Including a visitor from Bulgaria.  Not the only one, but the only one who found this via a search engine.  Someone in Bulgaria must be doing a research paper on Little Bighorn, Montana.

Okay, so, now that I’ve transcribed it from the Cyrillic, you can kinda see it, right?

1. Receipt, Zip Trip #50 (Park City, Montana)

2. Receipt, DLR# 4594222 (Anaconda, Montana)

3. Receipt, Fics Conoco (Drummond, Montana)

4. Magazine insert, Bedandbreakfast.com (from B&B in Saint Cloud, Minnesota…I was supposed to fill this survey out and send it back.  That’ll probably happen.)

5. Receipt, Coffee Too (Preston, Washington)

6. Receipt, Historic Olive Hotel (Miles City, Montana)

7. Receipt, Heron’s Nest (Vashon, Washington; this was for a “paw mounted print”)

8. Hand-written receipt for a store whose name I don’t remember, Missoula, Montana (item purchased: “top,” $6.50.  I think this was a red/white flowered tank top, handmade with lace edging by some Missoula hippie whose boobs and proportions were just my size)

9. Range Riders Museum brochure (Miles City, Montana…but we didn’t go here…)

10. And an added bonus find, totally unrelated to this trip, but a throwback from another trip:

Receipt, American Express Europe Ltd., Glasgow Airport (currency exchange in Glasgow, Scotland: April 27, 2006; found in a pocket of my suitcase when packing for a road trip last weekend to Cincinnati/NKY).

1. Business card, Wallace District Mining Museum (Idaho–Silver Capital of the World)

2. Receipt, Beechers Handmade Cheese (Pike Pl. Market, Seattle)

• $10.79 for fleur chevre (goat cheese that I forgot to eat – I hope Em/Ash/Ev/Rog enjoyed it)
• $8.95 for “MTC cirrus” (I guess this was the brie)
• $4.25 for Beecher crackers

3. Receipt, Rose Lake General Store (Cataldo, Idaho)

4. Receipt, Vantage Texaco (Vantage, Washington, outside Seattle)

5. Receipt, Museum of the Rockies (Bozeman, Montana)

6. Receipt, Zip Trip #50 (Park City, Montana)

7. Receipt, Zip Trip #59 (Miles City, Montana)

8. Receipt, Richardton Cenex (Richardton, North Dakota)

9. Receipt, Park Street BP/MS Mart (Madison, Wisconsin)

10. Receipt, Fics Conoco (Drummond, Montana)

11. Receipt, Hilltop Mini-Mart (Moses Lake, Washington)

12. Receipt, Top Pot 5th Avenue (Seattle, Washington)

• $2.25 for 16 oz. americano
• $2.98 for two “premium doughnut”

I’ll get the rest of the pictorials up one of these days…I’m aiming for January 13, the trip’s five month anniversary.  I’m half-joking.  Ah, it was a good trip.  Right around the middle of January is when I feel all blah, so revisiting August would be a happy diversion.

Oh, I’m such an artiste.  First stop was a hand-carved carousel with Beth, Josh, Oz, Beth’s mom Marcia, and obviously Em & the boys.

It’s one of the fastest carousels in the world.

It was pretty difficult to get any decent pix, but I took about fifty so at least a couple came out decent.

You could look into the workshop.  Here is a bunny in the process of being carved and sanded before being painted.  He is waiting patiently for someone to give him a second eye.  This somehow reminds me of the Velveteen Rabbit: “Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby.  But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”   Though the rabbit’s in the process of being beautified, it still makes me think of the reverse order of things.

Beth, her mom, and darling lil’ Oz, chilling in his sling.

Papa Josh with his pumpkin.

The Clark Fork River, winding its way through downtown Missoula.  Beth works right behind that other building.  She said that people like that guy in the kayak come there for lunch.

I like how this place was called The Wilma.  This is on Main Street.  Of course, right after taking this picture, I got hit up for spare change.

Oh really?  Anything?  I was bummed because this place was closed.  I really wanted to test them to see if they really would buy anything.  But it was a Sunday.  Josh told me that it was a weird place anyway, that they wouldn’t sell anything.  So apparently they buy everything, but won’t sell anything.  Sounds like good business to me.

Because I got distracted by the train tracks, I missed the few shops that were still open.  That’s okay.  Check out the rainclouds to the east and blue skies to the west.

Cute lil’ Missoula and its Big M.  Beth said that doesn’t stand for Missoula; rather it’s for University of Montana.  The campus is over by the M.  I wish I would have walked over there that day but I didn’t realize that’s where it was.

