Looking at the trip itinerary, the stop at Yellowstone was the first real step away from city stops. I mean I’ve been to Pittsburgh, Cincy, Chicago, St. Louis. Heck even the Mount Rushmore area was rather developed given the tourist attraction that it is. Yellowstone though, Yellowstone was different.

I got a feeling for how the day was going to go as soon as I left South Dakota. I was up and out by about 5 am Central Time because I knew I had about a 9 and a half hour ride ahead of me. So as I begin my trek, I look out the window and see beautiful snow covered trees barely visible through the heavy fog. I continue my drive and as I follow the bend of the road I see 2 or 3 deer just grazing. (Quick side note, I see now why they get hit all the time because they literally froze upon seeing me. Not a great survival tactic.) So the day started out with a heavy dose of nature before I even crossed into Wyoming.

Upon crossing into Wyoming though, I quickly realized that I had severely underestimated how pretty it was. When tasked with coming up with a list of the most aesthetically pleasing states, I’m not sure how many people would have Wyoming anywhere near the top of their list. Well as things stand right now, it is number 1 on my list. With its grass covered hills and backdrop of snow covered mountains I couldn’t help thinking that it looked like a set. This didn’t look like real life. This was so picturesque that it looked like it was created artificially.

As I drove on and into Bighorn National Forest the sights only got better. The road twisted and turned all the while enclosed on either side by steep hills, still with that mountainous backdrop. As the drive continued on though the roadside landscape changed from green to bright white. I passed a sign that said Powder River Pass Elevation 9666. I was driving into what looked like a scene out of a New England day in January. It wasn’t currently snowing, but the ground was covered in snow that couldn’t have been more than a week or so old. I was struck at how white it was. The snow I’m used to seeing on the side of the road is black with dirt and exhaust. Not so here, it was stark white making the green of the pine trees and the blue of the sky really pop. Feeling a little bit like I was driving through Canada now and not Wyoming, I found myself really hoping I wouldn’t have to set up camp on a bed of snow. The roads got steep again and as I wound my way back down the snow cover began to diminish. I was feeling a bit more relieved by the time I finally hit the sign that welcomed me to Yellowstone Park. Stopping to take a few pictures in front of the sign, I realized that if Bighorn National Forest was that beautiful, I legitimately had no idea what I was going to be in for once I started exploring Yellowstone.

Started off the day bright and early at about 6:30 central time. I wanted to get an early jump because I knew the drive from Minnesota to the Mount Rushmore area was about 9 hours. So I got breakfast quick at the hotel and then I was off.

After making my way back to the highway I looked at the GPS and realized that I was on I-90 for 298 miles. So I settled in and listened to the Temptations movie I put on. As the miles passed I saw a sign. World’s Only Corn Palace 25 miles. Well this trip is about exploring. So, in 25 miles I pulled off into Mitchell, South Dakota and I checked out the royal quarters. Unfortunately it was not an actually palace made out of corn. I was slightly disappointed. The outside of a brick building was adorned with artwork that was made out of corn. Pictures of Willie Nelson and Elvis hung for passersby to see. I snapped a few pictures and hopped back in the car to continue the trek to Mount Rushmore.

After another 150 or so miles went by, I glanced down at my phone and realized I had crossed from Central to Mountain time. Realizing I had gained an hour, when I passed by signs for Badlands National Park I made up my mind to check it out.

By far the best spur of the moment decision I have made so far. This is the time where I wish I could upload the pictures for you guys because any words will not do the Badlands justice.

As I pulled through the gate it was raining and about 43 degrees. I pulled into the first viewing area and there was a walkway that wound around the corner out of view. I threw on my hoodie and waterproof jacket and grabbed my camera. I followed the path around the corner  and was awestruck. They stretched for miles with peaks and valleys and different colors of clay and rock all contrasting with the green grass. Some of the buttes had red streaks throughout them. Some of them peaked like tepees while still others had a more gradual incline. I took pictures and climbed around tired to take in as much of the sheer beauty that I could. I walked back up the walkaway and got back in the car. I continued the loop. Stopping at viewing area after viewing area. Taking pictures of the roads and visitor center that lay far below where I was currently standing. I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I pulled into the park. Many people had recommended I visit and I am certainly glad I did.

