Wanderlust strikes. But there is COVID and we want to be mindful of our 6 feet distance. We hatch a plan: hit the road, tents and sleeping bags in tow.
The Plan:
Michigan -> Washington D.C. -> Seattle -> California -> somewhere in the middle of nowhere (TBD) -> Michigan
In the light of all the uncertainties, we keep our plan flexible. We book campsites for our journey from Michigan to Seattle but none for the journey after. Since it is already fall and the temperature is not so ideal for camping, we manage to find campsites alright.
And now let us see how far we get…
1 October 2020: Michigan -> Maryland
We depart from home at 16:45 after Paul and I wind up work for the day. Paul’s Mustang GT is all kitted up for the drive. We have a ton of luggage since we expect to be away for a month, need all our camping gear and have to be prepared for different weather conditions in the great outdoors. The Mustang’s boot doesn’t let us down.
The sky is overcast and we expect rain throughout the drive. Paul takes the wheel, we reset the odometer to read 0 miles and we are off. We didn’t have to drive long before the raindrops started their steady splatter on our windshield. The infotainment is on; we give a second listen to Naval Ravikant’s “How to Get Rich”. The route until Pennsylvania is not new to us. We have driven this segment before. We stop for dinner at Fremont, Ohio; it is Mexican fare at Casa Fiesta. And then time for a change of guard at the wheel. For Paul and I, road trips often mean an opportunity to deliberate on the weightier matters of life and this one is no different so far.
We reach Patapsco Valley State Park, where we have a campsite booked, past 02:00. The gates are down at the campground and to our dismay, we find a notice that states that the campground closes at sunset. In all of our camping experience, we have never faced this before. We are definitely prepared for surprises, but didn’t expect one on Day 1! Well, the rain is persistent and setting up camp in the rain is no fun. So maybe it isn’t such a terrible idea to try and catch a wink in the car.
We turn to Google Maps to find a rest area. We spend the night at I-95 South Maryland Welcome Center Rest Area. We are surprised to see the number of travelers who make rest areas their home for the night, apart from the truckers.
2 October 2020: Maryland -> Washington D.C. -> Michigan
Three hours of shut eye and we are ready to roll at 06:45. It is a “sunrise sans sun” at Sandy Point State Park, Maryland. The rain has not let up… not heavy anymore but keeping a steady drizzle. We see a committee of black vultures lazing around and a few intrepid runners braving the cold and rain. We catch beautiful views of Bay Bridge and spend a quiet morning on a nice stretch of sand. I dip my feet in the water flowing out to meet the Atlantic Ocean. And now, to start our long drive to the Pacific Coast!
As we head to Washington D.C., the media is abuzz with news of President Trump being diagnosed as COVID positive. The clouds clear up enough to let us capture a nicely illuminated Capitol Hill. We drive around taking in views of the many prominent memorials in D.C., gain an appreciation for beautiful Arlington and enjoy the George-Washington Memorial Parkway.
And just like that, it is time to drive homeward once again. We want to spend most of our limited vacation time exploring the stretch between Chicago and Seattle since we haven’t explored that segment before. We plough west through rolling mountains just beginning to flaunt their fall colors.
We are back in Northville, Michigan at 19:55 after clocking 1,172 miles. We have a newfound appreciation for the hot shower and the cozy comfort of our beds as we know we won’t have access to these luxuries until we reach Seattle six days later.
3 October 2020: Michigan -> Wisconsin
Today, we plan to drive across Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin, and camp on the banks of the mighty Mississippi that defines the border with Minnesota. We have driven the stretch until Chicago an ample number of times but we will be traversing the route beyond for the very first time. It is 09:30 when I take to the wheels, excited about the adventure that awaits.
The forests of Michigan give way to cornfields as we enter Illinois. As serendipity would have it, we lunch at Schaumburg, a northwestern suburb of Chicago, and it dawns on us that it is the place where Paul stayed the first few nights after arriving in the US for the very first time back in 2015.
