Thursday, July 3 2008, 11:59 PM UTC-6
Joey's House, Roy, Utah

I was supposed to get on a conference call before I left work, but somehow that never worked out. I got to the airport just to find out that my flight to Chicago was cancelled. The lady rudely stated that, "Well, we were going to put you on a flight though Denver, but you didn't get here in time." To which I responded, "Well, it's not like you called me to let me know that my flight was cancelled and that I needed to get here earlier. So what else do you have?"

I lucked out and got on a direct to Salt Lake so I came in 2 hours earlier. The only trouble was that I needed to get to the Delta terminal, which is Terminal A at Logan and I was at Terminal C. When I exited the airport I happened to be right at a cab stand so I jumped in and told him to take me to Terminal A. Oh boy was he mad!

That evening was fairly uneventful, the family just hung out and talked for most of the evening.

Friday, July 4 2008, 11:59 PM UTC-6
Joey's House, Roy, Utah

Happy 4th of July! I slept late and the kids tried to get Dory, Joe's black lab, to lick me awake. Luckily, I foiled their plan and managed not to get licked to death. Breakfast and a beer run came next. We bought some local beer, Polygamy Pilsner, Wasatch Evolution and a few others. The Polygamy Pilsner was great the slogans included "Bring some home for the wives" and "You can't have just one!"

People started showing up at 5 pm, friends of Joey's and their kids. The weather was good and we had the traditional hamburger and hot dog fare. At sundown we set off fireworks in the street; each of the kids taking their turn to light them. They were boring, just like the kind we used to set off in South Carolina when we were kids.

Saturday, July 5 2008, 11:59 PM UTC-6
Joey's House, Roy, Utah

Today was a lazy day. We just hung around the house and spent a few hours planning our road trip. We still hadn't decided up until today where exactly we were going to stop on the way to South Dakota. We ended up agreeing on Casper, Wyoming. In Casper we plan on seeing the Casper Ghosts play the Ogden Raptors in a minor league baseball game. After dinner we all piled in the car to get a taste of the world famous Dairy Queen. Yum, Vanilla, Banana Blizzard. Of course, we took the bull along with us for the trip.

Sunday, July 6 2008, 11:59 PM UTC-6
Hampton Inn, Casper, Wyoming

We had an early start,well we were supposed to anyway. The plan was to pull out of the driveway at 7:00 am which turned into somewhere around 7:20 am then the obligatory stop at the gas station for coffee and donuts. We finally, legitimately hit the road at 7:41 am. The route was scenic and fairly quick.

Chris rode in the car with mom, dad and me. He slept most of the way, especially once he got his blankie. We had a couple of stops for pee breaks and gas.

Along the route there were quite a few Union Pacific Railroad trains hauling coal. These trains were a mile long. I have never quite seen anything like it and there was train after train after train all through Wyoming.

We arrived in Casper around 2:00 pm and checked into the hotel. Then we went to get a snack at the Dairy Queen, of course before heading off to the baseball game. The ball field was literally out the back door of the hotel so we walked over there and as it turns out tickets to the ball game cost $1.00. I bought the whole families way in for just seven bucks. We then found seats in the bleachers, took some pictures and headed to the concession stand. They had fairly cheap beer, 24 oz. for $4.75, of this micro brew called Boo Brew. We ordered up a couple of those and watched the game.

Just about 2 innings in the sky went black. Clouds rolled in and the Wyoming winds kicked up. The umpires called the rain delay because of the lightening so we hung out an waited for about an hour. We passed the time at the souvenir store then at about 8 o'clock we decided to bail to go get something to eat. We decided to go to Poor Boys Steakhouse. It was local, but it wasn't great. It seemed like the food should have been way better than it was. At least it wasn't another DQ.

Monday, July 7 2008, 11:59 PM UTC-6
State Game Lodge, Custer State Park, South Dakota

On the road again.

We woke up, got some breakfast and then headed out to South Dakota. The trip wasn't too long from where we were. I think we were there in just about 3 hours, The last little bit through Custer State Park was torturous. The road was slow and windy and there were deer every couple of hundred feet. We finally got to the Custer State Game Lodge and checked in to our rooms.