Here ya go Em – Red’s Bar: home of the White Sox.

I love old signs.  And, Go Griz!

I didn’t get a lot of good pix in Missoula.  That’s a shame.  We went for dinner and a drinky-poo to The Iron Horse on Main, which was very Missoula-ey according to the Aronoffs.  A good day.  Not enough time to explore it all, unfortunately.

DeForest, Wisconsin.  Emily, Asher, Evan, and big ol’ naughty-lookin’ udders.

Minnesota, land of 10,000 windmills (‘n barns)

Asher & Evan spinning Emily in a red tire thing in Minnesota

Asher and Evan steer a red wheel with intensity while Kelly (hey, that’s me!) looks pensive in the red tire thingy in the middle of Minnesota.

Rough ridin’ in Jackson, Minnesota at the Fort Belmont historic thingy.

Boisterous young lads make horseys cry.

Boys try their hands at plowing the soil at Fort Belmont.

Sunset over Main Street, Mitchell, South Dakota.

Hey, anyone want to move into an enchanted dollhouse?  No, really?  Because that wouldn’t be creepy or anything.  (No really, I’m totally serious.  The number is right there.  Who wants to live in an abandoned doll castle with me?)

And of course, the Corn Palace.  One of America’s Destinations.

Day Numero Deux: Mitchell, South Dakota to Moorcroft, Wyoming

Haystacks and a stream near Vivian, South Dakota

Emily is remarkably cheerful considering she’s about to be eaten by an enormous beast.

We escaped from the creature and arrived at the Badlands.  I think we should rename them the Badasslands.

Ooooh, ahhhh.  By the way, that shot was taken with my phone.  Sometimes I hate my iPhone, like when it sucks at being a phone, but then it does stuff like that.   All is forgiven.  By the way, the above pic is way better if you click on it and biggify it.

I used to get mad at my Dad because he would take two pictures of me and twenty pictures of landscapes.  Dad, I have become you.  I revoke every snarky comment I ever made about how you were more interested in dirty hills and rocks and buildings than me.  I totally get it.  Dad, behold your daughter.

Oh look.  Hills.  Black Hills.

I don’t know if you knew this, but there’s like four presidents’ faces carved into rock.  They’re like, really big & stuff.  I heard something funny here: some girl said to some guy, “17 + 6 equals 21, dumbass.”  Oh, America.

We’re in Wyoming!  There’s Devil’s Tower!  Also, Frank at the Devil’s Tower Lodge told us that those three humpy-lookin’ things over to the left are called the Missouri Buttes or something (too lazy to look it up, sorry).  I remember the MO part was right.  Yeah, MO!  Both Em & I are native Missourians so this was just like coming home.

Here’s the view of the tower from Frank’s backyard.  I was curious about that little shack over yonder but I didn’t investigate.

Day 3 on da  road: Moorcroft, Wyoming to Missoula, Montana

Cozy Motel.  Yes.  Downtown Moorcroft, Wyoming.  I tried to take a picture of a real live cowboy at the gas station.  I didn’t get a shot.  So no cowboy pic.  If only you knew how tragic that really was.

Battle of Little Big Horn Monument in Montana.  The black headstone is where Custer fell.

Poor horseys.

A rare sighting of pink leggings paired with a green hoodie in Montana…no wait…clueless teenager in the way of my shot of the Indian Memorial.  Oh well, it wouldn’t have been a good shot anyways.

Rainbow somewhere west of Butte, Montana, the last stop before we hit Missoula.  Did I mention I saw some kid get busted for stealing candy at a gas station in Butte?  Well, I did.  Poor kid.  Anyway… Alas, we were so tired, we focused mostly on driving and not sightseeing, so we have few pix of the rest of Montana on the way there.  This rainbow couldn’t have come at a better time though, because we were all verging on comatose.  By the time we made it to Beth & Josh’s it was dark, and not ideal conditions for taking pix.

