Blackhills/Yellowstone Day 4

RedLodge is the gateway to the BearTooth Scenic Byway, the Most Scenic Drive in the whole U.S.! Have I mentioned I LOVE driving in the mountains? It goes from Montana down into Wyoming and then back into Montana and ends just outside the N.E. Entrance to Yellowstone, which is back in Wyoming. Half the time I didn't know what state we were in!

Marshall scored us a Yellowstone pass from someone at our hotel. He's so the man. So after reaching our crusing altitude of 11,000ft, and a brisk swim for Trent ('Cause he is ALSO The Man!) we came down the other side of the BearTooth Pass into Yellowstone for another lunch in the car because there was an hour wait at the Roosevelt Lodge. (Callie was not thrilled about having to take another picture.

With our Southern route through the Yellowstone loop predetermined, we set off toward the Petrified Tree.

Hours of research went into the planning of our stops througout Yellowstone. HOURS. Next up, our first little hike to Wraith Falls.

Then because it was already getting later in the day we did "drive-bys" of Mammoth Hot Springs Area, Obsidian Cliff and Roaring Mountain, The Norris Area had several boardwalk trails, where our tour guide Marshall, shared with us his vast knowledge (read from the brochure) of the wide array of geological features. As you can and will see, as much research as I did for this trip, it did have it's moments of unpredictability. It was ONLY a 2 mile walk around the boardwalks! "Water, Water all around, but not a drop to drink." At least we can all laugh about it - Callie was parched, she kept moaning, "I have no saliva in my mouth." "I'm so thirsty!"

Another short hike for the Artist PaintPots. By the time we had hit Monument Guyser Basin the kids had seen enough, so Marshall and I went solo. We passed a bunch of stops on the way down to our hotel, knowing that we would hit them tomorrow when we met up with my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin. It was almost 9pm when we checked into the historic Old Faithful Inn. Creaky floors and all. Once again, Marshall coming through with the hook up. Ahem, we made that reservation the day before. Not many people can say they've stayed there, unless of course they booked it a year ahead of time! Dinner at 9:30pm and then back to our room with a view - Old Faithful. Yup, we could look right out our window into the pitch black night!

BlackHills/Yellowstone Day 3

Up early and on our way to the Center of the Nation - Belle Fousche, SD. In case you were wondering, that's where it is. An odd spot if you ask me, since SD is like 2 states down from Canada, but I'll explain. See it's not an exact science (Duh!), but what they do is take a cardboard cut out of the nation. Balance it on a pin and where ever it perfectly balances is the center. So when they factor in for Hawaii and Alaska, it puts it right smack in the middle of someone's farm field 20 miles outside of Belle Fousche.

It took us waaaaay longer than I expected to drive the dirt road out there, so we were waaaay behind schedule for Devil's Tower which was 5.5 hours away, which also took waaaaay longer to hike the 1.5 miles around the base, which put us waaaaay behind for the Buffalo Bill Cody Firearms Museum, which eliminated the possibilty of seeing the Shootout at the Irma Hotel, which allowed us to change our route, skip Cody, WY and make an unplanned visit to the Battle of Little Bighorn Battlefield. So Marshall had to trade his one bit of history for another.

You may have heard there is a drought going on right now, and many Western States are having fires. We drove along side a ridge that was burning. You could see the smoke for miles. I was just so taken aback by the magnitude of this "little" fire. I can't even imagine worse. The smoke shadowed the sun. Another unexpected sight to add to our trip.

We ended the night in Red Lodge, Montana. So lets review: That was SD to WY to MT.

Blackhills/Yellowstone Days 1 and 2

With a full weekend/Monday schedule, it just worked out best to leave at night and drive straight through. Marshall always tells me I'm crazy, but it really does work for us. (Read here for our Middle of the Night drive to Colorado) At 4:30am, it was, "Look kids....The Corn Palace!" Sunrise over South Dakota then the famous Wall Drug for flapjacks. Day 1 and 2 were kinda one in the same.

Full bellies and a full day of sights ahead of us, we jumped back into the car to drive through the Badlands. The first of many awe inspiring geological features we saw. The world was certainly Trent's jungle-gym on this trip.

If he could have climbed up Mount Rushmore to actually pick George Washington's nose instead of pretending to in the picture, he totally would have.

Lunch was on the road, which got old real fast, but like I said...."Places to Go!" We did have some great scenery to take in while we were eating, Custer State Park Scenic Byway. The first of 3 Scenic Byways we travelled. I'm sure you get the idea of a Scenic Byway, but to clarify, the ones we drove were Mountains, Mountains and Mountains. I L.O.V.E., love driving in the mountains!

Dinner was at the Circle B Ranch in Hill City, SD. A real friendly little place with a great atmosphere. Wax bullet shooting, Cattle Rope'n, A shootout skit for the kids with the Biscuit Bandit before dinner, and a Cowboy Concert after dinner. We finished the night off at Mount Rushmore (or as Callie calls it "More-Mount-More-Rushmore").

Let's Give Em Something to Talk About

Well it's about time somebody posted something on this poor lonely blog. (Cough!) it's a little dusty in here....Give me a second to brush off the cobwebs. There, much better. (Tap, Tap....) Is this thing on? Anybody out there? We'll if you're still reading, I have some exciting news. (No I'm not pregnant! - But my Sister and S.I.L. both had babies!)

We took a family vacation! Our first official, just us, family vacation. We've had lots of adventures, (Lacrosse, Michigan, The Cabin, Disney, and Marshall and I with The Virgin Islands)(Click to read all about them!) but besides a hockey weekend, this was our first family trip. I have to be honest, I had a little anxiety attack before we left. Not sure if it was all the planning, or the packing or the amount of time we were gonna be in the car, or the miles we were gonna be driving, or the time frames, or the directions, or the ungodly amount of things on the calendar before we left, including the timley/untimely celebration of Callie's Birthday! Be still my heart! And you know me, I WORK, under-pressure! Super-Mom! Everytime we would talk about the trip I found myself warning the kids (And preparing myself....) "We're gonna be in the car a long time." "We really need to focus on getting along." "Mom and Dad might get a little grumpy from lack of sleep, cause we have to drive all through the night to get there!" After some reflection, I changed my tune. "We are gonna have such a great time." We are going to see such amazing things." "We are going to make such great memories." It felt so much better "preparing" for that. And THAT is exactly what we did!

Where it's at

So I guess Jennyography is where it's at lately. Jump on over there and catch up on the day to day with my Project 365.

Bowling Birthday

My bowling league kinda fell through this year, so I was excited to dust off my bowling shoes for a bowling birthday bash for my Mom. I ended up with the most pins overall, but my Dad and KD gave me a run for the money. I loved watching KD bowl with her pregnant Belly. It sure didn't slow her down any!
Culver's IceCream Treat!

Year in Pictures 2011

Kiss another year Good Bye!
Thanks for the memories 2011. Hello 2012!
Chasing Time Year in Pictures.