Back in the cold, cold days of winter, Brad had mentioned to me that he was going to need to do some work visits this summer. As he debated aloud a few of the locations he could visit I
Before we knew it, the research was done, reservations were made, visits were lined up, Brendan was done with school, we were packed up, and we were on our way.
We had a wonderful time, and the kids (while still being kids and having their moments) were fantastic. Rapid City, South Dakota was full of fun and informational activities and Colorado (and the drive to and from) is amazingly beautiful. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a family vacation destination.
We're off!
The plan was to leave at 6am and have the kids sleep in the car for an hour or so.
Sure. Yep. That happened. (As you can clearly see!)
We left at 6am, but there was no sleeping (except for me--I had been up until 3am packing and getting everything ready. It's a Crea thing.)
We stopped in Pierre, SD for a picnic lunch along the Missouri River.
Brad and I, along the Missouri River.
The open fields of South Dakota.
The open fields turned into gentle, rolling hills.
Zzzzzzz.... (Megan is going to kill me one day for this picture!)
We stopped in Wall, South Dakota to see Wall Drug and stretch our legs. Above, we're wandering down main street.
We checked out the wildlife museum in the back of one of the shops.
Hey, lady, quit looking at my husband!
Much better!
(Although I do notice that his smile is perhaps a tad bigger in the above picture!)
We're gun-slingers!
Enjoying some of the free water that Wall Drug is famous for!
Atop the jackalope in the Wall Drug Back Yard.
We love Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House On The Prairie series and read many chapters aloud on our drive west. The kids were delighted to climb aboard a "real" covered wagon (in the Wall Drug Back Yard) and see what it was like.
All of the kids brought some of their own money for souvenirs, and both girls decided they wanted a bag of colored, polished rocks from Wall Drug. They each got to pick out the rocks that went into their bag, and they delighted in sorting through them many, many times on our trip
Megan, with one of her favorite rocks.
We arrived in Rapid City at 4pm, unpacked at the hotel, then headed right out to visit Storybook Island and Dinosaur Park before the looming rainstorm hit.
This was the sign as we entered Storybook Island in Rapid City. Very appropriate, and I appreciated the gentle reminder (after 7+ hours in the car with them!)
Aaarrrrg! It be Brendan Hook!
The kids, exploring the houses of the Three Little Pigs.
Brad, spinning the heck out of the kids. It was really, really funny to watch!
Our three munchkins.
Storybook Island
At this point the rain had reached us and we quickly made our way to the car. We changed our plans and went back to the hotel for supper and swimming, deciding to visit Dinosaur Park the next morning as we made our way south to Reptile Garden, Mount Rushmore, and the cabin where we would stay the next evening.
At Dinosaur Park
Brendan, Megan and Emily
Brad and I at Dinosaur Park.
Say cheese!
Brad and the kids, overlooking Rapid City.
Emily, Megan and Brendan, climbing on the Stegosaurus.
A family picture!
After Dinosaur Park, we traveled south to Reptile Gardens. We made it just in time for the Bird Show, followed by the Snake Show, followed by the Gator Show. All three shows were informative, entertaining and funny.
Gators, Crocs, Caimans, and Gharials, Oh My!
During the Bird Show they had two volunteers come from the audience (I think Brendan just about jumped up and down in an effort to be called on, but he wasn't picked) and they had a pigeon fly between them, eating out of the volunteer's hands.
The Snake Show.
After learning about alligators, crocodiles, etc. the speaker (who had also done the Snake Show) pulled one of them out of the water, jumped on it's back and did the ol' removing his hand from inside it's mouth before it snaps shut trick.
Brendan and Megan (who loved watching Gator Boys when we had cable) LOVED the Gator Show. I had as much fun watching them enjoying the show as I did watching the actual show.
When it was feeding time, it was amazing to watch those quietly floating gator and crocs come to life. They quickly came out of the water and made a bee-line for the speaker. He had to knock a couple of them away with the bucket.
After the show, the speaker brought a baby alligator around so you could touch it.
Immediately following the three shows, the sky clouded over and it started to rain. We made our way around the park while it slowly drizzled, and made it into the main building with the Sky Dome and indoor exhibits before it let loose and really rained.
Getting to touch a Giant Tortoise.
Inside the Sky Dome we wandered around, looking at all of the animals, fossils and the botanical garden.
Emily and I.
No matter what kind of animal it is, Megan likes it.
Megan and Brendan with a boa constrictor that is longer than both of them put together.
