Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Cody, Yellowstone, Jackson Hole

Loaded and ready to go!

Is there a better way to start off a trip thru Kansas and Nebraska than a trip to Krispy Kreme? Probably not.

It was nearly two hours on the road before the first “are we there yet” was asked. Avery is pretty sure that the middle of nowhere and Kansas are the same place. I have to agree with her. The first day was a long, long drive. But on Day 2 we picked up Jason in South Dakota and drove to see the Presidents heads aka Mount Rushmore. We went back later that night to watch a night time show that was a disappointment but Mom caught a great picture of the kids using the binoculars.

We stayed at a great resort in Keystone, SD and went on a tour of a working gold mine and the panned for gold afterwards. Water + rocks +bowels + shovel = a great day on vacation for the girls and Carter. They each found several flakes and other precious gems that are now sitting, freshly washed on the kitchen counter.

Crazy Horse, Three Crazy kids.

Devils Tower on the way to Cody, WY.

While we were in Cody, WY we went to the nightly rodeo since all three kids were sporting new boots and cowboy/girl tops. It was cold and rained off and on. Reagan volunteered for the calf scramble. She walked right into the arena and lined up with the dozens of other kids. I decided to step on the inside of the arena just in case. Then I saw the young cows they were passing on as calves and looked at the bleachers to see if Jason was in cardiac arrest. They released three rather large calves that all ran right by me and straight to the back, right passed the crowd with Reagan in the middle. I am glad she has the courage to volunteer and join group activities….but I don’t think I will introduce her to Running with the Bulls in Spain just yet. Here is a picture of Avery telling her how crazy she was.

Yellowstone National Park.

Here is the list of what we saw or proof of….buffalo, the tail end of one moose, rabbits, deer, something like a pelican, antelope, elk, and some type of squirrel and snowmen tracks. Dad tried explaining a spot of grass where a few deer had been to Reagan and Avery and then found where a family had emptied their cooler. He told them a snowman had just walked by, snowman droppings. For a second, they almost believed him.

We also stayed to watch Old Faithful.

From Yellowstone we went to Jackson Hole, WY and stayed for a couple of days. Down on the square they collect the antlers from the elk and build arches for each corner. Reagan found this statue of an Indian; I am not really sure what pose this is supposed to be.

From Jackson Hole and the Tetons, which were really cool, we headed home through the middle of nowhere and more buffalo, a snowball fight alongside the road in Medicine Bow National Forest, lunch in Estes Park, one more hotel stop and our first time to use a pool, more middle of nowhere and finally home. We traveled across 6 states and crossed the Continental Divide several times. Vacation over…..until next time.

The End.