And Back to Vacation! Day 14: Caves, Mammoths, and an Interesting Walk

Hi, guest blogger Gabby at the keys again!

Day 14 began with a yummy breakfast of pancakes and apple cider. We ate rather hurriedly, and were in the van by 8:45 am...we are legit at this vacation thing! And we weren't even driving home! We were off to Wind Caves National Park on the early morning tour. 

As we exited our cabin, we saw about 10 deer playing outside on our lawn. Two of them (a little buck and a much bigger buck) started butting heads at one point, but the little buck was quickly vanquished.

That wasn't the only wildlife we saw that day! As we drove toward our destination, we passed through the actual National Park of Wind Caves National Park. Rolling prairie spread out around us as we searched for wildlife. Pronghorn, prairie dogs, and bison were everywhere! There was even one big bison in the road...nature at its closest!


Pronghorn deer on a distant hill (they didn't seem so distant in person :)


(There's a bonus animal in this picture, eating grasses with the big bison . . . do you see it? Hint: he's small, furry, and super cute :)

After skirting the bison, we found our destination. Mom ran inside the ranger station to see if there were any tickets available for the 9:30 tour. She was told there were, however they were selling out fast. We were able to get on the tour, and met our guide outside in a gazebo. 




Our group was huge...about 30 folks! We followed the Ranger (our guide) to a circle of rock about the size of a well, that had a little opening in it. The Ranger that it was the only natural, man-sized hole into the cave. We were all wondering how a man could fit inside, or if we were going to have to fit inside. (We didn't have to:) There was a little (air-lock) room all 30 of us had to squeeze into, then we followed our Ranger into the cave in a single file line...for the most part;)

The Ranger explained a lot of the cool rock formations and how they came to be there, before stopping us underneath a high ceiling of rock. He pointed his flashlight at the roof and asked what the formations reminded us of. Some said railways, Brennen said bacon, and someone said post-office boxes. The Ranger agreed with him and said they were called box-work because the person who discovered them also thought they looked like post-office boxes. (Mom note: "Guess I should have brought my postcards into the cave under the Earth. I can't seem to find any place to mail them up on the surface!" I guess that cave-naming explorer had mailing postcards on his mind too. Seriously, where are all the blue boxes?! :)




We continued on, stopping every now and then to have some formations explained to us. (Mom note: there are no stalactites or stalagmites in this cave; there is too much filtration in the earth above it to leave any mineral deposits in the very small amount of water that does manage to drip down to the lower levels. Also, this was one of the tightest, narrowest, and most claustrophobic-feeling caves we've been in . . . next time, we're back on the Jeeps :) Then, once we were in a big room, the Ranger turned off the lights and showed us cave darkness. Then he ignited a lighter to show how much light the first explorer had. This explorer's name was Alvin McDonald and he was 17 years old. His family built their house over a hole they blasted and gave tours of the cave. Pretty smart! (Mom note: Eventually an ownership dispute led to this cave basically being confiscated by the National Park Service, and it became the first official National Cave and cave tour in America. This is why we don't fight with our friends over tourist attractions built into our houses. A lesson for us all. lol :)









We travelled down hundreds of steps in our cave exploration and none of us were excited for the climb back up. However...Score! They put in an elevator! 10 second ride up, and no sore legs afterward!

We weren't finished at Wind Cave though...the Junior Ranger Program was calling Graysen's name! As he worked on his book, we wandered through a spelunking museum and browsed in a gift shop.  While we were in the gift shop, Dad saw some cute Bison stuffed animals and looked closer. The tag said "Adopt a Bison!" We read closer. If you buy one of the stuffed animals, money will go to support a baby bison. We thought it was cool, so we grabbed one as a thank-you to our neighbors who watched all of our pets while we were away. 







Graysen completed his Junior Ranger booklet, so he got sworn-in by our tour guide. After receiving all the gear given when becoming a Junior Ranger, we went back to our van and drove back to the cabin to make sandwiches. 

