Glacier

Oh the miserable heat. Oh what seemed like the eternal construction sites. But then there were the pretty mountains and the vast Montana blue sky... until it turned grey and pelted rain down toward the earth like an angry mob.

Can you blame me for being grumpy? I was hot, tired, and gosh darn it my hair was all sorts of messed up from the incessant wind whipping at my face.

Yes Mom tried to console me. But it was not enough.

Oh look, there is Dad. Have not seen him for a while. Been in the world of the back seat for way too long. Good to see you Dad. Please get us there a little faster. We are going where again? Oh yeah a place called Montana.

 This park cost how much to get in?? $25! We better make our time count! But ummm... Mom, I think Jace is stinky.

And  I've been meaning to tell you. I'm stinky too. Say what??!!

 You only have one diaper on you!!! Well at least its one of mine! Feels good to be dry. You better go and find a good soul willing to part with one of their diapers for the sake of my brothers discomfort since there are no stores around. Ah I see you found one... looks a little small. You are going to do what? You are going to put my clean dry diaper on Jace who is two sizes bigger and put me in a size two which is one size too small... uggg fine. It is what it is, but you owe me one!

 Ok... I can see why people are willing to pay to get into this park... it is pretty.

 But do you have to hug the Cedar Trees? No wonder why dad calls all of you weird! I swear Sagey is turning into a mini mom!

 I just seem to go from one sitting place to another... I think I might as well take a nap.

 I mean what could I miss? Could the water get any prettier? Maybe it could.

 I'm sure my brothers and sister will tell me all about it.

 So this is what we hiked for 1.5 hours to get to.  This is what Ashton tripped and fell like a ball of lead for three times. Avalanche Lake is what they call it huh. And they say it will be gone in how many years? Well good thing we hiked to it then.

 Dad says you can put your feet in the water but you can't fall and get wet. Well there goes Ashton he fell. Called that one! Good thing he has at least an hour+ to dry off.

 Oh look. Some wildlife on the lake. Well we better get back. What?? Jace gets my seat on the way back to help speed things up? Well at least I get mom. Ummph, I can't believe mom just tripped and fell while holding me in her arms. Good thing she is a graceful faller. Other than skinned up shins and some bruises on her legs you would have never known she fell. I did not even cry because I had no reason to. Guess I have to go with Dad now who will carry me on his front while Jace is on his back... but I'm not happy with it. I think I will cry. Why is Dad hiking so fast!? I can't see mom anymore! Ah well I think I will follow the example of my brother Jace and fall asleep.

 Back in the car. Oh look a goat!

 Look at that view. I feel so small.

 I think I will fall asleep in the car again. I know mom will stay with me while the others go and look at  a few more things.

 I mean what could I miss?

 Other than a bighorn sheep stopping traffic so everyone can gawk at it. But hey, we have those in Utah. And guess what they are just as unintelligent in Montana as they are in Utah. Silly thing was practically in the road just like you find them in American Fork Canyon!

Ahhh the end of a day. Back at the rental. Free at last to sit on my own unrestrained and hang out with my favorite sister. What a day!

There's Gold in Them there Hills!

Not too far from Mount Rushmore there is a little town called Deadwood. Deadwood got its name simply because when people arrived in that location there was a lot of dead wood everywhere... Deadwood looks like something you might see right out of a western film. And it has the history to match it's charm.

Gold

Most people who came to Deadwood and helped build up the city, came there seeking their fortune in gold. When I was going to school as a 4th grader in Oregon I remembered having the opportunity to pan for gold. I only found two flakes that day but I remember it being so much fun! I really wanted my children to have that experience, so off we went to the local gold mine to tour it and afterword to pan for Gold.

The mine that we toured was named Broken Boot Gold Mine. It's name came from the fact that they found a broken boot in the mine... yes people had simple minds back then. The mine itself is not all that large. And from what they told us it was not a big money maker but we did learn a thing or two and the kids had fun exploring the tunnels.

Map of the mine. Like I mentioned before it was not a very large mine and it contained more pyrite(fools gold) than gold.

We were required to wear these helmets for safety... however they very cheaply built and would not stay on anyone's head.

Inside the mine.

Back in the day they used candles to light the mine. One or two candles would be used in each large room... just enough to barely see the other person. Then one guy would hold the spike and the other guy would swing a big hammer using only a slight glare as a guide from the other miners thumb nail. My guess is a lot of thumbs were broken.

Baby fared decently well in the mine. He got a little fussy toward the end of the 20 minute tour.

Jace had to hold his hat on the entire time. He seemed to love it still the same.

After the tour the kids got to pan for gold. They were both given a small bag of small rocks. Sage and Ashton both got 5 or six flakes of gold and got to keep them in a small vial full of water. Their gold was worth about 10 dollars total.

Wild Bill Hickok

Deadwood happens to be the town where Wild Bill Hickok was shot and killed. Who is Bill you ask? He was a man who had worked in law enforcement as a Marshall for many years. He is also know for his skills as a gunfighter. One night, him and a man by the name of Jack McCall played poker together. Jack ended up losing all his money and Bill teased him by offering him enough money to pay for breakfast. The following day Bill joined a group of poker players. Normally Bill always sat with his back to the wall, but there was no such available seat. Twice he asked for another mans seat and twice he was refused. Jack entered unseen and shot Bill in the head. The bullet killed him immediately exiting his cheek and lodging itself in the arm of another man.

