From: Chadron, NE
To: Chadron, NE
Miles Driven: 318 Today / 2,190 Total
Miles Hiked: nothing significant / 6.5 Total
Originally, we were not going to stay in Nebraska this long. But in an attempt to try to be at a certain church in New Mexico on a Sunday morning so we could go to church where Matt Henslee preaches, we added a day to our vacation.
Which worked out well. It gave us the chance to head up to Mount Rushmore for a couple of hours. We were going to save it for another trip, but up to South Dakota we went. We'll mark it on our map at home, but we won't "count" it. We didn't sleep there so it doesn't really count. We'll be back.
Mount Rushmore was pretty cool to see. Taylor was unimpressed. The almost coolest part was that on the way up we saw super cheap helicopter rides that let you see Mount Rushmore from the air. We headed back to the place offering the rides, but one of the kids was terrified after seeing the helicopters up close so we decided maybe another year.
Instead, on the way back we decided to head to Carhenge. Something we planned on skipping since Justin was adamant it would be lame. It sort of was. But we got some of my favorite pictures so far and the kids had a TON of fun. There was a small film crew there doing some documentary. They loved the kids climbing on some of the cars and asked if we minded if they got some footage of them. Jordan got scared of being on camera and bailed, but my lover of attention, Taylor, was all over being interviewed.
We finished audio book #3 just before getting back to our hotel for the night. And yes, the last picture is a poor, innocent butterfly we murdered at 70MPH.
One more day in Nebraska! But I'll be spending the next couple of hours trying to find what to do since it was a planned afternoon lake side, but there are supposed to be thunderstorms all day in that area. So if you have any ideas on something to do in Southern Nebraska (or nearby) let us know ASAP!
From: Casper, WY
To: Chadron, NE
Miles Driven: 345 Today / 1,872 Total
Miles Hiked: .5 Today (in the rain so that should count as double) / 6.5 Total
I whined yesterday about it being cold in Yellowstone. Just for reference, it snowed a couple hours after we left.
Today we left Wyoming to head to Nebraska. I've been warned that there is pretty much nothing in Nebraska. It is true that a lot of the views are the same, but beautiful none-the-less (or none the less, not sure). We headed to Scottsbluff to see Chimney Rock and Scottsbluff National Monument.
Chimney Rock was one of those places I'm glad I can say that I've seen, but was rather un-impressed. Scottsbluff was sort of the other way around, I wasn't expecting much, but the views were amazing. As we drove up to the overlook the rain started. You don't drive over 1,000 miles to NOT see it, so a hike in the rain is exactly what we did. It was chilling, a little wet (it wasn't raining too hard), and windy...I hate the wind.
Then our drive to our hotel. This was not a long drive at only 2 hours, but for some reason our audiobooks decided to un-download themselves so primary tool for keeping the kids from murdering each other was unavailable. We did have a few more fights than normal, but it went much better than expected. They found creative ways to entertain themselves. It made my heart happy.
THEN we had the best meal so far on this trip. Runza. Look it up. Find one near you. Eat it. Its fast food, but burger-joint style burgers. They had big booths that fit us all without squishing in, chargers at the table, and great desserts.
It was still a cold day. I'm really hoping it warms up soon though.
From: Pocatello, ID
To: Casper, WY
Miles Driven: 531 Today / 1,527 Total
Miles Hiked: 1.2 Today / 6 Total
Oy, today had things. So many things. Or actually, not very many things, but despite a few beautiful things also rather unpleasant things. That isn't fair though. It was still great.
We started with a 4 hour drive. With over an hour of that being stuck in bumper to bumper traffic going 20 miles or so within Yellowstone National Park. The views were amazing, but traffic sucks. Even more so when we had to stop several times so I could use horrible disgusting outhouse type toilets because apparently my upset stomach from yesterday hadn't completely gone away.