When our sandwiches had been consumed, we headed out again, this time to the Mammoth Site. The Mammoth Site is a big hill in the center of Hot Springs that was once a sink hole. The water inside the sink hole was warm and vegetation grew along the outside, so the mammoths wanted to eat the plants and get warm. However, the sides of the sink hole were so slippery that when the mammoths went to eat, they fell in and could not get back out. Eventually they would die of exhaustion and were covered with sediment. The hill that eventually formed over the mammoth bones was considered an eyesore and the town began to bulldoze it. Someone noticed the bones sticking out and the bulldozing was stopped. The people at Mammoth Site have been excavating ever since.









We learned all of this on a tour we were a part of. There were some pretty bad mammoth jokes, and the names of some of the skeletons were amusing. There was Napoleon Bone-Apart since the skeleton's bones are so twisted up. And there was a mammoth they kept calling Murry. We were told that its original name was Marie Antoinette since its head was separated from its body. However, they discovered that it was actually a male mammoth. So they changed the name to from Marie to Murry :)

Mammoth Bones weren't the only bones the excavators found however. They also found the bones of a Giant Short-Faced bear. It's the largest bear in the pictures and the scratch marks on the pole is how high it could reach...that was not a short pole. 

We wandered through a museum that talked about all the skeletons and such that had been found on site, then went down an elevator to the analyzation and preservation lab. There was no one working that day, so we went back into the elevator and left the building. 



An entire hut built of mammoth bones and (simulated) hide! Can you see the mysterious inhabitant inside? :)




Look how strong he is since surgery! Muscle man!! (This is "mom" again, btw . . . and really that "bone" is a model and only weighs about one pound; can't have anybody breaking post-op restrictions! Funny how your brain immediately thinks how heavy it must be!)











When we got back to the cabin, we decided to go explore the town for a bit. We skirted the deer that were continually popping up and followed a path across the Fall River. 





We walked past quite a few shops, before realizing that we were all cold. We went into the next place that advertised coffee and ordered some hot drinks. As we waited, we observed the cool tin ceiling with crazy patterns put into it. We were told that they were original to the building and that the floors were too. 



We left the coffee shop with warmth in our bellies' and continued on our excursion. We found a shop that said "Yarn, antiques and more!" so we decided to check it out! They had some really interesting kinds of yarn: Alpaca, llama, goat. Caelan loved it!




We walked out of the store and across the street to Fall River. (Mom note: Hot Springs is considered an historic district due to the high quantity of reddish colored sandstone buildings in the downtown area. Most of these date back to the 1800s. It's this dying little prairie town that is putting forth its bravest effort to draw tourists to its mammoth bones, magic spring waters, and smattering of quaint shops). We walked along a path to a little gazebo called... Kidney Springs. Cute. There was a spring (Mom important clarification: it was a spigot in a rock under a gazebo with some words chiseled in the wall that ran into a algae-ridden cistern via a series of water troughs. Ew.) there, and Dad decided to try some of the special mineral water. Mom wasn't thrilled, but he used his water bottle and drank some of the water. Almost right away he said, "My headache is gone." Coincidence? Perhaps...;)



We took the path back along the river and wound up back at our cabin. Dad grilled pork chops, Caelan made rice, and I cooked Brussel sprouts. I honestly can't figure out why Brussel sprouts are so universally disliked! They are sooooo good! (That's our little cabin back there, with some deer on our lawn :)













Buck found corn dogs growing wild in the nature! :) Ha! Also, even though it was cold and winter-approaching-y, look how green the grasses are along the hot springs fed waterway!



We ended day 14 by hanging out at home and watching football. It was a busy and educational day, and we were all tired. However, the next day would bring more activities! (All of our posts seem to end that way lately :)

Who Knew?

Well, it appears we have purchased a *new* car :) Remember how it took me maybe a year (or longer) to decide on replacing our van--good, old Bessie? In the matter of two hours, we let Bessie go and had Nanny the Nitro ready to replace her.

