Road Trip, Day 3: Wisconsin (Part I)

Trapezista and I arrived in Albert Lea, Minnesota and checked in at AmericInn. It was nice to stay at a hotel with wi-fi in our room as opposed to having to sit in our car in the parking lot to get a signal, like the previous night. When we checked in, the hotel attendant mentioned they had waffles for breakfast. After not having eaten very much the day before (we only stopped for a sub at Subway), it was nice to wake up at the thought of fresh waffles.

I couldn't imagine someone making fresh waffles for a complimentary breakfast, but I never thought of making your own waffles! I had never seen a machine that dispenses waffle batter. Once you get batter in a cup, you pour in the perfect portion into the waffle maker. It took a bit for two engineers to figure out how to turn the waffle maker but we ended up with nice fresh waffles. Great start to our day!

Make-your-own waffle machine for a nice treat!

Our destination for the day was Chicago. We decided to spend an afternoon there and check out the Windy City. During our drive, we saw more wind turbines. We then entered the state of Wisconsin and Trapezista got distracted by the thought of cheese. When we stopped for lunch, we inquired where we could get good Wisconsin cheese and were pointed to the cheese chalet.

Wind Turbines.

Cheese-y displays in Wisconsin!

Ehlenbach's Cheese Chalet
4879 County Road V

Junction V & I-90-94 (Exit 126)

DeForest, Wisconsin

608.846.4791 or 1.800.949.4791

After browsing the cheese stores, we picked the Artisan selection cheese board sampler ($5.95), consisting of Wisconsin-made blue cheese, gruyère and gouda. We each also bought some cheese to smuggle back into Canada. Shhhh! Our custom agent did not suspect a thing!

Many cheeses to choose from.

One thing we did learn from our sampler is that if you don't have many crackers, don't waste them with the gruyère and gouda, but save it for the blue cheese. We thorougly enjoyed our cheesy morning snack and were ready to finish our drive to Chicago!

Artisan cheese sampler!

For previous road trip posts:

Road Trip, Day 1: Montana
Road Trip, Day 2: South Dakota

Road Trip, Day 3: Chicago (Part II)

Road Trip, Day 2: South Dakota

After spending a night at a rather seedy motel in Broadus, Trapezista and I left Montana. We briefly drove across the northeastern Wyoming corner to arrive to South Dakota. We entered the Black Hills area which was quite unique. We continued to see black cows munching on grass.


Black Hills, South Dakota.

Our goal was to stop by and check out Mount Rushmore in the morning. It was exactly what we expected, very touristy and surprisingly busy, even on a rainy and cold day. Still the size of the sculpture is quite impresive. We pretty much took a few pictures and left. It cost us $10 for parking.


Mount Rushmore.

While our plan was to go to Minnesota and have a fried walleye sandwich (Minnesota's specialty) for dinner, I detracted from it by suggesting visiting Badlands National Park. Plans are made to be changed! The description for Badlands and the possibility of seeing wilds bisons roaming seemed too cool to pass on. The park is right off the I-90, and you can do a 1-2 hour loop, depending on how fast you go through it. After paying the $15 entrance fee, we entered at Bandlands National Park to find pronghorn antelopes (which are not actual antelopes) munching on grass; we actually saw many throughout our drive through Montana.


Pronghorn antelopes.

The view was quite spectacular, even though we did not have the best weather. I can imagine it feeling quite different with a blazing sun. It reminded me slightly of Drumheller and at times going through the Atlas mountain range in Morroco. There was a rattlesnake warning, but we didn’t think rattlesnakes would venture out inthe rain!

Bandlands National Park from an overlook.

After taking pictures from the overlook, we headed to the Roberts Prairie Dog Town, where we encountered some prairie dogs. We initially imagined them to be ugly like hyenas but prairie dogs are actually very adorable rodent-like creatures, like a mini-beaver. The grass was dotted wit holes and you could see their little heads popping in and out of their hole-y homes.

Prairie dogs and their holes.

As we approached another overlook area, I thought I saw a bison from afar. I figured it had to be a fake one for tourists. Then it started moving, and I thought maybe it was a mechanical one. It turned out to be real! We got the chance to see a bison from pretty close. What an animal! It’s rather monstrous looking and very large. We were both in awe of the bison!

Our friend, the bison.

Our drive through the badlands continued to be amazing. Although I was disappointed to miss out on eating a walleye sandwich in Minnesota, the detour was well worth it! [Side note: No food on this post, but plenty on the next one, when we hit Chicago!]

More badlands!

For other posts on the road trip:

Road Trip, Day 1: Montana
Road Trip, Day 3: Wisconsin (Part I)

Road Trip, Day 3: Chicago (Part II)

Road Trip, Day 1: Montana

Trapezista and I are drove back to Hamilton, Ontario from Banff, Alberta. Trapezista had previously done the drive to Banff but went through Canada. Supposedly going through the United States is quicker and it's a change of scenery for her. I was very much excited to come along this road trip after 1) recently seeing the Canadian movie One Week and 2) recently reading Jack Kerouac’s (whose parents are actually Québécois) On the Road. I expected the same caliber trip, minus the drugs, alcohol and sex, and plus lots of food! Ok, so Kerouac might not find our drive as entertaining…

Prior to our trip, Trapezista and I exchanged a few e-mails regarding our road trip and came up with a pretty good itinerary. I tried to research some food options, knowing we’d be likely restrained on time. How did one research anything before the existence of the internet? Amazing...! My favourite sites were Urbanspoon and 10best. I also trolled different discussion boards, including chowhound. However, on a road trip, you have to go with the flow. Trapezista suggested we hit at least one of Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. We ended up eating at two of them!


