There’s nothing like being told to sit still to make a person want to move. Or being told to stay put to make you want to travel. But how to do that in the days of COVID and still stay healthy and be a good citizen. Hmmm…

After much thought, Jim and I have decided that we can stay relatively isolated while in motion by taking a van-supported cycling trip across the sparsely populated states of the upper west.  We had discussed many times a cycling trip across the US, or at least much of it. We also want to visit my relatives in eastern South Dakota, especially my aunt and uncle who hit 90 this year.  So with much plotting, we decided to load up our Sprinter van, dogs and all, and take turns cycling and driving the van from our home in Spokane, Washington to Eastern South Dakota and perhaps beyond. We will have our home on wheels, our Sprinter van,  with everything that we need to survive…just stocking up on fuel (both for the van and for us!) along the way.

Fortunately, there are cycling maps available from Adventure Cycling out of Missoula Montana that describe routes that I could piece together along with our knowledge of cycling closer to home.

Our route will take us south in Washington to Clarkston where we can hook up with the Lewis and Clark trail. From there we plan to head east across Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and into South Dakota. This route takes us through glorious country with little population. In Idaho, we will cross the Nez Perce Indian Reservation and the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness to Montana. There we will head south and east to go through the Big Hole and the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. This takes us to Yellowstone National Park and Wyoming. At this time, Yellowstone is partially open and we hope to be able to cross the park. Going east across Wyoming takes us through the Big Horn Mountains and the highest pass on the route, Powder River Pass at 9665 ft (2945 m). After passing Devil’s Tower, we hit the Black Hills of South Dakota where I used to live. We will wend our way though the Black Hills and then Badlands National Park. Finally, we will cross the prairies of South Dakota and hopefully have a socially-distanced visit with my aunt and uncle.

We head off on this journey with multiple caveats: 1) If the world gets crazier again due to COVID, we will simply turn around and drive home; 2) We have a daily goal planned with each of us riding 30-60 miles (50-100km) but we always have the option of hopping in the van if the weather turns sour or we just feel like it!; 3) We plan to savor as much as we can while “keeping our distance”.

We will likely often be out of cell range and away from WiFi but will check in when we can.  Please join us (safely and virtually!) on our journey.  See you from the road!