The Start to our Epic Trip

We spent a lot of time planning every detail of our road trip across the country. We wanted to experience as much of the country as we could, which was one of the reasons we choose to drive instead of fly. Our main destination was Wyoming; we wanted to visit family that lives there as well as see Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. However, to save money AND experience as much as we could, we decided to take a big chunk of our summer and make the crazy drive. Most people we talked to looked at us like we were crazy to attempt this cross-country drive with three small kiddos ages four, five, and six, but we saw it as an opportunity to spend quality time with the kids and show them how amazing God's creation is. 

We started off our trip with a very long driving day. We made it all the way to Minnesota with just one major stop in South Bend, Indiana. We had a peanut butter and jelly picnic (a three week road trip means saving on meal costs as much as possible) on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. The kids could run around and stretch their legs, and then we were on our way. After a total of 12 hours of driving, we were closer to our first destination, Badlands National Park.