Mount Rushmore and South Dakota

While we were staying in Black Hawk, SD we went over to Mount Rushmore - our first major national monument. I wasn't really expecting much, I mean it's just some old dudes faces carved into a rock. I've got to tell you though, it's pretty impressive.

It's unbelievable this was done with dynamite and jackhammers

Look at those details!

Even his beard looks awesome

Artsy fartsy shot ;)

And duh, had to get an Instagram shot

After Rushmore we hung out and did grocery shopping and other not-worth-reporting things. We headed to Plankinton, SD on Sunday, August 30th. It was 258 miles to Hills RV, which was a decent place to stay - I knew not to expect to much when the website had obviously been hacked. I kid you not, there was a link on the website "jennifer aniston porn pic". Um ... awkward. It's still there as of this posting. Believe it or not, I just couldn't bring myself to tell the lady it was there. They were cash only and there were only 2 other RVs there, but they had a really nice pool, and it was only 1 night - so whatever.

Plankinton, SD was ... small? There was basically nothing there. Jason and me walked to the post office and we saw an ATV pulling a snowmobile trailer through town, and then a tractor - through town. There was nothing open except one bar, and it was ... iffy? Like I said though, it was one night and the pool was great!

And let's not forget the most important part - we were able to add another sticker! Woohoo!

Yeah stickers!!!!

A Stop in Deadwood

On Friday the 28th we left Wyoming and headed over to South Dakota. We drove 254 miles to stay at Three Flags RV Park in Black Hawk, which is just between Sturgis and Rapid City. Everyone is starting to get a bit worn down by the constant traveling, there's even a no-electronics grounding in place. Which isn't easy on ANY of us.

We can't go on

On the way to our RV spot we stopped in Deadwood, SD, an adorable little western town.

Main Street

Wild Bill's going down

A view down the street

We went into the little shops and had lunch in a cute little place where they even let Emma come in. At the very first stop, we found something that Jason has been wanting for a long time (don't ask me why, the man wants bagpipes for heaven's sake).

Mr. Dakota Deadwood

And naturally, this picture had to happen. I'm not sure why Porter felt the need to cup the rear end

Future girlfriends WILL be seeing this :)

Wyoming, Kind Of...

On Wednesday the 26th we headed out to drive the 287 miles to Wyoming. Unfortunately, it wasn't really a stop for sightseeing or touristy type things. We stayed in Ranchester, WY because it was a good midway point and there was an RV park with full hookups. The Lazy R Campground wasn't anything to write home about, but I was able to get caught up on laundry and we had nice neighbors.

At least I got a picture of the sign!

There wasn't a grocery store, but the main street did have THREE taxidermy shops. Because, you know ... actually I have no idea why that would be necessary. The only 'point of interest' there was the Connor Battlefield.

Conner Battlefield Memorial

It was a nice little park on the river and we actually walked there a number of times. The story behind it is somewhat grim though. It's basically a memorial to the place where an entire Native American village was attacked and burned.

The Bison Conqueror

In good news, we added another state!

5 down!

For perspective - these maps show how far we've driven and how far is left to make to the Fulltime Families rally in Branson, MO:

We've come so far

But there's so very much further to go

Missouri Headwaters - In Montana?

On Monday the 24th we made it to the Missouri Headwaters campground, which is actually a Montana state park just outside of Bozeman. When you're already having a hard time remembering where you are? Totally not helpful. That being said though, there was barely anyone there so it was quiet and pretty chill. After all the traveling and cities I think it's what we needed. We went on lots of walks, just exploring the area. If you can ever get there, I highly recommend it.

This is what life is supposed to be

During the day it was hot and muggy, and with no hookups, there's no a/c. Jason found Hudson laying on the tile floor, in his underwear, rubbing ice cubes on his stomach. When told it was time to go walk the dog, this was the 'mosquito-deterring-getup' that he came outside with. No idea where this melodramatic tendency comes from ;)

It's not even funny Mom

On Tuesday around dinner time, the host? ranger? dude-in-the-golf-cart, came by. There was a black bear just down the way where we had taken a walk the night before! We never saw or heard anything, but it was still kind of exciting to think we were so close to one.

