We have been home from vacation for less than 48 hours and it already feels like a memory.
We had such an amazing time. The kids kept their a**hole level at a 3 vs. their ususal 5-6. I am greatful for that. We had a LONG plane ride to Denver and were exhausted when we arrived. We were staying with my aunt and uncle for a few days which was AMAZING. Seriously, I ALWAYS am hosting and I never get hosted.
They laid out a shrimp cocktail and cheese and crackers and we sat on the back porch that overlooked the mountains. The temperature was perfect - a relief from the oppressively hot and humid South Carolina air. We had originally planned to stay close and hike the following day but when my husband found out that the Stanley Hotel was just an hour and a half away, we had to change plans. He was like a kid in a candy store. "Come on, we have to go. It's on MY bucket list. When will we ever get to go again?"
The next morning they made us a delicious hot breakfast and we headed out to the Stanley. The ride over there was breathtaking. We parked the car and walked up the hill to the hotel. It was a beautiful historic building.
My children were on the lookout for ghosts, stongly encouraged by my husband. We walked up the front steps and into the lobby, which was bustling with tourists. There were old fashioned keys hanging on the wall behind check-in. On both sides of the staircase were large stone fireplaces with fires burning. I sat in one of the oversized leather chairs and took it all in while the children oohhed and ahhhed at an antique motorcoach that was displayed by the door.
We went to book a tour but were informed that the tours were all sold out. Not a problem, we could do a self guided and explore the grounds. I made a reservation at the restauraunt there. But it was a problem - for my 9 year old. She sulked, crossed her arms and acted completely pissed off at us. "What do you want us to do? The tours are sold out."
"You should have planned ahead."
"We made a spur of the moment decision to come. Let's just look around."
"I hate you."
Worst parents ever. That's us. Her attitude had come around by lunchtime. They sat us at a table by the window overlooking the fountain outside. We opened the menus and parused the options. My 9 year old said, "I would like to have the meatloaf."
I am not kidding you it was $26 for a slice of meatloaf. It had elk and bison in it. Now, I realize that we were on vacation but there is no was in hell that I was willing to spend more than a quarter of a hundred dollars for a slice of meatloaf for a child.
"Okay guys, the rule is keep it under $20."
I think that is reasonable. She was pissed off all over again. She didn't protest too much, thankfully. She ordered a bacon cheeseburger. My 11 year old opted for the mushroom risotto. That was like $18. My kids can't be normal kids and eat chicken fingers. They think they were born to Beyonce and Jay-Z. Sorry guys.
After lunch we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park which was amazing. We hiked up to Alberta Falls. My little one was so excited. A little too excited. I feared for her safety. At one point we got to a gorge that the water was rushing through and she was right at the edge trying to hang off.
I yelled for her to stop. "Mom, I can't SEE. I'm fine." I was about to have a panic attack. She was agitated and I was careful not to make any sudden moves. If I got to close or tried to grab her she would have recoiled and wheeeeeeeeeeee straight into the gorge. It became a hostage situation. "I'm going to need you to slowly come away from the edge...." Even my 11 year old was having a freak out about it.
I finally convinced her not to hang off of the edge of the gorge. I reprimanded her. "I would like for all of us to leave the park ALIVE today please." I vowed to NEVER take her to the Grand Canyon. Never. That would be too stressful. I'd stoke out.
We finally made it to the top of the falls. It was byond beautiful. We could feel the spray of the falls on our faces. We had made it! We hiked the mile back to Bear Lake. Breath taking. It was a real life screen saver.
There were mounds of snow all around and the kids got a kick out of playing in it and throwing snowballs at each other. "Look, mom. It's snow in JUNE!" We saw a bride getting her pictures taking and we oohhhed and ahhhed over her. My husband leaned into me and whispered, "Who wants to get married? Stupid." I grinned back at him. "Dumb asses, for sure."
The next day we drove up to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore. We drove through Wyoming which was gorgeous. We expected Clint Eastwood and a band of horses to just show up. The Marlboro Man definately lived there. It was so desolate. Miles and miles of nothing but land.
After a few hours we were all hungry and had to use the bathroom. "Okay, we're going to stop at the next place. Look, Lost Springs is coming up in 30 miles. We'll stop there." We drove 30 miles and saw a few run down houses scattered about. A huge sign read: Lost Springs Population: 4. "Okay, we are not stopping here."
We finally reached a little town called Lusk. We got out of the car and the air smelled like wood. People had cowboy boots and hats on. We'd made it to the west. We had lunch and then my 11 year old begged us to explore the local antique store. You know, because normal 11 year olds are into antiquing.
We got back in the car and listened to the local radio. They were talking about the High School Rodeo teams. Yes -high schools have competitve rodeo athletes in Wyoming. Screw Friday night football games, they do rodeos in the the wild wild west.
We drove two more hours to Mount Rushmore and 5 miles before we reached the monument it stated POURING down rain. I was so disappointed. We changed our plans and decided to go to the hotel first and to Rushmore in the evening. I reserved a room at a hotel right at the bottom of the mountain. All the hotels/motels there were little mom and pop type establishments.
We checked in and went to our room and my kids were very confused. "This is not like the Double Tree, mom."
It was a little outdated but clean and smelled good, so I didn't have a problem. We waited out the rain and when it finally stopped we went to the downtown area to have dinner. We ate at this really cool, kind of creepy Victorian restauraunt. Then we had icecream and window shopped.
The rain had cleared completely now and we went to see Mount Rushmore. They were having a lighting ceremony so it was great timing. I was super excited. As you walk up to the monument they have all the state flags. We searched for the flags of the places we have lived, and for South Carolina. We walked up and admired the presidents staring out at us.
We got a few good pictures and then suddenly a fog rolled in and completely obliterated the view of the monument. It was so dense that we were standing directly in front of it and could not make out the faces. Boo. The fog lifted right before the ceremony but it began to drizzle. We sat in the drizzle which then turned to rain. When they lit up the monument, the marble was wet. It looked like Washington was crying and Jefferson had booger-nose.
In spite of the rain, the ceremony continued. They played the national anthem and hundreds of us stood together, in the rain and sang along. It was super American. I loved it. America-I'm a fan.
We were freezing cold and wet when we checked back into our no-name hotel. We didn't care though. We were having a wild west adventure.
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