5210 Miles (plus some airmiles too)

The trip to Aaron's and Peyee's wedding in Chicago seemed to take on a life of its own as it kept growing and growing and growing. The discussion went something like this....."If we are already in Chicago, Minnesota isn't too far so let's go see Kelly. If we are going to see Kelly, the Boundary Canoe Waters Area (BWCA) is just a few hours drive so let's do that canoe trip we had always talked about. If we are going to BCWA, the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior are just 50 miles out of our way to Minneapolis. We have to drive home so lets pick the route through South Dakota and see the Badlands, Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. If we are already going that way, let's see Yellowstone, the Teton's and the Devil's Tower enroute. On the way to Chicago, Topeka is on the way so let's go see Michael's mother, Elma, and then driving to Chicago takes us near Urbana so let's see Jeff, Katelyn, Lauren and Cassidy Scott on the way." That was more or less the genesis of our trip planning. Michael piloted the car most of the 5210 miles while Barb added a pre-trip trip with a visit to Austin with Brian and Megan for Gwen's first birthday; a few days in Dallas with Paige and family; a flight to Atlanta with two days in Marietta with Pam (and a celebration of their birthdays since they were born on the same day); 4 days in Peachtree City with her sister, her brother and his entire family celebrating Marshall's graduation; and two days with Marianne and Norm in Norcross before flying to O'Hare and meeting Michael in Chicago (thereby saving herself of 1400 miles of driving and 24 hours riding shotgun).

Starting at the beginning, Gwen's birthday party was a joyous celebration but the family missed Michael since he didn't make the journey due to problems with his Frontier Air flight. Barb had no travel problems though and was able to attend the festivities. From Texas to Georgia and Marshall's graduation from McIntosh High School. He is off to Georgia Southern this fall....I am guessing that the GSU Eagles will displace the Kentucky Wildcats as the family favorite. While Barb was in the south, Michael visited Elma as well as the Scott's on his roadtrip to Chicago.

We stayed with Beth and Dave in Wilmette and they were so helpful with the pre-wedding activities including cooking 100+ brats while we were at the rehearsal dinner. The wedding was a beautiful event at Millar Chapel on the campus of Northwestern with the reception at the SAE national headquarters. Aaron and Peyee met while singing in the choir at the Chapel so it was such a special location for the wedding. The ceremony was the ideal balance of family, friends, music and the love shared between Aaron and Peyee made the day perfect (despite a bit of a storm during the reception).



After a two day drive to the BWCA with a lunch stop where we braved 38 degree weather in a downpour (leading to foul expectations on Barb's part as to the upcoming 6 days canoeing in upstate Minnesota) we arrived in Grand Marais at Hungary Jack Outfitters to go through our pre-trip orientation. It was a COLD night sleeping in the bunkroom before setting off at 9am for our 6 day/5 night canoe trip. 16 lakes and 17 portages later, we arrived back at the take-out point after a fabulous trip. It was a truly spectacular adventure (moose, eagles, loons and even a bear foraging near our campsite on an island...since we never heard a splash, we know the bear was close by all night on our tiny little island) and the weather and bugs actually cooperated nicely. We were even doing the portages in a single trip (Michael with the canoe and his big Duluth pack and Barb with the food pack and her Duluth pack) by the last couple of days. The trip far exceeded expectations.



Off to the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior starting with deep water rescue training before a day of kayaking around the National Park. We circumnavigated Basswood Island after kayaking over a few ship wrecks and took a ferry to Madeline Island for a day of sightseeing on mopeds.

It was an easy drive to Minneapolis from Bayfield and we had a fabulous time in Minneapolis with Kelly. We got to enjoy the great Minneapolis summer experience in Kelly's cool ragtop, spend time in her wonderful apartment, have lunch with Michael's niece, and see a play at Guthrie theatre.

Driving west through Minnesota into South Dakota we decided that a stop at Wall Drug was a must. Rumor has it that Wall Drug is the number 1 tourist stop in South Dakota although a friend of ours was sure it was the Corn Palace. We have no need to ever return to Wall Drug but the Badlands National Park is truly stunning. The landscape seems to be from another planet. We traveled further west to Mt. Rushmore and spent time driving through Custer State Park and the Needles area in the Black Hills before heading to Wyoming. It is such an interesting area and not too terrible of a drive from Colorado so I could see us making a return visit in the future.






We stopped off in Sundance, WY to visit Devil's Thumb (aka Bears Lodge) before the drive to Yellowstone. Michael had been in Yellowstone years before (both summer and winter visits) but it was a first for Barb and our days were filled with seeing the highlights including the geysers, mudpots, thermal springs, Mammoth Hot Springs, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and a drive out into the Lamar Valley where Michael saw wolves on a winter cross-country ski trips a few years earlier. The bison and elk truly roam freely throughout the park and the chance to see an osprey soaring below us was such a unique sight. Also included is a very short video clip of Grand Geyser erupting.






Our last destination was the Grand Tetons. Once again Michael had been there on a previous outdoor adventure but this was Barb's first time. We found a great camping spot in the northern part of the park and enjoyed both the scenic vistas as well as a great hike through beautiful fields of wildflowers.

The final drive home was a long one but we definitely made the most of our extended journey visiting family and friends for joyous celebrations as well as quiet time spent in the splendor of the North Woods and the majestic spread of the West.