Day 6 - July 25 - we made it to UT!

Our neighbors at our little Idaho cabin must have thought we were crazy.  I think we were the last ones in and the first ones out.  When the boys got up they packed up right away.  We are definitely going pro in the travel department.  Mom and Kylee stayed in a little town called Ashton.  We ate a quick snacky breakfast and met them in Rexburg on the BYU Idaho campus.  We just did a tiny tour and visited the bookstore.  If the kids want to apply to college there, at least they will have a frame of reference for what the campus looks like.  We were there less than an hour and headed south to Idaho Falls where we stopped for brunch at (can't remember - gotta look it up).   It was pretty good but I think we could have made just good, if not better, at our house.  It's hard living on the road and eating lots of strange food.  Kylee and mom stayed together until just before SLC.  Mom went on to see my sister, Lorna, and went to temple square.  We visited the conference center, the visitor's center, the old tabernacle and walked around the Salt Lake Temple.  Brenden started well but not acting so hot by now - probably because he was hungry and HOT.  Did I mention it was hot??  It was so hot that I used an umbrella on the roof of the conference center.

Our tour guide was so lovely.  The art in that place is amazing!!  I could walk around that building for hours and not get bored.  Oh!  I almost forgot!  I saw 2 old friends there.  Gena and Cherie Young from my home ward (5th ward in San Jose East Stake).  I didn't even see them but the called by by my maiden name and NOBODY calls me Brie Dries any more.

Sooooo cool!!!

We ate dinner at the new shopping center just across the street.  The whole mall is built around a recreated city creek that runs through it.  It's very nicely done.  Then, we piled again in the hot car and drove to American Fork to make a quick stop at Lorna's before heading to my cousin Aaron's where we will stay put for 4 nights.  4 nights in one place.  Oh, the luxury!!!!!  Day 6 - CHECK!!

Day 5 - Finally! And what a day!!

Day 5 began with an early start so we could head into Yellowstone National Park.  We left around 8-ish after a quick meal at the hotel.  Mom took Kylee with her and the rest of us piled in the Suburban (again).  We came in through the East entrance and drove by Yellowstone Lake.  That's where we got our first glimpse of the crazy geothermal occurrences that go on there.  After meeting mom for a quick potty break (we've had TONS of those) we headed north.  Along this stretch is where we got a good look at the bison that roam the park.  It's so funny that they just go wherever they want, including the road.  We made a little stop and the kids thought they were so cool that they all took turns with my camera.

The bison like to roll around in the dirt and stir up lots of dust.  Apparently it's WAY more interesting if you  aren't a cow.  

When I was a kid we took a trip just like ours only in reverse because I live in California.  I don't remember seeing the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  It appears out of nowhere and is AMAZING!!  

I'm sad to say that Brenden was having another bad day.  I think he needs to eat at more regular intervals.  He's just too old for me to make him:(  Next stop geothermal paint pots, the dragon's mouth, and Old Faithful.  I'll let the pics tell the story..

By the end of the day we were all super tired.  It had been hot and we had seen more than we could have dreamed up.  We split up - Kylee and my mom to a hotel and us to a little cabin at Henry's Lake State Park in Idaho.  Me and the boys (I know, bad grammar, but I like it) found a place that had super awesome Yelp reviews.  A Taco bus!!  They were the best tacos EVER!

Are tired reading about our day yet??  I promised leeches...but not yet.  

I got a pic of our brief drive through Montana but it must be on Taylor's phone.  On to the lake....

Here's our cute little cabin.  I slept inside with the boys and Taylor slept in his beloved hammock.  FYI - if you ever visit here, take bug spray!

Now for the leeches.  After we set everything up (we are pros now), we took a little walk to the lake where the boys had a rock skipping contest.  I told Dylan that he could wade in the water up to his knees.   A few minutes later I remember vaguely hearing him say, "Oh cool!  Fish Bait."  Then I hear a ruckus and him screaming, "LEECHES!!!"  Slithering all over his hands were what appeared to be 30+ flesh-colored baby leeches.   EWWWWWWW!!!  Well, that was it for everyone so we settled down fast, played a couple of quick games and went to sleep.  I'm tired just thinking about it all.  It's been so fun to have so many fun memories:)  Tomorrow - BYU Idaho and Salt Lake City!