Paul takes a nap as we cross over into the Dairyland of America. We cross miles and miles of farmland dotted with black-and-white Holstein cows, silos that store their feed and milk towers. As we approach the Mississippi, the flat pastoral scene evolves into forested hills with fall colors popping.
We stop at Trempealeau where I learn about the Great River Road: it hugs the Mississippi from its source in Minnesota to its mouth in Louisiana as the river flows out to meet the Gulf of Mexico. That is inspiration for another road trip. We placate our thirsty Mustang with a fuel stop. Paul is pumped to have an enthusiastic “Mustang conversation” with another customer at the gas station.
We arrive at our campsite in Perrot State Park as dusk blankets the landscape. The campsite is simply brilliant: it is at a secluded distance from neighboring sites, pine needles carpet the ground making for a cushy tent floor, it features a fire ring and a picnic table. It is a simple supper of bread, jam and fruits by a cheerful, crackling fire before we hit our sleeping bags. Temperature dips to freezing in the night but we manage better than we thought. Still good to roll!
4 October 2020: Wisconsin -> South Dakota (The Badlands)
It is a 05:30 wake up. We unwillingly leave the warmth of our sleeping bags to step out into the freezing cold outside. It is still dark as we shuffle our way to the restrooms for a hot shower. That is followed by hard work to dismantle camp in the light of our headlamps with gloved, tingling fingers.
As the first light appears, we gain a band of curious blue jays as audience to our activities. We chat with a bunch of Wisconsin campers on their morning walk. We exchange notes about the campground and talk about their ties to Michigan. I’ve always loved how easy it is to strike conversations with fellow campers, hikers and outdoor enthusiasts.
It is 07:30 by the time we head out, with Paul in the driver’s seat. We cross the Mississippi into Minnesota at Winona. The tall church towers and beautiful houses hint of a long, flourishing past. From forests and rocky outcrops near the Mississippi, the I-90 takes us through golden corn fields and wind farms as we traverse the breadth of Minnesota and into South Dakota, up until the Missouri River. The terrain changes drastically across the river. From there on, it is predominately brown, arid rolling hills. I am surprised to see some sunflower fields. And just like that, without warning we are at Badlands National Park.
We hike the 3-mile out and back Notch Trail, keeping an eye out for rattlesnakes. We meander through a canyon, climb a ladder and slither past a ledge to a lookout that offers great views of the White River Valley bathed in the glorious light of a setting sun. The trail is easier than we imagined though it is rated moderate to strenuous with an estimated hike duration of 1.5 to 2 hours.
We make our way to Cedar Pass Campground within the park, pitch camp and cook a meal over our camp stove. Time to enjoy our hot meal looking out over the moonlit badlands!
5 October 2020: South Dakota -> Wyoming
We wake up to the sounds of cattle mooing. As we go about our morning campground routine, fellow campers from Michigan call out to us excitedly for some chitchat after noticing our Mustang’s plates. The popularity of the park is evident; we see vehicles from all over the country: New York, Washington, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Texas and more.
We are mostly packed and ready to leave by 07:30 when we linger for a few moments to catch a beautiful sunrise even as black-billed magpies flew around foraging the campground for anything that caught their fancy. The weather is pleasant; not too cold. As we drive west, a rising sun casts its spotlight on the road ahead. We are not the only ones hitting the road. We see a neat column of six bisons marching to somewhere they had to be. We descend into a dell with a stream running through it; where the trees are decked in yellow fall leaves glittering like gold in the morning sun.
We race through South Dakota with the higher speed limits. We traverse through the badlands formations and then through vast grasslands before ascending into the “island in the plains”, the picturesque Black Hills National Forest, with its ponderosa pines and deep blue lakes. Before long, we arrive at Mount Rushmore to keep our appointment with the four Presidents. We linger around but for a few moments, trying to grasp the mammoth proportions of the sculpture.