Here's what happened . . . our friends the K's have had endless trouble with their twin (to ours) Kia van. They'd purchased it used with a lot of mileage, and that stinker has been steadily falling apart on them for years. They reached "crisis" point with their vehicle this week--when the thousands of dollars in repairs they've poured into it (most recently it wouldn't start) were about to transform themselves into more monies via new transmission. They have been bravely driving a vehicle that doesn't latch shut in the back (without a screwdriver), only has one headlight, does not drive more than 40 mph, does not have a working driver's side window, and will not go into reverse (they've been pushing it to move it in and out of their garage/parking spaces). I know there's more, that's just what I can think of off the top of my head.

As a family in full time ministry, this just isn't cool! Brain power needs to be focused on finishing the gigantic goal of translating the entire Bible and recording it for the first time ever by the end of next year. You can't translate and change the world for an entire subset of people if you have no means of driving to work to do the work. They've borrowed vehicles, they've bummed rides (to take their kids to the doctor's office and to other activities around town), they've been trusting God to provide for them and pinching their pennies in hopes of a new (used) vehicle.

While I was on facebook yesterday, I saw that my friend "Grandma Kim" (you saw her baptism pics earlier on the blog, I believe) listed her vehicle for sale. The price was pretty reasonable--$4,500. I messaged her daughter and said, "How low will she be able to go on this? We have friends who desperately need a reliable vehicle. We know you all have taken good care of this car. No pressure, but what do you think?"

The car is a 2007 Dodge Nitro, it has 117,000 miles (just like old Bessie) and does not have a working air conditioner (just like old Bessie :) They are the original owners, first it was a commuter car and then it became a grandma car (she only likes to drive in town, so it hasn't seen many highway miles in a couple of years). She could lower the price by $1,000--but needed the rest to cover fees on the new (also used) car her son-in-law found for her.



Not low enough for our friends, the K's. Drat! I spent a lot of time texting and messaging Kim and her daughter, and ended up getting the online listing to Buck. Buck comes home and says . . . "Rear wheel drive. Hmmm. That would be nice in the winter. It's heavier than my car, too. Maybe we buy the Dodge and sell our van to the K's." What?! This had not occurred to me :) WE were not car shopping, we were simply trying to help find a safe vehicle for our friends with a solid mechanical and care background.

But the more Buck talked about it, the more sense it made. And here's another crazy thing, we actually had the money in the bank to cover it! (Granted it was going towards getting the two church-parking lot crashes fixed on the new van, but that can wait :) So, I messaged Mrs. K and said, "Tell M not to buy anything . . . we may have something worked out." She said, "He just left to look at a van that hauls roofing supplies; I'll try to call him."




In the meantime, I made Grandma Kim an offer by messenger, and she readily accepted. Buck and I then found out the Nitro was parked at a local business and we could run over and make sure it was in good condition, at least from the outside. Buck was impressed with the tires, the lack of rust, and the overall appearance. I was impressed with the cuteness :) 

When we returned home, Grandma Kim messaged me again, "Do you want to drive it at church tomorrow? To make sure you can reach the pedals?" She's so sweet (and also a little bit short :) We assured her that would not be a problem at all!

So, we message the K's . . . "Do you want your new vehicle delivered tonight?"

Would you believe that, despite Mrs. K's protests, her mom took out a loan and wired money from Europe which arrived shortly before we did? God's timing is amazing! 

We were a little sad to leave Bessie behind, honestly. On the drive home, Buck and I recounted our trips to the east coast, the west coast, the south, the mountains, the desert, even the shores of Texas not long ago. We drove four car-seated babies around in that van; I nursed sitting in one of those car seats more than once (I can't imagine why?) Our girls have learned how to drive in it. We really thought it was our long-term friend for their future use. But . . . Buck said that he felt like eventually it would be the K's all along, and this was when the timing finally seemed right.




