Mileage Count and Driving to the Black Hills

Our total mileage count to date is:
Motorhome 3,560
Jeep 1,500

We've been gone almost 4 weeks. I don't think I want to try to calculate how many hours we've spent in a moving vehicle over the past month.

We decided to stay a few nights just outside of Custer, South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore and to check out Custer State Park. The Mt. Rushmore KOA is where we decided to camp, because they advertised a water slide, splash park and jumping pillow. Big Sister was even more excited to see that they have 3 bouncy castles! We spent the afternoon trying everything out (they also have a big mound of sand with fun dump trucks, a basketball court, a massive playground, a pool and put put golf). It's almost an amusement park! After we saw all the fun things to do, we decided to stay 3 nights. Big Sister deserves some fun after all the miles she's endured!

Beartooth Highway

Yesterday we drove from northern Montana to southern Montana. We were on the road for 9 LONG hours. We saw some kind of fire on the way into Red Lodge.

Today we drove Beartooth Pass, had lunch at the Red Lodge Pizza Company, and checked out some of the shops in downtown Red Lodge. Tomorrow we're headed for the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Yesterday I was able to find some organic apples, so last night I made some baby food for Little Bud. He definitely enjoyed it!

Half Birthday!

I almost can't believe it's been a whole 6 months since our sweet Little Bud officially joined our family. He is such a happy little guy and for the most part has endured our crazy travel schedule with smiles. He loves his Big Sister; she makes him laugh all the time! She's always willing to share her toys with him, even her Peppa Pig. He likes it when his Daddy plays with him, and often looks lovingly at him from across the room. He's been saying "dada" for almost a month now. Of course he loves his Mommy, especially when it's time to eat, and he likes to cuddle when he's sleepy. He said "mama" for the first time a few days ago; it was a cry of desperation when he was ready to get out of the car seat! He easily sleeps 12 hours most nights, and takes 2 naps each day. He seems very interested in food lately, so I'll probably start making baby food for him once we get back home. In celebration of his half birthday, we gave him an apple to teeth on!

On the travel front, we decided to stay an extra night in Glacier so that John could go on a longer hike and do some fishing on his own. He went to Trout Lake, about a 4 mile hike each way, up and over a mountain. I unfortunately forgot to pack the point and shoot camera in his backpack, so there are no pictures of his adventure. The littles and I spent the day at the pool and playground, and we watched a few movies in between. At the playground, Big Sister got onto the tower and looked out over the great expanse for Columbiana! She's been telling just about everyone she meets that she's from, "Alabama. Columbiana.". We're not sure why she says it that way.

Tomorrow we head south to Red Lodge, Montana so that we can drive Beartooth Pass, which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful drives in the US.

Sorry for all of the out of order pictures. The Blogger app puts them wherever it pleases, and we don't have WiFi to fix it on the computer.

Waterton Lakes

Yesterday morning we crossed the border and visited Waterton Lakes in Alberta, Canada. We had a beautiful view of the mountain as we drove along Chief Mountain Highway. Once we were in the park, we stopped at the Information Center to ask about appropriate hikes; we decided to hike up Bear's Hump Mountain. It was a steep hike, and extra difficult for us because of the elevation (and I'm sure having kid's strapped to our backs didn't make it any easier!), but the view was amazing! We enjoyed our picnic lunch at Upper Waterton Lake, and after we ate, big Sister was excited to again walk along a beach made of ROCKS! Rocks are definitely one of her favorite treasures.

After lunch, we drove over to Cameron Falls, and then decided to check out Waterton Village. (Canadian National parks must be different from ones in the US, in that there were privately owned homes and businesses in Waterton Village, which is inside the park.) Big Sister spotted the community playground right away, so we spent a bit of time there. We also walked around and went into a few shops.

After we got back into the Jeep, the littles both went to sleep right away. We decided to drive Akamina and Red Rock Parways before we headed back to the USA.

If you're ever in the area, Waterton Lakes is a great place to visit! They have lots of hotels and houses to rent, and there's also a campground with beautiful views along Upper Waterton Lake.

Locked Out, Grizzly Bear and a Rainbow

Yesterday started off with rain and high winds, so we spent the morning around the motorhome. It finally cleared up a bit around lunch time, so we decided to drive to Many Glacier. It's always a bit hectic trying to leave with 2 littles in tow (especially when you consider all the stuff that they require). Once John locked the bottom lock on the motorhome door, he realized that the motorhome keys were still inside! We called AAA, and after 6 phone calls and 3 hours, we finally got back inside. Definitely not a fun way to spend the afternoon. We then headed out to drive the road to Many Glacier. Once we turned into the National Park, it started raining again! On the bright side, we saw a Grizzly Bear (thankfully we didn't meet him on a hike; he was just off the main road) and a beautiful rainbow!

Today we're headed to Waterton; Little Bud's first visit to a foreign country.

Fishing, West Glacier and a Day of Rest

Yesterday morning, John and Big Sister set out to fish along St. Mary's River and St. Mary's Lake, while Little Bud and I washed some clothes and enjoyed a bit of relaxation time at the pool. In the afternoon, we set off to explore the west side of Glacier. We mostly drove The Going to the Sun Road, but we did stop off a few places to check out the scenery, and John fished again. Little Bud had a difficult time on the way back to the motorhome (he basically screamed the whole time!), so we spent a little relaxing time at the pool after we got back. The littles didn't go to bed until 11:00! I think that's the latest they've ever stayed up.

We decided yesterday afternoon that we needed a day of rest today! We've been going, seeing and doing for almost 3 weeks straight, so it was time for a break! We spent the morning watching movies (gotta love Super Why and Peppa Pig!), eating pancakes and playing in the pool. We spent the afternoon taking naps (Big Sister and Little Bud), washing clothes (me) and cleaning out the Jeep (John); somehow our kids always get the better end of the deal!

Tomorrow we're planning to either drive to Many Glacier or go into the Waterton side of the park. Glacier is actually part of the first International Peace Park; part being in the US (Glacier) and the other part in Canada (Waterton).

After yesterday's screaming fiasco, we've decided to probably hold off on
going to Banff. We're not sure if the littles would be excited about an extra 15+ hours in the Jeep. We'll probably stick around here for a few more days and then start heading back towards home. We learned our lesson about long driving days on the way out, so we're going to take our time heading back to the southeast.