Day 10-12 Montana Trip

 Day 10
Friday, August 10th, 2007 today we head East for home. Before we leave Yellowstone we took a dip in the hot springs, it was great. The water was wonderful and the scene was beautiful. The kids wanted to get some sovieners that they saw on the way out in Medona, ND. This put a little pressure on to get back there before they closed, but we made it. The boys got to real cool wooden guns and Tori got a real cute tea set. Then it was back on the road to find a reasonable place to eat. We stopped in Dickenson at a Taco Johns and it cost about $23. Troy was of course disgusted with paying that much for fast food. As we sat eating we could see a storm heading in and so it was back in the car to try to stay ahead of it. The sky was wild as it crept up behind us and seemed to want to enclose all around us. It headed mostly Northeast so we weren’t to affected by it. Then we saw some real cool clouds that we had seen a picture of earlier in our trip at the Peerless school. It was awesome to see them in the flesh. We didn’t have a hotel so we decided to try to find a room in Bismark. We ended up at the Fairfield Inn again for only $80!!!!! Good Job, Troy.
Then it was showers for us and off to bed. Tomorrow we will have a very long drive to home. Our plan is to leave around 10am and be home around 10pm, Lord willing.

  


 Day 11
Saturday, August 11th, 2007 the final leg of our adventure. Breakfast at the hotel, a quick swim and then its back in the car. We drove, drove, drove and drove. It was mostly uneventful and then we pulled off so we could take a bathroom break and get gas and there was a homeless man that was in need of food. We gave him an apple then after we got to the gas station we made up a food bag for him. We stopped and talked with him and he said he was coming from WI and he was on the West side of Minnesota. After we left we prayed for his safety and salvation. It felt real good to help someone who seemed to have nothing. Our hope is he will read the track that we gave him and come to know that Jesus is the miracle he’s looking for and one day we will see him in heaven and hear of how the rest of his journey went. The closer we got to home the harder it was to stay patient in the car. We didn’t get lost our whole trip until we got to WI?!? How does that happen? We have driven these roads a ton of times, but of course we still miss the turn on HWY 10 and end up going about 20 minutes out of our way and having to drive through the little towns of Coloma, Wautoma, Red Granite, and Omro!!!!!!!! UGGGGGG……but we finally made it home. It was a welcome sight at 11pm after driving since 10:45 am. When we got there Grandma Vicki, Papa Dick, and Auntie Chris were there to both welcome us and help unpack the car.
  






 Day 12
Sunday, August 12th, 2007, the short version of reflection on our trip……I have learned much, so much that it all hasn’t really even had a chance to sink in. We have learned much about one another as individuals and as a family whole. We have fears that we didn’t realize and courage that we didn’t know we had. We learned that our Trevor can and will stand firm when faced with temptations to do things that wouldn’t be God honoring. He also has a love for our extended family and friends that runs very deep. We have learned that our Tori, who has always been cautious of animals of any kind, had the courage to be the 1st one out of the car to see the big buffalo, elk, and grizzly bear. She also had no problem looking over the mountain sides. Then there’s our Carter….he needs to climb and move. This isn’t all that new, but it seems he has become more independent. He doesn’t want any help…he assures us that he can do it!!!! He is starting to let go of our hands and branching out to experience adventure on his own. My heart rejoices in all of it and at the same time, aches. This trip has grown us all. Then there’s Troy…..he is a man’s man!!!! I admire him more than ever. He is a fabulous Dad and a man who is always up for an adventure. He will do what it takes to conquer and protect. My man needs adventure and I hope I will never squash that out of him ever again. Then there’s me……it is possible for me to go with the flow and not have to plan out every move and can actually deal with changes on a whim and do it somewhat gracefully!!!! I am thankful for this family that I have been placed in and pray that we will continue to grow close to one another and not forget anytime soon the lessons we learned on our family adventure to Montana!!!!!!!!

Enjoy!!!

