Sunday, June 14, 2026
We left around 6:15 AM on Sunday morning and started the 13-1/2 hour drive to our motel just outside Davenport, Iowa, which involved crossing all of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The worst part of the drive was near Joliet, Illinois where we drove through a heavy thunderstorm with torrential rain that lasted for about five miles.
Monday, June 15, 2026
There was a small riparian area behind our motel and, while loading the car up in the morning, I saw a Gray Catbird and a Baltimore Oriole there. We started the 9-1/2 hour drive to our next motel in the small town of Murdo, South Dakota. We took I-380 in a northwest direction through Cedar Rapids to Waterloo, headed north on Highway 218, and then swung west on Highway 18. Along the highway near Mason City, I saw six Trumpeter Swans in a large pond. We turned north onto I-35 towards Minnesota and then west on I-90 across two-thirds of Minnesota and around two-thirds of South Dakota. We stopped at the scenic overlook near Chamberlain, South Dakota, where I-90 crosses the Missouri River.
Trees were less and less evident as we crossed the Great Plains. This photo was taken along I-90 near Vivian, South Dakota.
We eventually reached the town of Murdo, checked into our motel, and had dinner at the Buffalo Bar and Restaurant. Across the street was Murdo City Park. After being stuck in a car for two days, it felt good to walk the 3/4-mile path around the pond at the park. There, I saw a Dickcissel and both Eastern and Western Kingbird.
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