Getting on the road was a bit hectic. We decided just 2 weeks prior that we were going to move our timeline up a couple of months. Then we decided we needed to leave within the next week in order to get out west in time. It was crazy trying to say good bye to friends and ensure we had everything taken care of.
I keep daily updates going on my Instagram and Facebook page. So if you want more than just a weekly update make sure to check out either of those.
Day one!
Miles traveled 280
After an emotional morning of “see ya later” with friends and family we hit the road.
We started in Alabama and made it to North Mississippi.
Our first night full-timing was pretty fitting… it was the same park where we spent our first night in our RV. (We bought the RV in Mississippi and spent that night camping.)
Wall Doxey State Park is one I still question… it looks like it was once one of the most amazing parks. Such beautiful amazing facilities that are now beginning to crumble from lack of attention (and funding I am sure).
It’s a quiet, peaceful park with so many lightening bugs it looks like the woods are lit with Strands and strands of Christmas lights.
Day 2:
337 miles
Total miles: 617
We left Mississippi at 4:30AM.
We had started our trip in 2 vehicles, and dropped off the truck in Memphis.
We finished our trek in one vehicle up to St Louis.
My husband had been to the City Museum before and was excited to take the kids.
It is a great spot to get out all the energy we had built up from hours of sitting in the car.
This 100 year old warehouse in the city offers the opportunity to crawl through the floor and into a basement. You can crawl up through the ceiling of one floor and be in the floor of the upper floor. You can slide down slides on the outside of the building that go for several stories!
We can climb up the belly of one airplane and onto the wing of the next plane and back out.
The rooftop has an old school bus that sticks out the side of the building and even offers a Ferris wheel.
There was so much to explore that I don’t think we saw half of it before we were ready to call it a day and get some rest.
While we were in St Louis we had to go check out the arch.
When we had gotten close to the city we saw it and couldn’t believe how huge it was.
While we sat atop this hill looking at it I had to look up some interesting facts.
Did you know the arch is as wide as it is tall? (630 feet)
The foundation is 60 feet deep!
It is the tallest monument in the US and the tallest arch in the world!
The secret service doesn’t allow Presidents to go into the arch as it is too much of a risk!
You can ride a tram to the top of the arch and look out the small windows at the tiny people below!
Day 3: 260 miles
Total miles: 877
Day 3 may have been our shortest distance, but it was our longest day!
Thankfully after putting up aluminum foil in our windows to block some of the light that was coming through our curtains (fabulous I know) we all got a great night sleep.
As we pulled out of the RV park we were waiting at a red light and saw a man that was out walking his dog get hit by a car. A hit and run. The driver never even slowed down, and there was no way he/she didn’t know they had just hit a 67 year old man and left him in the middle of 5 lanes of traffic.
Of all the other motorists that saw, no one else stopped to help.
My husband jumped out and helped the man and his poodle get safely out of the road as I called 911.
The man was ok… my guess is he is incredibly sore the next morning! My husband went to take the mans dog back home and let the sleeping wife know… turns out they had been next to us at the RV park.
Luckily this took place in front of the police station and within minutes the place was swarmed with law enforcement and EMTs. AND the intersection has cameras! I hope justice will be served!
We continued our journey filled with gratitude that the man was ok. Grateful it wasn’t our family. Grateful for another day of health and happiness.
In a small town in Missouri we pulled over for a quick stop to grab some food from the camper and a bathroom break.
We were quick and ready to hit the road when the car wouldn’t start.
When we started this journey we knew every day wouldn’t go as planned.
But how lucky we are… we were off the main road and in a small town.
We just had to get our truck and camper towed and find a place to sleep for the night. For a couple of hours we had both phones and the iPad going while we talked to mechanics, roadside assistance, RV parks…
We called one RV park and after hearing our story he said “let me come get your trailer and wife and kids.” This man came out, pulled our trailer to his park, helped me set it up, made sure we even had groceries.
Jerry, the owner; also recommended a great mechanic that got us back on the road the next day.
Our campground neighbors were so kind and happy to help us and we made some new friends.
The town we didn’t plan to stay in wound up being an excellent addition to our adventure.
If you happen to be traveling to Hamilton, I can’t possibly recommend this RV park enough.
Day 4 miles travelled: 292
Total miles: 1169
Total states: 7
Total bathroom stops: 27394263
While we waited for our car to be fixed we got to go into town for a restock on groceries!
