Road Trip!

There is nothing quite like hitting the open road and exploring all America has to offer. My goal is to visit all 50 states. I have been to 29 so far! I’ve been to every state west of the Mississippi River, except for Alaska, Arkansas, and Louisiana. I would love to take a cruise to Alaska, but since I have a one year old, that dream will have to take a back seat. The boys are the same, except they have never been to Hawaii. This trip has been a little different, since it’s just the younger 4 boys, my mom, and me. Our trip started as we headed north through Big Sky country. All I have to say is….beautiful! We’ve stopped at four National Parks/Monuments/Historical Sites so far. The boys are earning their Junior Ranger badges each time. I think this is a great incentive to get the kids involved at each of the sites. They get a book and have to answer questions, do activities, say the pledge, and get it checked by a park ranger. It’s been a fun adventure getting all of us involved in trying to figure out the answers. The Little Bighorn Battlefield book wasn’t too bad. Most of the answers were in the museum at the visitor’s center. Unfortunately, Devils Tower was out of the badges, so we’ll have to wait on that one. We still had such a fun time exploring around the base, and the boys especially loved watching the rock climbers. Then there was Fort Laramie. This place is amazing! It’s technically a historical site, but they also have the Ranger program. This one…my goodness…this one was hard! It didn’t help that we arrived late in the afternoon, so our time was limited. There had to be at least 10 pages of questions. We started in the visitor’s center, then realized most of the answers had to be found exploring the fort grounds. We had to rush to get back to the visitor’s center before closing. We just made it, and the hard earned badges will definitely be treasured for years to come. Fort Laramie was REALLY fascinating. We will be going back at some point since we were so rushed this time around. The final stop on the first part of our journey was Scotts Bluff National Monument. Have you heard of it? I hadn’t. It was really interesting. It was a landmark for all the people headed west along the Oregon Trail. The boys have been so well behaved, and they’ve been genuinely interested in all of the history they’re learning along the way. We’re hanging out with family for a little while before we hit the open road again. Stay tuned!