On the Road Again

12 days.
6 people.
1 van.
3800 miles.

7 hotels.
11 tanks of gas.
11 picnic lunches.
Many, many, many bathroom breaks.

So many sites:
A building made of corn--Corn Palace, SD
Climbing and hiking on big, striped rock formations--the Badlands of SD
A sod house--SD
A mountain tribute to 4 great presidents--Mt. Rushmore
The beauties of a state park and animal refuge--Custer, SD
A rock tribute to an Indian chief--Crazy Horse
An old gold mine--Big Thunder Mt, SD
Hiking around a huge rock with an interesting story--Devil's Tower, WY
Snow-covered mountains climbing to an elevation of 11,000 feet--Beartooth Highway, MT
Geysers, fumaroles, lakes, waterfalls, springs, canyons--and the smell of sulphur--Yellowstone
Beautiful mountain views, waterfalls, and hikes--Teton NP and Rocky Mountain NP
Western shoot out and fun shopping--Jackson Hole, WY
Discipline and beauty--Air Force Academy, CO
Cowboy town with a chuckwagon dinner and cowboy show--Flying W Ranch, CO
Amazing red rocks jutting up out of the ground--Garden of the Gods, CO
Focus on the Family visitor center and children's play area--Colorado Springs, CO
Cograil ride to the top of Pike's Peak where it was snowing and 27 degrees F--Manitou Springs, CO


Several surprises, too:
Being stopped in a traffic jam caused by a herd of bison blocking the road
Eating the biggest burgers we've ever eaten at a fun little restaurant
Playing in a mountain spring while stopped for a picnic lunch
Watching real-life cowboys herd their cattle
Seeing a grizzly bear its breakfast of berries from across a river
Watching a moose on the lakeside from a footbridge
Skipping stones at lake in the Tetons
Getting to pan for gold--and finding some!
Feeding prairie dogs peanuts
Burrows sticking their heads in the car windows making Elisabeth cry ;-)
Watching a newborn elk and its mother
Seeing tons of elk, many bison, pronghorn, whitetail deer, a grizzly bear, a moose, yellow-bellied marmots, gold-headed blackbirds, magpies, prairie dogs, ground squirrels, mountain bluejays, ospreys nesting---all in the wild (not in a zoo)

Oh! And lest I forget---our biggest souvenir-----the dent and antler marks on the side of the van from a deer that ran into our car.... ($3500 damage)

Ahhh! You've got to love a road trip!