We left Maplewood, MO at 6:45 am and we were all excited, especially Eric! Decided to by pass Kansas City and took Hyw 13 North to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Beautiful farm land all around us. Went through the town of Lexington, MO one of many civil war battles in Missouri was fought there.

We got to Council Buff around 1:00 pm. And settled in. Walked over to the Horseshoe Casino across the street. Didn’t win😢 but Eric was having fun! \240Had a nice dip in the hotel pool & hottub. It was a good day, now time to sleep, heading to South Dakota & Mount Rushmore tomorrow.

6:45 am and on our way to Keystone, South Dakota and Mount Rushmore😊To keep us busy, we are trying to find all 50 State license plates, 2 of them might be hard to find 😜 We just entered South Dakota!

We just crossed the Missouri River in South Dakota, it looks like a lake 😳 it is that big! The landscape has changed from flat land to hills.

Just entered Mountay Time Zone at 12:44 pm and now it is 11;44 am😜

We arrived in Keystone, South Dakota at around 4:00 pm. Driving toward the Black Hills was awesome, from far away they look black but the closer you get you see all the green trees. What a view we have at Roosevelt Inn.

Heading to Mount Rushmore next, they do a evening lighting of the four presidents. I can’t believe how excited I was about going to Mount Rushmore, I’ve wanted to go since I saw it in a movie when I was a young girl. It did not disappoint! It was an amazing experience in the middle of the Black Hills! We live in a beautiful country.

We went to Custer State Park this morning it was a great beginning to our day. We saw hundreds of buffalo, burrows, pronghorns & deers. It was so awesome seeing them roam the prairies.

Next we drove the Needles Highway. The tall granite peaks aka needles is how it got it’s name. \240It is at the elevation of 6,397 feet. It’s 14 miles long with tons of granite needles, sharp turns, and low rock tunnels. We were so high up, It was really hard to look over the edge😳 It is one of the most awesome natural sites I have ever seen.

After lunch in Custer, SD at Buglin Bull we headed to Crazy Horse Monument. It is still in progress and probably won’t be completed until 50 years. The museum had a nice history on the Lakota Indians and we saw a native Lakota dance.

Heading back to Keystone to rest up for tomorrow’s trip to the Badlands.

Headed to the Badlands National Park this morning. Wow, what a awesome place! We took three hikes that was easy enough for Eric. He was a trooper! We walked the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail, Door Trail and Fossil Exhibit Trail. Signs posted everywhere, “Watch for Rattlesnakes” 😳 thank god we didn’t see any!

I took pictures of Roberts Prairie Dog Town in the Badlands but it was hard to see the prairie dogs, they are same color as their mounds. There were 1,000 of them!

When we left the Badlands we headed to Wall Drug, South Dakota. Wall Drug as "a sprawling tourist attraction of international renown that draws some two million annual visitors to a remote town.

We finally headed back to Keystone for dinner. It was Eric’s night to choose and of course it was Boss Pizza. It was another great day in this beautiful country of ours!

Sitting in the cafe at Roosevelt Inn with Eric eating breakfast. First day we have had rain. Saw a deer in the parking lot as we walked to the cafe. It is a day to chill & do some laundry.

So much for chilling we ended up exploring Keystone, South Dakota more. We went to Bear Country, USA. We drove through the park and the animals roam freely. We saw Rocky Mountain Elk, Reindeer, Arctic Wolf, Big Horn Sheep, Dall Sheep, Rocky Mountain Goat, Black Bear, \240Mountain Lion, Timber Wolf, Pronghorn, Buffalo, Mule Deer and Grizzly Bear. We also saw small animals of South Dakota.

Next we took a tour of the original Big Thunder Gold mine 1892. They were very knowledgeable about they're facts, history, area. Another good day😊 We leave tomorrow for Deadwood, Wyoming, Devils Tower and then Sheridan, Wyoming for the night.

On the way to Deadwood, SD we \240pasted he most beautiful lake on \240Pactoria Reservoir. Well known in the area for exceptional fishing!

Finally made it to Deadwood! What a cool, clean looking little town in the Black Hills. We ate at the Creek Side Restaurant and Eric got the biggest homemade cinnamon roll!

After breakfast, \240walked up a big hill to the Mount Moriah Cemetery where Wild Bill Hickok & Calamity Jane are buried. \240Many civil war veterans are buried there as well as children. There was a epidemic of Scarlet Fever in 1860-1870. 😔 Eric has been a trooper with all the walking, averaging at 4 miles a day.

Back on the road for Wyoming and Devils Tower. It was raining up until the time we entered Devils Tower Federal Park. We took a 1.5 hike around Devils Tower, many more hills for Eric but he did it! It was an amazing hike😄

Back on the road to our evening destination, Sheridan Wyoming. Went through a small rain storm and found the coolest rainbow at the end! \240There was a town festival on Main Street so we walked it and got dinner. Tomorrow we cross the Big Horn Mountains, to Cody, Wy and then Yellowstone.

