Brookings Children's Museum

Hands down favorite Children's Museum; Brookings, South Dakota, of all places.

We went with our friends from the RV park which made it even more fun, if that is possible. We have a lot in common and enjoyed getting to know them. They have a 9 year old daughter and an almost 7 year old son, Jillian is still looking for her counterpart :)

Bobby at the news desk.


The kids and their friends fixing cars.


Jillian finding refuge in the tot area.

We all could have played with these longer! I had never been kicked out of a children's museum before... darn closing time!


Jillian is still not convinced this T-Rex wasn't real.


Alas, it is still raining and cold and we are headed out to find sunshine. Unfortunately according to the national forecast once we do find the sun it will be along with scorching temperatures. Where's the happy medium!?

Brookings Soggy Adventure

Last night after an incredibly enjoyable evening of making new friends and enjoying a charming city campground we retired to an exciting thunder storm.

The kids and I snuggled in the bottom bunks and watched the show which nature had clearly put on for our viewing pleasure.

After they dozed off I went up front to chat with daddy and listen to the increasingly intense storm. Sure we had to raise our voices to be heard, but we checked the radar and it looked like we was were in the worst of it now.

Then I noticed a car pulling through the park; strange at this late hour in weather like this. Robb, investigating further and went out to talk to the police officer who was there to inform us and our fellow campers of the distinct possibility of the park flooding with directions to higher ground.

Packing up at midnight is a bit of an adventure. Driving through streets covered in a foot of water with very little visibility in a strange town after midnight, now that's a memory in the making :)

It rained the rest of the night and is still going today but we're back in the park, the threat of flood having eased last night. The kids are out now with their new friends seeing just how deep these new puddles are.

I realize these pictures don't exactly illustrate my story but sitting here listening to the rain back up Van Morrison it makes perfect sense to me.

Mount Rushmore

The rain didn't slow us down any!

Being sworn in once again as Jr. Rangers.


Ok, UNCLE. or whatever else I need to call. I'm done with crowded tourist attractions.

Not done.

I just need a break.

We had a great time, it was fun, but we're ready for some out of the way quiet time.

Wind Cave NP

A few shots from our time at Wind Cave National Park.

The kids working on their Jr. Ranger badges.

Jillian and I in the cave. Apparently she was not as impresses as some.


A close up of the boxwood formations the cave is famous for.

Thermopolis

Yea for Thermopolis hot springs!


We stopped at the state park and enjoyed a quick dip the hot springs and a little energy burned at the park.

Meeteetse Park

We have a little crush on Meeteetse, WY.

Robb got the rig all fixed up (belts and radiator and stuff) and he and the town mechanic fixed the breaks, parking break and all!

The kids and I spent some time exploring the huge downtown museum (indoor and outdoor) and visited the famous chocolate store. Jalapeno truffles; yes please.

As I said the park we were in was great, Jillian learned to get on the swing by herself and would even pump if no one was in pushing distance.


Jamie and Bobby decorated the "dandy-lion" princess. She paraded around like royalty for a good half hour.


The western backdrop made for some very elaborate make-believe games.




As Uncle Ted taught us; a man who chops his own wood warms himself twice.

Luck of the Draw

Some dirty hands and a radiator later Robb is buried in belts and oil working on getting us all fixed up.

If we had to break down we could not have picked a more ideal location to do so!



The park we are in is ideal, I'll detail it another time along with the bosom buddy the kids made yesterday.

But the big hit was last night. We went up to Cody; a decidedly western town (paint Jamie in heaven.)

We made it just in time to watch the local gun fight which takes place every night at 6pm.

Then we strolled around the downtown where all the shops are geared toward western themed items. The kids have declared Wyoming one of their most favorite states.

Then on to the Cody Nite Rodeo! I'm having difficulty expressing the kids' excitement. Think Disneyland wrapped up with lollipops and Santa Clause.


They invited all kids 12 and under to come down into the arena and do a calf chase. (Pull the ribbon tied to the calf's tail win a prize.)

My babies made me proud; for some in inexplicable reason Jillian decided to go down too. Robb and I are watching as our little ones stand in the middle of a huge line of other kids as they explained what was about to happen. We watched as Jamie leaned down and gave the other two instructions and when they gave the signal she took off after the calves and Bobby took Jillian's hand and trotted Jillian speed behind. When it was over Jamie went and found the other two and they made their way back to our seats. None were successful in getting a ribbon but mom and dad sure were proud.

Back on the Blog

Kicking off the next leg of our journey we returned to our original destination; Sandpoint!
A night in the city and then off to visit our friends just outside of Hope.

We had a fantastic visit, it was hard to leave! Thank you Jill and Ben for inviting us and taking the time for an awesome visit and to Greg for so graciously opening your home and charming us all!!



Here are Josiah and the kids in the geodesic tree house Greg built over the creek. Can you say magical? I think they had already kicked Evie and Isaac out and were working on Jillian at the time.

An abandoned mine shaft just a hike away. The kids brought home their own mined quartz. What an adventure!!



Next up to Sourdough right on Lake Pend Oreille for campfire cooking and a great evening with some very special friends! Why do we never remember the camera on nights like this? Well a grand time was had by all. Jillian now knows to spit at trolls lest she wake with blue toenails, and all three are expert fire spinners.... just wait until you guys have kids :)

Next we headed back to CDA for a couple days to button up just a few loose ends and then headed south.

First stop Kamiah, ID where we stopped at a lovely city park with free rv parking and a big play area right next to the river. Jamie is reading Robin Hood and insisted that her siblings play with her. She made costumes to sweeten the deal.

You can see a glimpse of Bobby's missing bottom teeth. He pulled them both out on the same day up in Sandpoint. Jamie is still missing her top two, they are quite the pair.


Here they are play-acting robin hood and his merry men (man) robbing a train. Jillian refused to act on camera but did a fine job playing her roll as conductor and screamer.


Next to Helena, MT; parked downtown and woke up to a fantastic farmers market.

Next on to Yellowstone!

Moose, Elk, Bison, Grizzlies, Marmot, Osprey, Pron Horns, a Coyote and a Wolf!! We hit the wildlife viewing jackpot!! The shots of the grizzly and her cubs were too far off to share and it was pouring down rain when we spotted the wolf but who doesn't love a baby buffalo?

They bison were the most plentiful and we almost tired of watching them. UNTIL these two beauties put on a spectacular sparring match AND THEN decided that the car in this picture was annoying and therefore should not be allowed to pass. They stood in the road like this for at least five minutes while we giggled up a storm. There must have been something in the air because the bison in the field next to us (out of the camera to the left) were busy playfully mounting one another. (We didn't get any shots of that.)



Now we're broken down on the side (safely far away from the traffic) of the road south of Cody, WY. A belt broke and proceeded to do some more damage as we tried to pull off.



I am loosing battery power quickly so I'm going to post this and hopefully add some pics soon!!


Update: Robb managed to piece meal us together and we coasted into Meeteetse, WY and are safe and sound at a lovely rv park where we will play and explore while Robb fixes the rig tomorrow! There is a famous chocolate maker here we can't wait to see so don't feel too bad for us :)