A year ago today, J and I started a cross-country road trip from Indiana to Ohio. We’d been dating long-distance for a year and a half, and I’d made the decision to find a job in Seattle and make the move! We took this opportunity to plan a two-week road trip across the U.S. and stop and enjoy as many National Parks and other sights as we could along the way!
Over the next two weeks I’ll be publishing a series of posts as a road trip flashback, to share some of our favorite photos and adventures from our trip! Here’s a map of the route we took:
I’d moved out of my apartment in Ohio the week before and had spent the week in Indiana with my parents. Here are the first two state line signs!
Our plan for the first day was to make it all the way to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. After breakfast at one of our favorite spots in Indy, we set out for Bloomington, Illinois, where most of my dad’s side of the family lives. We stopped there and had lunch with my extended family.
It was great to visit with all of them! After lunch we got back on the road and continued our journey west. It was hard saying goodbye to my parents! They were so supportive and such a huge help with packing and moving. (Thanks Mom and Dad! 🙂 )
I’ll be honest, there was not much else exciting that happened on the first day – the highlights were taking pictures at the state lines! We stopped in Iowa to fill up our cooler with snacks and food for camping.
We made it to Minnesota just before dark.
And we arrived at our hotel in Sioux Falls, just across the South Dakota border, around 10:30pm and were ready for some sleep! I’d planned a mix of camping and staying in hotels, which helped keep costs down. Thankfully this first night was in a hotel, so we were able to collapse into bed and rest up for Day 2.
Check back tomorrow for Day 2 highlights – South Dakota, Badlands National Park, and Mt. Rushmore!
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