Sorry!

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the lack of posts...we have truly been in the wilderness and have had no cell phone or internet coverage. We really have had an adventure and I am catching up for lost time!! I apologize ahead of time for the length of this post. It is crazy how hard it is to remember everything that has happened as we experience so much in just one day!

Since our last post, which Curtis briefly wrote, we made it through an intense hailstorm up a winding mountain to our KOA campsite’ in Mt. Rushmore where we spent 2 nights. The guys were setting up camp in the middle of a thunderstorm while us moms and younger kids waited (and prayed!) in our vans. Soon after, the weather broke and the Lord gave us a double rainbow…it was so vivid and a gentle reminder that His promises never fail. After setting up our trailers we ate separately as families and went to bed early. The next day, we had a wonderful time touring Mt. Rushmore (which is a phenomenal monument!) and Custer National Park where we saw bison, prairie dogs, a lone coyote, and wild burros. We even got out of the car to play in what looked like snow but was actually remnants of the hail storm the night before….tons of hail pellets! Strange to be playing in white stuff in mid June!! Little did we know that this was a precursor of the days to come….

The following day, we packed up and headed from Mt.Rushmore to Yellowstone, and God showed His favor to us yet again. We were driving through a sleepy Wyoming town on the way to Yellowstone and traveling above the speed limit which had just changed as we entered the town limits.. We were pulled over by the Chief of Police! Felicia was in our car and wanted to know if we were going to jail:) Thankfully, the officer was a gentle and humble man and while he was talking to Mark, Jim called to see where we were. The officer heard me explain to Jim what had happened and realized we were with another family. After running Mark’s info through the computer he came back to the window and said,” I can see you are a nice family and I’m going to let you go with a warning.” He then asked where we were headed and offered directions and advice regarding what to see and do. Mark and I both think he saw our adoption license plate and homeschool magnet and the 4 Liberians who happened to be with us at that moment. Ultimately, the Lord used this kind hearted officer to show us underserved mercy and we are so grateful!! Since leaving Mt. Rushmore, we have been in Yellowstone. It really is difficult to put into words the varied beauty as we drive through the country... we have driven on amazing switchback mountain passes and have been in awe of God's creativity as landforms change before our eyes. Seeing snow capped peaks in the distance and then driving through those high peaks on winding mountain roads was unbelievable and a bit unnerving! We have seen a bazillion bison with their 'red dogs' (calves)...sometimes a bit too close for comfort right next to our car on the side of the road! Within moments of entering Yellowstone, we saw big horned sheep and a grizzly bear along the side of the road-that was such a gift from the Lord as we have not seen any since then!
We have had some major heart adjustments as the weather has not been what we anticipated. Camping in Yellowstone is much more rustic than at a KOA. There is no electricity hookup and the water in the bathrooms and clean up kitchen sink is glacier cold (this is no exaggeration!) Our site' in Yellowstone was surrounded by a large snowdrift~ our picnic table and fire ring were no where to be seen since they were buried under the snow. They were unable to situate us next to the Kachs due to the snow which was still covering many campsites’. We drove around and found a few other closer options, went back to the camp office to request one of those but were ultimately unable to switch. After seeing the grizzly alongside of the road, and reading the literature they gave us as we entered the park, we took seriously the bear warnings. Not only did we need to remove every food and personal hygiene item from the camper, but we needed to move pots. pans, plates etc too. Needless to say, it was not anticipated and we went to bed late and without dinner since we were all exhausted and so cold. After a restless night sleeping due to the cold, our wise husbands decided to treat the families to a hot breakfast in the heated lodge. That was a huge blessing to all but especially to us moms who would have been preparing food in the freezing temperatures. We all were so thankful for warm water to wash our hands in the bathroom of the lodge! After breakfast, we toured the Upper and Lower Yellowstone falls…it was beautiful. A highlight for Karen, Mark and I was taking a HOT $3.33 shower and doing many loads of laundry in a warm building. Jim held down the fort with the others around a campfire by their site'...it actually snowed that night (with minimal accumulation). After 2 nights of literally freezing (wearing multiple layers and coats, hat, gloves to bed), we decided to pack it up and move to a lower elevation! So, after visiting the hot springs and Old Faithful (also amazing!!) we made our way to the KOA we stayed at in West Yellowstone, Montana until Sunday morning.
It has an indoor pool and most of the younger kids made friends at the park and basketball court. Today (Saturday), we took another day trip into Yellowstone to finish viewing the wildlife in an area we had not yet seen. We were stuck in several traffic jams due to unpredictable bison! We saw hundreds today with their “red dogs’ as they lumbered across the road, sometimes walking the yellow line. We’ve become so accustomed to their presence in the park, that there are moans of disappointment in the car when we see lines of vehicles pulled over to watch the wildlife., and we realize it’s ‘just more bison’! We were not disappointed today though when we did see a crowd gathered at the side of the road to watch 3 playful badgers. They were creating quite a stir as evidenced by the crowd and tons of huge professional looking cameras! Then on the last leg of our trip home, we were a bit disappointed we had not seen any bear or elk, we saw another crowd gathered. We realized what they were viewing and pulled off quickly to get our own pictures of a bald eagle perched upon a bare tree. We also saw it’s huge nest in the distance. I have never seen one in the wild before and it was a spectacular sight!

