I often advise our boomer readers to be flexible about travel. Recently, Alan and I have had to apply that advice to our own travel plans. We originally planned a spring road trip from Montana all the way across the U.S. to explore the Outer Banks, Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountain National Park while working in visits to family in Maryland and Tennessee. Because of issues with elderly mothers, our travel plans have morphed into a Western-Midwestern bed and breakfast road trip.
We’re traveling from Missoula, Montana, through Wyoming and Nebraska before parking the car in a lot at the Kansas City, Missouri, airport for a plane ride back to Baltimore to check one family visit off the to do list. Why the Kansas City airport? Our non-stop tickets to Baltimore on Southwest Airlines are fully refundable for another ticket, just in case we have to cancel and head west for eldercare duties in Orange County, California.
After the Maryland visit, Alan and I will return to Kansas City to continue the driving trip into the Missouri Ozarks before traveling to Memphis, Tennessee, to check off the second family visit. Then we’ll turn the car around, drive west to Denver for a visit with friends before heading home to Montana. All in all, we’ll be exploring new sites for a month while enjoying a variety of bed and breakfasts.
What do you think of our itinerary?
- In Sheridan, Wyoming, we’ll be staying at Residence Hill B&B for two nights. With the Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument, Big Horn Scenic Byway, Tongue River Canyon trail and the vibrant town of Sheridan, there’s plenty to see and do.
- Barn Anew Bed and Breakfast is our two-night headquarters for exploring Scotts Bluff, Nebraska, including Oregon Trail history, Scotts Bluff National Monument and other historic sites in the area. Read about our stay: Discovering a charming bed and breakfast in Nebraska.
- Update: our plans for Lincoln, Nebraska didn’t work out so we can’t recommend a bed and breakfast for this stop.
- After a night at a Kansas City airport hotel, we’ll board a Southwest plane for that Maryland family visit I mentioned.
- Returning to Kansas City from Baltimore, we’ll pick back up the Western-Midwestern road trip. White River Lodge B&B in Blue Eye, Missouri, will be headquarters for three nights where Dogwood Canyon Nature Park has caught our eye. Branson, Missouri, and Eureka, Arkansas, are also close by.
- The last portion of the trip includes a family visit to Memphis, Tennessee, followed by joining friends in Denver and Beaver Creek, Colorado. And who knows what adventure Alan and I will discover on the drive back to the Bitterroot Valley of Montana.
This Western-Midwestern bed and breakfast road trip has purposely been planned for two to three night stays at every bed and breakfast to allow for rest, relaxation and exercise. All of the bed and breakfasts offer walking and hiking opportunities, either on site or very close by. How did we find them? Alan begins the search on Google after determining a rough itinerary. He draws up a list of possibilities then I review each bed and breakfast for room quality, private baths, type of breakfast offered and recreational opportunities. From there, we make our choice.
Of course I’ll be taking notes so that you know what to do and where to eat when you follow in our active boomer travel footsteps.
Have you traveled on a bed and breakfast road trip? Join the conversation at the My Itchy Travel Feet page on Facebook or send us an email with your comments or questions.
