Trip Facts and Observations

Interesting facts and observations about our trip

• We traveled just over 5,400 total miles in 21 days. This includes all the side trips.
• Kids can sleep in any position in a car at all times of the day whether they've slept an entire night or not.
• Same thing above goes for dogs.
• Dog farts in a car smell worse than any where else
• Dog poop bags come in handy for car sick kids
• Free Wi-Fi advertised is not always free
• KOA stands for Keep On Adding ($$$$) and is what I was referring to in the above statement!
• Gas stations in the middle of nowhere don't carry all octanes.
• Being limited to 65 MPH (because of tires) sucks!
• If you don't own cowboy boots, a large belt buckle, and a cowboy hat, you don't really fit in in Montana (male and female alike.)
• Montana has a lot of cows!
• Montana is actually pretty boring until the western side.
• We heard Payphone by Maroon 5 about 1000 times on satellite radio, as well as Call Me Maybe, Starships, Dark Side, Blow Me (One Last Kiss), and some Katy Perry song we've blocked out.
• The girls don't like the 80s or 90s music except for what they know from Rock Band.
• It's going to take days getting all the bug carcasses off the camper
• 3 weeks with 2 adults, 2 kids, and 2 dogs as well as all our stuff in less than 200 square feet is a REALLY long time!
• Maya wants a buffalo as a pet!
• We saw black bears and grizzly bears and cubs both in captivity and in the wild.
• We traveled through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Nebraska.
• Camp Stores are expensive
• We won't let our 10 & 11 year go to the camp bathroom/showers alone, but evidently other parents let their 5 year olds do it.
• Some people spend mega money on a camper set up or class A RV Motorhome as well as all the toys to go along with it.
• Sand is a huge nuisance in the south. Pine needles and pine cone seeds are a nuisance in the north and west. I think I would choose sand over this crap!
• Dogs shed more in small spaces
• There is never enough storage for our stuff when camping and I pack very light.
• A Walmart is a Walmart no matter where you go, but the Walmart in Butte, Montana was the friendliest I've ever been in. Everyone knew everyone and people were willing to help and chat not matter what!
• The temperature in the top of the mountains is about 20 degrees cooler than at the base.
• Mt. Rushmore is interesting, but it is a “hey, there it is” kind of monument. And that is it!
• Quoting lines from a movie to go along with what is happening drives our children crazy!
• Referencing the above, I can think of daily events that coincide with National Lampoon's Vacation!
• The times the fridge opened while driving– 1. The times the cabinet door above the sink popped open – 2. How many times I wanted to hit my head against the wall because of this – 3.
• Thunder storms in our camper are loud and somewhat scary. Thunderstorms in the mountains are 10 times more intense, therefor they are louder and scarier. And I like thunderstorms (in Indiana)
• Camping next to the interstate makes for a difficult night's sleep.
• Camping next to night owls and loud kids who don't obey the “quiet time” rules make for a really difficult night's sleep.
• Following someone who is afraid of the curves and steep grade on mountain roads can be very, very frustrating!
• Cows look both ways before crossing the street! I am not making that up!
• We now know what people mean when they say smell that fresh mountain air! The smell of pine and the lack of exhaust makes the air smell beautiful!
• We had never been more excited to see an Indianapolis 200 miles sign than were were the day we were traveling home!

Day 20 & 21 - Another long day

This day finds us traveling from Grand Island, NE to Rock Island, IL. This was another long and very boring drive.

Again the kids slept most of the time. I tried, but with snacks at my feet, dog leashes, water bottles, cameras, maps, phones, etc, getting comfortable is, let's just say, not easy!

One thing I must recommend for those planning a long distance trip by car, is a book called The Next Exit. It's available on Amazon.com and came in very handy on our journey. It tells you of gas, food, lodging, shopping, and attractions at each exit.

Now I know what you are thinking, isn't that what a GPS is for? Well, yes, it is, but this was much easier to use.  Just turn to the state, then the interstate, and the exit number or mile marker and viola. What you need at your fingertips having never touched the GPS and messing up your route!

Back to my story. We became hungry and were desperate for something that wasn't Subway or McDonald's and I was really not wanting to eat my lunch, alone in the camper as I had done most of the trip home. With my gluten-intolerance, I can't eat at many places except for a salad. Have you ever had a salad from McDonald's? Me too and I won't do it again. I flipped open the much used The Next Exit with it's rumpled pages and bent cover to Interstate 80 in NE to my surprise and excitement as well as everyone else in the car there was a Steak -n- Shake just 20 miles away! Hooray! Someplace I can eat and everyone else loves! We were able to park close with ease and keep the truck running for the dogs and keep an eye on them.

After arriving at our campground we came to find out that Antique Archeology was just 20 minutes away. If you don't know what I'm referring to, I'm referring to the one and only American Picker's anchor store in Le Claire, Iowa! We love Mike and Frank and it was really cool to see some of the picks we had seen on TV! I must admit though, I don't believe this is the actual shop we have seen on TV because the locations didn't match, but that's okay! It was still cool to see!

A stop at Fazoli's for dinner and then back to the camper to relax, shower and sleep.

Day 21 finds us heading home! We can't wait!

Day 19 - 10 hours in the car!

Today was a long drive from Casper, WY to Grand Island AKA In the middle of nowhere, Nebraska. We are surrounded by corn fields and cows, but that's better than last night's interstate and junk yard dogs barking all night!

When we arrived to this KOA we unfortunately scared a bunch of toads and their mamma away. Hopefully they all are back together tonight.

