Solo Cross-Country road trip [Part 4]
{Childhood dreams come true}
Day 4: Sioux Falls, SD to Buffalo, Wyoming (570 miles)
After a wonderful 8 hour sleep, I was so hungry and realized the importance of lookup for restaurants ahead of time. Went for a quick run on the treadmill, had a nice breakfast, and started a little late (As usual planned to start every day before 8:00 am) at 9:30 am. However, I felt that rest was much needed to relax the body and mind.
I had an interesting itinerary today, since childhood, I always wanted to visit Mt. Rushmore, and luckily that’s on my route. I was very much excited!! Well, there is yet another catch, I started late! Maps mentioned I will reach Rushmore by 3 pm. I checked the timings and it said the memorial closes by 4:30 pm as there was some construction going on. How lucky!! I definitely did not want to miss Rushmore and with driving most evenings in the snow visiting nothing, I badly wanted to visit Mt.Rushmore!
I decided not to stop anywhere except to fill the gas and stretch. I was ready to starve again if needed or have an early dinner. Luckily the speed limits were the highest again — 90mph. I’ve seen such high limits only in two places to date — Texas and South Dakota. Though places like Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada had 85mph (my memory is rusty at times). After about 185 miles, I saw a Cattle ranch, and strangely many cows were looking at me/my car 😲. I know you won’t trust me, check it out:
I hear you 🙂 but this is how you feel when you are driving straight for 300+ miles! Make sure to listen to something that you like, I haven’t tried it, but if you are aurally intelligent, you can also listen to some lectures, audiobooks, ted talks,..etc.
Guess what, I just made one stop to fill the gas and stretch myself this time and I was 30 miles away from Mt. Rushmore, and it's only 2:00 pm! Decided to have nice Indian food and also packed some just to be on the safer side if I did not find good restaurants for dinner. There are some good restaurants near Mt. Rushmore and lots of food options (Rapid City). Surprisingly, the city was busy and on a weekday, I did not find curbside parking and had to do a paid parking. I continued and parked my car at Mt. Rushmore ($10 parking fee) and at 3:15 pm:
I was so happy to finally see Mt.Rushmore and would have been even happier if I saw with the lights on and from a closer distance. Purchased some souvenirs, magnets, and memorabilia and left at 4:30 pm. There are lots of historic places, views, and Lakes near Mt. Rushmore and I would highly recommend spending a day or two to explore more. My car was super dirty already with all the snow, mud, and dust. After a mild dinner, I did reach the hotel at 8:45 pm, wondering this is the first day I’m this early.
There are not many good hotels in Buffalo, WY. However, if you drive north 170 miles, Billings, Montana is a good place for food and hotels. Since I booked my hotel already, decided to stay here tonight and start early the next day as I had to cover another long way of 670 miles and 💤…
Fun Fact: I time-traveled thrice, once in Iowa (Day 3 — EST to CST), next when I reached Wyoming (Day 4 — CST to MST), and finally when I reached Seattle Washington (Day 6 — MST to PST)
Day 5: Buffalo, Wyoming to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho (671 miles)
As planned woke up early, finished a heavy breakfast, quick workout, filled my flask with hot water, checked out of the hotel at 7:30 am. My car was super dirty and my OCD kicked in to go for a car wash. Looked up and felt Billings, Montana was a nice little town. Got a wonderful car wash — Don’s car wash and I chose the regular wash option which was just $11 and the results were amazing. Especially while you are driving the highway, there will be huge accumulations of dust and debris, and a quick car wash definitely helps prevent any scratches in the long run. While I was there in Billings, I went to nearby Costco to fill up the gas and one more trick — there is no sales tax in Montana, so if you are planning on shopping for something, a good place to look out for deals. I mean if you are heading west to Seattle, there is no point in shopping from Montana, since you have Oregon already.
Anyway, besides being happy that I will be meeting my family in a day, I was a little worried that my road trip is coming to an end in another 850 miles. After checking out Costco, I had nice Mediterranean food in Billings, packed some for the trip, and resumed the trip at 1:20 pm. I haven’t explored much, but if time permits, there are a couple of nice spots out there to check out in Montana (Check out the Roadtrippers app). After which I pretty much haven’t stopped anywhere except once for a rest area and drove straight 500 miles. I reached the hotel at 9:30 pm and to my surprise, this was one of the best hotels. One more neat trick — while looking for hotels, do check out if there are any newly constructed hotels. I got a wonderful deal, $85 for the hotel (of course I used points) — Amazing food, modern upgraded interiors, newly built Gym, and nice equipment, pool access, and an amazing breakfast! That was the perfect combo. Had a nice dinner in a nearby local restaurant and had a relaxed stay 💤…
Wondering what I missed? Check out the last Part 5
