Road Trip 2022

 On June 11th, we began our 3-week road trip adventure!  Our final destination was Wisconsin but we just had to make family memories along the way.

June 11th:  We left Park City and made our way to Wyoming, driving about 5 hours to our destination.  Along the way, we stopped in Farson, WY where the local mercantile is home of the big cone.

There wasn't too much to see along our journey, but this particular area was really pretty.

That night, we camped next to Boysen Reservoir, which is in the middle of Wyoming.  The girls loved playing in the water.

playing horseshoes

June 12th: It was another 5-hour drive day today, and we didn't see much during that time...

For the next 3 nights, we stayed at the Oreville Campground, about 10 minutes from Mr. Rushmore.

Once everything was set up, the girls spent a lot of time on their bikes.

June 13th:  We started our day at Mt. Rushmore.  We got a little sneak peek on the drive.

This was my 4th time at Mt. Rushmore and it still leaves me in awe.

The girls got their Jr. Ranger badges.

Then we made our way on an absolutely spectacular drive on Iron Mountain Rd. and the Needles Highway.  It included a handful of tunnels.

We stopped for a picnic lunch and small hike.

We spotted a lone bison.

This bus driver has some serious skills to get that bus through those tunnels.

I ran up ahead to get a photo of Andy driving through one of the tunnels.

We had one more stop before making our way back to the campsite--Crazy Horse Memorial.  Since Andy and I were there in 2009, he now has a finger.

The girls each got to pick a piece of rock from the mountain where they are carving Crazy Horse.  

After a fun-filled day, the girls hopped back onto their bikes at the campsite.

June 14th: Today was our cave touring day.  We started at Wind Cave National Park.

This was the original entrance to the cave.

Wind Cave had a ton of this boxwork.

This was their 2nd Jr. Ranger badge of the trip.

picnic lunch

This was quite interesting.  It was located in one of the small towns we drove through on the way to Wind Cave.  It is a gigantic pile of bicycles.

Our 2nd (and last) cave tour was at Jewel Cave.  The last time we were here in 2014 (with my mom and Pete), Abigail was too scared to do the tour so she and I didn't get to do it.  That didn't happen this time!

Jr. Ranger badge #3

It was a long day of adventuring so chilling at the campsite felt so good that night.

June 15th:  Today we said "good-bye" to the Black Hills National Forest and "hello" to the long, straight drive across South Dakota.

Of course, we had to make a stop at Wall, South Dakota.

That night, we stayed at Lake Vermillion State Park.

We barely got everything unpacked and ready to go before the girls wanted to go to the water.

June 16th:  Before we got on the road for our 4 1/2 hour drive to Minneapolis, the girls took a morning swim. 

That night, we stayed at my sister's in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

June 17th:  It wouldn't be a trip back home without a trip to the Mall of America!

We ate lunch at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

The girls went on a few rides.

And, of course, we did some shopping.

That night, we ate at this amazing restaurant called Hola Arepa--so delicious!

June 18th:  After staying at my sister's house for 2 nights, we made our way east to Wisconsin.  We stayed in Wisconsin for 6 nights.

For as long as I can remember, my mom loved to drive a motorcycle.  She soon realized, though, that she wasn't as stable as she once was but she still wanted to participate in the rides (and Pete still has his motorcycle).  So...she bought a Vanderhall!

The night we got to my mom's house, we went to see my 94-year old grandma.

Andy and I did some snooping around her basement and found all sorts of things, including an old pair of skis that my great uncle made (which my grandma let us bring home with us), a notebook that her mom (my great grandma) wrote in (including what she spent on Christmas gifts), and a very old record player (which Andy got working).

Since Emma loves to cook, my grandma gave her 2 boxes of recipes.

June 19th:  Today was Father's Day.  We spent most of the day at my dad's house.  I didn't take many pictures but I did get a photo of the kids with my aunt Rayola.

making dinner

June 20th:  Today we went to Lake Altoona to do some swimming and paddle boarding.  It felt great to be in the water since the air temperature was about 97 degrees.

Abby could have played in/near the water all day.

That night, we took some grass clippings to the neighbor's house for the cows.  The girls had a blast!

Emma even hand-fed a cow.

June 21st:  Today, we started our day by going to a local cheese factory to watch how cheese is made (and to buy some cheese curds, of course).

This time, Andy and I each got to drive the Vanderhall.

Later that afternoon, we went to my dad's to do some ATVing.

June 22nd: Menomonie (the town where I grew up) is not a big town--population is about 16,000.  When you haven't been back to the place you grew up in a while, it's kind of fun to explore a bit.  We went to the local farmer's market and then ate lunch at a little cafe that has been there since I was in high school.

The cafe even had cardboard cutouts of one of my favorite shows--The Golden Girls.

After exploring the local Main Street, it was off to do some horseback riding at a friend's house.

For dinner, we went to my grandma's house and ordered some pizza from a local pizza shop.

June 23rd:  One of the trails in my hometown is the Red Cedar Trail, which parallels the Red Cedar River.  This morning, we hopped on our bikes and went on a 6-mile bike ride, followed by a picnic in the park.

 

That night, we had some family over for a BBQ, complete with a water balloon fight and lawn games.

June 24th:  We went strawberry picking at Govin's Farm this morning.

Yummy!

That afternoon, we drove back to my sister's house (near Minneapolis) so our drive the next day was not quite as long.

June 25th:  On the road again!  We left my sister's house and drove about 4 hours to our first stop on our drive back to Park City.  Destination = West Des Moines KOA

There was plenty for the kids to do!

June 26th: We made our way into Nebraska today. 

We got out to stretch our legs in Kearney, NE at the Archway Museum, which is directly over I-80. 

Our home for the night was at Johnson State Park, about 45 minutes from Kearney, Nebraska.

June 27th: Driving across Nebraska can be tough.  There is not much to look at so when we got to Sidney, Nebraska, we walked around Cabela's and stopped at the Dairy Queen for a little break in the driving.

We made our way into Wyoming and made our next home at Curt Gowdy State Park, next to Crystal Reservoir.  Unfortunately, you couldn't swim in the reservoir, but we managed to get in a little paddle boarding before a storm blew in.

We had some visitors.

June 28th:  We were on the road a little after 8:00 a.m. today.  Driving across the rest of Wyoming on I-80 just didn't seem too exciting for us, so we decided to go south into Colorado.  We took a lunch break in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  We would love to go back and explore this area more.

We had a nice picnic lunch next to the Yampa River.

We continued west, driving through Dinosaur, Colorado, and made our way to our last campsite of the trip--Red Fleet State Park.  I can't say much for the camping situation there, but we sure had fun paddle boarding, cliff jumping, and looking at 200-million year old dinosaur tracks.

It doesn't look that far down, but this took some serious mental preparation for me.

Can you spot the dinosaur tracks?!

June 29th:  Home Sweet Home--We had such an incredible trip!  We made so many memories and explored a lot of new places as a family.  There is something pretty amazing and special about road trips.  You can really make them anything you want them to be...