West Coast to East Coast: Road Trip Edition

THE ROUTE: Washington —> Idaho —> Montana —> Wyoming —> South Dakota —> Nebraska —> Kansas —> Oklahoma —> Arkansas —> Missouri —> Tennessee —> North Carolina 

THE SPECIFICS: Pullman —> Yellowstone National Park —> Billing—>Buffalo —>Rapid City —> Cluster State Park —> Mt. Rushmore —> Badlands National Park —> Omaha —> Kansas City —> Fayetteville —> Memphis —> Nashville —> Charlotte

ROAD TRIP MUST SEE PLACES: 
— Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 
— Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore & Sioux Falls – South Dakota 
— Kansas City, Missouri & Kansas City, Kansas 
— Beale Street, Memphis & Broadway Street, Nashville

May 11th:  Move in & unpack & eat
May 12th: Kevin leaves 😢 
May 13th: Orientation to Nursing School <–click me*
May 14th: First Day of School 

ROAD TRIP BUDGET:
— Airbnb’s/Hotel prices:
— Gas:
— Food & Souvenirs:
— Attractions:

THE FINAL MAP:  Pullman to Charlotte -> 39 hours & 2,598 miles 
Day One: Friday
Drive from Seattle to Pullman
Day Two: Saturday
Little Sister’s Graduation, celebration, food, pack the car

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Day Three: Pullman to Big Sky 
Enjoy some local breweries, soak in the mountainous views & crash at friends house 🏠 💤

Day Four: Big Sky to Yellowstone National Park

Spend the day exploring Yellowstone National Park 

Day Four Continued: Yellowstone to Buffalo

We ended up skipping Devil's Tower, because it was getting very late and very dark (since we spent longer than planned at Yellowstone, which was way worth it). With the road conditions starting to get wet and dark and cold we decided it was safest to stop at a little motel in Buffalo. Recuperate & rest and create a plan to tackle tomorrow. 

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.”

Day Five: Buffalo to Rapid City

South Dakota Bucket List: 
– Badlands National Park 
– Custer State Park + Sylvan Lake
-Crazy Horse Monument
– Dinosaur Park 
– Harriet & Oak – waffles
– Lewie’s Saloon and Eatery  
– Tally’s Silver Spoon 

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Crazy House –> Cluster State Park –> Sylvan Lake –>Mount Rushmore National Park –> Dinosaur Park —> Tally’s Silver Spoon –> Mary’s Mountain Cookies –> Badlands National Park –> Omaha, Nebraska

For more information on Mt. Rushmore National Park click me!

Day Six: Omaha, Nebraska to Kansas, City to Nashville, Tennessee

 Omaha Bucket List:
-Farnam House Brewing Company 
– Bob’s Donuts
– Sweet Magnolias Bake Shop 
– Lauritzen Gardens 
– Old Market Passageway —> Blue sushi, upstream brewing co, block 16, Pitch, and leadbelly
– Early Bird – Brunch 
– MULA – Mexican 
– Dundee Dell: where Mrs. Buffett once took Bono (world-famous collection of single malt Scotch)

Kansas City Bucket List:
– Hana’s Donuts
– McLain’s Bakery 
– Bichelmeyer Meats 
– Arthur Bryant
The night ended on a rocky note as we learned quickly that Omaha is a popular city and finding a place to stay was harder than expected. After being turned away by two hotels, we finally found one and got a few hours of rest. A NEW DAY! We started the morning off with some coffee and donuts from Bob’s: Coffee, Donuts & Chicken and buckled up to drive through Missouri and into Kansas City, where our stomachs were patiently waiting to devour the infamous Joe’s Kansas City BBQ. Thankfully I wore yoga/stretchy pants. After licking the last drops of BBQ off the plates, we buckled back up and headed east through Arkansas and headed to the home of Blues: Memphis, Tennessee.

Omaha –> Kansas City’s: Joe’s BBQ –> Memphis: Sunrise Breakfast, Beale Street, Graceland –> Nashville: Broadway & Brevvies, Prince’s Hot Chicken

Memphis Bucket List:
– Beale Street 
– Elvis Presley’s Graceland 
– Bryant’s Breakfast 
– Jerrys Sno Cones 
– Gus’s Fried Chicken

 Nashville Bucket List:
– Broadway Street
– More to come 🙂 

Day Seven: Nashville to Charlotte: NEW HOME