Today was a very busy day. We still had some things to tighten up on the bus and finish up before we left. The bunks in the back needed to be finished up, so we did that before we left. We also had an idea to make some drawers behind the bathroom door inside the wall. We took a piece of the cedar wood we used to make the ceiling and nail-gunned it vertically so that nothing would fall out of it. I worked with Trace to finish that before we left. 

Afterwards we ate lunch then took the bus to Dider’s to fill the propane tank. On the way, Brennan and I noticed that some of the drawers and the pantry doors were coming open on turns. We found a hook and latch inside the Dider’s to solve the problem. On the way back, we had set the microwave only on top of the fridge and hadn’t had it fastened down yet. It ended up falling, and when it fell, it broke the cord. So when we got back, we fixed the drawers and door coming open, as well as found a new microwave to take with us. We ended up leaving around 2:30. 

We ended up at our destination in Knoxville, Illinois. After we got to the camp, everything went smoothly. We set some chairs up outside, started the grill, and cooked some hotdogs. I think the first day was a success. Afterwards, we showered and played Xbox until we went to bed. Tomorrow is the biggest day of driving, around 10 hours but it’s expected to be longer due to a blizzard we were going to be driving through.

Day 2

Day 2 (Presho, South Dakota) 

We woke up around 6 a.m. and didn’t end up leaving until 6:30 a.m. We were expected to arrive at 4 p.m. We knew we would have a long day ahead of us with the weather. It ended up taking 14 hours with us arriving at 8:30 p.m. There really was no way to get around it, either route we had to choose showed a blizzard warning and wind advisory. Within the first few hours of the trip, it started to hail and rain. We found two spots on the bus where the water was getting through. We put a pot on the dash to collect the water, and then hung a towel with duct tape over the emergency exit to stop the leakage. Once we got to the snow, we had to reduce our speed to around 30 miles per hour. This set us back multiple hours. We drove in the blizzard for 4 hours, stopping once at a gas station, then again to de-ice the windshield so we would be able to see. Once we finally made it to South Dakota, the weather got nicer, and the snow slowly started to disappear. Once we finally made it across the Missouri River, the landscape was changing quicker and quicker. We finally made it to the camp, and we realized they had no running water because it was still too cold out. We made pulled pork and macaroni on the stove. Afterwards, Jayson and
I installed the shower curtain so we could all wear shoes in the bus due to the campground not having running water. To end the night we all played some Jackbox games together.

Day 3

We woke up about the same time as yesterday and set off for our first stop at Mount Rushmore. The night was pretty cold; we had to turn the heater on around 4 a.m., and it got better. It was approximately a 3-hour drive to Mount Rushmore; we took a stop at Wall Drug to check out their stores, as well as pick up some donuts. After Wall Drug, we made it to Rushmore with no issues. 

After Rushmore, we headed towards our next campground which was right beside Devils Tower. This campground still didn’t have any water or bathrooms, so we had to use the bus for the night. When we arrived, we took a walk around the town and eventually stumbled into the town’s museum. It was really neat, and they were so impressed with our trip and what we were doing that they took a picture of us and told us they wanted to put us in their local newspaper. The town was very small, they told us their entire K-12 only had 150 kids. After we got back, we played cornhole, and tossed the baseball around for a bit. Then we went over to the gas station, and Brennan and I split a pizza.

Day 4

We woke up a little later today as we were right beside Devil’s Tower. It was only about  a 15-minute drive from the campsite we stayed at. We arrived around 8am. It was still closed like the rest of the places we visited due to it being out of season. I found it really neat that you could climb the tower if you were registered. It was around 900 ft tall. After we got all of our stuff together we set off to go hiking. There was a trail that was 1.8 miles, and one that was 2.8, we chose the longer one. It was worth it in my opinion. We saw various different views that I enjoyed. We stopped by the Devils Tower gift shop to take a look. Afterwards we headed to Walmart in Gillette, Wyoming. On the way into the parking lot the fridge fell over into the shower. We decided that we should stop by Home Depot after the Walmart trip so we could get something to secure the fridge down as well as seal the front door better. At Walmart we got stuff for making a breakfast dinner, as well as spaghetti one night. On the way to Jim Moss Arena Campground we secured the fridge so it wouldn’t move or fall over again. Once we got there we tossed the baseball, and even found a pogo stick to keep us entertained. Once we tried to fill our water tank up we realized our wall adapter failed as water was spraying inside the bus. The stars really shone out at the campsite with the very limited light pollution.

