Rolling by the Dozen

Friday we left our RV park in Billings and made our way to our new spot in Great Falls. Every time we hitch the RV to the truck and start driving, River asks enthusiastically, “Mommy, are we going to a new RV park?” It’s funny how this has become our normal way of life. We have adjusted and are used to our traveling lifestyle.

Our kids couldn’t wait to get to this particular RV park, Great Falls KOA, because some of our full-time RVing friends were there. As soon as we pulled in, our kids asked when they could see Jeremiah and Addy. Jeremiah and Addy were just as excited and quickly showed up at our site. We enjoyed hanging out at the playground and roasting marshmallows for s’mores together that first evening.

On Saturday we went with our friends to Ryan Dam. It is a huge dam, and it was really cool to see.

After hanging out there awhile, we headed back to the RV park and took the kids to the splash pad.

This was definitely the coolest splash pad we’ve ever seen or experienced.

The pool is about 1.5 feet deep. My kind of pool – I didn’t worry too much about our kids. I put floaties on our little ones for extra safety, though.

Our kids had so much fun. They wore themselves out running around, sliding and playing.

The next morning, we told our friends goodbye as they headed out to Kalispell, the same place we’d be going the next day.

We hung around the RV that morning and had our own family church, something we’ve been doing since March. It’s nice having kids who play instruments and lead worship for us! We will be very ready to visit different churches again when this virus calms down, though.

Sunday afternoon we went to Giant Springs State Park in Great Falls. It was absolutely gorgeous.

The springs flowing into Roe River were amazing to see.

We walked a paved trail along the river side and took in all the great views surrounding us.

We got off on a side trail and followed a stream of water. I had Rhythm take a photo of Ryan and me.

When he finished taking the photo, some of our girls yelled at me and asked me to take a photo of them. I laughed when I saw that they’d perfectly arranged themselves for a great photo. Those are my girls! Haha.

Throughout our visit to Giant Springs, we would hear water running and we’d try tracking down where the water was coming from.

We all loved Giant Springs State Park. We would have spent much more time there if we had the time.

We’ve always heard Montana is beautiful. It truly is. We have loved every moment we’ve gotten to spend in it!

A couple people recommended we drive Beartooth Highway. I blew off the idea because it was about a 2 hour drive to Beartooth Pass from our RV park in Billings, and a 2 hour drive back. That’s a lot of time in the van just driving. We met a family of 9 at our RV park, and they told us it was the most beautiful drive they’ve ever done. Ryan talked me into it after that conversation. And I’m glad he did!

We drove about an hour to Red Lodge. There we stopped at Family Dollar to pick up some snacks. From there, endless amazing views unfolded before our eyes.

We drove up, winding through mountains. There were numerous pull-offs and look-outs along the way. It was hard to resist stopping at them all.

One of our favorite stops was at Rock Creek Vista Point. There were restrooms, which we all needed and used.

Tons of chipmunks were roaming around that area. A man gave our kids sunflower seeds to feed to the chipmunks. Our kids absolutely loved feeding them. Bravely was half excited, half terrified. She had us all laughing!

There we walked on a path out to an amazing mountain viewpoint. We were all in awe of the surrounding beauty.

We got back in the van and ate snacks as we drove into more incredible views, this one being my favorite. Lake, mountains, sunshine, blue skies, clouds and snow…doesn’t get much more picturesque than this.

Did I mention snow? Snow in July? We were so excited to stop and stand in it. Naturally, most of our kids (and Ryan 😁) started throwing snowballs.

After seeing the snow we continued on, crossing from Montana into Wyoming, and we drove Beartooth Pass.

After Beartooth Pass, we turned around and saw all the beautiful views once again as we headed back home to our RV. We do call our RV home sweet home.

We all thought Beartooth Highway was completely worth the long drive. We’d do it again, and we highly recommend it.

Tuesday we went to Pictograph Cave State Park in Billings, Montana.

Pictograph Cave State Park is an area of three caves. The Pictograph, Middle and Ghost caves were home to generations of prehistoric hunters.

At the park entrance there is a small visitor’s center with a gift shop. We stopped there to pay our entrance fee ($8 per vehicle) and to purchase some postcards.

Right off the parking lot, there is a loop trail that allows visitors to view the rock paintings, known as pictographs, that are still visible in Pictograph Cave. It was fun trying to see and make out the paintings.

We enjoyed walking the trail and exploring the caves. The trail is jog stroller friendly. Part of the trail is paved and part is gravel.

