Do It Differently Personal Training

After a full night of rain, the camping gear is wet. I mean, hang your clothesline between the trees and dry everything out before you pack it up wet. Look for the sunny spots, lay everything out, and don’t plan on leaving early. Check-out was at 1:00pm.

Why not use this extra dry-out time to take a dip in the lake? Sure it was cold, but totally worth it! Nobody turned blue and we all giggled and laughed as we waded in the water ever so cautiously and hit that mid-drift where the cold water really makes you suck-in and snap into perfect posture. The kids thought we were breaking the rules by swimming, and we assured them it was absolutely allowed. After the swim, the sun had successfully dried the goods and once again, we re-adjusted our packing strategy to see if we could become even more efficient with the next camp set-up.

Off to Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse, before heading to Billings, Montana. Hudson was confused. “What do you mean, go see Mt. Rushmore? We already saw it last night.” Apparently the drive-by viewing was more than adequate for him, and truth be told, you get a pretty good view from the highway. It was only an $11 entrance fee (which is good for an entire year) so it seemed worth it to see the museums and hear some of the fascinating construction stories. Somehow, not a single person died during the blasting and carving of this monument despite the antiquated safety equipment and methodologies. We ended up chatting with a family from South Carolina, who suggested we visit Toronto some time. Cuteness. It seemed rude to interrupt (even though I do that a lot to my friends!) so we finally let them know we thought they had great taste in travel destinations 😉

When planning the trip, we decided to enter Yellowstone at the Northeast Entrance to snag one of the non-reservable camp-sites that open first thing June 15^th. This means taking Hwy 212 and the Beartooth Pass. It was an incredible experience, and nothing that words can really describe. The views were intoxicating and the mental calculation on the number of engineers and crews required to not only build this road but to maintain it, is utterly paralyzing. Each turn of the mountain pass offers new views, breathtaking moments, and jaw-dropping beauty. And it’s a little scary (a lot scary at times!).

The cubs were getting more and more nervous as they saw signs for falling rocks and as Ben made jokes about veering off the edge! We couldn’t even get them out of the car at Rock Creek Vista Point (9000 ft elevation) because they were freaking out.

Once we made it to the top we all celebrated and took the opportunity to have a little snowball fight. I may have broken into song with my falsetto opera voice (for just a few minutes) in praise of Julie Andrews. The Beartooth Pass is an absolutely incredible experience and I’m glad we traveled the extra miles to enter through Billings. The pictures don’t do it justice, and if you ever have the chance to travel this journey, do it and don’t think twice.

Turns out the Billings, Montana KOA is also a highlight…heated pool, mini-golf, and a view of the rocky embankments of the Yellowstone River (the stones really are yellow).

This was also our 19th wedding anniversary and we decided it was a great way to spend the day.