I’ve been accused of overpacking our vacations, so despite it being completely against my core value of a Clark-Griswold-vacation-schedule, today was yet another day without a specific plan. We just had to end the day in Dearborn, Michigan.
So after sleeping in (again), and grabbing breakfast at our Holiday Inn, we headed into Toledo for some exploring.
We ended up at the National Museum of the Great Lakes.
The Museum wasn’t terribly large, but it was jammed pack with exhibits, all of which were hands-on. For instance, did you know that 21% of the entire earth’s fresh water supply?
The boys decided that they were not prepared to be early explorers who carried 90lbs of supplies for 12 miles journeys… although they did enjoy seeing who could squat this amount of weight!
Mike and I however may be cut out to be part of Crew Capers Cast.
And we all decided that we wanted to live in a lighthouse one day, at least for a little while.
We left Ohio and crossed into Michigan!
You can’t visit Michigan without a trip to see Big Blue
Despite their best efforts, the stadium was locked up tight, and Mike wasn’t willing to jump to turn styles.
Ann Arbor, Michigan is beautiful town – very typical college town.
Surprise, Mom’s cafe has opened up a Michigan location too.
We again took back roads, just meandering though Michigan, and eventually make our way to Dearborn, Michigan. We decided to go for the full Ford experience and stayed at “The Henry.” The Bellhop suggested we try a local pizza joint, Buddy’s Pizza. They are famous for their square pizza, and WOW! It was fantastic!
And of course, we had to end the day with Ice Cream
(Think we’ve found a sign that sums up our marriage ♥️)
Tomorrow we are exploring the HenryFord Museum and the Ford Truck factory- finally an over booked vacation day! 🤪
We did a bit of everything today… underground, back in time and Hungarian hot dogs. All my boys slept until 10am this morning, so we skipped breakfast at the hotel. We grabbed Breakfast on the road and started our journey north.
The western side of Ohio is farm heaven with some of the blackest dirt you’ll see. For as far as you can see, it’s just flat farmland.
And the wind turbines that dot the landslide are really impressive… although I’m still not convinced that wind is the solution to our energy crisis… but if having one in my yard would mean $0 energy bills for life? Hmmm, maybe.
We continued on and reached our first stop… The Ohio Caverns! In the words of Mike Brown, I “will find a damn hole to climb around in on vacation,” and i sure found one in Ohio too.
These caverns were started when a 17 year old boys started messing around in some sinkholes on a friend’s farm. 100 years later, and here come the Browns!
The cave is always 54 degrees which compared to the frigid wind outside, the caves felt great. We saw some really cool stalagmite (on the ground), stalactites (on the ceiling) and columns (where the stalagmites and stalactites meet).
The colors and caves 103 feet below the surfaces were really beautiful.
When the caves drip water on you, its called a “cave kiss” and allegedly you get 1 year of good luck per Kiss… guess which two then found a constant drip and stood underneath… they should be covered with luck for the next 20 years
The only place the moss grows is near the lights, since there is no sunlight down here.
Check another cave off our list!
Whew, we almost missed a plaque!
We headed north, and since we don’t know that we will ever be back, we decided to step bak in time to little ol’ Ada, Ohio – Home of Ohio Northern University.
There were lots of changes on the campus itself, including new Art building and a football stadium, which of course, we took advantage of the open gate.
While the campus may have changed, the law school had not. I think the boys enjoyed seeing a little bit of mom’s background (or at least they pretended to be interested).
We dropped by to show boys the Wilson Football Plant. Every Wilson Football, 4,000 every day) is made and shipped from right here in Ada, Ohio.
As we made our way to Toledo, we were in no hurry, so we stayed off the Interestates, and let GPS take us on smaller roads… we traveled State Highways, County and Township Road… it absolutely took longer, but we saw some beautiful country.
We arrived in Toledo and decided to take the advice of Cpl Max Klinger:
The Hungarian hotdogs were good, but the homemade pickles and peppers were totally worth the heartburn than I know is coming. Thanks Klinger!
Tomorrow we are exploring Toledo a bit and then off to Michigan!
In choosing our Ohio travel spots, we heard of the National Museum of the United States Air Force outside of Dayton. Since both our dads are proud Air Force Vets, we definitely had to plan a stop AND its free to visit!
WOW – A friend told us about the size of this museum, but is it something you really had to see to believe!
But let’s stop for a moment and talk about the weather – Brrrr! I forgot how cold Ohio is, even in April!
