Day 2-Rocky

Ok,I know, I know, you had to wait a long time!  We camped a few nights and then had technical difficulties once we got to Ohio, but we are up and going now!!  I'm going to try to catch up as quickly as possible, but will do as I have done this whole trip and just take it one day at a time.  BTW-Pics will have to wait for now, but there are some good ones!!

We left Bozeman, MT at 7:45 AM and quickly learned the art of changing diapers while the kid is standing up.  It's a new adventure, but that's what it's all about.  Poor Wylie shouts out "Mommy, my ears aren't working!" and totally freaks out each time the elevation changes.  I gave her gum for the first time and she did well with not swallowing.  However, Cade doesn't follow rules so well and just keeps wanting more and more.  Good thing I only gave him a little pinch.  Poor kid is going to be pluged up with gum :-)  This will have to become a "when Cade goes to sleep" treat like so many others.  

We arrived Sheridan, WY at 11:45 for lunch.  It was another successful picnic.  This time at the Trail End Historic Site.  Quiet, spacious lawn, many shade trees, so perfect for our fair skinned family.  Sheridan has a lot of nice old homes that I would love to live in and a beautiful middle school that I would love to work in, just not in Wyoming.  As we entered town it looked a little like Las Animas.  The dirt was dry and hard, the weeds were spaced far apart,and many of the buildings looked ran down.  The best part though was the train tracks.  We were lucky enough to hit them just as a coal train was coming through both coming into town and when we were leaving.  

At 3:02 PM we were lucky enough to drive through Upton, WY, Population 872 and advertised as "The Best Town on Earth" on their welcome sign.  When Jon told Wylie this and encouraged her to take it all in, she said "where?"  Let's just say the Routh family doesn't agree with the sign.  The roads were all dirt and just to make it a little fancy they watered down part of it.

Around 3:30 we finally made it to our first big destination....Bedrock City!  That's right we got to see the Finstones!  It was a fun time and we wish we had scheduled in more time to play.  We did get our picture taken with Fred, so the kids were happy. After a promise of ice cream at Mt. Rushmore, they were even more happy.

Next stop-Crazy Horse Monument.  This was a big underwhelming.  We appreciate the thought behind it, but really it just looks like a big rock that has a face you can kinda see and a bunch of other white lines.  Again, appreciate the historical significance and though, but took a picture and left.

Final Destination Spot-Mt. Rushmore!!!  WOW!  This was awestriking, breath taking, question awakening.  Just thinking about all of the people who worked together, who were killed while working, who worked on it either out of patriotism or the need for a job at the time is just amazing.  Of course, Wylie's favorite part of the whole day was her strawberry shortcake ice cream and then her dad's cookies & cream ice cream!!

We arrived at the Deadwood KOA @ 7:12 PM and Wylie and Cade were jazzed about camping.  Jon set up camp while the kids and I played at the playground, then we had dinner of hot dogs on a not so hot fire (apparently the BBQ coals that we bought are non-flamable :-)  The kids used the Aerobed as a trampoline and made quick friends with the neighboors.  Those poor people heard all about our vacation plans and Wylie's sleeping bag and tried their best to decipher Cade's stories.  Cade was filthy from head to toe, but happy as a clam (maybe a Flinstone clam :-)  Bed time 9:00 and it went fairly well.

Sweet Moments-Wylie and Cade held hands while sleeping in the tent.

Funny Sights- Our first palm tree sighting was somewhere between Bozeman and Sheridan.  There were metal and painted in neon colors, but they count!

Lessons learned:  Licorice works just as well as gum when Wylie's ears wont work.
When your DVD & Garmin both stop working within a 1/2 hour of each other you must be in an electronic vortex...we got Garmin back up, but the DVD is donezo!