Day 21 & 22: Yellowstone National Park

We woke up to a nice surprise our first morning in Yellowstone.  We had a puppy with an upset tummy and she had pooped on the floor.  I had already cleaned it up by the time everyone got up but we still smelled it.  When Kevin went to pull back the curtains from the dashboard, he found a huge pile of poop and pee on the dashboard right in front of his seat!  There was urine on his work book and even after cleaning it, when the sun comes in the window and warms it just right, the smell is still in the air!
After a rough start to the morning, we headed in to Yellowstone.   Our plan--go see Old Faithful.  When we arrived at Old Faithful, it had just erupted so we missed it.  We decided to walk around, check out the visitors center, get some ice cream and come back 10 minutes before it erupted next.  Guess what?  It erupted early so we missed it again. At this point, the kids were ready to bag it but I thought what a shame it would be to come all the way here and miss it so we messed around another hour or so and made sure to be back in time to see it.  Of course it was 15 minutes late but it was really cool and I'm happy we stayed!  Here's what we saw:

We also saw some other thermals--steam coming right out of the ground--and some hot springs and mud pools.  It was very interesting to see:

As for wildlife, we saw a bison, elk, and moose the first day but the next day, on the way to Cody, Wyoming, we saw herds of bison!   It was so cool--there must have been hundreds!  There were  a couple blocking the road and the rangers had to guide them off the road so traffic could resume.  Lulu and Sammi were having a fit to get to those bison!  I don't know what they would have done since Lulu is afraid of everything but it was funny to watch!

Got to Cody yesterday--I'll fill you in on that in the next post!  Thanks for traveling along with us!

Day 18, 19 & 20: Oregon and on to Idaho

We had a beautiful day in Warm Springs at Kah-Nee-Ta Resort.  Although we were told it was 100 degrees the week before, it was pleasantly in the 70's during our stay.  Kevin, Lily and I took a horseback ride up into the mountains and the views were amazing.  We even saw a coyote!
I had a massage that day and we took the kids to the giant pool which is warmed by natural mineral hot springs!  They actually have to cool the water down some for swimming.
We ate at the resort and Kevin and the kids got a game of tag football going in the field beside our campsite.  It was a great, laid back kind of day.
We left the next morning and drove to Boise, Idaho.  We didn't get there until evening so we just caught up on laundry and hung around the campground.  Today we have arrived at our campground which is 22 miles outside of Yellowstone.  Tomorrow we plan on spending the day enjoying the park and hopefully, catch a glimpse of Old Faithful!

Day 17: Warm Springs, Oregon

So we are headed back towards home!  Tonight we are at the Kah-née-Tah Resort which is in the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.  What a beautiful place!  It's crazy because there are so many beautiful places in this country!  The campground is nestled between numerous mountains and has a huge pool with water slides, horseback riding, hiking, a spa and a couple of restaurants.
Tonight we went to a traditional Native American salmon bake where we we entertained with some music and dance in the traditional Native American clothing.  Even the very young children participated.  It was a cool thing to experience, and the kids really enjoyed the traditional fry bread with huckleberry jam! (And Kevin too!)
Tomorrow our plan is to stay on the resort and give everyone a break from the constant traveling and touring.  I am going to get a massage and the kids are going to swim in the pool which is heated underground by mineral hot springs.  We may go for a horseback ride or just have a laid back day on the resort but we'll be back on the road the day after.  Next state, Idaho.

Day 15 & 16: Seattle, WA

We arrived in Seattle yesterday and took a drive down to Pier 57 for dinner.  We were looking forward to some fresh Seattle seafood.  Kevin was pretty tired after driving that day so we headed back to the RV after dinner for some down time.
Today, we enjoyed the day in Seattle starting at the Pike Place Market.  I had no idea how large it was but it is 9 acres of food, flowers, crafts and flying fish!  We had some awesome clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl for lunch and we visited the gum wall.  We all contributed a piece of gum to the wall before leaving for the Space Needle.  While waiting for our time slot to ride up to the top, we visited the EMP museum next door which is music, entertainment and pop culture.  The kids really enjoyed that including a Star Wars exhibit with many costumes from the movies on display.
At 5:30 we took our ride to the top of the Space Needle.  There were some amazing views of Seattle in all directions!  We couldn't come to Seattle without visiting the Space Needle, the most iconic symbol of Seattle.
We are back at our home on wheels now and will be leaving in the morning for Oregon!

Day 14: Passing through Idaho & Spokane, WA

Well, we made it!  We are all the way across the country in Washington state.  Today we made a stopover in Spokane and tomorrow it's on to Seattle!
Since we already took in some bears in Michigan, we got the lions and tigers here in Washington at Cat Tales Zoological Park.  As you can guess from the name, it's all big cats..and one bear.  They had white tigers, bengal tigers, bobcats, mountain lions and more.  We even got to feed a large Siberian tiger named Kushka--through a plastic wall of course--but that was pretty cool...

After feeding the kitties, we drove to the Riverfront Park in Spokane and took a gondola ride over the Spokane Falls.  Unfortunately, every time a car was loaded the gondolas stopped so it was kind of a slow ride and the kids were pretty bored.  Tonight we are staying put in Spokane and looking forward to our time in Seattle!

