Oh for a Road Trip...

Call it cabin fever or winter boredom, but when I was working in iPhoto this morning, I caught sight of some summer vacation pictures and I couldn't help clicking through them and reliving our late August road trip taking Chelsea out to BYU.  

I love a good road trip.  Maybe it harks back to my childhood when we drove from Wisconsin to Texas every year to visit relatives, but I don't mind the hours of watching the road pass under my wheels.

 

On those Texas trips, I remember the peacock chenille bedspreads hanging on the clotheslines outside of souvenir shops in the Ozarks, but now we head west instead of south and that opens up new sights for my travelers eyes.

Crossing the mighty Mississip.

Water towers that look like coffee pots.

The Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota.

And the covered with corn

Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota.

We counted at least 75 Wall Drug signs.

The incredibly good Badlands.

...and you know if we stopped at the Spam Museum,

we're not gonna pass up Wall Drug!

Mt. Rushmore inspired us all.

The Switchbacking, narrow roads

of the Needles Highway in South Dakota

did nothing for my fear of heights.

The pigtail bridges.

One lane tunnels blasted through

solid granite before 1922.

Beautiful Sylvan Lake.

What a treat to hear Chelsea play
the rickety grand piano in the historic
Sylvan Lake Lodge where we stayed.

Getting stuck in a bison jam.

Feeding carrots to a band of friendly burros in Custer State Park.

oops...

After all the sightseeing along the way, we did finally accomplish our mission of getting Chelsea out to school.  Thanks for taking my little memory lane road trip with me.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get a blanket and turn up the thermostat.