We
left our little cabin this morning to head for Montana but we had some
seriously fun stops along the way today!
Our
first stop was Deadwood, SD. It’s an Old West town that is
still pretty much the way it was when it was built. Almost all the buildings are on the National
Historic Register as is the town itself.
One
of the things the kids remember about our first road trip was having our family
picture taken at one of those Old West dress up places. So, Deadwood seemed the perfect place to do
another one….
It’s a fun little town. We had lunch at Saloon No. 10 where Wild Bill
Hickok was shot while playing poker…his hand was Ace’s and 8’s. While we
ate they did a reenactment…
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| Supposedly "the" chair that Wild Bill was sitting in when he was shot. |
We
topped off our Deadwood visit with some ice cream and hit the road.
Next
stop was Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. You could see it from quite a distance….
As
we drove the winding road up to the base, we passed a real live prairie dog
town!! I was just as excited as the
kids, and am not ashamed to admit it.
It. Was. Awesome.
There
were hundreds of little holes and they would just stand right up and watch you!
They
look like squirrels until they run. They
have a tail like a little dog, and it wags when they run. Their bark sounds like a squeaky toy.
Thomas
fed one a Sun Chip and got some great pictures.
They will really let you get pretty close to them.
Devil’s Tower is amazing. It is HUGE.
As Thomas said when we got out of the car, “It looks a lot smaller in
the Science books.”
We
hilked up the little trail to what they call Boulder Valley, and the kids
climbed around on the rocks for a while.
Thomas climbed way, way up!
 |
| Can you spot Thomas?? |
This
stop was extra exciting for Scott as it was the sight of the alien landing in
Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
After seeing it in person I can see why it might make people think that
aliens might choose it, or why it’s been a holy place for Indians for hundreds of years. It looks like nothing you have ever seen
before. Scott was trying to explain the
movie to the kids who have no clue what he’s talking about, when Grace says, “You can tell it’s an igneous rock just by looking
at it.” Thomas agreed. Scott and I looked at them like they were
aliens and Grace kindly explained to us exactly what an igneous rock is and how
we came to be able to see it. Thank you Texas Public Schools. Our 6th grader is smarter than her
parents.
Next
we drove this….
….for a really long time. With no cell service. And no bathrooms. Not sure what is up with these
We are spending the night in Billings, Montana. Tomorrow we are headed to Helena.
Blessings from Montana,
Leslie
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