Back to the Museum… it is 4 airplane hangers in size and packed with every plane and engine created from the Wright Brothers to the Stealth Bomber to Rockets. We started off reading every plaque but as we made our way through, we realized it was just too much information.
Ultimately, we just started reading ones we were truly interested in reading. It was still so much to see! They really had everything from the Wright Brothers to World War II bombers.
Even the famous Memphis Belle is here! Okay, I didn’t honestly know what the Memphis Belle was famous for (other than the movie), but now I know that it was one of the first B17 Bombers to complete 25 combat missions and return to the United States.
The yellow bombs denote a mission completed. The yellow stars are for bombs at/near targets, and the red stars are for a direct hit. The swastika is for shooting down a German plane.
The museum also houses the Bockscar, the plane that carried the atomic bombs that was dropped on Nagasaki.
Leo and I loved the story of Smokey – a dog rescued by soldiers in New Guinea. Smokey learned to pull telephone wire under planes and even learned to alert the soldiers of enemies hiding nearby.
We finished the first hanger (Wright Brothers through WWII) and decided to have lunch at Mom’s Cafe!
Mom’s Cafe only got a one start rating because I realized we left the Mayo mustard and relish in the fridge at home
Good thing, we packed warm clothes because Ohio gifted us with a snowstorm while we ate!
Someone may have been unhappy that they got snow down their sweatshirt when I rolled my window down for snow pictures
After lunch, we explored the space area, even finding our own astronaut.
Then we decided to check out some of the flight simulators. Well, 2 of us decided to check out the simulators
We explored the Korean War exhibit and despite my best efforts, I couldn’t find any reference to the real end of the Korean War… the enlistment of Jimmy “Dink” Maske???
A skinny kid from Rockingham enlisted around this same time, and then the war ended… coincidence? Up until 12 years old, I truly thought daddy’s enlistment caused the end of the Korean War.
We checked out in the inside of a C124 Cargo Plane
And were all surprised by the size of modern-day drones – for some reason, we just thought they were smaller
Leo got to see what parachuting down felt like (apparently, it is not comfortable), but he sure is cute as a soldier.
The B52 was ginormous! I think you could fit our whole house inside.
And everyone took a turn in the cockpit of a fighter jet. Although someone was upset that they ripped their jeans in the cockpit.
The Stealth Bomber was too cool… especially when you think that there are only 105 years between the Wright Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk and this beast of a machine that is undetectable by radar!
The Museum is also home to Air Force One – the actual Air Force One where Lyndon Johnson was sworn in after Kennedy was assassinated.
I think we walked about 8 miles today but with the weather we were thankful to be inside.
After some rest at the hotel, we headed out for dinner and found a fantastic place near the hotel – A Taste of Jerusalem. It was authentic Mediterranean food and it was so good.
Then to top off a great day, we picked up a dozen cupcakes at Gigi’s Cupcakes.
A cup of decaf and some swimming for any remaining energy, and that a wrap on Day 1.
I had forgotten how flat parts of Ohio are, and how you can watch the weather roll in. The boys thought the clouds were pretty cool. I thought it looked a little like the movie Twister, but I kept that the myself.
We also spent a part of our drive using a new app, Hear Here. It is a map that lets you hear snippets of stories about the area you are traveling through. (Thanks for sharing Cyndi Palmer!)
We checked into our hotel and decided to go ahead and grab dinner before we got too comfortable. Actually, Mike and I were afraid if we sat down for any length of time, we wouldn’t get back up. So off we went to a local brewery, The Wandering Griffin.
The food was pretty good and the craft beers were great. We did learn a few things: the Brown boys do not like beer cheese on anything, and Ohio seasoned fries are not the same as NC seasoned fries. Overall, great meal with even better company.
We pulled up the list of planes at the Air Force Museum, and I wish I had a picture of Mike’s face when he realized the Memphis Belle is here. He’s like a kid on Christmas Eve about tomorrow’s adventures.
Back at the hotel and trying to wear these boys out… apparently despite the fact that they are man-child size now, wrestling never gets old!
If they ever get tired, we are off to bed… Lawd pray they get tired soon.
Spring Break is here and we are off again on another quest to see all 50 states!
This Spring Break we are headed to Ohio and Michigan to check numbers 26 and 27 off our list.
We have already discovered that since last year, the boys have grown and if we plan future road trips, we may need to consider a larger car… its all legs in the back seat!
We’ve made it to the traffic and tolls of West Virginia…
Seriously, its $4.25 per toll!
