Hi everyone. I hope everyone has had a wonderful week while I was away. The hubby and I had a super trip. We flew in and out of Minneapolis and then drove about 2000 miles in Minnesota, the Dakotas and also a little bit into Montana and Wyoming also. This was not a lounge about vacation, but it was relaxing and we had a lot of fun. We visited 8 National Parks/Monuments, a few state parks as well as some small museums. We did a lot of light hiking and saw some amazing wildlife too.
But more about that in other posts.
Today is the 4th of July, the birthday of the USA, and I thought I would share a few photos from my journey that have to do with the USA. Since it is a big holiday after all.
First of all, this monument in Belle Fourche, a small city in western South Dakota.
The Geographic Center of the Nation was located in Kansas until Alaska and Hawaii became states in 1959. Then it moved further north into South Dakota. The city of Belle Fourche erected this very nice monument to show this.
I like that they also have all 50 state flags flying.
However, the actual center of the nation is located on private property, not here in this little park. But on our way to Belle Fourche, we passed a highway sign that said Geographic Center of the US. There was an arrow that pointed down a gravel road and said it was 8 miles away. We had rented an all wheel drive vehicle, and we were on an adventure, so off we went.
And look what we found.
The actual geographic center of the US.
There were yellow clover blooming in the fields and the air smelled wonderful.
I love the sign also.
Plus we saw some gorgeous prairie views on our way down the road.
There is nothing like these prairies in New Hampshire.
Here's the gravel road that took us to the actual geographic center.
And views of cattle on the range.
And these horses having some lunch.
See the little colt on the left. He was such a shy but also curious guy. For a few minutes he kept running and hiding behind his mom, but then he and mom finally posed for this photo. The other horses really didn't care whether we were there or not.
Wishing all of you who live the US a very happy holiday. And a happy belated Canada Day to those of you who live there. And everyone else, hope you have a great Thursday.
Thanks for visiting my blog.
11 comments:
A wonderful photos Erika. Thanks for sharing the photos!
I never knew there was a geographic center of the US. So cool 😎 Beautiful scenery. It’s amazing how flat everything is. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip. Happy 4th. Enjoy the gorgeous weather
Happy Independence day, dear Erika. Not the typical 4th of July post. I'm still bummed they took our geographic center away when they included both Alaska and Hawaii. We still have the geo center of the contiguous 48. Joking aside, these were fabulous photos, both in town and in the fields of "grain." SD has a lot of mountains, but that road to the field could have been one in eastern KS, where the Fling Hills are a bit steeper.
Love the new header and look forward to seeing more of your travels. SO glad you were able to tick off more National Parks from your bucket list.
Happy Independence Day! You had a wonderful trip. Great to be able to visit the centre of the USA, and so beautiful with the flag in the clover field. You did a lot of driving and I'm sure you will have lots of photos. Hugs, Valerie
Lovely photos Erika, it sounds like you are having an amazing time away.
Yvonne xx
Welcome back and it sounds like you and hubby had a wonderful time on your vacation 😁. Your photos look amazing and wow, you must have been busy to visit all those National Parks and monuments, I can't wait to see all your photos! I love the wide open spaces with the horses and flag - beautiful! Wishing you a happy Friday and Weekend! Hugs, Jo x
Welcome back and happy Independence Day! Sounds as if you had a great trip and thanks for sharing these lovely photos!
That's a trip I would love to take! The side-trip to see "the true center" sounds well worth the short detour. Your photos are wonderful. I get a real sense of the landscape.
Welcome back indeed, Erika, your trip sounds great as do all the national parks you visited. You certainly did travel many miles and see a LOT and will look forward to reading more about your adventures. We have never visited the states you mentioned, so these may need to be on a future road trip. Driving to the center of the US amidst all that clover must have been as amazing as it sounded just reading about it.
There are some amazingly wide open spaces in the USA, Erika - what a treat. I love France for that reason, especially the area where my friends now live since they moved out of the Parisian suburbs where we all used to live. Beautiful nature and not a building in sight - bet the stars are really clear around that area with no light pollution. So glad you managed to get a break.
You've worked really hard and deserve it. Great to visit the Centre of the US, too :-) Belated Happy Independence Day!
Cath x
That's a lot of driving, a lot of states and a lot of good times. I had NO idea where the geographical center of the country is. Now I know! Oh, your travel journal is going to be spectacular!
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