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playing cards took all of three hours. Seeing the real missile silo
after studying it for a full year was incredible. Gift shop, movie,
museum, and down the road, the missile site. Plan for this stop
well ahead of trip as the silo tour sells out months ahead.
Yes, we stopped atWall Drug. The history of the place is unique
to America. The teenager loved it; the parents barely survived.
Again, flexibility saved our sanity.
Mt. Rushmore proved to be a challenge. This park was on Ben’s
bucket list for 10 years. The moment arrives, and fog. Could not
see a thing. Prayed about it, returned the next morning, and
the fog literally pulled back as we drove up the mountainside.
Ben’s face, when he saw Lincoln’s granite face, was priceless. We
stayed for hours in silence, walking around and thinking about
the men who shaped our nation carved into that stone. Tours,
movie, restaurant, and junior ranger available.
Book your lodging in Mt. Rushmore early. You can camp, rent
an RV, cabin, or stay in any number of hotels. Permit extra time
for the long lines as summer progresses. With a late winter this
year, we moved our trip in February by a week. Hotels in this area
are not as booked as lodging in the national parks.
Be sure to stop at Crazy Horse Memorial. This is not a govern-
ment-owned park. It is a privately-owned museum, college, res-
taurant, and exhibit. We all enjoyed our visit despite the rains.
The movie is a good historical drama, and the museum an ac-
curate history of the Native Americans.
I found a unique route to Yellowstone entrance through
Beartooth Pass. Directly from the website: “The Beartooth
All-American Road passes through what is known today as the
Beartooth Corridor. Surrounded by the Custer, Gallatin, and
Shoshone National Forests, traveling parallel to the Absaroka-
Beartooth Wilderness, and abutting Yellowstone National Park, the
Highway sits in a million-plus acre wilderness. Visitors have the rare
opportunity to experience and explore pristine, untouched alpine
and montane landscapes, lush forests, and alpine tundra in the
space of a fewmiles.” It sounded good to me.
3) Treasure moments
My husband and son enjoyed the views and quickly learned
to ignore my irrational fear of imminent death. Turns out, I suf-
fer from acrophobia (fear of heights). I still encourage others to
plan the drive. Traveling from Red Lodge resulted in a rather
wonderful experience in Cooke City, Montana, which is near the
entrance to Yellowstone Park. We found a tiny bakery tucked on
the mountainside with incredible homemade huckleberry Pop-
Tarts and a community of independent people living in some
isolation. Internet access launched in 2017. Cell phones do not
work in much of these areas. There are 20 students in the kin-
dergarten to eighth grade public school, while high schoolers
attend boarding schools. Truly a unique town to visit. There is
a hotel on Main Street and bed and breakfasts right down the
road. Book early.
When we drove through the old gates intoYellowstone, we were
reflective and quiet. There are a lot of trees in the park, as well as
road construction, so prepare for delays with books and activities.
Again, no cell service inmuch of theYellowstone system.
Many of the mapped attractions will be crowded. We heard
half a dozen languages at Old Faithful. Visitors from around the
world visit America’s parks. The park ranger there presented a
very good program on the geyser system and how they work. Be
If it looks like our son is racing up the path to get away from us.
He likely is. I learned a lot about his maturity and ability to
apply what I taught him as my student. He can do it. I
did a pretty good job of preparing this young man.
A teenage’s early mornings spent smiling with parent may
not be unusual on an educational family trip. This father and
son enjoyed rare hours together while I witnessed some good
stuff. Ben’s dad works long hours. They don’t get a lot of time
together. This was a good trip.
Ben, in red shirt, packs the vehicle with his father the
morning we left for “the west.” Our son was an active part
of the 18-month planning for this educational trip to
the national parks.