Trip Review - Days 3 through 5

Okay, so where were we?  Ah yes, Minnesota.

Day 3- Friday, July 30 - We wake up and get on the road.  We have a lot of ground to cover today if we're going to make it to Trina's before 5, and let's face it - I haven't really been driving more than 4 or 5 hours a day thus far.  It's basically an uneventful day of just driving. 

We stop at a rest area in South Dakota that claims "Scenic View".  With my eyesight, "scenic views" rarely impress but that one doesn't lie.  Be nice, and don't ask why it looks like I took a picture of a gas station. 

There's a big sign when you drive up that says "No hunting at rest area".  Either hunting is so big there that they have to specify not hunting in public places off major interstates, or road rage is a serious problem.  Could go either way. 

There's a trail behind the building that we decide to take to get the full scenic effect.  I get points for taking the trail DESPITE this sign:

And yes, I made him stand there.  The boy knows by now if there's a funny picture to be scrapbooked, his health and safety will be sacrificed.  Keep in mind, he's still not very far in Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 and therefore, I'm still the best mom ever.

Okay, back on the road.  We drive through grasshoppers in what can only be described as plague proportions.  It's gross to watch them hopping across the road as I drive at them at 75+ MPH to squash them into grasshopper road kill.  The one that ends up impaled on my antenna nearly does me in.

We hit Rapid City and call Trina.  She concocts a plan where I will continue to drive on the interstate and she will find my van and lead me to her house.  With anyone else, I would laugh at the probability of pulling this off, but ONLY with Trina would this plan work and work perfectly.  Not only does she find me during late Friday afternoon traffic, she also calls and talks me through where I am and what I'm seeing. 

Anyone who might believe that Dana and I conceived and pulled off any of the crazy things we did years ago on our own needs to remember that Trina was generally there with us.  And she was clearly the brains of the operation.

I make it to Trina's house on a roads that can only be described as insane.  Curvy, up and down steep hills, trying not to ride my brakes, ugh.  I could have pulled over and thrown up at any given time, I was so nerve wracked.  But we made it.  Jacob and Blaine immediately rebond over the puppy Copper and video games, since Blaine doesn't remember meeting Jacob at Mary's wedding a few years ago.  But boys this age don't take long to find common  interests.  I drink several beers and try gauge the probability of getting Mitch to move there so I don't have to drive those hills anymore. 

We head into Deadwood for dinner and a walk through town.  No pictures folks, but Google "Deadwood, South Dakota" and it will be like I did.  The ride home was fun, as I always enjoy an opportunity to meet the local law enforcement.  Thanks Brian!  I've never heard of anyone getting a written warning for excessive use of the supercharger before, but it appears I lead a somewhat sheltered life.

Day 4 - Saturday, July 31 - Jacob and I get up and after splendid meal of breakfast burritos, we head to Mt. Rushmore.  It's not really that far away, but of course, I rarely pass a rest area, so it took us longer than it should have.  Again, I'm a sucker for the scenic view.

We finally make it Mt. Rushmore.  It's amazing.  Really.  It's absolutely worth the trip. 

It looks really crowded, and I suppose it was, but once you got in the main area and walked the trail, it didn't seem that way.  We spent a few hours there, watched the two movies, bought some souvenirs and ice cream, and managed to find our van to leave. 

We drove a few more hours, then stopped in Casper, Wyoming for the night, much to Mitch's dismay.  He thought we should be able to make it from Mt. Rushmore to the house in one day, but hello - 11 hours?  After Mt. Rushmore?  No way pal, another hotel for us.  Another Best Western?  Why, thank you, yes we will.

Day 5- Sunday, August 1 - We leave about 9 AM from the hotel and drive about a million miles through Wyoming.  Which was very pretty by the way, except for the nagging, "I've been on this road for an hour and haven't seen another car" thing.  But there are no more hills and no more grasshoppers, so I'm relatively happy.  Jacob by this point is in the far back seat of the van, where the glare of the pesky sun doesn't interfere with his Lego Harry Potter playing.  We stop at Independence Rock, where Mitch and Sara had also stopped.

They climbed all the way to the top.  Jacob and I are not that brave, though we thought we might be.  About halfway up, we saw the error of our ways.  I felt bad, but I think he was relieved too.  I guess we know where he gets his fear of heights!

Back in the car and we make it into Utah.  Another nerve-wracking drive through some more mountains, and some road construction on I-15, and we're there.  We make it to our new house about 5 PM.  Mitch and Sara were glad to see us, and my mom, who had flown in the day before, already had a pretty good handle on things.  Mitch had unpacked almost everything we needed, and everything else was in the basement.  

Generally, I-80 will take us right from Salt Lake City to Illinois, and that's the route we'll be taking on any other trips back home.  But I'm glad we took the extra time and miles to see who and what we did.  I wish we could have done all this with Mitch and Sara, they had their own adventures and saw pretty much the same things, but it was a chance to spend some nice time with Jacob by himself.

Whew, that was longer than I expected.  Thanks for sticking with it to the end!