Day 5

We woke up around 6am today, knowing we had a long drive around 10 hours to Yellowstone. Most of the students slept an extra hour or 2 after we departed. We had to take the long route there due to the main roads being closed for the weather. We had to make the decision to give up Grand Teton for Yellowstone. After waking up we found ourselves going through the Wind River Canyon. We stopped in Cody, WY to pick up some parts to fix our water inlet. We also stopped at a Mcdonalds nearby for breakfast. It was nice to eat something familiar again. After we ate we started the long journey to Yellowstone. The only part that was open was the Mammoth Springs. On our way we saw some elk, as well as bison. Once we got into the city next to Mammoth Springs we were able to see the bison up close, we even had to wait for them to cross the road. It was chilly there with it being around 30 degrees. We took a hike up the paths to see the spring and take in the views. After we were done sightseeing we started our journey to Bernie and Sharon’s campground in Garrison. This campground had a shower as well as laundry services which was very nice. After getting cleaned up I made some chicken fries in our air fryer. Trendon also bought a workout band the day before. It was nice to get a little exercise in order to feel a little better about myself, as well as it gave me something to do.

Day 6

Day 6 (Glacier National Park + Dillon, Montana)We left extra early today, departing around 6am to make sure we had plenty of time to see all of the glaciers we could. I slept in until 8:30, waking up once we made it to Flathead Indian Reservation and by Flathead Lake. As we got closer and closer to Glacier the snow was rising and becoming thicker. We took a picture in front of the sign. The snow was fresh and looked like it just snowed, the snow was nice and compact, perfect for making snowballs. We were only able to see Lake McDonald and its leg due to the other roads being closed as we visited in the off season. It was still a spectacular view to see. Glacier was the furthest point in our trip so it was relieving to know that we made it with little to no issues. We stopped to see another view and shop in the gift shop then set off south. We managed to make the tetons fit in our schedule by ditching a camp near a glacier and making progress south today. We made it to Beaverhead RV Park in Dillon, MT, early enough to enjoy the camp. We had pancakes, eggs, and bacon for dinner. It was by far the best dinner yet. Afterwards we started a campfire and made smores. This campground was by far my favorite. We fixed the water issues and got our tanks filled up. The campground also had showers and laundry which was very nice again. It was by far the best day yet.

Day 7

We didn’t leave too early this morning, leaving around 7 a.m. We had about a 4 hour drive to the Tetons. While we were there we managed to get ourselves into a snowball fight which was quite fun.  After the Tetons we managed to fit in Jackson which was originally taken out of our journey. We walked as a group to a restaurant called Snake River Brewing. It was pretty good. I got their fish and fries. Lots of people from our group had a bison burger. I tried it but didn’t think it was anything special. It filled me up pretty well and I was ready to walk around Jackson for shopping afterwards. We had an hour to walk and shop around after we ate. When we got back to the bus Blake met a couple that wanted to check out our bus as they were pretty into camping. We gave them a tour and they were really impressed with what we had done. We had a 4 hour drive to our next campsite so we hit the road afterwards. When we arrived we fired up the grill for hotdogs and macaroni for dinner. It was pretty good and we played a cornhole tournament afterwards. Me and Trace were partners and we got beat by Jayson and Gavin. After we cleaned everything up we got our stuff together to hit the showers and play some Jackbox games to end the night. 

Day 8

Today we were headed off to Arches National Park. We woke up at our normal time and had about the same 4 hour drive to the park. Once we arrived I could immediately notice that it was much much warmer here, as well as busy. We had a hard time finding a time to spot so Blake let us out while he found a spot to park. We ventured off onto a trail to avoid the large groups of people. This stop was by far one of my favorites. The groups split up as we adventured and took in the sites, it was even warm enough to have our shirts off. Me, Gavin, Trace, and Jayson found ourselves far from where we started. We wanted to keep going and do a large loop around the park. We weren’t sure where Blake had parked but we had a general idea where to go. We went on a long hike, probably around 45 minutes, until we found ourselves back at the bus. We ate lunch afterwards then Blake informed us that we were going to Canyonland as it was very close. We stopped by and took in the view. It was 4:30 by the time we were headed to the gift shop and it closed at 4. We still had 4.5 hours to drive to the site so we started heading that way. On the way we stopped for gas and came to the agreement that we should get fast food instead of cooking due to the time. We ate at Carl’s Jr. I got a triple cheeseburger. I hadn’t had Carl’s Jr in a long time so it was nice to switch it up. We didn’t make it to the campsite until 10:15, so when we got there I immediately got ready for bed. It was a good day.

Day 9

I didn’t end up waking until we were practically at Zion. We had about 5 minutes until we would be parked so I got right up and ready. We started the day off trying a coffee shop inside Zion, it was pretty good. Afterwards we walked around the visitor center and shopped at the stops. Then we got on the road again taking in Zion’s views. It was one of my favorite views. After getting up the road a little we came across a tunnel. It was much much longer than I expected, lasting a few minutes. The bus barely fit inside, with only a few inches to spare. After we made it through Zion we headed towards the Grand Canyon so we would have plenty of time. We finally reached the outskirts of the canyon, getting ourselves a sneak peak. When we came back to the bus we realized we locked ourselves out,  thankfully since we built it we knew a way in. Once we finally made it into the park it was breathtaking. We took a few hours hiking around and taking pictures. On our way out of the park Curry managed to befriend a squirrel. We also got a nice sunset view on our way out of the park. Once we arrived to camp it was dark, and I was on dinner duty. I spent about an hour cooking eggs and sausage. Trace and Jayson were inside cooking french toast. It ended up being my favorite dinner by far.  

