Roadtrip: Little Town on the Prairie

This is a replica of the house that 'Pa' built for the family.

De Smet, South Dakota was where the Ingalls family spent a lot of time during the pioneering days (after Pepin Wisconsin, somewhere in MN, and Kansas). We got to spend a little time visiting on the very land that the family lived on.

It was a worthwhile detour for sure (more than an hour off the interstate). The kids loved the hands-on activities (grinding wheat, doing laundry, making rope, making corn-husk dolls), and the beautiful day allowed us to be outside, on this beautiful piece of land.

We are in full farm-country now. Corn as far as the eyes could see.

For lunch, we stopped at Sioux City, Iowa for big bowls of Vietnamese Pho (and they were good!). Our last night on the road is being spent at a rather strange, old, musty motel in Iowa City. Thankfully, we are on the road to Michigan, to grandparents' home tomorrow!

Roadtrip: Breakfast

We woke up to this pancake this morning. I guess this is what 'Ma' used to make for Laura in their little house in the big woods. How lucky are our kids?

The Prairie House Manor has been a nice home away from home.

Roadtrip: South Dakota

Lake Pactola, Blackhills National Forest

Mt. Rushmore

By Pactola Lake, near our campsite

The Badlands

5 cents coffee, only in Wall Drug, in Wall, South Dakota

Crossing the Missouri River which means we have left the cowboy country behind.

Where are we?

Oh yes, still in South Dakota!

It's been a long trip, you see, and all the days and nights and activities are blending into one... But let's see if I can get South Dakota straight here.

We spent a good part of yesterday checking out the areas around Blackhills National Forest. We visited Mt. Rushmore and saw the impressive busts of the four great American Presidents. We tried to see Jewel Cave National Park but could not enter without a reservation (lesson learned), we saw Crazy Horse monument from afar, and we played by our campsite in the late evening sun.

Today we crossed the state passing by Badlands National Park (which totally deserves its name). And to satisfy Jim's childhood memories of being a mid-western boy, we stopped at Walldrug (think cheesy Country Western stuff), the Corn Palace (ummm...I don't have a lot to say about this one), and last but not least, The Ingalls Homestead in De Smet, South Dakota.

We are staying in De Smet tonight, in a B&B next to the original house that 'Pa' built. Tomorrow we will get to learn more about this famous family's story and apparently the kids can ride the wagon just the way Laura used to. Can you imagine our little girl's exciting on this one? I think I am a little giddy about it, too.

We are very much in the Plains now. The bears, the cowboys, and mountains are all behind us. We are already sensing the Midwestern hospitality here. Good stuff.

Roadtrip: Prairie Dog

Okay, this little guy deserves his own blog post.

He is a prairie dog. I don't know how I spent 34 years without having seen them before. I am also not sure why they are cuter than their relatives: gophers, squirrels, you know, other rodents. But they are cute, and they do make this barky sound, hence their name! There is a big colony of them at the base of Devil's Tower.

Roadtrip: Wyoming

Here is a little photo essay of what we saw today crossing the state of Wyoming:

On the road again...!

If you look really closely, there are two moose in the far distance!

Landscapes of Wyoming

Old Sheriff Wagon...Cool, eh?

Boot country!

Mr. Cowboy showing some kids a trick (!??)

Devil's Tower National Monument

And they do get out of the car and play!

Saloon in Hulett, WY

This is where we ate dinner!

We left Yellowstone at 7am, hoping to catch more wildlife on the way out of the park. And we kind of did...we kind of saw a moose at the East end of the park entrance. (Can I just be a proud mother and brag that our kids had no problem going from waking up at 6:40 to being in the car by 7am? They have been awesome! But you might want to ask me again tomorrow).

And then...it was a LONG drive across this massive state, almost 400 miles! All true cowboy country, I tell you!

The topography changed dramatically as we went from the Yellowstone area, to the middle of the cowboy country, to Bighorn National Forest area.