Besides being a very boring drive, there were no major hiccups and really nothing to note about. We are now an hour behind Indiana time and will be rising early again for another 9+ hour drive to Rock Island, Iowa. It's weird to see trees with leaves again after weeks of just mountains, hills, fir trees, barren cattle ranches, sage brush, and dead grass. It was sad to drive over completely dried up creeks and streams. This drought is worse than I ever imagined.

Makes me wonder what my yard looks like. Not that it matters to me it's just grass, but to people who make their living farming, my heart just aches for them. I know it will hurt my wallet eventually.

My big decision now is do I purchase a digital picture frame to show people the pictures or have a picture book done. I'm sure I have, after editing, over 1000 pictures. If you think a book would be better, what site would you use. I'm a member of Shutterfly, but I've never ordered anything from them. Any suggestions would be good, thanks!




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Day 17 & 18 Heading Home

We rose early and left West Glacier KOA to start the 32 hour 1900 mile trip back to Indiana. Of course, this trip is not without it's "Oh Crap" moments.

The first one so far is when we pull into a rest stop and notice an alarm going off in the camper. Upon further inspection we found it was the propane detector. So all gas was off, so why would this be going off you may ask. That's a funny story, really. I guess on one of the many m
any switchbacks and bumps and sudden stops for crappy drivers, the cabinet above the sink popped open and the coffee creamer, bread, and the big bottle of Kirkland Brand Canola Oil Spray came flying out of the cabinet. The coffee creamer exploded all over the floor. The Oil spray top shattered, but that wasn't noticed until Maya saw it. She picked it up and it proceeded to spray E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E! All over the cabinets, floor, blankets, etc. After getting the bottle outside we moved the dog food container we were now using to make sure the fridge door stayed shut and noticed a HUGE puddle of canola oil! So we are guessing the gas used in the bottle set off the alarm and now our fridge door (which is wood paneled to match the cabinets) is very shiny as well as the floor and back of the dining table bench! Good times!

Our first stop and overnight stay was in Livingston, MT. We were able to get a "premium" spot at the KOA. Premium means concrete patio and picnic table, versus gravel pad. At the West Glacier KOA, premium was a concrete patio, with a firepit and benches on the patio. A stone table with wrought iron cushioned chairs and lighted umbrella as well as gorgeous landscaping and emerald green grass. Premium at this KOA mean, concrete patio and OK table and fire pit. No grass and hardly any gravel or trees. Thank goodness it didn't rain or it would have been a nasty mud pit.

After a pretty easy night, we rose at 7am and departed at 8:15 for a 7 hour drive to Bar Nunn, WY, just north of Casper. We are right next to the interstate on a sandlot with maybe 1 tree and surrounded by junk yards! Oh the good life! They also have the sewer hook up opposite of what it should be so we can't hook up. That's no biggie, but it's irritating. Again, it's just for one night. The good news is, they have a nice indoor pool and decent internet service!

We have an almost 10 hour drive with stops tomorrow to our next destination of Grand Island, NE. That ought to be a fun drive, HA! This part of Wyoming is brown and you can see for miles with nothing to look at but cows, horses, the occasional antelope and fencing. No cars, or houses, or people. At least there are some pretty snow covered mountains WAY in the distance! Nebraska, I imagine, will be a lot like Kansas, flat, brown, and boring. Can't wait.

One thing I forgot to mention on our last day in Glacier was we got to see a mama grizzly and her cute cub foraging in the foothills of the mountains. Don't worry, they were a good 400 yards away, but with Tony's excellent binoculars, we were able to see them very well! Another thing we saw when walking the dogs in the campground at Glacier was a Honda CRV with a crinkled front end, above it a picture of a buffalo, and below that a huge tuft of buffalo hair! We walked by a few more times hoping to ask the owners what happened, but we were never able to meet up! Would love to know that story!

My laptop battery is about dead and I'm out of things to say. Adios amigos!

Day 16 - Do You Remember Dial-Up?

It's been quite a while since the days of "you've got mail" and that terrible screeching sound that my kids have never heard except in the movie, You've Got Mail. We have Wi-Fi in this joint but it is worse than dial-up at times. I needed a recipe and it took almost 5 minutes to load the page! Luckily, I had the time. This blog has taken me half a day so far!

Today was just a shopping, waste some time sort of day. We started off with a trip to a rock shop, followed by an art and antique shop that was nice. Then onto the Hungry Horse Dam. At the time of it's completion in 1953, it was the 3rd largest dam in the US. Of course we quoted Vegas Vacation most of the time with the kids shaking their heads, but who can resist a good movie quote, right? This trip has been full of them. If you have know idea what I'm referring too, please go to Youtube.com or rent Vegas Vacation and reference the Hoover Dam scene!

After the dam, we had lunch and then went to a place that has a maze, go carts, bumper boats, and mini-golf. We started with the go-carts, then Tony and Layla did the bumper boats which, and I quote, were the lamest thing ever! Then on to the maze. Tony and Layla against Maya and me. Um, yeah, it was hard! Tony and Layla finished about 20 minutes before Maya and me! We finally had to cheat and ask a staffer for some clues! Almost an hour later, we exited the maze, dazed and confused and tired! After 7 holes of mini-golf cut short because of rain, we came back to the camper to relax, watch movies, do laundry, and figure our path back to home. We have done what we can to get out of here tomorrow at a decent time. Our plan is to drive to Livingstone, Montana, about 6 hours plus stops. We have to come home through Nebraska, and not South Dakota because of Sturgis. The motorcycle mecca is August 2-6 and there is not place to stay within 150 miles.

