Day #8 Lead, Devils Tower, Prairie Dogs

We wished we could have stayed at the luxurious Fairfield Inn even longer. However, it was time to move on. Being from the Midwest and Hawaii, we found the tumbleweed that rolled our way endlessly fascinating.


Auntie Grace had never seen a lilac bush before so the trip would not have been complete until we found a wild bush to take a photo of and pluck a small sample of the blossoms to savor during the long road trip.


We stopped at Lead's Homestake Mining Company in South Dakota to learn all about gold mining and the famous Gold Rush.


Mom, Auntie Grace and KC tried their hand at panning for gold. KC liked playing with water. Auntie Grace was determined. Mom thought it was too much work for not much results.

Back in the minivan and we were on to Devils Tower, Wyoming.

Devils Tower was AWESOME!

I got this from the National Park website: "Why is it called Devils Tower? Some Indians called it Mato Tipila, meaning Bear Lodge. Other American Indian names include Bear’s Tipi, Home of the Bear, Tree Rock and Great Gray Horn. In 1875, on an expedition led by Col. Dodge, it is believed his interpreter misinterpreted the name to mean Bad God's Tower, later shortened to Devils Tower.".

Wikipedia has some really great information on Devils Tower which was featured in the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

But what did KC love the most? Yup! The prairie dogs!

Day #7 Mt. Rushmore, Jewel Cave, Dinosaur Park

KC was excited about adding another sticker and date stamp to the National Park Passport book that Art got her.



Mt. Rushmore was as awesome as we remembered. Although the four presidents were chosen for their integrity and what our country stands for, we were told elsewhere that to many Native Americans, Mt. Rushmore stands for something else entirely.


Abe asked in his comment if we saw the Crazy Horse Monument. We did see it while on the road. There hasn't been a whole lot of progress since the last time we passed by about 10 years ago. I would love to see it completed.


In the town of Custer, we happened to stop at the Purple Pie Place. It was one of our favorite stops.


The sandwiches and soup were deliciously homemade and the pies were absolutely scrumptious!


The Jewel Cave was our next stop. We took the Discovery Tour because it was the least strenuous. Unfortunately, it was also pretty boring. You couldn't see very much of anything but a dark cave. I would not recommend this tour. Luckily we have a Senior Pass so we didn't have to pay for this.

"Senior Pass Eligibility
As part of the American the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass program, U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are at least 62 years old can purchase a Senior Pass for a one-time processing fee of $10. This Senior Pass to national parks and lands offers benefits to you and your traveling companions."


For KC the best part of this day was Dinosaur Park in Rapid City.

From Wikipedia:
"Dinosaur Park is a tourist attraction in Rapid City, South Dakota, United States. Dedicated on May 22, 1936, it contains seven dinosaur sculptures on a hill overlooking the city, created to capitalize on the tourists coming to the Black Hills to see Mount Rushmore. Constructed by the city of Rapid City and the Works Progress Administration, WPA Project #960's dinosaurs were designed by Emmet Sullivan."




If you ask KC what she remembered most about this trip, she'll probably tell you that she liked sitting on the dinosaur's tails.

And that was the end of that day!

Day #6 Yellowstone to Rapid City, South Dakota

This was the view out of our Lake Yellowstone windows. Mom and Auntie said their room never warmed up like it was supposed to. It's a historic hotel and frankly... overpriced.


It made me think of that Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour movie, Somewhere in Time.


The cliff swallows nests on the hotel were fun to see.


We passed this bison on the way out of Yellowstone. We needed to leave early because the Sylvan Pass was only open between 8 PM to 10 AM due to threats of avalanche.


As we were leaving, I told 4 year old KC, "Say goodbye to Yellowstone, KC."
Perplexed, she asked, "Why? Are they taking it away?"


Along the way, we stopped at a field dotted with Silvery Lupine and yellow Mules Ear Wyethia.


The Lupines were gorgeous!


Road construction and some happy stops lengthened Art's planned 8 hours of driving to 10! It was great that Tiffany could do most of the driving.

Our son-in-law (who couldn't come with us) treated us to this special room at Fairfield Inn in Rapid City.

It was luxurious! He thought his daughter would enjoy the water park that was attached to the hotel.

Ahem... This was why I had to hunt down a tankini at the last minute.


Unfortunately, when we stepped out onto the balcony, the noise was too loud and the activity was a bit overwhelming for little KC.

"I don't want to go," she said.


