Expedition 2018-a snapshot

Our big trip this summer was an almost 2 week trip to points west, a goal to travel to states we haven't been to yet.  We called it Expedition 2018 because it sounded cool and it really was starting to feel like an expedition with all the miles we were going to travel.  Mission accomplished.  We added Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas to our list of states we have been to.  Our initial plan was to camp in a camper for this trip, but that plan died on the side of the road about 1 hour into the trip.  Lucky for us, Grandpa Jerry came with our van and picked us up so we could keep on going.  Camping turned into staying at hotels, which was also a fun time.  We have already earned a free night with all the rooms we had booked for the trip.  Here are just a few pictures, one from each state (almost).

Cousins!  First stop, Iowa.  We got to spend the night at Uncle Jim and Aunt Courtney's house.  Xander and Everett were fun to play with and it was nice to see their house for our first time.  

Next stop, Minnesota and Mall of America.  We came, we shopped, we ate at Rainforest Cafe, we rode some rides at the amusement park in the mall.  

Then, on to North Dakota and Teddy Roosevelt National Park.  The painted canyons were beautiful.  It was cool to see geological formations different from the flat farmlands of the midwest. We stayed in the area for a few days.

Then, on to South Dakota.  We went to Mount Rushmore (the starting point for the idea of this trip) and Wind Cave National Park.  

We stopped at Chimney Rock, Nebraska next.  This was a lunch break stop on our long drive day from South Dakota to York, Nebraska.  It was so still out there, you could here the wind rustling through the grass.

No picture of Kansas City, KS.  We stayed the night there, had some great BBQ and made a spur of the moment decision to go to a marble store.  We got to see a marble making demonstration and, of course, got some marbles.  

After driving through Missouri, our last stop was to see more cousins in Illinois-Maddie, Abbie and Jacob.  We got to spend the night with Grammy Pammy before heading back to our house.  

It was a long trip.  I hope the kids can always look back on it and take away some good family memories.  We are already making plans in our head for Expedition 2019.