September 21-24

Day 100. We moved to Cottonwood Campground (South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt NP) in the morning (several good spots to choose from). We like NP campgrounds, well managed, good quality, almost never fail – and this one had good new bathrooms. We started up River Road and then continued on Scenic Loop Road as far as possible (the loop was closed at some point). Stops: bison herd, prairie dog city, Wind Canyon Trail, Boicourt Overlook, Buck Hill, Jones Creek, Coal Vein Trail. It was all day of lazy scrolling (mostly by car) and looking at badlands scenery. Very nice park, not crowded, lots of animals, vast views. A lot to photograph.

Day 101. Moved again in the morning a few spots down the campground loop. We checked, bisons were still there and so were prairie dogs. But we spent the day in Petrified Forest in wilderness area of the park, after visiting Theodore Roosevelt cabin. We did move very slowly, starting on the south leg of the loop and then crossing off-trail to the north leg (we did not have time to walk full loop). We like to wander across badlands, trail or not (Badlands NP, Ah-shi-sle-pah and Bisti Wilderness) and here landscape was littered with thousands of petrified tree stumps, a lot to explore. Piotr showed good skills finding short-cut exploring carefully terrain with binoculars: first finding the shortest way avoiding small obstacles and then looking for solitary bisons as we did not want to meet them in bushes. We had to cross what looked like trails to water hole. It worked well ( not really that difficult).

We were quite relaxed the last two days, as our road trip was coming to an end. We could finally slow down in place we did not even know for sure we would visit. We were really surprised what we found. Pictures tell it all.

Day 102 & 103.

Only driving home was left. We stopped at Skyline Vista and walked Painted Canyon Trail. We stayed overnight at Fargo Expressway Suites, then I-94 and I-90 to Chicago.

September 14-20

Day 93. We started noticed humming noise coming from car suspension past few days, so we visited Canadian Tire in Surrey to have it inspected. They did good job taking us in on short notice. Diagnosis: be ready to spend $$$ on suspension/bearings – we got it all fixed in Chicago after the trip, but stopped at Costco in Bellingham and Burlington WA to rotate tires as recommended and then check torque.

Driving: Surrey- border crossing (Douglas/Blaine) – Hwy I-5 – Hwy 20 – Newhalem. We used car inspection waiting time to restock for camping in North Cascades National Park. Then back to US – Joanna studied cross-border rules and we passed customs quickly with no problems. Newhalem Creek Campground is very good with large shaded sites. When we arrived everything looked closed for the season, but one loop was actually open and we found a good spot. Nature trail led to Visitor Center. We stayed there 3 nights.

Day 94. We only touched the surface of the park watching it from scenic Highway 20 and from 2 short trails above tree line. Three hydroelectric dams (electricity for Seattle) created beautiful lakes. True exploration of North Cascades requires backcountry hiking, we had the gear, but were already too tired on this trip. Piotr was getting sick and rested, Joanna checked out Skagit River, Rock Shelter, Trail of the Cedars, Ladder Falls and Gorge Dam walking from campground.

Day 95. Visited Gorge and Diablo Lakes, Ruby Arm by driving around and stopping from time to time. Lakes were beautiful shades of blue, turquoise and green on that sunny day. We hiked scenic 6 km Thunder Knob Trail with views of Diablo Lake.

Day 96. Last day in the west and we both didn’t feel well, but we still managed short 7 km hike to Lake Ann, stopped at Washington Pass Overlook and continued on Hwy 20 to Klipchuck Campground in Okanogan National Forest, as far as we could go that day. We arrived quite early and decided to rest as much as possible. We had good spots to choose from, campground was quiet, few people, sunny weather.

Day 97. Driving: Hwy 20, 155 – Coulee Dam – Hwy 174, 2, I-90 – Coeur d’Alene. Stopping at scenic overlooks etc. Overnight at Coeur d’Alene LaQuinta.

Day 98. Driving: Hwy I-90, 12 – MacDonald Pass (short walk near Continental Divide Trail) – Hwy 12 – Helena. Overnight at Helena Baymont Hotel.

Day 99. Driving: Hwy 12 – Forsyth – Hwy I-94 – Medora. We arrived at Theodore Roosevelt National Park late and all campgrounds were already full, but we found a spot at nearby Sully Creek State Park Campground just for the night planning to move to Cottonwood National Park campground in the morning.

We traveled 1000 miles in 3 days spending most of the time on highways, section to Helena scenic and interesting, the rest rather boring. Our health improved quickly, resting comfortably two nights in good motels helped.