Mountain Adventure

The time finally came for us to make our trip out west.  Tetons or bust in the truck.  Three thousand miles.  Geesh!  Sorry for so many pictures, but we did so much in the week that we were gone.  We only had one full day that we didn't spend over five hours in the truck.  Gracie and Owen did so great on the drive and brought plenty of things to do.  Gracie started keeping a journal for the first two days, but lost interest by the time we go to the Tetons.  We traveled to Denver for the first leg of our trip, which took almost 11 hours.  We were able to catch up with my friend Beth and her family, who met us at our campsite and stayed for quite awhile that evening.  Our kids all did awesome together!  We also got to see my cousin, Ben the following morning before we continued our journey to Wyoming.  

This is our first campsite at Cherry Creek State Park just outside of Denver.  It was hot during the day, but cooled off very nicely at night.  Great sleeping weather.

Owen is reading maps and navigating for us through Wyoming.

We stopped in southwestern Wyoming on the Wild Horse Scenic Route.  This is what the road looked like.  Unfortunately there were no wild horses to be seen.

Our second night was spent at the Big Sandy Reservoir.  Nick and I stayed here years ago when we came out to Wyoming together.  It was almost exactly as I remembered it.  The most primitive camp I've ever stayed at.  There was no one else there and the bathroom is basically a sheltered hole in the ground.  You can see them in this picture in the upper right.  It is beautiful, as you can see the mountains in the distance and there is absolutely nothing else out there.  We had burgers that night for dinner and got up early the next morning to continue north toward Jackson.  I think the only complaint with this campsite is the mosquitoes were terrible at dusk.  The kids had welts all over them, so had to go into the tent a little early to avoid more bites.

Camp at Big Sandy Reservoir

Gracie and Owen next to the sign

Owen was kind enough to take a picture of Gracie and me with the mountains in the background.

Our stop in Hoback, Wyoming.  This is a little town about an hour south of Jackson, Wyoming.  

We finally made it!

We reached out destination Friday morning and made our way to our campsite, where we would stay for three nights.  It wasn't the ideal site, but we made it work.  We stayed in the mountains among the pine trees an it was very peaceful except for the two noisy children who traveled with us.  During the few days we stayed there, we fit a lot in even with a day of cold rain.

We actually took this picture the day we left, which was about 30 degrees colder than when we arrived.  

Arrival at our campsite.  The kids were very excited to get somewhere and be able to stay for a few days.  We brought their scooters with us, which was very helpful in keeping them occupied while Nick and I set everything up.  They did circles around out camping loop.  

Cooking chicken and pasta.  Gracie and Owen are such good helpers!

Relaxing by the campfire.

The first night in the Tetons was great.  We figured out where everything was and got to take showers for the first time in two days! (It's the little things) Gracie and I hiked around together to explore the area and look for things to do.  I also forgot how quiet it can be at night.  I woke up in the middle of the night a couple times and the silence was almost deafening.  I was afraid to move in our tent because it might make too much noise.

Hiking in the Tetons

Our second day in the Tetons was busy.  We (Nick) started the day by cooking bacon and pancakes for breakfast and then we packed up to go hiking for the remainder of the morning.  We went to String Lake and hiked all the way around, which was about 10 miles south of our campsite.  We hiked a little short of four miles.  Nick only had to put Owen on his shoulders for about 1/2 of it.

Owen testing the water to see how cold it was.

Owen and Gracie almost 1/2 way

Nick and Owen, getting a start on the trail.

Nick with the kids

Our hike was great and I wish we would've had more time to go further and see more stuff.  There are so many trails that we could've probably stayed a week and not have conquered all of them.  Of course, it takes a little longer with the kids, but they seemed to enjoy it and both concluded that the drive was worth it.  After a couple hours of hiking and lunch back at the truck, we hit the showers again and got ready for the wedding.

Oh, yeah!  That's why we're here!

One of Nick's wrestling teammates was married in the Tetons, which was why we set off on this excursion in the first place.  They were married at Jackson Lodge in the Tetons, which provided a beautiful backdrop.  I am so happy that we got to take part in the day!

Nick with his former teammates, Billy Maldanado and Cyon Williams

Family pic!

Gracie and Owen

In the Lobby where the reception was held, there was a giant stuff Grizzly Bear.  Gracie and Owen thought this was pretty neat.

A picture of all the ISU wrestlers in attendance

Nathan Myer, Nick, Mark Knauer, Billy, Jacob Moore, and Cyon

We had a great time at the wedding and I think Nick really enjoyed catching up with some of his teammates.  The kids danced the whole time and probably stayed out way too late, but it was worth it.

Rain, Rain, go away.  Then snow!

