We left Custer at 9 this morning. We were all a little sad to leave. Custer is a beautiful town with much to offer and see. Wish we could've stayed longer!
We headed west and arrived at Devils Tower after a short 3 hour trip. Devils Tower was amazing! I really expected a big rock but it turned out to be so much more. The history and mystique surrounding Devils Tower is very intriguing. We hiked all the way around...did I mention it was HOT? The kids earned their Junior Ranger badge and we stamped our National Park passport.
We stopped for lunch in Moorcroft. We had fun playing "What's Her Story" with an interesting young woman eating a footlong sub in the back of her SUV at Subway. We were thrilled because she gave us the ever-elusive MAINE license plate. We decided that her "story" is that she is leaving her small-town life in Maine to pursue an acting career in Hollywood. Yep, pretty sure we will see her on the big screen someday.
After we solved THAT mystery we entered Montana, our 7th state. We saw some amazing scenery, vast expanses, snow-capped mountains, and desolate homesteads. Barry kept mentioning how gorgeous it was. Of course I just couldn't help but think about how miserable it must be in the winter. Carter even said, "Mom, you'd hate it here in the winter, wouldn't you?". He knows me too well.
Our next stop was Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. It was sobering and solemn. The park ranger showed us a cool movie about the battle and specifically the Last Stand Hill. It was cool to then walk that hill, visit the cemetery, and read the different accounts from both sides. Did you know that's where the phrase "won the battle but lost the war" was first coined? The kids earned their Junior Ranger badges. The park ranger tried to talk us out of doing the Junior Ranger program because the packet was "really hard and it might be too graphic for young kids since it's about a battle." Ha! Apparently he doesn't know the DeKelSki kids! I didn't have the heart to tell him that their "worksheet" was one of the easiest ones they had ever completed.
Well I am off to bed. Tomorrow we enter our 8th state...Idaho. I'm really looking forward to checking into the house and "staying put" for 10 days. 5 nights in 4 hotels is enough for this Mama! Thanks for checking on us.
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