Making our way to Minneapolis

Day 181 - St. Paul, MN - Mostly Sunny Mid 60's:

Ahhhhh I LOVE TO SLEEP! We slept in a bit today and woke up VERY slowly. Mostly we hung around the house for the morning. It's the first of two weeks of finals for Hannah (not the ideal time for us to arrive) and so we laid low so she could do some work until breakfast. Jonah had gone into work while we sleeping and returned with muffins in tow not long after we woke up. It was a wonderful treat!! Once Jonah was back we spent out time catching up. For lunch the boys went out and got pizzas for lunch. I tried my first Mexican Pizza. Instead of sauce they use refried beans. I'm not a bean fan but the pizza was so good.

After lunch we headed out to visit the MALL OF AMERICA. Our first stop was at IKEA so Hannah could get some picture frames and so Ben could have his first IKEA experience. From there we headed to the mall and spent some time just wandering through the endless stores before Ben and Jonah made their way to the racing store where they were able to race against each other. Meanwhile Hannah and I made our way to the shoe stores. We caught back up with the boys and then headed out as it was nearing dinner time. We made a quick stop at Trader Joe's so that we could introduce Jonah and Hannah to "two buck chuck" wine. We wouldn't be drinking any until dinner the following evening but we wanted to make sure we had it on hand.

We returned to the house for a bit before making our way to one of Hannah and Jonah's favorite dinner spot Barley John's. We attempted to eat outside but it was just too cold so we moved our party inside. It was a DELICIOUS dinner and after we returned home to relax on the couch. We had to get to bed fairly early as we had big plans for breakfast


Day 180 - Rapid City, SD to St. Paul, MN - WINDY, Overcast and Cool Mid 40's:

We actually managed to get an early start on the day to our delight and were on the road around 8am. We had about a nine hour drive to reach Jonah and Hannah's and had planned to stop at Badlands National Park on our way. The day started out great we had been seeing signs for Wall Drug "America's #1 Roadside Attraction" on the highway for most of South Dakota and so decided to stop as it was the same exit as the Badlands. I'm still not quite clear on the whole story but ultimatley it felt like an old western town. The "drug store" is certainly more than that...it has many different stores within it including a fudge shop, a boot shop, and a drug store. It also has family attractions like gold panning and a restaurant that seats over 500. We didn't spend a ton of time there but Ben did try one of their homemade donuts...just so you know "not as good as Gug's".

From Wall Drug we headed straight for Badlands National Park. I had no idea really what to expect here but I am SO glad we drove through. The park is mostly a driving loop with a few short hikes. Considering our time constraints and the weather we had planned just to drive the loop and head out. The park is BEAUTIFUL. It is so different in terms of colors and scenery than any other park we have seen. While there we even got to see BIG HORNED SHEEP!! We couldn't get a great picture which was disappointing but at least we got to see them. We took lots of pictures as you can see before heading out of the park.

Not too long after leaving the Badlands we hit our own BAD LAND. The land of flat tires. Let's be clear THERE IS NOTHING IN SOUTH DAKOTA!! Here's the story. We got the flat. Ben took out our donut which was a bit flat. We looked to find the nearest city that MIGHT have a tire place and it was fifty or so miles away. Rather than drive on a slightly flat donut we decided to call AAA. We have 100 miles of free towing and figured it was in our best interest. While we were waiting for our tow we called EVERY tire place we could find only to discover that the ONLY place that had a tire in the size we needed was 90 miles away and 30 miles our of our way. After about an hour and a half the tow truck FINALLY showed up. Thankfully Nick was a nice guy because we had to spend quite a bit of time with him. We arrived at WW Tire to get our new tire. The guys were GREAT. We had a new tire and were on our way within twenty minutes.

From there we headed straight to Hannah and Jonah's. It was a LONG LONG LONG drive. We made a few stops for gas dinner and more gas. By the time we were about a mile away we had reached complete sillyness. We were laughing at EVERYTHING...thankfully Ben was driving because I couldn't see I had so many tears streaming down my face. We FINALLY arrived at the Daigle residence at around 2am. Hannah was still up awaiting our arrival and Jack woke Jonah up so he could say HI. We chatted for a minute and then went straight to BED! It was a long day but it ended wonderfully with the sight of familiar faces.