It was OK with the rest of us. We were rather exhausted from the long day and just going to bed sounded like a great idea.

Instead of the water park, KC was much happier playing in the quieter tub.


HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, all you great guys out there!

Day #5 Transitions, Kindness of Strangers, Artists Point

Day #5 began at Grant Village in Yellowstone.

We were all noticing that the transition glasses that mom, Art and I wore turned really, really dark when we were outside. It then took a LONG time for it to return to normal when we were back indoors or in the Kia rental minivan.

Actually we're thinking that the Kia minivan windows might not block UVs because our glasses would stay dark unlike when we're in our Honda or Prius at home in Hawaii.

I wish we'd brought our second pair of non transition glasses to Yellowstone so that mom and Art could have seen the true colors of the Park's natural wonders without the extra dark tinting. We couldn't understand why the transitions turned much darker than when we wear them in Hawaii.


Today was an incredible day highlighted by the kindness of strangers everywhere we went. I guess we shouldn't have to be surprised by people being so nice, but having such wonderful people all around us made our vacation such an amazing experience.

All the wait staff at the restaurants were accommodating and friendly, filling us with warmth and making us feel welcome.

Aside from the staff who are supposed to be kind, the other park visitors were equally helpful and friendly. This was one of the restaurants where someone from another table saw Art taking our photo and came over to offer to take our photo so everyone could be in the picture.


On the way to Artists Point, we could see beautiful snow patterns on the lake.


We couldn't understand why traffic was so slow until we saw this bison walking in our lane. We all eventually had to carefully pass him. He wasn't following the speed limit.


This is the famous Artists Point. Someone offered to take our photo again.


This is the photo that everybody takes whenever they come to Yellowstone.


The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone was really spectacular. Mom and Auntie Grace were captivated by the colors of the rocks and soil around us.

When we arrived at our next destination where we'd be spending the night, we were told that dining facilities were all by reservation and completely booked. The only place open was a park diner. When we got there, all the stools were packed tight. It was especially difficult because we had a big party. We therefore ordered take-out sandwiches and walked around the store while they were making our order.

What a surprise when the server came to hunt us down to tell us that he found a way for us all to sit and there should just be a short wait because some people were finishing up.

When we got there, the other diners all saw our problem and just moved down to accommodate us. They then sent over a menu and started chatting. This fellow turned out to have a similar military service background as Art.


Mom and Auntie Grace tried pulled pork sandwiches for the first time and really enjoyed it. They couldn't get over how kind everybody was.


Lake Yellowstone Hotel was the most expensive of the national park hotels we stayed at. I imagine you're paying more for the history than the amenities.

Or perhaps it's for the view. As expensive as our room was, we had a view of the parking lot instead of the lake. I shudder to think what a lake view would have cost. Sigh... Oh well.

Day #4 Grand Teton National Park

Some of you may have guessed that I had to postdate or predate my posts or whatever you call it (I keep forgetting) because I didn't want it known when we would be away from home. I don't like being paranoid, but I hear too many horror stories.

It turned out to be a good thing that I did this because there was no TV, cell or Internet connection while we were in the National Parks. I felt like we were completely disconnected from the rest of the world. It was disconcerting, but I could then give almost all my focus to my family.

This would be a bittersweet day. Jon had to leave us to return to New Mexico and get back to work. We decided to go to the Grand Tetons and say goodbye there. He would head south and we would continue on to Grant Village in Yellowstone.


I'm totally not sure of this, but this might be a Ruby Crowned Kinglet. Maybe...
Nope. Art insists it's a Cassin's Finch.


This is a Nuttall Violet. I thought it was weird to call this a violet since it's obviously yellow.

My aunt is fanatical about anything that grows. Flowers are her passion. My mother loves them too, but Auntie Grace wants to know every detail we can dig up about them. She loved the name of this flower, Yellow Bell.

I think this is a Cliff Anemone or Windflower. I think. I bought a plant book in Yellowstone and this is what I'm guessing it is.


Spring Beauty is an appropriate name for this flower which mom and auntie felt looked almost like cherry blossoms.


This really does remind you of a Steershead (Dicentra Uniflora), doesn't it?


KC loved helping me look for new spring flowers to photograph.


The Tetons were spectacular!


Tif began teaching KC how to use the camera.

And then came the wrenching farewell. It was fantastic being with Jon again after a year apart, but it was hard to let him go.

We were relieved to hear after a couple of days that he had made it home safely to Albuquerque and was back at work. His visit certainly made our trip memorable and extraordinary!