Day Four - Black Hills of SD, across WY, to Yellowstone!

So on the morning of the 4th day, we went to JEWEL CAVE! It's the 2nd longest cave in the world (Mammoth Cave in KY is the longest). It was very cool... very different from east coast caves because of the lack of water... We all loved it and had a great time... Here are a couple of pictures... hard to see how neat it was though!

JEWEL CAVE

Did You Know?
Jewel Cave is the second longest cave in the world, with over 150 miles of mapped passages. On average, volunteer cavers discover and map over 3 miles of passages in Jewel Cave every year!

Okay, so BEFORE THE CAVE... I needed a pick-me-up! I was very tired... and so, I turned to my roots!

After Jewel Cave, we headed to Yellowstone!!!! Across Wyoming, baby!

We hopped on HWY 16 for the trip across...

We stopped at a loverly DIVE for some cheeseburgers, fries and malts!

We crossed through Gillette, on our way to Sheridan, and over the Big Horn mountain range! Wow!

On the way, we went by Crazy Woman Creek... love it!

East of Big Horn Mtns... heading up into them...

The vistas in the Big Horns were amazing!

JoJo enjoys the scenery, too!

The difference in the terrain on the West Side of the Big Horns is amazing!!

So we made it to Cody, WY that evening and on into Yellowstone! I'll do a complete post dedicated to Yellowstone when next I post... soon, I hope! 

Trying to catch up, but we are sooooo busy in Utah with our new life and our new roles! We love it!

Day Three (afternoon) of the trip: Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Okay... so, by afternoon we had found a cabin and a campsite at an AMAZING campground in Custer, SD! It was very rustic... almost primitive... sort of like the stone age!

it was a HILARIOUS time and the kids loved the pool! And, well, actually - we had a fun time there! :-) Gotta love Bedrock!

So, here's the first go of putting up the tent!

So, then, we figured out we were in for loads and loads of bikers. Everywhere. I mean EVERYWHERE we went. It was cool and annoying...the Sturgis Rally.

      Mt. Rushmore!!!!!!!

  Happy Family???

One-lane tunnels in Custer State Park. More bikers!!!

Back at Camp Bedrock!!

Happy Ebby w/ a stick!

Day Three (morning) of the trip: Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Our day began with breakfast in Crawford, NE at MJ's... quite good - and really nice people! Then, we headed on to Ft. Robinson (one of the original, most western forts) on the NE/WY border... Indian Territory! Lots of old buildings, barracks, and horse stables!

Then we ventured north... through the Oglala National Grasslands and headed into South Dakota!

We stopped to play on VERY LARGE hay bales! The kids and the dogs had a blast!

More from the Oglala Grasslands... we had fun here and were "playing" for the first time since beginning our journey! Getting out of the car whenever we wanted was key on this day!

One more look... Ebby and Jojo enjoy the romp around the prairie!

More photos of travel days...

On the second day we went north through Kansas, Missouri, and across Nebraska toward the Blackhills of South Dakota. Another long drive! A lot of corn and farms.

Crossing into Nebraska!

Great Platte River Road Archway...

The original Pony Express!
Gothenburg, Nebraska

end of day two... a rainbow in Crawford, NE. We stayed at the Hilltop Motel (ugh!) and ate a pretty good dinner at The Ranch House!

More photos of travel days...

Day one was a 16-hour drive to Uncle John and Mary's home in Leavenworth, KS!

Morning of first day...

On the first morning we left around 5:30 AM - headed for Kansas City, KS!