Day 1

It's exhausting to have a program after the flight, but Chicago is great. Who can sit in a hotel room. Speaking of hotels. The Palmer House is one of the nicest hotels we have ever stayed in. We didn't have a car for Chicago, but a 48h ticket "hop-on/hop-off" bus and the City Pass for the main sights. The City Pass includes a Fast Pass. That means no waiting in line! This is especially on holidays and weekends worth gold.

Palmer House, Chicago/Illinois *****

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Day 2

It rains in the afternoon, so the great museums are on the agenda. We could have easily spent much more time at the Field Museum.

Palmer House, Chicago/Illinois *****

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Day 3

It's Memorial Day Weekend and the city is packed with people. Luckily we have a Fast Pass for the Observation Decks, otherwise we would probably still be waiting in line. The wait to get on the Willis Tower was 5 hours.

Palmer House, Chicago/Illinois *****

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Day 4

We pick up our car at the airport and drive on the old Route 66 on the Blues Brothers' tracks to Oglesby.

Best Western Oglesby Inn, Oglesby/Illinois ***

185mi

Day 5

It was Memorial Day and because we still had a lot to do, we were early, but what awaited us at Starved Rock SP was a blast. We were totally lucky because we were early. When we left again, the access road was closed and people were walking their coolers for ages into the park. It was insane how crowded it was. I'm sure they were all wondering why we were leaving the park before noon.

Hampton Inn & Suites Springfield-Southwest, Springfield/Illinois ****

176mi

Day 6

Nice varied day along the Route 66. We meet some nice people who are up for a chat. Even if it is not always easy to find the right way along the historic Route 66, we are compensated for the search by nice encounters.

Hampton Inn Collinsville, Collinsville/Illinois ***

177mi

Day 7

Unfortunately, the new museum and visitor center under the Gateway Arch was still a huge construction site. In the meantime, everything is finished and new.

Hampton Inn Collinsville, Collinsville/Illinois ***

48mi

Day 8

Today was a long day of driving with two stops to stretch our legs. Without the detour via Jefferson City, one could certainly get to the destination faster.

Best Western Topeka Inn & Suites, Topeka/Kansas ***

369mi

Day 9

A Capitol and two tiny little locations. Quite nice, somehow you have to pass through Kansas. Sure, it's nothing you have to see, but it's still nice.

Best Western Plus Midwest Inn & Suites, Salina/Kansas ***

230mi

Day 10

Today we take a huge detour to walk in the footsteps of "Gunsmoke". The vastness of Kansas is fascinating. In parts, the sky practically reaches the ground.

Hampton Inn, Colby/Kansas ***

413mi

Day 11

A very long day, but because of the great weather, we just had to go up to Pikes Peak again. For this we arrived in Winter Park only in the dark. Small note: at 9 pm, no restaurant in Winter Park has anything to eat.

Best Western Alpenglo Lodge, Winterpark/Colorado **

419mi

Day 12

There is still snow in the park, but there are lots of animals. We see moose, deer and bighorns.

Hampton Inn, Loveland/Colorado ****

141mi

Day 13

A thunderstorm is following us today, not uncommon in May in the Midwest.

Super 8, Cheyenne/Wyoming ***

134mi

Day 14

Also today we flee from several thunderstorms. In Scotsbluff the trail up the Mesa is closed because of a rockfall, so we can't hike up. We have to take the road.

Best Western West Hills Inn, Chadron/Nebraska ***

232mi

Day 15

Wounded Knee is interesting, but also a little strange. We very rarely feel uncomfortable in the U.S., but here I felt uneasy.

Super 8, Wall/South Dakota ***

173mi

Day 16

There are lots of animals to see. A herd of Bighorn sheep, bison and totally cute prairie dogs. That takes up quite a bit of time.

Super 8, Wall/South Dakota ***

130mi

Day 17

The presidential statues in Rapid City were the highlight of the day today. By now, the one of Barack Obama should also have been erected. At the Chapel in the Hills was unfortunately a wedding and so also a lot of people. Bad for photos.

Best Western Buffalo Ridge Inn, Custer/South Dakota ***

182mi

Day 18

We would have needed a day longer here. The Black Hills are great. There are lots of animals here too, especially bison.

Best Western Buffalo Ridge Inn, Custer/South Dakota ***

110mi

Day 19

Nice varied day. Unfortunately, it started raining in Devils Tower NM. There was even a tornado warning in Gillette in the neighboring county. Unfortunately, that's something. not uncommon here at this time of year.

Best Western Tower West Lodge, Gillette/Wyoming ***

230mi

Day 20

Castle Gardens was great, unfortunately the weather is not very good. That's why we'll try again tomorrow.

Elk Antler Inn, Thermopolis,/Wyoming ***

220mi

Day 21

Castle Garden in the sunshine just looks so much better.

Best Western Sunset Inn, Cody/Wyoming ***

234mi

Day 22

The weather is not very good, but the animals don't care. We see a fox, several bears, bison and deer. A great kick-off, because this time we want to spend our time in Yellowstone mainly with the observation of animals.

Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming ****

216mi

Day 23

Drive to Cody, Pow-Wow

On the way to the Pow-Wow in Cody we meet two grizzlies . A mom and her two year old "baby". Sure that takes time, because on the way back they are still there. We also see a herd of Bighorns, right next to the road.

Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming ****

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Day 24

The weather is still bad, but when looking at animals it doesn't matter. We drive through the Valleys and hope for our luck.

Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming ****

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Day 25

Rather relaxed day with very good friends.

Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming ****

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Day 26

Basically, this is a pure driving day, with a very nice route over the Beartooth Highway. Otherwise, the drive along the interstate is rather boring.

Quality Inn, Dickinson/South Dakota ***

542mi

Day 27

One park, two units that are very far apart. Besides great nature, there are also a lot of animals here. Unfortunately, the park is very far away from the usual routes.

Quality Inn, Dickinson/South Dakota ***

244mi

Day 28

Another full day of driving. Somehow we have to get back to Chicago. In retrospect, we could have added two more days here, but every vacation unfortunately only has a finite number of days.

Hilton Garden Inn Minneapolis/Bloomington, Minneapolis/Minnesota ****

551mi

Day 29

The weather is bad. It rains almost all day.

Hilton Garden Inn Minneapolis/Bloomington, Minneapolis/Minnesota ****

60mi

Day 30

Despite the once again long drive, we still manage two quite nice locations. Fortunately, the days are very long in June.

Best Western Milwaukee West, Milwaukee/Wisconsin ***

339mi

Day 31

Once again, a nice relaxing day along Lake Michigan.

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116mi