Great Western Adventure Itinerary: Summer 2025
Our Introduction to Yellowstone National Park, Summer 2025
Developing a Plan
Last summer, we took a vacation like no other. While typically a warm beach or peaceful lake is our jam, this time we had an agenda: visit every state and spot of interest we could fit into ten days—a monumental task.
This may sound stressful to some. In my opinion, it’s only stressful if you have expectations for perfection. We embarked on the journey with the anticipation of a great adventure, without attachment to specific outcomes.
How did we plan such an undertaking? As the proverbial saying goes, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” That’s how we approached it.
The first thing we did was order free maps and information for each state and major attraction we were considering. Visit state tourism, DOT, or visitor center websites.
Originally, our plan encompassed fourteen days, traversing twelve states. As we began plotting it out, state by state, it became evident that twelve states would be a bit ambitious. Honestly, two weeks without our three hounds would have been tough—and expensive!
We settled on ten days and nine states, four national parks, some attractions, and a few cities. In the end, this was ideal. It was all green lights from Day One.
What This Post Entails:
We had so many requests to share. What follows is a basic daily itinerary of our trip.
Destinations and activities for any trip are endless. The point of sharing our itinerary is merely as an example of a realistic trek from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest and back, with a few suggestions along the way.
Most of our overnight arrangements were made in advance to ensure we had a place to stay. As for the in-between, we had ideas, but remained flexible.
We spent relatively little on food by alternating hotels and camps, allowing us to “eat in”. Planning easy-prep meals and packing food accordingly gave us considerable time and decision freedom. Our focus was experience and adventure.
In future posts, if there is interest, I may share how we prepped, including supplies and food. One pro tip for food prep: Get the big bag of Lesser Evil Popcorn at Costco. We munched on it the entire trip, and it never went stale!
Away We Go!
Day One Final Destination: Deadwood, South Dakota
Stops:
Inwood, Iowa (see Kevin’s mom).
Chamberlain, SD- Missouri River Overlook—breathtaking, rattlesnakes (we didn’t actually see any).
Wall Drug, of course—there are a million signs that basically bully you into stopping.
Mt. Rushmore- $10 parking, but seeing the monument is free. Completely amazing to behold! Educational opportunities.
Dinner: Campfire cuisine
Sleep: Deadwood, SD KOA Campground, first tent experience.
Day Two Final Destination: Cody, WY
Breakfast: Camp stove fare
Stops:
Main Street Deadwood—free parking everywhere!
Moonshine and beer tasting—Saloon Number 10, where Wild Bill Hickok was shot (fee to see the actual spot—no thanks).
Beef Jerky Experience—barrels of jerky to sample lining the store walls. Lunch!
Madame Peacock’s Schlitz Bar—everything Schlitz.
The Franklin Hotel—stunning, although a little disappointing inside—the grandeur and charm were cheapened by the neon lights and gaming machines.
Gaming machines were everywhere, so we made it our own game to only patronize the shops without them.
Mt. Moriah Cemetery self-guided tour—Wild Bill and Calamity Jane lie canoodling in their afterlife. Beware of big horn sheep—they blocked our path and trapped us on the hill.
Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway was recommended to us. Driving WY435 was amazing!
Make sure you have gas! No sign of life for a stretch in Wyoming.
Dinner: Pat O’Hara Brewing—best French Dip sandwich of my life.
Sleep: Cody Cowboy Village Lodge—nice little log duplexes, mountain view.
Day Three Final Destination: Yellowstone National Park
Breakfast: Continental at the lodge.
Absolutely stunning! Stop at visitor centers. Get the maps. Keep your camera handy for wildlife and views!
The park weather there varies greatly, even within a day, so layers and rain gear were essential.
Lunch: Sandwiches and snacks for a picnic lunch—in the truck because snow blanketed the ground.
Stops:
Entered from the East and took the southern West Thumb loop.
Old Faithful—definitely faithful! All the geysers and hot springs were fascinating.
Gibbon River Bridge.
Grand Prismatic—I imagine this was incredible, but we were in a blizzard and couldn’t see it. We were there the day a bison fell in and boiled to death.
Mammoth Hot Springs—take the walk up (even in the rain).
Dinner: Campfire cuisine
Sleep: Three Forks KOA in Three Forks, MT—we upgraded to a tiny cabin due to the snow forecast.
Glacier National Park—Stunning Vistas
Day Four Final Destination: Glacier National Park
Breakfast: Camp stove fare
Truly the most majestic place I’ve ever beheld!
Stops:
Two Medicine Lake—boat tour and hike to Twin Falls—beautiful and informative.
Visitor Center—just a side note: they had $8 tall boy 4-packs of huckleberry beer! I thought it was priced per can!
Dinner: Campfire cuisine
Sleep: St. Mary/East Glacier KOA—on the lake with a hiking trail and mountain view.
Day Five Final Destination: Spokane, WA (after a day at Glacier)
Breakfast: Leftovers
In the park:
Enter the park from the East to avoid timed entry on the West side.
Going to the Sun Road had been closed due to snow, but it reopened the day we arrived.
Took about two hours with stops to take in views. Turn-outs allow for pulling over safely. The road is very narrow, but gorgeous—waterfalls, vistas, glaciers. There are tours if you don’t want to drive. Logan Pass is a must-stop.