The next day, we had Nanny the Nitro to take Bessie's place. I'm calling it Nanny because that is what Grandma Kim's grandkids call her :) I was a little worried when we drove past where it had been parked the night before, and it was missing! Kim said she was worried too and had texted her son-in-law. He said he didn't want it messed with or damaged since we were buying it, so he'd come late last night and taken it back to his house. By the way, this son-in-law is one of the boys' baseball coaches :)

So the two of them followed me back to our house and we figured out the paperwork to sign over the title (it's nice when vehicles are paid off, so all that stuff is handy at home already :) Buck, who had to work today, showed me how to do all the title transfer stuff the night before with the K's. Yay, knowledge!

Grandma Kim's son-in-law seemed to be having similar bits of sadness, as this had been their family car for nearly as long as Bessie had been ours. "We would save it for our son to drive, but he's still a ways away from that." (I think he's like 11).

With papers signed and keys in my hand, they headed home and our kids headed out to explore. We checked out the electric sunroof, the electric seats, the radio-changing buttons behind the steering wheel, and then I drove the Nitro into the garage so we could clean the inside (it was really cold out, so the kids didn't want to detail Nanny in the driveway). Brennen and I took the trunk, Graysen did the dash and the windows, the girls vacuumed and cleaned upholstery and liners . . . in an hour we had the Nitro looking pretty spiffy. But you never know for sure until you take it out into the daylight.

SO I had all the kids clear the driveway (there were at least seven on bikes and foot at this point, we tend to draw a crowd :), I settled in behind the steering wheel, and turned the key . . . CLICK. I tried again . . . CLICK. No way . . . CLICK. It wouldn't start. The lights would flash on for a second and then go out. Oh the timing!

I texted the family we'd bought the Nitro from and said, "We were cleaning out the car in the garage, and now it won't start; how old is the battery?" They were mortified! "I'm bringing you back your check right now! We didn't know anything was wrong with it! I'm sooooo sorry! We never would have sold it to you . . ." I said, "I'm not upset, just curious how old the battery is, because if it is old, Buck can bring home a new one and swap it out."

So I texted Buck, and his response was, "What." Ha! Remember, we'd never actually driven this car, only peeked in the windows under a parking lot light the evening before. I sent him a picture from under the hood, and it turned out the battery was five years old (and from Walmart). Buck bought a replacement, then swapped out the batteries when he got home. 

It fired it up right away, so he and I took it for a test drive. The selling family was so relieved, and they're going to bring a check to cover the cost of the new battery tomorrow. I told them it really couldn't have happened in a more perfect scenario--if a car battery is going to die unexpectedly, I'd rather it be in my warm garage than anywhere else on the planet :)

So that is the surprising and unexpected tale of our transition from Bessie to Nanny, and how God orchestrated the whole thing so all three families benefitted from the exchange of vehicles. And really, investing $2,000 to solve a whole slew of problems is worth it to us. We'll just keep trusting that this was God's plan, and if anything wonky happens in the future, that He will help us take care of it, like He always does. Mostly, I'm just happy the K's are roadworthy again and that those babies can cruise in safety (and familiarity, because it really is EXACTLY the same van they had before make, model, year, and trim :) Buck is just happy because our Dodge to Kia ratio is once again higher than our Kia to Dodge ratio; it's just win win no matter how you look at it! Lol :)

Back to Vacation! Day 13: Lost Hours, Pioneer Trails, and London Fog

In the morning, we ran up and down the stairs carrying suitcases, bags, and boxes. Gabby oversaw the van packing, since Buck still couldn’t lift. Everyone looked around the house for another moose appearance, but all that was found was a deer (good spot Brennen). Saying goodbye was kind of sad! We had a really good week, the house was beautiful; we were feeling a bit at home, I think (at least I did :) The rain of the night before had fallen as snow on the mountain range, giving us a new view out our giant windows.

