Mount Rushmore...

Mount Rushmore was the day’s destination. Although we went there on our honeymoon, it is yet another of my amnesic un-memories. All I remember about our Mount Rushmore experience is the helicopter ride we took there. It was a glass-bottomed machine and the pilot was a crazy man who thought it might be fun for us to view the dead presidents from a nosedive position. Well, I guess it WAS fun, but it was scary, too.

Anyway, back to present day…We stayed at another Flying J last night and took to the road in the morning in search of faces carved in stone. Mount Rushmore is very visible from the main road, so we didn’t bother to pay the $25.00 or so it was going to cost to park and go in to the visitor’s center. We can find all we want to know online, I’m betting.

There’s a very cool curving, looping road that has what they call “pig-tail bridges” (so named for the curlicue roads they help to form). The scenery and the close edges of the road were plenty to keep everyone busy ooh-ing and ahh-ing. Some oohs & ahhs were uttered in awe and some in fright, as the curves on the road were so sharp and the road so narrow that we often thought we’d meet ourselves coming and going.

There were a few spots to pull off and hang out. We found one we liked, where we all got out to stretch our legs. The rocks here are pretty amazing; I’ll have to agree with John Wesley on that. Even the dullest sandy colored rocks have this gorgeous metallic sheen. After we spent a few minutes messing around, we drove on into Custer State Park.

Custer is very cool. It has its own resident herd of buffalo, as well as mountain goats and bighorn sheep. We got stuck in a Custer Traffic Jam, as they call it, which is buffalo crossing. We, again, had the pleasure of observing the buffalo up-close-and-personal-like.

There is also a swimming area in Custer State Park, where Harold took the “biggers” to play in the water. The littles & I did some preschool work and colored for a bit, then we snacked and relaxed waiting for everyone else to come back.
We found a campground with a nice, grassy playground where everyone could work out their wiggles. Here, we even found a solution to the problem of Matthew’s wandering…Just kidding! Actually, of all the things we might miss from the Van Lear house, the one thing we miss most about it is Matthew’s play room. That little 12’ x 12’ area was so nice. He had the half walls so we could all interact with him, and he had the large picture window that allowed him to have natural sunlight and views of the outdoors; and I had the peace of mind, knowing if I was changing a diaper in the back room or cooking dinner that he was safe. When we ever build a house, I sure hope to be able to include something similar for him there.

Devil's Tower...

Reluctantly, we packed up our gear and left the beautiful creekside. On the road again, headed for Devil's Tower, the home of the cute prairie dogs. Aside from the biggers and I getting out to walk up to the base of Devil's Tower, this day was pretty uneventful. Harold was feeling a little off his feeds. I sort of threatened him that he better not get us too far from a hospital, or at least tell me where one was so if something happened to him I could get us there. Thankfully, he was just having an off day. He was fine by the next morning.Something I didn't realize about Devil's Tower was that it is considered a sacred spiritual site by Native Americans. There are all these prayer cloths and prayer "bundles" tied to the tree branches all over the area surrounding the tower. William found a piece of cloth (actually it was leather) in his pocket and stuffed it into a hole in a tree. I wonder if that was sacreligious?

Traveling On...

I had pretty much resigned myself that I wasn't going to get a picture of a moose once we left the Tetons and Yellowstone. However, on this travel day, a day we were pretty much just getting from one place on further down the road to another, between destinations, we happened upon several moose (I really think that should be meese--you know, goose/geese = moose/meese--but nobody asked me way back when they were deciding singular & plural form). This picture is pretty blurry, but at least it's photographic proof that I DID get to see some meese. :)We found a beautiful little campground where we had by far the most beautiful camp site we've ever had. The creek was gorgeous and just the right depth for wading, although it was a little fast. The kids had a blast and Harold & I enjoyed just sitting and listening to the water & the sounds of the kids playing.

Cody in Cody...