After stopping in the gift shop I was back on the road to my final destination. I had seen signs for Wall Drug for approximately 150 miles, but after 2 detours I decided to pass by that tourist trap and bust out the last hour or so. When I finally got to Mount Rushmore it was about 4:30 Mountain time so about 6:30 Eastern. As I drove up the winding road something immediately jumped out at me. It was snow. There was fresh snow on the ground. Not a tremendous amount, but enough. I looked at the dashboard thermometer and it read 36 degrees. Oh splendid. 85 back home in Mass and I’m in 36 degree weather bundled up like it”s January. I parked the car and grabbed by camera. I walked up to the viewing ledge and once again was in awe. I was amazed, first of all by the fact that I was actually seeing this in person. The fact that I am on this trip is still a little surreal to me so seeing something like Mount Rushmore still sort of knocks that home for me. Secondly though I was in awe of the brilliant detail. One of my first initial thoughts was that it wasn’t nearly as big as I thought it would have been. This by now means meant I was disappointed though. After seeing it in movies and close ups the expectation was simply that it would be a lot bigger. After getting over that thought though I was able to really appreciate how fantastic it is. I took pictures from every angle. I took selfies, I took shots of each individual president, I even played with some snapchat filters with George Washington. I took a few peoples pictures as they posed in front of it. I watched as families and couples approached it all with the same look of amazement in their eyes. This truly was one of the greatest sights in the entire United States and I was standing in front of it.

I got a few more pictures, made a quick stop in the gift shop and headed back down to the downtown area where my hotel was. Before settling in for the night I grabbed some dinner at Ruby House Restaurant. I continued my trend of trying local dishes with the buffalo burger. I veered away from my typical American cheese and french fries and instead chose pepper jack cheese and a baked potato. By no means radical, but something new nonetheless. The burger was delicious. It was lean and flavorful and the cheese was creamy and a perfect compliment. The finale to this deliciously local meal was the kuchen. Kuchen is the official dessert of South Dakota. And that’s not just something restaurants put on the menu. Kuchen is legitimately the official dessert of South Dakota. Kuchen is a German dessert made with sweet dough and a custard filling. Mine was strawberry-rhubarb and was accompanied by a huge scoop of french vanilla ice cream. It was the perfect way to finish off the meal.

So there you have it. In one day South Dakota went from mundane tourist traps luring people in with promises of corn palaces to remarkably awe inspiring landscapes to a tremendously magnificent landmark. It’s amazing how much can change in a 600 mile journey.

a quick note, I will probably be MIA for the next few days. I am heading into Yellowstone tomorrow and will be camping for two nights. I’ll be heading to Spokane after so that’s where I should be able to catch up with you guys. Provided I don’t get eaten by bears that is.

Wish me luck!

As humans we are conditioned to try and find similarities between places we’ve been, people we’ve met, experiences we’ve had etc etc. We find links so our brains can file away these experiences based on the perceived similarities which make them easier to recall in the future.

Without realizing it, I’ve been doing that exact thing this entire trip. Go back and read the other posts. I’ve compared places to Boston. I’ve compared cities to each other. I’ve drawn on past experiences to find folders in my brain for all of these new experiences.

I actually caught myself doing it today in Minnesota. I had no big plans today just a trip to the Mall of America. I thought it would be cool to check out one of the largest malls in the country. As I walked passed store after store not remembering if that was the third Lids I’d passed or just the second, I found myself comparing the layout of the mall to that of a casino. I went to Foxwoods last summer and I remember having this exact same feeling. “Did I pass by here already?” “Have I seen that yet?” That was my constant thought as I meandered along the 4 floors and 4.2 million square feet of this mall. With 520 plus stores, countless restaurants, a theme park, an aquarium, and so much more it was actually more like a casino than I thought. The bright colors, catchy slogans, gorgeous models, delicious aromas all worked to separate the masses from their wallets.

In terms of intelligence this stop would rank pretty low for me. After going to 2 baseball games in the past 2 days I was now tasking myself with saving money while simultaneously exploring a place that is designed for the exact opposite.

Smooth move Joseph.

So I tried to focus on the uniqueness. Every mall has an Express or an Old Navy, but not ever mall has a log flume or roller coasters. Most malls don’t also have go karts, comedy clubs, and Margaritaville. This was not most malls, as proven by the fact that I allotted it a day on this trip.

It did not disappoint. It was in fact fun to turn the corner and be genuinely stunned when you see signs for an aquarium in a mall. It was also fun having to stifle my impulse for profanity at the sight of people getting food at Bubba Gump Shrimp.

Not everything on this trip is going to be profound. Something things are going to be touristy and I’ve accepted that and still made time to come check it out. Sometimes the best reason to see something is for the pure interest.

