Out West Trip 2021 - Day 11 (Spearfish to North Platte)

Well - our trip was quickly coming to an end. It is always bittersweet to finish out a big trip. We really enjoy seeing new things and exploring. We love being in the van and traveling! The anticipation of travel is always big and then it is over before you know it! 

Day 11 was pretty much a travel day with only 2 planned stops. 

Initially, our only stop planned for this day was at Scottsbluff National Monument in Scottsbluff, NE. Matt suggested that we stop at Mt Rushmore since we would literally be driving by it as we headed south. We've visited Mt Rushmore a handful of times over the years, but figured the kids were old enough to appreciate the masterpiece. 

We slept in a bit and drove the hour to Mt Rushmore. We were shocked at how busy it was already - it was just a bit after 8:30 am! The monument was under heavy construction and was kind of a mess. With Covid restrictions as well as construction, it was a headache. We were able to get through and get some pictures though and just take in the marvel of it all. 

After we snapped this picture, we looked around for someone who also uses a Canon EOS camera, so they would be comfortable taking our family picture. We were envisioning the family picture to be identical to the one with the kids (above). Well, not quite, but it will do.

Here's our last family picture at Mt Rushmore in 2013...

After viewing the monument, we hit the gift shop. Yikes! There was a long line - we waited @ 20 minutes to get in - due to Covid restrictions. It was nice that the kids are all old enough now so every time a person left the gift shop, we were able to send in one of the kids so they had extra time to look around. The kids found their souvenirs and we hit the road for the 2.5 hour drive to Scottsbluff.

We stopped in Chadron, NE for a pit stop. As we drove into town, Matt saw a billboard advertising "CarHenge" and knew what our next stop would be.

It was definitely a sight that we hadn't anticipated seeing and we are glad that we stopped. 

From CarHenge, we continued to Scottsbluff, grabbing lunch on the way. 

We tried to stop at Scottsbluff in 2018, only to be told that we couldn't drive to the bluff due to rock slides. We kept it on our "to visit" list, hoping that we'd be able to fit it in to a trip at some point in the future. It worked out perfectly to add it to this trip!

We showed our annual parks pass at the gate and asked for recommendations as to which overlook we should walk to. He told us that they both have amazing views but that the South Overlook is shorter (less than 1/2 mile there and back) than the North Overlook (closer to 1 mile there and back). He also warned us of rattlesnakes and staying on the trails. He told us that they had seen one on the trail just that morning. Yikes! 

We started the drive up the bluff - enjoying the views and tunnels. 

With it being close to 100° and no shade available, we decided to walk to the South Overlook only. The views were endless! It was impressive to look out and see land for miles & miles. We imagined what the early settlers thought when they climbed this bluff. It was humbling to think that we walked in the same area they walked!

Another impromptu "game" in the parking lot. BTW - it was SUPER windy!!

We finished our time at the overlook and then headed back to the Visitor's Center. 

We pulled into Chimney Rock just as it closed. That actually worked out okay as we were on a hunt. Less people, the better!

We arrived in North Platte and found dinner. We drove around North Platte for a bit, looking for a few letterboxes. While at Cody Park, the kids got out and played on a brand new playground. It was wonderful to hear them laughing together and see them running around, having fun. It was completely dark out at this point but that didn't phase them! Matt had mentioned that he wanted to visit Golden Spike - Tower & Visitor Center, but it was now closed for the day. He wanted to see the tower as well as find a letterbox there. I suggested that we head out there to at least try to find the box. So glad that we did! It was definitely out of the way, but it was a beautiful summer night and it was neat to see the tower and museum all lit up at night. It helped that the letterbox was found too!

Our day was done. We made our way to the hotel and only took in what we needed since the next day would be all driving with no stops planned. 

We arrived home mid afternoon the next day (Day 12). What a wonderful trip! We drove 5,050 miles as we traveled through 10 states, visiting 13 National Parks/Monuments as well as a handful of State Parks. We were blessed with amazing weather the whole trip! The only rain we saw was the first night in Colorado and only overnight. It was hotter than planned a few of the days, but we were ok with that! We felt so fortunate that we were able to retrace our steps from some of our past trips and do things we didn't know that we'd ever get to do. We truly can't put in to words how blessed we are - to be able to travel (physically and financially (make those credit cards work in YOUR favor!)), to live in a country that has such incredible beauty and to be able to do all of this with our family. Blessed indeed!