Onwards and into Wyoming, it is golden grasslands once again. The sight of four locomotives pulling their heavy burden of 122 freight cars across the endless plains serves to exemplify the vastness. We stop to lunch at “The Coop” in Gillette. The friendly waitress, her excellent recommendations and the “oh-so-good!” bites of deliciousness make the rather long lunch break worth the while.
At Buffalo, we veer off I-90 to hit the scenic US Highway “Sweet 16” that takes us through Big Horn National Forest to Tensleep. We are surprised to see geologic markers on the roadside calling out rock formations that are many hundred million years old. It is an absolute joy to drive the Mustang on the winding roads; it handles beautifully along the cliff-hugging curves through Tensleep Canyon. Beautiful! We drive through Manderson, one of the ten tiniest towns in Wyoming. And then once again descend into rolling plains and golden grasslands as we cross the Bighorn Basin.
We stop at Cody for fuel, supplies and to grab some food. It is the last big town to the East of Yellowstone, an oasis of civilization nestled between the arid basin and the mountains of Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Apart from mom and pop stores, we see a lot of familiar global brands.
We reach Buffalo Bill Reservoir in time to catch an incredibly beautiful sunset. The twilight glow serves to accentuate the fall landscape on our drive to the East Entrance of Yellowstone. We are enveloped in complete darkness as we enter the park.
Trouble!
It has been smooth going with the Mustang so far. But now I see Paul peer intensely at the instrument cluster and exclaim in disappointment. The check engine light is ON. It chooses to do so during the very section of the trip when we are most wary of unexpected incidents. We are in the middle of a National Park with no cellular network and the nearest Mustang dealership is hundreds of miles away.
To drive or not to drive? I dive for the Owners Manual. It lists a bunch of parts that could be faulty but there is nothing that we can do to fix it right away. We rationalize that since it is an amber light and not red, it should be “safe enough” to keep driving. We want to ask know-it-all Google; if only the internet gods would look kindly on Paul glancing at his phone very two minutes. From our previous visit to Yellowstone, we know that we should gain some connectivity near the lodge in the park. And sure enough, we do. We make a note of the recommended debug cycles and hope that the warning lamp is triggered by the most benign of the listed possible reasons, a faulty oxygen sensor.
It is a slow drive to Madison Campground as we keep our eyes peeled for wildlife crossings, and Paul stares wistfully at the instrument cluster hoping that the amber light would disappear. Many bison, elk and fox sightings later, we arrive at our campground by 21:30. We make haste to set up camp as the temperature nosedives quickly and we yearn for the warmth of our sleeping bags.
6 October 2020: Yellowstone & Grand Teton, Wyoming
Today is our rest day; we have planned two nights of stay at Yellowstone. We plan to take it slow and check out the Grand Tetons. I wake up before dawn to -4 deg C. The showers at the campgrounds are closed given it’s the end of the season and due to COVID-19. So our morning routine is shorter than usual and it doesn’t take us long to be on our way. Paul tries to debug the warning light on the Mustang but with little success. The light remains stubbornly ON.
At Yellowstone, we retrace our footsteps from a year ago… say “hello” to our bison friends sharing the road, spot elks and foxes, and fall in love with the park all over again! We then exit the park via the South Entrance and cross over into the Grand Teton National Park.
Fall splendor is on full display at the Grand Teton. We hike the 8.3 mile trail that loops around Jenny Lake against the backdrop of the Tetons. We meet quite a few hikers and backpackers on the trail: old couples, youngsters, families, including a fatigued couple with five young kids who successfully complete the loop. After days of driving, our legs are happy to get their fair share of fun. We watch a sly fox looking to escape the scene of action with a dead squirrel tightly clutched in its jaws. That must be a frequent sight in the area for shortly after we come upon a metal sculpture that depicts the very same scene.
We head out of the park as night falls and make our way to the town of West Yellowstone. Warm memories flood us as we pick out familiar sights. Wild West Pizzeria! That’s where we go! We order a feast having subsisted on a meager trail food diet throughout the day – Wild West Supremo and Diablo wings. I like their restroom signs – Pistols and Holsters.
