We continued our trek across Colorado being sure to stop off at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. It was the first day of school for the kids back home so it was a bit of a sad morning for us. But here is our first day of school photo!

For the second half of our week in Colorado, we stayed with our dear friends in Ridgway. Barthold and Benj met many moons ago through work.

Cat and I met when we all brought our families on a work trip to Ireland (Felicity was 5, Harry was 2, Koen was 10, and Finn was 9). We hit it off immediately and also spent a week in Disney World together that next year.

Can you believe we haven’t seen them in person since then?! Facebook keeps us connected though the kids have grown up a LOT in 7 years! On our first night we arrived to a beautiful dinner on the back deck over looking the mountains. (How lucky are we to have all these friends with mountainside houses?!?) Here is Harry on that same deck with the eggs he collected from the chickens for breakfast!

We spent the next morning off roading over the Dallas Divide, playing around with Finn’s drone (you might have spotted our Lion King reenactment on Facebook?) and picnicking with a view!

We spent the afternoon checking out Telluride, riding the gondola, and caffeinating ourselves, of course!

(Sidenote: The kids we’ve hung out with in Colorado are SO independent. They bike or use public transportation everywhere WITHOUT their parents. They mountain hop to ski and go to really innovative schools where they can specialize in a sport or start college early. Some really neat stuff going on here. Heck, they learn how to drive before they even get their licenses! They just seem like they are well prepared for the world. We really enjoyed our time with Finn though we didn’t see Koen but for a minute.)

As you saw in the previous post, we hit the Ouray Hot Springs at night. It was the perfect temperature and nice relaxing way to end the busy day.

The next day we made the trek down the Million Dollar Highway to Durango for Whitewater Rafting! This ranks right up there with snorkeling as a favorite activity for me!

It was both the kids’ first time. As you know, Harry loved it. Felicity pretended she didn’t but at the end of the night she whispered, “Don’t tell anyone but I had fun today!” Tweens, yo.

But the best part of our visit for me was just sitting out on the back deck at night star gazing with friends. Jupiter, the Big Dipper, and the most visible Milky Way we’d ever seen were just amazing. Thank you, Barthold, Cat (and Finn, too!) for spoiling us with your hospitality, hot showers, comfy beds, and fabulous friendship! Come visit us soon! We love you!

It was bound to happen. You can’t show your kids this big, beautiful world and not expect them to want to go off and explore it! Just look at him whitewater rafting in Durango, CO! PURE JOY! Don’t get me wrong, he mopes and complains a lot. But then there are those moments where he is just living his best life!

Hiking: Speak softly and carry a BIG stick. Preferably the biggest one you can carry.

Hot Springs: Definitely go because you might get lucky and see naked people. But maybe don’t tell your parents this because then they will take you to the place where clothes are not optional.

Coffee: If you beg your mother enough, she will give in eventually. (Ha, it was decaf!)

ATV: A little boy’s dream come true! As long as you go slow and wear a helmet! (I can’t believe I actually let him do this, but he only drove off the road once. Trying to say yes more on this trip!)

And finally, Harry has decided he is moving to Frisco, CO. We met up with Benj’s friend Melissa from growing up in Sterling. She has two very active teenage boys and Harry loved every minute of our time with them. They snowboard, skateboard, scooter, mountain bike, you name it! And now Harry is dying to try all of these things! I caught a great video of him and Mitchell flying down the hill!

Thank you, Melissa and boys, for showing us around your ‘hood! It was a blast and we look forward to visiting Harry there again soon! LOL!

After mixed reviews for South Dakota, we headed off to start our week in Colorado. The first stop was to Rocky Mountain National Park. We didn’t do anything there except a long scenic drive but we wanted to check this one off our list and get our National Park Passport cancellation stamp! We actually love going into the visitor centers at each park/monument, getting our book stamped, and then watching whatever movie they offer on the site. Comfy seats, air conditioning, and a little learnin’ for your ass!

Then it was onto Boulder! We planned to stay with our friends Mike and Teal at their mountain top paradise affectionately known as Wind Song Mountain Lodge and Spa. And wow, what a treat it was! A real bed and real people other than my family! If that’s not heaven to this extrovert who loves her sleep, I don’t know what is!

