Our second adventure across the US! We drove our F-150 through 22+ states and visited 11 national parks!

Here’s the list!

Directions from Home Base to Grand Junction:

A. Home base: We’ve leaving for the first leg of our road trip soon!

B. Alexandria, VA and DC: We spent 4 days visiting friends in Alexandria and exploring the area nearby. For more details on our visit, check out our DC itinerary here, or watch our embedded YouTube video!

E. and F. St. Louis and Hays, KS: We took three days to cross the US to Colorado, spending two in St. Louis, staying at the incredible Chase Park Plaza. During our stay, we ate BBQ at Salt and Smoke and visited the Gateway Arch for our second NP of the trip! Hays was just a stopover on our way to Colorado, but we ended up really enjoying our brief stay at the Hilton Garden Inn. Check out our YouTube video (also embedded here!) and blog highlighting this part of the journey!

H. Great Sand Dunes NP; Great Sand Dunes Lodge: For our fourth National Park of the trip, we stayed at Great Sand Dunes Lodge in Mosca, CO. This basic-style lodge is a 5 minute drive from the park entrance and provides INCREDIBLE views of the dunes, with their glorious mountain backdrop. Check out our YouTube video!

I: Mesa Verde NP; Far View Lodge: Back to back National Parks! We stayed at the Far View Lodge right in the park and it didn’t disappoint. We opted for the deluxe room and it came with incredible balcony views expanding out over the high desert, at over 8,000’ of elevation. With that being said, the room was small and not ideal for a family of four, with young children. However, if you are traveling as a couple, or family with older children, we would absolutely recommend this accommodation. They even have several restaurants on site (also with incredible views). Unfortunately, the cliff dwellings were closed, with no available tours, so we had to enjoy them from afar. We also drove around the mesa and checked out other ancient Puebloan sites and jaw-dropping views. Highly recommend this park, spending 2-3 days exploring! Check out our YouTube video!

A2: Grand Junction, CO: We finally slowed down a bit in Grand Junction and spent 11 days enjoying this perfectly located small city and it’s surroundings. During our stay here, we visited Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Colorado National Monument and a local winery. During our entire stay, we rented an air bnb, which was ideal for exploring the area AND walking downtown to shops, restaurants, cafes, etc. Videos Below!

B2: Jackson Hole WY; Snow King Resort and Grand Teton NP! This was arguably the most picturesque stop on the journey, with the jaw-dropping Teton mountain range as a backdrop. We stayed in an air bnb in Teton village and then at the beautiful Snow King Resort. One of our highlights was the wildlife tour with Snow King, as we got to see Elk, Bison and Big Horn sheep up close. For more on our stay, check out our YouTube videos embedded here!

C2: West Yellowstone and Yellowstone National Park! As cliche as it sounds, this was easily our favorite national park. Between the incredible sights and unbelievably accessible wildlife, it is definitely a “can’t miss”. We stayed in a very comfortable air bnb right across the from the park itself in West Yellowstone. Check out our video for a full tour of our rental and a glimpse into our visit to the national park!

D2: Bozeman, Montana and The Lark: En route to Glacier National Park, we made a quick stop in Bozeman to break our driving time in half and to partner with The Lark hotel. We absolutely loved Bozeman. The Lark is perfectly located downtown and within walking distance of everything. Check out our YouTube video for more details on this stopover.

E2: Columbia Falls, Montana; Wonderstone Hotel, ROAM Beyond and Glacier NP: We were fortunate to stay in Columbia Falls with two great accommodations, both within 15 minutes of the West Entrance to Glacier NP. Unfortunately we were a bit early in the season for Glacier NP and the “going to the sun” road wasn’t fully open to vehicle traffic. We still were able to get some great, small hikes in and enjoy Columbia Falls. If you are looking for live music and good atmosphere, check out the Gunsight Saloon … and then grab ice cream around the corner at Cup O’ Soul. YouTube video coming soon!

F2: Whitefish, Montana; Air Bnb rental in the country: We were very fortunate to have spent our time in Whitefish with family at a beautiful log cabin in the hills near Whitefish Mountain Resort. We visited some fantastic restaurants and breweries for families with kids: Bonsai Brewing Company, The Wich Haus and Sacred Water Brewing Company. With only a 40 min drive to the Glacier entrance, we snuck in another hike, while we were in the area. YouTube video coming soon!

G2: Billings, Montana; Air bnb: We used this strictly as a place to stopover on our way to South Dakota. We mostly relaxed at the air bnb and got caught up on work.

H2: Wall, South Dakota; Wall Drug Store and Badlands NP: Believe it or not, this was a really fun area of the country to visit. We stopped at Mount Rushmore on the way to Wall, which is really a sight to see - highly recommend stopping. Wall itself is a TINY town, anchored by Badlands NP and Wall Drugstore. The drugstore got its reputation by providing weary travelers free ice water. While it’s a fun tourist trap, especially with young kids, it isn’t anything to write home about. Badlands NP on the other hand is definitely worth the visit. It's multi-colored hills are absolutely gorgeous and worth the stop/visit. YouTube video coming soon!

I2: The final push: We decided to head home from Wall and stopped for three nights along the way in Sioux Falls, SD, Roseland, Indiana and Rochester, NY. What an adventure!!!