Finally, we arrived at Devil's Tower National Monument, our destination for the day. Actually, we are staying in Hulett (just north of Devil's Tower), a tiny hamlet out of a Western movie with Saloons and Elk horns as decorations.

Heading to the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore tomorrow!

Roadtrip: Yellow Stone National Park

After a night camping in Idaho’s Targhee National Forest (at an awesome campsite with almost no other campers around and the cleanest compost toilets we have ever seen), we made our way toward Yellowstone National Park.

We made a stop at a wildlife viewing place where the wildflowers were unbelievably beautiful. The kids got to stretch their legs running around in this almost surreal landscape.

Soon we approached the west entrance to the Park.

Yellowstone National Park is the first National Park in the world. This enormous park sits in the northwest corner of Wyoming, extending over to Montana and Idaho as well.

Within the first few minutes of entering the Park, we started seeing wildlife: Bisons, Elks, and a random cayote crossing the street nonchalantly.

We made our way toward the Old Faithful Geyser that faithfully explodes every hour or so. It was an amazing sight…albeit we had to share it with thousands of other tourists who have come from all over the world! There are several other geysers peppered all about the park. There are also many lakes and valleys, rivers and canyons.

It is clear why this national park is so well-loved, and well-protected. Maybe we will get lucky and spot a bear or two before leaving tomorrow.

Addendum: We did get lucky and saw a Grizzly bear in the early evening. Poor guy was surrounded by hords of people taking pictures of him... We also saw a few moose on the way out and now are safe and sound in Hulett, WY.

Roadtrip: Bend to Boise

M&Ms in each assorted color!

They were closed...too bad.

Did not eat this...but intriguing, no?

A visit to Bend was a rather strange experience. After driving for hours from northern California, in the middle of (what felt like) nowhere, appeared this cosmopolitan, young, vibrant community of Bend, Oregon.

We enjoyed our short visit here, enough to see the quaint downton (with some cool shops and restaurants), swim in the hotel pool, and organize our stuff. We woke up early to see USA score a goal in the World cup, and left early for today's drive.

The drive East of Bend was impressively stark. They call the area "the Badlands of Oregon", with miles after miles of this kind of landscape. The road was so flat and straight in some areas that I just set the car on cruise, with one finger on the steering wheel.

We crossed over to Mountain Time zone just before reaching the state of Idaho.

We had read earlier that Boise, Idaho has a vibrant Basque community. I was only reminded of this when I called our friend Case to ask for dinner recommendations (he is a walking good-restaurant guidebook). Even though I interrupted his World Cup and Wimbledon viewing, he gave us some very good suggestions, one being a Basque restaurant in the old part of downtown Boise.

The whole downtown was buzzing with activities. You would not think it is a Wednesday night! The first restaurant we went to was too packed, but luckily, we found the Basque Block and managed to find a great meal at a another Basque restaurant, across the street from the Basque Center! Imagine that. In Idaho, of all places.

We ate salted cod, bean stew and garlicky prawns. We felt, for a few minutes, like we were transported to Europe. Oh, the beauty of a roadtrip!

Tomorrow, we are inching closer to Yellowstone National Park.

Roadtrip: Crater Lake, Oregon

After a few hours (of gorgeous landscape) drive from Stewart Mineral Springs, we reached Crater Lake National Park, an impressive deep blue lake in the middle of an old volcano.

See all that snow? Would you believe me if I told you that I was getting eaten alive by huge numbers of large mosquitoes? How can that be?

Regardless of the annoying, biting insects, we enjoyed the views and learned a bit more about the history of this beautiful National Park.

Now we are safe and sound in Bend, Oregon. No teepee tonight, but I don't think we are going to get chocolate, or a turn-down service either!

Heading east tomorrow...so long, beautiful West Coast!

Roadtrip: Stewart Mineral Springs

Our last stop in CA. We passed the majestic Shasta Mountain completely covered with snow.

It was fun to sleep in a teepee, soak in the Mineral bath, listen to the Native American drum circle celebrating the Summer Solstice.

Now we are back on the road, heading to Crater lake, Oregon, with Bend being our destination for the day.