Chicago

Building with real tools at the DuPage Children's Museum


Adam, Ben and Uncle Rollie in Chicago

Lake Michigan

The Field Museum

Sue, the largest T. Rex skeleton in the world. It is the real thing except for the head which is in a separate exhibit upstairs.

Believe it or not, this is a Giant Ground Sloth.

The Water Taxi for Lake Michigan

View of the city from Lake Michigan

Travelling the Chicago River

View of the city from the river

View of the Sears Tower from the river. This is the tallest building in North America

We finally arrived in Naperville after 4000+ miles and 6 weeks of our Grand Adventure. Our first day we visited the DuPage Children's Museum in Naperville where the boys got to build using real tools (including a saw!) The adventure continued with a visit to Uncle Rollie in Chicago. As he has lived here close to 40 years, he was the perfect tour guide. We ended up taking public transportation because as we learned on our trip the journey is as much fun as the end point. We took a city bus, a train, a subway and our feet just to get to The Field Museum where there was an entire room of Dinosaurs. We got to go into a real Egyptian tomb and saw all sorts of mummies. We also visited the Pacific Islands in honor of Ben's love of all things Australian. There was a special Pirate exhibit, but we decided to save that for another day. We then took a water taxi on Lake Michigan to Navy Pier where we hopped on another water taxi for a trip on the Chicago River right through downtown. To top it all off, we took the Elevated Train and another bus to return to Uncle Rollie's. It was a great way to see the city which is going to take quite a bit of time to explore.

Spam and Wisconsin Dells

Trying to beat the clock while in the Spam production line

Ben riding across a tightrope at the Tommy Bartlett
Exploratory at the Wisconsin Dells

Look, no hands!!

Ben in a spacesuit as we got to go inside the actual Mir Space Station

As we drove through the Northern Plains States, it became a little more challenging to find places to stop. We visited the Information Center in Minnesota and they recommended the Spam Museum in the town of Austin. As they had a picture of Big Foot holding a can of Spam on the flyer, the boys decided they had to see it. While we did not find Big Foot, we did have a great experience at a totally interactive museum. Adam even tried the turkey Spam that was being served and said it was pretty good. The boys got to see how many cans of spam they could pack and cook and also found out what goes into making some of their favorite foods like bacon. There was even an exhibit where famous chefs showed how to make their favorite Spam recipes. To take a further step back in time, we stopped at a drive-in A & W that hooks the tray on the car window. We even got to meet the 90+ year old owner who came to chat after seeing our California license plate.

In Wisconsin, we spent the night in the Wisconsin Dells. I had always heard of the Dells but never knew what it was about. It is actually cliffs and rock formations that are cut out by the Wisconsin River. That being said, the true claim to fame is Noah's Ark the largest water park in the world coupled with 20+ other water parks and a million kid activities. I found out the best way to torture your kids is to take them to a place like the Dells and show them all the places you can't take them by yourself. There was no way I could take the boys to these huge water parks alone. We did, however, find a great hands on exploratory that even had one of the two original Mir Space Shuttles. The boys now want to visit Egypt, Australia, Hawaii and the Wisconsin Dells (with another adult!)

Corn, Corn and More Corn

He finally gets to touch the corn!

I know Adam is in there somewhere, because I can see the yellow SpongeBob crocs. Can you see him?

Had I known that Adam would be so crazy for corn, I would have stopped at the Corn Palace. As it was, we bypassed this South Dakota tourist spot as Mom was very tired of looking at cornfield after cornfield after… Adam, however, was very persistent about walking in a cornfield and yelled for me to stop every time he saw one (believe me, that was a lot of yelling). I finally took a detour into Iowa on a two-lane road, so the boys could say they had been there. I pulled over into a cornfield and let Adam walk inside. I have made a solemn promise that we will stop at a corn stand in Illinois and get fresh corn as soon as it is harvested. It better be soon or I will never hear the end of it.

The Badlands

This Big Horn Sheep crossed the road right in front of our car

Adam's experiment - Part I

Adam's Experiment - Part II

Adam's Experiment - Part III "The Clay Ball"

Climbing yet again - they just can't help themselves

No trip to South Dakota would be complete without seeing the Badlands. They were truly bad for me as I got a speeding ticket trying to get Ben to the bathroom! Oh well, for 3000+ miles of driving, I guess that isn’t so bad. The Badlands got their name from early visitors. The Lakota Indians called the area “mako sika” and the Spanish called it malpais both literally meaning bad land. The French trappers also called it "les mauvaises terres à traverser" - "the bad lands to cross". After visiting the area, I can see how it got its name. The ground literally falls away under your feet and is like dry clay. Adam, ever the experimenter, decided to see what would happen if he poured water on the dirt. It did actually turn to a thick clay-like material. Having been to a few National Parks lately, we also noticed that the Badlands looked a little like the Painted Desert because of the different colored layers. It also has a resemblance to Bryce Canyon because of the hoodoos. All in all, it was a very interesting place.

