20+ Hour Road Trip

"What was I thinking?" was probably the most common phrase I said during the long trek from Montana to Minnesota via South Dakota.  (Parker has taken 3 different routes and deemed this one the most enjoyable.)  This wasn't a regular road trip in the sense that we were traveling in Parker's Subaru, which was packed to the brim with 6 months worth of stuff that he had up in Canada.  Add to that a girl and her stuff (2 sets of skis, 2 pairs of snowshoes, and 2 suitcases)...enough said!  Once I adjusted my attitude (and kept the wedding magazines from sliding into the back of my head), we actually had a really good trip and quality time together.  We were able to break up the trip by doing lots of sight seeing.  We took pictures along the high line of Montana (they don't call it the "Big Sky" state for nothing) and then had a nice lunch with my good friend from high school Aileen and her family. 

 

Not only is she expecting her second child in February, but she also just got the results back that she passed her Professional Engineering exam!  Congratulations girl!  In rural Montana, we also passed this place:

After some stressful wedding planning, we did mention eloping several times though....hummm.

One of our favorite stops was Mount Rushmore National Park.  Apparently, just after Christmas is not a popular time to visit.  We basically had the place to ourselves, and we had a hard time finding someone to take our picture.  

 

 

 

Another highlight of the trip was Wall Drug.  If you've ever stepped foot in South Dakota, you've probably seen a sign.  The signs are literally posted every mile for over 100 miles out.  No offense to any South Dakotans, but when you live there I guess you have to find something to be excited about.  I mean, where else can you get $0.05 coffee, free ice water, or a free baked good for honeymooners?

 

 

 

 

Jackalopes anyone?

 Parker's favorite attraction was visiting one of the hundreds of minutemen missile silos across the north central US. 

 

 

 

And who could resist a quick pit stop at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD? Not us!

No wonder it took us over 20 hours!  All the cool things along the way were worth it though, and we got some good quality time together.