Mike asked if they were putting a gallon of gas in when we paid – LOL. But we paid and rolled on up the road…
This is it… Travel Day! Headed back to the east coast and home. It’s been a fantastic trip but we are ready to be home, to see our dog, and our pigs, our chickens, and our people.
Our flight didn’t leave until 12:30pm (it was 7:05 or 12:30pm) so we got to sleep in and have breakfast at hotel. Washington’s Covid restrictions still require a grab and go breakfast, so Mike and I headed down to grab breakfast for us all. In addition to the usual muffins, biscuits, bagels and yogurt, the hotel also had Uncrustables and breakfast bars so we loaded up.
We weren’t even embarrassed with this.
After breakfast, we loaded up and headed out. Mike’s face 🤣🤣
We returned the car with a total mileage of 2,706 miles covered! Thank goodness for unlimited mileage 😁
We made it check-in at the airport with 3 bags and a cooler loaded with dirty clothes 🤪 I also love to see the stewardess face when she says “what’s in there?” And we reply, “dirty clothes.”
We made it to our gate and waited to board
The flight from Spokane to Atlanta was long but uneventful. We pulled out our “bags-o-food” and had a lovely lunch of uncrustables, Doritos and an orange.
We arrived in Atlanta and had to sit on tarmac for a bit while they waited on the ground crew to wave us in. Finally at the gate, we unloaded, and hustled to our next gate. We got there at what would have been time to board but discovered we had a bit of a delay so we grabbed a snack, refilled our water bottles and waited while the crew got the plane clean. The Covid protocols for planes is extensive so it takes them much longer to go from arrival to departure.
This crew’s endurance is waning
We finally took off and 8 hours after we took off in Spokane, we arrived back in North Carolina. (It’s really pretty awesome to think about the fact that within 8 hours, we can travel from one side of our country all the way to the other). A
nyway, Hallelujer! We are home!
And now, the last piece of the prayer chain… did the cooler make it??
We headed to baggage claim. Michael and Leo’s duffle bags came out.
Mike’s suitcase came out.
My suitcase came out.
We waited.
And we waited.
And finally… there it is!
YES!
The cooler made it! Still sealed up, and wheels attached. WooHoo 🎉
Just one more surprise when we got home. Mike bought hand carved knives on the reservation near Little Bighorn. The boys thought he was going to give them to friends… when we got home, they found out he bought the knives for them 😊
It has been an amazing two weeks and we have seen some awesome sites. We met some of the nicest people from all over the United States. One thing we love of travel is that it reminds you that despite what you see on the news and in the media, the vast majority of people are good people.
We slept in today and had coffee and doughnuts before heading out from our lakeside condo. Before leaving McCall, we headed back downtown for a few souvenirs and then hit the road.
We passed through Salmon, Idaho beside the Salmon River… also known as the River of No Return.
Gotta love a good roadside table to clean your fish 🐟
We saw old school bridges
And Roads that seem to go in every direction
Long tree lined straightaways
And wheat fields as far as you could see.
Mom’s Restaurant opened for the last time until April of 2022.
And in Lewiston, Idaho, we saw a real life dust devil.
We crossed back into Washington State and the cutest downtown in Colfax, Washington.
We also say some humongous wind turbines. Apparently, it was a wind turbine farm because there at least a hundred of them.
We arrived at our hotel in Spokane around 3:30. Mike and I unpacked our cooler for the last time, and repacked it full of dirty clothes. Like our last trip in 2019, the plan is to take our cooler home and use it as a piece of luggage full of dirty laundry. Fingers crossed that it makes it back to NC intact 🤞🏼
Cooler packed, the boys went down to swim a bit, and then we headed out to find some pizza. We found a great place not to far from the hotel called Pacific Avenue Pizza. (If you’re in Greensboro, it is very similar to Lindley Park as a restaurant and the neighborhood.)
I think it’s safe to say they are exhausted
Mike and I shared a caprese salad and it was delicious! And then they brought out the pizzas. You could order it a piece at a time with up to 2 topping for $4.50 a piece.
And Leo said the wings were just as good!
One more beautiful Sunset
And one more round of wrestling 😀
We are all packed, bellies full and ready for bed. Ready for full day of travel tomorrow… just one more day to go.
Today was one of those days that Mike and I will think of when the boys are grown and it is just us. We started our trip in the water of Lake Coeur d’Alene and we’re ending it in Payette Lake. It was a perfect way to book-end our trip.