Leaving Canada and entering the US through Sweetgrass, Montana.

Montana
It took us about 5 hours to reach the Montana border. Montana, the "Live and Let Live" state, offered us some nice scenery. Though we could see the beautiful Rockies at the beginning of our drive, they dropped off but we still got to admire hilly landscapes. It reminded me of Ireland, not that I've ever been to Ireland... We saw many black cows munching on grass. Life seemed good for them. That’s the kind of cow I want to eat!!

Diverse Montana landscapes.

Hilly landscapes.

Around 2 pm, we stopped for gas and lunch (at Loaf ‘n Jug!). We saw what looked like an authentic, old school drive-in and decided to give it a try. After using the dirty bathroom, Trapezista thought it should also be eligible as a dive…! A girl came out and took our order. We decided to share a chicken strips’ dinner. Nothing special, pretty good chicken, weirdly served on toast with fries. I also had a very enjoyable cherry milkshake but wish I had gone for a less common flavour, like Montana Huckleberry... Oh well!

Ford Drive-In.

Our chicken strips' dinner.

We continued our drive on a beautiful day. The skies were so blue that, with the white fluffy clours and against the grass, it reminded me of one of the Microsoft backgrounds.

We were also amazed to see wind turbines. Trapezista commented it was an eerie feeling, seeing these huge wind turbines turning slowly on their own, with no one in sight.

Wind turbines.

Blue's BBQ, Billings, Montana

523 Hilltop Road

Billings, Montana

406.245.2583
website

When I think of the US, there are specific foods I think about and one of them is BBQ! While Montana doesn’t have a trademark food, I figured it should have good BBQ. I kind of imagined Montana with cowboys and all. So I researched the internet and found Blue;s BBQ in Billins Montana. It looked authentic enough; we even saw big BBQ's at the back.

After asking the girl at the counter for her recommendation, we both went for a shredded pork sandwich ($4.50). If you mention the coupon online, you get a free side. Trapezista ordered the homemade coleslaw while I got a side of yams. The pork sandwich was good but we both thought the sauce was overwhelmingly sweet. Adding the hot sauce we were given did not help much since it was not really hot. The coleslaw was too heavy on the sauce. I did enjoy my baked yams though I thought giving me 4 packages of butter seemed excessive!

Shredded pork sandwich with sides.

For previous road trip posts:

Road Trip, Day 2: South Dakota
Road Trip, Day 3: Wisconsin (Part I)

Road Trip, Day 3: Chicago (Part II)

Banff (again!), Moraine Lake & a Little Missteak

Last time I visited Banff, it was November and already snowing. It is still definitely colder in Banff than in Hamilton but at least most of the snow has melted. The mountains are still as spectacular as I remember. Trapezista was a lucky girl to be able to wake up to them every morning!

Since the road to Moraine Lake was closed for the winter last time, I had the chance to see it this time around. Even though Lake Louise is the more popular lake, Trapezista prefers Moraine Lake and I can see why. The lake was not quite as spectacular when were at the level of the lake; the water was much more shallow than when Trapezista visited in the summer. We were actually able to walk where the lake should be. However, once we climbed up a hill (where we encountered a very friendly chipmunk) to view the lake from higher up, we were able to admire the beautiful turquoise colour of the lake.

Morraine Lake at the bottom and an encounter with a chipmunk on our way up.

The view from the hill was breathtaking!

Another turquoise (thanks to glacier water) shot!

Two Jack Lake on our drive back.

Melissa's Restaurant

218 Lynx Street

Banff, Alberta

403.762.5511

website

After our trip to Moraine Lake, Trapezista and I were ready for lunch. Last time I was here, I did not have a chance to eat Alberta steak so I figured I’d take advantage of it this time. We headed to Melissa’s Restaurant, which offered a little missteak (4 oz.) for $8.95 for lunch. We were served by an Australian waitress since it seems Banff is overrun with Australians!

Melissa's Restaurant.

While I had the steak, Trapezista had a Caesar salad with grilled chicken. My steak was served on garlic bread with a side of fries: carb overload! While the steak was good, it was nothing special really. I guess I'm not a huge steak person to begin with...

Alberta steak!

After our lunch, Trapezista and I replaced our planned run (we were too full!) for a very long walk. Banff is so scenic that walking is an extremly enjoyable activity! We were also very lucky to have two wildlife encounters. The first was with an elk, hiding behind a tree and the second a deer. I spent a great day in Banff before we hit the road the next morning!

Encounters with an elk and deer.

For previous posts about Alberta:

Banff, Day 1: Town of Banff and The Best Burger

Banff, Day 2: Lake Louise and The Bison Mountain Bistro
Banff, Day 3: Gondola, Hot Springs & Fondues!
Banff, Days 4-6: Hiking and Wild Life

Banff, Day 7: Drumheller