Hello, world. Long time no see. So here’s the deal. I have REALLY sucked at writing on this blog. Seeing that my last blog post was halfway through my honeymoon last July, it would appear there was a bit of a lapse in my writing. I kept meaning to come back to this blog and finish writing about my trip but it never happened. Additionally, I never wrote about any of the other trips we went on last year.
A Quick Recap
- July 2015- We went to Puerto Rico for our honeymoon. It was awesome and tropical and beautiful. Go there.
- October 2015- Fun weekend trip to Twin Falls, Idaho. It was a quiet and pretty little trip.
- February 2016- Amazing extended weekend trip to Saint George, Utah. We fell in love with that city.
- April 2016- Trip with the Eves family to Moab, Utah. We spent the weekend hiking at Arches and Goblin Valley.
- May 2016- Crazy Memorial Day weekend road trip from Evanston, WY, to North Dakota and back- This is the trip I am going to be writing about today, so strap in, kiddos.
Where I’ve Been
In between all of those bullet points lie lots of fun adventures and day trips worth writing about, but sadly didn’t make the cut.
Truthfully, I have really sucked at writing in general as of late. One would think that an English major with an emphasis in creative writing would be writing stories all the time, right? Wrong. This English major over here got herself into a bit of a slump. I was writing multiple papers and stories each week while I was in school, but once I was off for the summer I took a writing hiatus. My plan was to take a little break, then come back hard and write new stories every week. That didn’t exactly happen. Want to know what actually happened? Netflix happened, and a lot of it.
For some reason, it is easier for me to find time to re-watch The Office and Community or binge-watch Grey’s Anatomy. Netflix became a happy little routine for me. I turned it on while I was cleaning the house and then would continue to watch it long after I finished cleaning. I wasn’t taking the time to write or read or workout. May was a rough month for me. I have been doing better throughout June though.
In a couple of weeks, Jordan and I will be road-tripping up to Banff National Park in Canada. We are super excited and want to share our experiences with you all. So before we get to that point, I want to share the story of our unforgettable road trip over Memorial Day.
Let the Story Begin
Our story began on May 27th. Jordan and I left our home in Salt Lake to drive down to Mapleton, Utah, for the joyous celebration of Jordan’s sister’s wedding. The 27th was her wedding dinner, so we picked up the food and had a nice dinner with family and friends. Afterward, Jordan and I stayed the night at a nearby hotel.
The next morning, we all traveled to the Payson LDS Temple for Hailey and Preston’s wedding. The ceremony was lovely, and Hailey was a beautiful bride. That night was her wedding reception. Everyone mingled and joined in celebrating the couple’s big day. After the reception, Jordan and I drove two hours to Evanston, Wyoming, to stay with my parents, where we slept for about three hours before waking up to start a road trip.
Devil’s Tower to Mount Rushmore
At 4:00 a.m. on May 29th, Jordan and I loaded into the backseat of my dad’s truck, and the Eves and Francis families took off for the adventure. About eight hours and 511 miles later, we arrived at Devils Tower National Monument. It was a brief pit stop but was absolutely worth it. The scenery surrounding the area was so beautiful.
The four of us then loaded back into the truck, in pursuit of Mount Rushmore. We drove through Deadwood, South Dakota, and down the Black Hills to reach Mount Rushmore. The Black Hills National Forest is beautiful. The forest there is different from any I had been to before, so the two-hour drive from Devils Tower to Mount Rushmore was quite pleasant.
I had always wanted to see Mount Rushmore, but it was never a huge priority for me. Seeing the faces of those influential men carved proudly into the side of a mountain was absolutely stunning. The monument filled me with such American pride. Being there over Memorial Day made the moment even more amazing. I didn’t want to leave. Really, I felt guilty leaving George and the gang, but we had to press on to North Dakota.
Before heading to North Dakota, we ate dinner in Keystone, South Dakota, the city just outside of the Mount Rushmore Monument. Hoping for a quick meal, we stopped into a pizza parlor called Pie for the People. It was fairly empty, so we anticipated quick service. We were very wrong.