Day 12 Favorites - 

Alex - Cody Park (North Platte) - playing at the park, playing games with siblings at Scottsbluff

Will - Racing Maddie at the rest area/beating her, helping the girls find their souvenirs at Rushmore, playing at the park in North Platte

Maddie - the park in North Platte, Grease sing-along in the van

Kaitee - Scottsbluff, the park in North Platte

Matt - Mt Rushmore

Becki - the 2 stops in North Platte and the hotel room (brand new)

Out West Trip 2021 - Day 10 (Billings to Spearfish)

Day 10 - Essentially, we were starting our drive home at this point in the trip. We still had lots to, but we were now heading southeast towards home. Seemed like the fun was just starting! As much as we cram in to our days (miles and stops), the kids are amazing troopers and we all really enjoy the "adventure" of the trip.

Day 10's itinerary included driving from Billings, MT to Spearfish, SD. 

Our first stop of the day was Pompeys Pillar in the town by the same name. Pompeys Pillar is a National Monument that was visited by William Clark (Lewis & Clark expedition) in July 1806. Clark named the rock tower "Pompys Tower" but it was later renamed Pompeys Pillar by Nicholas Biddle, who was the first editor of the Lewis & Clark journals. "Pomp" was the nickname given to Sacajawea's son, Jean Baptiste, by William Clark. 

On July 25, 1806, William Clark carved his signature and date on the sandstone rock. Today, this is the only site on their trail that has visible evidence of their expedition.

Matt came across this stop last spring as we planned our 2020 summer trip. We were pretty excited to stop and visit this amazing piece of history. Unfortunately, they closed their visitor center due to Covid and they had to close down the boardwalk because of rock slides. We had to scratch the stop from our trip in 2020. As we planned our 2021 trip, we knew that this stop was a "must". Unfortunately, every time that I looked at their website, the boardwalk was still closed due to repairs being made from the rock slides. I kept looking and nothing was changing...until 2 days before we left for our trip!! I was so excited to see that they had opened the Visitor Center AND the boardwalk! I texted Matt as soon as I read this and said, "Pompeys Pillar is OPEN and we get to go!!!". What a huge blessing!

We got an early start on our day. The grounds were open early (including the boardwalk) but the Visitor Center opened at 9am. We arrived around 8 and walked the grounds and boardwalk for an hour. 

From this point of view, we could see the box where William Clark's signature is encased. Unfortunately, it was really hard to see from the upper boardwalk (where Kaitee is standing in this picture). The park rangers told us that they don't have the lower boardwalk stabilized yet so they have to keep it closed. The lower boardwalk is the best view point for the signature. 

The Yellowstone River borders the rock.

We greeted one of the park rangers as we came down the stairs. We looked back once we reached the bottom and found Matt & Kaitee standing with the ranger - they stopped to ask a few questions and ended up chatting for a good 20 minutes. Matt had lots to share when we met up again! One of the things they discussed was the sensors that were placed all over the rock formation. Throughout the day, the sensors send a "ping" to the visitor's center, even if no movement. However, any movement of the rocks and another ping is sent. The second picture below shows one of the sensors.

We then headed into the Visitor's Center to read and learn about more about the area and Lewis & Clark's expedition. 

A replica of the signature on Pompeys Pillar

While walking around inside the center, the park ranger approached us to see if the kids wanted to do the Jr Ranger program. They all took a booklet, but Will was the only one who followed through and walked around, looking for answers. At times, it felt like we had a personal guide throughout the visitor's center. We could tell that this particular park ranger loved her job and really knew the history of Lewis & Clark's expedition. We joked that she was probably a retired teacher. She checked on Will a few times and helped him find the answers he was looking for. In the end, she was able to swear him in as a Jr Ranger and he received 2 pins as his reward (one pin was a Bureau of Land Mgmt pin, the other was a National Parks pin).

We got back to the van, got some snacks and water then hit the road for our next stop.