Pictograph Cave State Park was a beautiful, fun and easy park to visit!

The next day we drove a little under an hour from Billings to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.

We got in free with our national park 4th grade pass. Some national monuments accept the pass and some do not. All national parks accept it.

On our drive over, we read about the Battle of Little Bighorn, also known as Custer’s Last Stand. Our kids were so excited when I read that one of the Indian leaders in this battle was Crazy Horse, having recently visited the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota. Traveling really makes history come to life.

The battlefield was neat to walk around. We viewed gravestones and read historical markers along the way. We were all on a hunt to find Custer’s gravestone. We thought it’d be one of the larger stones, but it wasn’t. We finally spotted it after a long while looking.

After walking, we got in the van and drove a loop around the area. We stopped and read signs that let us know what happened in each area we were currently viewing.

The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument was a very interesting place to visit.

Monday we made the beautiful drive from Dickinson, North Dakota to Billings, Montana.

When we first pulled into our RV park, Yellowstone River RV Park, it looked very nice. We quickly found out that this park has narrow double sites, meaning we’d be sharing a small space with another RV. We would be unable to keep our outdoor rug, table and normal stuff out due to having such a close neighbor. After getting over the shock of the crowded space and settling in, we decided to walk the nature trail at the back of our RV park.

We walked a little ways down the trail, and we were impressed.

We continued on and were excited when we got to this rock bed with a rimrock view. Our kids collected several unique and pretty rocks. We have a rock collection and a seashell collection from our travels. We plan to have clear jars filled with each in the future.

Instead of crossing the rock bed and walking the marked trail, we decided to walk along the rock bed and see where it led us. And we ended up at such an amazing spot – Yellowstone River.

We honestly had no idea we’d end up here. It was the best kind of surprise, and it made the lack of RV space completely worth it.

We had a blast throwing rocks into the river and watching the big splashes, skipping stones across the river, and throwing sticks into the river and watching the sticks float out of site.

We returned to the river the next two evenings. It was just too gorgeous and so much fun. Our kids made a new friend, and we took him along with us the third night.

Something we’ve learned while RVing is that we often find the most amazing things or have the best time in the most unexpected places. When something seems to go south, we know something really good must be just around the corner.

Friday we drove The Enchanted Highway from Gladstone to Regent in North Dakota.

The Enchanted Highway is a collection of the world’s largest scrap metal sculptures constructed along a 32-mile stretch.

We had a blast driving along and stopping at each metal creation, trying to beat a storm headed our way.

Manning insisted I take this picture of him. Teenage boy! 😁

By the time we got to this Theodore Roosevelt metal sculpture, it was starting to rain. It was like a game to see how fast we could get all twelve of us out of our van, take a photo, and jump back in.

We got our last photo with this tin family just in time. Shortly after we got back in the van, it started pouring down rain. We saw on the radar that hail was headed our way, we drove to a spot in between two hail storms on the radar and waited for the storm to pass. It passed over quickly, and then we started our drive back up The Enchanted Highway.

At the very beginning of The Enchanted Highway, across the interstate, we’d missed my very favorite metal sculpture. We drove back to it and took photos in the sprinkling rain.

This metal sculpture, Geese in Flight, is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest outdoor sculpture. It is 90 feet high.

We enjoyed seeing the scrap metal art, and racing the storm made it all the more fun! We were enchanted.

Wednesday, we drove from Dickinson to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

First, we stopped at the Painted Canyon Visitor’s Center. From there we hiked a pretty strenuous trail called the Painted Canyon Nature Trail. It was steep climbing, beautiful and fun.

We took water, and we needed it. It was a warm, sunny day.

We noticed we were the only ones around who chose to do this whole trail. That made sense to us by the time we got to the end. Our legs were feeling it!

But we were glad we chose to do it anyway.

When we finished the Painted Canyon Nature Trail, we took a much needed potty break. Then, we drove to the South Unit Visitor’s Center in Medora. There we got the kids’ passport books stamped, and we bought postcards, a Christmas ornament and a few gifts. We got Bravely a stuffed Buffalo for her birthday. She loves it and calls it her, “buff-uhh-lo”.

We, then, drove to different trails a ranger thought would interest us.

The Wind Canyon Trail was absolutely amazing. The views were stunning.

The Little Missouri River runs through this area of the park. We so enjoyed looking down on it as we walked along mountains above.

This trail was a shorter, easier hike. There was one steep part at the end.

This was definitely our favorite view of the day!

