Deadwood, South Dakota

After leaving Devil's Tower we headed to Deadwood, South Dakota. 

We arrived in the evening on Wednesday and the town was super quaint and the scenery was beautiful.  We stayed in a Comfort Inn that was brand new and had the nicest amenities.  There was a tiny little water fall right by the parking lot and the rooms were beautiful.  We were very impressed since our family stayed there for only $99. 

Thursday morning we met up with Dustin (Jared's brother) and his family.  They made a stop in Deadwood on their way to Montana.  Their vacation was just beginning as ours was coming to a close.

We spent the morning wandering around downtown and visiting the little shops.  Jared and I enjoy the history of the town and actually have watched documentaries and read quite a bit about it so that was neat for us.  Unfortunately, the history is one of brothels, outlaws, murder and the like.  I wouldn't exactly call Deadwood "child friendly."  There were slot machines in every building and there were shops named after brothels. 

We ate lunch in a neat Diner that was located in the town's very first gas station.  I tried bison which was very good!  

We stopped in at the Adam's Museum.  That was fascinating, and the kids actually really enjoyed all the information and pictures. 

The cousins in Deadwood

Historic Seth Bullock hotel

Perfect size coffee grinder for home!

Love

Just chillin in Deadwood

Mmmmm Coffee

Adam's Museum

The Courthouse

Devil's Tower

I hope you are still hanging in there :)  We have a few more stops and whole lotta pics we want to share.  I'm sure during this vaca and the postings after I've lost more than a few Facebook friends due to the constant barrage.  It's okay, I know there's some family (my mom) and church members (Jared's mom) enjoying this.

After being in Yellowstone all day we headed to Cody, Wyoming.  On the drive we decided to see where we were on our budget.  We were way under on food due to the generosity of family (Steve, Ron, Vicki, Heather and Travis).  So we decided to treat the kids.  We stopped at a BBQ place just inside Cody and let each of them order what they wanted off the menu.  No sharing, no splitting fry orders.  You would've thought it were Christmas morning. With full bellies and exhausted bodies we checked into our hotel and crashed.

Next stop, Devil's Tower.  This is the mountain that was in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  Jared's favorite movie of all time.  It was super cool.  We hiked 1.3 miles around it's base.  The kids were pretty fascinated by it.  Enjoy a few pics :)

This was a bathroom break on the way to Cody, even potty stops are incredible!

Devil's Tower

My little Holly Hobby has a rough life :)

Holding up the rock

Scenic overlook on the trail around Devil's Tower

taking a breather

Just incredible

Probably my favorite famfie.  That girl is too much!

Yellowstone National Park

On Sunday afternoon we went to church with Sean and Becca and Vicki and Ron at a local church where Sean and Becca gave their presentation from MAF (missionary aviation fellowship).  My eldest two, who have a great interest in missions and aviation, acted as if they had met their soul mates after watching the video of a day in the life of Sean :)

We headed out to Grand Junction Sunday afternoon to visit my siblings.  You can read about that visit HERE.  We stayed overnight in Grand Junction and then headed to Idaho Falls, Idaho.  Monday was just a travel day and it was loooooooong.  Once we got there we checked into what appeared to be a seedy hotel, but ended up being our favorite.  2 huge rooms and a great pool and hot tub, we just swam and relaxed all evening.

Tuesday morning we headed 2 hours to Yellowstone.  A beautiful drive, and Yellowstone was amazing.  We saw countless Bison, an elk so close we could touch it (not quite but almost!), a moosen (purposeful typo for all you Bryan Reagen fans),  and some of the rudest people on the planet.  Just a quick note to all you travelers out there, just because you are on vacation does NOT mean you are the ONLY ones on vacation.  A tiny bit of consideration for others goes a long way.  Our kids got a tough lesson on being kind to others even when they don't deserve it.

We ate lunch right inside the park and then spent the day checking out all kinds of amazing mud pits, geysers, animals, mountains, and searching for bears.  It was an amazing day.  I would definitely go back and explore the parts we weren't able to get to.  Here's some pics

This was Daddy's idea :)

So many great places to stop and take pics

Eli took pride in taking pics of Jared and I with the scenery

This is has zero zoom.  We were that close to an elk :)

The only bear we saw :)

Another of Eli's pics

Famfie (family selfie) at one of the pools in Yellowstone

Best friends

We kept wondering what the first person who came upon it must've thought!

Dragon Mouth Spring, we all thought this was amazing

Waiting for Old Faithful who wasn't so faithful or impressive really

Alamosa, CO

If you're following along, we started out in Colorado Springs (Wed morning), then headed to Westcliffe (Wed afternoon thru Thurs afternoon), and now we're off to Alamosa.

