Now on to the mission of finding a home. We’ve spent the first two days scouring around the area trying to get a feel for the neighborhoods- checking out restaurants, parks, commutes, etc.  I think we are narrowing things down to a couple of places, which seems to agree with our initial thoughts based on our early research- Greenlake and Queen Anne seem to fit us well, while Magnolia and West Seattle are maybes. We took a look at the eastern towns: Bellevue, Redmond, and Kirkland.  Eh. Too much traffic, too little culture. We hoping to line something up by this weekend.

Today was mostly a driving day. We traversed the final stages of the Rocky Mountains and crossed the Continental Divide, which is always a big moment. Everyone in the car was asleep (except Jadon) when we did.   We got into Spokane, which was our goal, at about 4 (with the time change) and played around at the Riverfront Park downtown.  When researching the things to do online today, the two big options were either an indoor water park in Coeur d’Alene or the Riverfront Park here.  The weather forecast was great, so we opted for some outdoor fun. The park has a 100 year old ferris wheel, carousel, kiddie airplane rides, roller coaster, bumper cars and all kinds of other fun stuff. It seemed like a good idea.

Bad planning. Had we checked the calendar, which we did not, we might have noticed that all the fun stuff sans the carousel were closed. Cest la vie. We walked around, took a ride on the carousel, played in the park and checked out the falls from the bridge. The cool Radio Flyer slide was open and a hit with Jack. Jude didn’t want any part of it. Too much slide for him.

We finished off with some swimming at the hotel pool, which has become uncomfortably routine for the boys.  This may be a hard habit to break when reality comes crashing back in a few days.

We’ve had a lot of fun on the trip. We’re looking forward to arriving in Seattle and the end. We need some rest from this “vacation.”

We woke up in the morning at the “Bates Motel” still alive, a feat in itself, and then set out up the Bighorn Mountains. Though it is mid-May, it is still the dead of winter through the high mountain passes. We had to divert from our intended track due to road closures   We seemed to be the only car on the road for extended periods, and were thankful not to have any car trouble, because we were really not prepared for that weather.  But we made it through alive, descended the mountain and emerged to cross the Wyoming plains.

Next up was entering Yellowstone itself, which also was experiencing a bout of winter. It was on again, off again whether or not we’d be able to get in to the park at all. The big spring storm that had been hitting the region for the past week had let up, but there were snow tire requirements in the park and only some roads were open at all.  The East Entrance, or direction of entry, was only just opened Friday, and in jeopardy of closure due to snow conditions.  But as fortune would have it, we were able to pass.  Interestingly, we made it through a little before 1 o’clock.  Sometime around 2, they ended up closing the East Entrance due to an avalanche on that snow-laden pass heading in to the park. A near miss, but again, a survival story.

Once in the park, it was better, but no picnic. Our first challenge was a run in with an angry bison who refused to let any cars pass on the road. We entered into a test of wills, and surprisingly won, as we were able to continue on to our destination of the famous Old Faithful geyser.

Old Faithful erupted on schedule, if not perhaps a few minutes late, and was enjoyed by all.  For those that aren’t aware, Yellowstone is actually a 60 mile wide caldera of a still active volcano.  All of the geothermal activity that occurs there is due to the near proximity of hot, molten earth near beneath our feet. So, you can see, even entering the park, watching the geysers erupt, and making it out alive is yet another show of our fortunate day of staying alive through the many challenges thrown at us. Granted, it hasn’t erupted in 60,000 years, but we all know its coming sooner or later (2012).

We also visited the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and saw the falls there.  The trails were snowy and iced, so we couldn’t hike too far down and viewed the canyon and falls from the rim trail. It was very slippery, and we got really close to the edge, but nobody fell off.  Survival.

After a long, exhausting day we left the park and headed towards our hotel for the night. Jack was pretty clear in his request for a Hotel (H) not a Motel (M) like we had last night. He seems to have connected the cheapness of a Motel with less than par rooms and no pool- a cardinal sin in his view of temporary accommodations. Anyway, on the road out of Yellowstone we had a beautiful twilight drive into Montana.  Twilight around Yellowstone is dinner time for all the bison, elk, bighorn sheep and deer- and we saw plenty of them on our drive.  Of course, on two separate occasions, the deer and elk decided to play chicken with us as we were driving, forcing us to take evasive driving maneuvers to narrowly avoid the proverbial deer in the headlights experience.

But of course, we survived.

We began the day with about an hour more of the water park at the hotel. What a deal- one nights rent got us two beds and two trips to the water park. I don’t know why more hotels don’t do this outside of the Midwest. Jack must have ran up the stairs and slide down the big waterslide about 30 times. It resulted in a very nice nap while we made our way to Devil’s Tower later in the afternoon (see below). Jude is not quite into the slides and adrenaline in general. He only likes to go on the little pirate ship slides- and only on Daddy’s lap.