That is really about it. It's been a pretty low key day. Except for the fact that I think I have a perforated ear drum from some major pressure changes in the mountains yesterday. It's slowly gotten worse, but from my search on the internet, there is not much that can be done except take some ibuprofen and keep it dry. No biggie, just irritating. I already have trouble hearing in my left ear. Now with my right ringing and muffle sounding, it's really irritating!

Looking forward to being home! It's going to be hard to get up early, being that we are two hours behind Indiana time. The girls are going to love that! I think we will be getting up at 8am each morning we are home which will feel like 6am to them!

Day 15 - Glacier Park Take Two

We rose early again to get to the park and get to Grinnell Glacier trail as we were told this was the trail/glacier to see. After a few stops and the construction we made it to the trail in about 3 hours. After searching for a place to park, in the shade, for the doggies, we made it to the trail head. Upon further investigation, we found the trail to be 5.5 miles, one way, but was closed at the 3.3 mile marker because of a snow dam, blocking the path. It is so crazy to us to stand at a trail head, the temp is about 75 degrees and half the trail is closed because of snow! We only had about an hour anyway because of the dogs. We hiked in for 30 minutes then out. It was a beautiful trail, but no glacier.

We moved on to go back through the park and decided to stop at Logan Pass, a very popular destination. They have a trail the hikes up the mountain to a lake called Hidden Lake. It's about a 4 mile hike. We just wanted to hike far enough up to the snow. We could not have done the entire hike anyway because a big sign was posted that the trail was closed at mile 1.3 because of dangerous bear activity. Oh Darn! Again, we were limited to time because of the dogs. That is okay. Despite being very limited on activities because of time, we are still glad we were able to do what we were able to do.

We are now back at the camper. Tomorrow is going to be a tourist day with a trip to some shops and a place that has a wooden maze, bumper boats, slides, etc. Then we will pack up to start our 30+ hour drive back to Indiana.

Day 14 – Glacier National Park = W.O.W!

I decided to take the laptop with me this time so I can journal while we were out at the park. Turns out it is coming in handy because we are sitting on the road, at about 5500 ft, waiting for road construction. A worker came by and said it would be about a 15 min wait. While we wait, let me describe, to the best of my ability what we see.

As I said before we are at about 5500 ft elevation. To my right is an almost vertical drop down the side of the mountain. Also to my right is the most beautiful view of Glacier. Right in the middle about 3000 ft down is a creek that snakes through the valley. Behind the creek is a snow covered peak that look as if it has had a coliseum carved out of the side. To the right of that is Heaven's Peak at an elevation of 8900 ft. The snow covered top is draped with the shadows of the small cotton ball like clouds and baby blue sky blanket the horizon. To the left of the creek is another snow covered peak with a paper thin ridge pointing to the heavens. One side is bathed in sunlight while the other sleeps in the shadows.

To the left of the car is a small waterfall in the valley of two mountains. Pine trees rise out of the rock and the smell is unlike anything I have every smelled before. It looks like a post card. Cone flowers and trumpet vine mingle together. Birds and bugs fly in unison. There is not too much more to describe there except at the beauty. Why are mountains so beautiful? If you think about it, it's just rocks. But for some reason they are beautiful. Is it because they are mysterious? I can't answer it, maybe you can.

We finally moved on after about 15 minutes. I had looked at the map and although Glacier is considerably smaller than Yellowstone, the road is much more windy and at a considerably lower speed limit. Upon further investigation, we figured it would take us 2+ hours to get to the trail we wanted. We were not expecting that. We did not bring the dogs. We did bring lunch, but when we realized how much longer it would take, we ate it on the road.

Our plan was to take a 2 lane highway outside the park home. BIG mistake! I was sitting in the front seat and it was so windy that I was getting car sick and our elevation and the straight drops down from the side with NO rails what so ever made it even worse. I'm not afraid of heights mind you, but it's the plunging to my death part that sort of makes me nervous! That and the darn cows! The switch backs were so tight and we came around a corner to hit the brakes for, you guessed it, cows! One popped into the road and froze, looking both ways. Then Tony would go slow and the cow would start to walk. Tony would stop and the cow would stop! It was like a 4 way stop nightmare but with cattle! We were finally able to just go around him/her(it was a small cow, so I was unable to tell.)

It took us almost 3 hours to get back to the camper.

Now we know why no one really uses the east entrance to Glacier. It takes to damn long to get there!

All in all, it was a good day with gorgeous mountains, a few large deer, and high, narrow, windy roads with beautiful waterfalls and flowers. We did get a glimpse of one glacier, but we were too far to get a good picture. Hopefully tomorrow we will actually get to hike to one! We have our bear spray ready. Glacier is home to over 400 grizzlies and over 1000 black bears. They actually said the big horn sheep are more aggressive towards humans than the bears and drowning is the number one cause of death here. Good to know! I would love to see a bear, just not up close and my worst fear is drowning, even more so than getting attacked by a bear!

Let the good times roll!

Day 13 - We've Got Cows!

We rose at 7am to try and make an 8am departure from West Yellowstone. We had drained all the water from the camper so we had to brush our teeth and wash our faces in the campground bathroom. This is not a big deal as it is a very nice facility, but it put me way behind on my duties as the official putter-upper of the inside of the camper. I have my set ways of doing things to coincide with Tony's ways of doing the outside. He did the outside without me and it completely messed up my inside duties!  This put us on the road at 8:15am. Not too bad of a start, but still not what we had hoped, but then again, we are planners and when things don't go as planned, we tend to fret.

Fretting aside, we moved on. Our entire trip minus 30 miles was all 2 lane highway through the foothills of the Rockies. Montana is full of these rolling hills with snow capped mountains in the back ground. One thing we noticed about Montana is there are very few homes between the ranches and lots and lots of cows! Cows everywhere that they even have their own cow crossing the roadway sign! We were worried about hitting a deer or a dog, but I think we should have been more worried about hitting a cow instead! Luckily, non of the above was hit, but all were seen!

