July 2016, Idaho-Utah-Georgia, Day 13-14

Ahhhh. Indoor plumbing and coffee pots, How do I love thee?  The Residence Inn in Idaho, Falls cures what ails ya. A slow morning contributed to why we didn’t make it to Salt Lake City in time for the Tabernacle Organ Concert. The other Bullingtons could hardly be consoled when they learned that the organ concert was not to be. (Where is a sarcasm font when you need it?) 

But, we did make it to SLC just in time to learn that the entire state is celebrating “Pioneer Day”. Yay! Celebrations are my favorite! It just so happened that the entire state of Utah (or at least the LDS part) was partaking in a big party that commemorated the day that Brigham Young and his Posse’ of Mormon Pioneers made their way into Salt Lake Valley in 1847 and declared in the style of Little Orphan Annie, "I think I’m gonna like it here!"  Bring on the lemonade! And, great things awaited the family Bullington! I discovered this lovely little museum that featured many examples of Pioneer life from yore and yesteryear. And, other unusual items worth mentioning...

Model of a sugar factory fashioned from what? You guessed it! Could I get this in  the style of Splenda? Trying to watch the waistline.

FANCY!

She has a name. It's Mary Todd.

This was a weird stork with a "Frozen Charlotte" doll inside. Frozen Charlottes are typically used to depict death, but it's inside a stork so that says birth to me.  Maybe this was part of Pioneer Health Class???

I'll bet Knute was a hoot with his musical broom! I'm sure it was easy to get swept up in his performances.....

Dang Hilda. Way to be a bad ass. 

I learned about one handicraft known as the  “Hair Wreath”.  Yes, caller.  I said hair wreath.  Among 4 levels of Mormon Pioneer artifacts, the odds were ever in my favor because I discovered this special token of the early pioneers. You see, the Mormon pioneers made wreaths, out of their hair or a loved one's hair, or a friend's hair.  It is actually pretty astonishing when you look at the wreaths because they don’t look like hairbrush harvest. They are lovely and intricate. But, made of human hair.  



The Pioneer museum was a vast collection of handiworks that are fading from our culture. Intricate lace, quilt making, stitch work, antique clothing, and furniture. Plus a hearty offering of things that were a little more “unusual”.  I could have spent a whole day, but Mr. Bullington would’ve rather poked a pin in his eye than endured much more antiquity. We headed to Temple Square and although we'd missed the Pioneer Day Parade, there were lots of folks out and about. It was 103 degrees, (Don't worry it's a dry heat, brrrr!) so the kids enjoyed the water features and I enjoyed wandering in and out of stores.   

Pioneer Chic!

Before we returned the rental car, we had to get our luggage in order.  We rolled into a parking garage outside the Walmarts.

                 

We’d bought some things that we didn’t have room to fly home so I started making it rain in the parking deck. “Excuse me sir, would you like a role of paper towels?”, “ I see you have two girls, could I interest you in a couple of pink camp chairs?” Space is in high demand and I am 28 license plates richer,  plus that potato Christmas ornament. After returning the rental car we settled into the airport for dinner and to await our 11:59 flight. Taking the red-eye. See you next year!

Before I close this installment, I wanted to answer a few questions. Folks always ask us how we plan these adventures. It takes a lot of research online (which anyone can do),  But, I wanted to recommend one resource that we used a lot for this last trip and will be really helpful if you are traveling to National Parks and navigating the lodging options. Here is a link:  http://ww2.valdosta.edu/~dlscott/Scott

The author of this book was also the professor who encouraged Mr. Bullington to work in a National Park for a summer as a college kid.  They’ve reconnected because of this trip and I would propose that the step that got him out of his comfort zone was what made him the man he is today. #thankyourteachers

See you next Summer when we take on Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas!

July 2016, Wyoming, Idaho- Day 12

The sun rose over the Ponderosa Campground and all of the little braves fared well. I rose like an 80-year-old tribe elder who was down in the back. 

Do you see the gap betwixt the bottom of the tipi and the ground? Plenty of space for a critter. I guess our 11 days of road stank kept them at bay. 

We started getting packed up and we decided on a cooler clean-out breakfast buffet. I was able to provide a smorgasbord to the family Bullington! #suzyhomemaker Might I interest you in a festive array of pudding and/or jello cups, pizza Combos, peanuts, and cookies? We are also featuring a few, locally sourced from the Walmarts, week-old apples and oranges. #Sustainable 

Sorry Yaya, you're ours and we're yours! Bon Appetit!

Then, we grabbed some gas station coffee on our way to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

This museum is in partnership with the Smithsonian and was absolutely top-notch. It housed a huge gun exhibit, western art, Native American and early American artifacts. We even got to see Teddy Roosevelt’s favorite hunting rifle!

Roosevelt's saddle

This particular rug was a favorite locale for Teddy to stretch out in his Underoos after a long hunt.