Jesus, this took forever.

bye missoula!

bye big "m"

bozeman, mt:

museum of the rockies (kelly, asher, evan, big mike)

triceratops chair (evan, asher)

prehistoric cave with prehistoric stars (evan, asher)

another triceratops

"tall neck dinosaur and 2 baby dinosaurs" - or so asher and evan say (evan, asher)

idonno dinosaurs (evan, asher)

emergency 15 mile detour to bathroom, at least we got to see a carnival...

miles city, mt:

quick dinner on porch of historic olive hotel (evan, asher)

playing before bedtime (evan, kelly, asher)

I94, western nd:

plane dusting the crops

sunflower fields

keelboat park (evan, asher)

storytime (the minivan, kelly, asher, evan)

replica of canoe used on lewis and clark voyage (asher, evan, kelly)

dock running (evan, asher)

train crossing

water play (asher, evan)

footprints on the pavement

jamestown, nd:

frontier village on the left

frontier village on the other left

louis l'amour writer's shack (kelly)

ridin that train (evan, asher)

first pony ride!!!! (pepper, evan, emily)

economical pony rides (evan, emily)

more pony rides! (evan, asher)

petting the ponies (kelly, asher, evan)

st. cloud, mn:

strolling to dinner downtown (emily, evan, asher, kelly)

goodnight. (asher, evan)

madison, wi:

reunited with daddy and friends! (evan, asher, elliott, roger)

(amy)

(roger, dietrich)

the gang (dietrich, amy, elliott, big firetruck, emily, asher, evan)

then on to chicago. i lamely don’t have a picture of the end, but it was about 11:30pm when we finally got the boys in bed at home.

a very good trip indeed.

we finally meet him!!! (baby oz)

(oz, beth, marcia, and a bit 'o' kelly)

(josh, oz)

merry-go-round (asher, emily, evan)

playing at dragon hollow park (asher, evan)

playing at dragon hollow park (beth)

hills are for running down (asher, beth, evan)

man, dog, and canoe

 hangin’ ’round the aronoff home:

ferret in the morning (josh, byers, asher, evan)

skater baby animal mobile in action--note: another friend, sara, and i made the mobile for oz's babyshower it's a point of pride for us, we think we did a pretty darn good job (oz, beth)

park swingin' (evan, asher)

 rattlesnake trail:

the boys' first mountain trail hike!!!! (evan, asher)

evan's rock (evan)

asher's rock (asher)

(oz, beth)

mountain view (asher, evan, oz, beth)

first touch of a mountain stream (evan, asher)

rattlesnake creek

how a real man throws rocks (evan, josh, asher)

visitors

wet clothes

art medium - water and rocks (asher, evan)

bridge crossing (oz, beth, evan, asher)

jammin' (evan, asher, oz, beth, josh)

born performers (evan, asher)

leaving chicago (evan, asher)

deforest, wi

big cow (asher, kelly, evan)

jackson, mn:

fort belmont (asher)

homemade rocking horses

old fashion view finders

old fashion marble toy at fort belmont museum (asher, evan, kelly)

sod house (evan)

spinning wheels are fun (evan, asher)

blocks

homestead at fort belmont (evan, asher, kelly)

mitchell, sd

nearly stayed here, but decided against it since it didn't get the best reviews and i had 2 toddlers to think about.

big steer (evan, asher)

big buffalo (evan, asher)

night night toys

night night boys (evan, asher)

oacoma, sd:

the missouri river

badlands, sd:

(kelly, asher)

climbing the badlands (emily, evan)

wall drug, a must see for all tourists

petting the daddy dear (asher)

buckin' bronco (emily, evan)

runnin' the rails (asher)

another horsey! (evan)

can't get enough of those wild west rides (evan, asher)

mt. rushmore, sd:

no explination needed

black hills drivethru

wyoming turkey

wyoming ground hogs

wyoming deer

devils tower in the distance

moorcroft, wy:

breakfast at the cozy inn (evan, asher)

blogging at cozy inn (kelly)

car play while mommy packs (evan, asher)

on the road in wy:

coal train

nuff said.

little big horn, mt:

walking through the battlefield (evan, asher)

headstones representing fallen american soldiers

headstone representing fallen indian warrior

smelling the sage brush (kelly)

gorge where some of the heaviest fighting occured

driving thru mt: 

sun on the mountains and the clouds

sun on the hills

sun through the rain

sunset

The proprietors, Carol and Chauncey, greeted us as we dropped our luggage onto their gravel driveway, then helped us carry some things as they ushered us into the most beguiling bed and breakfast I have ever encountered (in my limited experience).  The house was a historic Victorian structure, ivy climbing the gables, exterior walls of a welcoming cream brick with red trim.  Artifacts dotted the yard, turning it into a picturesque playground: a vintage blue Schwinn, its basket an ad hoc container for pink pansies; wagon wheels, watering cans, and washtubs blooming with petunias; terracotta pots stacked upside down with a tray balanced on top to create a birdbath; an old red wagon that the boys found immediately and began giving their toys rides.  Then, we saw the inside.  Holy antique hoarders!  It looked like Carol and Chauncey were in the antique store business rather than the B&B biz.  Old stuff lined the walls and covered every inch of available surface area.  Stuff was stacked on things, gimcracks mingled with gewgaws, whirligigs cuddled with whatnots.  I would have loved to stay there for a week and never leave the place, rather investigating the nooks and crannies cram-jammed with crumbly, aged relics.  I coveted a great many items, but at the same time, felt nearly claustrophobic, surrounded as we were by so many ghosts.

