USA, Here We Come

A 29-day adventure by Bill Read more

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USA, Here We Come Bill Bates
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Day 6
Thursday, June 22, 2017 at 9:00 AM
☀️ 61 °F
Altitude: 5,007 ft
United States Our House Hospital 44.527133, -109.05635144°31’38” N 109°3’23” W
Day 6 - Mt. Rushmore or Bust!
June 22, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F
Day 5 Miles: 259.5
Total Miles: 2,003.9
Total States: 6

We didn't travel as far as other days, yesterday, but spending the day in Yellowstone was well worth it!

So far, counting our home state, we have been to six states: California, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Lots more to come. 😊

Today, we head to Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. I had hoped to bring the kids to Devil's Tower and then watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Sadly, we decided to nix it. Something for the future.Read more
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Day 6
Thursday, June 22, 2017 at 6:19 PM
⛅ 64 °F
Altitude: 5,971 ft
United States Thunderhead Mountain 43.828236, -103.63130243°49’42” N 103°37’53” W
Crazy Horse Memorial - Black Hills, SD
June 22, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
Deep in the Black Hills of South Dakota, you can find The Crazy Horse Memorial. It is pretty spectacular. The project was started in 1948 by Boston native Korczak Ziolkowski. He was an assistant to Gutzon Borglum, sculptor of Mount Rushmore.

For the first seven years, Korczak worked alone. So you can imagine why a project such as this is taking so long. Crazy Horse will be 641 feet wide and 563 feet high. His head will be 87 feet high. The heads at Mount Rushmore are each 60 feet high.

The face was unveiled in 1998 at the 50th anniversary celebration. My grandkids, grandkids may not see it finished.

Jenn and I visited the memorial in 1996 and it is hard to tell from our perspective what has been done. It is an impressive project. I hope they complete it.Read more
Matt FeldonTed, Peg and I were there in 2005. Tough to tell what's been done. Slow going :)
7/2/17Reply
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Day 6
Thursday, June 22, 2017 at 7:09 PM
⛅ 66 °F
Altitude: 5,236 ft
United States Mount Rushmore 43.877128, -103.45619243°52’38” N 103°27’22” W
Mount Rushmore
June 22, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
Wow, this place has changed! Jenn and I came through here in 1996 and it was a small parking lot, tiny bookstore and a modest food vendor with a small restroom.

Now, it has a two level parking structure, granite pillars, a huge gift shop and a restaurant. There is also a massive amphitheater!

Washington, Jefferson, Rosevelt and Lincoln are still how I remember them. Still impressive. Still worth visiting.Read more
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Day 6
Thursday, June 22, 2017 at 11:02 PM
⛅ 59 °F
Altitude: 4,377 ft
United States Grizzly Bear Creek 43.892864, -103.42580443°53’34” N 103°25’33” W
Keystone, SD - Our 20th Anniversary
June 22, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F
As a special 20th anniversary dinner, the family went to Ruby House. A 1900's style saloon and diner. I take Jenn to all the nice places. 😊

I had a local IPA and the buffalo rib eye. It was excellent.

I love you, honey! 😘Read more
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Day 7
Friday, June 23, 2017 at 10:22 AM
⛅ 57 °F
Altitude: 4,370 ft
United States Grizzly Bear Creek 43.892719, -103.42592643°53’34” N 103°25’33” W
Day 7 - Many Miles to Cover Today
June 23, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F
Day 6 Miles: 385.7
Total Miles: 2,389.6
Total States: 7

We added South Dakota to our states visited list.

Today, we may have been overly ambitious. We are headed to Austin, MN. That gives us a 550 mile trek today, not counting side excursions. We also lose an hour due to changing time zones (Mountain to Central). It will be a long travel day.

Before we left Keystone, we visited some shops. There were a lot of interesting tee shirts in Keystone...Read more
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Day 7
Friday, June 23, 2017 at 12:41 PM
🌬 64 °F
Altitude: 2,799 ft
United States Wall 43.992912, -102.24083743°59’34” N 102°14’27” W
Wall Drug - Wall, SD
June 23, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 64 °F
The famous Wall Drug, the little store that became a star because they gave away free ice water and discovered the magic of road signs. Well, the water is still free today.

