Yellowstone

I'm having trouble getting on. I won't be able to post for a week or so.

August 9 - Hil City, SD to Buffalo, Wyoming

Yesterday was pretty laid back. We spent a couple hours at the KOA doing the scavenger hunt and playing mini golf. Then we drove the 3.5 hours to Buffalo. We entered Wyoming at mile 5242. In Buffalo, we just enjoyed the pool and played a family card game. Today we travel to Cody, Wyoming. Then on to Yellowstone. With all of the pool time we have had, Brandon and Bailey have become better and better in the water. Brandon has learned how to swim the dog paddle and can make it from one side of the pool to the other (short ways). Just yesterday, Bailey started swimming with her floatation suit. Up until now she had been unwilling to let go of us, but yesterday she realized the suit made her float and she could swim with it. Before we ever got to the poool, she threw a royal fit when we told her she had to wear it because she wanted to wear the other one. But eventually she put it on and I think she was happy she did.

August 9 - Relaxing and Crazy Horse

Today was definitely a day needed by all. We spent from morning until about 3:30 hanging out at the KOA. This KOA is rather large with about 500 sites so they have other attractions like a water slide, putt-putt golf, a scavenger hunt, and other cool stuff for kids. Then we drove the short 20 minute ride to Crazy Horse and spent time there through the laser show at sundown. The Crazy Horse monument is absolutely huge - much bigger than Mt. Rushmore. They started it in 1948 and aren't even 25% complete. Of course the project is entirely privately funded so they have a very small team working on it. I truly wonder if they will ever fully complete it. The laser show was pretty cool as well. The drive home tonight was the most breath taking drive yet. Not because of the scenery, but because of the deer that I almost hit. This deer was right on the white line but practically invisible because of oncoming lights. Thankfully, he chose to run away from me instead of towards me. That was the closest I have ever come to hitting a deer. Tomorrow we are driving to Buffalo, Wyoming where I hope not to hit a Buffalo. We had planned to stop at Jewel Cave on the way, but I think we will just make it a direct shot. The kids really enjoyed the relaxing time today. Sometimes I think I forget to plan more of that in the schedule. As I have said before, once we get beyond Yellowstone, we are going to take it a little easier and probably stretch out the West Coast a little.

August 7 - Badlands to Mt. Rushmore

Today was perhaps one of the most interesting days for me personally. We got the chance to view a control center that controlled 10 of the 1000 minuteman II nuclear warheads that were deployed in the great plains. The door on the control center was approximately 3 feet thick. Prior to today, I didn't really know just how many of these warheads we had ready to launch from 1963 to 1991. Even today we have 500 active warheads that can be deployed on short notice. With the nuclear warheads on our soil and Russia's soil in the 70s and 80s, we could have easily wiped both nations out in a short time period. After touring the control center, the boys got another junior ranger badge at the missle visitor center. We then drove about 2 hours to Mt. Rushmore. Once again, God blessed us with a great weather day. Despite the looming clouds, the rain never fell on us. Mt. Rushmore was impressive, but it was us and about 1000 bikers. Not really a problem except for a few choice t-shirts. I asked one biker just how big this Sturgis rally is. He told me that there will be about 1/2 to 3/4 million bikes there. I got a small feel for that today as I was surrounded by bikes on the way to Mt. Rushmore. Everyone is still holding up well. The two hardest parts of our day are bedtime and wakeup time. At bedtime, we've crammed all four kids in a row, and they sometimes struggle with having their personal space and sharing covers. In the morning, Brandon seems to wake up first and has a hard time not waking others up. Unfortunately, being woken up usually results in grumpiness for some of his siblings. During the day, Brandon and Bailey often get run down, but so far we've all coped quite well. Couple of milestones: Yesterday we crossed 5000 miles and the day before that we entered South Dakota at mile 4828. We are thinking about spending tomorrow chilling out at the campground and taking a short trip to Crazy Horse in the evening. We'll be at the same place tomorrow night and then on to Buffalo, Wyoming. We'll be in Yellowstone by Saturday, where we will spend 5 nights.