After Reptile Garden we checked into the cabin we were staying in overnight, had a little rest time during the rain, and once the rain stopped, we went to Mount Rushmore. I expected the kids to be a little bored with it, but they all really, really liked it. It was a fun family experience to see the Presidents, climb the Presidential Trail, and examine the Amphitheater (which wasn't there when Brad and I each visited as kids...very cool).
We're at Mount Rushmore!
A rainy Mount Rushmore.
The kids and I.
Brad and I.
Up the Presidential Trail (422 stairs). Emily did really well and climbed many of them, but then Brad and I took turns carrying her so we could keep up with the other two.
The rock formations and trees were just beautiful.
The Amphitheater, built into the mountain just opposite Mount Rushmore. Above, you can barely make out Brad, Brendan and Megan, who climbed down to the Amphitheater stage, while Emily and I watched them from the observation deck.
Zoom, camera, zoom! A close-up of Brad and the kids on the Amphitheater stage.
After exploring Mount Rushmore, we went back to the cabin and grilled supper. After supper, I headed outside to go and visit with the owners, and I ran into our sister-in-law, Tami's, sister and her family, who were staying in the cabin across from us. Small world! So the kids spent the evening playing with their kids and the adults got to visit for a bit. It was a wonderful way to end our day!
The owners of the cabins have pet rabbits and chickens that roam the area. The kids fed the white bunny that hung around our cabin some of our veggies and spent lots of time trying to get as close as they could to them. Megan (my animal-lover) couldn't stay away.
I found this goofy picture on the camera as I was looking through it later in the day.
Boys being boys.
The outside of our beautiful cabin. We stayed at American Pines in Keystone and it was wonderful. I can't wait to go back sometime in the future. I highly, highly recommend them.
The inside of our cabin. It had a big bathroom, two nice queen-bed bedrooms, and a fully stocked kitchen. Everything was new and nice, and it's family-owned, so there were lots of family-friendly touches everywhere.
As we headed south and west, we admired all of the changing scenery.
We drove through Custer State Park on our way west, and even though it rained off and on, it was a beautiful drive.
We saw lots of buffalo (above, it's spotty because it was raining at the time) and it was so much fun to describe what the area and buffalo herds were like before everything was settled while they could actually see (small) herds of buffalo.
A quick picnic lunch.
A storm blew in as we were finishing lunch.
We drove through Nebraska, into Wyoming.
Pine forests in Colorado.
Absolutely beautiful. Sagebrush landscape with snowy mountains in the distance.
The mountains would rise up, seeming so close, and then fall away as the land rose and fell. The cloudbursts came and went around us as well, playing with the sun and shade and providing some gorgeous landscapes.
Clouds
A rainbow! It was so close it felt like you could touch it.
It was interesting to see all of the beautiful sights of nature and then all of a sudden oil fields were peppered through-out. You couldn't help but feel a little sad at the contrast between industrialization and the raw beauty around it.
We arrived at our hotel in Kremmling, Colorado just before dusk. As we unloaded the minivan shadows slowly crept down the bluffs and engulfed us. This is the view from the parking lot of our hotel.
What do kids want to do? Swim, swim, swim!
Cannonball!
(Megan insisted her version was still a cannonball, but that she couldn't pull her legs up because she needed her hand to plug her nose...something Brad broke her of during our many, many times swimming. She now doesn't need to plug her nose when going underwater. Hooray for a patient Daddy!)
Brad had client visits for a few days during our trip, so the kids and I got to spend some quality time together. The entire first day, all they wanted to do was swim. So swim, we did!
When I finally was able to get them out of the pool, Brad was back from his first day of visits. So we went sight-seeing. We drove around Kremmling and ended up at the Middle School, where we played on the playground and admired the view.
To cool down from the heat, we had an ice cream cone (that the kids only begged for for about an hour straight beforehand. It wasn't annoying at all. Really.)
Seriously. So beautiful.
I loved the sagebrush. I had to laugh, because the locals all hate the stuff...but I thought it was wonderful.
Hiking on the bluffs at dusk.
High on the bluffs, overlooking Kremmling.
The pictures can make it look deceivingly not very high. But here's a picture as we hiked back to the van (with some rain on the way). If you look in the middle of the picture and to the left, you can just make out the highway that runs through town. That's how high up it was.
The next morning, the kids and I tagged along to a nearby town where Brad was doing another visit for work. He completed his meetings and we entertained ourselves around town until he was done. Above, a view from the drive from Kremmling, CO to Granby, CO.
We played at the park...
and explored the library.
Megan put on puppet plays at the library for Emily.
More reading at the library.
We went to a local park/kids fishing pond/dam and explored.
Above, the kids are looking for frogs along a small stream at the park.
Looking for fish in the fishing pond. Brendan was a tad frustrated with me for not bringing his fishing rod like he had asked.