7 October 2020: Wyoming -> Idaho
We wake up early to a new low of -6 deg C. It’s tough going to break camp in the cold. We duck into the warmth of the car every now and then to get some circulation back into our numb fingers and toes. We are packed and ready to roll by 8:15.
We first drive into the park to capture some shots of the car with the smoking geysers as the backdrop. To our delight, we chance upon a herd of over 42 bison grazing by the Firehole River, basking in the morning sun. Shortly after, we run into a gang of elk as we make our exit from the park. A busy morning for Yellowstone wildlife!
After two days of little to no connectivity, we stop at a West Yellowstone coffee shop boasting free WiFi to reconnect with the denizens of the internet. I’ve received a bunch of congratulatory emails for completing ten years of service with Bosch. A milestone indeed!
It is a short drive before we cross state borders into Montana and traverse the beautiful Gallatin National Forest. The landscape is decked in gold for the most part – the grasslands and the aspens. It is a ‘Subway’ lunch at Butte and then onward to Missoula. The city itself is awash in fall colors – shades of red, orange and yellow.
The check engine light on the Mustang disappeared mysteriously during our visit to the Grand Tetons but now it is back again. Paul books an appointment with a dealership in Seattle to get it checked. We believe and hope that we will reach as far without bigger troubles.
The section of US-12 from Missoula to our campground in Hell’s Gate State Park, Lewiston follows the footsteps of the legendary Lewis and Clark expedition. The Mustang is pure delight as it accurately tracks the black tarmac snaking along the Clearwater River that tumbles its way through steep canyons. The route is punctuated by really tiny towns. We seek to have dinner at Kooskia but we find no place of repute. Kamiah is bigger and has a few restaurants but none look inviting enough, so we press on and decide to dine at Lewiston. Night falls. Orofino is charming, a sparkling jewel adorning the mountain face and casting its reflections on the river beneath.
We reach Lewiston and stop to dine at Main Street Grill. Our waitress is a super friendly, talkative girl who needs little encouragement to narrate her life story. We enjoy the Jo-jos and wings; the house specialty street style fried rice, not so much. At the campground, we lose no time to quickly hit the showers and crawl into our tents.
8 October 2020: Idaho -> Washington
I convert the picnic table at the campsite into my work desk and log in for some hours of meetings. Paul spends the time chatting with our amiable camp host who leads a very interesting lifestyle. As a retired 78 year old, San Franciscan, he sold his home in the Bay Area and now lives with his wife in an RV moving from site to site. He is very proud of his grandchildren who abides by his “no screen time” mandate when they come to visit him. They initially resisted but later discovered that their grandad could teach them a lot of fun things to do in the outdoors.
Over the course of our road trip, Paul and I have spent many hours debating the pros and cons of a career move for me. I have found vacations and travel to be very conducive to exploring new avenues, opportunities and ideas. I now connect with a few of my mentors to seek their counsel and then decide to take the plunge.
The state park is very close to the twin cities of Lewiston and Clarkston with easy access to the downtown areas. We stop for a satisfying Italian lunch at Tomato Bros., Clarkston and head back into civilization after a week of being on the road and living in a tent. We drive through miles and miles of golden rolling hills listening to Hugh Jackman on The Tim Ferriss Show. As we approach Seattle the terrain changes drastically into lush green mountains and forests. And sure enough, it starts to rain. We reach our destination at 20:19 on a rainy Seattle evening having added 3,914 miles on our odometer. And now it is time for siblings’ reunion after ten months of COVID-19 lock down and seeing no family (longest stretch till date).
Michigan -> Washington D.C. -> Seattle: 3,914 miles
With COVID hanging around, little did we think that 2020 would have some great memories to look back on. But this epic trip, driving across the USA and living on the road, has most definitely added some awesomeness to the year. We are so happy that we could make it happen. It has changed my perspectives in so many ways.
What have been your favorite accomplishments through COVID-19 and 2020? I’d love to hear about it.
As for our trip from Seattle back to Michigan, that is for another post.
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