"Cross-country Trip – Southborough to Missoula"

We rented a car, filled it with items we have been waiting to take to Leah. The plan was worked out by Larry, with four days of equal driving (700 miles/day) and three nights, stopping at Niagara Falls in Ontario, driving the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, driving through the Badlands, visiting Mount Rushmore, and finally finishing up in Missoula.

The drive was Massachusetts → New York → Ontario → Michigan → Wisconsin → Minnesota → South Dakota → Wyoming → Montana.

Goal for the first day: Windsor, Ontario with a stop in Niagara Falls, Ontario

0 miles; 9:09 am EST – Off we go!
94 miles; 10:35 am EST – Highest point on I-90 MA Turnpike 1724 feet — we wouldn’t get any higher on I-90 until South Dakota
136 miles; 11:14 am EST – Crossed the Hudson River
383 miles; 4:36 pm EST – Niagara Falls, Ontario on a beautiful, mostly sunny day! We stayed until about 6:00 pm, walking along the park and back to our original starting point.
7:00 pm EST – Hamilton, Ontario
581 miles; 9:20 EST; 9:35 minutes drive time – Tim Horton’s for coffee. Where else 😃
696 miles; 11:15 pm EST; 11:34 minutes drive time – Ye Olde Walkerville Bed and Breakfast, Windsor, Ontario

Goal for the second day: Tomah, Wisconsin by way of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Tomah, is a small town in mid-Wisconsin, at the intersection of I90 and I94.

696 miles; 9:21 am; EST; 11:34 drive time – Leaving Ye Olde Walkerville Bed and Breakfast, Windsor, Ontario
699 miles; 9:33 am EST – Border crossing to Detroit
841 miles; 11:48 am EST; 13:48 drive time – Gas in Standish, MI
999 miles; 2:05 pm EST; 16:06 drive time – We crossed over the Mackinac Bridge (high wind warning) and stopped at Bridge View State Park. After that, we just drove along US route 2 along the southern edge of the Upper Peninsula and looked at scenery for a long while. We stopped at Manistique East Breakwater Lighthouse just about at the time President Trump announced the US withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord.
1196 miles; 19:40 CDT – Dinner at Schloegel's Bay View in Menominee (at the northern end of Green Bay), the first county to be CDT in Michigan
6:45 pm CDT Wisconsin border
1410 miles, 11:00 pm CDT, 23:30 – Tomah, Wisconsin AmericInn for the night; 50 miles to Minnesota

Goal for the third day: Drive through Minnesota into South Dakota, stopping at the Badlands National Park, Wall, SD for dinner, and the Powder House Lodge in Keystone as the stopover. On the road at 9:30 am CDT.

1458 miles; 10:07 am CDT; 24:15 drive time – Crossed the Mississippi
1618 miles; 12:30 pm CDT; 26:35 – Green Giant at Blue Earth, Minnesota – not the location of headquarters, but one of the canning plants as publicity by a radio station. Also stopped at the Golden Stripe, the spot where the I-90 east and west construction crews met in 19xx.
1755 miles; 3:25 pm CDT; 28:40 South Dakota!
1891 miles; 5:20 pm CDT; 30:30 – Cross Missouri River; now rolling hills; also passed Oacama, first time height on I-90 matched high point since the Mass Pike.
1981 miles; 6:29 pm CDT / 5:29 MDT; 31:38 – Passed through some thunderstorms
2000 miles; 5:46 pm MDT; 31:53 – Kadoka, South Dakota
2028 miles; 6:09 pm MDT; 32:19 – Badlands National Park, South Dakota Drove through, about 36 miles, 1 hour 30 minutes drive; picked up Polish backpacker in school in Montreal, dropped him at the exit so he could get to a free camping spot
About 2068 miles; About 7:40 pm MDT – Wall Drug briefly. Meh tex-mex at Cactus Cafe
2141 miles; 10:15 pm MDT; 34:50 – Powder House Lodge. Quick drive to Mt Rushmore and back to check out the lit monument.

Goal for the fourth day: Mt. Rushmore and then push on to Missoula.

Breakfast at Powder House. Good eggs, toast, coffee.
Mt Rushmore at 9 am MDT. Walked the Presidential Trail loop.
2152 miles; 9:58 am MDT; 35:35 drive time – Left Mt. Rushmore
2167 miles; 10:33 am MDT; 36 hours drive time – Stopped to take pictures at the partially unfinished Crazy Horse Memorial
2199 miles; 11:08 am MDT; 36:45 Wyoming!
2358 miles; 1:30 MDT; 39:04 – Buffalo, WY; IGA for apples, carrots, celery, soda; Picnic at park; Left at 2:10 pm MDT
2420 miles; 40:02 Montana!
2520 miles; 4:26 pm MDT; 41:26 – Billings, MT
2665 miles; 6:33 pm MDT; 43:25 – Bozeman, coffee break at City Brew at 6:50 pm MDT
2746; 8:08 pm MDT; 44:39 Continental Divide!

2876; 10:00 pm MDT; 46 hours 30 minutes drive time Missoula! Tail end of Brian’s birthday party. All done!

Eileen and Larry Samberg

A log of our various hikes and travels

Cross-country Trip – Southborough to Missoula

Wednesday, 31-May-2017