A key strategy to our route planning has been to make it through “snow country” before Winter hits. Since Montana, British Columbia, Washington, and even parts of Oregon and Northern California can see road closures during winter storms, our goal is to be in SoCal by December.
To do that, and still experience everything on our list, the first leg of our adventure was all about getting from Chicago to Montana as quickly as possible.
But goodness. That was a lot of driving!
And after 16.5 hours over three days, it’s no surprise we tired 🥱
… or that the car’s covered in bugs 😳
On the 5 hour leg from Waukesha to Minneapolis, we drove through a thunderstorm best described as apocalyptic. The 6 hours to Bismarck was so windy, the car kept trying to jump lanes as if in a game of Frogger. And during the 5.5 hours to Billings, the blistering heat kept us appreciating the Badlands from the confines of our car’s recycled air conditioning.
But despite the heavy driving, and sub-optimal conditions, we still enjoyed ourselves!
Now, after a few days of rest in Billings, Montana, we’re in Livingston / Bozeman (a quick 2 quick hour jaunt) where we’ll be posting up for the next week or so.
In addition to being a quick and easy drive, the views were incredible. Big Sky indeed!