Here are a bunch of random pictures that I took using my phone throughout the trip.
Loaded up and reading to pull out of the driveway.
Jackson is ready to go too!
This was one of our first stops at an Amish store in Oklahoma.
Outside a dinner in Oklahoma.
Outside the same diner in Oklahoma.
When we stayed in Kansas City, we had to have Kansas City BBQ of course. Unfortunately, we were disappointed.
Snuggling up at one of the many restaurants we stopped at on the trip.
Lauren modeling the sweater that Mama J spun from wool and knitted! Isn't it cute! Mama J finished sewing the buttons on it during the trip so Lauren modeled it for us.
About to leave the hotel to explore Fargo. Lauren is actually wearing shorts!! I can't believe I got her to wear shorts!!
During the banquet, Lauren turned her nose up at the steak. I know, how can she not eat steak??? Papa J took care of her and got her some chicken strips.
The drive through South Dakota was just beautiful. This is one of the many pictures I took out the window.
Back in the car!
Lauren in a tired moment.
This was not a good picture of what I was wanting to get out the car window, but I wanted to remember something that was really unique about South Dakota. This is a picture of a house in South Dakota on farm land. You can tell how really cold winters are because EVERY house has rows and rows of trees around three sides of the house to protect it from snow drifts. The trees in the middle of the row are the tallest, and then you can tell that they planted rows and rows of trees in front of the original row and behind the original row. The oldest houses had the most rows of trees. The newest houses had only one or two rows of trees. Interesting!
You can see a little bit of a row of trees here. I wish I had taken more pictures of this.
This was our view out of the cabin that we stayed in while we were at the Badlands.
Of course we stopped at Wall Drug Store. If you drive through South Dakota, you see signs everywhere for Wall Drug Store. It is a HUGE drug store with lots of "stuff" that is basically a huge tourist stop.
More photo ops at Wall Drug Store in Wall, South Dakota.
More at Wall Drug Store.
This was hilarious! Lauren sat down on this bench outside one of the little stores in Wall Drug Store. She was infatuated with this tacky old woman statue. Notice the statue of the old woman has an awful look on her face and is smoking a cigar! Even people walking past Lauren sitting there started laughing at her innocence.
Look how she has her hand on the statue's lap!
Now she is looking at her some more!
Still interacting with the statue! Isn't that funny!
Jackson was so pumped! He wanted to get a toy gun for a while, and I kept telling him that this trip would give him an opportunity to get his gun. Wall Drug was the place for toy guns! A whole wall of them! Jackson was so excited to finally get his gun!
One of the many tunnels that we drove through.
Another tunnel.
Gotta love the Panhandling Jackasses!
This was taken at the restaurant that we ate at several times at Custer State Park.
Our cabin in Custer State Park.
Jackson at the Chuck Wagon Cookout.
Ready for the wilderness!
After visiting Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse, we stayed in Deadwood. This is a town that we could have explored a little more, if the kids weren't there!
Dad and I went inside Kevin Costner's casino and looked at some of his artifacts from his movies. Crash Davis's bat from Bull Durham.
EVERYONE better know what this is from!
The last night we were in Estes State Park, Mama J and Papa J planned on meeting up with one of Papa J's colleagues. We were going to go over to the colleagues house. This was at the end of the trip, and I really did not want to have to keep the kids entertained at someone's house. They were doing great, but knew I didn't want to push my limits. So, Mama J and Papa J headed off to dinner, while the kids and I headed into town. I took them to an Italian restaurant that was DELICIOUS! We had a great time, and the kids were wonderful. At the end of the meal, I asked for my ticket. The waitress told me that a couple sitting behind us paid for our dinner. They told her that they were a couple from Nebraska and wanted to buy our diner as a random act of kindness!! Isn't that cool!?? Now, I was wearing an Aggie shirt, so I don't know if it was my Aggie attire or maybe they felt sorry for a "single" mom out to eat with her two kids, or they enjoyed my children, or what, but isn't that cool! We walked out of the restaurant, and I was on a high from the kindness of others. As we walked out, guess who was there in the middle of Estes Park?? Santa Claus! Do you know the movie The Santa Claus? Do you remember the part where the kids lined up to sit on Santa Claus' lap while the main character, Scott, was at the park? That is exactly what happened! My kids saw him and just moved towards him like a magnet! Before I knew it, they were in his lap! Santa listened to the kids and told them that he was there on vacation. He also told them that they were on the good list, but there had been a little too much fighting between them lately. Jackson got a little sheepish when Santa told him this. After their visit, we headed back tot he hotel. The kids were on a high from seeing Santa, and I was on Cloud 9 from a random act of kindness!
On our way home we did see the wildfires in Colorado. It was amazing to see how close they were to the Air Force Academy.
We had an amazing road trip! Our trip lasted 15 days, and we loved every part of it! The kids loved the experiences, I enjoyed being with both my kids and my parents, and we all agreed that more road trips are in our future. We are so thankful that Papa J has a job where he gets to have unique experiences and are also thankful that Mama J and Papa J include us on some of these experiences. We can't wait to see what our next adventure takes us, and hopefully, Thomas will be able to join us too!