Hamilton is a small town that was the home of JC Penny! I was told from folks around town he started it all right there in that Missouri town.
I was told not long ago the town was in a bit of a decline.
And then a lady named Jenny Doan moved to town and began quilting and teaching others to do the same. She began making YouTube tutorials and before long the Missouri Star quilt company Has revived the town and brings so many visitors to the areA!
At 1 the pool opened, and you can bet we were some of the first ones to hit the diving board and soak up way too much sun! ☀️
We were almost disappointed when the car mechanic called to let us know the car was ready!
We said good bye to our campground friends and hit the road… just hoping to get a few miles closer to our next destination.
We saw so much flooding driving through Nebraska. And windmills as far as we could see.
We ended our night in Ponca State Park riverfront campground! We pulled in well after dark and the moon was reflecting off the water. It was beautiful. And quiet. Almost eerily quiet.
Day 5 369 miles travelled!
Total miles: 1538
7 states!
I gotta tell ya… I thought travel days would consist of me making Instagram/Facebook posts and working on blog posts! I was stoked that I would get so much done. (I do drive occasionally, but Brad prefers to drive.)
Instead I am finding campgrounds for the night, planning fuel stops, bathroom breaks, and lunch stops.
Speaking of lunch stops… traveling with a travel trailer means we have our kitchen with us. Today we pulled into a rest stop for lunch. I fixed us some sandwiches, we used our rest room… then we went for a hike behind the rest stop. Because apparently South Dakota wants to win the award for coolest rest areas.
Back to our day… this morning around 1am I woke my husband up certain that I had heard knocks on the door. That eerily quiet campground I mentioned yesterday was suddenly scary. My husband did not hear a knock… later I swore I heard someone messing around with tools in the compartment under my head.
I woke him up again in a panic.
So despite the fact that he knew we were fine we left so that I would be comfortable. (Great man, I know) in the daylight hours I can admit how crazy I was.
I drove us to a truck stop and he parked us next to a big rig. We got the kids back in the camper and we all slept for a few hours.
But bad weather was headed in (maybe a good thing we got out of the campground that has been flooded for awhile before the rain hit).
We went into the truck stop, had breakfast and were joined by 50 other people attempting to escape the madness the weather brought.
Once the weather cleared we hit the road.
We saw more windmills. So many beautiful rolling hills.
We made it to Badlands and are staying at a campground. I’m always in awe of nature, but especially today. Badlands is so beautiful I would sit and stare for hours with our view if the mosquitos wouldn’t carry me away.
I’m from Alabama yall!! That pest is basically our state bird… but I swear they greater in numbers and size here.
Day 6
Miles driven 178
Total miles driven: 1716
States we have visited: 7
We had such a good time at Badlands last night so we went back today.
The views are insane.
We decided when we left to take a more scenic route. We were so glad we did. We were able to see so much more of the Badlands. We saw buffalo, and even some prairie dogs!
We arrived at our next camp site and it is awesome. We had planned to stay 2 nights, but we are getting itchy to get to Billings and relax there. So we will be leaving tomorrow.
Since we want to leave tomorrow that means we needed to get to Mt Rushmore this afternoon.
On the way to Mt Rushmore we had to stop in Keystone and ride the sky lift up… and of course ride the alpine slide back down. SO FUN!!!
Mt Rushmore was cool. There is some construction going on, so everything past the gift shop and cafe is closed!
I did hear the ranger say that all the trails are open. I wish we had more time and could spend the day hiking out there!
Day 7: 253 miles
Total miles: 1969
States: 10
Last night we stayed at an awesome campground about an hour from Mt Rushmore.
Creekside Campground near Mt Rushmore
The people were so nice, the campground was nice.
We paid for 2 nights, but yesterday we began to worry about getting to our next spot on time. The entire week we have been focused on this one destination (not for any exciting reason… it just worked for what we needed and fit our timeline.)
We got down the road a a few hours and the campground manager from our last campground called because we had left early and she wanted to make sure everything was ok.
Today was just a day to get to our current spot. We drove through the cutest little town of Deadwood. I would love to go back there one day.
Wildlife near Deadwood
Today we have reached our home for the next week.
We are doing laundry, the kids are playing on the playground and we are enjoying some MUCH cooler weather.
There are a few things near us we will do this next week, but for the most part we will be enjoying some downtime.
We are 7 days into this adventure now and are loving it even more than we thought we would.
Check out Week 2!
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