Niagara Falls, Pasties, and Prairiedogs

Driving Day 1

The big blue truck’s voyage started with the sweetest sendoff on Tuesday afternoon from Rochester, MA. Matthew’s mom and dad sent us on our way with a champagne toast, sandwiches so good only your mom could have made them, and lots of love. We headed straight for Niagara Falls and stayed that night at a Carpool Lot in London, Ontario.

Driving Day 2

Wednesday we decided to drive through the Upper Peninsula in Michigan and were so glad we did. We were greeted right away with a beautiful drive along Lake Superior. The waters almost looked like they belonged in the Caribbean they were so turquoise. And the beaches looked like they belonged in Cape Cod with their sandy dunes and grasses. We cruised along the lake for a good stretch and once we turned inland it was small town vibes from there. Two lane roads with dense forest on either side, the only break was a convenience store every so often offering pasties (we learned this word is pronounced like 'nasty' in case you were wondering) or a deer leaping into the road (so many deer!). After a long day of driving, Matthew found a gorgeous hike along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We were hoping to just stretch our legs, but after talking to some local hikers we were quickly all in on a ten mile hike. Breathtaking beach views and a cliffside path along these pictured rocks were simply dazzling. Again the waters were a beautiful turquoise blue and stretched as far as you could see. And the cliffs were just high enough Ashley got nervous looking out over the edge, with beautiful colors that made each layer of the rock stand out. We also came upon a deer along the path that I’m pretty sure Matthew could have petted if he wanted to. We grabbed a burger and a beer in Munising, MI, and parked for the night just in time to catch a stellar sunset on the shore of Lake Superior. 

Driving Day 3

We started our day in the Porcupine Wilderness and did a few short hikes to catch some views of the mountains before driving across the four flattest states in the history of the world (check for accuracy). We developed a pretty good system- drive a few hours, find a city with a brewery/walking path and keep driving. Then drive some more. 

Some cool cities we ran into along the way...Duluth, Minnesota-- Super cute, artsy vibe right on Lake Superior with a very nice walking/biking path along the shore. People were beaching it, checking out the very cool Aerial Lift Bridge- which we saw lift up for a big ship to go under, and rollerblading/biking/you-name-it alongside Lake Superior. We found our way to Canal Park Brewery just off the walking path and we found Matthew an acai bowl. Fast forward four or so hours, right across the border of Minnesota we stopped in Grand Forks, North Dakota for another round of beer, snack, & walk. Half Brothers Brewery was especially tasty-- would go back just to get the nachos. 

We learned two random, but kind of cool things about North Dakota on our drive to find our sleep spot. 1. The amount of bugs at dusk was upsetting. I actually thought it was raining because of the number of bugs hitting the windshield. It was not. Picture above to prove the Mosquito Massacre of 2022. 

2. The sun never actually sets. It is just so flat that it stays light forever. I think we parked and hopped in bed at 11. Still light out. Weird.

Driving Day 4

Today we learned that the Great Plains were somewhat appropriately named. They are plain. And flat. North Dakota and Saskatchewan are pretty much identical. We played some fun games to pass the time including the old family favorite "Guess the Crop". Riveting really. We did see wheat, canola, sugar beet, corn, and potato crops so that was pretty cool. We also played "Prairiedog or stick?" but that was less cool. No shade to prairie dogs though, very cute little guys. The land on either side of the highway was always just fields of crops with a few factories sprinkled in. The only difference in the view in Saskatchewan were these giant robot-looking machines dotting the landscape. It was definitely a mining machine of some kind, but it looked like a giant goose endlessly pecking the ground. Also we saw the longest trains! Couldn't see the beginning/end kind of long. Very cool.

 We stopped in Saskatchewan's capital Regina (The city that rhymes with fun!- according to our sweet bartender Sam at Rebellion Brewing). We walked through the gardens outside the capital building and took a stroll around Lake Wascana. We stopped again in Medicine Hat and completed our beer, snack, & walk routine. From here we drove through to a rest stop only 3 and a half hours outside of Banff! We are thrilled to be in one GORGEOUS spot for a whole week and look forward to sharing our adventures with you next week! Stay tuned :)