Various Wyoming/South Dakota Pictures

Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore

Old Faithful on our second trip.

Yellowstone River

Tower Falls

Buffalo Bill Resevoir

Bison in Yellowstone

Sylvan Lake in Yellowstone

Burned forest in Yellowstone. I don't know why but I love this picture.

Mom and baby moose just outside of east entrance to Yellowstone

Upper falls from Artist Point

Firehouse Falls

One of the water features in Yellowstone

Old Faithful on our first trip.

Water fall in Yellowstone

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Upper falls

Water fall on road up from southern entrance.

Beautiful River out by Lake Louis in Lander Wyoming

Lake Louis

Heading Home

Well we got up on the road early. We saw several deer by the side of the road. The drive was pretty boring.

We had made reservations in Grand Island, Nebraska. It was a really cute KOA outside of town. The kids and I hit the pool as soon as we got set up. Then we headed into town for some dinner.

The town was kind of erie to me. The downtown area reminded me alot of Enid.

We had dinner at a mexican restaurant and hit the wal mart. When we got back the boys met some girls on the playground. Jake got one girls number and has been texting her.

We headed out Sunday morning and made it home by 3:00.

We had a great trip and really enjoyed seeing all the beautiful scenery. This is another one of those trips everyone should have the opportunity to go on.

Mount Rushmore

Today we went back up to Mount Rushmore. It is an awe inspiring place. I can't imagine how they were able to carve into that stone. I had always pictured it in my mind as being a really huge mountain and a very wide sculpture. Don't get me wrong it was very big but just not what I was expecting.

We walked around the trail that took you just under the faces. It was ok going down but again there were lots of stairs to get back up.

We came back and took the kids swimming and then cooked hamburgers for dinner. Then we once again packed up the motorhome so we could get an early start in the morning.

We really enjoyed this area and wished we had more time here. We were told there wasn't much to do around here but there are lots of little towns around that could be explored. Maybe next trip.

A Day in Town

We spent the day exploring the towns around here. We enjoyed checking out the area. There were lots of quaint stores. They are really getting ready for the Sturgis Rally. Like I said yesterday there are lots of bikes.

After the afternoon in town we cooked steaks out on the grill. What makes steaks taste so much better out on a grill? We enjoyed a beautiful evening with a fire and smores.

Hill City, South Dakota

We tried to get an early start this morning and actually left ahead of schedule. The drive was pretty uneventful but their was one mountain pass that got a little scary but not as bad as what we had been through. I'm sure hoping we are done with these mountain switch back roads.

We arrived around 3:30 at the Rafter J Ranch and RV park. This is a really nice place but all I'll say is they must be idiots running the place. When I called and made reservations I told them we had a 50 amp motorhome and inquired about the cable tv. Apparently, just because you aske and tell them you have a 50 amp motorhome they don't clue in. We were put in a 30 amp spot and no tv. What a great way to end the trip.

We got set up and went into Hill City. Now I didn't realize we were going to be so close to Sturgis and the big Harley Rally is just a couple of weeks away. There were bikers everywhere! It was kind of cool to see all the neat bikes and we all got a t-shirt. Anyway we had dinner at this cool little diner that had the best pizza.

After dinner Tim drove us up to Mount Rushmore. He didn't tell me we were going to go there so I didn't take my big camera. I wish I had. They had a wonderful lighting ceremony. It was really neat. In fact if you plan to go, take the time to go at night.

After the ceremony we headed back home and went to sleep.

Day at the RV Park.

We decided to spend the day here at the park. The kids just love the arcade, pool, and jumping pillow. They meet so many friends and have such fun. I spent the day reading a novel. We cooked dinner and then started packing our stuff up. We are heading for Mount Rushmore tomorrow.

Last day in Yellowstone

Today we decided to go back to Old Faithful. It is a long drive back in but this is what we came for and the scenery is gorgeous.

We stopped at the actual fishing bridge to take a few pictures. What is so ironic is this is called fishing bridge but you can't fish from it. I guess you used to but too many people would all crowd the bridge so you can't fish from here any more.

We drove on around to Old Faithful. It is so beautiful here. I was so glad we decided to come back again because the actual eruption lasted quite a bit longer this time then it did the other day.

We had been reading some ghost stories about the park and two were in the Old Faithful Inn. One was a bride whose husband killed her on her honeymoon so we searched out the room# and took our pictures in front of it. The other was about a little boy that would approach you and tell you he was lost. When you take him to get help he disappears. We didn't see either ghost but Jenni was sure scared.

We found another picnic area for lunch that had a stream through it. I think the kids could spend hours playing in these streams. This one wasn't quite as cold as yesterday.

We headed back out and I grabbed a shot of the gates where you enter and leave the park. We were all a little sad about leaving for the last time. It really is a magical place with such beauty!

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening hanging out at the RV park. There is so much to do here that I felt bad the kids hadn't been here for three days.

Back into Yellowstone

Well today we got up early and headed back into Yellowstone. Our goal for the day was to drive the northern loop.

We made good time and headed north out of fishing bridge. A few days ago one of the rangers had mentioned how most of the buffalo were headed to this area for the "Big Dance". Which is the politically correct way to say mating season when there are young ears around. We came up over a hill and there were cars stopped. We saw a few bison and one was walking down the road. As we approached closer and passed a small hill there were hundreds of buffalo in this clearing. It was awesome!

We took some pictures and one I won't post here is the one Tim accidentally took of a couple in action. We really got a laugh when we looked at the pictures that night. He didn't mean to get that!

We headed on towards Tower Falls. This place had a little store and a trail down to the bottom of the water fall. Tim and the girls started out but quickly returned to the top. The boys and I trekked our way down. Now let me say going down was beautiful. It was nice and cool from the shade of the trees. Unfortunately there wasn't an elevator to go back up. I thought I was going to die! The boys were so cute and patient. They'd get ahead of me and I'd say "I need a rest" They would come and sit with me while I rested.

We found this really cool picnic place for lunch along side a little stream. The water was really cold but the kids were determined to cross the stream. It was really funny watching them. I told Jenni she better not wear her flip flops. She would lose one and sure enough one went sailing down the stream. I told her to send the other one so if someone found them they'd have a pair. She didn't like that idea and was very upset about losing the one. As we drove on up the road we noticed our little stream went right over the side and made a beautiful waterfall. I told Jenni I bet your shoe had a fun ride!

We circled on around the loop. Nothing more too exciting.

When we headed back into Cody we decided to eat at the Irma hotel. It was all you can eat Prime Rib buffet. It was really good. We headed back to the RV and called it an early night.