Buck wanted to stop by the Tetons visitor center again on the way out of town. As I mentioned earlier, he began collecting walking stick medals for his souvenir. He ended up with quite a lot, and they look neat on the karate staff he often used while we were hiking. Amazingly, on this crisp morning between the big house and the Tetons, we saw six moose! That’s a lot of moosen wishing us farewell! (Can you see the moose in the picture below?)

As we continued our drive, we bumped into a national forest rangers’ office. I noticed in my Jr. Ranger research that some forests (for instance the one we crossed in the snowstorm at night) have programs. We had a lot of driving to do, and you can often mail completed books to earn badges (we’ve never actually tried this), so we thought we’d stop and see. Though they didn’t have such a program, the ranger (who seemed to not get many visitors) was happy to hand over a quadruple stack of pencils, eclipse stickers, Smokey the Bear comic books, and other little do-dads. He also mentioned that there would be snow over the pass, but it “drives like a highway” so not to worry.

Twenty minutes later . . . hello, Narnia! Yes, there was snow alright. Winter always seems to be just around the corner in Wyoming. We made it half way over when Buck’s boss called. Important news, we pulled over to the side of the road and they had a chat about people reshuffling in the area. Never a dull moment in that business!

We planned on about seven and one half hours to get from Jackson, WY to Hot Springs, SD. Leaving as early as we did, I fully expected to take side trek into Fort Laramie National Park (Jr. Ranger, baby!). We also considered stopping by Sacagawea’s gravesite, until we learned it was an active Native American burial ground, thus seemed super disrespectful to go there. However, we did spend much of our journey on a flat, desolate stretch of Indian Reservation that I’m almost sure they’d give back (or swap out) if they could. There was NOTHING for miles—well, except for an endless smattering of pronghorn deer. Those white bottoms were EVERYWHERE! Well, like deer . . . Buck’s hunter senses were tingling :)

One very quick stop we hadn’t planned on making, but were instructed to by the forest ranger—Hell’s Half Acre. Sounds pleasant right? Yeah, well it is this crazy stretch of Badlands in the middle of Wyoming. Even stranger, it is completely fenced off with barbed wire and almost inaccessible car and by foot. Why?? We never did figure it out. It was cold in Hell; it may have actually frozen over (seriously, who names these places? I would have gone with “Pretty, Random Hole in the Ground”).

Despite our two brief stops, time seemed to be flying by. We were hungry, and decided to stop in the town which seemed to have the biggest print on the map: Casper. Upon arrival it seemed a fairly large town, especially after the desolation of the reservation. We headed for the visitor center. Once inside, we headed for the bathrooms (they were pretty nice!) Back at the information counter, I struck up a conversation with a lady about our plans and she was like, “Yeah, you can’t possibly get there before it closes. Oh and the weather is turning bad.” What? What weather? We’d been without cell service, listening to Adventures in Odyssey . . . more weather? Somehow, we’d lost hours on our journey. I still can’t figure out where they went—only that perhaps the original google estimates were somehow mistaken.

This Historic Trails Center did not have a Jr. Ranger program either; there was another that had a section of rock hollowed out and carved down by years of wagon train traffic heading to Oregon. That sounded neat to see! But, that too was stricken from my list of stops that day. However, there was a pressed penny machine—and when Graysen cranked the handle, a pressed penny fell out! Free of charge (I guess the kid before got tired of cranking : ) The museum was actually pretty neat and very well maintained. Lots of interactive displays, hands on learning opportunities, and we even got to “ride in a wagon across a river” like the pioneers did. I’m surprised the rocking motion and video screens didn’t make Buck sick, but he braved it like a legit pioneer ;)

After purchasing a few postcards, we made a beeline for the cabin we’d rented in Hot Springs. The directions, once in town, were a little iffy. We found the rental in a somewhat secluded area near some dilapidated neighbors, and I was having flashbacks to our first night’s stay in South Dakota. Buck went ahead of us (since the cabin was left unlocked for our arrival) and checked the premises. He came back (after turning on all the lights) and said, “I think you will like it. It looks like an older couple’s vacation home.” This . . . partially relieved my concerns, but . . . how old of a couple? :)