After walking the Wind Canyon Trail, we drove to Buck Hill. There we climbed up a steep mountain, but it was a short trail with beautiful views.

This area looked very similar to Badlands National Park, only with green added.

It was very windy, so we made this a quick trip up and back down.

We, then, drove around to our last stop of the day, the Old East Entrance.

There we walked the Old East Entrance Station Trail in a very open area. There were prairie dogs everywhere. We enjoyed watching them go in and out of their holes.

We were making our way to a cool old building that the ranger had told me about when we saw a couple buffalo nearby. We debated back and forth for a minute whether we should continue on. Remembering the news article I’d just read about a woman at Yellowstone being attacked by a buffalo, I suggested we turn around and head back toward the van. We were glad we did because within a few minutes, there were the buffalo hanging out by the old building.

We have really liked all the national parks we’ve visited, but I’d say Theodore Roosevelt National Park is one of our favorites. It is the perfect combination of all the things that make a national park great…amazing views, easy to navigate, friendly and helpful rangers, great hiking trails and different interesting things to see in different areas of the park.

We’ve been in North Dakota for over a week now. We are staying at a nice, quiet RV park in Dickinson. There was so much to see and do in South Dakota. Here, in North Dakota, we have rested more. We’ve hung around the RV park, gone on walks, reorganized and gotten lots of laundry and chores done.

On July 4th, we went to a parade in downtown Dickinson. We happened to walk right by this mural, which made for the perfect July 4th photo.

Our kids enjoyed watching the parade and collecting candy.

We ate tacos and festive cookies that afternoon. We discovered QDOBA in South Dakota, and we have picked up family taco meals a few times since. It’s similar to Chipotle, our favorite, and there are no Chipotles up here.

That evening of July 4th we watched one of the best firework shows we’ve ever seen. For about 25 minutes it looked like the grand finale.

It was a great way to end our day of celebrating freedom.

On Tuesday afternoon, I went to get my hair cut and colored. At some point, I text Ryan to check in to see how he and our kids were doing. I was shocked by his response.

He let me know that they’d just had a traumatic experience. Our three oldest girls were laying in the loft looking out the window. They were watching a man create a new RV space beside us. He was smoothing out dirt with a tractor. Then he got off the tractor, began raking and fell over. Tapestry immediately told Ryan that a man had fallen and it looked bad. Ryan ran outside right away, called 911 and began CPR on this man who had no pulse. The cops arrived and took over doing CPR. The ambulance arrived and loaded the man, who still had no pulse.

On my way home from getting my hair done, I stopped by the RV park office to check on the man. I was told they did get his pulse back and that he was being life-flighted. I found out his name was Gary.

Ryan and our kids were so relieved to hear that Gary was alive. We all prayed he would make it and have a full recovery. We found out the next morning that he’d passed away around 5AM, though. We were so, so sad for his wife Patsy, his three adult kids and his grandkids.

We did get to meet and spend some time with Patsy and their kids. We couldn’t stand the circumstances, but we really enjoyed talking with them. Most of our kids made cards for Patsy and took turns giving her cards and hugs. The sweetest thing – Bravely walked over to Patsy and said, “I want a hug, I want kisses.” There’s nothing quite like a 2-year-old to add a smile in the midst of deep sadness.

Yesterday evening we said our goodbyes to Patsy and to Gary’s kids. Patsy gave little gifts to each of our kids. She gave our girls these heart chimes – a reminder of Gary, Patsy and their family, who will always remain in our minds and in our hearts.

Life is fragile, unpredictable and, at times, heart shattering. I’m thankful for hope, light in the darkness and joy that eventually does come again.

Bravely turned two years old today! We have always had another baby before our toddler turned two, so we are stepping into new territory. Our BABY is two, and yes, I still call her my baby. 😊

This morning Bravely woke up in the bed right between her mommy and daddy. She does sleep at least some of the night in her own bed, but she does love being in our bed. Ryan and I sang her Happy Birthday as soon as she opened her eyes. Then she had quite the slew of sibling birthday wishes. She gave a look like, “Seriously people? I just woke up! Give me a few minutes.” Haha.

Once Bravely got out of bed, she went with her daddy to choose donuts from a local donut shop. She pointed out donuts she wanted.

When they returned to the RV, we added candles to her top two choices and sang Happy Birthday. Bravely loved being sung to, and she especially loved blowing out her candles.

And, of course, she and all her brothers and sisters loved eating the donuts.

After breakfast, Bravely opened gifts and we read her what we’d each written in her journal.