Day 10

Today was one of the last days I was really excited for. I woke up right as we were arriving at Monument Valley. Sadly, our bus was too big to go on the trails and see what all Monument Valley had to offer. We took a look around and shopped for around an hour. I ended up finding a 6 pack of various cactus plants I was going to purchase for my mom. I was sleeping cacti from other packs so mine would be perfect. I kept poking myself trying to get them out, until I had the idea to get blakes multipurpose tool from his pocket that he carries around. We had a long day of driving so we headed off to the 4 corners.

I didn’t think the 4 corners would be anything too special, just an interesting stop to take. We got there and everyone took a photo. They also had various sellers set up at booths with miscellaneous items. I ended up buying a knife. This knife was made from buffalo ribs and handcrafted. After we all had our time at the 4 corners we set off towards the campsite. 

Once we arrived at the campsite I was very pleased. It had showers as well as a room to hangout with cornhole and ping pong. We had egg casserole, bacon, and sausage for dinner. We have had breakfast for dinner a lot lately but I’ve enjoyed every second of it. Tomorrow we were headed to see the garden of the gods, one of my most anticipated stops. 

Day 11

We left a little early today, leaving around 6 a.m due to the long day of driving ahead of us. I had a hard time falling back asleep, but once I did I slept until we were right at the entrance. I hurried up and got ready, then headed towards the cafe inside the visitor center. We all ate our breakfast then headed towards the trails. The views were beautiful here. It also wasn’t too busy which made it nice. We stopped along the trial to talk to a man with a bearded dragon. We also talked to another guy that was rock climbing. It was very neat to watch him climb with no gear, he was named Jacob and was from California. We finished the trail and headed off to lunch and Topgolf.

We decided on In and Out for lunch. I hadn’t had it in a few years but it was just as good as I remembered it. I got the 4×4 sandwich which had a total of 4 patties, it was huge but tasted great. After we ate we headed to Topgolf. There was a 45 minute wait so we shopped around at a nearby Bass Pro Shops. Once the time passed it was finally time to start whacking some balls. We stayed for 90 minutes, I think everyone enjoyed it. It was nice to get out and do something different. After our time was up we hit the road knowing we cost ourselves lots of daylight at Topgolf. 

We arrived at our campsite, it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. We decided to try to clean up what we had left in the bus so it was a soft defense for ourselves at night. I ended up eating a few chicken fries and a peanut butter sandwich. We discovered there was a nearby gas station so we took a short walk to it. They had some great deals there and I ended up getting 2 root beers for $3. Once we got back it was close to 11pm so we got ready and headed to bed.

Day 12

Today was a long day of driving, but there weren’t many stops to look for. We drove for around 2.5 hours and ended up at the center of the contiguous US. We had to take dirt roads to get there and it really felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. Once we arrived there wasn’t much to see besides a small chapel, shelter house, and a marker. Over to the side was the most interesting thing there, which was a spring playground toy. After we looked around for a few minutes we headed towards Kansas City. 

On the way to Kansas City Blake mentioned stopping somewhere for BBQ, as Kansas City was famous for it. I looked around online and found a place named Slaps. We drove for 3 hours until we reached it. Once we got up to the building the line was scratched outside giving us all high hopes for the food. We waited in line for 30 minutes until we all got our food. I got a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw, named the Southern Comfort. I also got 2 chicken leg quarters for $3.50 each which was an amazing deal. After all said and done it was by far my favorite BBQ I had ever tasted.

Once done eating we headed towards our campsite so we would have some daylight left. We had high hopes for this campsite and it didn’t disappoint. They had a basketball court, baseball field, a gym, and various other nice facilities. After playing baseball and a game of football we headed back to the site to cook up dinner. We found whatever was left and I ended up eating smores on the campfire we made. Afterwards we all headed to shower and a few of us hit the gym while we waited for a shower to open up. The last night was by far one of my favorites. 

Day 13

We left extra early this morning, with all of us wanting to be one with as much day left as possible. We departed around 4:30 am. I fell right back asleep until we made it at the arch at 6:30 am. We took a photo and walked around for a few minutes then got back on the road. We had about a 5 hour and 30 minute drive until home. We drove most of the way home until in Indy Blake surprised us with a stop at Canes. We all got a meal to go and got back on our way to go. The canes really perked everyone up and everyone was ecstatic to get home. We ended up getting home at 2:30pm. 

In the end, this trip was an unforgettable experience that I’ll carry with me for a long time. I gained a ton of hands-on skills and real life lessons that I know will come in handy down the road whether in my career or just navigating life in general. Traveling through so many different states and seeing all kinds of landscapes opened my eyes to parts of the country I might never have seen otherwise. I got to make memories with my friends that I’ll never forget. It was the perfect way to wrap up our time together before graduation.