Hi guys! Not to be repetitive but today we are going to talk about the American leg of my recent road trip! I wanted to do a beauty related post but I’ve been sick so I’ve been sleeping through all the day light/no one wants to see this face, trust me! I am feeling a bit better though so I thought I would sit down and write this post. If you missed the first half of my road trip recap you can find it here!

Day 11: Seattle

We left British Columbia bright and early to make our way to Seattle. It was only about a two hour drive but we wanted to get there somewhat early so we could do some sight-seeing.

We briefly stopped at one of the outlet malls on the way but we didn’t really buy much. The intent of our trip was more to see and experience things, rather than shop. And besides, we had been to Minneapolis earlier in August and did a huge shopping haul there!

Once we got to Seattle we checked into our hotel and decided to walk to the Space Needle as there was quite a few things we wanted to see in that area! The first thing we did was go up the Space Needle to get a view of Seattle, which was a beautiful sight to see!

After that we went to the Chihuly Garden and Glass which was so beautiful! The detail and the time it must have taken to make all of the pieces on display was truly amazing. If you’re in the Seattle area, I definitely recommend checking it out! It was a fairly quick walkthrough, but still worth it as you can see from the photo below.

Then, we went to the EMP Museum which was definitely one of the highlights of Seattle. That place is amazing! I can’t even begin to describe it but if you like any of the following, I suggest checking it out: music, fantasy, or sci-fi. They had a great area dedicated to Kurt Cobain which I found fascinating, they had so many items that belonged to him and the other members of Nirvana.

After that we walked around downtown trying to find somewhere to eat. Downtown was crazy busy as the last day of PAX had just ended so there was people everywhere. We didn’t know PAX was going on otherwise we probably would have tried to get tickets for that as after reading about it, seemed like something my husband and I would have enjoyed going to! We eventually found somewhere that wasn’t packed to eat, and the meal was okay but not memorable. I can’t even remember the name of the place we ate!

Day 12: The Museum of Flight & the Road to Montana

We didn’t have much time left the previous day so we decided to visit the Museum of Flight in the Seattle in the morning. It’s a good thing we did because we spent a LOT of time there. There were so many planes and exhibits to see. If you’re into space travel or air planes, I think you would enjoy going! But, be prepared to spend a long time there!

After that, we started making our way to Missoula, Montana which is where we were spending the night before continuing on to Yellowstone National Park. We got there super late so most places were closed, so we ended up eating Taco Bell in our hotel room for dinner, which was okay by me! I never get Taco Bell as there are none near me.

Day 13: Yellowstone National Park

We got up early the next morning and started making our way to Yellowstone National Park which spans through a little bit of Montana, but mostly Wyoming. We got there in the afternoon so we were able to start sight-seeing right away. There was so much wildlife roaming around because the landscape is a little more open than the national parks I had been to in Alberta. We saw quite a few elk, bison, big horned sheep and baby black bears while driving through the park. It’s a HUGE national park so there is so much to see. We didn’t get to see it all, but we made sure we saw as much as we could.

The first day we mostly went to the areas where they have lots of thermal activity so we saw quite a few geysers and hot springs! Some notable ones were the Fountain Paint Pot, Great Fountain Geyser and Old Faithful. We waited to see Old Faithful erupt and it was amazing! It generally shoots 14,000 to 32,000 litres of boiling water 106 to 185 feet into the air. It did this for a few minutes while we sat there awestruck.

After that we ate probably one of the worst meals of the trip (while Yellowstone National Park is absolutely stunning, the park runs all of the restaurants within it, so food quality leaves a lot to be desired) and then went back to our camp site to go to sleep. This was probably one of the coldest nights on the trip, but thankfully by this point we were pros at staying warm, since camping in Alberta was pretty cold too!

Day 14: A bit more Yellowstone & Drive to Rapid City, SD

After struggling to leave the warm cocoon I had made myself in the tent, we got up and saw a few more sights before leaving Yellowstone National Park. We went to see Artist Point and Grand View which are lookouts to see the canyon which were absolutely beautiful. We also went to see the Petrified Tree and did the scenic drive at Mammoth Hot Springs.

After that we started the long drive to Rapid City, South Dakota. Once we got there we checked into our hotel and went for dinner at Kōl. While the service was a bit slow and a little odd, the food was great! What I mean by odd is that they seemed to bring out food as it was ready so we got our pizzas (main course) a few minutes before our appetizer. But, at least the food was great!

Day 15: Mount Rushmore & Drive to Minneapolis, MN

Before leaving Rapid City, we had to go see the sight that brought us to that area in the first place, which was Mount Rushmore. It’s only about 20 minutes out of Rapid City. We got there fairly early so it was pretty quiet there but we didn’t stay long as it was very cold and rainy outside. But, it stopped raining long enough for us to get a picture.

After that, we didn’t stick around and started driving to Minneapolis which is about a 8.5 hour drive. When we got there we went straight to the Mall of America so that I could make a quick stop in Sephora and then have dinner at our favourite restaurant there, Tucci Benucch. We weren’t that hungry so we just had a few appetizers, the calamari there is amazing!

Day 16: Heading Home!

At this point we were ready to go home and spend some much needed time with the dogs and bunny so we got on the road fairly early. The drive from Minneapolis to Thunder Bay is about 6 hours and it’s a drive we are very familiar with so it went by pretty quickly. There was a lot of construction in Minneapolis so leaving was a bit of a challenge but once we were on the road it was smooth sailing!

And… that was our trip! We put about 8,700 km on the car during this trip and loved every minute of it! I’m so glad we did this road trip and although I wouldn’t do the whole thing again, there are some places I would definitely revisit. Banff and Jasper are high on that list, as well as it would be nice to see the rest of Yellowstone National Park!

Hopefully I’ll be feeling better and be back with some beauty related posts soon! Until then, what is the most beautiful thing you have seen while travelling? Let me know in the comments down below!

xoxo,

Robyn

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