States we covered:

• Illinois

• Indiana

• Iowa

• Nebraska

• Colorado

• Utah

• Wyoming

• South Dakota

• Minnesota

• Wisconsin

National parks & forests:

• Rocky Mountain National park

• Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National forest

• Black Hills National Forest

• Badlands National Park

• Dinosaur National Monument

• Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest

• Devil's Tower National Monument

Hikes:

• Old Man Mountain Estes Park, CO

• Bald Mountain, UT

Key Takeaways:

• Be prepared for all weather types

• Do a decent car check up before packing it

• Book National Park passes ahead of time

• Check the local advisories for places you're going

• Purchase jump starter for long road trips

Summary:

This was a big trip for us. It was filled with exciting news, crazy weather, forest fires, road closers, good food and lots of hikes. On this trip we decided to stay in hotels, which we like to book through Hotels.com because of their awesome rewards system. Some places we suggest are Idaho Springs, it’s a cute town and our hosts at Miners Pick bnb were perfect. Dinosaur Nat’l Monument is a great place to stop for an hour or two to stretch your legs and explore. Bald Mountain in Utah was challenging but totally worth it once you got to the top. We hit Devil’s Tower right at opening and it was perfect because we had the place to ourselves. We didn’t get so lucky at Mount Rushmore, I think it is always busy there. Still a cool place to check out if you’ve never been. Badlands was also the same way, busy but worth it to see and walk around. Our last night we stopped in La Crosse, WI and had tons of fun bar hopping and trying appetizers all over town, perfect way to end the trip.