Backing up a bit for those who don’t know: Mike and Benj met each other at a nerdy high school, also known as Mass Academy. Mike and I met at a frat party at WPI. Same, same. A few years ago, we connected the dots, met his lovely wife Teal, and fell in together like old friends. This trip, though, was the first time they met the kids, and for us, their sweet dog Bhakti! Harry was especially smitten!

Okay, so back to Boulder. After we realized we had to abandon the RV about half way up to their house, Mike rescued us in his Subaru and we were greeted with an amazing dinner on their back deck overlooking the mountain side. Sublime!

The next morning was packed full of the Boulder Farmer’s Market, a picnic lunch in the park, and swing by the Flat Irons for a photo op!

We did some hiking in the afternoon and after some showers, we headed off to Pearl Street for some shopping and dinner!

Then next morning they spoiled us AGAIN with an amazing, beautiful brunch on the deck and sent us on our way with a batch of home brew cold brew. We loved Boulder, Bhakti, and, of course, spending some quality time with dear friends.

Though perhaps my favorite part of the weekend was when someone in our party messed with this puzzle at a store and it fell all over the floor and we all frantically tried to get it put back together before our dinner reservation.

Oops! I’ll let you guess who it might have been! Hahaha!

To my lucky readers, I’m still alive! Neither this trip nor my late night visits to the campground bathrooms have killed me yet! And good thing since our last day in South Dakota was a keeper!

We kind of stumbled upon Windcave National Park.  After mapping out our day, we realized this park would be a nice, easy stop.  And boy it did not disappoint!

First, there were prairie dogs running EVERYWHERE.  They are really cute when you’re in a car.  

But then we spotted our first bison!!! Wow! Who knew that seeing bison would be so flippin’ cool.  But it was.  I’m not even sure they are awake.  They stand there frozen in place. Weirdest thing but damn, we really enjoyed looking out for them around every curve in the road!

And after a recommendation by my dear friend Stephen, we planned to swing by Mammoth Site.  You must make this a stop when you’re in South Dakota. I have come to really appreciate a well done experience and Mammoth Site was awesome!

There was an informative video to start the tour.  It does such a good job explaining how they think the Mammoths fell into the sink hole.  Excellent details without being too hard to follow. This was followed up by a live audio tour of the actual site.  Who doesn’t love a good audio tour?!

It really blew our minds!  The fact that they have unearthed 61 mammoth skeletons so far and they know there are more and more the deeper you go is totally nuts!  

Harry really loved the experience and said it was his favorite spot of the week!   

South Dakota, you’re an enigma. Let’s see. Wall Drug. Ummmm, okay, I guess? (That website tho? Yikes.) We came. We saw. We bought an ornament. It’s weird.

And then there was Mount Rushmore.  There was construction going on. It was really far away.  Oh, and parking was $10! Thankfully, many people had prepared us for this underwhelming visit.

While we’re being ridiculous, come with me on a true RV Living Adventure:

Do I survive? Find out that and so much more on the final update from South Dakota!

Okay, you guys.  The Badlands blew my mind!  Like, how is this place here and I just knew nothing about it?!?

The guys went off to hike a bit…

Harry found a high place to climb, like he does…

and I became Felicity’s dance photographer, like I do!

Unlike Deadwood, The Badlands gets two thumbs up.  Do not miss it!

Today’s travels took us to South Dakota!  

Benj and I were especially excited to visit Deadwood since that HBO show (and latest movie!) ranks right up at the top of all time for both of us.  And since we now have vast experience in this area, let us divulge the most important tips.

Step One:  Watch Deadwood ASAP!  Get a month free trial of HBO and binge it!  Suck up to a friend with HBO. Just do it already.  

Step Two:  Don’t ever bother visiting Deadwood.  Seriously. The reviews don’t lie. It’s a complete waste of time.  We didn’t listen and we’re idiots. Listen to us now.

We started off the day at Broken Boot Gold Mine which was mildly interesting.  We toured an old mine and the kids panned for gold which meant they found some gold flecks in a bag.  Meh.

