Road trip

Two weeks ago today we returned from the most amazing road trip!  13 days prior to that 17 of us (my parents, my sisters and their families and our family) packed up and went about 1,800 miles to the lake my daddy grew up on, Straight Lake in Osage, MN for a family reunion and then back again.  We had three vehicles, 2 mini vans and an SUV along with a U-Haul trailer to carry extra stuff.  We made stops in Butte, MT and then spent a day in Keystone at Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills.  We stopped for the night again in Fargo and then hit our destination for 4 nights.  Back on the road we stayed in Dickenson, ND, West Yellowstone stopping most of a day, Idaho Falls and back home. 

I wish I would have taken more time to make notes so I could do a better job blogging it all.  I will try over the next few weeks to throw in a bit here and there about our trip.  One post won't do it justice. 

My family of 6 had the most children in one vehicle and we decided to leave the night before everyone else and stop half way in Coeur d'alene.  It was a great decision.  We had spent the whole day packing and loading and the kids were excited to get going.  We spent the late evening traveling across the state.  This was good on so many levels because being the first leg it got the kids used to being in the car, it was night so they slept most of it and it made for a shorter trip the next day.  The best part of staying in Coeur d'alene was that we got to have lunch with a dear friend whom I had not seen in about six or seven years. 

I did not take any photos in this spot but I found this one on-line and I think this is the exact table where we sat and ate a picnic lunch at City Park.

After lunch we leisurely made our way to Butte, MT to meet up at the hotel with my parents, sisters and their families.  It was a great start to what could have been an arduous day.