Day 11, 12 & 13: Montana!

We had a quick stop-over in Great Falls, Montana but the next morning we were back on the road to Glacier National Park.  We got to the campground and were ready to go see some of the beauty of the park but had a little glitch.  We couldn't find the car keys anywhere!  We searched all over the RV to no avail.  Kevin remembered having them a couple states ago but they were missing now!  We had to have my mom overnight the keys so we would be able to leave Montana!
We got a rental car fairly quickly and we drove to the park.  The first stop was at Lake McDonald where the kids thought they were going to swim.  Lily tested the waters but the boys chickened out!  We drove up to some waterfalls and they kids played around in the water some before moving on.  We didn't get to stay too long--everyone was getting hungry so we left and went to dinner and then caught up on some laundry.
Today, we went back to the park and drove the Go-to-the-sun Road.  It is the number one attraction in the park because of the amazing scenery along the drive.  We got out at one point for the kids to climb some rocks and eat our lunch along the way.  We went up to the Logan's Pass visitors center and saw some very cute Columbian ground squirrels (which are a very close cousin to our prairie dogs) that would eat out of your hand, as well as some mountain goats from another lookout.
The kids talked Kevin into getting in the water at the lake today--it was cold but they braved it for a bit.
Glacier National Park is so beautiful.  I know my photos won't do it justice but hopefully you will get an idea of what we experienced.
(FYI-the car keys got here today so we will be moving on from Montana tomorrow.  Thanks Mom!!)

Day 10: Farewell Minnesota, Hello North Dakota

After making our farewells to our family in Minnesota, we drove most of the day today until we got to Bismarck, North Dakota.  We got in town kind of late so there wasn't much to do but thanks to my trusty visitors guide, we found a cool movie theater with huge screens and a classic theater feel.  We caught the 9:10 showing of Minions (really funny!)  and then just crashed at a Wal-Mart for the night.  (in the RV, not in the store!)
Today we will be entering Montana.  The plan right now is to make an overnight pit stop in Great Falls and then drive to Glacier Park the next day.  I've heard it's one of the most beautiful places in the world!

Day 7, 8, and 9: Green Bay, WI and Minnesota

Since our son, Zack, is a Packers fan, we had to make a stop at the famous Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers.  We took the Champions tour which took us through the private suites, the different levels of priority seating and onto the field via the tunnel that the players run through at every home game.  I told Zack, "You just ran through the tunnel that Aaron Rodgers runs through on to the field!".  Pretty cool!

Walking out through the tunnel.

After our tour, and a pretty expensive stop at their 22,000 square foot souvenir store, we made our way back onto the RV and drove to Minnesota.  Kevin has more family in the Minneapolis area so we  stopped for a visit with Aunt Diane and Uncle Mike.  Again, the hospitality we have received on this trip has been amazing.  Diane called the local police to get it approved for us to park our RV on the street in their neighborhood.  They turned their basement and laundry rooms over to us as well as giving us free reign of the kitchen.  (And they allowed our dogs in their house, even after Sammi pooped on their stairs!)
The next day was one I had been waiting for-our trip to the Mall of America!  Aunt Diane told me there were better things to see in Minnesota, but for me, this was it!  This mall is three levels of awesomeness with an amusement park stuck right in the center!  We had a great time shopping with the kids in what would end up seeming like a very short day but we headed back to Diane and Mike's where the rest of the family were waiting for a big family cookout!  We had a great time catching up with Tawn, Jeff, Tori, Danielle and their kids over burgers and brats.  We actually were having such a nice time that we ended up staying another day in MN.
Lily and I went back to the mall and met up with a high school friend, Corey Scott, and his daughter who was very close to Lily's age.  We ate at Johnny Rockets and took the girls through the Barbie Dreamhouse Experience where they had a great time together!  Kevin and the boys went out on Prior Lake with Tawn and her family where they tried water skiing and wakeboarding.  Everyone had a great day and we are so thankful to the entire Mikunda family for their kindness.  Both the Mikundas and the Hogans could challenge our Southern Hospitality any day!  Alas, it is time to continue making our way across this beautiful country we live in!

Day 6: Lions and Tigers and Bears...no, just bears!

After a nice day at Mackinac Island, we got up the next morning ready for more adventure!  Everyone is feeling back to their old selves and that is such a relief!  We drove to the upper peninsula and stopped at Oswald's Bear Farm in Newberry, MI.  The bear farm, owned Dean Oswald, a former boxer, is a sanctuary for rescued black bears.  They have almost 30 bears including some cubs and year olds.  We had our picture taken with a baby black bear who loved to eat Fruit Loops!  And did you know that black bears can be black, brown or even blonde?  Also, the cubs are always born in January, and only January.  It was interesting and a nice stop in the day.

We then proceeded on to Door County, Wisconsin where we tasted some squeaky cheese curds and had dinner in Sister Bay at Al Johnson's.  The restaurant is famous for having goats that graze on the roof all day.  Unfortunately by the time we arrived for dinner, the goats were up for the night but we dined on Swedish and Scandinavian fare like Swedish Meatballs, Swedish breads with lingonberry spread and more traditional food like a good old filet!  Next stop, Lambeau Field...Go Packers!