The restaurant was down to one waitress. She was working so hard to serve all of her customers, but the kitchen wasn’t bringing out food fast enough to keep up with the masses. As we waited, all four of us felt the weight of our exhaustion. The realization that we had four more hours until we reached Dickinson, North Dakota, was really disheartening. All of the patriotism and joy I felt at Mount Rushmore was replaced with dread and regret. At this point, I was wondering why we were on this trip. Once we got our food, our spirits were slightly lifted, and after eating, we pulled ourselves together and hit the road. Finally, our caravan pulled into the Hampton Inn in Dickinson. Completely exhausted, we dragged ourselves into the hotel, checked in, and flung ourselves into bed around 1:30 a.m.
North Dakota
The next morning, after getting a few hours of sleep, we helped ourselves to a nice complimentary breakfast and loaded into the car for another long day. Along the way to Williston, ND, we stopped at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. There wasn’t a whole lot to see there, but we drove through it for a few minutes before returning to our route. Williston was the reason for the trip. It’s not a pretty destination. It is the home of the oil field, or rather, it was. What once was a booming town now lies desolate and abandoned. We made the trip to North Dakota to retrieve my dad’s belongings from the oil field. Due to political changes, oil companies all across America had been shutting down. My dad’s company was no exception. No matter what your opinion is in regards to the oil field, we all need to remember that hard-working families across America are suffering at the moment. Thousands of men and women are jobless, and fearful for the future of their families. My family is one of the many who are uncertain about what the future holds. Okay, rant over. We picked up my dad’s things and headed out for the next phase of this journey.
The Repo Men
Some back-story is required now. As a favor to our car dealership family friend, my family agreed to pick up a repossessed vehicle in North Dakota. Jordan and I would drive the repo car back to Evanston, while my parents drove their car. No big deal. We expected that car to be a little messy. But, what we got was a tornado of scum and grime and nastiness like I have never seen before. Honestly, it was the most disgusting vehicle I have ever seen in my life. The cup holders were filled to the top with fluid. The steering wheel was gooey and the seats, carpets, and ceiling were stained beyond recovery. Coincidentally, the seatbelts were the cleanest part of the vehicle. Evidently they didn’t use them- ever.
Jordan sacrificed himself and drove the car to a carwash so we could deep clean the beast. Knowing I wouldn’t be able to emotionally handle the trauma of seeing the car at its disgusting state and then drive 18 hours in it, everyone kept me in the safety of the clean truck, while the rest of the gang endured the scum. Bless them. Three hours later, the car was in a driveable state. It wasn’t great, but it was better than before. For further padding between ourselves and the disgusting nature of that car, we went to Wal-Mart, bought cheap bed sheets and towels, and covered the insides of the car in them. Finally, we were able to drive that nasty car.
Totally behind schedule, and utterly drained, we convoyed the two vehicles to Billings, Montana. It was late. We were originally planning on getting home that night, but there wasn’t a chance we would make it safely. With all of our remaining energy, we drove to Cody, Wyoming, and stayed the night there.
A Quick Jaunt Through Yellowstone
My parents left at 4:00 a.m. to get to Evanston in time for my mom’s art class. Jordan and I were able to sleep in until 9:00 a.m. Rather than taking the direct route to Evanston, we opted for the scenic route through Yellowstone. Jordan had never been before, so we went that way. We didn’t get to see all of the cool geothermal features, but we plan on visiting again in the future so we can see everything. We stopped around Yellowstone Lake a few times, enjoying the view, then carried on to Jackson Hole for lunch. After enjoying a delicious Bison Burger, we drove to Evanston and dropped off the nasty car. I have never been more relieved to see our clean vehicle and drive home to Salt Lake in it.
So that about sums it all up. I have to say, that the trip was exhausting and crazy and spontaneous, but it sure was memorable. I am thankful to have a family that gets along and enjoys every adventure together.
I promise to be back and write on this blog more this summer. Like I said, in just a couple of weeks we are off to Canada, and want to share our adventures with you all.
See you soon,
Madison and Jordan
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