Then we saw a train coming over the hill, hauling six million coal cars.

Then we entered Colorado.

We drove to Estes Park, Colorado, which is north of Boulder and Denver, on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park. One of the fun family-bonding activities we discussed was horseback riding, so we went ahead and did that.

We went for a lovely hour-long ride with a guide and another family or so.

This is Forrest, my mighty steed.

Off we go!

It rained off and on, but it was only a sprinkling while we were on the ride, and the sky was beautiful.

We wandered the trails in single-file fashion and looked at nature, and experienced horses. It was lovely.

Dad made a friend.

After our ride was over, we went back into Estes Park for a little touristing and eating. I found a yarn store! Neota Designs:

It was cute: small, but full of her own handpainted yarn, as well as weaving material and woven goods. And she was lovely to talk to.

Then we headed off south, to Denver, to stay with the Zellers for the night.

Tomorrow (9/17), a jaunt around Boulder, and some Orientation check-in.

We moved from the flat flat prairie to the Badlands.

We do like our Good Ol’ American National Monuments.

We saw a unicorn.

(okay, they’re goats. nevermind.)

Seriously, this was pretty cool though.

Not that we took it that seriously.

Right.

Onward, to Deadwood, South fucking Dakota!

We visited the cemetery where Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried.

We ate lunch outside the cemetery, and then drove on again to Devils Tower (or Bear Lodge, or Bear Tower, etc), in Wyoming.

LOLz!

This thing is just crazy.

Is it a giant tree trunk?

Is it the core of a volcano?

This country’s so big!

This rock is so big!

This tower-rock-tree-volcano is so big!

Seriously weird.

Fortunately, there were prairie dogs, although we were forbidden to feed them.

We were not forbidden to stalk them.

Okay, but seriously, it’s a really weird natural phenomenon.

South Dakota is really quite lovely.

Our major stop for the day (thank god) was the Ingalls Homestead in DeSmet, SD.

Laura Ingalls Wilder lived from 1867 to 1957, and wrote the Little House books that detailed her life traveling out west as a pioneer girl. Dragged around by her father, Charles Ingalls, the Ingalls family spent a lot of time moving around, trying to find the best farming, the best homestead, the best new opportunities. We visited their homestead site at what became their final home, where they finally managed to build up a successful homestead and farm.

They were given a “quarter” of land– a quarter of a square mile– or 160 square acres. They had to live on the land six months out of the year for five years, farm at least 10 acres, and build a house on the land.

The homestead was excellent. There were lots of things to do and look at. They had more or less pulled all these elements of pioneer life onto one plot of land, but it wasn’t crowded or weird.

We played outside the first school house, which contained a covered wagon and placards on the wall about each of the locations of the Little House.

We looked at the dugout under the hill.

Talk about miniature. We discussed the merits and weaknesses of a dugout home: extremely well insulated, even in winter; freakishly small, especially in winter; etc.

Next we took a look at the pioneer cabin. It was a big larger than the dugout, but still very small.

Sarah barely fits in the doorway. There was enough space in the little house for a small bed, a table, a chair, and a shelf. You’d have to be very spartan, or very economical, to live comfortably in a house that size, especially with kids.

We looked at the hay-roofed barn, and played with the barn animals.

(you can take the girls away from the kitties, but you can’t keep the kitties from the girls)

Then we drove to school.

The Johnson School originally sat on the homestead of Mr. Johnson, but the Ingalls Homestead people (foundation?) moved it onto the property so they could use it for instructional purposes. Laura didn’t actually reach in the Johnson school, but one of its teachers had been a pupil of hers. Still, she taught at schools in the area starting at the age of 15 (!!!) until she married Almanzo Wilder in 1885.

In school, we learned many things.

Like the important art of bonnet-wearing.

And riddles.

Once we’d finished our school day, we drove back to the house and barn.

Ann wants this sewing machine.

I pumped water. Very important.

Sarah played with miniature animals.

The laundry line:

The Victory garden:

Once we’d exhausted all our learning opportunities on the homestead, we went into De Smet proper and admired the schoolhouse that Laura actually taught at (though again, not in its present location).

It was real small. Maybe five students could fit.

We left De Smet then and headed on towards Mitchell for our second sight-seeing stop.

The Corn Palace!

Hooray.

Then Ann communed with a dragonfly for like an hour while Tom bought ice at the grocery store. Here is just one of the many fabulous pictures.

We did stop at this adorable hometown grocer that was all about bulk foods and deliciousness. Run by Mennonites? We weren’t sure, but the girls running the store were very cute and were amused by us.

A few more hours of driving put us in Murdo, SD, just ahead of a mother of a storm. We stayed in a motel.

Another day of driving today. We left Ishpeming, MI and drove through the north of Michigan into northern Wisconsin. We mostly saw a lot of road work and the edges of lakes.

We found a small waterfall in Michigan: Agate Falls on the Ontonagon River.

We stopped for lunch in Superior, WI, and then crossed into Minnesota.

This is how much time we spent in the car.