From the time Cody was little, I mean really little—6 weeks old—when he first came to us, I used to rock him singing, “Cody Cody Cowboy, Cody Cody Cowboy, Cody Cody Cowboy, I Love You!” It was the song I sang every time I rocked or cuddled him. In fact, even now, I often call him Cody Cowboy. So, when he chose this cowboy hat for himself, somehow it just seemed right. It also brought back sweet memories of him as a pudgy (if you can believe that!) baby bouncing on my lap, giggling as I sang to him. So, I sang it to him again a few times this week--minus the bouncing on my lap part--he probably wouldn't go for that. He looked at me a little funny, but that’s okay. We couldn’t leave Cody, Wyoming, without a picture of Cody by the sign bearing his name. Funny how appropriate his name seems now, after having been here. The town of Cody is friendly, rugged, a little wild in a fun kind of way and very easy on the eyes--not unlike our handsome Cody.

Cody, Wyoming...

Cody, Wyoming is such a neat little town. We stayed at a nice campground that had a playground, laundry mat (woo-hoo!!!) and small convenience store, which made it nice that we could sort of stay put for nearly a whole day (and a half).

Harold & the older kids (Lena on up) went on a short rafting trip, while the littles (MaKenzie, Jared & Matthew) and I took advantage of the cable offered at our campsite and caught up on the Jon & Kate saga--okay they really just played while I caught up on Jon & Kate's lives. That is just a sad situation, no matter who is at fault.

Rafting was fun, but it evidently was not a very treacherous ride. I think the kids thought Harold should've taken them on a more advanced (read more dangerous) ride. The choices were grades 1 through 4. Grade one, you pretty much were guaranteed to not turn over. Grade four, you pretty much were guaranteed *TO* turn over. Harold took grade two. I think the kids thought they were ready for grade four. They'll have to do that on a trip when I'm not there to actively worry.

We did venture into the downtown area to stroll through the shops up & down the main street and we visited the Buffalo Bill Dam. Harold surprised all of us with his here-to-fore unknown fear of heights. He had to sit down for a minute to regain his bearings. The kids and I all had a good giggle at his expense. Dinner was extra delicious, as we had found a nice meat store where they sold grass-fed lamb, beef and buffalo. We picked out enough steaks for us all, then headed back to the campground to grill them.

MaKenzie surprised all of us with her abilitites on the playground, as did Matthew. MaKenzie climbed right up the chain ladder, and proceeded to the slide and just went on down with no help. Matthew held onto the chains of the tire swing as if he’d been doing it forever. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a bigger smile than the one he was sporting as he & John Wesley played that evening.

West Yellowstone, Montana...

After visiting Old Faithful we did more sight seeing and found ourselves across the park from where we were camping. Because it was so late and we knew we wanted to see more on that end of the park the next day, we decided to exit the park and find a campsite in West Yellowstone, Montana. So now the kids have been to Montana twice.

Dinner was pizza from a small little shop in town. One was like a meat lover’s type pizza. The other was called the Montana Special—sausage and SAUERKRAUT! I’d have never thought to put sauerkraut on a pizza. I didn’t end up getting a piece of that, but everyone raved about how good it was. I’m quite certain it was the novelty of it, but we’re going to try it when we go home.

The different types of rock have sparked John Wesley’s interest. He’s been researching all the rock shops in every town we come to in hopes of finding a nice piece of raw turquoise that he can tumble and polish. There was a really nice rock store in West Yellowstone, so we spent the morning perusing the small shops (tourist traps, really) on West Yellowstone’s streets, which remind me of a western-themed Gatlinburg. Cody, Lena, and Jared found cowboy hats (well, Lena’s is technically a cowGIRL hat). William found a stuffed dog that looks like his Anna. MaKenzie discovered a stuffed black bear that she couldn’t do without. She doesn’t normally ask for things, but she really wanted the bear. When I asked her about it, she told me, “It’s like the one we saw, Mommy.” I was so impressed that she remembered that I was more than happy to let her have her bear.

After our shopping excursion, we headed back into the park. Paint pots and more geysers were on the agenda for the day. Our plans were pleasantly delayed by a herd of bison, mostly mommas with their calves, who needed to use the roadway to get where they were going. Of course we didn’t complain about following behind them for several minutes. I almost had more fun watching the kids watch the buffalo than actually watching the buffalo myself, although I must admit those calves are awfully cute.

One little calf had an injured leg (or maybe it was deformed, we couldn’t quite tell what had happened), causing him to be a little slower than the rest of the crowd. I found it sweet that his momma held back and stayed behind with him, knowing it was up to her to protect her little guy. I’m afraid that cute calf, being weaker and slower than the rest of the herd, will end up as dinner for a wolf or mountain lion. We all had a little moment of sadness about that, then remembered that that is the way it’s supposed to be, at least in the animal world.

