OUR RECENT TRIP TO.....

Yellowstone National Park and several other stops along the way was packed full of good times and many surprises to say the least. We traveled via motorhome and took eleven days from start to finish. By the end of our vacation, I discovered there were many things I didn't know, for example:

I DIDN'T KNOW I would learn all the words to Rainy Day Woman by Waylon Jennings, so thanks Jason, for introducing us to a new genre of music - LOL.

I DIDN'T KNOW Grace was able to make purchases on her own from the vending machines, whether we wanted her to or not. All she needed was her own supply of quarters and her abundance of free will.

I DIDN'T KNOWso many things could go wrong in a motorhome on one trip. From a blown-out tire to the kitchen sink and other things in between. Good opportunity for the kids to learn about making the best of any situation.

I DIDN'T KNOW our kids would enjoy watching a rodeo as much as they did. Savanah wanted me to pick out a snack for her because she didn't want to miss any of it. I should tell you, much to my surprise, that a three-year old can maneuver a horse around barrels and be good at it!

I DIDN'T KNOW Stella would have her first illness, a fever of 101. There is always one, I learned and brought along Motrin this time.

I DIDN'T KNOW it would be so funny when Preston changed the language on the GPS to Dutch and we didn't know how to change it back to English. So Jason made up his own interpretation:
"Drive fast."
"Drive on the grass."
"Stop and play with Stella."

I DIDN'T KNOW Savanah would enjoy riding shotgun with her dad as much as she did.

I DIDN'T KNOW the kids would be able to throw snowballs at each other near the top of one of the mountains in Yellowstone.

I DIDN'T KNOW it would be so much fun to do laundry at a campground. Three loads at once, using commercial washers and dryers really saves on time!

I DIDN'T KNOW Coke is used to dissolve food lodged in a person's (Preston's) throat. It has the strength to dissolve battery acid and is commonly used in some ER's. It was a short detour - Preston was eating sunflower seeds and acidentally swallowed a shell. He said he is NEVER eating them AGAIN.

I DIDN'T KNOW under the Badlands in South Dakota there is a fossil bed. The Badlands are a result of erosion and weathering.

I DIDN'T KNOW the train we would ride on, partway through, a steam engine, through the Black Hills, would loose a wheel from the engine. We proceeded to wait for half an hour for a diesel engine to pull us back to the train station. It was Preston's dream! And Jason's too because we got our money back. We were actually fortunate we didn't derail.

Savanah has had an increasing interest in photography, the slideshow below is composed of pictures she took on our trip, I think you'll like them.