Only one more photo for tonight, because it takes to long and it's late. See you soon.
Enjoy,
Connie

Days 7-9

Day 7
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007, today we headed into Great Falls to visit the Lewis and Clark museum. It cost us only $10. It was a great educational place for kids. There was a lot of interactive things to do to help you learn. When we finished there we, (Troy) thought it would be better to have a picnic lunch by the falls instead of stopping somewhere, so we did. Needless to say it was quite a unique lunch. Seemed like as soon as we got to our spot the winds started to pick up and we literally had to hold our sandwiches or they would have blown away. When we put the mayo on the bread, some blew and hit Trevor in the shoulder. This lightened the mood of those who were disappointed about having to eat cold sandwiches, again!!!!! Both Tori and Carter have come down with some sort of a rash so I called home to get Dr. numbers and they don’t seem to be to concerned so I will give them Benedryl tonight and put on Arbonne Dipar cream and hopefully that will do the trick. We stopped and the local Wal-Mart to pick up supplies so we will be ready to head to Yellowstone in the morning. As soon as we walked in we felt like we were back in WI. Amazing, we don’t like the Wal-Mart here anymore then the one at home!!!! Then we headed back to Fort Benton for the night and Santa made the trip to eat dinner with us and then see us off to Yellowstone. We ate then went to the local swimming pool and had ice cream and the ice cream shop. We truly enjoyed Fort Benton.
 






 Day 8
August 8th, 2007 Wednesday, we had breakfast with Santa and we were on our way to Yellowstone. The ride was pretty smokey so it wasn’t real clear in seeing the mountains until you got real close to them. We were very excited and a little nervous about where we would lay our head tonight. We pulled in and there was room in the Mammoth campground so we took it. This is the Hot Springs area of the park. After we put up our tent we ate sandwiches and we were back in the car to see more sights. Everything is beautiful here and I will let the pictures do the talking!!!!!!!!! We saw lots of big wildlife and were out past dark, which made for a white knuckle and slow ride home. It was fun to all sleep together in the tent except, Troy and I didn’t have a mat or extra blankets to sleep on. The stars where more than wonderful, it wasn’t like anything I had ever seen before in my life. God did good.
 






 Day 9
August 9th, 2007, Thursday, our morning view was really cool. We got up and ate breakfast, then Troy, Tori, and Carter started up the mountain side by our campsite. They looked so tiny at the top. Today was a lot of fun, we toured the south half of Yellowstone, and this was by far my favorite. Lots of water. We stopped to use the bathroom in a picnic area and ended up taking pictures for a family down by the river on a fallen log, then they offered to do the same for us. Oh, did I forget to say you had to balance your way out on the log before you sit down. All was going well, and then Trevor went to sit down and lost his balance knocking Carter in backwards. All the while the man who offered to take our families picture is snapping pictures, so we have it all on record of how it went down. He didn’t get hurt so all was well after the tears were wiped away and the dirt too. Today was full and it’s very late now and tomorrow we start heading for home sweet home. We love it here, but are looking forward to our own beds and our loving family and friends.

 

 

Days 4-6

Day 4
Saturday, August 4th, 2007. Today was the big birthday celebration for Santa. Almost all of Peerless came out and most of Santa’s sisters. It was so much fun. Before the party really got rolling Santa took us out on a ranch. We saw 2 wild horses that they are trying to break and then we literally rode out on the ranch and saw the rest of the horses and cattle. The coolest thing was, the actual home of the McCloud family. The original one, the first one ever built on that land. Toooo cool. We drove over big hills and at times, I held my breath just hoping the truck won’t tip over!!!!!!! Then we spotted a gopher…..next thing I know, Santa is telling Troy to pull out his “45” pistol from under the seat….oh my…..so like the cowboy my husband is he does!!! Good thing for the gopher, that even though he’s a cowboy at heart, he’s a true city boy when it comes to shooting out of the side of a truck. Two shots and the gopher was high-tailing it out of there.

 


We got back to Santa’s and they put a ladder up on the homestead house and were jumping off the roof. This was fun to watch. Then the kids rode dirt bikes and the 4-wheeler. Carter and Tori got on today and did a great job. Both Carter and Trevor had a wipe out, but the got back up and off they went. The food was great and plenty of it. When it got dark all the kids played a game called “rescue Bob”. It was a blast. Then it was time to hit the hay. It’s hard to keep track of time because it stays pretty light out well into the evening; 9pm or so. Today was great, and am thankful to be so welcomed and treated like family.

 Day 5
Sunday, August 5th, 2007, the Sabbath in Peerless. We went to a little, traditional church. I imagine this was pretty much the way it would have been in the 1800’s. Almost everyone in town was there, plus some guests, due to Santa’s party. The sermon was ok. It was on being greedy. Good lesson, the only thing I would have added is that in our flesh we are helpless, it’s only with Christ can we have the power to over come. The rest of the day was restful as it should be, and yes my handsome husband can’t leave the West without dressing up…that’s right, like a cowboy. He does make a might fine one if I do say so myself!!! Then in the evening we went for a drive with Santa to look at the land. We saw some beautiful horses and real cool old abandon homes with lots of old cars and farm equipment. It was fun, but by the end of the ride the kids were Hungary, bored and driving me crazy in the cramped backseat made for 3 not 4. Then it was off to bed so we could be ready to hit the road and head for Fort Benton.
  