After the water park and the dinosaur park came Bear Country USA. Now this was Jude’s favorite. He’s always been an animal guy, loving every trip to the zoo, but this was even better. It is a drive-thru animal encounter with elk, mountain sheep, bison, cougars, and about a hundred black bears all roaming around. The bears were the namesake and certainly the highlight. The were within feet of the car as we slowly cruised around the reserve. There was even a pack of them pacing at the exit not allowing us to leave for a while (they just wanted out themselves). Ang was getting a bit frightened. But we made it out alive. It was quite and adventurous car-bound safari.

Next up was Mount Rushmore. This was the most impressive part of the day. Definitely a man-made marvel. Very cool. We even learned something new- the four chosen men represent the Birth (Washington), Growth (Jefferson), Preservation (Lincoln), and Development (Roosevelt) of our nation. Nice work gentlemen. See, now it all makes perfect sense.  It is truly something impressive to behold, and behold it we did. The hiking trail was closed due to icy paths and some construction, but we wouldn’t have been able to hike all the way with the boys anyway.

We left Rushmore and drove through the Black Hills and Custer State Park on the Needles Highway. We passed through a very tight tunnel through the rocks, which the boys (and grown-ups) thought was pretty cool.

Eventually we found our way into Wyoming and up to Devil’s Tower. We hiked around the base and did a little rock climbing with the boys. Jack wanted to climb the tower itself, Jude was game for stepping onto a rock or two.

After that we hit the road to try and get at least half way to Yellowstone so we can get there relatively early tomorrow. We had planned on stopping in Sheridan. But when we got there, we found out the town was booked solid with some soccer tournament. The whole town. Soccer. Really? So, we pressed on to find accommodations elsewhere.

Beyond Sheridan the pickings quickly became slim. We ended up at some small local place called the Bates Motel, or something like that. It’s pretty creepy and seems oddly familiar, but I can’t quite place it. I’m really not too sure about the strange lady working the counter. And Angela is freaked out by the buzzing neon sign out front. The accommodations are pretty austere. But, at least there is a very nice shower.

(Visit Wall Drug)

Technically, it started off pretty good. We went to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in the morning and the boys had fun stamping their books at all the exhibits. Then we got in the car and it all went downhill.

(Wall Drug- Books)

Basically, to sum it up, today we drove across South Dakota, end to end. The title of this post isn’t meant to be an indictment of the aesthetic beauty of the state, really it is more an analogy for the big event of the day- a rock to the windshield.

(Kids Love Wall Drug)

Shortly after entering the state we took a solid strike to the lower driver side of the windshield.  Then, for the next six hours we watched the ding develop into a crack, and the crack grow and grow across the window.

(Wall Drug – Free Coffee and Donuts for Honeymooners)

We called the insurance company to get it fixed ASAP, but since we were in South Dakota, the nearest authorized repair facility was all the way on the far side of the state. So, we got to watch that bugger grow, and grow, and grow.

(Wall Drug – $.05 Coffee)

They said we could repair it if it was 6 inches or less. The drama built as we watched it get longer and longer every few miles…would they be able to repair it, or would it require a full replacement?

(Wall Drug – Exit 110)

The analogy? Watching the crack grow was really what we did all day. It was kind of like watching paint dry.  It wasn’t exciting, but it kept the trip interesting and suspenseful watching to see how long it would ultimately get.

(Wall Drug- Free Ice Water)

For those who have been through South Dakota on I-90 before, you know that no matter where you are going or what you are doing, one thing tends to haunt you… Wall Drug.  Wall Drug is a huge conglomerate of a drug store, tourist trap, restaurant, retailer, etc all in Wall, SD just west of the Badlands National Park. It really doesn’t seem to have much to offer, but boy do they like to advertise.

(Wall Drug- Fresh Breakfast Rolls)

Along I-90, there are hundreds of cheaply constructed, homemade signs for the establishment persuading the beleaguered traveler to stop and drop off some cash. (For you uninitiated East Coasters, think South of the Border, done Midwest style.)

(Wall Drug- Boots)

Of course, we stopped. We picked up some salt-water taffy and post cards before saddling back up and making our way to Rapid City, where we found our new favorite thing.

(Wall Drug- 10 miles)

Yesterday we commented about our appreciation for the inventor of the hotel pool.  Today, we’ve met his daddy. The hotel water park.

(Wall Drug or Bust)

It’s one thing to have a nice pool at a tropical resort, but why not stick a few waterslides and a pirate ship in the middle of a big warehouse building in Rapid City, South Dakota?

(Wall Drug – Dinosaur!)

That’s just fun for the whole family, and an instant sleep potion for the kids upon returning to the hotel room.
Thank you, Mr. Hotel Water-Park Inventor. (For full effect try to imagine that sentence set to the Bud Light “Real Men of Genius” commercial riff.)

(Wall Drug- Just Ahead)

We’re looking forward to a great day in the Black Hills tomorrow, assuming we can convince the boys to check out of water park heaven.  And as for the crack? It was at least 7 or 8  inches by the time we arrived in Rapid City. They ended up fixing it anyway, even though it was “a little longer than we normally repair.”  You can still see the crack. Hopefully it holds.

(Wall Drug- Last Chance, Exit 108 and turn back)