It is a giant tourist trap, but still worth visiting. The store is massive, it now covers a full city block.

Quinn and I thought the ice water was refreshing, but could have been colder. Man, we get picky. The fellas got some of their famous home made donuts. We took in the sights, bought a couple of souvenirs and headed on our way. Not before we got a picture of the kids riding a Jackalope. You can imagine how happy they were to have that picture taken. Awkward family photo gold! 😉Read more
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Day 7
Friday, June 23, 2017 at 5:02 PM
🌬 72 °F
Altitude: 1,342 ft
United States Mitchell 43.71493, -98.02562843°42’54” N 98°1’32” W
Corn Palace - Mitchell, SD
June 23, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 72 °F
Quinn's mission has been to find interesting things for us to stop and visit. He found a real winner with the Corn Palace! It is a multipurpose facility that hosts sports events, concerts and of course, tourists. According to their video, USA Today ranked it one of the top 10 venues to play high school basketball.

The walls are decorated with artwork made of corn and other grain. The giant Willie Nelson made
of corn out front was worth the trip! The pillars inside are decorated in tile work that looks like corn.

They change the artwork every year. So, you could say that it is always under corn-struction! 🌽 Awwww shucks, that was corny. I can't stop, these comments just keep popping out...

I didn't buy a corn on the cob. I know, I know, a missed opportunity. There was a young boy eating some corn on the cob with his grampa who was exclaiming into his phone, "He is eating corn, at the Corn Palace. Can you believe it!?!? Eating corn at the Corn Palace!" Apparently, I stumbled upon some catharsis in the making.

Before we left, we made the kids take a picture with some giant corn. Such a good stop. Well done, Q!Read more
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Day 7
Friday, June 23, 2017 at 9:37 PM
⛅ 61 °F
Altitude: 1,056 ft
United States Green Giant Statue Park 43.651115, -94.09565743°39’4” N 94°5’44” W
Jolly Green Giant - Blue Earth, MN
June 23, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
Driving by, we had to stop at the Jolly Green Giant statue. Dedicated in 1979 as part tourist lure and part thank you to the Green Giant food company, which was a major job center for Blue Earth. They originally wanted a button that would make the giant boom his famous, "Ho, ho, ho." They ran out of funding for that. 😟

At Christmas, Santa presents the giant with a red scarf. Sweet.

The giant is 55 feet tall. If you look hard, you can see Casey and Quinn between his legs.Read more
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Day 7
Friday, June 23, 2017 at 11:00 PM
⛅ 61 °F
Altitude: 1,076 ft
United States Golden Hill 43.996002, -92.46363843°59’46” N 92°27’49” W
Rochester, MN - End of Day 7
June 23, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
It was a long drive to get here. Time to crash and post in the morning.
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Day 8
Saturday, June 24, 2017 at 9:56 AM
☀️ 59 °F
Altitude: 1,076 ft
United States Golden Hill 43.996167, -92.464743°59’46” N 92°27’53” W
Day 8 - Heading to Jenn's Home Town
June 24, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F
Day 7 Miles: 600.2
Total Miles: 2,989.8
Total States: 8

Yesterday was a long haul day. We dove 600 miles! This should be the longest drive of the trip. We ended up in Rochester, Minnesota and not Austin. We pushed on another hour so we could be closer to Chicago.

We were road weary and ready to crash. There wasn't as much crankiness as I thought there would be. Some, but not too bad.

The pool at the Hilton is open 24 hours, so Casey and Quinn decided to hit the hot tub before bed. I wanted to joint them, but couldn't summon the energy.

Today we end up in Chicago, but first, take a trip to Jenn's home town of Naperville, Illinois. It will be fun for the kids to see where she grew up.

To quote the truck parked at our hotel, "It is a good day for a good day." 😊Read more
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Day 8
Saturday, June 24, 2017 at 12:44 PM
⛅ 66 °F
Altitude: 948 ft
United States Norway Grove 43.250065, -89.38051643°15’0” N 89°22’50” W
Pink Elephant - DeForest, WI
June 24, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
Why stop in DeForest, Wisconsin? To visit Pinkie, of course! 😊

Built in the 60's to attract customers (other gas stations in the area had dinosaurs), people have been visiting ever since. The Bates family is no exception. The glasses were added a couple of years after the elephant was installed.

