Final Days of Driving...and Home!

Saturday, September 25th, was one of our longest days of driving: Rapid City across boring Wyoming and back to Logan. Kyle also really wanted to stop and see Devils Tower. That added a couple of hours to our day, but we figured that being this close, how could we not stop? And it was cool to see. It was also National Parks Day, so we got in for free. Bonus!

We also saw lots of these:

Then we continued our journey across Wyoming. On this random, two lane highway in the middle of nowhere, we suddenly passed this sign: Kyle and I looked at each other and said, "What was that? We have to turn around." So, we did and lo, and behold, it was Martin's Cove. The site that the rescue team from Salt Lake found and rescued the Martin Handcart Company as they came across the plains and were caught in an early snow storm, miserable conditions, and no food. They rescued them near the site of the museum today and took them about three miles north into a little cove (now called Martin's Cove) to get out of some of the wind and harsher elements, although the temperatures were still about 11 below zero!

Today this is an amazing historical site. The spirit was so strong and the stories the senior missionary couples serving there shared with us were remarkable. They have little ATV/golf carts that take you up into the cove. You cross the Sweetwater River, where the four young men carried most of the survivors across because they were too cold or weak to make it across themselves. This is truly sacred ground. Being able to stop here for just a couple of hours became one of the highlights of our trip.

Clockwise, starting upper left: on the ATV out to the cove, the monuments commemorating the men who carried the people across the Sweetwater all day, the Sweetwater River, looking up into the cove on the south side where the pioneers would have rested for a few days before continuing on to the Salt Lake Valley.

Back at the museum/historical site, they have handcarts for you to try pulling. We all took a turn. The kids loved the mini ones:). There were actually hundreds of these in a field near the museum: 50,000 youth come every summer come to reenact the trek along the same trail as the handcart companies. What an incredible opportunity!

Even though stopping at Martin's Cove delayed us another couple of hours, it was well worth it. Kyle & I had talked about taking a different route home but afterward were so glad we had somehow decided to take that highway. It was a wonderful experience.

We continued the journey on to Christine's house, arriving about 11:30 p.m. and falling in to bed exhausted. Sunday we enjoyed another wonderful Sabbath with Christine and her family and my mom and Grandma Ruby. We had a yummy dinner at my grandma's house and rested...out of the car!

Our final leg was the well known path from Logan to Salem. The kids did well but were oh, so glad when we pulled into our garage Monday night. A fabulous family trip, exhausting and full of good times and wonderful memories. I loved how it had such wonderful elements of U.S. history, church history and valuable time with so much family. I feel so blessed.

Rushmore Trip, Continued...Again!

Day 7 (Friday). Our time in South Dakota was winding down. We relaxed in the morning and let the kids play mini-golf again and play on the playground. Then we headed to Crazy Horse Memorial. I had never heard of it before we started planning this trip, but when it is completed, it will be the largest man made memorial/monument in the world. MUCH larger than Mount Rushmore; even larger than the Great Pyramids in Egypt! The horse's head will be 22-stories high. Needless to say, it is an impressive site. It is about 25 minutes from Mount Rushmore and was begun in 1941, the same year they stopped working on Rushmore. One of the Rushmore sculptors, Korczak Ziolkowski, was invited to sculpt a memorial to the American Indians. The biggest reason the progress on Crazy Horse is so slow is because it accepts no federal funding: only private donations and the profits from visitors is used to help build it. Korczak died in 1982 but his wife and nine kids still work on it today.

Here is the memorial as it looks today. The bottom left picture is the sculptor's model. They have a visitor's center and viewing area, which is where the kids played in the teepee.

Kylene and Kyle rode a bus much closer to the memorial: I think they were within one mile of the base or something. The pictures below are from there. Believe it or not, this was Kylene's first time on a bus. At least that she remembers; it's still hard for me to believe and I'm trying to remember when she would have been on a bus previously! Anyway, she was excited about it. I waited in the van with two sleeping boys. We were all very tired by this point in our trip!

After Crazy Horse, we met the Rummlers for lunch in Custer City, then drove out to Jewel Caves. The hills surrounding Rapid City are full of underground caverns. The Jewel Cave that we toured (well, I didn't, but I'll get to that!) is the second largest in the United States but they think they've actually only discovered two percent of the cave. They think that some of the other large caves in this area may actually connect with Jewel Cave and it may become the largest. It's pretty cool to think about all the underground caverns, tunnels, etc., while you're driving around through all the mountains.