Bear USA

Reindeer

Arctic Wolves

Rocky Mt. Goat

Big Horn Sheep

Black Bear taking a bath

This bear was right outside my car window but the kids wouldn't let me open it to get a better shot. Go figure!

I found out it does actually pay off to read the AAA tourbook to the boys every night as we find out about things we never would have known were there (it also puts them to sleep like nobody's business). We found out about the largest privately owned collection of wildlife called Bear USA. You get to drive around in the car while the animals roam free. While it is not the same as seeing the animals in the wild, it was still very cool. A bear was literally right outside my car door and another one went right beside Adam's door. The pictures are a little fuzzy as I had to shoot through my window (I tried to roll it down but the backseat passengers got a little upset). We also decided to stay an extra night in town at Rapid City, South Dakota as there was another water park at the hotel. Rapid City ended up being a jewel of a town. In honor of nearby Mt. Rushmore, they have bronze stautes of all 44 US Presidents sitting or standing on their street corners. We had a great time trying to figure out who they were and the boys got a great lesson in US history. The boys also played chess in a very chic coffee shop and there was even an organic health food store. I can see why tourism is the number two industry in South Dakota (I have no idea what number one is).

The Black Hills of South Dakota

Main Street in Deadwood, South Dakota

The Black Hills of South Dakota

Ben with Mt. Rushmore in the background

The Hall of Flags as you approach Mt. Rushmore

We finally made our way to South Dakota after saying goodbye to the Tetons in the distance. Shortly after crossing the border from Wyoming, we came upon the Black Hills. They actually look black from a distance and are the home to many historic sites. We first visited the town of Deadwood where Wild Bill Hickock lived and died. He was a sharpshooter and scout who could reportedly shoot two guns simultaneously from his hips and hit dead on without aiming. He was killed by James McCall in Deadwood and is buried in the local cemetery. Calamity Jane also is buried in the same cemetery. The entire town of Deadwood is a historical site. In 1989, the town legalized gambling and used part of the proceeds to renovate the town. It is absolutely beautifully restored and one of several towns filled with gold rush history. It was General Custer who reported the presence of gold in the Black Hills that was actually on the Lakota Reservation. This led to a gold rush that pushed the Lakotas from their land. Many made their fortune here including the original Hearst. You can still visit some of the old mines and caves abound.

Within the Black Hills lies one of the most amazing National Monuments - Mt. Rushmore. I know it is sappy, but tears actually came to my eyes when I first saw the amazing visages. I still don't know how Gutzon Borglum pulled off this artistic feat. Between 1927 and 1941, Borglum and 400 workers carved the 60 foot carvings of 4 former Presidents. The Presidents were chosen to record the first 150 years of American history. George Washington was chosen because he helped form the Union. Thomas Jefferson because he drafted the Declaration of Independence and expanded the US with the Louisiana Purchase. Abraham Lincoln because he preserved the country during the Civil War. Teddy Roosevelt for expanding the country with the Panama Canal and preserving our natural resources. It is quite an impressive site and truly unique among the National Monuments we have seen in the West.

Little Big Horn

An American Indian teepee. We found out that a teepee is made from canvas or skins while a wigwam is just made from sticks.

The hill of Custer's Last Stand

Tombstones marking where the soldiers actually fell in battle

The Memorial under which 200+ soldiers are buried

The Memorial for the fallen American Indians

Custer National Cemetary

On day two of our trip east, we stopped to see the Little Big Horn National Monument. This is where General Custer and the 7th Cavalry was defeated by the Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians near the Little Big Horn River in 1876. It did not do the American Indians much good, however, as they still ended up on the reservations. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were among the Indian warriors. This is a very special site for a number of reasons. It is the only battlefield in the Western Hemisphere that has markers placed where the soldiers actually fell in battle. Evenutally they removed the bodies and buried them in a mass grave underneath the Memorial except for the officers who were buried in other graveyards. General Custer's final burial site is at West Point. There is also a Memorial for the fallen American Indians and their graves are marked with red granite markers. Nearby is Custer National Cemetary that is the final resting place for 5000 veterans.