My family is not a "touristy" kind of family. When we go somewhere, we go there to get there, if you know what I mean. For example: on the trip to St. Louis, Missouri for the ACFW conference we drove 800 miles one day. 700 the next and finished up the last 300 the next half a day. Yup, we go somewhere to get there.
But on our way home, Daddy decided he didn't want to see the same brown and flat country (sorry Nebraska and Wyoming) and do a bit of site seeing. The sites we saw totally made the drive worth it! I hope you enjoy my little blogging diary. :-)
You BET we had to stop at Casey, Iowa! Are you kidding?? A little town, that almost is practically a ghost town, had the first brick streets I've ever seen. This was a fun find!!
On Sunday, we went up into Hannibal, Missouri and saw where Mark Twain grew up. I even stood by Tom Sawyer's fence. ;-)
The best thing we did that entire trip was go up and see Mt. Rushmore. I guarantee if you EVER get to go, you need to. It is incredible in person and they have built an excellent museum down below with fabulous information. I loved just standing and looking up at what they did off the side of a cliff.
Here is me doing the "touristy" thing. NOT the most flattering picture...
These were the scale models for the mountain which are down below in the museum. They have videos, interviews and historical facts all over the place. A great learning experience since I didn't know much about the building of Mt. Rushmore.
These next few pictures were taken right as were climbing down off a mountain in Wyoming and some before we entered Yellowstone. The scenery right before we entered the park was truly breathtaking.
I got to see a herd of bison in Yellowstone. THAT was spectacular.
I tried to get some pictures of the Grand Tetons as we were driving past them and here are a couple that turned out pretty good. What a site with the sun setting on those jagged cliffs!
What about you?? Have you seen any of these national landmarks?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
My Friday Winners are...
For The Doctor's Lady by Jody Hedlund:
Sandee61
For Edge of Grace by Christa Allan:
Tore
The winner of their choice from my swap list for them and a friend from my Thankful post:
Jessica R. Patch
Thanks all! See you again on Monday (and always in the comments. ;-))
Wow it looks like you had so much fun! I've never been further west than Ohio so I've never seen any of those places...maybe someday. :-)
ReplyDeleteXOXO~ Renee C.
Loved sightseeing through your words and photos, Casey!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading your books one day! :)
RENEE, Idaho was far as I've ever gone, so think about this country bumpkin doing and seeing all this! I hope you get the chance someday, I think everyone should see at least of this history. :)
ReplyDeleteCYNTHIA, so loved meeting and getting to know. Though you never did get a business card...LOLOL! Thanks for that encouragement, though that day is a long way off. Not for you though, you agented author, you!! ;-)
What fun! My family took in Mt. Rushmore on the way home from ACFW Denver a couple years ago.
ReplyDeleteLove that you visited Casey, IA. :)
What fun to see your pictures. You got to see some great places. I love that Casey, IA was one of them. =)
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to visit Yellowstone Park...looks beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are great, I especially like the one with the herd of bison that would be awesome to see. :)
Love the pictures! :) Sounds like a blast! I just love family roadtrips and playing the tourist. ;)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 8 my mom drove us all the way to Minnesota and back (from CA), and we did get to see Mount Rushmore and probably tons of other places that my memories are a little vague on... But still a great time from what I can remember! ;)
~Amber
If you ever are in Kansas, you'd be very welcome in Lindsborg (we are in central Kansas). We have brick streets and several festivals that celebrate the Swedish heritage of many of the residents. Just a couple of weeks ago, we celebrated Svensk Hyllningsfest. There was lots of Swedish dancing on those brick streets.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you have these "touristy" memories with your dad.
ERICA, I'm glad we stopped there too. ;-)
ReplyDeleteKELI, I agree! Places we wouldn't have gotten to see if we hadn't drove. Made the trip come full circle.
CATHY, actually RIGHT BEFORE you enter Yellowstone is absolutely breathtaking. Wow, what was some stunning scenery!
AMBER, lol! Yes, your family does. :-)) Took me a little bit to get in the 'spirit' of siteseeing instead of just going. But I don't regret making these stops in the least!
PAM, that sounds so neat! I love it. What a time to visit. I bet that city sees a lot of tourists around that time of year. :)
Well, aren't you just full of surprises! I didn't know you got to see all of those places -- how fun!!! I LOVE your photos!!
ReplyDeleteWe went on a road trip last October, so we drove through Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Montana. We would have loved to go to Yellowstone, but didn't make it.
Thanks for sharing the pics -- I enjoyed seeing them!
Great pics! I would LOVE to go to Mt Rushmore! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteMICHELLE, lol! Someday I want to "surprise" you and come and visit and MEET you!! Wouldn't that be fun. ;-)
ReplyDeleteSARA, I hope you get the chance! It was awesome in person!
So much fun Casey! We too are "get to the destination" kinda people. We have driven to CA from OK tons of times and have yet to stop and see the Grand Canyon! Crazy huh? I'm not a big site-seeing fan. I enjoy seeing other people's vacations though! Loved the Casey town picture!
ReplyDeleteI have allllllways wanted to visit Mount Rushmore!! As a matter of fact, it's a toss up between the Black Hills or camping in Maine for next summer.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had an awesome time!
JULIE, lol! I'm glad we aren't the only ones, though I don't think I could ever pass up the Grand Canyon. :)
ReplyDeleteJOY, I bet your boys would love it!! And you would too. ;-) We did! It was a good way to end the trip. :)
Casey,
ReplyDeleteI've never been "West" either, but I loved looking at the pictures. I didn't know they even had a "fence" set up like Tom Sawyer's.
LOL, Julia, yep they did. ;-) I thought that was pretty funny. They had Becky Thatcher's house too.
ReplyDelete