One of the BEST family vacations yet!!

This last year Scott spent MANY nights looking at maps, state websites, and many other things to plan this awesome summer trip for our family. He let me help a little. Let me tell you, he did a great job. We started in New Mexico where we went to a restaurant called "Bobcat Bites". It had really big burgers, and got it's name because they feed the local bobcats from the back door sometimes. Then we went to the "Kawala Chocolate House". We thought it would be like a chocolate factory, because that it what the website made us believe. Well it wasn't. It was more a coffee shop with chocolate in it. So we bought some choc. and it was the worst tasting choc. any of us have ever had. And the most expensive. I will take the .50 candy bars any day. That day we headed to Colorado. The next day we drove up the highest paved road in North America, 14.264 feet in elevation. It was a VERY winding and narrow at times road. But amazing! The view was unbelievable! Then we spent the day looking at the scenery. It is a beautiful state. Scott would move there in a heart beat. The next day we went to another restaurant. This one was called "Jack and Grill". Home of the biggest breakfast burrito. It had in it 12 eggs, 15 potatoes, one onion, 1 lbs. of ham, cheese, and the yummy enchilada sauce. It was really good. They have a challenge. If you finish it, it's free. We didn't even come close. And there was 5 of us. From there we headed to Nebraska (just to say we have been there). We saw a one of a kind attraction. Carhenge! Run down shells of cars that looked like Stone Henge. And a few other sculptures out of cars. The kids loved it, Scott's allergies - not so much.
That night we arrived in South Dakota, another beautiful state. We were there for 3 full days (and one evening and morning). Day 1 - Started at the "Black Hills Caverns" again the kids loved it, me not so much, we had lunch at a yummy pizza place, Elm Street Pizza, we saw the largest complete T-Rex at the Museum of Natural History, and rode the Alpine slide (we rode up a ski lift the went down 2000 feet in a cart down the slide, one of the best things we did), and wandered the city of Keystone, and ate Bison burgers for dinner. We also went to the water park in our hotel. Day 2 - Went and saw "Mount Rushmore" or as Hailey calls it "Face Mountain". (This was also my birthday!) It was amazing. Much bigger than you think. We then went and saw "Crazy Horse", even bigger, but not finished yet. We then drove through "Needles Highway". Gorgeous! Check out the picture. I can't do it justice. On that highway it leads you through a few tunnels that we could stick arms out both sides and touch the walls. But the best part was my birthday present. we went on a Helicopter Tour OVER MT. Rushmore! It was so beautiful. The pilot told us it was a dry summer, and not as pretty as usual. But compared to AZ it was gorgeous and green! Day 3 - we went to the Minute Man II Missle silos, and the Badlands. Another one to check out the pics. So cool! We then went to "Wall Drug". The biggest drug store. It was really big. I think they had just about everything. We also hit the Air and Space Museum.
Our next stop, on the way to Yellowstone, was Devils Tower.Which was great. The Indians leave prayer cloths all over the trees, it was really neat. We stayed the night in Billings, and the next day off to Yellowstone. We went a different way than we had before, which took us up a really beautiful road. We did not expect it. It had many turns, and snow at the top. We ate lunch at "Buns-n-Beds". Tried our first Huckleberry shake. Yummy! We arrived in Yellowstone, and at our first stop(potty stop) saw a bear cross the road, then the parking lot, then disappear into the trees. Over the next few days we saw 13 Bears(mom and cubs too), Bull Elk, Bison(that get a little to close to the car), coyotes, wolves, foxes(mom and cubs), Bald Eagle, Old Faithful, Mud pots, hiked, saw lots of Geysers. The colors that are in those waters are amazing. We swam in the river, until the Ranger kicked us out. We did not see a sign, and neither did the 3 other families that were already in the river. It is an amazing place to go. Very family friendly. We had a hard time with were to eat here. But then we found a diner that had really good Chili Nachos, and awesome burgers. We ate there a lot.
We then headed to Glacier National Park. Not much for animal sighting, but the park was sooo pretty. Water falls all over, Over 10 feet of snow on one side of the road, and the otherside green and perfect. One of our favorite water falls was the "Weeping Wall". It is on the road, you drive under this constant rain of water for a good 50-75 feet. We took a boat ride across the lake, where we FINALLY saw a mama Moose and her baby. The Captain called that location the Moose Factory. 2 moose go in and 3 come out. :) (we did not see moose in either of our 2 separate Yellowstone trips). On the other side of the lake we took a short hike to another lake and took another boat, and we saw ANOTHER mama Moose and her baby. On the other side we hiked though the forest to a glacier. We got a very clear view of it. Then we hiked back and took the two boats back. It rained on us on the hike and boat ride. As the days went on it got colder and colder. One day we received a text that it was 116 degrees at home. In Glacier that day it was 37 degrees. We did have a bear run in front of our car, and we saw a few Dear with their fawns. It is a beautiful place to go. Not for animals, but for hikes, and scenery. The couple of hikes we went on were fun and beautiful.
After Glacier we started to head home. We stopped in Ogden and spent a great 3rd of July(4th was on Sunday, it is Utah) with Scott's Aunt Sherri and Uncle Jim. Scott bought a LOT of Fireworks and we had a ball lighting them. We then headed home.
This trip lasted 17 days. The perfect amount. We got closer as a family, and loved every minute. The girls still talk about it, and I hope they will for a few years. I know I will. There are so many things that have been left out. I hope we don't forget them.