BUT our first real stop was at Old Faithful herself. And we got to surprise the kids with meeting up with some So Cal friends who just happened to be in Yellowstone the same time as us. Parking is stupid so Justin dropped us off at the Visitor Center and went to drive around the parking lot for like 20 minutes. He's awesome.
What isn't awesome? He missed the "geysing" of the geyser (Justin's word because he doesn't like me calling it an eruption or explosion). Since we had a LONG drive ahead we couldn't stick around for the next one. Instead, we had a miserable picnic lunch. Our company was great, but it was like 40 degrees and WINDY. Arctic cold winds that made my entire face and fingers numb. I couldn't open a bag of cheese because I honestly couldn't feel my fingers. Add to that Jordan's motion sickness had not dissipated (she also missed the geysing because she was sitting at my feet trying not to vomit) and we were pretty much "done". Sorry Websters for being horrible friends.
Rob and Tawni gave us a great tip about a short hike with amazing views and the wind was not bad so we could actually move around without limbs falling off.
The views were worth it, but we were now about an hour off schedule. You'll soon learn why this actually matters on this day.
The drive out was through the Grant Teton National Park which was also stunning. We assume it would have been more beautiful without the storm clouds beginning to form blocking some of the mountain tops.
We continued our drive to the hotel. A 6 hour drive. My husband is champ with 10 hours of driving today! That 6 hour drive was pretty much nothing but outdoorness. Beautiful mountains, rivers, lakes, hills, fields, rainbows, you name it we probably saw it. We even pulled over for a few minutes so Jordan could get a handful of snow. Justin's favorite was definitely the sunset. The sky glowed with all the colors as we drove into the rain cloud territory.
Driving on roads with no lights, in areas you don't know, with 2 lane highways with lines that are barely visible in the daylight in the pouring rain is no fun, But we made it to the hotel. Only 1.5 hours later than I hoped (I wanted to get here before sunset). The kids were begging to go in the pool but I was stuck trying to explain that it was already so very late and we have to get up early. I was toying with the idea since they had spent 10 hours cooped in a car today, but the front desk told us that literally 30 seconds before we walked in somebody had puked in the pool so it was closed.
So we saw some of the most beautiful landscapes to date. We got to see some of our favorite people, but I am very glad this day is over.
Wyoming, I'm not sure how I feel about you.
From: Orem, UTTo: Pocatello, IDMiles Driven: 299 Today / 996 TotalMiles Hiked: 1 (888 steps) Today / 4.8 Total
Same start as usual. Hotel breakfast then on the road. We crossed into Idaho really just for a place to sleep before heading to Wyoming tomorrow, but just driving and hanging out at hotel is horribly boring. So after a frustrating lack of communication at a National Park in Northern Idaho I spent some time last week trying to find a stop along the way.
I found Minnetonka Caves. The view from the mountainside before even getting in the cave was spectacular. The cave itself is probably my favorite cave we've experienced so far. They had a large variety of rock formations and massive caverns. It was awesome and like all the caves we've seen so far, it was chilly. This one hovers at 40 all year. It also had 444 steps. After nearly 4 miles yesterday my legs were not happy (but that's what hotel hot tubs are for).
It was worth all the steps (twice since we had to get back out). Then back in the car to head to our hotel. We even got to navigate through a herd of cows. Jordan has decided yelling "moo" every time she sees a cow is now her thing. I blame Justin for encouraging her craziness.
I was grateful for getting to the hotel early. I realized I don't drink nearly enough water when I'm cold so being a little dehydrated has me feeling not so not at the moment, but everyone else is doing great! We landed on ordering pizza which will be here soon. And I know I'll be crashing early tonight...while Justin takes the kids back to the pool.
I'm also super grateful that 3 days in and aside from a few spats (and the girls ignoring each other during our hikes yesterday), the kids have gotten along pretty fantastically. We end almost every night with them cuddling up together in some way. I honestly hope that what they remember most about these trips are those moments.