 Day 6
Monday, August 6th, 2007 we left Peerless and headed to Fort Benton. The drive was real nice. We saw some mountains in the distance (we think), but they say it’s pretty hazy, due to the fires they have been having. So the landscape wasn’t as clear as normal. Fort Benton is a cute little place down in the valley. We went for a walk around town with Paige (Santa’s granddaughter), and she knows all the shop owners and they are happy to see her come in. We strolled along the Missouri River and the view is breath-taking once again. It’s fun to imagine Lewis and Clark traveling here. They also have a replica fort and inside of it there was still parts of the original still standing, this was very cool. This is a beautiful place and I imagine a wonderful place to live. We are so thankful for the kindness of Santa’s family to open there home to us. Santa was suppose to travel with us, but when he was filling up his tank with gas he put in regular fuel instead of diesel, so he ended up turning back to go home to fix it. We just said a quick
“Goodbye” on the side of the highway!! BummerL We are hoping he comes tomorrow, so we can spend a little more time with him. Tomorrow we were suppose to go for a float down the Missouri, but it is a little cool for that (so they tell us), so we will probably take in the Lewis and Clark Museum and the local swimming pool. Then we’ll be off on our own to Yellowstone instead of Glacier due to all the fires.

   

Day 2-3

 Day 2
Thursday, August 2, 2007 we left our hotel in Fargo, ND and are headed to Peerless, Montana. On our way we stopped to visit the Badlands. It was totally awesome. We saw Bison, Elk, White-tail Deer, Wild Horses, Prairie Dogs, and my favorite the most breath taking Sunset I ever saw. We found out they call them the Badlands because in the past it was bad to travel through. There was a cute little Boomtown in Merdona and we stopped for pizza. They had cute shops and the whole atmosphere was real fun. We left there around 9:30pm (our time), 8:30pm (Santa’s time) and we were headed to Peerless. Once we left I94 there was pretty much…….nothing, so we didn’t miss any sites because of the dark. When we reached Scoby, MT, we were thrilled to be almost there and just as we pulled into town, and I mean on the very edge of town a police officer spotted us and flipped on his lights and so we pulled over, like good citizens, and Troy realized he still had his brites on and assumed that was the problem only to find out, we were going 32mph instead of 25mph. We tried to explain that this was our 1st time here and it is only 7 over and we just pulled in from the highway, but needless to say there was no convincing him. So he charged us $55 on the spot, and we were free to go. Then we took our precious little girl in the tavern because she had to go to the bathroom and that was the only thing open……uggggg! I held both of her hands and guided her through so she didn’t have to look up as we walked through. Then it was Peerless or bust. We pulled in to Santa’s place around 1:30 am. Our beds were ready and we were all to happy to stretch out and go to sleep. Have I mentioned what excellent car riders our kids were. Today they were in the car for almost 11 hours straight. Thanking God for his care, provision and the perseverance he’s given our kids.
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 Day 3
Friday, August 3, 2007, Peerless, Montana. Today was a nice and relaxing day. Santa’s actual birthday was today. We got the grand tour of all the surrounding farms and ranches. We drove about 18 more miles north to the U.S. and Canada border. All that separates us from them is a barbed wire fence. The kids and Troy ran around on the 4-wheeler and Trevor rode a dirt bike for the 1st time and I off course missed the Kodak moment. This community is pretty amazing. We got to hear lots of stories of “old” on our tour. Most of the farms have been in the same family since the land was settled back in the 1800’s. The actual homestead house is still here on Santa’s property. I will take a photo tomorrow. I love to meet the people and hear how they live. Not a whole lot of things to distract you out here in this country. I think it would be an ideal place to raise children of character. My favorite part of today was the very end. We ate pork chops, pasta salad, and potatoes for dinner and all the neighbors came over and when tummy’s were full they just sat and talked with each other. The coolest thing was that they were all from different age groups, young and old, enjoying one another’s company. The young interacted with the old and old with the young, in away that was very respectful. These are the things I long for, for my children in a community. Excited to see what tomorrow brings.
  

Family Vacation: Day 1 August 1, 2007

Here are the pictures of our drive in the car and our ice cream dinner at Olsen's in Chipewah Falls, WI.
Looking forward to Day #2.
Connie