Life is a Highway

 After graduation we packed our Penske and headed back west. We were lucky to have my dad drive with us, to help switch up the driving. When we first moved to Indiana we made the drive quick and didn't stop. So this time we wanted to make it fun for the kids....and us! We made it all the way to Hanniable, Mo our first night and stopped to see Mark Twain's house.

 

We were able to meet up with my friend Jenny and her boy in Nauvoo for a quick visit. We were glad to see them before going back west! Since my dad was with us we had to take him to the George Laub's house. His family all had children late in life, so can you believe it, George Laub was his Great Grandfather and lived in Nauvoo with the Saints. Here are 3 generations of Laub's in front of his house.

 We were able to make a quick stop at Winter Quarters, Nebraska. George Laub stayed behind here to make handcarts for the saints then continued west.

The worst part of the drive was South Dakota. 300 miles of nothing....all they way across the state! We finally made it to Rapid City and were able to take John to some cool places that my parents took us when we were little.

They had a free dinosaur park with big dinos you can climb on that overlook the city. Since it was free and they boys had been so good we bought them their own stuffed dino's at the gift shop. Nathan heard us talking and named his dino "Teton". With some convincing we were able to name Robby's "Rocky." 

 We stopped at Mt. Rushmore....I remembered it looking a lot bigger when I was kid! There was a mountain goat climbing at the bottom of the rocks.

 Since we were near and John hadn't been there we took him to Devils Tower in Wyoming. This was John's favorite thing we did on the trip. Glad we could stop for him!

 We had a long day the next day to make it all they was across Montana. But it was worth it because we got to spend some time in Yellowstone. Having come from 90 degree weather in Mexico and hot humid weather in Indiana we were freezing and it was snowing! It was neat that it was snowing as we hadn't had any winter at all this year. Robby loved the geyser so much. We hope to go back when it's a little warmer!

The kids did really good on the trip until the last drive! Nate says over and over "get me out of here!" We made the trip in 6 days and had no problems along the way.