We stayed in Alamosa Thurs dinner until Sunday lunch.  I've noticed our picture taking slowed a bit and I believe it's primarily because we were all just so relaxed and it felt like home.

Aunt Vicki and Uncle Ron set up their 5th wheel for Jared and I since Sean and Becca were home on furlough (a big reason we made the trip).  That makes for 6 adults and 8 children!  Becca and I had kids at the same time so her 3 girls matched up with Elijah, Graham, and Anneliese.  Anneliese and Paige became the best of friends. 

Uncle Steve and Aunt Nicole came and spent every spare moment with us.  Cousin Carrie her husband Steve and little Audry visited and we even got to be there to welcome Catie home after 4 months away on a missionary trip. 

While we were with them we had some wonderful food, traveled around to some beautiful places (including Creede, my new favorite town), and sat and chatted and giggled for hours.  It was truly a restful relaxing stop.  When we asked the kids what their favorite part of vaca was they all picked Alamosa hands down.  Thank you so much for opening your home to our crew.  You filled our love cups to overflowing.  Thank you for allowing God to bless us through you.  We love you all dearly.

The sand dunes!  This was quite the experience!

Lunch outside at Freemans near Creede

Aunt Vickie, Paige, and Liesey

Waterfall near Creede

Waterfall from the tippy top

Family pic, photo credit Sean Cannon

Creede!  Love this town

Downtown Creede with my Love

Fast friends

Preachers/Missionary kids.  No caption needed :)

Westcliffe, CO

Once we finished our fun in Colorado Springs we headed out to Westcliffe, CO.

We were exhausted and eager to crash so the 2.5 hour drive to get out there felt like an eternity.  Fortunately it is a breathtaking drive.

We were so blessed to be able to use the Clark Ranch for the day/night.  Jared's Uncle Dennis and Aunt Bernie were so generous and we had the ranch to ourselves.  We were able to crash and get some much needed rest.  The kids loved exploring and the next morning we all went for a hike.  The trail we used was the same trail we hiked as a family 5 years prior during the Clark family reunion.  

She remembers the animals from each stop most

The first of several Famfies (family selfie)

All 5 on the trail

Sorry, I'm obsessed with her and this hat

Beautiful bridge on the trail

The stream was our favorite part

This part was steep so Bren gave baby girl a lift

Colorado Springs, CO

On Tuesday the 24th at 11pm we embarked on an amazing trip.

We loaded up 5 giddy children and headed to Colorado Springs.  I have to say traveling over night has it's perks and its pitfalls.  The kids slept the bulk of the drive.  We did have to stop twice in the first twenty minutes which was hilarious, but thankfully did not set a precedent for the rest of the trip.

We arrived in Colorado Springs tired but excited.  We went to McDonalds and ate some breakfast and cleaned up.  Tanner was mortified that we were getting cleaned up in a McDonalds.  After we ate we headed to Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak.

Pike's Peak ended up being the kids favorite attraction.  They kept calling it "God's Roller Coaster."  The elevation really got to us and traveling down the mountain was insane and our brakes got to 458 degrees!

Garden of the Gods

Best Friends

Climbing haven after a long car ride

All 5 in the same location as they were 5 years ago

They've grown so much!!!

On the way up Pike's Peak

At the top and feeling woozy!

8 Years Too Long

As most of you know, my dad died 8 years ago July 22.

I have a brother and a sister that live in Colorado that I had not seen since his passing.

We just got home from an epic 3500 mile trek across North Central US and part of that trip was reuniting with my siblings.

There are 310 pictures from our trip so I decided to break them down into locations and post separate blogs of my favorites.

The best part of the trip was reconciling and loving on my baby brother and sister.  The peace that I have now is one I hardly recognize.  I feel so blessed.

Driving into Grand Junction from the direction we did brought us right into where he lived.  As we got within 100 miles of Junction the tears began to flow and I began sweating in anticipation.  This was by far, one of the most difficult things I have done as an adult.

Grand Junction is where he lived.  Where we visited him.  I had nightmares for a year after he died that I would go there searching for him and not be able to find him.  I had sworn I wouldn't ever go back.

There are two people that made it all better, made it worth it.  Heather and Matt, I love you and am so thankful for how loving and gracious you are.  It was a blessing to my entire family to be able to sit and soak you up.  Thank you for taking the "boogie man" out of coming to Grand Junction.  Thank you for closure and new beginnings.  I can't help but think as we approach the 8th anniversary of losing Dad, that he would be so happy.   Here are some of my favorite pics of that evening.

So very happy to be together

Such a goof ball

Love the similarities

Same hands, same love of black diamonds and Silpada