New York or Bust - Day 1

Well, my husband and I have talked about taking a trip back east for so many years that I can't even begin to explain how excited I am that today our dream has come true.  This morning my husband and I left our home and cats in the hands of our children (who are grown),  packed up the car, the dog, and some food and headed out to destination New York.  Actually, New York has not been our dream but just going back east to see the sites, do some genealogy, and check out some of our church history locations has been the dream. 

So this morning we left North Idaho and headed east.  Our plan is to not have a real plan.  We are winging it!  We know what we want to see but the order we see it and how long we stay at each location will be a surprise to us.  (Believe me, this is really a first for us.)

Here we are at night 1 of day 1.  We started the day with rain then some light snow but we are not discouraged.  Tonight we are in Sheridan, Wyoming and the weather is just fine.  This is a cute little town.  I was impressed with how clean it looks.  We didn't get to see very much as it was starting to get dark when we arrived but what I saw was nice. 

On our way here we stopped by Little Bighorn to check out Custer's last stand.  Unfortunately, we got there a half hour too late.  Instead we checked out a gift shop and I picked out some cards (and rocks) for the grand kids.  The man at the shop was so nice.  He was ready to close but let me come in and look around.  He even told us about some places in Sheridan to eat dinner.  As it was, I had brought some veggies and fruit and we chose to eat in the room tonight.  I am sure we will get our share of eating out before this trip is over.

Here are our notes for Day 1.

As we were driving, I kept picturing the buffalo roaming on the plains.  The land just seems to go on forever and ever.  There are these little hills and valleys but it all pretty much looks the same.  I took some pictures but I didn't get the landscape.  I did see some real buffaloes on a ranch but didn't have my camera ready as we drove by.  My husband made the comment how easy it would have been to get lost in the days of cowboys and Indians as one hill and valley looks the same as the next.  I guess they figured out a way to find their way.  It was easy to imagine how peaceful the land must have felt as the buffalo wandered freely.

My husband wasn't feeling the peace when we were headed up a steep mountain and a truck pulled out right in front of us so he could pass another truck.  That is frustrating. (I know this doesn't look steep but it really was!)

My dog Lucky was feeling the peace though.  She is the best traveler.  We never even know she is there.  She is the sweetest little girl.  (Lucky is a pound puppy.  My husband named her Lucky because it was her lucky day when he went to the pound and got her.  I also call her LuLu so her name is Lucky LuLu.  Actually, we are the lucky ones because she is without a doubt the best little dog and she loves to travel with us.)

Back to the Little Bighorn.  I got these postcards.  Since we didn't actually get to see the battlefield, these helped us to visualize what was there.

When I was at the gift shop, the man showed me this adorable picture.  These babies are from the local area and the picture was taken by someone at the gift shop.  I thought it was just too cute!

So our first day was pretty good.  I am anxious for tomorrow because we are heading through South Dakota.  We are going to Mt. Rushmore, driving through the Bad Lands, and seeing the Corn Palace.  Come back and see how our trip is going!