Sunday after the wedding we awoke to rain rolling in.  The previous day had been 82 degrees and the high on Sunday was maybe 50.  What a change in weather.  Our plan had been to visit Yellowstone for the day and watch Old Faithful, among other things.  We spent a lot of the day in the truck driving from one scenic attraction to the next around Yellowstone Park.  I had wanted to walk around to show the kids more geysers, but it was pretty cold and windy.

Old Faithful.  Yes, these are winter jackets and were much needed.  So glad that we brought them!  They kept the kids warm and dry during the dreary day.  It's amazing that there were so many people still in attendance at the park despite the weather.

This is one of the waterfalls at the Yellowstone.  I can't remember the name of it

Of course, Nick had to lead them down the ravine to get a closer look at the water.  Good thing they like to climb.

Posing on top of a rock next to the waterfall.  Gracie said the spray from the waterfall was surprisingly kind of warm.  That could have something to do with the cold air temperature.

Gracie and Owen got to see bison!  This one was pretty close to the road.  It is standing in between them in the background grazing.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  We had to hold on to the back of Owen's coat for this stop.  Scary!  He is often all over the place when he needs to be a little more careful.

After Yellowstone, we returned to our campsite in more rain.  The only thing Nick had forgotten to pack up before we left was his hammock.  It finally stopped raining after we were finished with dinner, but was still pretty cold.  That night it dropped down to about 36 degrees and snowed further up on the mountain.  I'm so glad we have our awesome mummy bags for the kids and warm sleeping bags for us.  The next morning was a little brisk, packing up the campsite and we got out of there just before it starting raining again.  On to our next destination.

Black Hills!

After our 8 hour journey across Wyoming again, we arrived in the Black Hills.  Our first destination was Mt. Rushmore.  Gracie had been talking about seeing this ever since her class did a study on National Monuments.  It wasn't a very long stop, but it was enough for the kids to see the presidents and a few other things at the monument.  

Gracie and Owen being silly for the picture.

Photo with mom!

Gracie took a picture of us, and of course, Owen had his tongue out.

After eating out at the Mangy Moose in Hill City, SD, we made our way down the road to a campground called Crooked Creek.  The kids were pretty happy, since it had a pool!  Even though the temp had dropped to about 65 degrees by the time we got to the campground around 7:30 pm, they still swam for about an hour in the heated pool.  Then showers again and another somewhat late night.  Again, sleeping was great, with cool temperatures.  During our stay at Crooked Creek, I had a conversation with another couple who had been camping and traveling for five weeks all across the country.  They had been from coast to coast and countless places in between.  It was very intriguing, listening to their adventure.  The couple had their ten-year-old son with them, and I'm sure he will never forget that experience.  I'm not sure that I could handle camping for five weeks straight, but I am very envious of all the places they had been to visit.

Day 7, still in South Dakota

Still in western South Dakota, we woke up Tuesday morning and were packed up by around 8:30 (Central Time) ready to head out.  We had trouble deciding where we were going to stop and what we had time for on the way back.  There is so much to do in that area and there is no way we could've fit even 1/2 of it in.  We decided on driving through some of the Badlands during the morning hours.  This turned out to be a great experience, as the kids were able to see lots of prairie dogs up close.  We stopped several times to get a look at them and listen to them chirp at each other.  Owen loved watching them and tried to "talk" to them and chased them around.  It was hilarious!

Gracie and Owen next to the Badlands sign

"Hello?  Hello in there!"

Also making lots of chirping/squeaking noises to communicate.

Owen was trying to talk to the prairie dogs through one of the holes

The next stop was Wall Drug.  The kids brought some of their money that made from their lemonade stand and we went shopping for awhile.  Gracie had trouble deciding what she wanted to buy, but Owen decided on a pocket knife/tool with his name on it.  I think he made a pretty good purchase.  Gracie ended up getting a few postcards, but wanted to save her money.

Silly Owen

The famous jackalope at Wall Drug

After walking around for awhile, we had lunch, then starting making our way further east through South Dakota.

We stopped at Al's Oasis along the way

Gracie and Owen with the big buffalo statue

After about 8 hours more of driving, we stopped in Council Bluffs, IA for the night.  Since is was already after 10pm, the decision was made to stay in a motel, rather than set up camp for about 8 hours before having to tear it down again.  Owen's response when this decision came:  "Mom!  That means I can have a bathroom right next to me!  And not have to walk to it!"  I'm not gonna lie, staying in a real bed for the first time in a week was pretty amazing, although I slept pretty well in the tent almost every night. The last leg of our trip was only about 4.5 hours, but we encountered rain for the last 2.5 hours of the ride.  There was a big storm that we followed from Kansas City to Columbia.  We were hoping to make it back for Gracie's softball pool party, but it was canceled due to the weather. :(

Back to reality!  Nick took this picture of me and the never ending pile of laundry accumulated throughout our week.  Nine loads of laundry, 7 nights of camping, 3000 miles, over 200 gallons of gas, priceless memories, four exhausted family members and 5 animals happy to see us home.