Home • Contact Us • Bio • Interests • Gallery • Vacations • Our Domains • Family History (Genealogy)
 
 
Salt Lake City, Utah to Minneapolis, Minnesota
April 16-20, 2002 - To view a map, Click Here for our Route.

In order to have an automobile in the Minneapolis area, it became our "obligation" to drive from Salt Lake City to the Upper Midwest. This was a fascinating trip as it was Sietske and Chad's first time through both South Dakota and Minnesota. The journey lasted 4 days. Enjoy some of the images....

NOTE: This page may take up to 2 minutes to load over a slow modem connection, due to images pre-loading for faster perusal when clicking on them. Click any of the images to see a larger image.

Day one's journey began at Salt Lake City in the evening with a long six hour drive to Cheyenne, Wyoming. The only planned stop along the route was in Fort Bridger, which is the home of the site of historic Fort Bridger. Fort Bridger was the stopover point for many pioneers during their trek to the West. Although the state park at Fort Bridger was closed, I was able to "sneak" a shot of the fort's interior by squeezing through the lodge poles. Then again we were onward and soon encountered an unexpected blizzard along I-80 between Rawlins and Laramie. Visibility at times was down to less than eighty, perhaps one-hundred feet. I took a mental note, "Next time, we're going on the southerly route."

Day two began at Cheyenne and with a turn of events, the skies were sunny! The vast open beauty in eastern Wyoming was astounding. Miles, miles, and more miles of open, barren land. Antelope sightings were common and the frequent plateaus were awe-inspiring. Eventually our route brought us to the Black Hills of eastern Wyoming and western South Dakota.


(Eastern Wyoming - plenty of plains,
plateaus, and antelope)


(Sietske at Mount Rushmore)

 Upon first glimpse of the Black Hills, one may ask, "Why is this area called the Black Hills?" Hills? Yes. Black? Well, not really, at least not from the ground. We recalled from previous flights over the area (well above ground view) the Black Hills themselves portray a black tone that is distinct from the surrounding terrain. At ground level, however, the green evergreen trees prevailed. But then... our debate on the subject of "black" soon changed as we turned a corner... apparently a recent fire had swept the area clean of any plant life and only left the black residue of the catastrophe. What a sad tale....

A mere twenty or so minutes into the drive into the Black Hills and we began to question why this site was chosen for the monument to the Presidents. Not longer after, it became VERY evident as we viewed massive granite spires in nearly every direction. "Yep, this here's the place." The anticipation of seeing Mount Rushmore in person began to overtake our emotions. Before our arrival, we took a quick break at a turnoff to enjoy the spectacular scenery of the hills and small valleys below, when nearly simultaneously we both discovered the profile of George Washington, no more than 100 or so yards away right behind us! What a vision!!! A snapshot was taken and onward we drove to the memorial to witness this historic site. We managed to take twenty pictures or so, but the best close-up is here. And the view from the memorial looking down to the valley below was not disappointing either.
Day two ended at Spearfish, South Dakota and before we realized it day three began. The day's journey was to be considered "boring" by all parties, considering it was a four hundred mile straight shot across the plains on I-90 to Sioux Falls. This proved different, however, when Sietske took a detour to Badlands National Park.

We really had no idea what to expect at Badlands, considering we both had heard little of the park but knew literally nothing about what it contained. We paid our park entrance fee and proceeded in near Dillon Pass. The terrain was flat, grassy, flat, grassy, and perhaps we could make out just a little knob in the distance 200 yards or so in front. We continued forward then suddenly, as if teleported to another planet, the view became breathtaking!!! Out of nowhere, we felt we were on Mars or somewhere similar. The flatlands had been washed away into what seemed an oblivion and literally the bottoms seemed endless. We took 60+ images at the park, but here is sample one and sample two. The park has improved roads throughout in which you drive on a self-guided tour. About one to two hours later, you arrive at the Visitor's Center to wrap up the visit. If you have never been to Badlands, it would be worth your while to take the time to visit.


(Chad at Badlands National Park)


(Chad at Walnut Grove, Minnesota)

 Before the close of day three, we found ourselves crossing the Missouri River at Chamberlain, South Dakota. This is the site of one of the Lewis & Clark Expedition Crossings. Then soon came Sioux Falls for a night's rest.

Before we realized it, we were back on the road for our final day's drive to Minneapolis which would provide us one, simple "pleasure" in Walnut Grove, Minnesota. This town's name should be familiar to TV-goers as Walnut Grove is the storyline location of "Little House on the Prairie." We discovered while there that the original Charles Ingalls home still stands in Walnut Grove. Although we did not receive a tour in the home, we were able to view it. We also snapped a shot of "Nellie," the notorious troublemaker in Laura Ingalls' stories.

The day came to a close as we passed the Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie and soon arrived at Chad's new apartment. Time now for the planning of this summer's return trip on the Mormon Trail....