After a stop in Butte to one of the friendliest Walmarts I have ever been in, we continued to head north. Tony's truck temp gauge was reading 93 degrees. I do remember him saying it was going to be in the mid 60s for the high and high 20s for the low. Once we got cell service I went to the weather channels app only to find out that those numbers were for Glacier National Park's highest point at 10,140 ft! The town we are staying in is just west of Glacier Natl. Park at just above 4,000 ft and the temps this week are to be in the high 80s for the day and high 50s at night! So of course we stocked up on RV Antifreeze and bottled water, neither of which we need right now! I'm so glad, because going a week without running water was not going to be fun! And I still get to have my french vanilla DD coffee! Yippee!!!!

We arrived at the West Glacier KOA at about 5pm. It is one of the most beautiful campgrounds we have been in thus far. I feel a little out of place because we are surrounded by multi-million dollar, and yes that is million with a capitol M, Class A buses. About 95% are Prevost models that start at $1.75 million for their simple RV, but these here have trailers to haul their motorcycles and cars. We feel we are in the low rent district looking at these gorgeous and huge RVs. One good thing about the park being full of these big rigs is most of these people are of the 55 and older crowd, so hardly any kids to keep us up at night. The last campground I think was 50% kids under 10 and boy were they loud and unsupervised! Google Prevost if you can. I tried to put in the link, but the internet here is worthless. Sorry!

Our power went out about 30 minutes into our set up. We needed ice so Tony and I headed to the camp store and found out the entire campground was without power (except for the Prevost owners who have built in generators of course!) It was over an hour before it came back on. Luckily it's very nice out, so we hung out under the awning and chilled. The girls swam a little, but with the power out, it became crowded with people trying to cool off.

We are not sure of tomorrows plan yet. I think we will sleep in a little and then make our way into Glacier Natl Park. It's a small park with huge peaks of 10,000 ft and more! We have a nice view of the foothills of these mountains and I cannot complain! I hope we get to do more hiking with this trip, but of course we have the dogs so it all depends on what we can time out. It's okay if we don't do too much. Just being up here is enough to make us happy!

We miss you all and even though we are having a great time, we are all starting to get a little home sick. We will be back soon!

Day 12 - Horseback Riding In Montana

Tony surprised us last night by booking a 3 hour horseback ride through the hills and mountains of Montana! How exciting! The landscape is gorgeous and seeing it without an automobile would be magnificent.

We arrived 20 minutes early like we were told. Unfortunately not everyone took that information seriously. After waiting 30 minutes for everyone to arrive we were saddled up. These were very mild mannered horses so there was no worry about any one of them deciding to take off, but Layla's kept wanting to wander over and see his girlfriend in the coral. Layla was already very nervous and not really being able to keep her horse still sent her over the edge. I offered to trade horses, as mine was the mildest one there, but at this point she was just way to scared having never been on a horse by herself. Since this was a 3 hour ride it was not recommended to double up. We made the decision that Layla and I would stay back while Tony and Maya went ahead. Poor Layla was very upset at this point, but the ranch hands were so good with her. It was very comforting to see. I felt so bad for her because she was so excited and she said she felt bad for me because she knew I really wanted to do this. It's what we Moms (and Dads) do. We sacrifice things for our children. There was no way I was going to make her be on a horse she was terrified of riding for 3 hours. I may get my chance in Glacier, but I'm not going to worry about it. I've seen some beautiful things already and I feel the best is yet to come!

At this point, Layla and I headed back to the camper. It was 1/2 mile down the road and we watched movies and I read a little. We picked up Tony and Maya at 4:30 then went into town to get gas and some food. We are now chilling watching another movie. We have the camper all ready to head out tomorrow. We have an 8 hour drive to Glacier with a stop in Butte, Montana to yet another Walmart, oh fun! We have to winterize our camper and Wally World sells what we need as well as some other things. I'm going to have to buy instant coffee because we won't be able to do dishes. I'm so sad. I bought some french vanilla DD coffee and have very much enjoyed it. Oh well, life gives you ups and downs and you deal with it, right? Actually, I'm sure they have a place to do dishes so ti

One thing I keep forgetting to mention is how diverse this place is. I bet half the people in this campground are from another country outside of North America. There is a lot of French speaking people I'm assuming are from Quebec, but I hear Italian, maybe Dutch, and Asian languages. I tend to say hello to people when passing them. It's so interesting to realize that some don't understand me. I asked a couple if they were using a laundry basket in the laundry room here and they looked at me, then looked at each other, then looked at me, never saying a word. I later heard them talking and couldn't understand them at all. Yellowstone does accompany this because the visitor centers have the main things in English, then written in 3 or 4 other languages! It's quite interesting!And you can tell certain people are not from here because they are all dressed up to hike a trail!

That's about it for today. We are off to sleep! Good Night!

Dat 10 & 11 Grizzlies, Wolves, & Old Faithful.....Oh My!

Day 10 - Friday, ended up being a recovery day for us. We slept in until almost 10:30, well, the kids and Tony did. I was up about 8. Once we decided not to head to Yellowstone we just took our time getting up and going. We have been on the go for so long now that is was nice to just putz around. I was able to clean the camper and the girls were able to sleep as well as Tony. Let's just say that the 4 of us and 2 dogs living in 200 square feet can get quite, um, cozy. That's not true, it is cramped! When traveling for more than 3 weeks it can get rather claustrophobic! Everything must be put up when done and when you have a 10 & 11 year old, that chore NEVER happens! NEVER!