It was a nice stretch break. We got some gas, ice for the cooler and headed on our way.

Sad Side Note: It turns out, I left my backpack here. The owner found it and may ship it back to us. We'll see. I'll update the results.Read more
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Day 8
Saturday, June 24, 2017 at 5:37 PM
⛅ 72 °F
Altitude: 715 ft
United States Eagle Park 41.741711, -88.11471641°44’30” N 88°6’53” W
Naperville, IL
June 24, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
Today was a real treat. We travelled to Jenn's hometown of Naperville, Illinois. She wasn't born in Illinois, she was born in New York, but this is where she grew up.

We visited the two houses she lived in, as well as the downtown Naperville River Walk. Along the way we stopped in the park near her first house with the "giant" hill the kids used to sled down.

Jenn and I visited Naperville in 1996 and when we went to the park she said, "Where is the hill?" 😊The picture in the gallery for this post is of Jenn and Quinn standing at the base of the hill. To be fair, for a little kid, it is a good sized hill. I tried to get a video of Quinn rolling down the hill, but he wouldn't do it. Maybe next time.

The River Walk was very pretty. There was an art exhibition around town. A lot of benches made from famous children's books.

It was a good visit. Now the kids can picture the places when Jenn's family tell their stories.Read more
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Day 8
Saturday, June 24, 2017 at 9:16 PM
⛅ 66 °F
Altitude: 646 ft
United States Saint James Cathedral-Episcopal Church Center 41.89555, -87.62563341°53’44” N 87°37’32” W
Chicago - End of Day 8
June 24, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
Day 8 Miles: 363.1
Total Miles: 3,352.9
Total States: 10

We added Wisconsin and Illinois to our list of states today. If we had taken the fastest route from our house to my parent's house, it is 3,157 miles door-to-door. With our meandering path, we passed that mark today and spent the night in Chicago.

You can't visit Chi-Town without having some famous deep dish pizza. 🍕 Jenn did not let us down. She brought us to Giordano's. It was excellent!

While we waited for our table, we walked over to Lake Shore Drive. It was beautiful at night and we stuck our hands into Lake Michigan.

It was a nice casual evening.Read more
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Day 9
Sunday, June 25, 2017 at 1:51 PM
⛅ 70 °F
Altitude: 607 ft
United States Fourth Presbyterian Church 41.8988, -87.62400841°53’56” N 87°37’26” W
Day 9 - The Windy City and Big John
June 25, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F
Today is more about exploring than driving. We started he day by powering up at Starbucks. Jenn found a Groupon and we all got $10 credit at Starbucks for $5. 😁

We walked over to The John Hancock building, affectionally known as Big John. It is one of the iconic buildings that make up the Chicago skyline. At the top is 360 Chicago, an observation deck that rings the entire 94th floor. Also at the top is Tilt!, where they tilt you 60 degrees over the street below (Chicago's Magnificent Mile). Of course Casey, Quinn and I did that!

It was a clear day and the view was amazing!Read more
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Day 9
Sunday, June 25, 2017 at 2:48 PM
⛅ 70 °F
Altitude: 623 ft
United States Wrigley Field 41.947392, -87.65619741°56’51” N 87°39’22” W
Wrigley Field and The Cubby Bear
June 25, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F
One of the things Quinn most wanted to do on this trip was take a tour of Wrigley Field. How could we deny him?

We took the famous Chicago L from the Hancock building. That was pretty cool!

It was Pride 2017 and there was a lot happening in the city. We didn't get to see the parade, but there was plenty going on around us. It was good to see such a positive day. 🌈

Before we got to Wrigley, we had lunch at The Cubby Bear sports bar across the street. Gramps has told us about the Cubby Bear many times. We just had to visit!

Wrigley field was great! Built in 1914, two years after Fenway Park, it is the second oldest MLB park. The third oldest is Dodger Stadium, built in 1962.

