US Highway 20 and Canada Highway 17
Lets take a trip to Michigan to see family and try to stay off interstate highways. Well heck, US 20 goes from the coast of Oregon to Boston. That should be fun! On the way back lets go through part of Canada so we can stop in Moose Jaw! That was the plan for this year's road trip. No RV just the little car. We had lots of rain for the first few days and lots of heat for a few weeks. We saw some incredible views and several great museums.
Grand Teton and Yellowstone parks are always fun. The Northeast road out of Yellowstone takes you to Cody Wyoming, a fun little western town with a world class museum.
On to Nebraska with a Jackalope watching us from the hillside. Another museum with a great collection of old weapons and a wonderfully preserved sod house. The beware of snakes sign was a little off putting but we didn't spot any. We have travelled I 80 through southern Nebraska and seen mostly corn. In the north we saw mostly large cattle ranches and rolling hills.
Onward to Iowa. We came out of a restaurant and heard tornado sirens. We asked what we should do and the very helpful folks said "Don't drive towards the tornado." As we went down the road and found ourselves in a torrential downpour It occurred to us that we could not see if we were heading towards a tornado. Oh well, we made it. Sioux City to Dubuque is a fairly straight shot. We had to see the big ball of popcorn and then stop at Fort Dodge. The National Mississippi River museum and aquarium in Dubuque is a fun place to stop and it also was hosting a Da Vinci exhibit.
From Dubuque we headed northeast to Madison and Milwaukee. Madison has a great college town feel and we were impressed with how well kept the city appeared. Milwaukee has a blue collar town vibe and is home to Harley Davidson. We very much enjoyed the museum.
down to Chicago just to see the "Bean" AKA Cloud Gate.
Roaming around Michigan. The coast of western Michigan is beautiful and not very crowded. We stayed in Holland for a few weeks to visit family. Meijer Gardens, John Ball Zoo and Gerald Ford library in Grand Rapids, are all worth a visit.
Dearborn is the home of the Henry Ford museum which is WAY more than just cars and trucks.
A quick side trip down to Sandusky Ohio to Cedar Point amusement park. Then back on the road up to Canada by way of the Mackinaw bridge. After the heat and crowds, the north woods were a very welcome change. Trans Canada highway 17 follows around Lake Superior. Great road, no traffic and mostly no cell service. This part of Canada is heavily wooded until almost Winnipeg then it is mostly plains and large farms.