Left \240Sheridan, WY for Cody, WY through the Big Horn Mountains. This mountain range was gorgeous and showed hints of fall colors! The elevation is over 8400 feet.

We saw the Shell waterfall even if it was closed, I just climbed over the closing gate & got some nice pics.

We stopped in Cody, WY for lunch. Very nice, clean town just 53 miles from Yellowstone National Park East Entrance.

We made it to the East Entrance of Yellowstone but have another hour to drive to get to Grants Village where we are staying. Lake YellowOnce we got there we explored are area for a bit, had dinner and getting some rest for our big Yellow Bus Tour of the “Circle of Fire”.

Today we took the The Yellow Bus Tour “Circle of Fire” in Yellowstone. It was amazing and the bus driver and tour guide was so engaging with the history of Yellowstone.

We saw elks, bisons, a lone grey wolf, waterfalls, 3 different rivers and the thermal area along with “Old Faithful”. We logged over 6 miles of walking and Eric is one tired puppy but he did it😊💙

Spent the day up at the “Old Faithfil Inn”

Left Yellowstone this morning via the Grand Tetons, Bear Lake and then Logan, Utah.

Five years ago, I promised Eric that when I retired, I would take him to Logan, Utah where him and Jeremy were born. I \240lived there from January 1977 to May 1982. Today we are exploring Logan, Utah. It is as beautiful as I remember it!

First we went by the hospital Eric was borned at. It was brand new in 1982, and called Logan Regional Hospital. Jeremy was borned at the old Logan Hospital built in 1914😳.

Second we headed to our home before we left, USU Triads, 22H, Logan, Utah 84321. I remembered exactly how to get there and it looked exactly the same from the outside.

Third we head to the new football stadium for the Utsh State Aggies. My best memory is watching a game in late October and a snow storm moved in and you couldn’t see the mountains that were right behind the stadium and by the time the game was finished we already had 4 inches of snow. Snow in Utah is dry & powdery, so you don’t really get wet at all.

Then we went and explored the Utah State Campus. It is still as nice as I remember it, just 3 times the student body.

We then went and had lunch at the Blue Bird Restaurant. It has been in Logan since 1923. \240Great food! Across the street is the Utah Theater. Was only there once and we saw Star Wars for the first time.

Next we went and saw the LDS (Mormon) Temple. It is magnificent sitting on the hill above Logan (Cache Valley)!

We went back in the evening to get a picture of the temple lit up. Because we were so full from lunch, Doug & Eric decided to get ice cream at the Blue Bird, I had coffee😊

Left Logan, Utah this morning through Sardine Canyon. \240We are heading to Salt Lake City to explore.

First stop was Temple Square, the home of the Mormon Temple, Tabernacle Choir and \240Ancestry Research Center. The temple grounds were beautiful!

Then we headed to the Salt Lake Cemetery and found my 4x g.grandfzther, Samuel Henderson Sr

Left Cottonwood/Salt Lake City this morning and heading to Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

Stopped in the town of Thistle, Utah for gas and you could see the haze & smell the smoke of a near forest fire.😳 The Fire is called the “Coal Hollow Fire” and has burned more than 286,000 acres. The Coal Hollow Fire in the distance.

It is amazing how the further south you go in Utah the more rugged & desert like the terrain is. But still beautiful in a whole different way.

We finally made it to Colorado at Grand Junction😊 We took a break and explored the area and headed to our final stop for the next 2 days \240at Glenwood Springs, CO, awesome ski resort/hiking/hot springs town. The river in the pictures in Colorado is exactly the Colorado River.

Glenwood Springs, Colorado is a beautiful town! This morning we went to see Doc Holliday’s grave in Pioneer Cemetery. He moved to Glenwood Springs at the end of his life, he thought the hot springs would heal his tuberculosis. It didn’t help \240and he died at 36 years old.

The hike to the cemetery was a 1/2 mile up the mountain and yes Eric made it to the top! 😳 We only had to stop 3 times for him! Doug kept telling me to stay away from the edge of the trail because he didn’t want to end up on Dateline! 😂 I was not that close to the edge, he was having a hard time looking over the higher we got.😜

After we explored the historic part of Glenwood Springs we went to the 2 Rivers State Park to walk along the Colorado River. The other river at the confluence is the Roaring Fork River by the bridge.

Doug is wanting to move out here, no humidity😳 I told him that he hasn’t seen the winter and the big snowfalls! So no! 😊

We left Glenwood Springs early this morning, heading to Denver, CO through the Rocky MountIns. The golden aspens against the green pines is gorgeous!

Unfortunately once you get east of Denver it is flat all the way into Kansas☹️ stopping in Hays, Kansas for the night. The home of Kansas State University.

Left Hays, Kansas in a haze of fog. It will be good to be home😊