Oh give me a home...where the buffalo roam....

This trip was the most relazing (yes it's a new word...relax/lazy) trip I have taken in years!!!! The view was awesome, the people were amazing, and the drive surprisingly enough was easy and relaxed!!! Our targeted destination...Idaho! Namely Chubbuck, Idaho! The little America rest area/shops were also a little expensive...the hat on Piter was more than $200 and one skirt was $1000...whew!Gotta love the elephant tree!!!

Piter thought when I was packing that I was planning a trip to Ukraine with all the warmer clothes I was taking...but....it was cooler up north than he thought it would be...although he still had his shorts.... the weather was absolutely beautiful and I got to wear long sleeves!!!

I packed up TONS of snacks as well but we were happy to have them!!!! We ate them all the way there and back again...we also shared while we visited and now I can pack some in my lunches for work so nothing will go to waste!!!

We started out and dropped the pets off with the sitters and got on the road about 1 pm Friday the 26th and drove about 7 hours....we were of course still in Texas...we stopped at a couple of places to ask and say no about the pricing and got about a $30 discount because of it!!!!

Second day more driving...and another discounted night!!! We're doing well...drove about 12 hours this day....by drove I really mean traveled because we stopped several times of course!!!This sign was at the Wyoming/Idaho border...

Day 3 and the view is really awesome...mountains, valleys, canyons, forrests...wow it really is a Heavenly view....and I was very much enjoying it all...

We found out the night before that we were invited to lunch with Tyrel's family so we drove to their place and got there by 2pm....We had a wonderful time, great lunch and good company!!! Piter of course was the matinee!!!

Afterwards we went to Alyona and Tyrel's to meet up with Robyn and her brother who were traveling through....we had a good visit with them and got to hear more of Piter's music...Robyn serenaded us as well!!!

We stayed with the Oborns' and got to go to new places...

Day 4 We went to the Idaho Falls Temple...it is right off the falls and of course so beautiful!!!! We didn't go in since it was Monday and closed but we enjoyed it nonetheless!!! Afterwards we went to the potato museum....very interesting but don't plan your visit around it!!! It has the worlds largest pringle there...Guinness record... and it has the largest potato statue with butter!!!!

Those worm looking things are actually potatoes!!!

Day 5 was Yellowstone National Park and The Grand Teton mountain range...the Targhee National forest was in there as well....

While we were hoping to see more animals on our trip they were very few and very far between:( We did however come face to face with a huge Bison (Buffalo) just moseying along the highway...We also saw a few elk or something in a field. The craziest thing was that everywhere there were warning signs...Be Bear Aware...Bears frequent this place, Make a lot of noise, carry Mace, Don't feed the animals, stay 500 feet away from wildlife, (they may look friendly but they aren't)and at least 75 feet from the dear and bison...keep all food secured, the animals can smell it from afar....then you would see a sign for your picnic area!!!! Maybe that's how you see a bear...you are their lunch!!! It was beautiful though! We also got to see Old Faithful and some VERY HOT water filled craters!! That water was soooooo blue!!!

Day 6 Unfortuately our trip had to end and we headed back home... the trip was also very good. We came back by way of Utah....we got to see a lot of Temples on this trip...most of them from afar, like, Rexburg, Bountiful, S. Jordon, Logan, etc. too many to recall and name but we did get to see two up close...one of course was the Idaho Falls but the other was Monticello Utah, here we stopped also! They were all on the mountain tops like a beacon in the night!!! ...We got to go to see the Four Corners as well....this is mostly a monument surrounded by bazaar type shops with handmade jewlery and crafts that the Indians make. It's not an over the top place to visit but if your ever in the area...you might want to spend the $3 per person to at least say you'd been there, done that and have a picture to prove it....(hey they keep saying you can't be in more than one place at a time)...go ahead...prove them wrong!!!! Continuing on we drove a bit though Arizona and on to N. Mexico where once again we stopped to ask how much for the night and this time were told $99...They offered no discount price...ugh....so we go to have dinner and then the blessing came....Piter while in the restroom saw a advertisment magazine and actually understood what it was!!! When he showed it to me, I told him I would look at it later but he told me it had hotel coupons so of course I looked and that same place had a coupon for $45 a night....guess where we stayed!!! Awesome...we used that same book for the following night as well....RoomSaver...pick one up for your next trip!!! Yes that tiny white spot is one of the many Temples we saw!!!

Day 7 more driving and the view was absolutely breathtaking for most of our trip...Piter was snapping pictures and video taping as fast as he could...we had 4 camera being used and over 3300 pictures and videos taken the whole trip (really we had more of these than miles driven!)... but for this blog of course I have narrowed it down...(aren't you glad I did?) This was the last night spent outside of Texas...we stayed in Tucumcari N.Mexico.

Day 8 Sept. 2nd 2011 back on home territory again, picked up the pets and visited with Chalea for a bit then came on back home, arrived about 6pm....Another blessing...we woke up to a flat tire!!!! The blessing of course is that after 3305 miles of driving up and down mountains, through rough and rocky roads, curving highways, 9 states including, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico....we made it home safely!!!! All is well!!!