And we're off!  No phones allowed on this trip, except to take pictures.  After three hours, sang "99 Bottles of Beer," which of course was not cool with the kids.  So I kept singing 97...97... 97 until everyone sang along.  

Pulled off a low-hanging dirt road to stand beside a wind turbine somewhere between Lubbock and Amarillo.

Stayed the first night with my sis and her family in Colorado Springs.  Next morning, Drove through Garden of the Gods.

Spent a few hours walking around Cheyenne, Wyoming during their Pioneer Days / Rodeo.  Sat in on a live horse auction in progress, and saw "Big Boy," one of the world's largest steam engines.

On the way to South Dakota, watched a train burning in their brakes.  Didn't get a very good picture, but it was so cool to see this big, long train throwing sparks everywhere at night!

Drove to Nebraska just to slap the sign.  Then we whipped a U-turn.  Did the same in Montana and Idaho.

Stayed our second night in Hot Springs, SD.  The next morning, we went to Mammoth Site, an active dig that is in progress... for approximately 200 more years!  The drive from there was beautiful, to Wind Cave, Gem Cave, and ultimately winding through the beautiful Black Hills to watch Mt. Rushmore get closer and closer around every turn for two hours.  Encountered a ridiculous hailstorm.  Beautiful views!

First big animals spotted near Wind Cave... free-roaming Bison!  Also saw lots of smaller critters on the trip... marmots, foxes, coyotes, different types of ground squirrels, reptiles, etc.  From here, we were headed to Badlands NP... until Cara started puking in the van.  Spent a lot of time at the car wash / vacuum, gas station, and laundromat instead.  Similar stomach illness followed over the next few days with Dad (myself) and Jolina.  We think it was food poisoning or something, but we won't mention where we ate because we liked the place too much.  Ate and stayed at several cool places, but with 11 people, it got expensive quickly.  Imagine renting 2 or 3 inflated rooms per night... stopping for drinks and snacks a few times a day, and the few "cheap" McDonald's meals cost upwards of $75. 

Raining like hell when we finally arrived at Rushmore, but when the weather cleared, it made for some cool photos.  Best explanation was Caleb's, who said that these Presidents are crying over the state of the nation.

No trip would be complete without a visit to Sturgis, just a few days before the 78th (world's largest) motorcycle rally.  We saw bikers heading that way for days, both on the front and back halves of our voyage.

Deadwood City, not far from Sturgis, is where legendary Wild Bill Hickock was shot over what became infamously known as a "Dead Man's Hand."  Also home to Calamity Jane.  Both of these early American icons are buried at the cemetery that overlooks the town.  As the sun faded heading into Deadwood, we played part of the Calamity Jane (Doris Day musical & a fam favorite) soundtrack.  Leaving Deadwood, we drove past the geographic center of the U.S., then snagged a hotel near our next landmark:

Devil's Tower!  We hiked and bouldered to the base where this gargantuan monolith becomes smooth and fluted.  Even got to see some climbers on the very top!  Everyone had a blast.  After several hours here, we headed on toward Cody, WY... along the way stopping for a breathtaking view from the top of some very steep mountains.

Moose in the river!  We all stalked within fifty feet or so (bad parents!) and got a bunch of amazing pics.  Stayed the night in Cody, in back-to-back triple-queen rooms with high ceilings.  Woke up and visited buddy Flint's tactical store (Alpine) on the main drag headed into Yellowstone.

Sat and watched "Old Faithful"

Visited the colorful "Grand Prismatic" hot spring, although the sun was fading, the ambient temperature was dropping, and the sky was overcast.  Didn't capture the blue hues of the spring as I'd hoped.  We'll see what PhotoShop's contrast adjustment has to say about that, whenever there's time. 

Elk along the way... I didn't see it because I was balled up around some very uncomfortable stomach cramps.

Awesome breakfast at a French-themed bistro / cafe in Jackson Hole, just down the street from our hotel.  Then we backtracked our route for the day, and returned to Jackson for dinner at a cool barbecue joint.

Daaaaa Bears!  We followed them into the woods for closer pics.  I stayed in front of the fam, that way, if momma bear attacked, I would be the 'meat shield'.

Stopped to swim for a Couple Hours in a clear lake beneath some snow-capped mountains at Grand Teton NP.  Beautiful surround.

Four giant arches of elk antlers--one at each corner--allow entrance into the lush green park at the center of Jackson Hole.

Skipped Salt Lake City... we really wanted to go because (yawn) Mormon temples and the lingering smell of sulfur are such fascinating things for the kids... but we just couldn't do it.  No worries, a couple hours later we found this awesome waterfall!  Like every other waterfall in this country, it's named Bridal Veil Falls.  This one was actually a lot of fun though, because you can climb to it without killing yourself.

Dad stubbornly drove 40 miles across bumpy, steep, and disappearing dirt trails, following signs that supposedly would lead us to a "Dinosaur Quarry."  When we finally arrived, the attraction was closed; complete with a gate across the road which could not be bypassed.  So we puzzled over the most remote and eerie grave site you can imagine, lots of dead kids who only lived days or months, belonging to just a few families from the late 1800's to the early 1900's.  And we saw lots of Pronghorn Antelope, who either guard or feed upon these souls, presumably.  "Dinosaur Quarry" became the trigger phrase of the trip.

Stayed overnight in Moab, UT at the Best Western Plus.  Really cool swimming pool & spa!  Felt like we were swimming at a courtyard wine bar at night.  Kids swam again in the morning, while Jolina almost died in my arms as momma frantically communicated with the 9-1-1 operator.  She had been throwing up so much, couldn't keep anything down... then she turned ghost white, lost her vision, collapsed to the floor, threw up, and lost her bowels as I rapidly threw her in the bathtub for some shock effect.  Her color came back, her vision restored, she remembered her name and could count my fingers.  We tried some juice again, and this time it stayed down... along with yogurt and oatmeal down in small portions.  Never a dull moment with this many kids.  I remember when Lily was a little girl, she choked... on EVERYTHING.  I was the king of jumping across tables at restaurants every time she--or someone else's kid in the years that followed--turned blue.

Arches National Park!  Saw several arches, only actually hiked to one.  It was reportedly 114 degrees F.  Gorgeous drive to and from the park.

Had dinner at Moab Brewery.  Received a half-off "local's discount" for disrupting the peace and serenity of the restaurant with one of my infamous violent outbursts.  The boys love it, but I end up apologizing to everyone else.  We loved the restaurant, great food and an awesome waitress!

Stayed overnight in Farmington, NM.  Took forever to get here because of a near miss--almost splattered a deer doing 75, and the 15-pack van is hard to control at times... so carefully navigated the night drive past Mesa Verde at about 55.  Though not a big fan of West Texas, I have gotten used to the chill cops and the 80 MPH speed limits.  Next morning, we drove through Navajo area to Four Corners Monument.  Now for the long drive to TX.

Bonus!  Drove through Ft. Sumner and sneaked into the graveyard for a peek at Billy the Kid's grave.

Everyone had a blast!!!  This marks the last of our planned drives across the U.S.; the kids have been East to West, North to South in this country, from Florida to Alaska; L.A. to New York and about 80% of the major parks and attractions in-between!  They're ready for Europe--which I've promised for more than a decade, but we'll need about $30K for a two-week road trip (flights, etc.)... I'm also hoping for a 'tip of South America' driving venture at some point.  Here's to adventure!!!  :)