A little further down the road, there was a gathering of cars, trucks and campers whose drivers and passengers all had their scopes, binoculars and cameras trained on a not-too-distant mountainside. We stopped to join them, visually scouring the landscape, to see what they were seeing. The attraction was a lone coyote, the second we’ve seen, out for his afternoon stroll, probably trying to decide what was going to be on the menu for his dinner.

We eventually DID get to the paint pots and the geysers. (It’s really quite amazing the variety of sights there are here in Yellowstone.) At the paint pots, we happened upon a park ranger who made time to answer a few of our pent-up questions. He told us that there had been some grizzly mommas whose cubs had been born near the area of the paint pots. In fact, the area had been closed until just this week in order to give the bears a little space and to protect the tourists. Recently, with the warmer weather, the bears have moved to higher ground, so they were able to reopen the paint pots area.

Old Faithful...

Sunday found us trying to figure out how on earth we are going to recover from the jet lag when we get home. We were eating brunch at 2:00 in the afternoon! That would be 4:00 Flat Gap time!

Old Faithful was about an hour’s drive from the campground. Seeing it live is way better than watching it online. We’d been watching the live feed online for several weeks before we left on vacation, and I was a bit nervous because the kids were not very impressed after the first 100 times or so that we watched it. But all the kids said they were glad we came to see it live.

It’s funny, because even though Harold & I were here for our honeymoon 20 years ago, I can’t honestly say I really remember very much of Yellowstone at all. I guess I wasn’t watching much of the scenery, huh? I DO remember Harold telling me every so often to get my nose out of my books and watch the scenery. I’ve always loved to read when I travel.

A conversation William overheard yesterday was interesting to me. He came to the RV saying, “Boy, Mom, I bet you’d’ve liked to have talked to this one lady I heard.”

“Oh,” I said. “What did she say?”

“Well, she was talking to this younger couple. She told them, ‘You sure came to Yellowstone at the right time in your life. You don’t have kids yet to drag around to slow you down and to try to keep up with,’” William told me.

“What do you think I’d’ve said to her?” I asked, kinda’ knowing in the back of my mind what my answer to her might’ve been, had she actually been including me in her conversation.

William knowingly said, “You’d have told her it was BETTER to come with your kids.”

What a smart boy, that William. Seeing and experiencing this trip, all of it, with and through the eyes of our children has been so much fun. Indeed, the excitement and wonder I see in their eyes every time they see or learn something new and interesting makes it all such a deeper and richer experience for Harold and me.

What You'd Hear If You Were A Fly On Our Wall...

Here are a few random, unsolicited quotes from various members of our crew. You know how it is when somebody says something that evokes a good giggle, or elicits that lump-in-your-throat, tender feeling? Well, that happens every day at our house (what with so many of us talking, how could it not?), and usually we go about our day and in the natural course of events, they are eventually forgotten. I decided I’d preserve a few.

“What exactly was God doing here? Why would He just put all these rocks up here?”
~said by Harold, high in the mountains of Utah.

“I don’t love this place.”
~said by MaKenzie, with a cute wrinkled-up nose, upon smelling the sulfurous mud pots of Yellowstone.

“I wouldn’t trade this vacation for a million dollars.”
~said by Jonas, after seeing the first of two black bears.

“I couldn’t really tell anyone about this (Yellowstone); they’d have to see it for themselves.”
~said by William, toward the end of the first full day in Yellowstone,
having seen 4 bears, a coyote, pronghorn, buffalo, elk, and tons of natural beauty.

“You are stu-pid, stu-pid, everyone is stu-pid, everyone in his or her own way…”
~sung, in perfect tune, by Jared. It was his version of the Barney song, “You are special, special, everyone is special, everyone in his or her own way.”

