Travel – Page 4 – Gracious Rain

August 31, 2010August 11, 2022

Trippy Food–Prairie Style

Remember last year’s Trippy Food–NYC Style? Well, this is the travel food prairie version.

Seemed like after driving on the lone highway, dry and dusty for miles and miles–we couldn’t help ourselves. Whenever we saw an ice cream place the car automatically just swerved in…

all by it’s self.

Ok, I found a picture of one piece of the Asiago Bread from the Farmer’s Market…

and one teensy weensy corner of the Streusel Cake to show you. Neither of them lasted very long.

Of course the Peanut Spread and the Blueberry jam are like some kind of food of the Gods.

Yeah, so I checked and they DO eat them on Mt. Olympus. So there.

Ever heard of Taco Joe’s? Wunderbar. The thing on the right is a crunchy taco wrapped in a cheesy flour tortilla and then grilled like a burrito. I know–kind of a brain twist. But it was so good. And the crunchy taters came with everything. I’m all about crunch.

Wasn’t kidding about the ice cream stuff. I don’t even know where this was, but heck, it’s ice cream–how could you go wrong?

This was actually complimentary breakfast at the Holiday Inn where we stayed–cheese omelets and biscuits. Lovely.

Dairy Queen should really be in some hall of fame somewhere because it’s the absolute best ice cream in the kingdom. {sigh}

Very, yummy…very cinnamony cinnamon roll also from the hotel breakfast.

Twist cone…no words are needed.

Chicken Alfredo from a Roadside Steakhouse in South Dakota. Look at all that cheese. Dang.

Nothing beats the homemade roast beef and potatoes we whipped up on Sunday from our own little hotel room.

I heard that.

Oh, yes we did.

When you need the comfort and the taste of home doesn’t everyone call Pizza Hut? Hmmmm? I’d like to just pluck that little piece on the left right through the computer screen.

I think I’ve figured out why they need all the trains around there. It’s for the busloads of ice cream that my family can eat in 5 days. It’s a disorder…

probably won’t be fixing it.

Roadside Steakhouse, SD. Three cheers for any joint that will whip up a grilled cheese for a two-year-old at a moment’s notice…

and bring out ribs like these on the same tray. One fell out of my slippery fingers and I swear I nearly cracked my head on the table trying to get it back.

No, I didn’t eat it…but I cried about it.

At the tail end McDonald’s really hit the spot. Really. Hey, I sincerely like McDonalds…nearly everyone can find something they love.

Thank Heavens somebody figured out the idea of food for us humans to eat.

It’s such a good idea.

August 28, 2010September 19, 2023

The Big Boot

This moment~

A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from our lives.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you have a moment of your own–please share a link in the comment section.

Happy summer weekend everyone!

August 27, 2010August 11, 2022

Some Scary Stuff

You see all kinds of ridiculous stuff when you’re on the highway for days at a time. Some of it interesting…

and some of it downright spooky. See for yourself…

Not a big fan of tunnels that go through mountains…or under rivers…or at all actually. I’m perfectly happy to go around the darn things. So add to the general creepiness a Prestone jug yellow hue and you’ve got a real eerie driving tube. Get out–get out–get out.

Now this could be an attempt to pass going very, very badly…but don’t be afraid. It’s not. This is actually a Semi towing another Semi…backwards. Just a tad startling to look up from a good book and see a this staring you in the face.

Seriously?! Would you build your brand new hotel at the base of not one, but TWO huge precariously teetering boulders? What were they thinking?!

I like pancakes, but not enough to want to be one. wow.

You can’t really tell from here–but this is crawling tube at a roadside McDonald’s is reeeally high…like a million feet up. Well, to Grammy anyway. I’m pretty sure this is the farthest that little Lilly has every been from home…alone.

My new favorite book series and best road trip pal. We were slow to get started with them–but everyone but the babies is neck deep in the series now. Very, very scary and thrilling at the same time. It’s the first book I’ve ever read that actually makes me jump.

Here’s the best one of all. So your driving along…minding your own business…when you just happen to look over at the vehicle to your right. Yeeeah. I’m sorry–is that a freaking missile right next to us?! Like the kind they blow up small countries with?

I’m patriotic and all that, but come on. They just drive these suckers down the street?! Not sure whether to speed way up or slow way down or make a sharp left and bolt to Alaska. We took off like…well, like a minivan being chased by a missile, that’s what. We’d have had a great story for the policeman giving us a ticket.

“Well you see officer…there was this missile…”

Sheesh.

Just for that…

we’re coming home!

August 26, 2010September 21, 2023

Faces on the Mountain

Road Trip Day 4

Seems like all the days have started or ended exactly like this. Can’t you just hear the Beatles singing, “The Long and Winding Road.”

Well I can…and it’s beautiful.

We did get a cute little guidance truck to tell us how to maneuver the road construction. They must not have known that we’re from UTAH MAN! The road construction capitol of the universe–and we are detour savvy.

It was a nice gesture though.

Then, all of a sudden these hills started popping up, from out of nowhere. We were entering South Dakota!

Did you know that South Dakota has real, live buffalo hidden away in their hills? I had no clue! Where did I get the idea that they were extinct? Oh no—they have been simply kicking back in SD all these years!

I must be out of the endangered species loop. Can I just tell you–these dudes are ENORMOUS!

Suddenly, the hills turned into bigger hills…small mountains even.

Which was a good thing because where we’re going needs to be a big, BIG mountain.

And it did not disappoint. In fact, Mt. Rushmore was positively breathtaking. I wish I could show you up close how cool this place is. President Roosevelt even looks like he has glasses on. It was amazing.

We had to take the token “stand HERE and snap your picture” shot–you know–for posterity. See all that rubble at the base of the Presidents? There’s a really great film you can watch in the museum that told us that the rubble is from all the dynamite they used to carve this out of the rock.

In fact, they said that 90% of the actual carving was done with dynamite. How does that work? The rest of course, was done and finished and smoothed out with chisels by men hanging down in swing type things. Those guys were soooo brave. Another thing I learned is that the fellow who made it–with 4oo other workers–died before it was finished. They actually had plans for the collars and lapels of Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln–not just Mr. Washington.

The history was positively fascinating.

The ice cream was glorious.

The company was wonderful.

We’ll remember this place–the “Shrine of Democracy” at Mt. Rushmore, for the rest of our lives.

August 25, 2010August 11, 2022

Taking It Slow

Road Trip Day 3

No huge plans for today. Just kinda hangin’ out…

taking it easy…

entertaining the short folks.

However–you can only be locked up in a hotel room with 3 toddlers for so long before you need to find a big, huge park for them to run in.

So we did.

One with tons of very friendly squirrels…

who liked the peanuts we tossed…a lot.

I don’t think I’ve actually seen a squirrel up close before. Chipmunk–yes. Prairie dog–yes. Squirrel–not so much. I’m sure we have squirrels in Utah–but they must be invisible, because I’ve never seen one.