Let's Take A Vacation!

A few years ago my Dad wanted to take us to Yellowstone for a family vacation. Since the kids were the ages of 5 and 3 at the time, I told Dad, "let's wait until they are old enough to remember it and not make me completely insane."  Can you imagine driving for days with two monkeys who would need your constant attention and who knows how many potty breaks?  Um....nope!

Dad got very sick last January and called me to come move him home.  My family and I made a whirlwind rush up to Missouri to get him packed up and moved. When we got him home, we all thought we wouldn't have him for long.  As the days, weeks and months progressed, with lots of love and good medical care from my cousin, Daniele and the VA, Dad's color and energy improved tremendously.  With that, brought the renewed desire for the family trip to Yellowstone National Park.  We began planning and saving and here it was!  Nine days, 11 states and almost 4,600 miles later, I will share with you, our great family vacation. Now, let me say, that even though I say "GREAT," that does not mean that there weren't some arguements and tears shed before it was over with, but it was SO worth every bit of it!

DAY 2...because DAY 1 was just driving half the evening to Fort Smith, Arkansas.  I was determined to not waste 5 precious driving hours after work on Friday, July 29th. DAY 2 consisted of driving from Fort Smith, Arkansas through Missouri up into Iowa. Guess what we saw....CORN!

 

And MORE corn...but look how pretty the fields were. Like a piece of art. The terraces were breathtaking and almost hard to believe.

As we drove, we started to notice fields that were flooded.  At first we didn't think much about it until we saw this...and it hit me!  The recent heavy rains we had had, caused the Army Corps of Enigneers to make the tough decision to break a levee on the Missouri River to save thousands of homes at the cost of a few hundred.  THIS is one of those farms...a few months later.  The Missouri is still out of its banks and you aren't getting acrossed it anytime soon...see below.

Awww crap! Detour to the next picture.

RAH-eally, THIS is the detour route? Can't be that bad...or maybe it can. Do you see the sign on the right side of the picture?

Ummm....???

Shhhhyeahhh!!!  20 foot dirt banks on both sides that include its own greenery...the friggin' tree roots!  Kinda looks like Indiana Jones stuff, huh? I'm still wondering WHY anyone would use this road for a detour route, but it sure did give us a laugh and a forever memory! Stay tuned to find out where we ended up 2 HOURS later...