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Roadtrip Review: Buffalo to Seattle
Posted on 7/5/20 at 10:01 pm
Posted on 7/5/20 at 10:01 pm
Have to say that this 8 day, 7 night, 12 state roadtrip was probably my favorite and most memorable travel experience. Given everything going on in the world right now, it was the perfect getaway from real life. For anyone contemplating a trip out west this summer, I would highly recommend. Everything was open in Iowa, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho which made the trip awesome.
Background:
There were two of us on this trip, picked up my friend in Chicago after he flew up from Nola. The total trip from Buffalo to Seattle is 2700 miles, roughly 40 hours of straight driving. We decided to try and do most of the driving within the first two days so that we had the rest of the drive around Montana and Idaho to relax. We also wanted a mixture of camping and hotels so in total it was 2 nights camping and 4 nights hotel. Below is a map of the total trip
Day 1: Buffalo, NY to Coralville, IA
760 miles, 11 hr 40 min
Stayed at the Marriott Harborcenter night before the drive (think it's called LECOM) and the hotel has great views of lake Erie. Employees were friendly and it's one of nicest hotels in buffalo outside of the Westin. The fitness center and pool were not open but the bars in the area were (Pearl Street). Day 1 was the longest drive of the trip at almost 12 hrs of straight driving.
Night view from the hotel
I started my 12 hr drive through western NY, Erie PA, and into Ohio. The welcome center in PA had workers making sure people had their masks on to use the bathrooms, by far the worst state for masks in regards to enforcement. Ohio was about 50/50 people wearing masks, state didn't require it.
Driving through Cleveland was okay mid morning, but there were a lot lot of sharp 30mph turns downtown on the interstate that seemed terrible for rush hour. Made it to a rest stop somewhere around Toledo for lunch and got burger king.
When crossing into indiana, I noticed the RV Hall of Fame on the side of 90. Outside was an RV with tons of Eagles stickers, pretty entertaining that an RV hall of fame exists
. Hit pouring rain then caught a break on my way into Chicago. Was only in Chicago to pick up my friend at Midway and catch up with an old coworker. I always forget how rough the area around Midway is, got out of there quick.
At this point I had already been driving 8 hours so I handed the keys over for the drive across western illinois and eastern iowa. Hit up a Whitecastle and had four tiny burgers for dinner. At this point it's about to pour and we have some heavy tstorms. Funny that every time my friend drove on this trip it would rain, hail, sleet, or snow
View of thunderstorm in western IL
End up staying at the Marriott in Coralville IA by the University of Iowa's campus. Nice hotel, dead tired after a solid 12 hrs of driving so we passed out.
Day 2: Coralville, IA to Wall, SD
664 miles, 9 hr 46 min
This is what the hotel looked like in the AM, nice day.
Fill up the truck in the morning and see four options at the gas station. Didn't know that E85 existed?
We go stop by the campus and see the football stadium before heading back to the 90. Let me tell you, this was the worst day of driving for me due to seeing corn everywhere you look for 5+ hours. Don't think I could handle living there, but it was nice to see for once.
Corn for miles
At the end of Iowa, we needed to head north on I-29. Since I had never been to Nebraska, we drove across the bridge real quick and got some Taco John's.
First time at Taco John's and food was pretty good, I'd go back. Friend takes over driving into South Dakota
We tried to stop in Sioux Falls at a Great Shot, looked like a Top Golf from the side of the highway. Pull up and the guy waiting at the parking lot says we're the first NY plate he's seen all day. Unfortunately reservations only (said that requirement was gone by this weekend) so we got back on the highway.
Ended up at the corn palace, was a quick visit inside. Everyone I sent the picture to thought this was going to be in Iowa. Tourist town, everyone was friendly.
From here we drove further west to Wall, SD for the drug store. I have to say I loved it, small town feel and that store had everything. We got burgers and pie for dinner that were great
View of the cafe portion of the drug store
Outside the store
From there, we found a free camping site just outside badlands national park. This place only had two google reviews but we checked it out and it did not disappoint. Great sunset, awesome view over the wall, and so many stars.
The cows came up to graze around sunset, saw bighorn sheep as well.
