We just got home from a 14-day adventure to Wyoming and Montana. After nearly 4,000 miles of driving we are finally in our own beds. Day 1 we made it to Deadwood, SD. Since our hotel had a casino, Dusty and I gambled for a couple hours. The next day we made it to my hometown, Worland, WY and stayed with my parents for 2 nights. Next up was 2 days (1 night) in Yellowstone, then 1 night in Dillon, MT with Dusty's best friend, Joel, from college. From there we finally made it to Kalispell, MT for Dusty's 20-year high school reunion. We were so fortunate to have been able to stay with one of his high school buddies, Josh and his family. It couldn't have worked out any better. They have 3 boys, ages 4, 8 and 10. Our boys never stopped moving. We stayed with them for 6 nights and hit all the tourist attractions we could. I understand why people live in this area. Every morning your breath is taken away with the view. We took 3 days to make it back to Kansas City, with stops in Billings, MT to see my first college I attended, back to Worland to grab our puppy that Grandma and Grandpa so graciously watched, then a night in Ogallala, NE before arriving back to home sweet home. Vacations are always great, but getting back home is even better!
DEADWOOD, SD
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| Deadwood, SD |
WORLAND/TENSLEEP, WYOMING
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| We made a pit stop in Tensleep, WY at my Uncle Tim's house. Dusty helped the boys fly fish for trout. |
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| Uncle Tim and Mac. |
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| My all time favorite meal. Smothered Super Dan breakfast burrito at Ranchito, Worland, WY. |
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The picture does no justice, but these caramel twists from Brass Plum are to die for!
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YELLOWSTONE
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| Camping with the bears in Yellowstone |
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| Skipping rocks at Yellowstone Lake |
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| Beautiful Old Faithful! |
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| Grand Prismatic Spring |
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| Our shadows on some colorful sulfur springs. |
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| We saw quite a few elk in Yellowstone. |
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| We were lucky enough to see herds of about 1500 bison. |
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| One of the many waterfalls in Yellowstone. |
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| Just north of Mammoth Hot Springs you can swim where the hot water enters the river. And there are elk right there by you! |
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Mr. Elk exiting the water.
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DILLON, MT
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| When we stayed in Dillon, MT, the boys got to ride a little dirt bike. |
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| And play with Joel and Meagan's boxer puppy, Nala. |
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| Dusty was so happy to meet up with Joel. And we finally got to meet his fiancé, Meagan! |
DRIVING IN MONTANA
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| Staggering Ox sandwiches, Missoula, MT. They make the bread in coffee cans! |
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| Breathtaking Mission Mountains, St. Ignatius, MT |
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| Nothing better than buying freshly picked cherries in the Flathead Valley! |
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| We stopped in to say hi to some of Dusty's family in Polson, MT at their bed and breakfast. The boys loved their huge dog! |
FLATHEAD HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1996 REUNION
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| Flathead Braves class of '96. Out of almost 600... :( |
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| Dusty and his high school buddy and college roommate, Kris Schaub. |
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| Dusty's buddy Walker Templeton. |
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| Dusty's friends Amber and Suzie. |
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| Group pic of us with Josh and Erin Johnson. They were so generous and let us stay at their house. Oh, and his mom babysat 5 boys until 3am. :) |
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After the reunion. On our way to Taco Bell.
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FLATHEAD LAKE
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| Warming back up |
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| There was an area of sand and 3' deep water we played at for hours. |
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| Bennett, Booker and Bodey tubing |
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| Got to wake surf! Got up my first try but then didn't know what to do. Fun though! |
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| Dusty wake surfing. |
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| Josh jumping off the wakeboard tower! |
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| Cooper Johnson, such a cutie! |
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| The boys got to knee board! |
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| Cooper, Bennett and Bodey |
GLACIER NAT'L PARK, MCDONALD CREEK
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| Booker fishing in Glacier. |
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| I've never seen river water this beautiful! |
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| Making the steep climb to cliff jump. |
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| Bodey jumping into 45 degree water! |
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| Booker jumping! |
BIG MOUNTAIN, WHITEFISH, MT
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| Riding the chairlift to the top. |
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| Top of Big Mountain Ski Resort |
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| We hiked down the Danny On trail. Let me just tell you that 4 miles of downhill, stabilizing each step, equals very sore muscles for the next 2 days. Especially for Dusty, but who's keeping track. Excuse Booker's mouth full of brownie in this pic. |
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| Picking fresh huckleberries! |
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| So ripe and delicious! |
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| Big Mountain alpine slide. |
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| After hiking we went whitewater rafting. I'd say we burned a few calories that day! After the first rapid, Booker didn't know what he got himself into, but finally relaxed and had a blast. |
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
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If you have never been, GO.
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| View from Going-to-the-Sun Road. Stunning. |
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| Looking straight down hundreds of feet, right off the side of the road! |
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| Snow tunnels |
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| Mr. Big Horn Sheep saying hello. |
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| Jackson Glacier |
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| Small grizzly bear about 30 feet off the road. |
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| Mountain Goat |
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| We went to the giant maze and go carts. |
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| House of Mystery |
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| Filling water bottles from fresh water spring! |
HEADING HOME
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| Saying goodbye to the Johnson's was hard. Cooper (4), Bennett (8), Bodey (8), Garrett (10), Booker (10) |
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| Last stop for Flathead cherries. |
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| Got our Mac dog back from Camp Grandma & Grandpa |
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| Seriously good food out of a camper in Thermopolis, WY |
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| Home, home at last! |
