Highlights/Lowlights

Day 1 - Corvallis, Oregon to Walla Walla, Washington

• We were able to spend time with my grandmother and other family. 

Day 2 - Walla Walla to Big Sky, Montana

• Our longest driving day but a beautiful day
• We arrive at our hotel and discover we've been upgraded to a 2-bdrm suite
• Sadly, Ben has a bout of croup and sits outside in front of our room in a chair wrapped in a blanket so he can breathe in the cool, night air. He gets so cold I bring him in to the shower room and run it. He falls asleep on the bathroom floor. No, I didn't bring his nebulizer. Of course.

Day 3 - Big Sky, Montana to Wapiti, Wyoming

Wapiti Lodge, Langthorne Suite

• We drove through Yellowstone with some brief stops for short hikes. We walked among the Fountain Paint Pots and hiked to views of the Upper and Lower Falls and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We saw bison and elk. 
• Ben did not feel well and did not want to get out of the car to see anything. We had a nice meal in the Canyon Lodge and he coughed the entire time, making the lady at the table next to us nervous. I didn't blame her.
• Another awesome lodging place about 30 miles from the East Yellowstone entrance. Wapiti Lodge was comfortable, big, (the picture does not show the room to the right with a bed nor the bed in the room you do see). A great breakfast here too. 

Day 4 - Wapiti, Wyoming to Custer, South Dakota

Shell Falls, WY

•  My mom gets sick, probably catching the adult form of Ben's croup. 
• We stop at Shell Falls in the beautiful drive from Cody to Sheridan and do a short hike. 
• I love the mountain states. 
• We check in to the Super 8 in Custer (picture not necessary), eat Quiznos and head to Mt. Rushmore for the evening lighting. It is an awesome show, with an emphasis on freedom and how four Presidents had to combat enemies of freedom. At the end all active and former military are asked to come forward and introduce themselves and then they lower the flag. There are easily 75 and they all state their name and branch of service. It was pretty awesome. 

Day 5 - Custer to Brandon, S. Dakota

Wall Drug

• I wake up with a headache but determine to fight through it. I do two loads of laundry while my mom and the kids swim. We get a late start and I'm in migraine mode by the time we get to Rapid City. I get Advil and Green Tea (which I noted helped my last migraine) and get a short nap while my mom drives and gets the kids McDs. Thankfully, this ranks as my shortest migraine ever and I'm feeling good enough to get out and enjoy Wall Drug.
• My mom discovers that Wall Drug has great prices and the friendliest people live in S. Dakota. She is generally impressed with the Midwestern attitude.
• We get to Sioux Falls, determined to find the Panera Bread for dinner. We drive around Sioux Falls for an hour...oh, to have a Smartphone. We get really hungry and then a downpour that makes driving difficult begins. We stop at Perkins. Not a good choice. We wait over an hour for our food because apparently an outdoor concert was rained out and everyone came to Perkins. Later we discover that our hotel is only 8 miles away and that there was a lot of food nearby. Our hotel is amazing; a Holiday Inn Express with a huge room and a waterpark.

Day 6 - Brandon to Madison, WI

Yep, my mom on the waterslide. I did it too.

• We take advantage of the opportunity for a late checkout and play in the waterpark. 
• We all feel so great afterwards that we go further than we had planned that night. 
• We stop in LaCrosse, WI for dinner and park time. We are pretty impressed to cross the Mississippi River and really excited that we might make it to Saginaw earlier than we had thought. 
• Another great hotel in Madison--big and more pool time the next morning. 

Day 7 - Madison to Saginaw Township, MI

• We drive through Chicago, with on and off traffic, a half dozen toll booths (easily $12 in tolls) and I was reminded that if you don't go 15 over in Chicago (when you can), you will get run off the road. 
• Exhausted and overwhelmed, I think how at least the Pilot has proven reliable. Within an hour, we hear a horrible banging and pull off to discover that the top back has cracked and the dole light is banging against the back window. We purchase duct tape and go on. 
• We enter Michigan! We celebrate. We get to our new home at night and we are all very happy see Mike!