Idaho

Well, this post maybe should just be renamed the panhandle. As potato lovers we were itching to get to this state only to discover that the biggest potato-producing county in the US is actually in Washington? Fail.

Coeur D'Alene, however, is one of the hidden coolest cities in America. Considered more hipster than its "sister city" Spokane, CD'A is a small but very happenin' place. We ate dinner on the waterfront at Bonsai, a delicious Mongolian BBQ place (can't you tell we were a little sick of American food?) We walked along the two main streets, both of which were packed with restaurants and fun stores. The toy store in CD'A is worth a visit to this city alone: let's just say they have an ugly doll in the window the size of metropolitan Cincinnati.

Montana

Surprisingly, the northern edge of Yellowstone (the Montana part) was much more beautiful than the rest of the park. Unfortunately, we failed to take a "Welcome to Montana" picture since Yellowstone is remarkably lacking in signage (hence, no blog picture today). The scenery became more mountainous as we climbed further north, and highway 89 has been one of the most scenic yet. We are spending the day driving, but have had many occasions to stop.
Bozeman, a college town, proved to be much more hip than the initial slew of Applebees and Walmarts lining the first strip we drove down. We found a nice jewish eatery and had tuna on challah, all after passing Manhattan, MT. Feels like home?
We are incredibly sick of American food: another hamburger and we will puke.
In Helena, we learned that you need a phone jack to get internet. I guess the car can't be a wireless hotspot after all...

Wyoming

For a state with very few tourist attractions, there sure is a lot to see here! We took a scenic highway across the Big Horn National Forest, which was absolutely breathtaking. Giant rock formations from millions and even billions of years ago. Continuing on the same road, we drove through an Indian reservation (yes, we did see teepees). We did a Chinese Fire Drill in Riverton at a stop sign and then continued onto Dubois, WY. This small western town is only about an hour and a half away from Jackson Hole but we chose to eat a delicious dinner (organic salads with GRASS FED BEEF! We couldn't believe it), and bunker down for the night there.

Dickinson, ND

Despite North Dakota's lack of representation in our guidebooks, we still had a great time in this state (Thanks Simonieg Family!) After Alex's thorough tour of Dickinson, which included the local schools, shopping mall, lake/beach and even the local trailer park, we headed to Medora for some tourist-y fun. This town claims to be the "Beginning of the West," since it sits on the ND/Montana boarder, so it is filled with western tourist shops.

Medora sits at the foot of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which was one of the highlights of our stay in ND. We started at the Painted Canyon and took a scenic drive around the Park. Unfortunately, it began to rain right after our delicious (and healthy!) picnic, which ended with Faith's famous Scotcharoos (recipe to follow), so we couldn't get out and hike or walk on any of the nature trails. Even so, we had a great time and learning experience in our first National Park! Beauty to this degree is surely hard to come by during our travels on interstates so it was refreshing and exhilarating to see this natural landscape stretching for miles in front of our eyes.

We ended our day at the traveling carnival and a trip to Walmart, two American summertime traditions.

Iowa

What a pleasantly surprising state! We woke up in Iowa City and took a brief cruise to the Old Capitol Building, which looks as though it is now part of

the University of Iowa campus. After, we drove about 45 minutes on a scenic byway to the Amana colonies. Our guidebook promised an old-fashioned, Amish like village but we thought it was more like a 21st century tourist trap. It was a beautiful drive but the destination itself was not too interesting.

The day really took a turn for the better when we rolled into Des Moines in the early afternoon. As we approached the city, the gilded domes of the Des Moines capitol building rose above the luscious fields of green and welcomed us to a pretty happening city, all things considered. (By "all things", we mean its location in the center of Iowa). Our first stop was right outside the Capitol Building, whose domes inspired Taj Mahal Déjà vu. Ellen found a car with a bumper sticker that boasted 85% ethanol gas. Then onto lunch at Dos Rios restaurant, a local eatery with Mexican inspired soups, salads and sandwiches. We both enjoyed the Ranch Salad (Lettuce, Avocado, Chorizo, Chicken, Tomato, Hard Boiled Egg and Chipotle Vinagrette).

On our way out of Des Moines, we passed by two beautiful suspension bridges that added a very modern look to the city along with many public works of art. All in all, a great and interesting stop. It's so nice to see small, modern and CLEAN cities all over America.

Illinois

This state is a festering ground for some of our favorite people. Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln and the one, the only, Ferris Bueller. However, besides being represented by some awesome politicians (Bueller included), Illinois is also home to many small towns that we never knew existed.

Take Princeton for example. No, not that Princeton. Princeton, Illinois is how we East Coast folk picture Sarah Palin's "Small Town America." Once you pass through about a mile of corn (this is the crop we assumed was growing) fields, you reach the heart of Princeton. A street with city hall and the fire department in one building, a gas station, a convenient store, a grain elevator with a giant cross on top, a train station, a barber shop and a Dairy Queen. We didn't see any organic eateries but it was refreshing to see such a tightly knit community amongst the endless expanses of fields.

After our brief excursion in Princeton, we drove into the sunset toward Iowa, where the Hamburg Inn awaited our arrival.

Michigan

STURGIS, MI- So excited to cross the Ohio/Indiana border, we got state-crazy and took a small detour to Michigan; just barely dipping our toes into the state. But little did we know that a few hours later, we would eat lunch at the most delicious restaurant in Sturgis, MI.

After straddling the Indiana/Michigan border for some time, we got off the highway in search of food. The Indiana highway led us to an exist in Michigan and onto a smaller road with several strip malls. After browsing the selections, we pulled over to consult a map and found ourselves in front of a nutrition store. As we asked for lunch suggestions (no fast food, please), they asked what we were looking for and we said a sandwich shop would do just fine. They suggested Subway, so we headed onto main street for "greener" pastures, where we found a hidden gem: Boundary Water Cafe, an all organic, all local joint in the decrepit town of Sturgis proved to fulfill every one of our food fantasies.

We had a California wrap (avocado, spinach, tomato, cuke) and a Napa Valley Sandwich (turkey, cheese, roasted peppers, onions and herb mayo on foccacia) and strawberry lemonade. Absolutely loved! Michigan gets a thumbs up.

Indiana

We crossed the border of this fine state. With the exception of a few rest stops, we teetered on the Indiana/Michigan divide for most of the time. We were pleasantly surprised by South Bend, which is home to Notre Dame. Very gorgeous, and a modern looking town.

We realized that fireworks are apparently legal in this state after we passed no fewer than 983, 154 billboards for Kaplan's Krazies, (buy 1 get 6 free!)

Ohio!

It looks like Lake Michigan got hungry and took a nibble out of this state. I mean come on...look at that giant bite at the top of the state. Thanks for the hospitality, Perry and Gus, sorry we fell asleep during Jon Stewart.

Toledo is definitely the armpit of America, sorry Jersey. But we did score some postcards at drug mart. It rained most of the time we plowed through this state, but we experienced some pretty scenery and many more local highways in the Cleveland area than we thought existed.

Pennsylvania

This state should be renamed Road Constructionville. There is SO much Pennsylvania(ville). Mifflinville was quite the quintessential American town, complete with gun shop, American flags on every house and a civil war cannon! Also, inspiration for Dunder Mifflin(ville?)

Highlight of our I-80 travels: The Land of Make Believe in Hope, NJ. Spent most of the day driving through this massive state and revised our itinerary. Sorry today's post is so lame: PA is not that exciting, or exotic.

Update: Highlight #2: Pennsylvania has a Jersey Shore.