She was so adorable opening her gifts. She got excited about each one. She thanked us at least three times for the little purple sippy cup from Bear Country U.S.A. I am pretty sure that was her favorite gift. We all loved her reaction to the remote control car we got her. She had us laughing hard.

Bravely spent the rest of the morning playing with her new toys. Then, we picked up QDOBA for lunch. Bravely got one of her current favorites, rice and beans.

Bravely took a good nap this afternoon in her favorite place – her momma’s arms.

This evening we walked to a playground nearby. Bravely had a blast swinging, climbing and sliding. She really thinks she’s a big girl now!

To end the day, Bravely got to eat a snack and drink milk out of her new cup in Mommy and Daddy’s bed. She had a great day, and I suspect she’ll sleep in tomorrow morning.

Happy 2nd birthday, Bravely Love! 💗

You are the absolute cutest, sweetest little girl! You are a bright light in our family, and you bring lots of smiles and laughter to all of us everyday. You are a busy girl – walking, running, talking, laughing and playing. But you often stop and take time for cuddles. You adore your mommy. You like snuggling with me and rubbing my arms. You say, “I want you arms.” You love to play LEGOs and link together spokes that you call snakes. You love walking around outside collecting sticks and rocks. You love singing. Jesus Loves You and Baby Shark are your favorites. You talk a ton. We call you our baby genius because you know way too many words and say way too many sentences in correct context for your age. It’s adorable! A couple of my favorite things you say are, “I love it” when you really like something and “I need Momma” or “I want a Momma” when you want me to hold you. You are an adventurer. You’ve ridden rides, explored caves, gone on hikes and traveled all over the United States at your young age. Your little glasses combined with your laugh and smile melt our hearts and the hearts of other people everywhere we go. You are such a sweet, adorable, lovable little girl. I love every moment of everyday I get to spend with you. You are momma’s girl, and I soak that up! I love you so very much, my little Bravely Love! 💕

On our last day in South Dakota, we drove about 60 miles from our RV park in Rapid City to Spearfish Canyon.

Spearfish Canyon is a gorgeous area located in the northern Black Hills. There are waterfalls, hiking trails and views for miles.

We drove through Spearfish Canyon, and we ended up stopping to hike the Roughlock Falls Trail. It was definitely a great decision!

The trail is 2 miles round trip. It’s overall an easy hike. And the weather was perfect – overcast and cool.

Some of our kids really wanted to pan for gold. We stopped at a stream and let them go for it.

No gold was found, but they had fun panning anyway.

The only thing we wished we would have done that we didn’t was wear River and Bravely in carriers on our backs. River got a blister on her foot and needed to be held most of the way.

And Bravely wanted to walk a lot, which substantially slows us down, or she wanted to be held by only her mommy. Ryan and I were sore by the end of that hike! Ha.

The trail is not stroller friendly.

When we got to the waterfall, Roughlock Falls, we were completely amazed. It is one of the prettiest waterfalls we’ve seen yet.

I told Ryan that if we lived in that area, I’d walk that alone as often as possible. It is so peaceful and beautiful!

Going to Spearfish Canyon, hiking and seeing Roughlock Falls was the perfect ending to our amazing time in South Dakota.

South Dakota won our hearts. I foresee future trips back for sure!

Tuesday we met up with the Techau family at Black Hills Caverns. We first met the Techau family in Santa Fe, NM just as we started traveling full-time in October. They travel full-time as well. We ended up in Stone Mountain, GA at the same time in February, so we all rode the tram up Stone Mountain together. We coincidentally were in Rapid City at the same time, and will be in two places in Montana on the same dates as well!

Our kids love meeting up with their kids, Jeremiah and Addy. It’s fun to make friends and have friends on the road, as we do miss friends back home.

Black Hills Caverns is unique in that it is less touristy and feels more like you are exploring a cave than walking through one. There is an easy walk path, but we did have to duck down to get through certain areas. Our kids thought that was really cool.

Ryan really had to duck. With 3-year-old River on his back, it was quite the work-out.

The cost of admission to Black Hills Caverns is $16.95 for adults, $10.95 for kids ages 6-12 and free to kids ages 5 and under. There are coupons for discounts available.

This is the first cave we have toured with an actual tour guide. Our guide was fun, and it was great to hear all about different parts of the cave as we walked along.

The temperature in the cave was nice and cool.

It took a little over an hour for the whole tour.

Before and after our kids enjoyed digging in dirt for different rocks and gems.

We have found that we really enjoy exploring caverns, and Black Hills Caverns is another great experience to add to our list!