The Saloon where Wild Bill was murdered still exists and a reenactment can be seen every day around noon. We attempted to see this act. However I do believe that the only members of our family that got to see it were the children who were able to wiggle their way through the crowd to the front. Here are a few pictures.

Some of the Men who acted out the murder scene. The man on the right was Bill.

The actual chair that Wild Bill was sitting in when he was shot.

The hand that Bill held, now know as the Dead Mans hand.

Shootout

The last event we attended while in Deadwood was a shootout in the middle of the street. The shootout was a reenactment of a time when someone was accidentally shot in the head and lived for another 30 plus days with a hole in his head. In the end he got a head ache, went to bed and never woke up. It appeared that he had died from an infection that a bone fragment had caused in his brain. I attempted to film it but this is what I got...

What is not seen in this video is my sneaky husband pouring water down my shirt! Earlier I had squirted him in the face with a bottle of water... he told me he would seek his revenge when I least expected it... well he did.

And that was the end of Deadwood. We had a lot of fun and again would highly recommend visiting this little town. I snapped a few more pictures as we were walking to the car. Here they are.

Not Mushmore, Rushmore!

As part of our family vacation this year we headed to South Dakota with Mom and Dad Dudley to visit Mount Rushmore. We loved it! Firstly the Black Hills are gorgeous!! Secondly the effort, artistic ability, design, ingenuity and love that went into Mount Rushmore is astounding. And finally the park is very well designed and set up for visitors. As we continued on to other locations Ashton kept on telling everyone that we went to Mount Mushmore. Not sure how he came up with that alteration of the name but it was kinda cute. Here are some pictures  and captions that will sum up our visit.

Ashton standing on a rock at the front of the visitor center. He was scared to death on top of that rock and only stood straight up for a fraction of a second to get the picture.

Here it is in all of its glory. It is not finished and may never be finished. The funding was pulled at the beginning of WWII. The original artist is dead but his son still lives and would love to finish it.

We are a happy family!

It just so happened to be Mom and Dad's anniversary! Happy Anniversary!

An up the nose view.

Jace and Sage playing with a few Native American Tools.

Mount Rushmore had a Native American interpretive setup on the loop around the park. It was fun to teach the kids a little about the them.

Look mom bones!

Son and Father.

Jace thought Lincoln was Jesus.

This is the window from inside the studio where the artist spent most of his time planning his next move.

Next to the window is the model of the sculpture. As you can see it is no where near finished.

This man does not scare me...

On our way out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even though the drive was long and HOT (the compressor went out on our way up), Mt. Rushmore was well worth the 13+ hour drive. Our family would highly recommend it.

33 Fourth of Julys

That's right! I'm 33 years old. And as I get older I find myself forgetting how old I am and having to calculate it. Good thing I was born on an even decade. Makes it easy to add the numbers up.

This fourth of July we got up decently early and headed out to the Scera Park in Orem to participate in Colonial Days. The kids had a blast participating in all the activities such as colonial games, school, and childrens chores. Here are some pictures of the events.

Sage standing to answer a question in school.

Ashton attentively listening to the teacher.

Curtis with a school hat on.

Ryker with a school hat on.

Sage with her school bonnet on. Isn't she pretty.

Sage with the school teacher.

Ashton with the school teacher.

Ashton carrying water. Those buckets were heavy without water! But Ashton was a champ and carried them by himself all the way across the field.

Jace could hardly carry one bucket. Like I said they were heavy!

Sage making a bracelet.

Kids and Dad making rope.

Ashton final rope product. He put it on his hat.

And Sage tied her rope around her waist.

Aw look handsome soldier.

Wish i had these when Ashton teases his brother and sister without stopping!

Wish I had one of these for Sage when she gives me her attitude. Love her face in this picture.

Wish I had one of these for Jace most of the time ha ha. What can I say he is two. He did not appreciate having his head stuck.

Little Ryker making friends with the baby ladies!

oooooo a pretty sword!

Ready for battle! Fear this mighty knight!

This is Sage's mean face... yeah she can't do mean.

Jace was tickled pink to be holding a sword.

After we finished up at the park we headed to the store to buy fireworks, and get some Magelbys cake (Its one of my favorite chocolate cakes.) Then later that night, Mom and Dad Dudley came over and we roasted hotdogs and mellows on the campfire and once it got dark we lit some fireworks. And very late at night we had some cake. Then we all went to bed and Becky threw it all up! Yay for the stomach flu! But its ok. I'm better now. Here are a few more picture.

Jace was afraid of the louder fireworks. At first he was loving them but then we had some screaming ones and he had enough. No matter how Grandma Dudley tried to get him to stay, he insisted on being inside. This is where he watched the show from...

Lighting the sparklers.

Sage having fun.

Ashton having fun.

If you are wondering... its 32+1=33

Wonder what Becky wished for?