Onto the pictures.....

Our "Alpha female" in the Badlands~ At Mt.Rushmore, the kids wanted to become Junior Rangers and they had to ask a Park Ranger some questions to earn their badge...Mercy boldly approached one and basically just said hello,when he stated," I can see she is the Alpha female in this bunch" We all got quite a chuckle out of that comment!

The kiddos in the Badlands...

Exploring the amazing Badlands...

'Shopping' in Wall Drug :)

A reminder from the Lord~

Even seeing a man made monument brings glory to God... it is amazing how this was constructed!

Hmmm...future visionaries?

The Kachs~

Mt Rushmore during the lighting ceremonies...a thunderstorm had just blown through so it was cold and wet but it was moving at the end of the program they invited all present and former members of the Armed Forces up on the stage as the flag was lowered. I also learned of a major gap in our homeschooling...my kiddos did not know the words to the Pledge of Allegiance as it was recited by a Boy Scouts Troop and all of the audience (except certain members of our row!) participated! Bad Mommy!!

The wild burros in Custer~ These are actually descended from burros used in a family business which eventually folded. They set the burros into the wild and they have become quite prolific!

Remnants of the hailstorm we weathered as we traveled up the mountain to the KOA...when the kids got outr of the car to play in it, a passerbvy said," Haven't you ever seen snow before??"....well yes, but not in mid-June and it wasn't snow but mounds of these pellets :)

So this should have clued us in as we traveled to Yellowstone...this sign was posted at a gas station along the way!

Lunch at a McDonalds...we saw a real live cowboy...complete with Stetson hat, blue jeans , and cowboy boots with spurs!

Of course I could not miss an opportunity to document this event...I took this picture of the police officer pulling us over through my rear view mirror~

The view as we groove towards Yellowstone!

Breathtaking!

You can't really appreciate how high up we are in this picture or the crazy switchbacks in the BigHorn National Forest as we traveled to get over this mountain pass!

Yikes!

Such stark beauty!

After climbing the mountain and making our way down, braking almost continuously, we smelled something burning...Jim and Mark discovered a piece of the brakes hanging down which had been rubbing on both wheels ~ Evidently it had not been reattached when we had our van serviced the previous week.

I wasn't kidding...it was COLD!!!

A waterfall off the side of the rock as we drove to the entrance of Yellowstone~

I'll end here and add some new pictures from our entry to Yellowstone :)

In awe of His creation!!

Kathi for the gang