Day 179 - Denver, CO to Rapid City, SD - Snow and COLD Mid 30's:

Today we got up bright and early and made our way out of Denver. The weather was quite different from yesterday as instead of 70 and sunny it was 30 and snowing. Our drive was rather uneventful. We made good time and arrived at the Crazy Horse Memorial around 3pm. Crazy Horse is a memorial being carved in the side of the Black Hills of South Dakota. Much like Mount Rushmore honors the great men of America, the memorial is in honor of one of the great men of the American Indian Nation. Unlike Mount Rushmore though Crazy Horse is being carved without the assistance of the US Government. It is a continuing project solely through the funds of donors and admission fees. The project was started by Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear on June 3, 1948. We were able to watch a video of Ziolkowski work on the mountain as a one man operation. He had wooden staircases to the top and a crank compressor at the bottom to work with...it was an AMAZING feat as he said at times he would have to climb up and down the stairs nine times a day due to the poor condition of his compressor. Ziolkowski has since passed but the project is continued by his wife and children. The museum offers so much history on Native American people including the Indian Museum of North America and The Native American Education and Cultural Center. It also includes Ziolkowski's original home built by hand at the base of the mountain. You can actually tour the home and his studio and view many of his INCREDIBLE sculptures. Ziolkowski was not anyone that I had heard of but his work is some of the most beautiful I have ever seen.

Crazy Horse is no where near complete and likely won't be for many years as funding continues to be an issue but the goal is unchanging. When it is complete the Crazy Horse carving will be 641 feet long by 563 feet high. His head which is already complete is 87 feet 6 inches. The horses head which they are working on now is 219 feet high or the equivalent of a 22 story building!!! Although the carving is the focus now eventually the property will be an entire complex including the American Indian University and Medical Training Center, a new American Indian Museum, a road that allows visitors to drive around the mountain, and improvements and expansion of the visitors center and gift shop. We learned about this place from a friend and although it's not finished, it is a wonderful place to explore and learn about American Indian history and culture.

From Crazy Horse we made the short drive to Mount Rushmore. We knew that the visitor center would be closed but made our way to the park. As we drove we saw MOUNTAIN GOATS! I was so excited!! After parking our car we headed down the walk of nations to the viewing area for the monument. It is such a neat thing to see. I still am amazed as I was at Crazy Horse with the ability of people to carve in a mountain. The monument was smaller than I had anticipated but thrilling nonetheless. The only disappointment was that I was not able to get one of the National Park Brochures to add to our ever growing collection! We spent some time walking around taking pictures before heading out to finish our trip to Rapid City, SD.

We made it to the hotel and quickly unpacked the car so we could eat dinner! We were able catch game seven of the Red Wings/Coyotes series to Ben's delight! We spent some time on computers and visiting the hot tub before Ben headed out to a local casino. To his dismay it was only video poker so he only stayed for a few minutes before returning home. We both needed to get some rest as our longest driving day of the trip so far was just a few hours away!

Moab to Denver

Day 178 – Denver, CO - Sunny Mid 70's:

We got a good start on the morning with breakfast in the hotel and headed out for a day of adventure. Our first stop was Red Rock Park. Billy and Sara had mentioned this was a must see location and so we took them up on the advice. This location is well known for its amazing outdoor amphitheater. There have been hundreds of shows here by some of the biggest names in music including Pearl Jam, The Grateful Dead, Widespread Panic, Mariah Carey, Dave Matthews, James Taylor and John Mayer just to name a VERY FEW. Billy had mentioned that when they were here it was like being at an outdoor gym because there were so many people working out. When we arrived, we found the same to be true…so we decided to join in the workout fun. That’s the beauty of having all your belongings in your car…so we changed and hit the stairs. It was SO TOUGH. The almost 7,000 feet of altitude really has an impact. I had no idea how badly my lungs could burn doing something as simple as running up seventy amphitheater seats! We spent about an hour doing everything from running back and forth from the top to the bottom (it’s about two miles…I may have skipped a few rows but Ben did them all), to doing jumping squats from the bottom to the top, and simply running from the bottom to the top. It was quite a workout and I can see why so many people spend time here.

Once we were good and sweaty we decided that we should head back to the hotel for a quick shower before heading downtown. While we were there Ben checked to see if there were any shuttle services and it turns out they offer rides into town every hour so we QUICKLY showered and jumped in the van to head to the 16th Street Mall in downtown. Did I mention that it was a GORGEOUS day outside? Bright blue skies and mid-70’s! Our first stop was at an Irish pub called Katie _____ where we grabbed some lunch before hitting the stores. We both found a new pair of shorts at the Gap ON SALE! We continued to walk down 16th Street checking out the different shops including the famous Tattered Cover bookstore. It is a HUGE new and used bookstore that we wandered through for a bit.

We then made our way to The Sports Column, which had been recommended, as a great place to catch game seven of the Canadians/Capitals hockey game. It turned out to be a great spot. In fact it has been named the best baseball bar and pub by ESPN and a number of sports magazines. We sat and watched the game and even participated in round one of trivia night as team “Maineiacs”. We didn’t win but we made a good showing. The shuttle picked us up right at the bar, which was convenient and brought us back to the hotel. We had some popcorn, watched a bit of television, and hit the sack!

Day 177 – Denver, CO - Sunny Mid 60's:

We got up bright and early hoping to get an early start on our trip to Denver. Unfortunately our plan for cereal was cancelled due to spoiled milk!! Instead we ended up having a nice breakfast at a place called Ecleikticafe in town. Once breakfast was done we hit the road.