View over the badlands
Day 3: Wall, SD to Sheridan, WY
312 miles, 5 hr 10 min
First day to start looking at national parks, started the day at Badlands National Park. Absolutely beautiful and would highly recommend. Saw bison, prairie dogs, and bighorn sheep.
Prairie dogs galore
Bighorn showed up right next to us, pretty sweet
Got within a few feet of a bison while on the road
Kept driving on down to Mount Rushmore, was a hot day (95*F). The presidential trail was closed so we weren't really there for that long, by far the most crowded tourist spot we went to. Glad we saw Rushmore before those idiots shut down the road too.
Working on Teddy's face
Drove through the Black Hills on the way to Devil's Tower. Really beautiful area as well, stopped to hike at one of the cave areas.
Crossed into Wyoming and headed north to Devil's Tower. Long line of cars and RVs to get in so we just went to the trading post. They wanted $10 for a hamburger and $6 for a hotdog...
After Devil's Tower, switched drivers on our way to Sheridan. We hit pouring rain for a thunderstorm, then it turned into marble sized hail. No truck damage either
Hail
What the road looked like. First time for a Louisiana guy driving in hail, he did well.
The thunderstorm had a great lightning show with it
Made it through the thunderstorm and stopped in Buffalo, WY. This was the only meal that we ate where we thought it was just okay. Food could have been better, but people were nice at least.
Continued the rest of the way up to Sheridan and stopped at a fairfield for the night. The gas station in front didn't sell beer, thought that was a little weird. Hit up the pool and caught up on sleep after camping in badlands the night before.
Background:
There were two of us on this trip, picked up my friend in Chicago after he flew up from Nola. The total trip from Buffalo to Seattle is 2700 miles, roughly 40 hours of straight driving. We decided to try and do most of the driving within the first two days so that we had the rest of the drive around Montana and Idaho to relax. We also wanted a mixture of camping and hotels so in total it was 2 nights camping and 4 nights hotel. Below is a map of the total trip
Day 1: Buffalo, NY to Coralville, IA
760 miles, 11 hr 40 min
Stayed at the Marriott Harborcenter night before the drive (think it's called LECOM) and the hotel has great views of lake Erie. Employees were friendly and it's one of nicest hotels in buffalo outside of the Westin. The fitness center and pool were not open but the bars in the area were (Pearl Street). Day 1 was the longest drive of the trip at almost 12 hrs of straight driving.
Night view from the hotel
I started my 12 hr drive through western NY, Erie PA, and into Ohio. The welcome center in PA had workers making sure people had their masks on to use the bathrooms, by far the worst state for masks in regards to enforcement. Ohio was about 50/50 people wearing masks, state didn't require it.
Driving through Cleveland was okay mid morning, but there were a lot lot of sharp 30mph turns downtown on the interstate that seemed terrible for rush hour. Made it to a rest stop somewhere around Toledo for lunch and got burger king.
When crossing into indiana, I noticed the RV Hall of Fame on the side of 90. Outside was an RV with tons of Eagles stickers, pretty entertaining that an RV hall of fame exists
. Hit pouring rain then caught a break on my way into Chicago. Was only in Chicago to pick up my friend at Midway and catch up with an old coworker. I always forget how rough the area around Midway is, got out of there quick. At this point I had already been driving 8 hours so I handed the keys over for the drive across western illinois and eastern iowa. Hit up a Whitecastle and had four tiny burgers for dinner. At this point it's about to pour and we have some heavy tstorms. Funny that every time my friend drove on this trip it would rain, hail, sleet, or snow
View of thunderstorm in western IL
End up staying at the Marriott in Coralville IA by the University of Iowa's campus. Nice hotel, dead tired after a solid 12 hrs of driving so we passed out.
Day 2: Coralville, IA to Wall, SD
664 miles, 9 hr 46 min
This is what the hotel looked like in the AM, nice day.
Fill up the truck in the morning and see four options at the gas station. Didn't know that E85 existed?
We go stop by the campus and see the football stadium before heading back to the 90. Let me tell you, this was the worst day of driving for me due to seeing corn everywhere you look for 5+ hours. Don't think I could handle living there, but it was nice to see for once.
