cruise the US interstates and highways and had many destinations on the way. From Chicago we went down along the Mississippi to San Antonio in southern Texas. From Texas, we headed north west to Kalispell way up in Montana and finally we headed east back to Chicago. If any of our trips deserved the title "On the Road", it would be this trip - nearly 12,000 km i three weeks. Wow! (7,200 miles)

Part 1 : Chicago to San Antonio.

Part 2 : San Antonio to Kalispell.

Part 3 : Kalispell to Chicago.

Between Kalispell and Chicago we stayed in Browning, West Yellowstone and Glendive in Montana, Rapid City and Chamberlain in South Dakota and Mankato in Minnesota.

Click each photo to enlarge

Glacier National Park, Montana, June 2016

The Glacier National Park was the ultimate destination of our USA tour. We were all excited finally to reach the entrance of the park.

Glacier National Park, Montana, June 2016

Glacier National Park is located in a beautiful part of the Rocky Mountains way up in Montana near the Canadian border.

There are some pretty exciting roads in the park - with sheer drops! We stopped a place to enjoy the views. Wow - way down to go!

Glacier National Park, Montana, June 2016

We drove all the way up to Logan Pass at just above 2000 meters, wow!

From Logan Pass the road takes you down to St. Mary's Lake. We went out on a boat trip and went to a place with a waterfall.

Glacier National Park, Montana, June 2016

As we drove on, somebody had spotted a bear up the hill and it caused bear jam with lots of parked cars on the road side.

Glacier National Park, Montana, June 2016

The next day we went back hoping to see more bears. We arrived just as somebody had spotted a bear down at the river and it caused more bear jam!

The rangers worked hard to keep the road clear for incoming cars and curious people.
"This is odd," Tom said. "One bear causing so much bear jam? We are three bears... and no jam!"

Browning, Montana, July 2016

We left the Glacier National Park and headed east to Browning on the plains. From our hotel room at the Holiday Inn we could see the ridge of the Rocky Mountains stretching for miles after miles.

Browning, Montana, July 2016

Browning is located in real Indian territory, so it was very appropriate that we went for coffee in a teepee!

Further east, in Cut Banks, we found ourselves at the heart of the Blackfeet Nation. This Indian area is among the 10 largest reservations in the US.

After Cut Banks, we entered the Interstate 15 and headed south through Great Falls and Helena until we reached the Missouri Headwaters Park near Three Fork. Here, three rivers merge to become the great Missouri River: the Jefferson, the Madison and the Gallatin rivers. The Madison starts in Yellowstone National Park, where two rivers merge: The Gibbon and the Firehole rivers. Phew!

West Yellowstone, Montana, July 2016

We arrived The Stagecoach Inn in West Yellowstone.

The Stagecoach Inn is a real forest lodge with real (deceased) animals like a bear, wolf, moose etc.

Then it was time to explore Yellowstone National Park, another highlight of our trip. We wished to witness the famous Old Faithful geysor erupt. It turned out we weren't the only visitors wanting to see the geysor; in fact there were hundreds of visitors!

Having waited a good while, we saw a fantastic performance with scolding hot water pumping high up in the air. Yellowstone is supposed to be located on top of a super vulcano, and the park has the largest amount of geysors anywhere in the world.

Yellowstone Nat. Park, Wyoming, July 2016

We also saw the fabulous Prismatic Hotspring - what colours, wow! Since it's a hotspring and some of the chemicals can be poisonous, the park has built elevated, woodden pathways for visitors to walk on.

Here we are exploring the Turquoise Hotspring.

Yellowstone Nat. Park, Wyoming, July 2016

Once bisons in millions roamed Wyoming. But Buffalo Bill and other animal hunters nearly shot down all of them in the 1800s. Then, the bisons got protected, and today the bisons raom freely in the park in their thousands.

From Yellowstone we headed east to Glendive and then entered North Dakota.

We went through the Black Hills and stopped to see the carved president faces on Mount Rushmore.

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, July 2016

The presidential faces were carved out from the rocks in the 1930s. Each face is around 20 meters tall.

Rapid City, South Dakota, July 2016

We arrived the Hampton Inn in Rapid City for a one night stay. In the evening there was a massive thunderstorm with lightnings flashing every few seconds, wow! Roger fetched his guitar and sang a few songs - incl. of course "Take me back to the Black Hills".

About an hours drive from Rapid City is the Devil's Tooth. It's an amazing monolit sticking up from the ground around 300 meters up in the air.

Devil's Tooth, Wyoming, July 2016

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On our way east we came through a tiny village, Aladin. Since our humans were in dire need of restrooms, we got a chance to see a tiny village. Population: 28!
"28 citizens?" Roger pondered. "Well, that's more than in Buford in southern Wyoming. In 2008 we stopped to refuel at a petrol station, and a road sign said 'Buford. Population: 1'. Remember?"

Badlands, South Dakota, July 2016

From Rapid City we headed east on Interstate 90, until we reached The Badlands National Park.

Driving through the park, it became obvious why the area was called badlands: It wouldn't be possible to ploug and harvest the land for agricultural purposes.

Chamberlain, South Dakota, July 2016

In the evening we reached the Best Western near Chamberlain. We went down to the river bank to have a look at the Missouri River.

Next day we went to De Smet. It's a small village that became famous because it was here Laura Ingalls lived on a farm for several years and got married to Almanzo Wilder before they went to Mansfield, Missouri. Just as we got our selfie in front of the Wilder Welcome Center, the county Sheriff passed by!

Walnut Grove, Minnesota, July 2016

In Minnesota we wanted too visit Walnut Grove. Before moving to De Smet, Laura Ingalls lived in Walnut Grove with her family. She went to school in Walnut Grove and the family lived at the Plum Creek. It was exciting to cross the tiny Plum Creek river.

In Walnut Grove we visited the Wilder Museum. We stayed for the night in Mankato and then hit the Interstate 90 on our way back towards Chicago.

Madison, Wisconsin, July 2016

Next day would be our last full day on the road. We followed the Interstate 90, crossed the Mississippi for the last time and stopped to refuel in Madison in Wisconsin. Here, we discovered Panera, a nice cafe.

It's always nice to refuel coffee...

Wood Dale, Chicago, Illinois, July 2016

Then we arrived the Double Tree by Hilton in Wood Dale north west of Chicago.

Very few hotels are built to accommodate bear sized guests, so as per usual we had certain issues accessing our room...

Wood Dale, Chicago, Illinois, July 2016

We went down to the lobby to enjoy a free welcome drink.

Next day our trip ended as we went to O'Hare to check in at the airport.

Part 1 : Chicago to San Antonio.

Part 2 : San Antonio to Kalispell.

Part 3 : Kalispell to Chicago.