The Road Trip

I left my last full-time corporate position a year ago. While I can’t rule out a return to that world, the flexibility provided by running my own business is something that I have greatly enjoyed over the last several months.

My daughter Courtney Brocato has the summer off from teaching and is getting married in the fall. We always talked about taking a trip to visit National Park Service Parks and if we were ever going to do it, this was the time. In early July, we embarked on a trip to visit the Badlands, Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone, Theodore Roosevelt and Craters of the Moon.

In addition, using my dad’s diary from World War II as a guide, we visited cities where he was stationed while training to be a waist gunner on a B-24 before shipping out to Europe - Sioux City, IA, Mitchell, SD, Boise, ID and Salt Lake City, UT. We wanted to see if there were any remnants of that era that still exist in some fashion.

We flew to Kansas City and then drove from there. All told, we ended up driving 3,120 miles in 12 days. As I reflect back on this incredible experience, there are so many memories that will last a lifetime.

While the Verizon signal was often lacking on our phones, the SiriusXM connection in our Hertz rental car was amazing and we never lacked for music. (Although I believe Courtney has heard enough of the 70’s and 80’s for a long while.) Being disconnected from the daily news cycle and political rhetoric was a welcome relief.

There is a lot of good going on in the country and a lot of wonderful people. At Hardline Coffee Co . in downtown Sioux City, they have a donation station in the front of the shop where you can take what you need. Almost to a person, the National Parks employees that we met were extremely friendly and helpful. The lady handling the breakfast at the Residence Inn in Rapid City was probably the most cheerful and pleasant person that I’ve met in 35+ years of eating free hotel breakfasts. I wish I’d gotten her name.

There are so many things to do and see as you travel the country if you just look around and pay attention. I had a five-page itinerary laid out and Courtney became a master of adding to it by finding places to stop and break up the trip. We were looking for a place to stop in Nebraska so Courtney could check the state off her list and we found an amazing Memorial Park in Omaha that was well done and well maintained. Ritter Island in Thousand Springs state park in Idaho was a cool little find and a local gem. It has waterfalls and a place to swim. While driving on the highway in Sioux City we saw an obelisk and discovered the Sergeant Floyd monument dedicated to a man who died some 200+ years ago on the Lewis and Clark expedition.

I am a big fan of following Stephanie Stuckey on LinkedIn as she travels the country rebuilding her family business. She is always coming up with unique places and pieces of Americana along the way and we found plenty as well. On the road in South Dakota, we stumbled upon Porter Sculpture Park where Wayne Porter displays the awesome metal sculptures he has been crafting over the years. In Mitchell, we toured the world famous Corn Palace where you can see the themed corn murals on the side of the building and where my dad went dancing when stationed there during the war. The Medora Musical outside of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota is a must see as is the model train exhibit at Union Station in Kansas City.

Living my entire life on the east coast has given me little appreciation for how big and open this country is. Heading to Dickinson, ND from Rapid City, SD after loading up on coffee, we rode on SD-79 for almost 90 miles without a turn-off of any kind in sight. We were never so happy to see a gas station/convenience store in Reva, SD – home of the annual turtle races!

The National Parks did not disappoint. Mount Rushmore was everything that I had hoped – seeming both bigger and smaller than I imagined. Old Faithful in Yellowstone was certainly cool and worth seeing, but the beauty of the nearby Morning Glory pool was a far better experience. The colors in the Badlands were breathtaking while the efforts of the Park Service to preserve the Craters of the Moon should be applauded. The traffic jams in Yellowstone turned out to be one of the best experiences as they were all caused by animals. Getting to see a bison as it lumbers past your car is just amazing.

There are an amazing number of war memorials in the country dedicated to keeping alive the memories of those who fought and those that were lost. In addition to the park in Omaha, we stumbled upon memorials in Atchison, KS and Dickinson, ND.

There are no reminders of the air bases in Sioux City, Mitchell or Boise that we could find. Boise does have the Warhawk Air Museum that some amazing displays but just a few scattered items from Gowen field where my dad was stationed. They did have some pieces of a B-24 on display there as well as a waist gun. The one place that is preserving part of the war experience is Historic Wendover Air Museum in Utah where curator Landon Wilkey and his staff have restored buildings and have an incredible display dedicated to the activities that happened there during the war. My dad was only stationed in Wendover for a week. I read Landon an entry from my dad’s diary from his time there and promised to send him copies of all the entries.

Despite being a bit of a foodie, I refrained from making firm plans for dinners along the way. Our first night we had dinner at Bristol Seafood in the Power and Light district in Kansas City where our server, Nick, was the serving benchmark that was never surpassed on the trip. The one place that I did have a reservation was Elevation 486 in Twin Falls, ID. It has tremendous views and great food and did not disappoint! Brew pubs and beer flights are a favorite of Courtney’s and we found several along the way. One of our most interesting experiences was eating ice cream at The Sweetest Things in Life (STIL) Ice Cream Company in Boise where you can get your ice cream paired with beer or wine in flights. We ate at Madison Crossing Lounge in West Yellowstone twice as the food, ambience and convenience were all good and it was a nice place to unwind after long days on the road and in the park.

Taylor Swift is big wherever you go. Courtney, a Swiftie from day 1, wore any number of Taylor themed T-shirts and they all got complimented. At her urging, I did bring my Travis Kelce/Taylor themed T-shirt which also garnered some compliments. The highlight was no doubt the guy at the bar in West Yellowstone who was comparing his Taylor tattoos with Courtney's…

We met up with my old IBM colleague and good friend Scott Sleater and his wife Faith in Salt Lake City and they took us on a tour of the area and over to Park City for dinner. Park City is such a picturesque little town with some top-notch food. I expected a Hallmark movie to break out in the streets there.

We finished off the trip by flying to Chicago for my nephew’s wedding where we also had a chance to do a food tour and catch a game with the extended family at the iconic Wrigley Field .

In addition to covering 3,120 car miles, we stayed at 7 Marriott Bonvoy properties, 2 希尔顿全球酒店集团 Hampton Inns and a few nights at the very comfortable Terra Nova Cabins outside of Yellowstone that give you a great view of Hebgen Lake . We hit an amazing 15 states along the way.

My parting words are simple – when given the opportunity, take the time to enjoy the experiences with the ones you love while you can do it. This was a once in a lifetime trip with my daughter that we will never forget. It beats any job satisfaction or paycheck that I ever had. There are a lot of incredible people and places out there for you to meet, appreciate and enjoy. In returning to my every day reality, I could only wish that these politicians that are clouding my airwaves would take a similar trip to see what America is really all about.

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