Roadtrip Continued...

Day 3: Thermopolis, WY to Jackson Hole, WY to somewhere in Idaho.
After we walked around the hot springs for a while we left and headed towards Jackson Hole. This might have been my favorite day of our trip. I loved the snow caps mountains. They were so beautiful! Once we got to Jackson Hole we took a tram up into the Grand Tetons where we could get off and hike around the mountain. There was still tons of snow up top but it was actually very warm (52 degrees) for being the top of a mountain. We hiked around for a bit, got something to drink in the tiny cafe that was up there and then made our way back down the mountain on the tram. When they advertise the tram they say that you can usually see wildlife on your way up or down the mountain. We unfortunatly didnt see anything.

Tetons

Views from on top of the mountain!

Once we left Jackson Hole we headed towards Idaho. We drove until we were about a hour away from the Great Salt Lake and decided it was a good place to stay for the night.

Day 4: Somewhere in Idaho to Great Salt Lake, UT to Lake Powell, AZ

We got up early once again, and drove an hour until we reached Antelope Island State Park which is on the Great Salt Lake. Very decieving name since we only saw one antelope. We explored the island for about 4 hours. We saw some pretty cool stuff, but the bugs there were terrible.  

We got up early once again, and drove an hour until we reached Antelope Island State Park which is on the Great Salt Lake. Very decieving name since we only saw one antelope. We explored the island for about 4 hours. We saw some pretty cool stuff, but the bugs there were terrible.  After the Great Salt Lake we went south to AZ and right on the boarder you hit Lake Powell. We stayed in Page, AZ for the night.

Day 5: Lake Powell, AZ to Grand Canyon to somewhere in AZ

Lake Powell looked just like the ocean, but even better because it was fresh water! We rented a kayak and paddled an hour over to a sandbar that we hung out at for a few hours. It was so peaceful and relaxing actually staying in once place for a little while and not worrying about sight seeing and making good time so we could get to the next place. We just simply relaxed.

A great day ended terribly when we went to the Grand Canyon. I dont get what is so special about it. I get that it is one of the 7 wonders of the world, but why? We drove through the National Park and stopped at all the little posts. But, there is only one view. The posts just bring you to a different angle. It was frustrating. We were at the Grand Canyon long enough to get a few pictures and to say that we have been there but then we made our way to a hotel and spent the night.

And thats that!

HOLY MOLEY!!!!

Let play catch up quick. Things are getting hard to remember from the road trip, I am kicking myself for not making the posts as I went. But here goes nothing..
Day 2: Blackhills, SD to Thermopolis, WY.
We woke up early in the morning, and might I add it was freezing out. I think it was like 38 degrees! Its the middle of June people! Anyways we went to Mount Rushmore. It was a really cool place to experience, minus the rain and the cold weather. We were in and out of there pretty fast to say the least. After Mount Rushmore we went to Crazy Horse, which was not so crazy. Since it was a rainy day we couldnt see anything. We walked around the museum a bit, and then decided we didnt want to waste our time there. Our last adventure to get out of South Dakota was to drive through Needles Highway. Which  I personally thought was the best part of South Dakota. The road twists and turns in some crazy ways. According to my Dad we didnt get the full experience of Needles highway due to the dang clouds again, but we thought it was cool nonetheless.




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Only one car could go through the tunnels at Needles Highway!You also have to make sure that you honk as you go through so people on the other side know you are coming and they can move out of your way!

 



Robbie was cold enough to wear my awesome hat!



Wait for it...... this my friends is CRAZY HORSE!!!!!!

So, after we got to experience the best of South Dakota we continued our journey and we were in Wyoming in no time! We drove to Thermopolis, which is home to the largest mineral hot spring in the Unites States. It was a pretty cool place! We arrived there around 4 in the afternoon and we were treated very nicely by the man from the front desk. He had this soft almost calming voice that made you feel like you were sucked into his trance. It was weird. Anyways, he gave us a great deal on a room, 2 free drink coupons, buy one drink get one drink free coupon, 2 free glasses of wine with dinner, and a free bottle of champagne (not because we were newlyweds, because Robbie is in the military). To say the least we got WINED and dined nicely that evening. I stress the WINED part. The bartenders at the bar we went to were allowed to drink on the job as long as they didnt get drunk, so they kept buying us shots and taking them with us! I think we had about 10 drinks/beers/shots at the bar and only paid $13.00. Wyoming is fun. After we sat at the bar for a while we went to the hot spings which happen to be behind our hotel. We brought a bucket of beer and met a couple there that was bear hunting... interesting to say the least. We stayed up way too late and had way too much fun for what was planned the next day. I was hurting. But with all the fresh/rotten egg smelling air I recovered fast. Here are some photos from the hot springs:


Forgot to add- we just missed a hail storm when we were about 1 hour away from Thermopolis.



This is called rainbow falls. Rocks covered in sulfur.





Amazing hot spring! It was so pretty. It was just a giant hole that went straight down.



hello!

Well, we finally made it to California! I am wayyyyy over-due on my postings so there is a lot to catch up on. For starters... I am now Briana Gawboy! Our wedding was amazing, I couldn't have asked for a better day. (Photos to come). We left MN 4 days after our wedding and started our roadtrip out to the West Coast. We made tons of stops and got to experience some really cool places.
Day 1: Minnesota to Rapid City, SD
The first day was terrible! Soooo much driving through such a boring area.. There were a lot of fields, and every now and then we would see a hill!! amazing, I know. We kept seeing billboards for THE CORN PALACE. So, mistakenly we decided to stop and see what it was all about. Let me tell you, its a whole lot of nothing.. I would never go there again haha. After the corn palace we got back on the road and made it to Wall Drug, the first place in the U.S. to give out free ice water! It was very cool there. It had a very nice western feel and there was lots to see. We have dinner at a little diner in the Wall Drug strip mall and then we headed to Rapid City. To our suprise we got offered a suite at our first hotel for the same price as a regular room. That was a nice treat after a long day of driving!

Thats about it for the drive from Minnesota to South Dakota.

ROADTRIP TO BE CONTINUED...