A home we go!- Day 15

The last day and our best pack-up and departure (even if the line was long for the showers). We decided the night before that we were heading straight home rather than stay a night in Tremonton. Family is great, be we missed our beds, cupboards/drawers and space.

A quick jaunt through Rexburg, saw the Idaho Falls temple from the freeway and then a quick lunch at Jennifer's. We pulled into our driveway mid afternoon with a hurrah! We survived--no sickness and just tar for car problems. We stayed under our budget and had less fights than normal. Thank goodness for Harry Potter (we finished the 6th and nearly finished the 7th).

TIP #12 TAKE FAMILY ROAD TRIPS. EXPECT PROBLEMS AND FRUSTRATIONS, BUT GO WITH OPEN EYES TO CATCH NOT ONLY SIGHTS BUT GROWTH IN FAMILY UNITY.

Its been a month and already we have our next road trip planned---FLORIDA/DisneyWorld

Yellowstone from top to bottom- Day 14 (4th of July)

Another great start, after a great pancake breakfast (nothing tastes better than food cooked outside--not just BBQ). Our route to Yellowstone took us to the NE corner. We climbed up to 10,500 feet, creeping about 25 mph. It was beautiful and awe-inspiring and still blanketed in snow.


We saw wildlife, Upper and Lower Falls and Yellowstone River. We might have pushed to see more, but Emma was feeling out of it--sneezing up a storm. The kids favorite was dipping their feet in the lake.

And of course, Old Faithful. We got there really early before the crowds and watched an unpredictable geyser  go off. By the time Old Faithful lit, the crowds were huge and our girls loved the show.
Right after it finished spewing, the rains descended, the mass rushed off in a hurry and we had a car wash on our way to the KOA. On our way into West Yellowstone, traffic was halted for their 4th of July parade. Oh yeah, we missed the celebration, thank goodness Utah has two holidays in July:) We set up our tent and had an odd dinner before rushing back into town for ice cream and a genuine soda fountain. Stuffed and weary, the kids set off for the indoor pool and we hit the sack, sleeping coming instantly.

Our silly detours to our route--Day 13

We set off early the next morning to catch the elusive things from yesterday. First we saw a replica Norwegian Lutheran church all from wood. Beautiful!!

		We are Vikings!

We also stopped by Thunderhead Underground Falls...

Nope that's not it, but when we got to the entrance they wanted $7 per person. We opted not to and the girls readily agreed (we are so lucky to not have whiners).

When we planned this trip, we figured there were two routes--back and forth the same way or a round-about catch all. Since being all over the country is a family goal it meant establishing a route that crossed state borders...Rather than scurry on home after seeing such a out-of-the-way sight like Mount Rushmore, we figured, why not through in Montana.

On the way, we turned off the freeway to see Devils Tower (or from Dave--the place were Close Encounters was filmed:). That particular road was being re-tarred and not quite ready to be driven on. We hit a patch of soft tar which sloshed up into our tire well and messed up our driving. First Dave pulled off and grabbed a shovel from a worker and dug off the huge clumps. We then pulled off a bit away and each grabbed plastic forks and napkins and scrapped off the tires. It worked fairly well such that a few miles down the road the shimming stopped.

As we drove through Wyoming, it definitely crossed our minds to just head home. We were tired and the terrain had turned back to that dessert and sagebrush (although a bit better than Southern Wyoming). But we plugged on, hit two drive thru's for dinner and off to Montana we went.

On the way was Little Bighorn Monument. I took a Indian History class in college so this was neat to see in person. Fortunately we got there after hours for no fee!! Two monuments stood, one to the cavalry, the other to the Indians. What a tragic loss on both sides.

We arrived at dusk to our campsite and crashed. The routine was quick, but I could tell our spirits were wearing out. Two weeks on the road is definitely enough. Our girls are troopers!

Onward to Mount Rushmore- Day 12

We got a great start today...yes, were are learning from our mistakes and trying to be on top of things. As we traveled across South Dakota we stopped in at Mitchell to check out their Corn Palace and get ice cream.

Each year a new mural is attached to the outside. Even now workers are putting up more designs
So corn is cut lengthwise and attached like a color by number painting. Pretty cool!

For the first time we rolled into the KOA before dinner. In fact, we set up camp, cooked up burritos and set off to see Mt. Rushmore. We wavered on going at night for the night display, but the kids begged to go swimming and honestly a relaxing night was needed.

We took an around-about route in the hopes to see a couple of other sites--one was closed, the other we missed the turn off--but we caught them the next day. The view of the Black Hill is amazing. For so long we've traveled through flatland with a few rolling hills. To be amidst canyons and pine trees is like being home.

 

Mount Rushmore was impressive. Not only was it large, but to imagine such a bald mountain amidst the Black Hills, hidden and yet sacred is awe inspiring.

We came, we saw, we conquered (that means we purchased our silly souvenirs successfully in one spot) and we swam. The kids had a blast just hanging out at the pool.

#TIP 11- SIGHTSEEING IS COOL, EXPERIENCING OTHER CULTURES/TRADITIONS OR IN OUR CASE HUGE CITIES IS EDUCATIONAL, BUT DON'T FORGET TO JUST RELAX. SCHEDULE IN A TIME FOR NOTHING--RECOUP SO THAT YOU DON'T WEAR OUT.

Dave takes an outing- Day 11

Because of budgeting and interest on the girls part, Dave left by himself early Monday morning to take a tour of Wrigley Field. The girls and I slept in, enjoyed a lazy breakfast and lounged around!

Between traffic and shopping, we got a late start heading out to Minnesota. Can I say, toll booths in Illinois are annoying! We kept paying at odd intervals, in fact we barely had enough change by the time left the state.

We skimmed through Wisconsin. Saw the capital building in Madison...

Then off to Minnesota. These two states were similar to Iowa and Illinois, just more woodsy and in some areas of Minn. swampy. We knew were would be late to our KOA in Jackson so we called ahead and upgraded to a cabin. It was a good thing, cause the few minutes from the car to the cabin and Emma and Bekah were plastered with mosquito bites (we heard later that there was a West Nile scare in the area).

#TIP10 DON'T FORGET BUG SPRAY AND RELIEF. I PACKED ALL OUR MEDICINES AND SUNSCREEN, BUT FORGOT THAT CAMPING MEANS BUGS....