Moving on, we decided to go to a place called Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. A sanctuary for grizzlies and wolves who cannot live in the wild. It has some interesting points, but not what we were expecting. Everyone has their opinions about things, but most of them about things to do here have differed quite a bit. I think it may have boiled down to timing of course, but for the money, it was just not worth it!

Day 11 - Saturday we went back to Yellowstone to finish the south and southeast part of the park. In other words, see Old Faithful! We arrived very early since it is Saturday and we had no idea what to expect as far as crowds go. We were able to get a front row seat. Yes, we had to wait for almost an hour to see her go, but the temps are great here today and the seating was quite comfortable. She teased us for about 10 minutes then bam! It was spectacular! It brought me to tears I must admit (can you tell I'm lacking sleep lately with all my waterworks?) But think about it. You hear about it, you learn about it in school, you see pictures of it in books and papers and magazines, then to witness it first had makes it almost like a dream come true! What I also like it we are giving our kids an advance on their education. When they go to school and learn about Mt. Rushmore, or Yellowstone and Old Faithful, they can know that they have been there to experience it. Nothing like that can be taught from a book in a class room! 

As the crowd dispersed we decided we were hungry, then we also wanted to shop! A picnic lunch in the woods was had by all along with a sign on every table say bears are attracted to food so be careful! Lovely! We also had to take the pups for a walk so we did that. After some shopping, there were some other stops, but by this time both girls were done and to be honest, after Old Faithful, what else is there to see? We saw all the animals on Thursday except a wolf and elk. We stopped at a gas station and got some treats and then headed back to the camper.

On our way back we passed several heards of buffalo as well as a few single ones traveling the road. It was quite a sight. Tillie, our small 36 pound pup was all gung ho on kicking some buffalo butt until one passed us on the road. All of a sudden she started shaking and climbed into my lap into the front and tried to hide under our jackets on the floor! That big bad buffalo scared her something awful! Poor thing! It was quite funny!

The bad thing about Yellowstone is that even though it was only 28 miles until we were out of the park it took us 2 hours to get there with all the people stopping to look and the curvy roads and of course the odd buffalo deciding to go for a Saturday stroll to get away from the wife and kids enjoy the fresh air. And my neck hurts from looking out my window for 2 day, 8 hours straight, straining to see that grizzly or black bear or wolf. I'm going to have to see my chiropractor every day for the next 3 weeks just to readjust!

We are back at the campground now hanging out at the office waiting for our laundry and enjoying the access to the internet. It is a gorgeous evening with temps about 75 and low humidity! We are researching the Grand Tetons to see if that is where we want to head on Sunday. It's a 2 hour drive from our campsite. We are also finding out that it is going to fall below freezing in Glacier. That wouldn't be a problem except we can't have water in the camper when it gets below freezing. We are looking at dry camping for 5 days! If we were tent camping this wouldn't be concern except sleeping in the cold, but that is why I have a camper. So I don't have to walk to the bathroom in the middle of the night! Looks like I'm going to have to do that. Oh well! I can't complain! We will be seeing some beautiful country! I can't wait! Don't worry if we don't come back!

So for now, we will enjoy water and a toilet IN our camper as well as comfortable nights and of course the 2 pounds of fudge we bought at the KOA camp store!

Jealous?

Day 9 - Yellowstone Here We Come!

I decided to go ahead with the blog sans pictures and video instead of email. 

The day started out good. We were able to rise early and get going early. Maya is finally feeling good minus a nagging cough. I believe the cold has moved to her lungs and we are at about 8000+ feet above sea level so the air is thinner here. We arrived at the West Entrance to Yellowstone at about 9am to find very little crowds and beautiful sunny skies.

This turned out to be more of an emotional moment, entering Yellowstone, than I imagined. The girls just couldn't understand it. I explained how I have wanted to come here most of my life and wasn't sure that would happen because of the fire so many years ago. As you enter the park, the fire is still very evident as you drive by thousands of acres with with empty skeletons of trees that used to cover this vast land. Some have born new life with pine trees about 10-15 feet tall, but the memories of the others are scattered throughout these little trees. These dead reminders tower over the new life letting us know we have long to go to return back to where Yellowstone once was.

When you enter you are given a map with the more popular animals to see. Our first one was a pup coyote digging in the grassland, our guess is for a mouse or prairie dog. Next we saw a buffalo snoozing just a few hundred feet from the side of the road.

As we moved on, our plan was to hit Old Faithful, but we decided to do the north part of the park first. Tony has done excellent research on the best things to see and do.

Our first big stop was Norris Geyser. Once you get over the rotten egg smell from the sulfur it is a beautiful and colorful place.

Second was Canyon Valley. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. There are two water falls Upper and Lower Falls, both majestic and colorful.

From there we were heading to Lamar Valley where Tony has read has the most wildlife. At this point, our animal spotting was some Mule Deer, Pronghorn Deer, Coyote, and 1 single buffalo, as well as an Osprey, Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, and a Violet Swift. We were hoping Lamar Valley would not disappoint and we were right.

As we came into the valley we saw 3 buffalo grazing. There were several people off to the side of the road on both side watching them, taking pictures, oohing and ahhing. 2 decided they wanted on the other side of the road. Boy can they run. As I ran to my car to avoid being run over (and I'm not joking), 2 came right up to the driver side window, went around the back of the truck and moved on. I was within 20 feet of them as I got back into the car. There was 1 more that decided to follow. A woman was up on a rock taking pictures with her back turned. Someone yelled at her that a buffalo was heading her way. They passed each other! The buffalo stopped and turned to look at her! She was a short stocky woman and I don't think her feet ever touched the ground! I so wish we had gotten video of it. We laughed for a while about the close call. I joked that hopefully she had a clean pair of shorts in her van because I know, being withing 2 feet of a gigantic buffalo RUNNING towards you would have made me beyond scared! Being 20 feet away was scary enough!

