Leg 4: The West
From Vancouver we drove several hundred miles west through the Canadian Rocky Mountains along southern British Columbia enjoying absolutely pristine landscapes. We then cut southwest through eastern Washington, the panhandle of Idaho, and landed in Montana. Montana surprised us and left us in awe. From there we were busy – we visited Yellowstone‘s sulfury wonderland, enjoyed Grand Teton‘s wildlife, shopped in Jackson Hole, cheered at a rodeo, and then took on South Dakota: Black Hills, Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore, Badlands National Park, Wall Drug and the Corn Palace. Then we made a mad dash through the Midwestern states of Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana to make a surprise visit at a family camping trip.

Highlight 1: Grand Teton National Park I thought that our big ‘wow’ would be would be Yellowstone National Park but it was Grand Teton National Park that took our breath away. The mountains, the lakes, the wildlife – they were all outstanding. Brett was thrilled when we saw a bear and I was excited to be in the mountains. It was mid-June but there was still plenty of snow around, too. We loved it, absolutely loved it.

Highlight 2: Montana Brett and I had seen the license plate slogan ‘Big Sky Country‘ before we arrived in Montana and were perplexed by it. However, upon arrival and during our entire time in the state, we understood it. It is not possible to explain but amazing to experience. Montana definitely make’s the Top 10 list.

British Columbia - Washington - Idaho - Montana – Wyoming – South Dakota – Nebraska – Iowa – Illinois – Indiana

Travel:
Number of Days: 13 – June 11 to June 23
Number of Miles: 3,096

Sleeping:
Nights in the car: 8
Nights in the tent: 2
Nights with friends/family: 3

Our trip was categorized into different travel legs, with five legs in total. This is a flashback about Leg #4.