Thomas Jefferson's Musket

How cute would this be in my purse?

       

  

Say Cheese!

Gravity's a B!^*%!

I always wondered how a melancholy moose wiped away a tear. #sniff
#termsofindermentgetsamooseeverytime

Didn't I sleep in you last night? So much for progress.....

One last stop for Mr. Bullington's daily fix of Huckleberry Ice Cream

Thomas warming up his new handcuffs that Ms. Nancy bought him with the spending money she provided.
Nice Waitress, There's a big tip in it for those who humor him.

We left Cody for Idaho Falls by way of Yellowstone, again. We basically had two route options heading south, we opted for one that would take us back through Yellowstone instead of a flat and monotonous section of Wyoming. I am so glad we did, because we saw a Grizzly and her yearling! A Grizzly Bear was one of the only animals we hadn’t yet spotted so it was pretty exciting! And real exciting when you are a critter junkie!

And less exciting if you are asleep and handcuffed in the car. He did it to himself. Don't call DFACS!

We passed through Rigby, Idaho, the birthplace of television! What is TV, again?

We arrived in Idaho Springs right before I was about to pinch someone real hard at the nape of the neck for noncompliance. The little ones are getting on my last nerve.  And, that is something Mr. Bullington can agree on, so incidentally, we are getting along swimmingly! There must have been some heavenly intervention because we are staying in a great hotel tonight with enough room for everyone to spread out. There is also our first TV in two weeks! The excitement was palpable. We have a view of the falls and it’s located right on the “green line” which is very nice walking trail along the river. We located a restaurant just far enough away to let the kiddos express their energy. Cartwheels have been a thing this trip. Where there is grass, there are cartwheels. Thomas did 24 in a row on the way to dinner. That is some energy that needed expending!  

Cartwheeling!

Some Huckleberry Sangria and a good dinner was just we needed. We Love Idaho Falls!
              

July 2016, Wyoming, Day 11

Day 11

There are three things between Great Falls, Wyoming and Battle of Little Bighorn National Battlefield monument. They are, in no particular order,  grass, wind, and casinos. However, our most recent book on tape about the medical care provided to the wounded soldiers at the Battle of Little Bighorn put the kids straight to sleep!  We toured Little Bighorn and learned how not to conduct an attack on a bunch of ticked off Natives. I think I'll call it Custer’s cluster.

                                                    

It was about a 3-hour drive to Cody, Wyoming. We got there just in time for the Shoot-out!  We’d reserved our seats and had a front row viewing of the street spectacle. 

Buffalo Bill et al

Pow! Pow!

                                    

It was totally hokey and Miss Kitty was a little long in the tooth, but there was shooting, so it quickly became the trip favorite of Thomakazi. 

Their idea, not mine. 

The shootout takes place in front of the Historic Erma Hotel that was opened in 1902 and named after Buffalo Bill Cody’s youngest daughter. I am sure it was a legitimate cowboy hang out back in the day. But, now a days it is home to lots of tourists. 

We couldn't resist the signs that lead us down a side street to the Cody Dug Up Guns Museum. Up a narrow stairwell we discovered quite a collection of stuff that people have dug up, mostly guns but also other implements of destruction. 

      

They were displayed in little dirt filled dioramas so that you wouldn't forget they'd been dug up. It was quite a collection of dug up guns from the Revolutionary War up through WWII. If you've dug up a gun and don't know what to do with it, they are currently taking your dug up donations!

Next, we had to check into our lodging for the night. Now, I LOVE A THEME! And,  I thought we could continue the day’s theme of Native American domination by making everyone sleep in a tipi!  I had reserved it in advance but I didn’t know too much about it other than it was a part of the Ponderosa Campground outside of Cody. We discovered when we got there that while it was a real tipi, it sat along side a busy road next the Dairy Queen, so not exactly like sleeping in a Native American village. But, easy access to an Oreo Blizzard made sleeping on the ground a little easier!

Young braves settle into their humble dwelling place

We observed that the floor of our tipi was covered with a substance that I liken to kitty litter. We made the executive decision to purchase a tarp large enough to cover the floor of the tipi so that our stuff wouldn’t get all dusty with Fresh Step.  My chief concern at this point is that there is at least 6 inches of space between the ground and the bottom of the tipi. If I wake up nose to nose with a critter, I might faint.

 

Did you know that Cody Wyoming is the Rodeo Capital of the World?  Well it is! 

The kids had never been to a rodeo so we thought this would be the perfect place for their first!  It was definitely a highlight of the trip! Everyone loved it and the head rodeo clown was from Toccoa, Georgia! Excellent people watching was on tap and the all three kids participated in the "round up" Where they had to chase a calf around the arena trying to retrieve a flag from a its tail! It was a hoot! And, the city kids were at at a clear disadvantage.

Time to go sleep in a Tipi!