Corn for miles
At the end of Iowa, we needed to head north on I-29. Since I had never been to Nebraska, we drove across the bridge real quick and got some Taco John's.
First time at Taco John's and food was pretty good, I'd go back. Friend takes over driving into South Dakota
We tried to stop in Sioux Falls at a Great Shot, looked like a Top Golf from the side of the highway. Pull up and the guy waiting at the parking lot says we're the first NY plate he's seen all day. Unfortunately reservations only (said that requirement was gone by this weekend) so we got back on the highway.
Ended up at the corn palace, was a quick visit inside. Everyone I sent the picture to thought this was going to be in Iowa. Tourist town, everyone was friendly.
From here we drove further west to Wall, SD for the drug store. I have to say I loved it, small town feel and that store had everything. We got burgers and pie for dinner that were great
View of the cafe portion of the drug store
Outside the store
From there, we found a free camping site just outside badlands national park. This place only had two google reviews but we checked it out and it did not disappoint. Great sunset, awesome view over the wall, and so many stars.
The cows came up to graze around sunset, saw bighorn sheep as well.
View over the badlands
Day 3: Wall, SD to Sheridan, WY
312 miles, 5 hr 10 min
First day to start looking at national parks, started the day at Badlands National Park. Absolutely beautiful and would highly recommend. Saw bison, prairie dogs, and bighorn sheep.
Prairie dogs galore
Bighorn showed up right next to us, pretty sweet
Got within a few feet of a bison while on the road
Kept driving on down to Mount Rushmore, was a hot day (95*F). The presidential trail was closed so we weren't really there for that long, by far the most crowded tourist spot we went to. Glad we saw Rushmore before those idiots shut down the road too.
Working on Teddy's face
Drove through the Black Hills on the way to Devil's Tower. Really beautiful area as well, stopped to hike at one of the cave areas.
Crossed into Wyoming and headed north to Devil's Tower. Long line of cars and RVs to get in so we just went to the trading post. They wanted $10 for a hamburger and $6 for a hotdog...
After Devil's Tower, switched drivers on our way to Sheridan. We hit pouring rain for a thunderstorm, then it turned into marble sized hail. No truck damage either
Hail
What the road looked like. First time for a Louisiana guy driving in hail, he did well.
The thunderstorm had a great lightning show with it
Made it through the thunderstorm and stopped in Buffalo, WY. This was the only meal that we ate where we thought it was just okay. Food could have been better, but people were nice at least.
Continued the rest of the way up to Sheridan and stopped at a fairfield for the night. The gas station in front didn't sell beer, thought that was a little weird. Hit up the pool and caught up on sleep after camping in badlands the night before.
2
Posted on 7/5/20 at 10:04 pm to CuseTiger
Day 4: Sheridan, WY to Yellowstone, WY
266 miles, 5 hr 39 min
After a solid night rest, we woke up and made our drive over to yellowstone. Along the way we drove through Bighorn National forest, saw some moose in the road
Continued driving to Lovell, WY to do our first golfing of the trip at Foster Gulch. Quick 9 hole course, but we played 18 even despite the rain. Finished in about 2.5 hrs as no one was out there.
Once done with golf we continued through Cody WY and stocked up on booze and camping supplies at Walmarks. The high and low was 45/32 for yellowstone that night so we got a sleeping bag rated to I think it's 20*F. Stocked up on plenty of firewood and fire starter as well.
We went into Yellowstone via the East Entrance with no wait. On the road in we managed to see a momma bear with her cub, park ranger was already there.
Our first stop was the campground to check in. Since it wasn't raining, we decided to pitch the tent.
Ended up going to Old Faithful so we could get that out of the way. We ended up having to wait about 55 minutes, which fits in the 30 min to 120 min range it usually goes off. There's an app on the website that tells you when the next estimated time is.
As we were waiting, a bison strolled up from the parking lot.
Saw some elk on the way back
Night view once the sun went down, quite a few stars out. Saw the tail of the bear constellation
Nighttime here was dead quiet, we got lucky in our Bay Bridge Campground that it was tent only and peaceful. Bathrooms were up the hill along with bear proof trashcans.