Day 4 - Back in the Saddle...again.... - July 23

On day 4 we woke up early, packed up quickly and left our cute cabin in the woods.  We were on a deadline to me my mom (grandma Dries) in cody, WY.  The kids really are getting to be pros at repacking the car!  Taylor worked while I drove .  At one point he had his computer on, and 2 phones going, one connected to Skype and our Verizon wifi unit and the other connected by phone through AT&T.  When one would lose signal he would just switch to the other one and keep talking.  I think he was able to work a half day on the road.  We took a stretch-your-legs-and=go-to-the-bathroom break just inside Wyoming at a Sinclair.  It's fun to see what kids of crazy things are in each state.  

On our way we drove through Big Horn National Forest.  It's just beautiful!  I'm so grateful we have these preserved places to see.  I guess that's one good thing about government:}  We arrived in Cody at about 2:45.  My mom was already at our hotel, the Cody Legacy Inn.  It's cute and comfortable.  We got a  2-bedroom suite that fit everyone comfortably, including my mom.  That afternoon we went to the Dug up Gun Museum and walked around Cody.  When it didn't look like there was anything else to do, we stopped in an old time photo place and this is what we ended up with...

Check out #2, it's my favorite.  Dinner was at The Cody Cattle Company where we ate good food and were entertained by a group of talented musicians,  I highly recommend eating there!  Back to the hotel we went and spent the evening swimming (and I-Brie did laundry).  We watched a little TV and the hit the hay so we could be rested up for Yellowstone on Wednesday.  My word to describe our visit -- YEEHAW!!!!  See all y'all on Day 5!!

Day 3 - July 22

Ok, we are behind in our posting because of stupid photo upload issues.  Today is actually day 5 and I am writing this in a cute little cabin at Henry's Lake State Park.  It's nice....except for the leeches (more on that when day 5 gets posted).  

What did we do?  Since we got to our cabin at Spokane Creek campground late the night before, we needed to hit up Mt. Rushmore first.  Our plan was to see the evening program up there on Sunday night but we didn't make it in time, It's fine because we got to see the badlands (Brenden's favorite part thus far).  We bought breakfast at the little campground cafe.  They sold ginormous cinnamon rolls and we bought 2.  Don't worry, we got healthier stuff too.  Next, we drove iron mountain rd that has tons of switchbacks and crazy turns but it's worth it because you get to drive through tunnels with this view....

Cool, right?  At Mt. Rushmore we walked the presidential trail which takes you around the bottom of the monument, sort of.  It's a nice walk and it's awesome to be able to get a little closer,  At the gift shop, the last man alive that worked on the monument was there signing a nice little book that reads like an interview with him.  We bought one and got a picture.  I'll post that later since it's on Taylor's phone.

The nearest town to Mt. Rushmore is Keystone, SD.  It is, of course, touristy and we took advantage of that fact and had a little fun.  We rode a lift up part of the mountain, had bison burgers at the top and then rode the alpine slide down.  Next, we panned for gold and got ice cream while Taylor did a spur-of-the-moment groceries-for-dinner-trip.  I don't know if we missed anything by skipping Crazy Horse but it was so nice to go back to the campground, swim, play and cook dinner.  Because we weren't really camping, but using the cabin like a cheap hotel room, we didn't really bring our regular camping gear.  Somehow, Taylor managed to cook over the little fire pit and make the best steak and chicken thighs ever.  He rocks!!!

Just as we finished up eating s'mores, an awesome lightning storm rolled in.  We weren't sure if we would be able to see the evening program but just as we got there, the sky cleared and it turned out perfectly.  

So that's it for day 3.  The kids have been really great (except for Kylee's whining, Brenden's tantrum along the presidential trail and Dylan's antics - Chay isn't perfect even though this report makes him seem that way).  

Here's the photo round-up for the day...

