The other day Max asked "Are we there yet" so I gave my standard answer to that question: Yes. But this time it was true because on this trip, the drive is as much of the purpose as the stops. That's pretty darn cool if you think about it.
So today is Sunday. You know how I know that? Because I wrote the day on the bags of clothes that I packed for the kids. Probably the only way I can keep track of days (other than checking my phone I guess). Here's the plan for today:
Leave Buffalo Bill State Park by 10am
Arrive at Yellowstone - go to Fishing Bridge Visitor Center to get some info/maps/Junior Ranger stuff
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Camp at Canyon Village
I didn't get a chance to write about the rest of yesterday because we got back to the site pretty late after the rodeo so I'll wrap up from where I left off. Our drive to Cody through the Bighorn Mountains was beautiful. We got to admire the snowcapped peaks in the distance and then the drive through the mountains had some spectacular scenery. The orange/red/maroon/and Tom's favorite-brown rocks were more than just road cuts - there was little valleys and gullies everywhere. An added bonus was the cool temperature. We took 16 to the south - supposed to be more scenic and easier on the RV - the motorhome handled it well so that's good. Out of the mountains we ran into a big rainstorm. It wasn't the rain that was so bad but the wind! The wipers had a hard time moving because the wind was blowing so hard. I guess weather really does mean business out here.
Max did his typical go-to-sleep-20-minutes-before-destination trick. We decided not to wake him up right away when we got to Cody since he gets SO cranky. Tom stayed in the motorhome with a sleeping Max while the rest of us went to the Silver Dollar for some of the best burgers in Wyoming (so the sign said). The burgers were good, so that was good. I'd hate to see them have false advertising. We took Tom his burger back to the camper and started the process of waking Max. We also got the beds ready because we were going to go to the 8:00 rodeo and after it was over wanted to just put the kids to bed to head out to the campsite.
The rodeo was really neat - good competition and good stock. The kids had a good time too (until the end when Sophie just wanted to go to bed.) Not many successful rides but it was still good entertainment. Pretty amazing that they run that every night for the summer. We were there a few days after the PRCA event but there were still some PRCA riders that were entered on Saturday. Sophie insisted on bringing her prairie dog with her; Max picked it up from where it was sitting and said "It needs me" and started hugging it. When he wants a hug or to be picked up, he'll tell me "I need you" so I thought it was cute that he was taking care of the prairie dog. He's really taken a liking to it but Sophie is not too keen on giving it up all the time so it looks like we'll be on the lookout for another prairie dog stuffed animal on this trip since I told him he could pick out an animal next time we went shopping and he said that he wants a prairie dog.
The rodeo ended on a wet note as another big storm moved in just as the last bull dumped his rider. Tom, Mom, Sophie, and Max had started out about 3 bulls earlier but Mike and I had to jog to the camper to avoid most of the rain. As we sat in the parking lot to get ready to go the wind was just rocking the RV. The drive to our campsite was interesting as we were trying to find it in the darkness, wind, and rain. We finally did manage to find the North Fork entrance and just pulled the mattress on the floor for Tom and I shared Max's bed. We weren't too keen on setting up the tent in the rain so this arrangement worked just fine for the night.
After a big breakfast of sausage, eggs, and toast we are packing things up to get out of here. Looks like we should be able to make the 10:00 estimate of the itinerary to get out of here (I know, I keep going back to it, mostly just marveling whenever it works out - I think it will get further and further off as I planned more loosely from this point forward).
Sun is shining, surrounded by mountains, and off to Yellowstone today. Loving it!