North Dakota was very flat. Flat flat flat. We didn’t see much of Fargo, but we passed through. Just before we left North Dakota, we decided to hop out and step on the state to make it count.

Then we moved on.

We spent the night in South Dakota, where it was humid and warm again. Sleeping outside was not too chilly!

This post kind of sucks, but that’s what you get when you drive all day. Hardly any pictures. Tomorrow will be a better one!

We drove north from Victoria Harbour up route 400 towards Sault Ste. Marie, which is both north and west. We skirted the Georgian Bay of Lake Huron until about Sudbury, ON, and turned west. Sault Ste Marie was on route 17 from there.

At Sault Ste Marie, we stopped for ice cream, and re-entered the US of A.

From then on it was across the U.P. of Michigan.

We paused once for a very important rendezvous.

We stopped somewhere between Munising and Marquette to paddle in Lake Superior.

Currently, we are camped round about Ishpeming, MI, and are sitting in the dark at a picnic table using electricity that is not ours. Whee!

Then we hit the road, for serious.

Our first stop on our trip this year was Machias, NY. We drove north through Pennsylvania, skirting Harrisburg and State College, and entered good old New York farmland. We were staying with Susan Andrews, both a family friend and one-time coworker of both Ann and Tom. Her big white farmhouse was charming, and we watched it rain like crazy just after we arrived.

Susan and Tom made dinner.

We ate, and then we ate dessert, and everything was delicious.

In the morning, we headed off bright and early to the Roycrofters printing, copper work, and art commune/campus, where Susan volunteers. She gave us a tour. (Check out the site, Sue runs the blog)

Next stop: Niagara Falls.

LOOK, WE’RE IN CANADA.

Niagara was beautiful. Lots of mist. Lots of damp.

We ate lunch, and headed on to Toronto.

Once we got off the freeway, Toronto was excellent. I got to go to a yarn store: Lettuce Knit.

(awkward humidity hair? i think so.)

Sarah and I both purchased Canadian yarn with our awkward American charge card and cash. Then we got to wander the streets a bit, in the area called Kensington Market, which was strange and indie and arty and weird, and quite nice. Just the kind of place I’d like to spend a lot more time.

But the afternoon wore on, and we had to get a move on again.

This is how cute Canada is:

We drove and drove and ended up camping in Victoria Harbour. We’re on our way to Sault Ste. Marie. Today is Ann and Tom’s 25th wedding anniversary, and look where it got them.

Number of Audiobooks: 1.5
Number of Socks Knit: 4
Number of Tires Changed: 4
Number of Yarn Stores Visited: 5
Number of Vehicles Purchased or Rented: 5
Number of Times We Rode the Bikes: 5
Bags of M&Ms We Ate: 8.5
Hours that Sarah Drove: 15

Days Spent in Texas: 10
Days Not Spent in Texas: 23

Number of Tattoos Contemplated: 19
Number of Tattoos Purchased: 0

Most Expensive Gas: $4.39/gal
Least Expensive Gas: $3.53/gal

Highest Elevation: 9,837 feet (Grand Tetons, WY)
Lowest Elevation: 500 feet (Baltimore, MD)

Highest Latitude: 44 58 34.79 N (Yellowstone National Park)
Lowest Latitude: 29.423 N (San Antonio, TX)

Number of States Visited: 23
Number of Miles Driven: ~6,165.5
Gallons of Gas Purchased: Yeah Right.

***

Thanks for reading along, everyone. I’ve gotten some really sweet and lovely comments from all of you, and it made it worth the time spent uploading all those damn pictures. Much love.

We switched drivers a few times, and finally made it to West Virginia.

West Virginia for some reason is actually larger than Maryland (OMGWTF), so we drove in WV for a few hours (four and a half, according to the time stamps).

Then we entered Maryland! Hooray!

We hit a bit of traffic, and took a sneaky detour, and two hours after crossing the Maryland line we finally had our first hint of home.

We made jokes the whole time about finding a place to camp and what we would have for dinner tonight and har har aren’t we hilarious?!

The answer is yes.

We got home, emptied the trailer into the garage, emptied the van into the living room, and promptly went our separte ways. Thank goodness. Dinner was a casual affair, and we all went to bed in our own beds finally, after 33 days on the road.

Except mom had to go sleep on the couch downstairs to shut the cat up who couldn’t quite believe we were home.

We visited Washington University in St. Louis after breakfast. I got all excited about college (my own, not Wash U, although it was really nice), and we all liked Wash U.

We had lunch at the van (yogurt, peanut butter sandwiches, and whatever else was in the fridge and might go bad), and then left town. I got to see the arch!

Cars kept getting in my way, and I didn’t have a sock, so you’ll have to be satisfied with just the arch. How sad.

The states started to get smaller, so we hit…


and

(I don’t know why Illinois is so dark)

We crossed a few rivers.

And spent the night outside Louisville, KY, where children apparently have no respect for strangers camping, and run by and smack tents and scream without their parents getting in a fuss about it. Apparently.