Day 5: Yellowstone, WY to Bozeman, MT
153 miles, 3 hr 10 min
After not sleeping great, we woke up and headed to the grand canyon of yellowstone.
Saw some more elk on the way
Also on the way were some calderas and mud caverns. We stopped and caught up with an awesome park ranger, told us a bison blocked the pedestrian path the entire afternoon before. Also gave us a hiking tip of doing the north rim trail and also doing the 500ft vertical climb trail.
Mud pits
Finally we get to the north rim and start walking around. It was stunning how nice this area was and how out of shape we were. We spent a lot of time here as it was really nice
After finishing with the grand canyon, we started driving to the west entrance to head up to big sky.
This is what it looks like across most of yellowstone
We ended up getting to big sky, grabbing a quick lunch and hitting up the big sky golf club. It's amazing to hit a golf ball towards a mountain. Also it was snowing at mid-station on the ski mountain, little chilly
These birds were the most obnoxious things I've heard, anyone know what these are?
Once done with golf, headed to Bozeman and stopped at an Applebee's. Waitress was super friendly as was everyone we interacted with in Montana. Rest of the night was spent in the pool/hottub with a few beers
266 miles, 5 hr 39 min
After a solid night rest, we woke up and made our drive over to yellowstone. Along the way we drove through Bighorn National forest, saw some moose in the road
Continued driving to Lovell, WY to do our first golfing of the trip at Foster Gulch. Quick 9 hole course, but we played 18 even despite the rain. Finished in about 2.5 hrs as no one was out there.
Once done with golf we continued through Cody WY and stocked up on booze and camping supplies at Walmarks. The high and low was 45/32 for yellowstone that night so we got a sleeping bag rated to I think it's 20*F. Stocked up on plenty of firewood and fire starter as well.
We went into Yellowstone via the East Entrance with no wait. On the road in we managed to see a momma bear with her cub, park ranger was already there.
Our first stop was the campground to check in. Since it wasn't raining, we decided to pitch the tent.
Ended up going to Old Faithful so we could get that out of the way. We ended up having to wait about 55 minutes, which fits in the 30 min to 120 min range it usually goes off. There's an app on the website that tells you when the next estimated time is.
As we were waiting, a bison strolled up from the parking lot
. Saw some elk on the way back
Night view once the sun went down, quite a few stars out. Saw the tail of the bear constellation
Nighttime here was dead quiet, we got lucky in our Bay Bridge Campground that it was tent only and peaceful. Bathrooms were up the hill along with bear proof trashcans.
Day 5: Yellowstone, WY to Bozeman, MT
153 miles, 3 hr 10 min
After not sleeping great, we woke up and headed to the grand canyon of yellowstone.
Saw some more elk on the way
Also on the way were some calderas and mud caverns. We stopped and caught up with an awesome park ranger, told us a bison blocked the pedestrian path the entire afternoon before. Also gave us a hiking tip of doing the north rim trail and also doing the 500ft vertical climb trail.
Mud pits
Finally we get to the north rim and start walking around. It was stunning how nice this area was and how out of shape we were. We spent a lot of time here as it was really nice
After finishing with the grand canyon, we started driving to the west entrance to head up to big sky.
This is what it looks like across most of yellowstone
We ended up getting to big sky, grabbing a quick lunch and hitting up the big sky golf club. It's amazing to hit a golf ball towards a mountain. Also it was snowing at mid-station on the ski mountain, little chilly
These birds were the most obnoxious things I've heard, anyone know what these are?
Once done with golf, headed to Bozeman and stopped at an Applebee's. Waitress was super friendly as was everyone we interacted with in Montana. Rest of the night was spent in the pool/hottub with a few beers
This post was edited on 7/5/20 at 11:09 pm
Posted on 7/5/20 at 10:05 pm to CuseTiger
Day 6: Bozeman, MT to Coeur d'Alene, ID
366 miles, 5 hr 49 min
First stopped at the University of Montana since it was not far away. Nice stadium surrounded by mountains
Then continued to Missoula for a quick hike at the Maclay Flats. This trail is flat and pretty easy for kids, but we needed to get our legs moving after driving so much. Pretty nice views below, took maybe a half hour for 1.7 miles
Golfed at coeur d'alene golf club after checking into the hotel. Great wooded course, had to watch for houses a bit. Finished this round in 3 hours so we had time to rush back to the hotel and get free beer in the lobby.