We are staying McCall, Idaho which is known in the winter as a great place to ski. But in the summer, it is home to Payette Lake.
Today, we rented a pontoon boat for the whole day. We’ve loaded our cooler so Mom’s Restaurant will be aquatic today. The boat came with a tow behind so we are very excited! As we got things squared with the rental company, the boys played a little beach volleyball
We headed out. Payette Lake is absolutely beautiful!
We didn’t make it long before we HAD to get in the water!
And then it was even shorter before we HAD to get the inflatable in the water! And that’s where they stayed.
These smiles are the absolute BEST
We rode, they’d fall. We picked them up, and it started over 🤣 they rode together, and they rode separate – either way, they had so much fun.
Mike and I watched them on the tube and even though they are 12 and 13, we both saw this:
We loaded back on the boat and drove to another area of the Lake. And Mom’s Restaurant opened for business.
I thought our captain was pretty cute ♥️
They hopped right back in the water – which wasn’t particularly warm – and off we went.
Not to be out done, Mike and I both gave it a try too
Don’t worry, we went at different times – the boys weren’t driving the boat 🤣🤣
Then the boys decided to really show us how it’s done… because facing the same way would be too simple 🤪
We did have a sprained wrist (Leo) and rope burn on shoulder (Michael) but otherwise, we were injury-free (unless you count mine and Mike’s soreness).
I think they were sufficiently worn out and both almost (did) doze off on the ride back to the marina.
It is beautiful on Payette Lake, but we didn’t get to see Sharlie, the famous Lake Monster of Payette Lake .
I bet it is just as beautiful in winter but the summer was just perfect to us
We headed back to our condo, and after some warm showers and dinner, we played another round of Phase 10.
It didn’t take much convincing to get them to sleep tonight 🤣
Tomorrow we head out for Spokane for our last night.
Today is our longest drive of the trip, 7 hours. We did break it up a bit with a few stops. We headed out of West Yellowstone at 8am. Let’s all take a moment to mourn the remnants of my Yellowstone map. It was well loved.
Again this morning, traffic was lined up to get into Yellowstone. We left Montana and crossed back into Idaho, and again noticed how the topography changes.
We also noticed the difference in their light poles? We couldn’t figure out why this style versus ours?
We also giggled at how much notice they gave you of an upcoming stop sign… of course they do let you drive at 80 miles an hour so guess it takes longer to stop 😜
We traveled through the city of Arco, Idaho. The first town to be powered by atomic power! They were pretty proud of this distinction because at least every other business made mention of it.
We also saw the Arco Motel… it was interesting to see it up close because the TripAdvisor pictures were only slightly skewed 😀 I think we made the right decision to just make today one long drive.
As we started to approach today’s National Park area, the landscape started to change. The soil is black and rocky.
Welcome to the Craters of the Moon National Monument!
Craters of the Moon was formed by lava than came out through fissures in the ground instead of the usual volcano eruption that we think of. The lava ran like we’ve all seen in Hawaii, and then these areas were formed as the lava cooled. There are splatter cones and lava tubes for exploring. Normally you can go into the lava tubes (like a long cave) after you get a park permit, but due to Covid (ugh, stupid Covid), these were closed.
This areas is otherworldly with the dark soil and rocks. One trail, the Devil’s Orchard was particularly spooky with its dark rocks and twisty gnarly trees.
And it is hot out here with all this black soil. We drove to different sections, stopping to see the different shapes and cones. It was cool to see how the vegetation is trying to regrow here. These look like moss but they are actually the beginnings of sagebrush plants.
There were lots of plaques 😃 including one that explained that the Apollo 14 astronauts came here in the late 60’s early 70’s to train on how to collect lunar samples. NASA still uses this area for training… it certainly does look like the moon!
These colorful patches are lichens. They are almost always the first microorganisms to grow on rocks. Part of what they do is break the rock down into soil where other plants and organisms can start to grow. Pretty good info right? Know where we learned it? A plaque 😜
From another plaque, we learned that these bundles of roots in the trees are called a witches broom. They come after mistletoe infects a tree, and tree tries to save itself by overproducing… it doesn’t work but it does create the creepy trees. How cool would this place be on Halloween?
We climbed to the top of the Inferno Cone.
It’s only four-tenths of a mile to the top but the incline ranges from 35 to 45°, and then add in the heat… whew! It was some kind of climb.
The views at the top – WOW!
