Pike National Forest Dispersed Camping

Pike National Forest dispersed camping – Idyllic campsite in the woods

My adventures for the day ended a bit early, but I didn’t get the best sleep last night and the drive back down the mountains felt like rushing things. I heard there were some good dispersed camping spots in the Pike National Forest so I decided to check those out. “Nice” is an understatement – … Read more

Wyoming Stealth Camping

Sneaky but delicious continental breakfast

This part of the trip is the consequences of my seat-of-the-pants style travel. Time to pay the piper. In this area of the world there aren’t a ton of options for camping other than RV parks and I’m not keen on bailing out to a hotel every night when I basically have a tent on … Read more

Panorama Point

Panorama Point highpoint Nebraska - Panoramic view

Final stop in Nebraska for this voyage is a race against the sun to reach the highest point in the state. This one in particular has extremely easy access but it comes at the price of driving way out in the middle of nowhere basically on lots of washboard gravel roads. Don’t trust your GPS … Read more

Courthouse Rock & Jail Rock

Courthouse Rock

Another 20 miles east down the road from Chimney Rock you will find a pair of geological landmarks known as Courthouse Rock and Jail Rock. Look for the tombstone-shaped marker that says Seybolt Park for the entrance road. (Not shown here because I missed it: the Historical Marker found directly on NE-88 as you are … Read more

Chimney Rock National Historic Site

Chimney Rock - View of the rock

After seeing that I was only 23 miles away whilst at Scotts Bluff, I drove 23 miles to Chimney Rock to continue my westward expansion Oregon Trail larp. 23 miles later I arrived. The entrance sign this is a National Historic Site which I believe considering the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails all passed through … Read more

Scotts Bluff National Monument

Scotts Bluff National Monument - Views at the summit

I’m continuing to head south through the western part of Nebraska today as I creep slowly towards the final target of New Mexico. I’m now in the city of Scottsbluff to check out Scotts Bluff National Monument. I didn’t even have this on my original list of points of interest which frankly is an embarrassing … Read more

Nebraska Welcome Sign

Nebraska Welcome Sign in Harrison, NE on Hwy 71

Quick stop at the Nebraska welcome sign on NE-71 in the far northwest corner of the state. Maps show it as being in Harrison, Nebraska but it’s really not all that close. That being said there is pretty much zero signs of other human life around these parts so maybe that is the closest town? … Read more

Legion Lake Lunch Break

Legion Lake

Just a quick stop at Legion Lake for lunch. I’ve been driving most of the morning, time for a break. This post is mainly to put a pin in my geomap tracker thingy. Here’s a view of the lake without my truck getting in the way. Small but peaceful lake, looks like a great place … Read more

Needles Highway

Needles Highway - Scenic Overlook towards Cathedral Spires

The Needles Highway (SD-87) is a 14-mile scenic drive through some of the best scenery in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is also part of the larger double-loop Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway. This is by no means an exhaustive guide to the road – just some photos I took during my adventure. Less … Read more

Welcome to Minnesota Sign

Welcome to Minnesota sign

One of the quirks of road-tripping is encountering all the fun little oddities along the way. State welcome signs fall into that category for me. Just north on IA-60 (which turns to MN-60) from Hawkeye Point at the intersection of 100th Street in the town of Bigelow you’ll find one of the “Minnesota Welcomes You” … Read more