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We drove west on I-94 across extremely flat North Dakota. We passed many small lakes. I learned this is a major migration route for birds. When we stopped in Crystal Springs Wildlife Management Area to stretch legs, I roamed around one of the lakes.

We also noticed a lot of sunflowers growing along this stretch of interstate.

We got off the Interstate to drive the Enchanted Highway. I had read there were a lot of steel sculptures along this road. They proved to be so spread out, about 10 miles in between each, we only saw 2 of them before turning back to the Interstate. In the very last photo, note the stains on the rock below the sculpture. The artist was going for uber-realism by painting bird droppings beneath the birds.

We continued west on I-94 another 270 miles to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Next Location – Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota

Well rested, we drove northwest on I-94 out of Wisconsin all the way across Minnesota into North Dakota. Across Minnesota we saw a lot of lakes. At St. Cloud, we crossed the Mississippi River, which was surprisingly narrow this far north. I didn’t stop for a photo here, so I downloaded one from online. Whenever I do this I will duly note.

We crossed into North Dakota at Fargo. I saw a billboard advertising the actual wood chipper used in the movie ‘Fargo’ was on display at the city’s visitor center, but you can’t stop to see everything. So, once again, a photo I did not take.

Driving due west out of Fargo for another 60 miles, we decided we’d had enough for the day and stopped for the night in a small municipal campground in Valley City.

Having driven for over 6 hours non-stop, we were anxious to stretch our legs. So we walked through the small town. There was a jet plane on display in the town square.

We walked across the Ashtabula River.

We ate dinner at a pizza shop, then called it a night. The next morning we drove around town a bit before hitting the road again. There was a visitor center…

With a train on display.

There we learned about a medicine wheel the local small college had constructed, so we had to drive to see that.

After that, we continued west on I-94.

Next Location – Crystal Springs Wildlife Management Area & the Enchanted Highway, North Dakota

Thursday morning, after we finished driving around Starved Rock State Park, we drove north across the Illinois River to get back on I-39. We drove north to Rockford, where we continued north on I-90. We crossed over into Wisconsin, stopping at Lake Kagonsa State Park. After securing a site for one night, we roamed around the park. Even though it was a hot August afternoon, no one was swimming at the beach.

I checked out the kayak and canoe launch.

Where a boat nearly ran into my head.

Friday morning, we continued northwest on I-90. We passed by some interesting rock formations and through some cranberry bogs. We also had to stop and buy some Wisconsin cheese. At Tomah, we exited I-90 onto I-94 and continued northwest. At a Wisconsin rest area we found a boardwalk to hike. A good opportunity to stretch our legs.

It was a pleasant walk…

…that led to a good view.

Refreshed, we continued driving northwest on I-94 to Menomonie. We have found it difficult to get into a state or national park campground (where we prefer to camp) on the weekend. This being Friday, we didn’t even try. We secured a site in a private campground for 2 nights, Twin Springs. As you can see, we were squeezed into a slot. But as you can see behind us they did have a pool, which we made use of on Friday.

And the campground was on a scenic river, so it wasn’t too bad.

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And it had full hook-ups, which was good since it rained all day Saturday and we stayed inside all day. Sunday morning we hit the road again.

Next Location – Valley City, North Dakota

We began this trip on Wednesday, August 3. We drove northwest on I-74 from Cincinnati out of Ohio into Indiana. Passing through Indianapolis, we continued west on I-74 out of Indiana into Illinois. At Bloomington, we turned north on I-39. We exited the Interstate at Ticona and continued north to Starved Rock State Park. After securing a site for the night, we explored the park. There was a dam on the Illinois River we could see from the park.

An extensive system of boardwalks…

…that scaled the rocks along the river…

…giving a better view of the dam and the river upstream…

…and the river downstream of the dam.

The boardwalk continued from the top of one rock to another…

…providing great views of the Illinois River.

The next morning we drove around to see the rest of the park, which we had been too tired to do the day before. Such as the lodge.

That had this cool bench.

Next Location – Lake Kegonsa State Park, Wisconsin