And alas, the mall did not disappoint. I was able to pick up some souvenirs and actually did enjoy checking out the mall. Plus, for what it’s worth now I can say that I’ve visited the Mall of America.

After the Mall I headed over to a place called Hell’s Kitchen for dinner. I got the state fair cheese curds as an appetizer because I figured I was still close enough to Wisconsin to defend ordering them. For my meal I ordered the Walleye BLT. From the beginning of this trip I vowed to myself that I would expand my pallet and step out of my comfort zone and try new things. Well having never eaten fish before, this was another chance for expansion. And let me tell you it was worth it. The addition of the Walleye to the typical BLT was excellent. It made the sandwich that much heartier as there was a huge chunk of fish on both halves of the sandwich. With no fishy flavor at all it was a great meal. It was topped off with a Bloody Heart Brownie. A heart shaped brownie topped with strawberry compote. The presentation on the dessert was excellent. The strawberry compote smeared across the brownie and white plate creating a delectably gruesome scene.

Overall Minnesota was a good stop. Like I said there was nothing profound and supremely moving about it, but it was fun and sometimes that’s all that matters. Sometimes you don’t need to go much deeper than fun.

So I got up this morning and decided I was just going to drive straight through to Chicago from St. Louis. No detours or stops or anything. It was only a 4 hour and 20 minute drive so it would be no big deal.

For what felt like the entirety of the 4 hour and 20 minute drive I saw nothing but cornfields. Cornfields as far as the eye could see. I played with Snapchat and made quips about it being entirely too rural for my liking, but I survived it and got to Chicago in good time.

Still too early to check in, I went over to the Skydeck. I parked (which cost more like it would in Boston as opposed to the $4 I spent to park in Pittsburgh) and got my ticket.

Quick aside, walking the streets of Chicago I can safely tell you that it more than lives up to it’s Windy City moniker. That was some of the silliest wind I’ve ever been in. I’m by no means huge but I am also by no means this little wisp of a man either and I was having trouble keeping my balance. But I survived and got up to the Skydeck and it was magnificent. During the elevator ride up to the top they had a screen that showed what historical structures we were surpassing as the elevator went up and up. One of which was the Gateway Arch. Looking out the window of the Skydeck, 1,353 feet up, suddenly the 630 foot Gateway Arch seemed like child’s play. I took pictures galore and even ventured out onto The Ledge. The Ledge, as you will see from the pictures, is a glass box that juts out from the side of the Skydeck. Being entirely glass, The Ledge gives you the opportunity to stand and look down through the clear floor to the Earth some 1300 feet below. I assumed I’d have no problem on it, but let me tell you it was freaky. Taking that first step onto something that it completely see through like that was very weird.

After taking as many pictures as I could take I got some lunch at Giordano’s. I had to find out  if this Deep Dish Pizza thing was really worth it. Still not entirely hungry after engorging myself the night before, I decided for a simple individual pepperoni deep dish pizza. The verdict? It was all right. I wasn’t blown away by it but it was definitely tasty. The best way to describe it is that the crust is basically a shell like a cupcake tin. they layer cheese and pepperoni inside the crust shell and then the sauce is put on last. Like I said it was certainly tasty but it wasn’t anything mind blowing.

My last adventure in Chicago was seeing if I could get a ticket to the Cubs game again the Reds. Thanks to some great advice from the valet at the hotel, I took the train over to the stadium and was able to get a ticket. Let me tell you, it was an experience.  I had my first Chicago dog and it was delicious. A perfect dog smothered in sweet onions and tomato slices yellow mustard and more toppings that I’m not even sure what they were all stuffed into a poppy seed roll. I could have eaten 4 or 5  but refrained. My biggest takeaway from this whole experience however, was not a hot dog, it was the people.

Coming off of just going to the Cardinals stadium last night it was easy to see just how different of en environment a Cubs game is. The passion that these fans have is electric. At the Cardinals game it was easy to hear pockets of Red Sox fans mixed in with the Cardinal fans. At the Cubs game I did not hear one Cincinnati Red fan the entire night. These fans cheered from inning 1 all the way to inning 9. That’s not to say they were obnoxious though. On the contrary. These fans were just passionate. They were excited to be out watching their home team play. They made fans like myself, someone who was just there for the game without any real stakes tied to either team, want to join in the traditions. I sang Take Me Out to the Ball Game with a video of Harry Caray during the seventh inning stretch. And when the Cubs wrapped it up in the 9th you can be sure I was singing Go Cubs Go with the rest of the Wrigley Faithful. For one night I was a Chicago Cubs fan. I feel like sports fans could learn something by going to a game at Wrigely. Too often you hear about violent brawls happening between opposing fans, or you go to games and the stadium is filled with fair weather fans who will turn on the team the minute something goes awry. Cubs fans are different I feel like. From my experience anyway. They just want to go out to the stadium and have fun and in the end, isn’t that the whole point of sports anyway? To give us as fans an escape, a respite, from the monotony that is every day life? So yeah you can shake your head and guffaw about some traditions they have, like raising the W flag after each win, but they’re the ones still having fun every time they go to the ballpark. Can you say that about your hometown fans?