We then made the mistake of hiking uphill a mile in the hot sun (both ways barefoot in the snow) to the cemetery where Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried side by side.  

Again, do NOT do this.  Take the tour bus that brings you there. I assure you, the kids will ABSOLUTELY HATE THIS. You will only be able to get them to continue with the promise of ice cream.

Finally, we watched a live “shoot out” put on by Deadwood Alive.  It was cut short and again mostly underwhelming.  

I know this blog sounds negative, but I’m here for truth telling.

And Deadwood gets two thumbs down from me.

Nature preservation

You all know that nature needs to be preserved, here are some ways to preserve it:

Everything you bring to the trail should leave with you.

You shouldn’t try to feed wild animals because they may rely on humans for that food in the future. It’s similar to giving your dog a piece of meat from your plate during dinner. Do you think your dog will want to go back to eating dog food?

You shouldn’t venture off into other areas that are off the path. you risk damaging the plants of the surrounding area. Not only that, but just stepping off the trail can contribute to erosion. It will leave a beaten down path that will entice others to do the same.

Hiking safety

Here are some safety tips for hiking:

• Never run on the trails, you may trip and get damage.
• Bring a compass 🧭 and/or map 🗺 .
• Don’t scare animals.
• Don’t fill in holes.

What may be surprising to many of you is that I love a lot of things about “campground camping.” I did a fair amount as a kid and this trip has reminding me of those!

First, the Good!

Campfires! No doubt about it! Thankfully Harry is my buddy in this. He offers to build a fire every chance we get. Thanks in part to the guidance of Grandpa Tom and Uncle Tommy this summer and a bit of assistance from Dad on the trip, he is getting pretty good at it!

Amenities! Especially showers and laundry facilities! Ugh, right? But it’s true! The picture at the top of this post of our RV parked at Elkhorn Ridge shows you how close we were to the laundry! It thrilled me to no end!

Also, many of the campgrounds we’ve stayed at so far have had playgrounds and pools! The kids love swimming and after a hot and miserable hike today (more to come on that!) I had to take a dip myself!

Games! We are a game playing family for sure! Though I will admit, we have not played as many as I would like. We just haven’t had a lot of down time! While I haven’t gotten anyone to play cribbage with me, we have played many games of Uno Dare recently. But the best game I am currently immersed in is LICENSE PLATES! After only a week, we have 41/51!

Next: The Bad.

My Most Used Trip Phrases:

1. “I’m going to lose my shit!”
2. “Whose dirty socks are these?”
3. “Go brush your teeth/wash your face!”
4. “Get off your phone and go read a book!”
5. “Shut the Door!” (well, that’s really Benj’s most used line…)

More proof that trips with your family are just a change in location.

And finally: The Ugly.

We left Glacier at 7am for the long trek across Montana. We decided to get some learnin’ done on the way.

Our first stop was the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls, MT. It was mildly interesting but I was mostly distracted because Harry decided to do the Junior Ranger program. This meant running around the place finding answers to the bazillion questions in that damn packet and not really just enjoying the place. But that kid is cute so I did what needed to be done. He only needed to do 3 pages for the sweet badge but the nice lady said if he did all 6 pages he could go to the treasure box. Man, I wish I saw what was in the treasure box before we agreed. But hey, that extra hour was totally worth ANOTHER bookmark!

But wait it gets better…

Our next stop was the Little Bighorn Battlefield in Crow Agency, MT. It’s called a place of reflection for good reason. The movie they show does this weird thing of trying to remain fair and balanced. Sort of telling both sides of the story? I can only imagine how unbalanced it used to be! It was all just uncomfortable because this country was founded by stealing native lands. Maybe we should just all start owning that shit?

The silver lining about the day is realizing that the best way to change the future is to invest in our young people. We had the opportunity to talk with our kids about why we don’t take selfies in some places and educate them on what their history classes may not teach them.

Montana is beautiful and her land is sacred to its native people.

Thankfully, we ended the day at 7th Ranch RV Park. The kids do this thing at every campground. We arrive and they immediately run off to explore. It’s probably their way of getting out of helping with the camp set-up. But we don’t care. They get some exercise after a long drive and we get some peace and quiet. And they play. Together.