Days three and four had some very long drives with a few stops along the way. The first was Dinosaur State Monument where the kids were able to touch real dinosaur bones and find them along their hike. 

The building at the top of the mountain that we took the shuttle up to and hik d back down was built into one of the mountains masses with the inside face of it chiseled away to reveal the collection of fossils below. One hundred fifty million years ago there was a flash flood which washed them down till they stopped at an impediment. Here is where they stayed till the droughts came and they were buried under dirt which is why there’s such a large collection of fossils in this area. 

Finding fossils along the hike back down.  

And some junior spelunking too. 

The next day we swans by the Univesity of Wyoming which is where their grandfather went. He kids have grown up with him singing the fight song to them as a lullaby and they know it from heart and were proud to sing it in their newly acquired Wyoming Cowboy’s gear. 

If you don’t see the video below, click on the following link. 

Wyoming Fight Song - ‘18

That night we drove towards Mount Rushmore but didn’t go see it till the next day. Instead we spent the night under the stars. Us in the main tent and the kids got the tee pee all to themselves.

Leave it up to Ashlyn to have the first problem with getting her hair stuck in the zipper. 

Although we didn’t go to the park yet, we could see the Moun Rushmore from last he community area at the camp. Zoom in and you can see the presidents in the background. 

We sat around while the sun set, met fellow travelers, and watched the kids make and devour the never ending s’mores that were constantly being brought out to the fire while we waited for the monument to be lit up in the distance. 

Once they turned in for the night we didn’t see them till morning’s light as they had their own little party going on inside their tent.  They eventually fell asleep to the sound of a gentle breeze filled with fresh air.