Once we had our free beer, we went to downtown coeur d'alene for dinner at Crafted. Very nice place, would recommend to anyone interested in craft beer or good burgers.
Took this pic before dinner of the seaplane on the lake
Downtown Coeur d'Alene was one of my favorite spots on this trip for some reason. A lot of fun, really nice people, and lots of things to do. Masks were not a thing here, you'd only see people from Washington that drove across and were wearing them. When we got back to the hotel there was a guy bitching about Inslee
Day 7: Coeur d'Alene, ID to Issaquah, WA
295 miles, 4 hr 35 min
Drove from Couer d'alene through Spokane to start the day, didn't stop at all out there. Then we hit the farm area and what looked like great plains, had no idea the middle of washington was farmland.
We stopped at the viewpoint off of 90 and got this picture below of the columbia
Got some quick Jimmy John's in Ellensburg, where we noticed that gas prices were quickly increasing the further west we got. After lunch we continued to Cle Elum and golfed at Sun Country Golf Resort. No one in front of us so finished in 2.5 hrs, great sunny day for my first day in Washington.
155 yrd par 3 downhill a 300ft vertical, used an 8 iron and sailed it
We then continued on our way to Snoqualmie Falls, really nice looking restaurant up top
Didn't spend long here before heading to Issaquah for the night. Stopped at the Gaslamp bar across the street and it was pretty good
Day 8: The end
Unfortunately all vacations have to come to an end. Dropped off my friend at Sea-tac, no traffic either down there on the 5, 405, or 90 so apparently I got lucky. Since he's left, I already went camping at Money Creek campground and hiked Heybrook Lookout Trail. Lot of people wearing masks on the trails which made me question why they were doing it. People out here are very friendly, everyone is a character as I'm finding out.
Vacation wise, if I could have done maybe 1/5 of the miles and had a week that would have been excellent. But we made do with our limitations and I don't think I would have traded anything besides the cold weather in Yellowstone and the okay meal in Buffalo. Would highly recommend taking the time and doing a road trip the right way this summer
366 miles, 5 hr 49 min
First stopped at the University of Montana since it was not far away. Nice stadium surrounded by mountains
Then continued to Missoula for a quick hike at the Maclay Flats. This trail is flat and pretty easy for kids, but we needed to get our legs moving after driving so much. Pretty nice views below, took maybe a half hour for 1.7 miles
Golfed at coeur d'alene golf club after checking into the hotel. Great wooded course, had to watch for houses a bit. Finished this round in 3 hours so we had time to rush back to the hotel and get free beer in the lobby.
Once we had our free beer, we went to downtown coeur d'alene for dinner at Crafted. Very nice place, would recommend to anyone interested in craft beer or good burgers.
Took this pic before dinner of the seaplane on the lake
Downtown Coeur d'Alene was one of my favorite spots on this trip for some reason. A lot of fun, really nice people, and lots of things to do. Masks were not a thing here, you'd only see people from Washington that drove across and were wearing them. When we got back to the hotel there was a guy bitching about Inslee
Day 7: Coeur d'Alene, ID to Issaquah, WA
295 miles, 4 hr 35 min
Drove from Couer d'alene through Spokane to start the day, didn't stop at all out there. Then we hit the farm area and what looked like great plains, had no idea the middle of washington was farmland.
We stopped at the viewpoint off of 90 and got this picture below of the columbia
Got some quick Jimmy John's in Ellensburg, where we noticed that gas prices were quickly increasing the further west we got. After lunch we continued to Cle Elum and golfed at Sun Country Golf Resort. No one in front of us so finished in 2.5 hrs, great sunny day for my first day in Washington.