The most breathtaking view I saw was on my morning walk with Emma. I really hate getting up so early with that silly girl, but I've got to say - it's generally so worth it.

Morning aren't all bad

A fun fact about the area is that this is where Colter's Run happened. I vaguely remember hearing about it as a kid, but now that we've been to the spot, maybe we'll see about renting one of the movies they made about. I'm sure they are historically accurate and paint the Blackfoot tribe in a positive light (that was sarcasm for those of you who weren't sure).

Run Forest, RUN

Wandering Montana

On Sunday (8/23) we took a drive around Flathead lake. The smoke was pretty bad again, but it was still a gorgeous drive. We stopped at Flathead Lake Brewing in Big Fork, MT and had a delicious lunch. We sat out on the patio and had a view of the lake.

Painted Rock Porter

Bigfork is a pretty cute little town so we walked around a bit. There was a great outdoor store that was having a big clearance on all their summer stuff. Hellllooooo fun time for mom!

On Monday the drive from Polson, MT to Three Forks, MT (just outside Bozeman) was 244 miles, so we broke it up by making a few stops. Since we left early-ish in the morning we made the first stop a "get out as much energy as possible" one for the boys. My google skills found a skate park that looked pretty accessible with the Beaver. We made it there, but Jason wasn't super impressed with the neighborhood we had to park in. The address listed for the Mobash Skatepark on their website is actually a good 10-15 minute walk. Oops.

Get some!

There was actually a pair of brothers riding their bikes around and although Hudson wasn't in the best of moods, Porter hung out with them. It's so great to see him already gaining more confidence - being able to approach others and interact with anyone. We didn't stay long, Jason was worried about our home hanging around where it was. 

Side note - number of cowboys seen so far in Montana? ZERO. I feel somewhat disappointed that this state isn't living up to my stereotypes ;)

It's a joke people, don't get your panties in a wad

Jason had heard about a pretty cool place from some fulltime friends 'The Ace People'. So our second stop of the day was at the Old Montana Prison. It was pretty fun, and they even allow dogs so Emma was super excited to come along. 

Guard tower

There's a self guided tour into all the different areas of the prison. Some of the windowless solitary confinement cells were creeeeepy. But the boys got to "try out" some of the prisoner showers which was hillarious.

Don't drop the soap!

There's also a pretty large auto museum, I'm pretty sure the woman said they have over 100 cars. My favorite (other than the blue Shelby Cobra, because duh, that always wins top spot) was a Mad Max original.

Two men enter, one man leaves

We ended the tour with ice creams and the obligatory tourist pic

Crime doesn't pay

Into Big Sky Country

We headed out late morning on Saturday the 22nd so that we would have time to stop and wandering around Sand Point, ID on our way over to Montana. It was an adorable little town right on the water. We found a spot to stash the Beaver then went walking. We found the city beach less then a mile from where we were and it was amazing. Did I mention that forest fires are horrible in the Northwest right now? Even with the smoke the view was gorgeous!

Amazeballs

From there we looked at the little downtown shops and stumbled on a great farmer's market. There was live music (even a sax - Porter was stoked!), produce, crafts, goat cheese (thumbs up from the boys!), gluten free treats, fresh honey, you name it.

Noms!!!

I honestly was really loving this little town until I saw this. 

No. Thank. You.

Polite pass.

We drove 190 miles total and ended up in Polson, MT at the Eagle Nest RV Resort. It wasn't our first pick at almost $60 a night, but the Big Arm State Park was completely full. We could've driven around looking for a cheaper spot, but a 40 foot Beaver with an FJ attached and mountain bikes on the back of that? Not really something you hunt in. All in all it was a nice restful place. I was able to wash all the bedding in their laundry room, and they had a book exchange. Yeah baby!