Plan hikes ahead and pack a lunch. Great ice cream in Apgar Village.
Hike to Lake MacDonald—beware of unmarked trails. It’s grizzly country!
There are homes for rent in the park.
Dinner: Spokane, WA—Iron Goat Brewing—very cool place, delicious food! Humble Abode Brewing wins the Best Beertender award!
Sleep: Adorable tiny home on an acreage—Airbnb hasn’t steered us wrong yet.
Day Six Final Destination: Seattle
Breakfast: Leftovers from dinner
Things we did in Seattle:
Pike Place Market—We could have spent days here! Literally, anything you could ever want to see, hear, smell, taste, or touch in one place!
Space Needle, obviously—we had a beer at the top. Seattle is beautiful!
Walked the pier. Found Waldo!
Drink Stops: Old Stove Brewing on the water, Cloudburst Brewing in an old loading dock, Just the Tap—this was one of the coolest places we went—pay-by-the-pour, pinball room, glow-in-the-dark room, and shots.
Dinner: Elliott’s on the pier—incredible oysters with seasoned shaved ice!
Sleep: Warwick Seattle Downtown—beautiful city view from the balcony.
Leaving Seattle on the Ferry
Day Seven Final Destination: Olympic National Park
Breakfast: Biscuit Bitch—yum!
On the way:
Took the Bainbridge Island Ferry (30 minutes) from downtown Seattle to Bainbridge Island—quaint town (Kristen Hannah lives there).
On the island: Bainbridge Island Dog Club, The Rabbit Hole (vintage), Eagle Harbor Book Co.
In Olympic: hike to Marymere Falls.
Dinner: Campfire cuisine.
Sleep: Olympic RV and Log Cabin Resort on Crescent Lake—very highly recommend! We tent-camped, but there were many options available. Gorgeous and peaceful! Lots of wildlife.
Day Eight Final Destination: Portland, Oregon
Breakfast: Big breakfast at the lodge overlooking the lake.
Activities:
Kayaked on Crescent Lake before we left—the crystal-clear lake was as smooth as glass.
Hoh Rainforest in Olympic—So beautiful and lush—like a magical land of fairies and sprites. Wet, definitely wet, but in a good way.
Pacific Coast—We just pulled over and hiked down to the ocean.
In Portland: Backwoods Brewing (also rents cabins near their actual brewery), 10 Barrel Brewing.
Dinner: Deschutes Brewery—great food and fun app plates—deviled eggs, olives, peppers—we had the house-made pickle plate, and it was incredible!
Sleep: Hampton Inn and Suites, Pearl District—highly recommend staying downtown—fun and quirky.
Day Nine Final Destination: Boise, Idaho
Breakfast: Walked to VooDoo Doughnut—Pink glittery building, only two customer groups allowed in at once. Favorite doughnut = Portland Cream; however, must get the voodoo doll!
Before we left Portland: Powell’s Bookstore—takes up a full city block, houses over a million books, serves >6000 people per day. Only fourteen people are allowed in the Rare Book Room, so head there first—a must-see for book nerds.
The interstate followed along the Columbia River Gorge—stunning!
Boise—vibrant arts culture, very clean, and inclusive.
Freak Alley Gallery: The entire alley is covered with colorful, diverse, ever-changing murals. It left us in awe!
Boise State football stadium, Smurf Turf—we had to see it in person!
Mother Earth Brewing—such a lovely and hip place with a nice outdoor area, and the cream ales were fantastic.
Dinner: The Matador—Best Mexican food I’ve had! They also have tequila flights!
Sleep: Springhill Suites, Marriott.
Day Ten Final Destination: Rocky Mountain National Park
Breakfast: At the hotel.
We didn’t plan this day’s destination, but knew we wanted to end up in Colorado.
Long driving day, but we made one fantastic stop—Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, Idaho—absolutely breathtaking! Rising 212 feet from the Snake River, 900 ft across, and dumping 32,000 cubic feet of water per second over the falls at its maximum. It was a bucket list stop!
I found an Airbnb on our way, near Grand Lake, Colorado—a 1932 cabin built for workers on the Shadow Mountain Lake Dam, called That Dam Cabin. So freaking adorable and just a short hike from the lake. We were ten minutes from the Kawauneeche entrance to the park.
Dinner: A simple meal at the cabin, and capped off the night with a Mother Earth orange cream ale by the cozy fireplace with a toast to an unmatched vacation.
Last Day Final Destination: HOME
Breakfast: Leftovers.
Before we left:
Visitor Center at the Kawauneeche entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.
Adams Falls Loop hike—very nice and peaceful. We went before the timed entry started. The rapids and falls were lovely.
Long drive home, but with a happy heart!
Made it home with seven minutes to spare to celebrate our hounds’ birthday before midnight.
To Sum It Up:
Don’t ask me to pick a favorite.
Don’t ask me to eliminate my least favorite.
It was a whirlwind, but we never felt rushed or stressed. We were 100% present in the moment at every stop. Even the windshield time felt like an escape. It was an opportunity to connect, to discover, and learn (as I utilized the time to research our destinations and everything in between).
Perhaps the most useful advice I could share is this. One of our good friends always asks, “Would you do it again?”
Yes, 100 times yes! Take the trip. Explore. Be curious. There is never a wrong turn to take.