Our next stop - well, we weren't sure what that was going to be. Our initial agenda had us driving from Pompeys Pillar to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and then south to Spearfish, SD for the night. We discussed cutting the national park due to the long drive (it was 7 hours to our hotel - that didn't include a few hours within Roosevelt). It was a hard decision, we really didn't want to scrap it. However, we knew that it would be in our best interest to cut it from the agenda and re-route our day.

We discussed options of things to do, places to visit near Billings. We ultimately decided to head towards Spearfish and find some things to do around the Blackhills area. By changing our route, we saved 2.5 hours of drive time. 

We stopped a few times, looking for letterboxes. Matt drove us through Sheridan, WY showing us things he found when he spent a week there for work. It was a neat town. We also stopped at the Sheridan Travel & Tourism Center, off of I-90. Matt looked for a letterbox, the kids played at the playground and I used up the last of our bread for pb&j sandwiches for lunch. It was a great stop to let off some energy and refuel before hitting the road for a few more hours.  

As we drove towards Spearfish, I started to search for things to do around that area. We knew that we'd have a few hours to explore once we arrived. 

We decided to drive Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway. It was a great decision!

Our first stop was at Bridal Veil Falls - 

As we were getting in the van from Bridal Veil Falls, we heard some thunder off in the distance and the sky was pretty dark to the southeast. We continued south, making a few stops along the way for some scenic views.

We turned from Hwy 14 onto Roughlock Falls Road and stopped to view Roughlock Falls - which had multiple viewing points. 

We decided to drive a bit further along Roughlock Falls Road in hopes of seeing the Dances With Wolves filming location. We drove for a few minutes but decided to turn back around since we weren't sure how far up the site was. We assumed (since we turned around) that it was just around the next bend, haha!

Turned around and heading back to Hwy 14, we couldn't believe the vast amount of trees laying on the side of the canyon walls!

We continued driving along the Scenic Byway until we came to Hwy 85 (CanAm Hwy). Unfortunately, we had to wait quite a while for the pilot car to drive us through the construction zone. 

Arriving in Deadwood, we found a few letterboxes and then headed out of town to make one last stop at Mt Roosevelt Friendship Tower. The hike up the hillside wasn't bad but the mosquitos were starting to bite and the sun was quickly setting. We arrived at the top and enjoyed the beautiful view!

We arrived at the tower and I was thrilled to see that the tower was open! The girls looked at me as I started to climb the stairs and I said, "I came all the way up this mountain! I'm not going to chicken out now and miss out on the view!". That was huge for me. I don't like heights...nor stairs that take you to those heights! As you can see in this picture, it wasn't pretty, but I did it!

As we came down the mountain, back to our van, I fully realized that it was dusk - feeding time for wildlife. I also realized that it would be a great area for bears to hang out. SO, I started to sing - LOUD! I started out with the Barney song, only to realize that there was a young couple heading up the trail ahead of us. Yeah, mortified the girls! We all got a good laugh out of it after the couple passed by. Truly, I wanted to tell them "You're Welcome - I'm saving you from bears". But, I bit my tongue - until I started singing again a few minutes later. Luckily, no bears (or any wildlife for that matter).

We did see some beautiful flowers...

We finished our day by driving back into Spearfish for dinner and then looked for a quick letterbox (with no luck). The sky dazzled us with a spectacular sunset - the clouds were amazing!

While we hated scratching something from our itinerary, God blessed our decision. We really enjoyed the beauty of the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway. We saw some waterfalls & cascades, heard thunder and saw lightning, found some letterboxes, hiked Mt Roosevelt to Friendship Tower and ended our day with a breathtaking sunset. 

We checked into our hotel and the kids contemplated swimming - an outdoor pool. They decided not to swim since they were all pretty tired and ready for bed. 

Tomorrow would be another full day of driving and only a few stops (actually, make that the next 2 days!). We were all ready for bed. 

Day 10 Favorites -

Becki - Scenic Byway Drive, Roosevelt Tower

Matt - Pompeys (Visiting during the quiet of the morning), Sunset 

Kaitee - Sunset & Tower, Figuring out the "Pomp" in Pompeys Pillar!

Alex - Hiking to the tower, Driving around Blackhills area

Maddie - Scenic Byway Drive, Sunset, Dinner at Culvers

Will - Seeing all of the woodchucks & playing Ninja at Pompeys Pillar, Dinner at Culvers