Anyway, we all bought tickets and went down the elevator shaft to start the tour. Never mind my claustrophobia: I was going to conquer this one! The tour guide did his introduction to the caves in a large, open room, during which the entire time Skyler wanted down and wanted to crawl through the railings and Spencer was whining about being scared. Skyler was also testing out his vocal skills and enjoying the loud echoing sound effects, all while the tour guide was trying to explain the history and important points to remember during the tour. I decided this wasn't going to work and when he was finished, I asked for a ride back up the elevator. Kyle, Kylene and the Rummler's finished the tour while we waited outside where the boys could run around and scream all they wanted. I was a little disappointed at first, but also okay that I didn't have to worry about the claustrophobia issue.

Kylene loved the tunnels and caves, the narrow passage ways, and the cool "bacon" and other rock formations. Here are a few pictures Kyle was able to snap.

After the caves, we sadly said goodbye to the Rummlers and headed back to our cabin to get packed, cleaned up, and ready for another long day of driving on Saturday.

Mount Rushmore

Thursday afternoon (September 23), we met up with the Rummler family at Mount Rushmore (my sister, Alyson, and her family). They had driven up from Colorado that morning. We had fun touring and hiking around the Memorial, then we went out to dinner and walked around Keystone--a tourist town very close to Rushmore. Then we went on a hike around a great little lake, then back to Mount Rushmore for the evening show and lighting ceremony. So fun to be on a family vacation and get to spend time with extended family as well! Here are my favorite pics:

Best individual shots I got of the presidents: Lincoln, Roosevelt, Jefferson, and Washington.

A few shots around Rushmore. The bottom right is the sculptor's original model. Gutzon Borglum died before the sculpting of Mount Rushmore was complete and work on the mountain was stopped, so parts of Lincoln that were originally sculpted were never completed. It had rained that morning before we got there so in some of the pictures you can see the water streaks on their faces.

Fun with the Rummler's around the Memorial.

I guess I'll never be President; I don't look like one at all!

A little closer! Maybe without the sunglasses?

Family portrait. We were there!

Kyle has wanted to see Mount Rushmore as long as I can remember. We almost went last year but decided against it. I personally didn't think it would be all that exciting, but it turned out to be really neat. The mountains are impressive, and it's incredible the detail and likeness they were able to sculpt, primarily with dynamite! It was completed in 1941 and played an important role for our country amidst years of very difficult times. It still carries great symbolism. The evening show and lighting ceremony were very patriotic and did a wonderful job of portraying the greatness of this country. At the end they had all the veterans come to the front of the stage (amphitheater) and help lower the flag. I was amazed how many there were--they filled the stage. It was all a great experience and I'm glad we were able to visit.

Family Vacation, Continued

Day 5: South Dakota. A wonderful day of relaxing and being together. We had finally arrived at our long-awaited "destination" (via some wonderful adventures, of course!), and were thrilled (the kids especially) not to have to get in the car. We slept in and relaxed at our cute little cabin. Here are Kyle & the kids out front:
You are basically seeing the entire cabin in the picture. Nothing fancy, nothing spacious, but we loved that little room. We had two beds, a table and a little stand with a lamp. Oh, and who can forget the all important space heater?:) Skyler's crib barely squeezed into the corner. But the kids loved it and the parents loved the price:). It was at a cute little RV park/campground; our bathrooms were in the building you see in the background, so it was practically closer than our bathrooms at home (LOL)! And besides the one night/morning we had rain, it was sunny and beautiful, so we spent most of the time while we were there playing outside. We were a little worried about not being in a hotel, but in the end feel like it worked out much better than a hotel.

Another thing we loved about our campground: the little mini-golf course and playground. The kids loved being outside, running around, yelling, and chasing after the balls that first morning.

After lunch we hit the road again, driving through beautiful Custer State Park. This park is south of Mount Rushmore and covers some beautiful country. The scenic drives are incredible and there is a lot of wildlife to see. We drove through one of the scenic areas on our way south to the Hot Springs, then the next day spent the entire morning driving through more of it.

These burros used to be domesticated and carried tourists to the summit of one of the mountains in the park. They are now wild, but are still very people friendly. They are called the "begging burros"; we saw them eating whatever people offered them.

You can see the beautiful Black Hills in these pictures. This was our one rainy morning but was still gorgeous. The tunnels carved right through the mountain are very cool (signs before you enter warn you to honk first). The lower left picture is of the "Needles Eye" and is actually high above the ground (hard to see in the photo).