A quick tour proved reassuring, and it was a quick tour! Two little bedrooms, a small kitchen with a dining table for six, a small living room, and the tiniest bathroom on the planet—I take that back, the one in Paris was the tiniest bathroom on the planet. However, it was freshly decorated for fall, had very nice bedding, loads of towels, and even a washer/dryer (likely older than me, but still running). We kept that machine hopping. I figured I’d get my money’s worth out of the water supply while I had the chance, and it would help cut down on post-vacation laundry when we arrived home. This was a great plan until the front of the washer popped off during a spin cycle. Buck just kicked it back on and we called it good. Yup.

We were cracking up at the difference between a manager’s salary (Jackson Hole, spacious multi-million dollar house) and an assistant manager’s salary (two bedroom, log walls, no ceiling between the rooms) . . .  view of the Tetons; view of a steaming river that looked straight out of a movie set in London at night. In both cases, we had a comfortable, safe place to sleep and eat, so no complaints here!

Speaking of eating, we were hungry again. We dipped into the wifi (after deciphering the scrawly handwriting indicating the password) and discovered a family-style restaurant called, Woolly Mammoth's (it's kind of a theme for the area) that was still open. We headed there promptly, and enjoyed a nice meal served by a waitress who reminded me of our former pastor’s daughter. Sweet as pie!

Of course, our evening wasn’t complete without a trip to the grocery store. We bought some things for breakfast, some things for grilling, and headed back to our cabin. By daylight, we realized that all of the locations we'd visited were practically within walking distance of each other, but our GPS was so upsidedown and inside out we got a full tour of Hot Springs, South Dakota between destinations. Ha! Oh well, more fun tomorrow!

Always a Treat

The October 31st weather made for a lovely evening of costume fun. Our neighbors, the M's, had a fun idea to pizza party in their garage--the whole neighborhood invited! They set up tables and chairs, made treats, and then asked if maybe our three ovens could help cook their seven pizzas. I said, "Why even have three ovens if you can't bake pizza for the neighborhood on Halloween?" :) 

Everyone came, too, which was great! The new neighbors got to meet the "old" neighbors--two even realized they knew each other from a baby delivery, and the kids all trick-or-treated each others' houses. 


By the time the sun settled down for its sleep, the costumed ones were ready to scoop the loop and gather candy. Buck set out with Mr. M and most of our two crews. Caelan stayed back at the house to hand out candy and karate cards, and the M's littlest (who was dressed as their oldest--an old lady!) stayed back to do the same. Too much scary stuff out there in the décor realm; I don't blame her! 







The K family stopped by too; baby D was the chattiest, happiest little monkey I've ever seen. "I'm a monkey! I LOVE pizza!" (I handed out leftovers from the party as a trick-or-treat bonus :) They had just walked the cul-de-sac when the rest of our families returned. The men got to talk, Ollie (the puppy) made an appearance as a full-energy hot dog, the ladies got to talk, the kids got to TALK, ha! And by 7:30, we were lights out, go away to any kids who didn't get here at a reasonable hour, lol :)





By the way, the sunset was absolutely beautiful--pumpkin orange! G$ stuck to his officer outfit, Gabby resumed her plaid Scottish lass, Brennen was an applauded LEGO guy once more, and Caelan was a non-participating teenager who'd rather hand out candy than gather it :) She made a game out of throwing chocolate at passing children (whom she knew), trying to make it into their candy bags. I think we maybe had 30 non-neighborhood kids total? Maybe 45. They'd come in spurts, then evaporate. Still, it's always a nice night to stand outside with all the neighbors and visit before winter shuts us all indoors. We really have a great little neighborhood!



(The boys each got a full-sized bag of leftover chips from the M's party, that was a bag filler for sure. Mr. C said jokingly, "Who's the rich neighbor?" Ha! Handing out the fancy stuff :)