At the dam the water was rushing incredibly fast. It made it feel like the bridge we were standing on was moving.
After his meetings, we picked Brad up and brought him back to the park to show him all of the fun things we found. Above, Brad took a picture of the kids and I as we were watching our dandelion boats float down a small stream.
Lake Granby--breathtaking!
Clients of Goldleaf (where Brad works) had invited us to their ranch to go horseback riding. It was definitely one of the more memorable experiences of the trip!
Megan on Willy
Emily on Frito (I was absolutely sure that the most I would be able to do with Emily was just sit her on the horse, but, boy, did she prove me wrong. We couldn't get her off! She loved walking around the arena.)
Brendan on Willy.
Megan and Brendan, walking around the arena.
Brendan graduated from the lead rope to being able to walk by himself!
Brad, on Frito.
After riding, we walked to the cow pasture to give them a treat.
Stormy weather blew in, so we said our good-byes to our fantastic hosts and went back to the hotel for more swimming, supper, and bed. The next day we packed up and headed to Estes Park, CO, going through Rocky Mountain National Forest on the way. It was definitely another most memorable experience from the trip. The scenery and wildlife were gorgeous, and even though it was rainy and foggy, you couldn't help but be absorbed by the views.
A mama moose and her calf.
Grazing elk.
Mountain views.
We're headed up the trail!
Look how high we are!
We stopped and Brad grabbed a handful of snow for the kids.
At the Continental Divide (the hydrological divide that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean and the rivers that drain into the Atlantic Ocean).
The fog has hit. As completely nerve-wracking as it was for Brad to drive in the fog, I was slightly relieved because I'm pretty terrified of extreme heights and wasn't sure how I would do being on the side of the vehicle that was so close to the drop-off of the mountain. My sanity was saved by the fact that we couldn't even see down the mountain-side until we drove to lower heights.
You could barely see the vehicle in front of you. It was more than a little scary driving the curves and bends of the narrow road.
Brendan was blown away by the fact that we were higher than some of the clouds.
Even in the second week of June, the snow reached far above our vehicle roof.
Our trusty driver.
The melting snow created mini-rivers along the roadside.
Once we reached lower ground, we stopped and did some hiking.
Mountain-side landscapes.
Grazing deer.
We stopped and had a picnic lunch along one of the hiking trails. The squirrels were obviously used to having people around, as one of them ran right up to Megan and stood there, begging, with it's hands in the air.
One of the other picnicking families threw some Cheetos for the chipmunks, which they were pretty happy with.
Still enthralled with the chipmunks.
Brad took some pictures of two male elk right by the roadside.
They must have been siblings, because the second one (obviously the younger of the two, above) turned around and stuck his tongue out at the first one (who must have been the eldest, as he was sitting so nicely, just minding his own business!)
The kids did remarkably well for the long stretches of time we had to be in the car. We brought several things to entertain them, and I made many car activities (which I'll detail in a different post).
We arrived at the Yogi Bear Jellystone Park in Estes Park, CO in mid-afternoon. We checked in, found our cabin, unloaded, explored a tiny bit, then headed into Estes Park for some exploring.
Our cabin at Jellystone. Very snug and no electronics (yay!)...it was perfect.
We wandered around Jellystone for a few minutes before ran into a mining sluice. Since we hadn't had time to do that while in Rapid City, we had the kids give it a try. Right when we were done, it started to rain again, so we headed back to our cabin to wait it out.
After the rain stopped, we headed in to Estes Park to get some more information on the area, explore a little, and grab supper.
The river. Boy, oh boy, was that water moving!
After checking out the local information center, we walked the trail around the golf course and Lake Estes.
Mountain and lake views.
On our walk.
We rounded a bend, and to our surprise, there was an elk standing right in the middle of the pathway. She didn't move as we got closer, which felt funny (even though there are hundreds around the area and I'm sure they're pretty used to people.) I told Brad that I'd walk closer by myself to see if I could get her to move, and I was just getting ready to do so, when she disappeared in a flurry of action. We saw her through the trees, speeding down the hill, towards the lake. Then we heard a big splash. I turned to Brad and said, "I swear I saw a person!", so we circled back a bit towards the lake. As we were approaching the lake, a young lady about our age (notice the young lady...ha!) was wading out of the water, so rattled that she was visibly shaking. She had been running the trail and the elk had charged her, so she threw her cell phone into the brush and raced into the lake, barely making it ahead of the elk.