August 6 - Badlands

Today we kicked off the day spending an hour with a Ranger who discussed the black footed ferret. These little guys were thought to be extinct in 1979 until a dog brought one home to a rancher in Wyoming. Now there are about a 1000 or so in the wild. We drove the Badlands park loop and stopped to: hike short trails, view a bison crossing the road, look at the prairie dogs, and visit a fossil excavation site where 2 days ago they unearthed a skull from an extinct warthog like creature. The Badlands is the one of the most densely populated fossil areas in the US so digs are usually in some part of the park. This particular one was started because a hiker found the bone sticking out of the ground in 1993. We wrapped up the day visiting Wall Drug. We were surrounded by about 200 bikers because this is bike week in Sturgis, which is a sort drive north of the Badands area. I've never seen so many motorcycles in one place in my life. This morning I just barely made it through the sea of bikes to get gas at the gas station. Tomorrow we will drive to the Mt. Rushmore area for two nights. Oh, and by the way, if you are curious about the poll, we are thinking about 2 weeks for transition. We'll see how the family is holding up by the end of September.

August 5 - Gothernburg, Nebraska to Badlands, South Dakota

From seas of corn to rolling hills of brown grasslands simply describes our journey today. Then out of no where pop up these amazing buttes known as the Badlands. Our trip today was 6 hours, our first trip that long. The kids did really well, and Bailey slept off a few hours, which made us all a little happier. Tomorrow we will be exploring Badlands National Park and the kids will be attending a ranger session. We hope to check out an old minuteman missle silo as well.

August 3 and 4 - Nebraska Corn Country

August 4, 2007 – Grand Island to Eustis to Gothenburg, Nebraska
Today was like reliving Sheri’s family history from 100 years ago. We drove from Grand Island to Eustis, which is the town that Sheri’s great grandparents (The Heaters) lived in from around 1900 to their death. (Note that more distant relatives were in the area earlier, we simply reference the great grandparents because we have a written diary from Sheri’s great grandmother Heater). We met Uncle Truman who lived in a house constructed right on top of the old Heater house, which would have cost too much to remodel. The house still has the fireplace from the Heater house and some other family antiques. Uncle Truman will turn 100 this year!. Sheri’s grandmother lived to be 101 and her great grandmother to 102. I think the Nebraska water must have something really good for longevity. Surprisingly, Uncle Truman still lives in his house alone. In fact, last winter he was by himself when they were without power for 4 days. He still gets around okay and his long term memory is quite good so he told us about some things of the past. His son, Bruce Barret (now 70), was quite a character and joked with the boys about all sorts of stuff. The kids (and Sheri) got a real treat by getting to ride on his Honda Goldwing Trike (3-wheeled motorcycle). While in Eustis we also visited the cemetery where the Heaters were buried and we ate lunch at a restaurant over 100 years old that great grandma and grandpa Heater would have visited. We then ventured to Gothenburg, where we visited the Pony Express office (original 1860 cabin). In 1861 hey had to pay 5 dollars per ounce to ship mail across the country from Missouri to California. The pony express only lasted 18 months because the telegraph and the railroad replaced them. To top the day off, we ate dinner at a RUNZA, which is a Nebraska sandwich with meat, onions, and cabbage. My coworker, Lisa Runge (a Nebraskan) is probably licking her lips as she reads this because she misses her runza sandwiches in Virginia. I enjoy eating food from the area. In fact, I almost ordered Bull Frys at the 100 year-old restaurant in Eustis. I told the boys they needed to try some since we were experiencing the west. If you don’t know what Bull Frys are, you may not want to Google that one. Some things are best left undefined. Instead, try some when you’re out west and find out for yourself how tasty this fine delicacy is!

August 3, 2007 – Lincoln to Grand Island, Nebraska
Today we drove about 1.5 hours to Grand Island. The town has a Pioneer Living History museum that is somewhat like Colonial Williamsburg but on a much smaller scale. They have a town called Railroad Town, which has buildings that were of the 1890s (they actually moved them there from their original location). We really enjoyed talking to the tinsmith, who explained all of the tools he would have used and let the boys use some. We purchased a Virginia shaped cookie cutter the tinsmith had made. We also enjoyed watching the blacksmith, where Seth purchased an "S" hook. The boys got a kick out of hiding in the coal car of the train when other folks walked into the locomotive and never knew the boys were hiding right next to them. My highpoint of the day was being able to get the whole family ice cream and drinks for $10. I was surprised how affordable they had priced the food there. Levi tried Butter Brickle, which is vanilla with some crunchy butter brickle stuff.