The drive was rather uneventful across I-70. It is certainly a major ski road though as we passed through Vail, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, and other well known ski towns. We made a quick stop somewhere along the way for a picnic lunch before continuing on the road.

Once we got into Denver we made a quick trip to do some window-shopping at a local mall before making our way to the hotel. I needed to do some work so we had planned to spend the evening relaxing in the hotel room. While I was working Ben made a quick trip to the grocery store and returned to make TACOS! It was delicious. We spent the rest of the evening watching TV and working on our computers before heading to bed!

Day 176 – Moab, UT- Sunny Upper 70's:

Today we woke up and had anther great egg breakfast. After we were all cleaned up we decided to head into downtown Moab and explore the quaint little town. It is a very nice town and much quieter now that the car show moved out of town. After we had seen enough gift shops and trinkets we decided it was time for lunch. We decided to eat at Zax’s, which had brick oven pizza and was really delicious.

After we finished our lunch we headed back to the campground and were planning on heading back into Arches National Park to do some hiking but instead we figured we would hang around the pool for the afternoon and then head into the park to hike and see the sunset. We enjoyed the beautiful day lounging at the pool and working on our tans. After a couple hours in the sun we went back to the campsite and while I cooked some dinner to take into the park, Heather took a nap after our stressful day.

Around five we jumped into the car and made our way into Arches National Park. We drove to our first site the Windows. We walked out to the double arch formation that looked liked there the middle had just fallen out of the middle. Next we were walking to the Windows arches and I over heard someone say that the moon was going to be appearing through the south window in about an hour or so. It sounded really cool so we decided to head over to the Sand Dune arch and come back to the Windows for the moon show.

On our way to the Sand Dune arch we made a quick stop by the fiery furnace area, which you need to get a special permit to hike into, because the terrain is very fragile and there are no trail markers, so it’s easy to get very lost. They also have ranger guided hikes but they were sold out until Tuesday, so maybe on our next adventure we will get into the fiery furnace. It was then just a short trip to the Sand Dune arch and an even shorter quarter mile hike into the arch. It was kind of cool and it was possible to get on top of the arch but the park service asks that you don’t because the weight might cause it to collapse. We did see a couple guys breaking the rules and climbing across the arch.

After making our way back to the car we headed back to The Windows trail to view the moon through the arches. By now there were a large number of people gathered to see the moon. We waited for about an hour and finally the moon arrived. It was quite spectacular to see. We took LOTS of pictures as the moon quickly rose overhead. We packed dinner and waited for the sun to set. It wasn’t the most spectacular sunset as far as sky colors were concerned however the way the sun lit up the arches was BEAUTIFUL!

We returned to camp and cleaned up from our earlier cooking. We made sure to pack as much as we could so that in the morning we would have as little to do as possible. It was then off to bed for both of us!!

Day 175 – Moab, UT - Overcast Low 70's:

Today we woke up and got ready for another day of exploring and drove up to Canyonlands National Park about 30 miles west of Moab. We got into that park and made a quick stop by the visitor center to get some ideas for hiking and what we must see while we where there. After some great recommendations we head to the northern part of the park to visit Upheaval Dome. There are two overlook points and we decided to go out to the second overlook first which was about one mile away. Upheaval Dome is unique because it’s a crater that had formed and the National Park Service doesn’t know exactly how it was formed. There are two theories; The first thought is that the crater was created when a meteor struck the earth a couple million years ago killing all the animals in the surrounding area and sending shock waves that could be felt around the world. The second thought is that a salt dome was once there and collapsed forming the crater that we saw today. Heather believes that it was a salt dome where as I think that a meteor must have created this unique formation.

Next on our trip around the park, we went on a short two-mile hike to see some Aztec food storage rooms that were built into the side of a couple cliffs. They were kind of cool but after just recently seeing the houses at Mesa Verde the storage rooms just didn’t keep our attention for too long and we made our way back to the car.

We then drove to the Green River overlook and got to see the White Rim from here which looks really cool from the top because it seems to have a salt rim along the top of the canyons below. We also got to see the Green river where John Wesley Powell the first man to raft the Grand Canyon started his journey about 50 miles north of Canyonlands National Park.

From the Green River overlook we drove to the second overlook on our adventure and where told that we could see both the Green River and the Colorado River from the Grand View Point Overlook which was an easy two mile round trip hike. However, we could only still see the Green River and searched for the Colorado but we couldn’t find it so we made our way back to the car.

Our final stop in the park was the Mesa Arch which was just a short ½ mile hike out and back. This arch was really cool because it stood right above a cliff face that dropped of about 600 feet on the other side of where we were standing. We got some pictures making sure to keep away from the edge. Overall Canyonlands National Park didn’t impress us very much but it was a nice relaxing day.

Once we got back to the campground we decided to lay by the pool for a bit and enjoy the hot tub before dinner. After dinner I once again kicked Heather’s butt in some Phase 10 and then it was off to bed for the night.