So after completing my authentic Wrigley experience I shuffled onto the train shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the Cubs fans. Tired and ready for bed. I got off at my stop and promptly walked 5 minutes in the wrong direction before realizing my error and turning around. Finally making it back to the hotel I got in the elevator and went up to my room…or what I thought was my room. After I got off the elevator I immediately realized I had not one clue what my room number was. I’m pretty sure, the room number I was remembering was the room number I had in St. Louis. I got back in the elevator and went back down to the lobby and sheepishly told the attendant at the front desk I couldn’t remember my room number. She looked it up and I had been off by an entire floor.

And now here we are, 1:53 am Central Time (2:53 Eastern Time) and it’s time for bed. Minnesota is next up, about 6 and a half hours. I’m only planning on seeing the mall though so maybe I’ll turn the alarm off for one night so I can get some sleep. If I’m already mixing up room numbers now how am I going to handle another month of this?

Guess we’re going to find out aren’t we?

The last part of my day in St. Louis was getting to see the Red Sox play in Busch Stadium.

Now, as I have previous laid out the Attire policy my hotel requests, I was in a bit of a conundrum. As many of you know I collect baseball hats. Being able to wear a team hat in that teams stadium is pretty cool to me. So I brought my Cardinals hat and planned on wearing it to the game. However, I’m also a Boston boy and could not just forget about my Red Sox Nation pride so I brought a Red Sox sleeveless t-shirt to wear as well. You might notice that every single part of my planned outfit broke nearly every single rule from the attire policy. Lucky for me they are so kind as to allow hats during days when the Cardinals play at home. That just left the obstacle of the t-shirt. Since my car was 2 feet from the hotel I decided to walk out wearing a 2-button Henley t-shirt (which I’m pretty sure also was outside the rules) and go to my car to put on the sleeveless Red Sox shirt before the game.

With all of the hoops jumped through I finally got to the game. The stadium was gorgeous. The people were great and the game was awesome. I was able to get a seat that allowed me to take a boatload of pictures and I had a great time. I was lucky enough to not have anyone sitting next to me on either side so I was able to stretch out a bit and also not be afraid I’d piss anyone off by incessantly taking pictures.

I must admit though, I did not stay for the end. I wanted to try to make it to a restaurant called Hwy 61 Roadhouse that I had seen on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives. They featured a dish called BBQ Spaghetti and I wanted it. So I left in the 7th inning and listened to the Red Sox win on the radio. I drove the 20 minutes out to the restaurant only to find out it was closed. Having only had the omelette at about 9am and a sandwich at the stadium I was starving. I had passed a White Castle on my way to Hwy 61 so I deiced I’d hit it on the way back. My rules that I had laid out for myself included no chain restaurants unless it was a regional one I had never been to. White Castles are not common, if they even exist at all, in the northeast so I decided this wasn’t breaking any rules.

I walked in an perused the menu. I decided on a number 8. 10 classic sliders, 20 chicken rings, a medium fry, and a small coke. It was delicious. The chicken rings especially were quite tasty. It was honestly more food than I should have eaten, but I’ve been instilled with the life long credo to never throw away food (thanks dad). So I ate every last fry, ring, and slider. Then promptly passed out. Aside from waking up the next morning with a serious case of cotton mouth I was none the worse for wear.

I will reiterate too, that order was not something I pulled out of thin air. That was an actual meal on their menu. I needed to explain this to my friend who thought I just pulled random numbers out of the air to make up what I wanted.

So St. Louis was a success. It took a few detours to get there and a little rule bending to stay there, but all in all I was very happy. The Gateway Arch was absolutely fantastic and like I said for someone who collects MLB hats, getting to wear a teams hat in their stadium is something pretty cool for me.

With all the done it was time to pack up my things and move head on out to Chicago to see more tall things.