We also met the nicest family from Tennessee. They are trying to see all 50 states like we are. Their mom, Brittany opens her own “Mom’s Restaurant” from the back of the car too. They even have the same ThunderBunny US Picture map that we do! She and I shared traveled stories as we walked down the Inferno Cone, and by the bottom we connected on Facebook to share travel stories and tips.
This was such a cool stop and nice break to our long ride.
We may have accidentally found a lava rock in our car too 🤭
It looks heavy but it’s a light as styrofoam.
Watching the lava fade as we traveled we headed on toward Boise.
When we started talked about heading through Boise (and specifically making sure we were not going through Boise at 5pm), the boys asked if we could see the football field at Boise State… you know, the blue one. (I like the nickname the Smurf Turf.) So we detoured through Boise, and found the stadium.
I was totally prepared to do my southern mama spiel “we’re from NC, we’re traveling through, my boys just love Boise State and would be sick if we were this close and couldn’t see the famous blue field, could you pleeeaaasse (add thick southern drawl) let them go see it just for a sec.”
But turns out, that was totally unnecessary. There’s a sign that says
“To See the Field, go to the Hall of Fame Entrance ⬅️”.
So we did. Walked right on in and Bam – there’s the blue. It is so much more than you see on TV. I mean IT. IS. BLUE!
We headed out and caught a little traffic in the downtown area of Boise. But this sign made it totally worthwhile 🤣🤣🤣
We left the metropolis of Boise and headed north on our way to McCall, Idaho. Again, sorry for the multiple landscapes pictures, but it is gorgeous here.
We followed these rapids for miles and were awfully glad we weren’t rafting these! Yikes!
We arrived at our little condo in McCall and then ran out to get groceries. We have a full kitchen for a couple of days so we are excited for a few home cooked meals. We filled our bellies with homemade chicken fajitas, chips and salsa , and strawberries and whipped cream for dessert. We played some Phase Ten and finally made it all the way to the 10th phase! (Leo decided to skip tonight and instead watched some Disney Plus.)
One more fun day ahead before we started getting to head back to reality… but I think tomorrow will be a perfect end 😁
We have discovered 2 things on this trip about National Parks. First, to see as much as possible, break the exploring into sections. And second, unless you absolutely have to, don’t try to be there early in the morning.
Yesterday, we arrived in Yellowstone a little before 3, but because there was little to no traffic, we could see everything we wanted in 5-6 hours. Today, we decided to do the same thing. We slept in until around 9am and then headed to a restaurant recommended by the front desk.
The only negative I have found about the Yellowstone Park Hotel is the breakfast. It has the regular beverage selection (coffee, milk, juice) but food-wise, it is just oatmeal packs, cereal and breakfast bars. We were in the mood for a big breakfast, probably because we skipped dinner last night 😊, so off we went. The great thing about West Yellowstone is everything is within walking distant. And as we walked, we watched the bumper to bumper traffic trying to get into Yellowstone.
Meanwhile, the late-rising Brown’s are loving Timberline Cafe!
But first, Mike’s shirt 🤣😂
The boys were clearly starving since they ordered waffles with blueberries and whipped cream, and steak and eggs
As we walked back to the hotel to load up for the day, we noticed these green paw prints along the road
These are for the walking tour of West Yellowstone. And look what we found! A plaque! West Yellowstone was a major hub of the Union Pacific Railroad. These are the generator hub and train depot.
The boys packed their own backpacks and filled their water bottles, and we let them (staying together), go down to the game room while we packed the lunches and cooler. Mama’s restaurant was making awesome sandwiches today on Hawaiian Rolls
I think they were pretty happy to have a couple of minutes to themselves 😊
Today our plan was to head toward the Mammoth Hot Springs area and the North Entrance. We’ve already toured the East Entrance (when we came in from Cody), the South Entrance (when we went to and returned from the Grand Tetons) and we are staying near and coming through the West Entrance (get it, West Yellowstone). The views are a little different headed north, and a few twisty roads… of course after the Going to the Sun Road nothing really seems narrow to Mike anymore 😀
We made it to the Mammoth Hot Springs Visitor’s Center which was the former Fort Yellowstone… an actual army outpost in the early 1900’s. The Park Service took the area over and kept the buildings and outposts as residences for the rangers stationed here, and other services (Visitors Center, service stations, general store, etc).
We found an excellent parking place and decided to leave the car and hike around the hot springs. The Visitor’s Center was interesting with lots of exhibits of how the hot springs occur and the local wild life.
