So, as I have already covered, I decided when I turned 40 that I need to see all 50 states before I turn 50. I told Missy about this goal, and she immediately started working on knocking a few off my list - North Dakota and Montana.
We decided the best time to leave would be right after Election Day, since my family is very pro-Trump and I am very VERY not pro-Trump. Our thought process that was no matter which way the election went, I may need a little space. Little did we know, the Election Day would turn into Elections DayS. So we scheduled our departure for Wednesday November 4th. I left work early and picked Missy up. I had a post it with the states that were still counting votes and who I thought the state would be called for. I mean, that's how CNN keeps track of things too, right?
We headed north and our first stop was in falls in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. However, their must be a drought because the falls weren't very fall-y. But still pretty. I would love to go back when they are more fall-y. Next we went to Watertown, South Dakota to the Terry Redlin Art Center. This was a great stop. The museum is so nice! Our last stop for that day was the Walla Church which was legit in the middle of a cornfield. I have a weird love for churches that also have cemeteries, so this was also a cool stop. However, I think I would have enjoyed it more if it wasn't pitch black because #scary. Next, we headed to Fargo, North Dakota to find a place to eat - we ended up at Lucky 13 to eat their version of the juicy lucy, the juicy lulu. It was probably the best one I've ever had! Then we checked into the hotel, and since the television didn't work, the room was comped! #score During the whole drive we were listening to CNN, and then we were watching it on our phones/ipads - still no election results.
The next morning we woke up to no election results. We went to Kroll's Diner in Fargo for breakfast and then hit the road for Medora, North Dakota, home to Teddy Roosevelt National Park. But first we stopped in Jamestown to see the Worlds Largest Buffalo. This site also boasted actual live buffalo and for some reason my friend Missy, who hates animals, LOVES buffalo. But alas, we found none. Next we stopped in Bismark to see another statue - the Four Headed Thunderbird - and I saw a TJ Maxx so why would I not stop? And I found a great Rae Dunn piece.
After that, we made one more pit stop in New Salem to see the World's Largest Holstein Cow. The cow is absolutely enormous and on top of a hill and you could see for miles....but we were in the middle of North Dakota, so not a lot to see. Still, it's always fun to be up that high.
So at this point, we were in a new time zone and I was thinking to myself...is North Dakota the most boring state ever? I didn't think anything could be more boring that eastern Nebraska and then...as we got closer to Medora and Teddy Roosevelt, it became BEAUTIFUL!
Finally, we hit Medora, which is a great little town...but literally almost everything was closed. We stopped at a gas station and the gas pumps were old school - like where the numbers roll and you can't use a card at the pump. It was amazing. Unfortunately, we were told there that pretty much the entire town was shut down for the season. Luckily the national park was still open so we headed into Teddy Roosevelt. It was absolutely beautiful - we hit it right at sunset. Even Donald Trump acting like a moron and making his stupid, ignorant statement couldn't ruin the ambience.
We stayed at the Rough Riders Inn. I really liked this place. Not just because of this library, but...kinda.We walked to one of the two bars in town that were open and serving food, then went back to the room to watch more election coverage. Still no results. Remember how we left town to get away from the election results? At this point we were thinking we still wouldn't have a president when we returned.
We woke up the next morning to head to Montana. We found a quaint place to eat breakfast, Cabin Cafe, and then headed into Medicine Rocks State Park.
After that, we ended up driving through a sliver of Wyoming - this was a surprise, I didn't realize we would be hitting another state!
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