Wyoming/South Dakota

Hot Springs:
We stopped in at the Hot Springs State Park in Thermopolis, WY. That was cool. They had a free pool you could get into where they had cooled the hot springs down to a comfortable 104 degrees. They only let you stay in for 20 minutes so you don't get dizzy. The kids loved it, it was like one big bath tub!

Mt. Rushmore:
We saw it when we got to the parking lot, then a cloud of fog covered the whole area after that. The kids earned their Jr. Ranger Badges there too though. Had we known it was so much fun we would have done it at every park!
We have a lovely picture of Mt. Rushmore below in a fog the way we saw it. Also a picture of Jonas and Lucy in their Yellowstone garb with their bison and elk.

Minnesota - Mall of America n' stuff

While we were in Minnesota Jon talked to a guy in a Walmart Parking lot that lived out of his can and made deliveries. Those kind of people enjoy a bit of socializing especially with someone that shows them some friendliness and respect. Truth is, we have met people like this all along our journey. Interesting lifestyle.

The following day we stopped at The Mall of America. It's big. It's a mall. It has an amusement park in the middle. I wouldn't go out of my way to stop there although it was a nice detour for lunch. I was actually disappointed because they didn't have a free play area for kids! Understandable because it would probably be overcrowded. After we left the mall we got into a traffic jam because of a fire up ahead. Apparently their was an RV on fire up ahead. It was like they were our kin! Ok, not really but I felt bad for them (unless they had full coverage insurance, then I was happy for them because now they get a nice new trailer). Seriously though, some people are dumb In a traffic jam. Like one guy tried skipping ahead when everyone else got out of the way for the fire truck. Then when the fire truck passed he tried to follow a little to get further ahead again! What a butt head!

Badlands National Park

The Badlands are quite perplexing. We saw some sweet Mountain Goats climbing around though. We climbed on some formations and know first hand that it is no easy task... And quite slick. Check out our pictures!

Cody, Wyoming

We went to a rodeo in Cody, Wyoming last night! It was pretty awesome! They had bucking broncos, barrel races, calf roping, bull riding and God. Yep, before it began the announcer prayed for the whole event. Then some horseback riders came out with the American flags while they play the Toby Keith song... Courtesy of the Red White and Blue (not sure if that is the right song title). Three more riders ride around the arena really fast with flags that say, GOD-BLESS-AMERICA right at the time when Toby Keith sings "we'll put a boot in your a**, it's the American way..." Haha!
The whole thing was quite exciting, minus Lucy trying to escape the whole time. She reminds me of a bucking bronco actually.

Yellowstone

Wow.

I think this was our favorite park, especially as a family with younger kids.

Highlights:
-All the weird things to see that make you feel like you are on another planet like geysers, hot springs, mud volcanos and fumaroles.

-Seeing so much wildlife- it isn't like when you are at the zoo. There is a certain thrill in knowing that you could get eaten alive at any moment. Some people are there for a week and don't get to see the amount of wildlife we got to see in that time. God showed us quite an array of animals while we were there. The kids helped us appreciate the more common animals like ducks, birds and chipmunks. Jonas' two favorite animals were the bison and the ducks.
Animals we saw: bison, elk, black bear, grizzly bear, chipmunks, ravens, white pelican, Canadian geese, and a pack of wolves.

-The wolf hunt. Not many people get a chance to see even one wolf in the park let alone an entire pack on an elk hunt. We stood on a bluff with a slew of other gawkers, binoculars glued to our faces. It was like the discovery channel in real time (particularly because two wildlife buffs beside us were conversing about the alpha male, and alpha female and who was taking the lead, etc). A herd of grazing elk stood on a hill in their trajectory. The pack split up to try and surround the elk herd, but the elk spotted an approaching wolf and they started to run. The wolf pack was able to separate four elk from the rest but they moved beyond the hill and we were never able to see if the pack made a kill or not. Regardless it was an amazing experience, even with two kids tugging at our shirts the whole time.

-Playing in the streams and puddles of the park. The kids can't get enough of rocks, water, and mud.

-Helping Jonas an Lucy do their Jr. Ranger packet and then at the end of the week when they were dubbed official Jr. Ranger by a Park Ranger and given a patch. (Even if you don't have kids you should get a free Jr. Ranger packet when you visit a National Park. It gives you a good idea of what to look for and highlights you may not want to miss.)

California - Coast to Coast and headed back now!

CALIFORNIA!!! If you think you are missing out because you have never been to California, let me tell you that the cities are cool.. But the true beauty is in the land. We met one guy that insisted that the High Sierras are the most beautiful place in the U.S., however I believe God has created beauty in so many places that we just sometimes don't stop to notice it. Are you missing out by not visiting California? Well have you noticed the simple beauty in your own backyard? Or God's touch in the faces I your own children?

San Francisco:
Our favorite part of San Francisco was putting our feet in the ocean during the sunset. In fact, driving the streets of San Franscisco is rather frightening. The hills are out of control. We really didn't take the time to tour around the city a whole lot with Jonas and Lucy being so young, so I am sure there are some cool things. People there don't even know about the Mackinaw Bridge! And we all know its bigger and better than the Golden Gate! ;)

Yosemite:
The beauty and grandeur of the Sierra Nevada Mountains is magnificent. We dry camped for free in the Stanislaus National Forest about 7 miles from the Yosemite Big Oak entrance.
(On a side note; I felt like an Amish family during tourist season. We and Lucy in particular were photographed multiple times by Asian people. I am assuming they were just taken with her blonde hair an blue eyes. If they weren't photographing us they were at least staring or pointing and smiling at us. I felt quite famous, haha.)
The valley of Yosemite is the most touristy, but the kids loved it. There is a nice river that everyone swims in down there and the kids loved wading and playing with the rocks. Jon set up his hammock in a grove of trees and let Lucy take her nap there. We also drove up to Glacier Point one evening and stayed there until the stars came out. The view was awesome.
Some of our pictures are also from Tioga Rd. where we saw beautiful mountain lakes, snow capped peaks and a Periguin Falcon flying so fast above us we could hear the wind slicing in front of it like a jet.