After living in Washington state for 17 years, we decided to move to the extreme opposite end of the country to be with Mia and Mike as they had plans to begin their family. Further, Dad is planning on retiring after a 30-year computer engineering career. As a rite of passage into retirement, it felt appropriate to drive across the US from Bothell, WA to Orlando, FL. In seven days, we drove 3650 miles in 60 hours of total drive time through 12 states. We did not have too many opportunities to get out of the car much, since we had our cat, Bella, with us, and we were worried about leaving her in the car with the hot summer temperatures we encountered throughout the trip. Nevertheless, we visited several national parks and monuments and other interesting sites along the way.
Badlands National Park from Burns Basin Overlook
Needles Highway as it disappears into a one-lane tunnel, Custer State Park, South Dakota
Breakdown
| Date | Startpoint | Destination | Mileage | Duration |
| June 29th, 2026 | Bothell, WA | Butte, MT | 621 miles | 9 hrs, 7 mins |
| June 30th, 2026 | Butte, MT | Rapid City, SD | 671 miles | 10 hrs, 7 mins |
| July 1st, 2026 | Rapid City, SD | Rapid City, SD | 220 miles | 6 hrs, 15 mins |
| July 2nd, 2026 | Rapid City, SD | Omaha, NE | 565 miles | 8 hrs, 51 mins |
| July 3rd, 2026 | Omaha, NE | St. Louis, MO | 496 miles | 8 hrs, 5 mins |
| July 4th, 2026 | St. Louis, MO | Atlanta, GA | 608 miles | 9 hrs, 37 mins |
| July 5th, 2026 | Atlanta, GA | Orlando, FL | 467 miles | 8 hrs, 4 mins |
| TOTAL | 3648 miles | 60 hrs, 6 mins |
Day 1: Bothell, WA to Butte, MT
We started out from Bothell around 6am on Monday morning, the day after Dad was released as bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After filling up our car in North Bend, WA with the most expensive gasoline of the entire trip*, we officially bid farewell to Western Washington with a picture of Keechelus Lake. Our first true leg stretch was at Wild Horses Monument. It is the perfect place to view the Columbia River from Interstate 90. Dad even made the half-mile hike up the steep trail to the monument for an even better view. Once we left the desert of Eastern Washington, we enjoyed the scenery of the panhandle of Idaho and drove down to Coeur d'Alene Lake for a quick picture. We were especially enamored with the scenery in Western Montana, but this didn't surprise us, since Glacier National Park is one of the favorite parks we've ever visited. An indicative picture is one of several that we took as I-90 closely tracked the Clark Fork River for many miles.
On the trip, we decided to stop and get pictures of LDS temples that were along the route as well. We visited eight temples on the trip, including Moses Lake, WA and Spokane, WA on the first day.
* (Gasoline in Western Washington was around $5.50 per gallon. For the other 11 states we visited, the most we paid was around $3.80.)
Day 2: Butte, MT to Rapid City, SD
As we continued across Montana, we found the scenery grew increasingly drier as evidenced by fewer trees along a landscape of rolling hills. Even though we left the Clark Fork River behind, we traveled for quite a few miles along the Yellowstone River. I was surprised by both the size of Billings and by its picturesque setting below a lovely plateau. The Billings Montana temple was a bit away from the interstate at the base of the plateau.
Our side trip to Devils Tower National Monument was definitely the highlight of the day. The remains of an ancient volcanic leaves an impression, considering how it dominates in fairly unremarkable topography. The red-rocked geology surrounding it provides plenty of photographic opportunities.
Day 3: Rapid City, SD
We stayed in Rapid City for two nights. Leaving kitty Bella at the hotel, we ventured out for a day of exploration around the Black Hills area. We visited Wind Cave National Park, which is among the top ten largest discovered cave systems in the world (2nd in the US). It is known to be one of the finest examples of boxwork formation in the world. We were treated to an array of beautiful underground structures and marbled walls on the Fairgrounds Tour.
