Amanda's Shower

Three Sisters and Amanda.  Cher didn't get the memo about wearing Orange :)

Fern

Tiny fern found on our hike in Happy Jack.

Sunny Flower

Daisy found on hike in Happy Jack.

Back to Wisconsin

Isaac and Ellie made it home today after two days of travel.  Isaac's parents, sister and boyfriend also helped them with the drive home. Glad they made it back safely.

Corner Lot in Laramie WY

Doug and I admired the extensive creative landscaping around this house in Laramie.

The wrought iron fence looked like it was custom made.  The boulders are gigantic.

Fence posts waiting for the custom iron fence to be put in place.  Each section of fence had a different saying engraved in the bottom border piece. One of the corner posts was an old wood stove that they used for their mailbox.

Flags

View while driving through a small town in Minnesota.

Snow Time

Doug and Cooper went for a hike in the Snowy Range Mountains.  Cooper loved frolicking and running in the snow.

We're Home

We arrived home around 3:30 am this morning.  Audrey gave me these flowers when we went to Jennah's graduation party.  I was so glad that I didn't miss their beautiful blooms while we were gone.

Heading Back Home

Our campsite at the KOA in Laramie.

We are leaving Laramie today and heading home.

Isaac's Graduation Day

Isaac gave us a tour of WyoTech.

Graduation Time!

Wow, just like that it's all done. Congratulations Isaac. We are so proud of you two.

Population 100

Museum tour in Centennial Wy.

The first time I saw one of these sock makers was at Color Crossings in Roberts during the annual spring Creative Drive.  Maybe I could get more than one pair of socks done in a year if I had one of these machines :)

 

Snowy Range Mountain viewing area.  Poor Cooper, both times we visited she was made to sit on the wall.  I don't think she really appreciates it, especially with the high winds we were experiencing on this particular day.

This one is titled "Just Sit Down!". Doug really didn't care that the snow was cold and wet :)

Who knew that Mom's snacks could turn in to pieces of art.

Our kids are quite creative.

This one is titled "Pick a Rock and Stand on It!"  oh yeah, and thumbs up :)

Why would we let a sign stop us.  Of course, we continued down this road, the sign only intrigues us more.

This is the area we found.

We also found this.

Oh, this is why the road is closed. Just a little  "bump" in the road.  We could have made it through that!

Can't leave home without 'em.

Ellie took us on a tour of the Poudre River Valley today.  The water is really moving with all the snow melt from the mountains.

We just don't have these kind of views in Wisconsin.

Doug and Ellie looking at some kyakers going down the river.

Happy Jack Hike

We climbed one of the rock structures in Happy Jack today.

Great hiking, but Doug and I were really feeling the high elevation. The young kids didn't seem to have any problems :)

A Day in Laramie

Visited Ellie at her recent place of employment, The Boardwalk in Laramie, WY.

Ellie told us we could bring Cooper inside, and then I saw this sign.  Oops.

The Boardwalk sells tack and other horse related gear.  They have leather workers on the premises and a trophy room to browse through.

Later in the day we drove to a "housing development" area and drove the back roads.

Another Rainy Travel Day

We are heading south today.  We saw this herd of Bison in Mammoth State Park.

The forecast predicted rain for the whole day, so we decided to drive to Laramie today. Ellie and Isaac aren't expecting us until Tuesday, so we are hoping to surprise them.

South Dakota

We are in the Badlands today.

This is the campsite we chose when we drove in about 9:30pm last night.  The skies looked threatening, so we decided not to put out the canvas ends.  Doug and I slept on the folded down table and Ben slept on the floor.  Not bad, but not good either. I woke up in the middle of the night with a slight panic attack. Climbed over Doug, and sat on the floor.  I don't like being scrunched up next to a wall, and I didn't like not being able to stretch out. Our table bed was only about 5' long and about 3' wide.

Doug and Ben went exploring while Cooper and I stayed on the designated paths.  Dogs are not welcome in Badlands National Park, except on paved roads and sidewalks.

We drove to Custer State Park later in the day.  Upon entering the park we saw our first Bison.  So Doug suggested I roll down my window to get a better picture.

This is the "better" picture I got.  At the precise moment of opening my window, Cooper saw the Bison and started to bark.  Scared me half to death, and this is the photo I ended up taking. Impressive isn't it :)

We drove through part of the Needles Highway.

Played Yahtzee before bed.  Not to brag or anything, but I rolled three Yahtzees in one game! It'll never happen again :) But it sure was a good game.

Our campsite at the Center Lake Campground in Custer.