Day 9 - Sunday 7/22

Everything good must come to an end….we have to load up and continue our journey. Today we need to say goodbye to the Gordy crew. We are not saying goodbye for long to the girls (Caitlyn, Carlie and Olivia) because in just 9 days….they are flying to New York for a ten day visit….we are so excited!!! As you can see from the photo above Max, Olivia's dog, came with the Gordy's. He is a great dog and we have enjoyed having him here but we have all become concerned that he had not let any trains come out since he left Colorado on Thursday...we are betting the 8 hour ride home could become disastrous...will keep you posted on how THAT turns out!! The forecast today calls for 107 degrees…..good thing we are moving on, I am not sure the air conditioner could keep up with that!! We started our day at Crazy Horse. It is a work in progress and ultimately will be a three dimensional, in the round stone sculpture (carved out of a mountain) of Crazy Horse on his horse. It will not be completed for at least another 30 years. It is an amazing structure with an equally amazing story. After that we went to Rapid City, so Andrew could pick up a copy of the new Harry Potter. While we were there Alex spotted a Sonic…we decided we could break our no fast food rule and had lunch. Now we are going to my land…..Nebraska. (Aksarben as Alex calls it) After looking over the map I realized we had not seen the “Badlands”, how can we be here without driving through? So we take the scenic route through South Dakota instead of the Interstate. I seriously do not think it was more than ½ of an inch…unfortunately there are no hills on maps…they should make them more 3-D for people like me. Due to the scenic route we are not going to arrive in North Platte to see one of my childhood homes until 8:30 pm and we will still have another 2 hours before we reach our destination for the night. Seeing the Badlands was really amazing. In some areas it really looked like the moon. The rest of our drive through South Dakota and Nebraska was pretty much non-eventful except...

(Jane you might want to stop reading here…this information is only for the turtle and bear crowd)

We are started to sense there may be something going terribly wrong with the sewage system....the smell of methane has permeated the living space and our eyes are tearing. Shari set off a minor explosion while trying to reheat mac and cheese. Thank goodness for fire extinguishers...All is well except that Shari no longer has eyebrows or eyelashes…

JUST KIDDING (thanks Steve)

I did not recognize much in North Platte, other than when we pulled onto my old street, I recognized my house. They have added on to it and taken down the cherry tree I hung out in and the walnut tree from the back that I hated picking up all the nuts from. We also had an empty lot next to us that we played baseball in and there is now a house there. I also showed the boys my elementary school. That sums up our stop in North Platte…woo–hoo! Back on the road to our overnight in Grand Island, NE…that I can tell you is either grand or an island for that matter!! Andrew has not put his Harry Potter book down and is now on page 533…he will finish by tomorrow. All in all it was well worth the 13 hour travel day.

On a side note, we would love to throw a big Happy Birthday out to our friend, Andrew D, in Yorktown - Hope you had a great day!

Day 8 - Saturday 7/21

Up-and-at-‘em for another fun filled day in South Dakota. Today we are going to Bear Country USA. I went here as a child and have never forgot about it. I am thrilled to be bringing my kids to a place that I have such fond memories of. Alex and I took all 6 of the kids. Lance and Amy stayed back to hold the fort down and enjoy a little R and R. We drove through the wildlife park and saw a lot of animals. There were elk, antelope, grey wolves, dall sheep, black bears, brown bears, and mountain goats. The twins have been here before during mating season so they were thrilled to see it at a quieter time. The best part is at the end where you walk through a little zoo area and they have the bear cubs. There must have been about 15 bear cubs, they were running, wrestling, swimming, and chasing each other up and down the trees. We could have stayed there all day and watched them. It is about 11:00 am and the temp is reading 103….it’s a real hot one today!! We picked up Lance and Amy and headed down to Custer, South Dakota to have lunch (Alex had Buffalo ribs as an appetizer and a buffalo burger for lunch…when in South Dakota!!) and do a drive through of Custer State Park, which is part of the Black Hills National Forest. We stopped at Central Lake and went for a swim. The water was pretty cold but it was so hot out it didn’t matter. This lake had so many fish in it, as you stood in the water they would come over and starting sucking and/or biting your legs….it was a tad creepy. Surprisingly Steven went in the lake and didn’t seem to have any trouble with the chomping at the ankles fish!! After our swim we took a drive on the Wilderness Loop and found a herd of a couple hundred buffalo. You should of seen us in the car (10 of us) all trying to get there attention and also examining why these creatures are doing what they are doing. We headed back to camp so the kids could bike, fish and swim while we made dinner. There was a passing storm along with a rainbow and not a second rainbow but a reflection….I tell ya, you can learn something new everyday! Alex made a great mix o’meat sauce (with chicken, pork and steak) over pasta with salad. The kids headed back to the pool for their night dip and the adults hung by the fire with drinks in hand telling fun family stories and enjoying our last night together. The kids ended their night in the RV with a movie and another slumber party. It is really hard to believe we are half way through our trip already.