Of course, we also paid visits to Crazy Horse Monument and Mount Rushmore National Monument, but Suzanne's absolute highlight of the entire trip was driving along Needles Highway in Custer State Park. This is not a drive for oversized vehicles! There is a very narrow tunnel which will get your claustrophobia meter dialed up. Calling this a one-lane tunnel is generous! Don't believe us? Check out the video.
Our trip around the Black Hills took us over dirt roads, atop fire lookout vistas, beside lovely lake settings, to prairie dog communities. If there was one area to explore for an extra day, we picked the right one!
Day 4: Rapid City, SD to Omaha, NE
It didn't take us too long to get to our first stop of the day: Wall Drug. More of a shopping mall than a drug store (in fact, as we left, Dad told Mom that the only thing he didn't see for sell at Wall Drug were walls or drugs, she claimed that she did see medicine there), Wall Drug is a sprawling tourist destination. We bought some donuts and a refrigerator magnet souvenir as a preview of our upcoming trip to Badlands, but we decided not to ride the wild jackelope.
Wall, SD is the gateway to Badlands National Park. Along with otherworldly scenery and colorful hills, we also saw bison, a rattlesnake and a mountain goat waiting for the rest of the family to come down to him. We stopped at every pullout along Badlands Loop Road because each scene brought something different to enjoy.
Once we got back on I-90, it felt like a straight shot for hours on end to cross the Missouri River and then hours more to continue to Sioux Falls, Sioux City, and eventually Omaha. I now understand why these are called the Great Plains.
Day 5: Omaha, NE to St. Louis, MO
Before leaving Omaha, we made a stop by the Winter Quarters Nebraska temple of the church. Behind the temple is the historic cemetery, where many LDS pioneers perished while trying to cross the plains from Illinois to the Salt Lake Valley. Most of the headstones were either missing or so badly eroded that they couldn't be read. Fortunately, the church has preserved the history of those who died with a monument and plaque of every individual interred there.
We were impressed by the size of the Kansas City Missouri temple and timed our arrival to Kansas City to get some legit KC Barbeque for lunch. From there, we continued on to St Louis, Missouri where we found an awesome park with distant views of the skyline. We also got a fun picture of the St. Louis Missouri temple with the Sun positioned to make it appear as if the Angel Moroni statue was floating above the light.
Day 6: St. Louis, MO to Atlanta, GA
To begin our Fourth of July, we decided to get a better view of the St. Louis skyline along with a view of the iconic Gateway Arch. We were bummed that Nashville turned out to be a complete nightmare. As we approached the city, we were met with closed roads at almost every turn because of the Independence Day Holiday. We did get a sub-optimal picture of the Nashville skyline from a parking lot that we cropped out. In contrast to the chaos that was downtown Nashville, we enjoyed the peace and quiet at the Nashville Tennessee Temple.
Before leaving Tennessee, we took a side trip to the Chattanooga National Military Park at Point Park. We discovered that Chattanooga was a key Civil War battleground and enjoyed getting our first taste of a Civil War site in the Southeast. The views of Chattanooga from the mountain were most impressive views. A monument at the site listing those who perished in the battle was sobering.
Day 7: Atlanta, GA to Orlando, FL
Before leaving Atlanta, we wanted to add another city skyline to our collection of photos from the trip. We had a hard time finding a good location, but at least got something partial. Our final temple of the trip was the Atlanta Georgia temple. We filled up at a Buc-ees, but because it was Sunday, July 5th, the place completely overwhelmed by travelers. Getting into and out of the property was a nightmare, and while Dad pumped gas, Mom went inside to use the restrooms, which was a bust, because the restrooms had queues that were dozens of people deep. To say we weren't impressed with our first Buc-ees experience is an understatement.
Photos and Videos
Dad's OneDrive album has over 200 pictures for a deeper dive that nobody asked for.