From there we wound around and through the mountains. Picture of course, just don't do it justice. As we worked our way back to our campground, we came upon a black bear yearling, and a grizzly. I got out of the car for the black bear, it was far enough away, but the grizzly was too close for comfort so I just took pictures from the truck! We were so excited to see both of those!

Our last stop was Mammoth Hot Spring, but by this time Maya was really not feeling well so we made it quick, got a bite to eat and headed out. Our entire trek on just the north side of the park took 11 hours!

Tomorrow, we will do the south side with Old Faithful and the Mud Volcano. It's going to be a short day. We've decided 2 days is enough. We will then head to the Grand Tetons National Park on Saturday! So far we have yet to kill each other, but we still have about 14 days to go! Only time will tell!

Hope all is well!

Day 5 - Mt. Rushmore and Deadwood

Today was sightseeing day. Our first stop was Mt. Rushmore. We arrived when they opened, at 8am to very little crowds and overcast skies with temps in the low 70s. We took the pups with us thinking they could go in, but pets are not allowed in, but they do have pet walks. Since we were early, they told us to park in the basement level and it would stay cool enough for the dogs. We have never left them alone in the car let alone together so we were a little apprehensive. It was cool so that wasn't a concern, but them scratching at the interior or trying to bust out the window was the concern. We were only gone an hour and everything was fine upon our return. Mt. Rushmore is interesting and huge, but it's one of those things that you look at, read a little about, and then you are done. You can get great photos of it from the road leading up to it. Yes you can get better ones if you hike the trail up, but really that's about it. The girls didn't want to go, but we really wanted them to see some of the sight and walk the trail they have to see the blown up mountain bits. They did find that cool!

After Rushmore we headed into Deadwood. What a disappointment. It would be a great town if you were 1)over 21 and into gambling 2)over 21 and into saloons, or 3) over 21 and into motorcycles or Sturgis. Do you see the pattern here? Half of our party is no where near 1,2,or 3. Plus we had the dogs. We found an outside cafe called Mustang Sally's with your typical burgers and dogs. The outside seating was a plus for the pups and I was even able to enjoy a meal. Of course it was a hot dog, but it was really good and huge! After eating we thought we would be walking around the bend to a mining for gold site that was thought to be in an actual creek. It was neither just around the bend nor a creek.After walking uphill for who knows how far, we said forget it and went back to our truck, we took the truck up to the hill where the mining took place and it was a 10 foot trough on the side of the road. No thanks! A quick trip to Wild Bill Hickock's grave site for me and then home to our camper. Deadwood is a cute old town with history, but still holds it's rough and tumble ways with the gambling and the clothing shops trying to get you to dress, well, not really dress, more like somewhat cover up with sky high heels and rhinestone jewelry. I felt I should have covered my girls' eyes when passing these shops!

We dropped off the dogs after Deadwood and went into Custer to Scott's Rock Shop to satisfy Maya's rock obsession and for Layla to spend her money also. It's a cute shop with some really interesting stuff, but very similar to most of the gift shops we have visited. Layla bought a really pretty wind chime made from pink polished geode slices. Something she can hang in her room. Maya walked out with some pretty earrings and a matching necklace made with Tiger's Eye stones.

After shopping we decided to hit this placed called Cosmos Mystery Area, a typical tourist attraction, but with our other plans not panning out like we thought, we figured, what the heck. It turned out to be lot of fun and cheap! The kids were free! It's basically all optical illusions, but it was fun to experience non-the-less.

On our way home we saw some spectacular lightning and some pretty intense storm clouds. It started to down pour just as we got into our camper! The lightning was really bad and close which at home is not biggie, but in our camper, I'm not a fan! It looks like it has knock out some of the power to some camp sites as we have been seeing the power company drive by a few times. We lost power last night, but only briefly. Unfortunately, last night's storm started a forest fire near Wind Cave State Park, and area we planned on visiting tomorrow, and knocked out the power and has closed some roads. We don't know at this point if we will be able to go to Wind Cave at all on this trip, but my thought go out to the people affected by all these fires and the poor animals also.

Our main issue now is not only all the fires and storms, but Maya is running a fever and has a sore throat. She is a lot like Tony in that it takes a lot to get her down and she is down. Poor thing. Hopefully some sleep and some cough drops will help her. It's hard to get used to the time difference so we find ourselves going to bed at 8:30-9 and getting up at 5-6am.

Our laundry is almost done and I'm really out of things to say! I know, I know, that's hard to believe, but I am!

Day 4- Sight Seeing and Being Tourists

Today we slept in a little. I didn't but that's okay, every one else was able to enjoy a little more rest. The sun was rising at 4:45 am SD time which meant by 5am Tillie was ready for me to be up! That was okay, it was a beautiful quiet morning.

We decided to take Iron Mountain Road, a scenic route through the Black Hills to Mt. Rushmore. This route is known for the tunnels that frame Mt. Rushmore as you travel through them. It was a very beautiful winding drive. One that our back seat companions had some issue with. Layla gets car sick very easily. We put the windows down and that was able to give her some relief. This drive took us longer than expected so we decided to put Mt. Rushmore off until tomorrow. Our plan now was to see Bear Country USA and Reptile Gardens.

Bear Country U.S.A. is a drive through wildlife park with the main attraction being black beasr that roam around you while you are in your car. It was quite a site. We figured maybe 50 black bears were wandering around at a given time. Then we went to another part of the park where we could see bear cubs playing and other animals. It was fun!

