The girls and I drove to Illinois on Tuesday. We made really good time even though I got pulled over East of Indy. Thankfully I only got a warning, but I did find out the plates on our van and car inadvertently got switched! We made it to Champaign earlier than planned so we met our good friends Jon and Sarah for dinner. Then we stayed with our wonderful friends, the Davidsons. Jacob and Lyla were born about 10 days apart and they have been the cutest little friends ever since. They lay awake whispering and giggling until I finally made Lyla come sleep with me at 11:30. We hung out all morning with Jen and the boys (and Elizabeth) until my parents got into town around lunch. And so the road trip continued.
Ames, Iowa (Just north of Des Moines):
We made it to Des Moines and decided to stop for the night. Sorry to any Amians out there, but there wasn't much in Ames to make me ever go back. So on we went the next morning.
We drove up into Minnesota where we were Set-upon by a swarm of devilish mosquitoes at the Minnesota welcome center on 35, all in the name of geocaching. Even growing up in Mississppi, spending time in Louisiana, and living in central Florida I have never been attacked like that before! I was determined to get the geocaches even though I yelled at the girls to run away. So I flailed and slapped the entire time and got it, but somehow didn't make it out with the dollar bill that I saw in it. I did swallow a couple of mosquitos though. And on we drove into South Dakota.
Oasis Inn in Oacoma, South Dakota:
The hotel in Oacoma has family suites and a nice pool and hot tub. It also overlooks the Missouri River and some huge buffalo statues. While we were there we walked a trail and learned a little more about the Louis and Clark expedition. Then the girls got to swim for a long time before we were all tired and went back to the room to watch old episodes of Full House and The Nanny. I love those shows!
Wall, South Dakota:
We had to stop at Wall Drug. It's like a ritual now. So we stopped, saw the animatronic dinosaur, the girls splashed in the water play area, took their picture riding a giant jackalope, and had ice cream and milkshakes. It's horribly cheesy and touristy, but after seeing the signs for over 250 miles, you just gotta stop there!
Keystone, South Dakota:
We went to Mount Rushmore. Lyla was very little the last time we went, so she didn't remember it. The girls and I hiked up the Presidential Trail the wrong way (which makes you climb over 250 stairs) and got the "up the nose view" of the four presidents. I'm glad they ask questions and we get to discuss all kinds of random history when we go places like this!! My degree does come in useful sometimes!
Mallo Camp, Four Corners, Wyoming:
We all stayed at Mallo Camp for the Rothluetner Family Reunion. The kids had a blast because other than a few rules about not going too far up the creek and to watch out for snakes, the kids were let loose for the weekend. They dammed up the creek and made a stepping stone bridge across another place. They caught fish. They ran and played and ate. I took Gwyn, Celee, and 2 cousins up to climb the bluff above the camp. They rode four wheelers, found birds' nests, and looked for deer. I enjoyed adult conversation and a good bit of quiet alone time. I hiked a trail on my own with just my thoughts. And even though the trail signs abruptly stopped at one point and I, after much searching for the trail to no avail, had to turn around and hike it back the way I came, I thoroughly enjoyed the peace and quiet. It probably helped my nature-loving mood to be also midway through reading Thoreau's Walden. I watched the butterflies, deer, and a hawk and was very much at peace. It is a special place to be able to say with no unease, "I haven't see my girls in over 2 hours. They are playing somewhere."
Cheyenne, WY:
After the reunion, we caravanned to Cheyenne to stay at our Aunt Pat's house. We stopped for root beer floats (minus the root beer, really! what A&W runs out of root beer!?) on the way and a picture with the Sinclair dinosaur. Then the girls played with more cousins all evening and explored Aunt Pat's house. It's a wonderful old house with 3 floors, many rooms and hidden doors and interesting things stashed throughout. I remember thinking what a cool house it was when I was little and the girls are just as enamored with it as I was.
So we will rest and relax for a day here before we head back east. We are all missing Jason. We are not especially looking forward to the 3 day drive home, though. But we are going a different route, so maybe we'll see interesting things. The girls have almost seen a license plate from every state and I have a road kill bingo sheet for them on the way home so they have things to look for. In the meanwhile they are running free here with cousins for one more day.