Day 7 - Friday 7/20

It was nice to wake up with a camper full of kids….with everyone sleepy eyed we got them up and out. While we were cooking breakfast the kids were all over the place. Steven and Olivia were bike riding, Caitlyn and Carlie making themselves pretty, Andrew and Christopher scoping out the lake for fish. Sadly Justin, no fish stories for this lake. Except the kids left the rods in the dock poles last night and when Alex went to get them before bed, he reeled in and there was a 10 in trout on one of the lines. Can we actually say that is truly catching a fish? After breakfast we packed everyone in the car and headed out to the Alpine Slide. The chairlift up was nice and very scenic. Christopher went down with me the first time because he was too nervous….after that, he had the need for speed, so he went with Alex. They raced Andrew and beat him by a bumper. Olivia beat Carlie and I believe Caitlyn beat Lance. After the big competition we went over to Mount Rushmore to learn a little something. Seeing how this was our furthest west point there was a slight feeling of accomplishment….we made it here, now we need to make it back!! The temperature is now only 98 degrees and we are thinking we need to find some water to cool off. We went to Horse Thief Lake for some fishing and swimming. Lance, Alex and Christopher caught a small mouth bass, sunfish, yellow perch and a blue gill. They were all on the small side but fun none the less. Andrew swam with the other kids and then came over to try his hand. This time when he caught one we told him he had to touch the fish and take the hook out (how is he ever going to make money fishing unless he can do this!!) He did a great job holding the fish but Uncle Lance had to help him remove the hook…it was in there good. The older kids wanted to then try cliff jumping in the lake (we were watching other people do it) Caitlyn, Eddie (a young man from Omaha, NE that came with us from the campground) and Andrew climbed up this rock about 40 feet. Eddie had already done it with his family so he went first. Andrew went second…he landed slightly on his side. He said it knocked the wind out of him but he was fine. Caitlyn went last and had a perfect jump. In the photo to the left is Andrew jumping...he blends in with the rock, so you can't see him that well. You can see Lance to the right in the white shirt...they were jumping above that!! They all got out and wanted to go again! This time Carlie joined them. Steven wanted to as well but there was a section climbing up that he could not reach so he stayed with us as a spectator. Second round…Caitlyn was first up…she was leaning forward this time and we thought she was going to do a belly flop but somehow she straightened and landed fine. Eddie went second, Andrew had a great second jump (no breathing issues) and Carlie, going from a slighly lower position, went last with an outstanding jump. For the two mothers there (Shari and Amy) we were done with all of the excitement and wanted to go straight back to the campsite for an adult drink. We wrapped up the day with a great dinner, campfire and let’s not forget the smores. The girls slept over in the RV again for another slumber party…watching the cousins be together is really what it is all about!!

Day 6 - Thursday 7/19

We got up early so we could hit the road….we have a full day ahead. Our first stop of the day is in Mitchell, South Dakota. It is the World’s only “Corn Palace”. This was actually Loree’s pick for our trip….she has actually been here before! She is so into Ear-chitecture!!! It is a building that has been around for over 100 years and it is made of corn. Every year they change the designs to reflect things that have occurred that year. Other than the palace, had you blinked you might have missed Mitchell….on the road again. It is amazing how the landscape has changed, yesterday we were up to our eyeballs in corn and now it is this hilly plain like landscape. It really is so different and beautiful. Our next stop is Wall, South Dakota. It got its name because of a natural wall in the Badlands that serves as a barrier between north and south. Wall Drug Store is the famous stop there. We walked around, purchased a few souvenirs and went on our way. Last stop of the day is Hill City, SD at a big and beautiful KOA. We arrived at 4:00 and the Gordy crew arrived right behind us. We were all so excited to see one another. The kids rode bikes, swam and played the whole night. Dinner was awesome and so was the campfire. We had a lot of laughs….always great to be around family!! The girls all slept in our RV...it was a big slumber party!!