155 yrd par 3 downhill a 300ft vertical, used an 8 iron and sailed it
We then continued on our way to Snoqualmie Falls, really nice looking restaurant up top
Didn't spend long here before heading to Issaquah for the night. Stopped at the Gaslamp bar across the street and it was pretty good
Day 8: The end
Unfortunately all vacations have to come to an end. Dropped off my friend at Sea-tac, no traffic either down there on the 5, 405, or 90 so apparently I got lucky. Since he's left, I already went camping at Money Creek campground and hiked Heybrook Lookout Trail. Lot of people wearing masks on the trails which made me question why they were doing it. People out here are very friendly, everyone is a character as I'm finding out.
Vacation wise, if I could have done maybe 1/5 of the miles and had a week that would have been excellent. But we made do with our limitations and I don't think I would have traded anything besides the cold weather in Yellowstone and the okay meal in Buffalo. Would highly recommend taking the time and doing a road trip the right way this summer
This post was edited on 7/6/20 at 12:37 am
Posted on 7/5/20 at 10:33 pm to CuseTiger
A little touristy for my taste, but sounds like you got to see some new places which is always fun. Nice write-up. Did you spend much time in Sheridan? If so, what was your impression?
Posted on 7/5/20 at 10:40 pm to Diesel88
Sorry I'm adding content as I go here. We only spent one night in sheridan, but didn't have any issues. Should we have expected anything? Bighorn was right there and awesome.
I'm also a huge fan of Idaho after this trip, great people there
I'm also a huge fan of Idaho after this trip, great people there
Posted on 7/5/20 at 11:35 pm to CuseTiger
Sheridan in meh. Good thing you didn’t stay long there.
Those white/black birds suck. I have no idea what they are but they are loud of shite and I hate them.
They woke me up every morning this weekend while camping in Telluride.
Those white/black birds suck. I have no idea what they are but they are loud of shite and I hate them.
They woke me up every morning this weekend while camping in Telluride.
Posted on 7/5/20 at 11:50 pm to Hogwall Jackson
quote:
Those white/black birds suck. I have no idea what they are but they are loud as shite
It was like they were mocking us off the first tee and in the parking lot
. Friend hated them more than I did but they were bad, maybe a MT/CO/WY bird? Posted on 7/6/20 at 12:29 am to CuseTiger
Look like magpies. Just an obstinate critter, but very intelligent.
This post was edited on 7/6/20 at 12:31 am
Posted on 7/6/20 at 12:59 am to RogerTheShrubber
The black-billed magpie looks to be a match, thanks for the tip . All over the PNW and central part of the country, but never seen them in the NE or SE. Learned something new today LINK
. All over the PNW and central part of the country, but never seen them in the NE or SE. Learned something new today LINK Posted on 7/6/20 at 6:43 am to CuseTiger
Friend,
Thank you for sharing leaves from your travel journal. I spent a month years ago learning to fly fish with Uncle on the Blackfoot River near Missoula and your photo brought back those memories. Perhaps next time you could open the road trip to all our Travel Board friends and we could make it a real adventure together.
Yours,
TulaneLSU
Thank you for sharing leaves from your travel journal. I spent a month years ago learning to fly fish with Uncle on the Blackfoot River near Missoula and your photo brought back those memories. Perhaps next time you could open the road trip to all our Travel Board friends and we could make it a real adventure together.
Yours,
TulaneLSU
Posted on 7/6/20 at 7:15 am to CuseTiger
Awesome.
Posted on 7/6/20 at 7:51 am to CuseTiger
quote:
These birds were the most obnoxious things I've heard, anyone know what these are?
black billed magpie. you can see them all over the intermountain west.
Posted on 7/6/20 at 9:11 am to CuseTiger
Great pics and rundown.
Hate those frickers. Woke me up every day in WY
quote:
These birds were the most obnoxious things I've heard, anyone know what these are?
Hate those frickers. Woke me up every day in WY
Posted on 7/6/20 at 10:34 am to CuseTiger
I've just been wanting to visit that area for some time now; specifically interested in the mountain biking and fishing in the bighorns.
Idaho is huge. You'll have to visit central Idaho some time.
Idaho is huge. You'll have to visit central Idaho some time.
Posted on 7/6/20 at 10:36 am to CuseTiger
quote:
These birds were the most obnoxious things I've heard, anyone know what these are?
Those birds are magpies. We have them here as well.
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