Mom and Dad and I had a room in the main lodge while Joey and the kids had a small cabin just down the street. Samantha asked if she could stay with me and I agreed. So we went up to dump off our stuff while Joe, Jody and Chris when to their cabin to drop off their stuff. We met up back at the main house then headed off to the Visitor's Center. We bought postcards and assorted other souvenirs then decided to grab a bite to eat at the Coolidge General Store.

At lunch we decided to visit the Crazy Horse Memorial. It seemed like a bit of a drive to get there even though it was only about 17 miles. That slow, winding road really was a pain. We came through the town of Custer then headed toward the mountain. When we got closer you could see his face really clearly. This is supposed to end up as the world's largest memorial. They have accepted no government funding in line with the fact that Crazy Horse never would sign any treaties with the government. The fact that this is a totally independent undertaking is what makes it so neat.

We took the bus tour and went to the base of the mountain then came back to the museum and crafts center. I found this really awesome story charm from a Native American lady that was from Arizona. She hand carved the silver and the bronze to tell the story of the land and the water. It was a bit pricey and since it was the first of many places I passed it up. We stayed at Crazy Horse into the evening when they do the laser light show on the mountain and enjoyed the entertainment.

As it turns out we didn't plan our meals very well and totally missed dinner. "The town of Custer rolled up their sidewalks," as Joey said. When we got back to the lodge Samantha and I had to look pitiful and con the guy at the front desk out of a bowl of the trail mix that they serve at the bar. We didn't share them with anybody.

Tuesday, July 8 2008, 11:59 PM UTC-6
State Game Lodge, Custer State Park, South Dakota

Today is Rushmore Day. We woke up this morning to the breakfast buffet which was awesome. Then we headed off to see what we could see. The original goal was Wind Cave, but a slight detour took us down the scenic road where we went up to Mount Coolidge Firetower. From there we could see Crazy Horse, Needles, Harney Peak, the back of Mt. Rushmore, Ellsworth AFB and the Badlands.

Most importantly everybody had cell phone signal for the first time in a while since there were towers up there so we placed some phone calls. Joey set up the spotting scope and we got a real good look at everything and then we took a family photo before heading on to the cave.

On our way to the cave we saw a bison and a baby, then we saw five bison way up on a hill, then out of nowhere there was a bison on a side road once we got into Wind cave National Park. We did a U-turn and went to go check them out. I got out of the car and Joey did too. We were able to get some really good photos. I really like the bison a lot. I want one of my very own.

Wind Cave had a few different options for exploring. We chose the 300 steps (mostly down) option. Evidently this cave has some of the best examples of boxwork. We walked into the cave and headed down stairs. It took about an hour and 25 minutes to get through it. The park ranger, Kali, turned the lights out on us at one point and it was pitch dark. We bought out the gift shop then headed to Wind Cave to get some more loot.

Jewel Cave was a strenuous cave. So we just visited the gift shop and then listened to a talk from another ranger on bats. Once we bought out that gift shop we then went to Mount Rushmore.

When you arrive at Mt. Rushmore they charge you $10 to park. The funny thing is that from the road you can see the monument. Save your $10. It was a bit of a disappointment. Crazy Horse was way better, but we hung out anyway. Joe, Jody and I walked a trail that led part way up the mountain. There were 250 stairs (all up) on this trail. We were able to get some pretty close up shots of the monument then we went back to watch the movie in the amphitheater. They called all service men (past and present) down to the stage as they lowered the flag so Joey and Dad went down and got to touch the flag. It was pretty cool.

Luckily Mt. Rushmore had soft serve ice cream because it was late again when we left and there was no where to eat dinner. We stopped at Joey's cabin to download pictures and eat our snacks that we had bought earlier then headed back to the main house for some sleep.

Wednesday, July 9 2008, 11:59 PM UTC-6
State Game Lodge, Custer State Park, South Dakota

Joey and Dad had one goal on this trip and that was to visit Deadwood, SD. They were inspired by the HBO series so of course we had to go see the burying place of Calamity Jane and Wild Bill. One other thing that Mom and Dad wanted to do was to get an old time western photo like they did on their honeymoon. So we headed straight to the place and picked out a bar scene.