Our next stop was Reptile Gardens. Um, what a waste of time! It was mainly gardens, which were beautiful, but not what we were expecting. I actually didn't know what I was to expect, but for the entrance fee, I was sure expecting more than what we got! Nuff Said!

After these stops we needed to get back to the puppies and rest. Once back a pretty decent storm rolled in with lightning and hail, and of course much needed rain! The hail was no more the size of peas, but it lasted a lot longer than most hail storms I've witnessed.

That's really about it! Tomorrow brings an actual tour of Mt. Rushmore and a trip to Deadwood! The pups can go with us on this trip. Something I'm sure they will like! Oh, Tony, Maya, and Layla are going to try and satisfy their obsessive rock collecting and visit Scott's Rock Store in Custer. Oh joy! Luckily someone has to stay in the truck with the dogs and that lucky person is me!

Day 3 - Badlands and Black Hills Here We Come!

We woke early, about O'Dark Thirty to get out of Mitchel and to Badlands National Park by lunch time or just after. After a few stops we decided we were hungry and hit a rest area. We were welcomed by thousands of grasshoppers. When you walked they jumped and sometimes they hit you and it stung!

Another stop was to the Badlands Petrified Forrest Museum. It's a little shack on the side of the road that has been in business since 1956. I remember visiting this place when I was 12 and our family made this very similar trek across county. Since I'm not ashamed of my age, that was just shy of 25 years ago! It was exactly as I remembered! The girls liked it, but it was hot, so we didn't stay long. Tony hung out in the truck with the dogs since they were not allowed.

We arrived In the Badlands right on time to 103 degrees and rising and some pretty decent wind gust. Turns out the high today in the Badlands was 110 degrees. When we left the park our temp gauge read 108 degrees! Good times. We first visited the spot of my trip I mentioned above. It is a fancy tickler that is for sure! One wrong move and you can say adios!It was too hot on the puppies feet so I sat in the truck since I have been there before. Layla didn't take well to the heat, poor thing. We moved on to some other trails and then Maya and Tony did a nature trail to see if they could find any birds. Layla and I hung back in the truck with the pups. I did get out and video some of the scenery. Just breathtaking! As we entered the park  we noticed what looked to be a small fire in the distance. As we left we noticed how big it had become. 5 tanker trucks past us in the park. As we left the park it was huge.  I think we witnessed our first grass/wildfire.Upon recent a recent internet search, I found that it is a grassland fire and as of 3pm this evening 1,500 acres had burned and was threatening structures. No word on how it started.

After the Badlands the end of the road was Wall, SD and the famous Wall Drug. By this time Layla and Maya were both feeling the effects of the heat and probably some elevation. And then we couldn't take or leave the dogs so we decided that this is one tourist stop we would have to pass on and moved on. After a quick stop at a gas station and a quick bite from McD's, everyone was feeling much better.

Our final route took us through Mt. Rushmore and by the Crazy Horse monument, but we were more interested in the huge plum of smoke billowing in front of us. Mt. Rushmore was breathtaking and we will be going back to get a closer look, but the drive was beautiful. This smoke seemed to be in the direction of our campground and had us somewhat concerned. As we got closer we realized it was not near our campground. I was able to do a quick search and found out that a lightning strike occurred last night (7/18) and 57 acres and some of Custer State Park had burned because of it and as of last night 70% of the fire was contained. Upon further internet searching I have found that the fire in CSP is fully contained and is in the "mop up" stage.

We are now in our "home" for the next 5 nights and 6 days and it is good to be in one spot for more than one night. I was able to officially unpack. Our first night we didn't even unhook from the truck! We are finding that the camper is holding so much heat on our travels that we blow through ice like crazy and the locals know it. Charging $2 for a very small bag of ice that will last maybe a few hours is highway robbery, but, that is what we have to do!  Our campground is very pretty and pretty quiet compared to the others. There is a huge pool with a few big water slides I'm sure we will venture too this week. The temps are suppose to back down with a chance of rain most days, but only a chance. Just as long as the lightning strikes hold off we should be good. This part of SD is also in severe drought conditions. No campfires allowed. We are not big into those anyway, but the girls are begging for S'mores. I have perfected doing them over the gas stove in the camper so I may have to do that one day this week. Another thing this campground has is bunnies. There are signs everywhere saying do not pick up the bunnies and they even have a playground just for the bunnies. We think they are cute, but the dogs won't. They will take one look and think LUNCH!

Day 6 & 7 - Rest & Moving Day

On Sunday and Monday we stayed in the camper. Maya has been battling a fever, sore throat, coughing, and the like. She was feeling better Sunday evening but Monday morning she was back down with a 102.5 degree fever that she just can't get over. She's also been battling bad headaches and stomach upset. It's not bad enough to see a doctor, I just think she is battling a bad cold based on her symptoms, but it's really taking it's time leaving. She has good and bad times during the day.

Tuesday, today, we left The Badlands to move to Devil's Tower for the night. She was feeling okay when we woke, but now is battling a 102 degree fever and fatigue and nausea. We've been giving her Ibuprofen and Sudafed, which has been helping greatly with the fever and headache. Our plan was to arrive, set up camp, and hike the small loop around the tower. She just doesn't feel good so Maya and I are staying put and Tony and Layla went to hike the tower loop. Tony has wanted to see Devil's Tower since he was about Maya's age when he watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I've been here before when I was Maya's age so I felt it necessary that Tony and Layla go. We figured that we will go back this evening with Maya and me if she feels up to it.