We already knew how big bison could get 😂
Before we went hiking around, we had to go in the general store for long sleeve shirts because it is cold up here!
Of course, the minute we buy long sleeve shirts, the sun comes out. But it was shady/cool and sunny/hot all day, so the long sleeves got worn quite a bit.
Our hike around Mammoth started at the the Lower Terrace, a long winding platform that encircles the hot springs. The travertine terraces are formed from limestone deposits from the hot springs. Scientists aren’t sure if the hot springs are fueled by magma from the Yellowstone Caldera or a smaller heat source near the hot springs? Probably the big ol’ volcano waiting to erupt 😜
These were all really neat to see and to see the difference in color of the travertine deposits. Some of them sparkled like gold and some were as white as snow.
Once we finished the Lower Terrace, we set off to find the trail to a natural hot spring that hikers discovered. According to our guide book, we were supposed to go to the North Entrance and then drive 2.3 miles … look for gravel lot… it would be down the hill by the third tall blade of grass 🤪 just kidding about the grass but seriously, the directions were clearly not written for (or by) normal people.
As part of the journey to find the hot springs, we made it to the North Entrance… let’s pause right here for a minute. We saw and visited every entrance to Yellowstone National Park!! I know my daddy is smiling from Heaven because we have maximized the heck out of this trip.
Back to today, Michael got out to read a plaque (oh, that makes my heart happy)
And then we got distracted by the sunbeams coming down…
So, we started back again looking for this spot from the guidebook. Allegedly, water from a hot springs joins the cool river, and creates a naturally warm soaking pool. We looked and looked but never could find it (surely not due to such detailed and clear directions) BUT we did find a pretty cool area for boys to get wet.
And it was right by the 45th Parallel
We met a nice family from Georgia with older teenage boys who continued the hunt for the hot spring (they clearly had the same guide book).
Later we saw the boys from Georgia and they found where the hot spring was supposed to be but it had been sectioned off by the Park Service. We guessed because so many people were going to the same site. At least we know we were close.
We headed back to the Mammoth Area and found the Justice Center – in case Mike and I want to open a law office in Mammoth.
And then saw a herd of elk cows just napping on the lawn.
We started working our way back south, stopping at ever little spot we wanted. This back windshield cracked Mike and I up 😂
Since we walked the Lower Terrace, we decided to drive the Upper Terrace. Parts of it looked like a winter wonderland where the trees had been burned by a forest fire and the travertine turned white.
We continued heading south and stopped to hike a bit around the Virginia Cascade.
One of our favorite was the hike around the Artists Paintpots, an area of hot springs where some are covered with mud instead of water. They bubble and pop.
This was just cool to watch. We stayed and just watched it bubble for a long time… it’s strangely relaxing 🤣 (just watch it again and again and again)
Mike noticed Monument Geyser Basin as we were driving in so we made a point to stop here. This geyser is literally right beside the road. If it gets much larger, they’ll have to do some serious roadwork.
Our attempt at a selfie here, almost resulted in us going over the rail 🤣
Our last stop was Gibbon Falls. We have been following Gibbon River all day, so we wanted to see these falls in particular. They were absolutely gorgeous!
Rather than one big falls, they were a series of medium sized falls, with a busy little chipmunk population
Look how his color has adapted to the rocks
We just became fascinated watching this guy
These two have had a great couple of weeks.
One more herd, and we said goodbye to Yellowstone. Its been awesome!
We decided to grab dinner downtown in West Yellowstone. We couldn’t decide where to eat, so we headed downtown and let our noses guide us to Three Bears Restaurant. There was a bit of a wait, so we explored some of the gifts shops nearby.
This Bison has a motion sensor and starts talking when you walk by… he almost gave Michael a heart attack 😂🤣
And they had the best bedroom shoes 🤣
We headed back to the Three Bears for dinner – Oh my word! We had Bison steaks, regular steaks and chicken fettuccine Alfredo, and it was all delicious. We finished it off with homemade chocolate cake. We will just waddle back to the hotel now…
We have a pretty long drive ahead of us tomorrow- 7 hours total, so Mike dropped us off at the hotel and headed to fill up with gas. We decided to take advantage of one of the hotel’s other amenities- bikes! They had the best time riding in the empty Post Office parking lot next door.
And one more dip in the hot tub…
I think we have done and seen it all in West Yellowstone. We head into Idaho tomorrow and see our last National Park.
Brown Family Adventures: 50 States by Graduation 