We're home . . .
The majesty of the mountains, the thunder of the waterfalls & rivers, the wonder of the geysers, mudpots and hot springs, the beautiful wildflowers and the roaming wild life are just memories captured through the eye of the camera.

hot springs at Old Faithful

Elk

yes, that close up

A surprise pond with water lilies

river rock in a shallow creek

The photos show the quiet beauty we experienced on our last day (Thursday) at Yellowstone Park. I have so much to share with you all. Yellowstone is an amazing place -- you should see it for yourself!

Day One
Leave time: 4:45 am
Arrive in Billings, Montana: 7:30 pm (CST)

A cow....on a hill....in North Dakota. Go figure.

The Badlands of NORTH Dakota! (who knew)

Cara's turn to drive, Danae riding shotgun. See the house in the background? It's abandoned. There are lots of those in the middle of no-where in North Dakota.

Finally in our room in Billings, Montana. Free Papa John's pizza came with the room. Wireless Internet. It's all good.

We "dodged a bullet" today... while Cara was driving the last leg of our trip today the "low fuel" light came on .... in the middle of nowhere. No kidding. When we arrived in Billings, MT we pulled into a gas station -- it was closed. Thankfully, there was another gas station across the street...we put in 20 gallons/$82 worth of gas. Kirk checked out the owner's manual after the fill-up. The gas tank holds 20 gallons! Phew.

Do you remember the 80's? I do. But, mostly I remember my little sister's "lion hair" (held together with a can of hairspray), and her nearly white lipstick and eye shadow. Last night Danae and her friends dressed up 80's style and went bowling. Though they were born in the second half of the 80's, they didn't do too bad. I wasn't home when Danae left for the bowling alley scene, when she got home at midnight (or so) -- I'd just crawled into bed -- but seeing how cute she looked, I forced myself back out of bed to take some photos!




I kinda like the red lipstick on her!
I'm signing off now....road trip 2008 begins in 5 hours! We are getting up at stupid o'clock tomorrow and leaving at dumb-thirty. I'll be posting from Montana tomorrow! Pray for us. :)

Packing for vacation just seems to go on and on . . .

We must pack: rehearsal dinner attire (dressy), wedding attire, brunch attire . . .

white-water rafting attire, hiking gear, warm clothes (we'll be in the mountains), swimsuits, shorts, jeans . . . shoes . . .

Danae is first one packed. Can you believe she got a week-and-a-half's worth of gear in this little bag?

She definitely didn't get that talent from her momma! I still have more to add too! I think mom's get to take extra don't you?

Some of the old familiar gang . . .
We were in youth group together, went to retreats, camps, each other's weddings, then we grew up, moved far and near, got jobs and had kids . . .

I think we did a pretty good job of it too! (some of our kids)

and grandkids !

It was a little surreal to watch our kids on the dance floor together having fun acting as crazy as were at their ages!

There was no end to the silliness and fun all our kids had at the reception!

That's a bunch of bull !

really, it is. And this bull is stylin' with facial piercings! Real studs go for the big brass ring!

When I approached the fence to take the below photo, the other cattle gathered 'round to protect the little one from the scarey lady with the black thing pointing at them. It was 65 degrees when we arrived last night, and I was wearing flip flops. Since you all know me so well now, you can imagine my frustration and disappointment when I woke up to this today...

The winds howled and the snow blew all day. Will we EVER get nice weather? More than 1 day at a time?

Even little Riley was confused by the snow!

It was so cold Kirk had to take his shower with his coat on!

Despite the cold, and the snow, it is a beautiful resort on Long Lake....and after all, we weren't there for the weather, we were there for the friends!

(Above) The deck of the main cabin

view of 3 of the 6 cabins at the resort

The main cabin and two other cabins

We have been invited back when the weather is in the 80's and the sun is shining -- so we are really looking forward to a return trip in the summer! Thanks Bob & Sandy for being amazing hosts and sharing your "dream" with us.

Note: This Bob & Sandy shouldn't be confused with Kirk's sister & brother-in-law who are also Bob & Sandy!

Wisconsin Sleepover
Tonight 3 couples are having a sleepover at the Reynold's cabin on Long Lake in WI! Mark & Lynn, Bob & Sandy, Us. It's awesome....they actually own a resort with several cabins. We drove up with Bob & Sandy this afternoon. It was a fun trip with some excitement! It's 1:30 a.m. and we've talked for hours, had yummy appetizers and good beer/wine and even some cinnamon rolls! Bedtime for us old folks!

Sandy and I in the kitchen. I could get used to this kind of view from my kitchen window ~~

Sandy and I ~~

Here's a welcome committee member ~~

Yes, we definitely saw this BEAR as we neared the cabin. It was on the side of the road so we stopped for a photo shoot!

The fun and food ~~
Good times.