As we were talking with her, the elk started making it's way directly towards us again. The runner lived locally and said that the elk are calving now (sure enough, there was a new calf in the woods, right by where the mama had originally been standing...thank goodness I hadn't gotten any closer!) and can be extremely dangerous. Good to know. The runner said she wasn't even going to attempt to get her phone for another hour or so, and then would only do so with some friends along. That sounded pretty serious to us, and with that mama seemingly stalking us, we grabbed our three kids and took the trail back to the car.
The runner had gone way ahead of us, and by the time we made it back to the beginning of the path, this sign was being put up. Yeah. Thanks.
Before grabbing supper we stopped to check out the river. And you can't just look at a river, can you? No way! Rock-throwing contest!!!
Back at the cabin, we enjoyed a picnic supper.
And the next morning, we enjoyed a picnic breakfast. The chipmunks are pretty tame here too, and they spend meal-time running around close to us, trying to get leftovers. Which is a constant amusement for the kids.
After breakfast we hiked around the campground.
The kids with Yogi Bear.
After the camp sightseeing, Brad and Brendan took off to do some mini-golfing and the girls and I stayed and played at the playground.
Megan, Ethan (a camping neighbor) and Emily are hunting gophers.
Giggles on the tire swing.
After the playground, we went to find the boys. I had to show them a thing or two about golf.
Brendan wanted to play me in mini-golf, and only me. It took me about two holes to figure out that he wanted to play me only because he had a better chance of beating me than he did his father!
Brendan and I playing "HORSE". The concept was exactly the same as golf...he wanted to play me because he thought he could beat me. He didn't...but he got much closer in basketball!
After some rain went through we headed into Estes Park to walk along the river and check out the shops.
My amazing husband, with a rushing river behind him.
We walked through the farmers market and sampled some of the items, including cinnamon almonds, chocolate chai tea, fresh kettle corn, and cheese pierogi.
And you can't leave a farmer's market without getting something! Emily wanted to carry around the kettle corn we purchased.
More rock-throwing contests!
All three kids playing well together. It doesn't always go this way...
It started getting rainy out, so we headed into the cabin and Emily, Brad and I played board games...
...while Brendan and Megan scavenger hunted around the cabin.
It's pouring outside!
Despite the rain (which had stopped by supper time), Brad and Brendan got a fire started.
S'mores!
Emily, enjoying her version of a s'more: just some pieces of chocolate!
I adore this picture. It makes me laugh. I asked her to smile, and when she was smiling she was squinting her eyes closed. So I asked her to smile with her eyes wide open. This is the picture I got!
Our cabin. Snug and cozy, but with the best viewing deck!
Brad and Brendan, playing mini-golf.
Playing cards before bedtime.
Emily was hysterically funny, and I managed to catch a picture of her mid-laugh. Tiredness was definitely setting in, making her say funny things like, "I'm losing all my lucky dogs!" (while playing high card) and laughing hysterically (above).
Some morning Paw Patrol game while Brad and I got breakfast ready.
And then it was time to head home. We loaded up, bade Colorado a wistful good-bye, and headed back to Minnesota.
We stopped for a picnic lunch in Bridgeport, NE, and they had just sprayed fertilizer at the park, so we enjoyed our lunch on public library lawn. Then we jumped back in the car for more driving, driving, driving...
The mountains gave way to open fields, with skies and land that went on for as far as you could see.
A pause from the coloring and playing for a little shut-eye.
More driving, driving, driving. Brad did 99% of the driving on this trip, but I think that he was getting a little sick of it.
It wasn't always blissful in the car. The girls don't usually wake up from naps very well, and I guess car naps are no exception.
We pulled into a gas station for a bathroom break on a reservation in South Dakota, right in front of this...a Feed My Starving Children tire-filling station. Had to take a picture for my family.
After the after-naptime fussies, everyone was good in the car again.
More landscapes...
We had planned to stop in Nebraska and stay overnight, but when we pulled up to the motel we had selected online (without making reservations, thankfully) it was a bit on the scary side (not the best part of town, windows broken, pool drained and used for storage). Yeah. Not staying there. And the only other hotel in town was charging almost $200/night. Not staying there either. We'll find something else along the way, right? Nope. When we'd reach a mid-size town there was always something going on. A bunch of them were fully booked. Another had a large fishing tournament going on. By this time we were in eastern South Dakota, only four hours from home. So we just decided to do it. We drove home. Above, I started pulling out the last of the saved, fun items to keep the kids entertained. They ended up falling asleep around 11pm and Brad and I spent the time talking.
We made it home! We put the kids to bed, unpacked only the necessities, and then crawled into bed.
The next day, the kids spent the morning washing the treasures they accumulated, while Brad and I unpacked, did laundry, and put stuff away. It was a wonderful trip, but it's always nice to be home!
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