We got to sit in the field seats, the bleachers, the press box, the visiting locker room and the Cubs dugout. It was pretty awesome! We saw the famed ivy in the outfield and the neighborhood rooftop seats. Thirteen of the sixteen rooftops are now owned by the family that owns the Cubs.

They were setting up for a Tom Petty concert later in the week. Lots more of action going on.

A note on the visitors locker room. It is TERRIBLE!! Seriously, embarrassing. It is the exact same locker room that was built in 1914. It was pretty cool to think of all the athletes who have been in that locker room. Not just baseball, the Bears played there for a while as well as the Globetrotters and the NHL Winter Classic. The Cubs locker room (which the tour didn't go to) is state of the art and HUGE. MLB has told the Cubs they need to upgrade the visitors locker room.

We really enjoyed the tour of Wrigley. 😊Read more
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Day 9
Sunday, June 25, 2017 at 9:49 PM
☁️ 64 °F
Altitude: 794 ft
United States Gulivoire Park 41.609055, -86.25395241°36’33” N 86°15’14” W
South Bend, IN - End of Day 9
June 25, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F
Day 9 Miles: 132.3
Total Miles: 3,485.2
Steps Today: 12,083
States: 11

We added Indiana to our list of states. As far as driving goes, it was a lightest day. Believe me, we needed the break! What we lost in Miles, we made up in steps, walking around the city. I will say, it was quite refreshing to have an early night.

We brought our Apple TV along and we watched The West Wing via the Netflix app. We have been watching the series with the boys on and off for about a year. We are on season 7, the final season.

Quick side note, you can bring your Apple TV (or other streaming device) to any hotel. You'll need to call the hotel network provider (in their welcome book on the desk/table in the room) and let them know. Hotels block streaming devices like Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire Stick and such. All you need to do is give them the device MAC address (normally found in settings) and they will let it on the network and provision it to stream without buffering. Pretty sweet!

Although we stayed in South Bend, we didn't visit Notre Dame. Maybe next time.Read more
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Day 10
Monday, June 26, 2017 at 11:02 AM
☀️ 66 °F
Altitude: 794 ft
United States Gulivoire Park 41.60917, -86.25360841°36’33” N 86°15’13” W
Day 10 - Moving Slow...
June 26, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F
We started the morning in South Bend moving VERY slowly. Ten days on the road takes its toll. We didn't get on the road until 11am, which is late for us. We needed it.

South Bend must be a safe place, at the market across the street we saw multiple people go in and leave their cars unlocked and running.

Today, we have a few stops to make on our way to Erie, Pennsylvania. It should be a fun day!Read more
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Day 10
Monday, June 26, 2017 at 12:42 PM
⛅ 64 °F
Altitude: 1,060 ft
United States York 41.696133, -84.80606141°41’46” N 84°48’22” W
Standing in Three States
June 26, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
Quinn found us a really cool stop. The spot where Indiana, Michigan and Ohio meet. The spot was in the middle of nowhere. There were no signs, no pomp, no circumstance and the road wasn't paved.

Next to a farm on a small road, where the pavement ends and dirt road begins is the marker. 130 feet up the dirt road is the historical plaque. Strange it isn't next to the marker and it made for a bit of an adventure finding the spot.

We did finally find the intersection of the three states and it was a lot of fun to jump between them. 🙂Read more
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Day 10
Monday, June 26, 2017 at 4:44 PM
⛅ 70 °F
Altitude: 584 ft
United States Voinovich Park 41.508308, -81.6944241°30’30” N 81°41’40” W
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
June 26, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was great! We had one small problem, as I mention at the post for the beginning of the day, we were moving slowly. We meandered through the day and never looked to see what the hours were. We got there 45 minutes before closing. 🙁

We saw as much as we could, mostly the lobby and gift shop. It is too bad we didn't have more time, but it was still worth stopping by. We got some great shirts.

On a sad note, in our exuberance to take pictures with our mascot, little Hunter Pence, we left him at the Hall of Fame. In fact, the picture of him in this gallery is the last know whereabouts. We realized it on our next stop, about 30 minutes away. We drove back to the hall (yes, we drove 30 minutes back for a doll), but he was not there.