Day 5 - Wednesday 7/18

Alex had a work call this morning so we hung out and had a nice breakfast, did some bike riding and swimming. We packed up and took the boys to the Dells Mining Co and let them mine for gems. They all did a good job and walked away with a bag o’ gems. Most of you out there know how cheesy I am, right? So tell me how exactly, I have lived my whole life without having Wisconsin Cheese Curds? Did you know that cheese can actually squeak? We learned, from the cheese guy,of course, that if they are fresh they squeak when you chew them. Who knew??? I guess you can also have them fried but since I am trying to be good I decided to pass. We are on the road from Wisconsin to Jackson, Minnesota. We changed our itinerary slightly. We were going to drive all the way to Sioux Falls, SD today but it would have been too much. We will stop in there tomorrow as we drive through. The back crew are still very busy…..Christopher is sleeping (we are running him ragged), Steven is reading and Andrew is busy playing his Gameboy. I will continue once we are in Minnesota.







As you can see, my children became cheeseheads prior to us leaving Wisconsin....how could we have been there without purchasing one of these??? I have a photo of Andrew wearing it also but he requested that I not post it to the blog....there are a few things that I must honor. Christopher wears it very proud and has not taken it off....it might even replace the Boston Red Sox cap.

Minnesota was quite uneventful....we arrived at yet another KOA and this one, without a doubt, is the smallest one yet. There seems to be a theme as we go across! We played a little basketball....Alex is the HORSE champion of the day, the boys swam, we had dinner and watched a movie. We are getting up early to head to South Dakota and hook up with Uncle Lance, Aunt Amy, Caitlyn, Carlie and Olivia - the boys can't wait to see their cousins!!

Day 4 - Tuesday 7/17

Today we are headed to Noah’s Ark Waterpark. This was Andrew’s pick on the route. He found this place a long time ago in a Guinness World Record Book as one of the top three waterparks in the world. They claim to be the largest in America. We spent all most the whole day at the park going on some great slides and enjoying the powerful wave pool. We stopped at “the Fastest Go-Karts in the Dells” (everyplace here has some type of claim to fame) to have a rematch on the track. This time we switched up the teams a little. (Alex/Christopher, Steven/Shari and Andrew) The ending was a tad controversial (I know that is shocking to most of you out there) I can state without a question that Steven and I did not win. Steven claims that someone cut us off somewhere along the root. Alex and boo boo slowed down to make it a real race and Andrew passed them and ended up being in first. Whatever…I give Andrew this win! We went back to the campsite, the boys swam, I did laundry, and Alex made a yummy dinner of grilled Chicken over salad. The boys made some new friends. Steven asked us at one point if we were in a place that they spoke the same language as us….I assured him that cheese heads were a different breed but they still spoke English.
Sitting at the campfire with an adult drink in hand….Alex states we should buy "one of these" and do this every summer. I am only putting this down as proof, to see if he still feels the same in 12 more days!! In case anyone needs to know all trains or bears are doing just fine!!

Day 3 - Monday 7/16

WOW....hard to believe we are on day 3 already. Today we are on the road for almost the whole day...we are driving from Port Huron, Michigan, through Illinois, and on to our destination for the day which is Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. We have at least an eight hour drive day if all goes well and Alex has decided he wants to drive the whole day. I offered to take the drivers seat for a while but Alex believes that managing the crew is much harder than driving!! The back crew, as we call them, are currently keeping themselves occupied. Christopher is snoozing, Andrew is having lunch while watching a movie and Steven is having a little arts and crafts time. We found these things called Aqua Dots and they are loads of fun. I will write more later when we arrive at our destination!

Wisconsin Dells – were still trying to figure out what Dells are…..do any of you know? This place has got to be the amusement capital of America. Everywhere you turn there are go kart tracks, waterslide parks, Ripley’s Believe or Not type places and amusements parks. Can anyone say over stimulating!! We are now arriving at our third KOA of the trip. This is the smallest, so far, but it has a nice pool for the kids. Swimming, dinner and a great campfire….we now have day 3 wrapped up.