DIESELprogrammer
Veteran Member
Yesterday August 10th, I finally got my vacation approved. I put in for it last winter, however the company was sold in April. The new management thought they might like to hold a training session during my vacation and held off approving me until that matter was decided on.
Above is a pic of our wall map showing the planned route for the 15-16 day trip. We will be leaving our home 35 miles north of Spokane, Washington on the morning of August 27, taking HWY 2 northeast. I am hoping to make a quick stop to see an old friend in Kalispell, Montana and then go on to spend our first night, at Glacier National Park.
Depending on what we decide to do there, we will depart either Monday or Tuesday morning heading east on HWY 2 toward Wolf Point, Montana. There I will decide whether to head south to I-94 or continue across North Dakota on HWY 2. I have never done a HWY 2 crossing of the Mid-West. However, time and road quality will be important factors on where and when I drop down to I-94. We could even end up all the way to Duluth, Minnesota to catch a glimpse of Lake Superior or perhaps Ironwood, Michigan to add another State to the black board.
Part of the purpose of this trip is to provide a geography lesson for my daughter and later, bragging rights that she has been to a particular state. She is home schooled and I have gathered information packets for each state that we are going to travel in. As we pass from state to state she is going to get a packet on that state and have a few school lessons to do while traveling. We are planning on getting to Lake Mills, Wisconsin Friday afternoon in time for a welcome shower and swim before the nights festivities.
We will be leaving Lake Mills on Labor Day morning. On the return trip I am considering taking HWY 18 west out of Madison, Wisconsin in order to catch the NE corner of Iowa before heading north to get on I-90 west. The other option to catch Iowa is to drop down for a stretch while crossing Southern Minnesota. Then from I-90 west as we pass through South Dakota we will be stopping at Mt. Rushmore.
Time of day will dictate whether we camp nearby or continue on towards Yellowstone National Park. I plan to keep up a brisk pace from Lake Mills until we reach Yellowstone so that we can enjoy more time there before our final run for home. Outside of Sheridan, Wyoming we will break from I-90 and head west on HWY10/14 to Yellowstone. Depending on when we get there and what we want to do, we will leave Yellowstone either Friday the 9th in time to put us camping the night near Lookout Pass, Montana or the morning of Saturday the 10th with a bee line for home.
If we are at Lookout Pass Saturday morning we will do the Hiawatha Trail bike run before heading out for home later that day. Hoping to be home for Saturday night the 10th to allow for recovery time on Sunday. We don’t have to be back until Sunday evening though.
I know that our schedule doesn’t lend itself to doing much caravanning with fellow TDIers. However, if anyone is interested in joining us for any portion of the journey east and/or West shoot me a PM to discuss.
Please feel free to use this thread as a way to link up with any PNWesterners headed to the fest.
Above is a pic of our wall map showing the planned route for the 15-16 day trip. We will be leaving our home 35 miles north of Spokane, Washington on the morning of August 27, taking HWY 2 northeast. I am hoping to make a quick stop to see an old friend in Kalispell, Montana and then go on to spend our first night, at Glacier National Park.
Depending on what we decide to do there, we will depart either Monday or Tuesday morning heading east on HWY 2 toward Wolf Point, Montana. There I will decide whether to head south to I-94 or continue across North Dakota on HWY 2. I have never done a HWY 2 crossing of the Mid-West. However, time and road quality will be important factors on where and when I drop down to I-94. We could even end up all the way to Duluth, Minnesota to catch a glimpse of Lake Superior or perhaps Ironwood, Michigan to add another State to the black board.
Part of the purpose of this trip is to provide a geography lesson for my daughter and later, bragging rights that she has been to a particular state. She is home schooled and I have gathered information packets for each state that we are going to travel in. As we pass from state to state she is going to get a packet on that state and have a few school lessons to do while traveling. We are planning on getting to Lake Mills, Wisconsin Friday afternoon in time for a welcome shower and swim before the nights festivities.
We will be leaving Lake Mills on Labor Day morning. On the return trip I am considering taking HWY 18 west out of Madison, Wisconsin in order to catch the NE corner of Iowa before heading north to get on I-90 west. The other option to catch Iowa is to drop down for a stretch while crossing Southern Minnesota. Then from I-90 west as we pass through South Dakota we will be stopping at Mt. Rushmore.
Time of day will dictate whether we camp nearby or continue on towards Yellowstone National Park. I plan to keep up a brisk pace from Lake Mills until we reach Yellowstone so that we can enjoy more time there before our final run for home. Outside of Sheridan, Wyoming we will break from I-90 and head west on HWY10/14 to Yellowstone. Depending on when we get there and what we want to do, we will leave Yellowstone either Friday the 9th in time to put us camping the night near Lookout Pass, Montana or the morning of Saturday the 10th with a bee line for home.
If we are at Lookout Pass Saturday morning we will do the Hiawatha Trail bike run before heading out for home later that day. Hoping to be home for Saturday night the 10th to allow for recovery time on Sunday. We don’t have to be back until Sunday evening though.
I know that our schedule doesn’t lend itself to doing much caravanning with fellow TDIers. However, if anyone is interested in joining us for any portion of the journey east and/or West shoot me a PM to discuss.
Please feel free to use this thread as a way to link up with any PNWesterners headed to the fest.
