The Big Float

Brea and Raevon spent their Sunday afternoon at Portland's Big Float.  Thousands of people got out their life jackets and floatation devices and floated across the Willamette River.  Our friends Kate, Mary and Dylan Darling, along with Becca and Leon also floated on the river. 

Check out this photo essay article from the Oregonian with a picture of Brea in it.  Second annual Big Float on the Willamette River in Portland (Photo Essay) | OregonLive.com

Big Man #3

Did I mention that we saw a third Muffler Man on the trip?  It's hard to tell, but this guy has a tire in his hand.  But it looks like a little toy!  He's on the sign for the Tire Factory store in Billings, MT.

Funny thing is, we were looking for Muffler Men, but I never looked up their locations, we just happened upon all three of these guys.  #1 and #2 were right off of the highways we were traveling, but this guy was on the outskirts of town in Billings and we never would have seen him if we weren't driving around in the middle of the night looking for an open gas station.

WE ARE HOME!

 

That's how we roll!

Although we still have lots of pictures and stories to share, we are officially home.  Sometime this week, each of us will be sharing our favorite photos and stories of the trip.   It was a great time, but it is so good to be home! 


Now that the trip is over and the pondering has begun, I'd like to ask you a few questions....

Crazy Horse, when will you be done?

Brea, is that water tasty?

Mr. Presidents, why so serious?

Wall Drug Cowboy Band, do you take requests?

Mom, could you tell me where Old Faithful is?

Corn Palace, It's 106 degrees, how close are you to turning into a town full of popcorn?

White Castle, what's all the hype about?  Did I order the wrong thing? 
I think only Meatball liked your burgers.



Yellowstone, why so many dead trees?

This is living

Stopped at the Silver Dollar Casino.  This place even has a pool.

Leaving Spokane

We will be home tonight!

Miners Hat is actually in Kellogg, ID.

Enchanted Highway

Well, as usual, we found something to get us super distracted.  The Enchanted Highway is full of giant metal sculptures made by a man who wants people to come into town.  He is working on a giant motorcycle, 105 feet.

This is Neubarth territory......

So, I guess we were going a little crazy out there at the lake.

Visitors center in Fargo, ND has the wood chipper from the Movie Fargo.  It has its own fan page.  Www.thewoodchipper.org

Is this what you think it is?

Oh yeah!  Worlds largest ball of twine!  It doesn't get more roadside than this.






This is the World's Largest Ball of Twine rolled by one man.  There are other larger balls, but they are being added to all the time by various people.  This was one man's work over 29 years!  That makes it much more legit!

Cousins

Today, by accident, we met Mom's cousins Dee and Charlie Lemke in Glencoe Minnesota.  Very sweet people that she hasn't seen in over 50 years.  They invited us in. Shared stories and took us on a tour of family land.  They also showed us around the local cemetery, where dozens of relatives are buried.  Fantastic people!  

We are on the way home

We have officially started to head back south.  We have a lot of driving ahead of us.  Are you ready to take a shift?

The mighty mississippi

Mom really wants to spit in it for some reason?!?!

Update: spitting accomplished!

White castle for lunch.

Yum.

Twins v Oriels

Bottom of the fourth.

UP DATE  Twins won  6-4!!!!

We just hit Minnesota. Their state bird is the mosquito! Time to slather on the bug spray.

2,000 miles!

2,000 miles down.  2,000 to go!

We hit two thousand miles just outside of Sioux, South Dakota. 

Big Man #2

We saw another muffler man in Rapid City, SD.  He was wearing a Harley belt buckle, and looks like a cowboy Burt Reynolds.  That's a gold mining pick in his hands.

Rapid City is like roadside attraction central.  We gotta come back here!

Crazy Horse ks crazy big!

All the faces of Mount Rushmore fit inside his face alone.   The face is done and they are now working on the horse.  The original sculptor, who started in 1948, has died, but his wife and 7 of their kids are working on it now.

Wish you were here......

To rub my bunyun.  It's killin' me.

Deadwood,sd

Wilma!!!!!

Inside the Gift Shop at Bedrock City!

Yeah today!

Yabba dabba doo.  Bedrock City, Flintstones Theme Park in Custer, South Dakota!!!  We had to have Brontosaurus Burgers at the Drive In.

What a Day!

Yesterday was quite a day!  Yellowstone and then about 10 hours of driving. 
More photos later.

Morning Camp

It was a wild night last night.  We had about 3 hours of thunder and lightning.  So much for a good nights sleep!

Fire

Along I-86  brush fire, but we only saw two firefighters.  Notice the black windmill.  It's almost like a Tim Burton movie.