Yellowstone Drive

Headed to Yellowstone

Kalispell, MT

Hanging Out with the Francis'

Glacier NP

Kalispell, MT

July 6th

Today is Custers Last Stand, Windcave NP, and Devils Tower

July 5th

Wow what a busy couple of days it was!!!

We spent our 4th of July doing several very interesting things...

First we went to the Sioux Falls Sesquicentennial - 1856 to 2006 "4th of July " Celebration.

We were included in their entire celebration as though we were a member of their town. It was an absolute blast!!! We had Bar-B-Q sandwiches, chips, water bottled there locally, and ice cream and cake... at "No Charge"!!! What a generous town. We got to watch live demonstrations of what it was probably like to live there when their town was originally founded it 1856. The trip to downtown Sioux Falls, SD was serendipitous! We had only planned on seeing the falls the town was built around and weren't even sure how nice that would be... turns out they were absolutely GORGEOUS!!! On top of that we were able to enjoy the wonderful celebration that was going on. Around 1 pm it started to rain and everyone was running for their cars, but it wasn't so early that anyone missed out on a wonderful day. The temperature was fair, not sweltering... pretty pleasant actually.

If you are ever in the area, it is definitely a place to take the time to stop and see this historic little town. I know there was tons more to do there and see that would have been just as fabulous as the Falls... but we were on a deadline to get to the Badlands before it was too terribly late.

The next stop we made was originally scheduled in because as a child my husband had been to it on a family vacation back in 1976. He assured me that it was worth a looks'ie. I have to say that I totally agree with him!!! It was a very small town, but the town of Mitchell, SD held a couple of gems not to be missed. One of them being something that most everyone has probably heard about... "The Corn Palace" This place was absolutely stunning. It was first built in 1892... then a second building completed in 1905... the third and current structure was completed in 1921. Each year since the final structure was built, they have redecorated and adorned it in a "new theme". There have only been 4 time periods that they said this was not the case. Those were during the Depression, WWI, WWII, and Mitchell's Centennial Celebration. Any photos you will ever see of The Corn Palace will "Never" do it justice in my opinion. The reality of what it entails is lost just a little in a photograph. To see each and every item(corn-in 11 colors, grass, grain, milo, rye, oats and sour dock) in all it's detail -- up close and personal -- is beyond anything I've seen before. I am sure that the planning process lasts all year the previous year in preparation for the next years design. The organizational detail that must be involved alone to bring such a thing to fruition each year will astound you when you see it. Like I said I know my photos can't even begin to do it justice... but I hope you enjoy them anyways.

The other place that was a gem to any man... and any woman interested in camping, hunting, hiking, fishing, boating, etc... then you would absolutely love this place... "Cabelas" We just HAD to stop and take a gander for an hour or two when we found out it was there in Mitchell.

From what I gathered at the visitor's center is that Mitchell also had several other unique things to do if you wanted to stay a few days. They have an old-fashioned Drive-In theater... they have a small indoor water park at one of the hotels for the kiddos, they also have several antique shops, boutiques, art galleries, second hand shops... they also have other museums - the Enchanted World Doll Museum, the Oscar Howe Art Museum, and a Prehistoric Indian Village. We didn't get to do any of the other things because this was only a quick pit stop for us... Well, it started out that way, lol.

Three hours later... we were eventually back on the highway headed for Badlands once again. But... when we kept passing all the signs for a Historic 1880's Original Town... We just HAD to make another quick pit stop again!!! lol

At first, my husband was a tad hesitant to stop. He said that we were already running behind schedule and would be setting the tent up in the dark. I said, "pleassse... I have always wanted to see a true old Ghost Town in real life" He said OK... Well, it turned out I was the one having to remind him we needed to move on... since it was almost 10 pm and getting pretty dark... He was enthralled in so much of it, as was I.

** By the way, as a side note -- the sun seems to rise about 4:30 am and not go down until about 9:30 pm the further Northwest we went during these summer hours. It was great to finish doing things during the day, but not so much fun to be awakened to sunlight before 5 am when you were going to bed so late, lol. Sorry, a little off topic...

Anyway, one neat thing at the Ghost Town was that it was home to the horse "Cisco" that Kevin Costner used throughout the movie "Dances With Wolves". It is kind of the claim to fame for this teeny tiny town. No one actually lives in the Ghost Town its self... it's more of a tourist attraction... The buildings were amazing! They have been brought in from all over... and are restored or being restored to as close to the original as possible. There is a building that holds a ton of artifacts and memorabilia from throughout time in one of the buildings. In addition, you also get to tour the upstairs of the main building that houses a lot of memorabilia and props for the filming of Dances With Wolves.

So another 3 hours later... we were finally leaving the 1880's town... We were one of the last 3 people to drive out of this little town... lol -- We did eventually arrive at the KOA campgrounds in the Badlands area around 12 am, set up camp and were finally off to sleep around 1 am.