Recap Day 1 and Day 2 - July 20 & 21

by Brie

I am so tired!  It's a good tired though.  We have just been so busy that I haven't remembered to blog. Actually, I remembered yesterday but thought I would do it when we arrived in Keystone, SD.  I would like to take a minute and recap our trip thus far.

We left Midlothian around 5 am so we could get to Lynchburg to pick up Brenden.  He was at scout camp all last week and we had some logisitcs to work out with his (and our) departure.  A friend of ours was able to take him to his parents house on Friday night so we could easily get Brenden and be on our way.  Going into this we knew that we wanted the first day to be as long as we could take so the rest of the days would be shorter.  Actually, today I told the kids that we have a 6 hour drive tomorrow and Dylan said, "Is that all?".  We filled up our gas in Lynchburg and traveled uneventfully through Charleston, WV, Cincinnati, OH, Indianapolis, IN, Peoria, IL and ended up at a Fairfield Inn in Cedar Rapids, IA at 11pm. central time.  I should mention that we stopped for dinner at The Tamale Place, a restaurant featured on the Food Network.  My spicy chipotle beef tamale was super delicious!

Sunday we left by 8 (even though I wanted to be out by 7:30 at the latest).  I love staying in hotels that have free breakfast.  Then everyone is full and happy when we get on the road.  The night before we had filled up with plus gasoline.  I guess around here it is cheaper but it also has ethanol in it.  Taylor noticed a significant decrease in our gas mileage.  We are going to try to avoid ethanol if we can.  We headed straight up to Minnesota, which has lovely rolling farmland, and then across to South Dakota.  In Mitchell, SD, we stopped for gas and I ended up chatting with a woman inside.  I mentioned that we were planning on going to Wall drug and she said to go to the Badlands first.  For some reason I had taken that off of my list of things to do because I didn't feel we had the time.  After the gas (more ethanol), we took a brief side trip to see the corn palace.  It's a crazy place that has a new facade put up every year made entirely from plant material, mostly corn. 

We hopped out, took a picture and went on our way.  Next, we drove to Wall Drug via the Badlands.  It was a detour but totally worth it.  I can't even describe how cool it is.  These pics will help....

Ok all, sorry this post took so long to get online.  I had some serious photo upload problems.  Hopefully, what I am doing now will work out for us the rest of the trip.  Stay tuned for day 3.... going....to.....bed.  

Side note:  It's really hard to sleep past 6 when your brain thinks it's 8.........

Day One

       What a day! Although we came close a few times, our whole family managed not killing each other within the 16 hours that we were crammed in the car together. We have finally arrived with sore legs (and butts) to our destination- Cedar City, IA! The boys are excited to go swimming in the pool at the hotel we are staying in for the night. Kylee will probably still be snapchatting with her friends, which is really all she's been doing today except for sleeping and complaining about everything. Taylor can't wait to be further out west to see sunsets even better than this one!

As far as the trip has been, it's been great! We haven't hit any bad traffic (yet), and we are only 10 more hours away from Mount Rushmore!

And so it begins.....

This morning at 5:15 am we rolled out of our driveway with 3 kids, 2 parents, 1 hitch cargo carrier and a car full of stuff.  All the kids were great about getting up.  Chay even had the brain power to pack himself 2 IBC cream sodas.  He's awesome like that.  Our odometer read 149910.

I can't begin to describe how much time it has taken to think about all the little things we will do and see, figuring out places to stay and collecting all the stuff we think we will need to make our trip comfortable and fun.  Even now there are a few things Taylor and I are still planning.   AHHH - I forgot tea!  I guess anything we forgot can just be purchased, as long as we don't forget a computer or a kid;)  

Taylor is driving first and has already had his first roadkill.  It was unavoidable but he killed 2 raccoons.  I have no idea why in the world 2 racoons would be hanging out in the road together (I guess they still are - gross!!).  Brenden has been at scout camp for the past week and we are picking him up at a friend's house in Lynchburg.  We are so grateful that we didn't have to drive all the way there, especially since we have a 16 hour drive day planned.  If all goes well, we should get to Cedar Rapids, IA just past Iowa City.  YIKES!!!!  Maybe we should have made a sign on our car that says California or bust.  Do you think it's too late????