Wednesday afternoon we spent at Evans Plunge Hot Springs. The kids loved the kiddie slide and areas, and the giant crocodile to float on. Kylene and Skyler loved going down a long, windy slide on mommy and daddy's laps, but Spencer never got up the courage to do it. Daddy loved the big "Evans Plunge" slide that drops straight down in a closed tube (aka, complete darkness), but mommy couldn't summon her own courage on that one. :) It was a fun afternoon, although I have to say I wish the water was a little warmer (aren't hot springs supposed to be HOT?).

Day 6: South Dakota. We ate breakfast at the set of Dances with Wolves. It is a cute western town right outside Rapid City that was built for the filming of the movie and is now a tourist attraction with all kinds of western shops, a restaurant, and an evening show. They also have lots of tours of the area that depart from there. Anyway, we were lured in by the All You Can Eat Pancake breakfast for 99 cents a person (they get you on the hot chocolate/orange juice and sausage/bacon prices)! Then we walked around the shops and learned how to make a rope in the "rope shop". The man who taught the kids was really cute and patient with them, and since it was the "off season", spent a long time with us.

We spent the rest of the morning doing the scenic drives through Custer, then met up with the Rummler's at Mount Rushmore!! We were so excited about that and loved every minute with them. More on that to come...

2010 Family Vacation

From September 18-27th, we managed to put 3,600 miles on our van! It served us very well and helped us to have a wonderful vacation seeing lots of family and beautiful country, and enjoy some U.S. and Church history. In order to maximize the pictures I can upload, I am going back to collage format: I love Picasa's collage tool! Here are some from our first few days. (This will serve as our family's journal entry, too, so please forgive some of the details.) I also have to profusely thank my dad for letting us borrow his little point and shoot camera: considering our brand new camera broke the week before we were supposed to leave, it was a huge lifesaver!

Day 1: Drive Salem to Smithfield, Utah. The kids did very well in the car. We stopped to see the huge Sturgeon at Cascade Locks and at a great park in LaGrande for a picnic lunch. I had surprises/treats for the kids to open every 100-150 miles which really helped the time pass. (Gotta love the Dollar Tree!) That, and Maile & Parvin's DVD player, and the "new to us" toys Alee let me borrow, were invaluable for the many miles! We finally reached Christine's house at 11:30 p.m.

Day 2: Christine and Grandma Ruby's houses in Smithfield; church. It still is remarkable to me that Kyle's sister lives less than a mile away from my Grandma! It is so fun to have time with both of them, and with Christine's kiddos: Alyssa, Tristan, and Zach. The kids had a ball playing with Zach especially and we had a great time visiting. It was wonderful to have time to relax and talk with my grandma.

Pictures from our time in Utah: The 2nd Sunday we were in Smithfield (Day 9), my mom was also visiting. We were able to take a four generation picture and have a wonderful dinner all together at Grandma Ruby's home. It has been awhile since she has had a big meal there and she loved the company and all the raucus. My sweet Grandma is very lonely living alone at 92. But, despite that, and the physical challenges she endures, she is doing remarkably well. The kids loved her marble track, of course, and riding on her cool (powered) La-Z-Boy!

Day 3. Drive Smithfield to Yellowstone. We had a picnic next to this cute little river along the way. I love this shot we took there; the kids were so glad to be out of the car.

Monday night we stayed at a totally budget hotel right across the street from the Park in West Yellowstone, Montana. It only cost us $80 but had two separate rooms! We were surprised to see that, and surprised by how clean it was. You never know what you're going to get going "budget" with hotels, but this time it worked out very well.

We spent Day 3 (afternoon) and Day 4 (morning) touring Yellowstone National Park. Such amazing country to see. We saw lots of buffalo, elk and one female moose, a pelican, and other wildlife. Kylene was not a fan of the strong sulphur smell at the paint pots and other geysers, but she endured :).

The second morning we drove about an hour out of our way to see the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone." I don't remember having seen it on previous trips to Yellowstone, but it was breathtaking. They have two large waterfalls in the canyon.

At the overlook for one of the waterfalls, we just happened to take pictures of everyone. Kylene snapped the picture of Kyle & me. I love the way Spencer sidled up and hugged Skyler when I went to take their picture together. It was a cool, crisp morning.

Day 4. Drive through Yellowstone and on to Rapid City, South Dakota via Cody, Wyoming. This was probably one of my favorite "seeing beautiful country" days. We saw the Grand Canyon, plus drove through the Rocky Mountains between Yellowstone and Cody. The scenery and rocks were incredible. We were driving through canyons at 9,000 feet above sea level with signs saying the rock was up to 500 million years old! Hard to imagine. This was another very long day for the kids but we tried to have several breaks where they could get out and run around. We got to our "home away from home" cabin around 8:00 p.m.