July 5th - We slept until about 8 am. After eating, packing up, and checking out, we arrived at Badlands NP about 11 am. What amazing things this nation holds that speak to the splendor of God's Creation. It seems like everyday of this trip I see an entirely different landscape. It just amazes me the variety just a few miles can change your view of the world.

Badlands

Wall Drugs

Mount Rushmore

Vacation So Far...

Well, this morning I'm actually writing to you from Sioux Falls, SD. We are going to see the Falls here that the whole town was basically built around in 1856 and then we're heading on to The Corn Palace, Badlands NP and Mount Rushmore. I will post pictures of these on my next update.

But I wanted to post just a little info on where we've been so far... We're off to a crazy busy start. I can't believe all the really neat things we have already saw just in our first 4 or 5 days. Note: You can click on any of the photos for a larger view of it if you'd like.

Our first stop was in Indianapolis to say "Hi" to one of my four little brothers who I hadn't seen in a couple years... It was a pleasant little visit... And let's just say he's not so "little" anymore. He's all grown up!!! He has one daughter and another child on the way soon... I'm so proud of him. Here's a couple photos of us.


Then, we were in Chicago for 3 days and I know that the major belief for the reason it is called the "Windy City" has to do with politics, but it sure does get a lot of wind there, too. I was surprised especially in the evenings. I do believe that any of the four reasons it received it's nickname could be true. You can find out more information here about the 4 main beliefs of this particular nickname. Another nickname is "The Second City"... The term for the most part has to do with its history. It is second both in population and in cultural influence to New York City (although Los Angeles did overtake Chicago in becoming truly the second-largest city back in the 1980's). The nickname may also refer to the "second city" emerging out of the ruins from the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. Chicago still to this day remains an important cultural and business capital in the United States. I found the history of the fire so intriguing as we learned about it on a "free walking tour" provided by the "Chicago Architecture Foundation". Our guide wouldn't even allow us to tip her. This tour was truly the most interesting and educational to me... Our guide was so personable and friendly. There was so much we learned about Chicago... that we really hope to get to visit again... at least for another 4 day weekend. The cultural arts alone are worth a visit to this amazing city... One of what I thought was the most interesting pieces of artwork around town was what they call "The Bean". It is said that the artist actually modeled it after "mercury". Here are two photos: (1) an outside view (2) from underneath - more or less an inside view.


The modern day gargoyle was pretty cool...

and the "Navy Pier" is a must see... and the food at Bubba Gumps was great!



I cannot forget to mention "The Magnificent Mile" if you like to shop!!!

We also went up in the John Hancock Building to "The Hancock Observatory" the last morning we were there. We had heard from my brother and several locals that if you were going to have to do one or the other that the view from the Hancock Observatory was the best... but... if you wanted to go in the tallest of the two you should go to the Sears Tower. So we chose the best view option. Here is a photo of the two buildings that I took of the skyline... and also some photos from the top. The photo of the two buildings was taken from the Museum of Science and Industry Area... The others were taken on our visit to The Hancock Observatory.



It was very hot during our visit. There were so many people everywhere we went. I think mainly it had to do with the fact that unknowingly we showed up smack dab in the middle of "The Taste of Chicago" Event... The most exciting thing about this was the fact that this was the 3rd time by freak coincidence that we were able to see Phil Vassar in concert for free at a major 4th of July event. They say the third times a charm, right??? And this tour was the very first that he sold CD's and came out to sign them after the concert. We bought two -- one for my sister since she was the one who had got us into his concert in Hot Springs, AR in 2005. The first time we saw him was in Nashville, TN on the Riverfront in 2004. The second was at Magic Springs Amusement Park in Hot Springs, AR... We have secretly become Phil Vassar Groupies... I am attaching a photo of this years 2006 Chicago concert... and a couple of scrapbook pages I did from last years 2005 and one last one of Nashville 2004. The crazy thing was that we were in 3 different states at 3 different times with no previous knowledge of the concerts and it was Phil... how freaky is that??? A total trip...


(Chicago 2006) and (Nashville, TN 2004)

(Magic Springs, Hot Springs, AR 2005)

Anyways, I guess that's enough about our 3 day Chicago visit and the start of our vacation...

The last thing we've done during the first several days was to stop in Mitchell, WI for the CowParade Wisconsin 2006. This was a pretty interesting event. I couldn't believe some of the work these artist put into this project. Downtown Mitchell its' self was a nice cozy place to visit. We enjoyed the stop over for the afternoon, trying to find as many of the herd of cattle that had been let loose to roam the streets of Mitchell. We only saw about 1/2 of them. These were a few of our favorites.





I will update you again as we have time or when we are able to use a wireless connection. We will be camping a lot this trip so it will depend on how the Campgrounds are set up if we can get on the Internet to do this. I hope you enjoy the account of our vacation this year as much as we're enjoying being on it!

Until Later, Shawna

Please Note: All photos in this post are owned and the copyright belongs to me, my husband, or my family as the original photographers. Thanks so much for visiting!