In early September, we decided to take a massive road trip to the northwest United States and Canada. We rented a 2023 Ford Explorer and were on our way; however, we had to drive a few days to reach our first new county. We started by picking up Arby’s for lunch in Menomonie, WI, then passed through Minnesota (where we paid a visit to the Spam Museum) and continued to South Dakota. We spent our first night at the Hampton Inn in Mitchell, SD. After arriving, we visited the infamous Corn Palace and had a quick dinner at the Dairy Queen in town.
On Sunday, we continued west. Our first stop was The Dignity of Earth and Sky statue, about an hour west of our hotel. Our next stop was Badlands National Park, where we were treated to interesting rock formations and bison.
Our next stop was Wind Cave National Park. Unfortunately, they are replacing their elevators this year so we couldn't tour the cave. We saw bison, but our time in the park was brief.
We then drove through Custer State Park, stopping briefly at Sylvan Lake, before maneuvering the Needles Highway. We were also treated to a unique view of Mount Rushmore through a tunnel. Naturally, we headed to the National Memorial to view it up closer. When we were finished, we stopped at Subway to pick up some dinner to take back to our hotel, the Hampton Inn in Lead, SD.
On Monday, we had a relatively light sightseeing day filled with driving. After passing through Deadwood (and seeing deer in the city), we headed for Devils Tower National Monument. From there, we drove through Wyoming, stopping in Douglas to take pictures with their giant jackalope sculpture before heading to our hotel, the Hampton Inn in Pinedale. That evening we stopped at the China Gourmet in Pinedale for dinner.
On Tuesday, we drove through Jackson, WY, to Grand Teton National Park, where we stopped to take pictures of the mountains and Jenny Lake. After leaving the park, we drove north to Yellowstone National Park. While there, we walked to the breathtaking Grand Prismatic Spring overlook and stopped to watch Old Faithful blow its top. We saw many bison but fewer elk than usual. However, we did see one wandering through the nearby town of Gardiner, MT, when we exited the park. We stopped at Taco Bell in Livingston before heading to our hotel, the Home2 Suites in Helena. Helena is also in the middle of Lewis and Clark County—our first new county of the trip!
On Wednesday, our initial destination was Glacier National Park. We headed north, straight to the park, reaching Teton, Pondera, and Glacier Counties. When we got to the park, we immediately drove Going-to-the-Sun Road, as seen in the opening credits of the 1980 film The Shining. During that drive, we reached Logan Pass, the border for Flathead County. Eventually, we exited the park, stopped at Columbia Falls for a late lunch at Dairy Queen, and then took HWY 93 toward Canada. We picked up Lincoln County along the way. Our destination for the night was Calgary, Alberta. We crossed the border into Canada, drove a few more hours, and eventually reached our hotel, the Hyatt Place Calgary Airport.
On Thursday, we left the hotel before daybreak to reach a planned activity on time. We drove northwest into Banff National Park, stopped at Bow Lake for pictures, and continued to Jasper National Park. We arrived with about a half hour to spare before hopping a bus (which we had to ourselves) and taking a short drive to Athabasca Glacier. We signed up for their special Ice Odyssey tour. We were given a private tour in a SHERP, which took us onto the glacier ice shelf. Once there, we explored the glacier and drank running water directly from nature’s tap! As glaciers succumb to warmer temperatures and disappear, this may be a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. It was amazing and the highlight of our trip. We were glad we splurged for the Ice Odyssey rather than their traditional Columbia Icefield Adventure. After, we stopped for a buffet lunch at the Altitude Restaurant, which offered a view of the glacier we had just visited. Next, we returned to Banff National Park and took the Parks Canada shuttle to the beautiful Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. We then drove to our hotel in Calgary for much-needed sleep after a long day.
On Friday, we began our long trip back home. We stopped at an A&W in Lethbridge. Shortly after, we returned to the U.S. in Coutts, instantly picking up Toole County, Montana. We continued south on I-15 to Great Falls and Cascade County. We headed east, picking up Judith Basin and Fergus Counties. We then headed south on HWY 190 into Wheatland County. When we reached Harlowton, we had to take a side trip on HWY 12 for about 25 miles to the Meagher County line. We then turned around and picked up Golden Valley and Musselshell Counties before reaching our hotel, the Doubletree by Hilton in Billings.
On Saturday, we headed mostly east on I-94. Our first stop was Pompeys Pillar National Monument. From there we continued northwest, getting off near Intake and crossing into Richland County. We continued northeast, eventually crossing into North Dakota on HWY 68 to pick up McKenzie County. While there, we stopped at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We enjoyed some nice views and walked around the cannonball rocks, before continuing on our way.
After we left the park, we drove up to Watford City to get lunch at Hardee’s. At that point, we headed mostly east for the rest of the day. It was a long day of driving. But we picked up Mountrail, Ward, and McHenry Counties. We then went southeast, driving through Pierce, Sheridan, and Wells Counties. To finish the night, we stair-stepped through eastern North Dakota, picking up Eddy, Foster, and Griggs Counties, our last new counties of the trip, on our way to our hotel, the Doubletree by Hilton, West Fargo.
On Sunday, we drove the final nine hours back home. When it was all said and done, we traveled over 5,100 miles, picked up 25 new counties, and added several more national parks and monuments to our list, including two in Canada. So, what’s next? As of this writing, the future is unknown. We’re probably done collecting new counties for 2024. So, we’ll see you in 2025. Stay tuned!