We dedicate the rest of our trip to little Pence.Read more
Mimi PayneWell,it was obvious to another traveler he was left at the wrong Hall of Fame. That someone found him and is driving him to Williamsburg PA right now! Phew!
6/28/17Reply
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Day 10
Monday, June 26, 2017 at 6:41 PM
⛅ 66 °F
Altitude: 709 ft
United States Oxbow Lagoon 41.580058, -81.41927241°34’48” N 81°25’9” W
Squire Castle - Willoughby Hills, Ohio
June 26, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
Another find by Quinn. Squire Castle was built in the late 1890s by an oil baron who sold it in 1922. What is left of the castle is at the end of a quiet little park.

This is where we noticed little Pence was missing. He would have really liked this castle.Read more
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Day 10
Monday, June 26, 2017 at 10:32 PM
⛅ 57 °F
Altitude: 1,283 ft
United States Kearsarge 42.047906, -80.08257242°2’52” N 80°4’57” W
Erie, PA - End of Day 10
June 26, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F
Day 10 Miles: 413.5
Total Miles: 3,898.7
States: 14

We added Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania to our state list. We traveled far and had some great stops. All-in-all, besides the loss of our little buddy, it was a good day.Read more
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Day 11
Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 9:33 AM
⛅ 55 °F
Altitude: 1,227 ft
United States Kearsarge 42.048206, -80.0825242°2’54” N 80°4’57” W
Day 11 - Almost There
June 27, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F
We fueled up for a fun day. You can see Quinn went all out on his morning made from scratch waffle. The hotels we like the best have had waffle makers.

We have mostly been staying at Comfort Inns or something in the Hilton chain. Jenn finds the best deals! The hotels we have been staying at have hot breakfast included. Yum! ☕️🥚🥞🥓 (How is there no waffle emoji? A missed opportunity...)Read more
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Day 11
Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 10:26 AM
⛅ 57 °F
Altitude: 1,004 ft
United States Weis Library 42.044389, -80.13449742°2’40” N 80°8’4” W
Car Creatures - Erie, PA
June 27, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F
Another interesting find. Schaefer's Auto Art, is a private front yard full of sculptures made from old auto parts (many of them feature an entire car). They welcome visitors and the front yard is more like a small community park.

The pièce de résistance is the VW Bug spider.Read more
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Day 11
Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 12:55 PM
🌧 63 °F
Altitude: 381 ft
Canada Horseshoe Falls 43.083492, -79.07576143°5’1” N 79°4’33” W
Niagara Falls - New York & Canada
June 27, 2017 in Canada ⋅ 🌧 63 °F
Niagara Falls is a truly impressive sight. The surrounding area is a great example of capitalism at a disgusting extreme. It is a dirty, seedy embarrassment to a national treasure. The park, itself, is nice.

The beauty and majesty of the falls is yet again something that the camera just cannot do justice to. Still, we got some great shots.

We did something I have wanted to do since I was a little kid. We saw the falls on the Maid of the Mist boat tour. It was cold, windy and wet... awesome!!!! Quinn and I dragged Casey and Jenn along. I think they are glad we did. 😉

The sky was blue when we went down to the boat, but storm clouds blew in while we were on the water. Luckily, it didn't start raining until we left, not that we would have noticed. 😊

While we were there we visited the Canadian side of the falls. We entered another country. Add it to the list!Read more
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Day 11
Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 6:17 PM
🌧 57 °F
Altitude: 1,293 ft
United States Cazenovia 42.924278, -75.84231642°55’27” N 75°50’32” W
Cazenovia, NY - End of Day 11
June 27, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 57 °F
Day 11 Miles: 309.5
Total Miles: 4,208.2
States: 15
Countries: 2

We added New York to our list of states and Canada to our list of countries. We also broke the 4,000 mile mark!

Our hotel was in the middle of nowhere. However, it was awesome! Because of the secluded location, we were able to get a better room for a much cheaper price. The area is also very beautiful. Located in Madison County, Cazenovia and the surrounding towns are very picturesque.

We are now spoiled. It's like flying first class. How can we go back to cramped hotel rooms?

This hotel offered a digital key. Jenn was able to open our room, the pool and workout center from her phone! The kids and I geeked out over that. 😁Read more
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