We’re Headed Out! (DE-PA-OH-IN-IL-IA)

And we’re off! Our trip out west has officially began. We are driving straight through Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska on our way to our first destination: The Badlands, South Dakota. Our first day had quite a rocky start. We went by a weigh station before heading out and found out we were overweight. Not the greatest news when you’re towing. It turns out we brought too much of home with us J So, after some mumbling and grumbling on our part, last minute reorganizing, and a quick trip to a homeless shelter and food bank we were on our way. Take 2!

Day 1: Took us through Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, where we spent the night.

Day 2: We drove through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and just crossed the border into Iowa where we stopped. Most of the landscape was flat farms and lots of windmills.

Day 3: Today’s drive was about 5 hours and took us through the state of Iowa. We stayed in a town called Onawa, Iowa that seemed stuck in time. The grocery store we visited seemed like a movie set from the late 70’s. Iowa has huge windmill farms that span 20-30 miles. The windmills are huge!

Day 4: Our last day of driving brought us out of Iowa, through Nebraska, and into South Dakota! The landscape changed from flat farms to rolling hills, to the iconic buttes and spires of the Badlands.

Days 2-4 were thankfully uneventful. The RV parks we stayed at each worked well for a simple overnight. Setting up and breaking down for just one night was a bit of a pain but at least we got practice setting up camp!