New Harper Lee. FOR FREE.

Oh! And I finally got my USA state map put up. I really didn't want to put it on the paint and defile the majestic Beaver, so we stuck it on the inside of one of the bay doors. I can't wait until there's more filled than not!

I'm gonna fill you up little buddy

Idaho - We came, we saw, we conquered

Our original plan was to spend 1-2 full weeks in each state we visit. Plans change though :) Back in March, just a few weeks after we first moved into an RV we went to a rally with some wonderful people. We made a last minute decision to high tail it over to Missouri by September 10th for the Fulltime Familes "Not Back to School" road rally. What a better way to start our journey than reconnecting with some like minded families?

Homeschooling - scary or fun? We'll see...

Needless to say though, you can't travel between Oregon and Missouri in 3 weeks and spend a lot of time in any state on the way. So Idaho was a whirlwind! We left Eugene, OR on Tuesday, August 18th and drove waaaaaaay to long for a single day (314 miles) - all the way to Kennewick, WA. We stayed a single night at the Columbia Sun RV Resort, with the 50% off Passport America discount, I'd consider it money well spent.

Our first pit stop Emma found a spine, naturally

The next day we traveled another 188 miles (yuck - I've got to plan shorter travel days!) to Athol, ID. We stayed at Ravenwood RV Resort for the simple reason that it is right down the road from Silverwood Theme Park - because what better way to start off our adventure than with a trip to a huge amusement/water park?!

Our first night in Idaho we drove over to Couer d'Alene, it's a great town and the downtown area actually reminded me a lot of Bend (le sigh ... I miss her). We had dinner at a great pizza place that had gluten-free crust for Porter and walked around where they were having an evening farmers/craft market. There was live music and a huge park right down the road.

I mustache you a question

Thursday morning we headed over to Silverwood when they opened at 11:00. We went straight for the log ride and of course it was me that got soaked! Next was Timber Terror, which in hind sight was not a wise decision :) While Jason and Porter thought it was great, Huddy and me were not impressed.

Terror is RIGHT people

We spent the entire day there, my fitbit says we walked 8.5 miles, and I believe it. We did rides, spent a few hours at the waterpark, saw a magic show, got ice-creams the size of our heads, and just generally had a blast. We ended the night off with a ride on the Panic Plunge by Jason and me (note to self, it's okay to say no).

Panic is right. Sheer and utter panic. For 2 whole seconds.

And a quite nighttime ferris wheel ride (after the so-horribly-obnoxious preteen girls in front of us got seated). I've got to say though, I used to love amusement park rides but I honestly just can't hang anymore.

Seriously, it wasn't even moving

Originally we were going to get the 2-day pass to Silverwood, but honestly we were so worn out, and the weather on Friday was icky, it would've been a waste of money. Instead we just hung out, played with the dog (I worked, ugh), and we went to the Buck Knife factory. They don't have tours on Friday - boo! But they do have a small museum and a shop. The girls there were great and even let the boys hold the custom knife that was made for ribbon cutting by the mayor.

That's not a knife

That's a knife

All in all, it was time well spent. I wish we could have gotten more of a feel for the state, but I guess it's just a good excuse to come back!

Heading Out

It feel like a long time since we sold 95% of everything we own and moved into our RV. The downsizing was hard, there's a weird sort of attachment we develop with our things. It's really nothing compared to the feeling of leaving behind the people we love though. I've shed more tears than I care to admit. Every "last time" seeing someone and "last hug" for who-knows-how-long is hard. 

It's not that I'm not excited, we are all so looking forward to this journey. But it isn't easy leaving behind everything and everyone that you know. It is worth it though - there is so much ahead of us!

Tomorrow isn't guaranteed

So out we go - into the wild blue yonder (or at least out onto I-5). I'm excited for our journey and for this place to share it with the people we will miss.

Wander on Beaver