More about our cross-country trip...

I think I’ve already mentioned how much I enjoyed just hanging out and spending time with my nephews, niece, Wayland, Melissa, and my parents. Rarely, since Wayland and I both married, have we had that kind of time to sit and talk to one another. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to fly out there, and then to get to travel with my parents and my kids across the U.S.

Here are some photos of us 'hanging out'.

Some time was spent by the pool.

Don't worry, it's just dirt!

I don’t know if many of you are aware of this little fact about me, but I absolutely love history, and U.S. History in particular! I so enjoyed driving across Utah, between the walls of rock that so many years ago were blasted away to make room for a road. We stayed in a little town called Coalville, right next to a little creek, with cows across the way…drinking from the creek. I’ve seen this before, but my kids haven’t ( at least not that close), so it was really cool.

We took three days driving across Wyoming…and looking for deer/antelope/pronghorns. I took out my mammal identification book (what you don’t keep one handy?) but we could never quite decide which we were seeing. There were miles and miles of prairie grasses, with mountains in the distance, and these animals and cows grazing….ranches, creeks, hills…it was amazing! On one of the days in Wyoming, we stopped at a rest area to walk the dog (yes, 3 adults, 3 children, and a puppy in an RV that sleeps 6 :0 ), and Independence Rock just happened to be located there! I had actually never heard of this place but we decided take a look. The kids had fun…they would have liked to climb higher on the rock, but without their daddy along to encourage me to be more adventurous, I declined. Next was the state of South Dakota, and green, rolling hills. It is absolutely beautiful, and I definitely want to go back with Karl and the kids some time. We stayed in a really nice RV park near Keystone, just out of Rapid City, SD. Because of our location in the park, the kids had the opportunity to run over to the playground area, and play tetherball without an adult having to go with them. Two rare experiences for them! We could watch from our site, which was nice. After we adults got some things settled, the kids and I took a walk up to the front of the park, where a mini-farm was located. It’s actually the reason we chose that particular RV Park. This place is called Old McDonald’s Farm, no joke. It was awesome! The kids were able to pet and feed calves. They pet lambs and sheep goats, donkeys and mules. They saw Scottish Highland cattle and Belgian Draft Horses. Yes! This 'little guy' is nursing; how's that for a BIG baby?

They held baby chicks, ducks, and turkeys. There were also some eggs in an incubator waiting to hatch. One of the chicks was hatching, so the kids and I got to see how the chick uses its beak to peck at the shell to release itself. It was such a wonderful learning opportunity, and we had a lot of fun. The last thing we experienced there was the pig race. There were five young pigs (I can’t remember their names) that the attendants released when they fired a pistol in the air. They had to race around a small track, and the attendant gave a little commentary as they ran…it was pretty funny. But the best part is that the reward at the end is a bowl/tub of cherry Koolaid! We were told that they’ve tried many other flavors but will really only perform for the cherry…too cute.

The next day, we headed out with Mt. Rushmore as our destination. We were able to find it without too much trouble, though the roads were narrow and a bit steep. We ate breakfast in the restaurant there; it was okay, but we had a better breakfast another day in a truck stop! We ended up getting our souvenirs here, and I’m glad we waited to do that. I picked up matching sweatshirts for Karl and I (corny, I know!), Hailey got a miniature mug to place on her shelf, Logan got a puzzle of ‘the guys’, and Corbin got a hat that says Mt. Rushmore on it. We got Karl a mug with ‘the guys’ on it, since he drinks coffee now, and we got him a hat. I bought myself a long-sleeved shirt that reads Mt. Rushmore on the front. By the way, ‘the guys’ is what I call the four heads that are Mt. Rushmore! We had a really good time taking pictures, and Dad and I took the kids on the Presidential Trail, while Mom sat on the viewing terrace. I’m so glad we did, because it got us closer to ‘the guys’ and we took some great photos. After our arduous trek, it was time for ice cream, and it tasted so GOOD! The scoops were large of course, and Corbin’s began to melt all over him, but everyone enjoyed every minute of the yummy snack!

Pictures of our day there...

Resting along the Presidential Trail...
Corbin was Oh! so tired by the time we reached the end of the trail!

After watching me take a photo of just my dad and the kids, a lady offered to take one of all of us together, so here it is...

Visiting Mt. Rushmore was the hi-lite of our cross-country portion of the trip. I'm so glad we went. I'll post more about the rest of our trip soon.