It was a beautiful drive here. We didn't really experience anything special. The campground is nice. It is hot, but windy. You can hear the hawks screeching in the air and the view of the tower is just spectacular!

Actually, on the way here we saw a storm cloud that look like something right out of a movie. It looks as if someone took a paint brush and smeared a streak right through the middle. Just gorgeous!

On a side note, with all the down time, I was able to finish a book called "The Book Thief" by Mark Zusak. It is written by Death about a girl during Nazi German starting 1939-1943. Very interesting read. I do recommend it.

Tomorrow we head to Yellowstone.

Good night!

Day 8 - Hello From West Yellowstone

It looks like I'm not going to get the blog to work, so I will be sending emails with no pictures, sorry. I will try and do daily, but I have to come to the main office at this campground to get the internet to work. This place KOA is huge and very crowded!

Just to cap off, we drove for almost 11 hours yesterday with some bumps. Halfway through we stopped at Walmart in Billings, Montana. I made the comment that the only difference between this walmart and the one in Indy is the accent. I really expected an "EH" (pro:A) after people talk they have such a strong northern accent. But the walmart clientele is still the same! I HATE WALMART! Took me forever to shop!

Next we stopped to get gas before hitting the 2 lane road to our campground only to find out the fridge door had fallen open and most of the food I had just bought, fell out and was warm or hot! I spend the next too hours in tears because that is how the day had gone.

The night before we were in Devil's Tower. We had the mother of all storms blow in with lighting striking just yards from our camper and wind and rain to make it worse as well as several power outages. The lightning was like flashbulbs on thousands of cameras. I don't know how the stars on the red carpet do it. It was blinding.

It is beautiful here! We saw our first moose on our drive to our campground and we are about to head into the park. I must go now!

PS, maya is much better! Her fever is finally gone. She is just left with a cough!

Day 2 - Mitchel, South Dakota

 Disclaimer: These photos have been unedited due to the fact I do not have editing software and the lack of space on my hard drive to do so. Still enjoy them!

Today found us traveling from Newton, Iowa to Mitchel, South Dakota. It was a pretty uneventful travel with the exception of one over-turned Atlas moving truck. How I would hate to be those guys right now! Temps also were in the low 90s with humidity also being lower and a very nice breeze was blowing most of the time so when outside of the truck it was somewhat comfortable.

 As well as some concrete gorilla statues on the side of interstate 29 that I cannot find any information about on the World Wide Web.

 There was also a very interesting toilet in a rest stop in Iowa that I have yet to figure out how it was meant to be used. I took a picture with my phone, but have no way of uploading it here. A Google search has also come up empty handed. My thought was it was meant to be stood over, but that's an entirely different post!

After arriving in Mitchel our first order of business was the often talked about Corn Palace. It is a mere 10 minutes from our campground. Upon further investigation of said Palace, Tony and I, and the girls have no idea what the big attraction is. Yes, it has some interesting art and history being built in 1892, but other than that, it's a big gift shop. We even had an ear of corn each at the concession stand which was not very good and it was served with soy butter that was flavorless. I'm guessing this is one of those trips that will be just checked off our must see list and that is that. Below are some pictures of the interesting art outside and inside made entirely of ears of corn.

Right now Layla is having an evening swim then we are off to bed. We are getting a very early start tomorrow as we have a scenic drive through the Badlands and a visit to Wall Drug on our to do list before heading to our campground. It's going to be a fun filled day! Below are some other pictures of our journey. It was pretty low key, as I stated earlier.  See you tomorrow!

Day 1 - Off To A Rough Start

We are planners, but lately nothing seems to go as planned. Luckily, we are also somewhat flexible.

Our plan was to head out as soon as Tony arrived home from the firehouse, roughly 7:30 am Tuesday morning. I recieved a text from Tony at 5:15am stating he was on a fire and for me to sleep until he calls to tell me he will be heading home. I sort of went back to sleep but never fully so about 6:20 I got up and got going. 7 came and went, as well as 8 am, no call from Tony. Finally at 8:15 he said he was on his way back to the station and would be home shortly. We finally pulled out at 9am, 2 hours later than planned. All the time watching this fire he was at on the news. It turns out he had been there since 3am with only about 3 hours of sleep before this alarm. Poor guy!

Luckily, everything else has gone as planned. Our first night is in Newton, Iowa. It's pretty remote although we are next to the interstate. It's also H.O.T! Which is somewhat good because the air will run all night and drown out the highway traffic noise so we should be able to get some sleep. Dinner was quick with hotdogs and chips followed by a dip in the very warm, but very relaxing pool by girls and me. Tony has been snoozing in the camper since we left. This is the first time the girls have been in Iowa. They are excited to be in a new state even though it's pretty boring and VERY warm!

Before arriving we stopped at another "famous" stop, the worlds largest truck stop. Iowa 80, ooooooooo! It has it all, but we just used the restroom, topped off our fuel, and purchased some treats at the DQ,

Tomorrow finds us heading to Mitchel, SD with another overnight stop, then on to our first "official" stop of Custer, SD with 5 nights there where we will see the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, the Black Hills, etc. as well as a stop at the famous Wall Drug somewhere along the line.

Here are a few more pictures I took along the way. It's a pretty uneventful trip thus far that is for sure!

Post Game Fun

 Superbowl 46 is over. Giants Win! We were not tired. I decided to have some fun with the girls. We made light art with the camera. They had a blast and we have some great artists. I did the girls' names, a flower, and a dinosaur. They did the rest!

Camera settings were f/8, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 8 seconds to 15 seconds depending on what they were drawing. Some darkening and cropping and mirroring post processing.  We have multi-colored post it notes. We would just rubber band what color we wanted over the light. Too fun!