Just to be clear, we really DO discourage his use of the word "stupid" and normally I try not to laugh about it. But, to be honest, when a little boy who wasn't supposed to talk actually manages to SING ON KEY, and creatively change the lyrics, and still make the song make sense...I gotta' say, I'm impressed! It's all in the perspective. Yes, he's demanding. Yes, he's loud & obnoxious sometimes. Yes, he doesn't always obey as well as he should. But, considering what he wasn't supposed to be able to do or be--all those things are GOOD NEWS! I'll take demanding, loud, obnoxious and disobedient ANY DAY over dead. God has blessed this little boy with a major attitude and a major sense of humor. I'm so blessed to be his momma.“I’ve got something stuck in my teeth.” ~said by Cody.
“Well, here, I’ll eat it.” ~said by John Wesley
That was all I heard. But, what I didn’t hear, was Jonas saying he didn’t want the rest of something he was eating. John Wesley was actually answering Jonas, not Cody. It was funnier when I thought he was answering Cody.

“Me & food, we have a thang.” (yes, it was said with a long a sound)
~said by John Wesley…several times…

"Lena, you're my best friend."

~said by MaKenzie out of the blue...and for the record, it had nothing to do with the lollipop, she had said it BEFORE Lena had the enticing lollipop.

Yellowstone At Last...

We made it to Yellowstone! We pulled in Friday night just around dusk. I can’t believe how much snow is left here. Susan was right! I have no idea who this lady is, but I thought the car provided a good perspective to help see the amount of snow.“Hard-sided units only. No sleeping on ground or in tents. Area frequented by bears.” Thus read our campground’s welcome sign. Not very welcoming if your name is Jonas and you’ve been having nightmares about bear attacks fairly regularly for the past two years. Surprisingly, it was Lena who showed up at our bedside having been wakened from her sleep by images of scary bears in her dreams.

For brunch the next day (we’ve been doing two main meals; a big breakfast then a dinner, with snacks in between as needed) we parked next to the gorgeous Snake River. The kids played on the shore while I cooked eggs and biscuits inside the camper and Harold cooked bacon on the Coleman stove outside the camper. Bellies full, we drove around exploring for several hours. The first large animals we saw were a little group of buffalo. Their docile behavior belied the many signs we’ve been seeing, warning us not to get too close as hundreds have been gored when they try to get too up-close-and-personal with the bison. It was indeed difficult not to get up-close-and-personal with this mommy bison and her baby. We passed lots of herds of elk, and some singletons, as well, driving past a few who seemed to be standing on the side of the road, waiting for us to pass to let us see what fine specimens of their species they were. The ones we came closest to had beautiful velvet on their spring antlers. If only we could reach out and feel them! A little further down the road, we came upon a group of about 25 cars parked precariously along the side of the road. Harold said that usually means there’s a bear. Sure enough, a momma grizzly and her cubs were ambling along the ridge of the mountain in front of us. They were far enough away that we could only see them as dots, in fact, in the picture I took, they appear more like gorillas than bears.

Without a powerful enough scope to see the grizzly family clearly, we decided to move on down the road. Twice again that day, we came to large groups of parked cars and both times we had the good fortune to see bears. Black bears both times. Up-close-and-personal both times. In fact, so close that Rangers with loaded guns were posted every so many feet around the area ready to take care of business if necessary. We could’ve gone home after the bears and our trip would’ve been perfectly complete. But God had more for us to see. As we drove through a seemingly lifeless stretch of road, we rounded a curve and a wily coyote bounded across the road right in front of us, then had the grace to stay close right beside us on the roadside long enough for us to get a couple shots of him. William had said when we were driving into Yellowstone that he had two things he wanted to see, a bear and a coyote. Well, I guess God decided to humor him. Gardiner, Montana is just right outside Yellowstone’s north gate. We aren’t going to travel through Montana, as we’re leaving through the east gate, near Cody, Wyoming (hope I’ll get to take Cody’s picture in Cody), so we decided to drive on into Gardiner so the kids can say they’ve been in Montana. We spent just a little while there, long enough to get gas and drive around a bit.

Coming back into Yellowstone, we made a quick stop at Mammoth Hot Springs. This cute picture Harold took of Jared made my day. We returned to our campsite around midnight, I cooked a VERY late dinner of spaghetti, corn, garlic bread and salad, then we went to bed—very tired, but very happy campers. I think Lena was too tired to dream of bears tonight. Besides, if she did, they’d have had to have been friendly. She decided that bears might not be so villainous after all based on the two sweet specimens we had the pleasure to meet on this fine day.