They dressed us up as bank robbers and we had fun acting out a couple of different scenes. The first shot was the serious shot where we all just showed that we mean business. The second shot was called Trouble.

She asked us to pick one person in the group that was the trouble maker so everyone instantly pointed at Chris. Chris hesitated for a second then pointed at me. It was too late, he had been chosen. In the next photo we all just had a disagreement with a different person in the photo.

After the photo shoot we had to wait to pick up the pictures so we went to a Black Hills gold jewelry store so Mom could get a ring. Since the ring needed to be sized we needed to waste a bit more time and decided to go to the cemetery and see Calamity Jane, Wild Bill, Potato Creek Johnny and a few others in the Deadwood gang. We swung back into town picked up our stuff and headed off to Wyoming to see Devil's Tower.

It wasn't too much further to get to Devil's Tower, which turns out to be the very first National Park ever created by Teddy Roosevelt in 1903. Once we hit the park there were Prairie Dogs everywhere. They sound like little squeaky toys and they were busy scurrying all over the place.

Once at Devil's tower we learned about the legend that states that the rock formation was formed when a bear was chasing five maidens. The maidens jumped on a rock and prayed to the rock to save them. The rock began to rise out of the ground and the bear clawed at it to get to them. So there you have it. I also had to describe the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind to Chris about four different times on the way there.

Joe, Jody, Samantha, Christopher and I all took the short 1.3 mile hike around the tower where we climbed some rocks and took some pictures. Joey set up the spotting scope and we were able to check out the Prairie Dog Falcons that were nesting up at the top of the tower.

We packed up and from Devil's Tower, Wyoming it was a bit of a haul back to Custer State Park and the lodge.

Thursday, July 10 2008, 1:45 PM UTC-6
I-80, Wyoming

Today we're going back to the beginning. We're in the middle of nowhere Wyoming and the scenery is about as dull as it gets. Samantha is teaching Mom and I to play a song game where you have to think up a word and the other people have to come up with a song that includes that word. Let's see how long this lasts.

Thursday, July 10 2008, 4:50 PM UTC-6
I-80, Wyoming

OK, that might have gotten us through an hour or something. Not sure what to do now. I've just been staring out the window for the last hour. Dad's letting me clean the windshield every time we stop to get gas - lucky me.

We're due into Roy, Utah around 8:30 pm, but Dad wants Chinese food first before we get there. This should be interesting

Thursday, July 10 2008, 11:59 PM UTC-6
Joey's House, Roy, Utah

Samantha and Chris totally pitched a fit when we got to the Chinese restaurant. Evidently they don't like it and aren't really willing to try it either. Luckily they had a dish with a corn dog that made Chris happy; Samantha just picked at some chicken and broccoli.

At least we're not in Wyoming any more!

Friday, July 11 2008, 11:59 PM UTC-6
Joey's House, Roy, Utah

The only plan for today is to see WALL-E. We woke up some, putzed around then headed to the movies. After that some dinner then we struggled through photos again while Joey tried to make copies for Dad and I to take with us.

Saturday, July 12 2008, 2:10 PM UTC-6
SLC

Oh my God, I really hate United. My original flight that was supposed to take off at 12:34 pm was pushed to 12:52 pm about a month before my trip. Last night it was still on time for 12:52 pm as it was when I got here. Suddenly between security and the gate it became 2 hours late. The estimated departure time is now 3:00 pm because of bad weather east of Chicago.

I'm likely going to miss my connection in Chicago and I won't get home until 1:00 am.

We'll see what could possibly happen next.

Saturday, July 12 2008, 8:00 PM UTC-5
ORD

It turns out that there was no bad weather that I'm aware of. It was an out right lie as far as I can tell. When I boarded the plane to Chicago the stewardess said, "I'm not even sure why we were late to tell you the truth."

I spent an hour or so in the Squatters Pub in SLC. They had some micro brews that were pretty good. The food was terrible.

I'm in ORD now and guess what? I missed my connection and I'm on the lousy 8:59 pm flight that lands 12:15 am EST. I just did get my boarding pass and was surprised to find out that they put me on 1st class from ORD to BOS. I'm really looking forward to a couple glasses of wine on this flight and getting home!

I'm still never flying United again.