Okay, I’m not a good photographer at all, but I love that picture.  It has been easy to capture interesting images on this trip.

Observe the plethora  of stuff and also the boys playing in the mirror.  This was in the “Blue Room,” I think, where Emily and the boys slept.

The above two are from my room, the “Gold Room,” which was huge and filled with STUFF, STUFF, STUFF!!!!!  Old ads, hatboxes, an autograph book from 1890something, old wire rim glasses, a writing desk outfitted with quills and ink bottles…lots of fun stuff!

Oops, this one’s a little blurry, but that’s Carol and Chauncey w/ Emily and the boys.  I didn’t mention how C+C had six kids, one adopted, and about 9287398729 grandkids, and pictures of them all, everywhere.  I didn’t ask them about their music factory.  Get it?!  C+C?  MUSIC FACTORY?!  EVERYBODY DANCE NOW!  HA.  HA.  HA.  Ahem.  Never mind.

We tore ourselves away from antique-gazing to walk five blocks to a place Carol recommended called Jules’ Bistro, a funky café with original paintings on the walls, delicious gourmet pizza, and friendly servers.  We didn’t see much of downtown Saint Cloud other than the blocks we walked (the B&B was very close to town center), but the place felt clean and inviting, minus a major construction endeavor that had ripped up a hefty portion of the main drag.  We walked, the four of us hand-in-hand, taking our time and savoring this last full night of our adventure.

The next morning we ate a scrumptious breakfast baked by Carol before we went on our way.  We drove straight through Minneapolis/Saint Paul and I vowed to come back someday and spend some time in what I’ve heard to be a wonderful city…in the warmer months, that is.  I realized too late that we could have stopped by Landmark Plaza downtown to see the bronze Peanuts character statues (Charles Schulz was born in Minneapolis and grew up in Saint Paul).  There’s one big reason for me to come back.

We explored Wisconsin at Lake Menomin in the town of Menominee.  Alas, we only had time for a quick picnic before heading back on the road to Chicago, but we stopped for dinner at Emily’s friend Amy’s house in Madison, where Emily’s husband Roger met us.  We had a yummy supper of peanut noodles, sliced veggies and fruit, and I squeezed in a short nap because by that time, I had been on the road for four solid days and my brain, body and eyes in particular were leaden.  Rejuvenated by the meal and the nap, we headed for Chicago, Roger, Emily and the boys in the van, me in Roger’s car, blasting some tunes (which is hard to do with young boys napping in the backseat).

A twin bonanza!  Amy and her boys and Emily and hers.

The trip ended on a bit of a buzz kill, courtesy of the Illinois toll system.  We had completely forgotten about the tolls that pepper the highway all the way from Wisconsin to Chicago, which was not a problem for Roger and Emily, as they have a speed-pass that can be electronically detected.  I, on the other hand, had only about forty cents cash to my name, and I blew through the first toll unpaid.  We had to stop the caravan so that Emily could loan me the cash to pay the tolls, and from what I heard later, that created chaos in their car, since all the stopping and starting woke up the boys, who were a tad miffed about the situation.  Weren’t we all!  The icing on the cake was the enormous traffic jam when we hit the north side of Chicago.  Naturally, by this time, my bladder was brimmin from the  large coffee I pounded from when we gassed up in Madison, and though I am fairly familiar with Chicago geography, I didn’t know enough to just pull off to a gas station and let Roger and Emily go ahead.  I needed to follow them, although I probably could have figured it out (Addison to LSD, not that hard).  They live in the south side (six blocks from Obama!), and we were bumper to bumper up north.  Alas.  After much teeth-gritting and cursing of Illinois for being so crowded and toll-happy, we made it to the house at last.  I adore Chicago and have considered moving there many, many times, but that was just straight up mean, Chicago.

The next morning, I woke up thinking I was in Seattle.  I was disoriented for a good minute and a half before I realized that I was in Emily’s guest room, where I have slept a number of times since they bought the house a couple years ago.  After shaking off the cobwebs, I emerged from the bedroom to spend my last morning with Emily and the boys before heading home to my beloved Saint Louis.  If  the tolls and traffic were the most annoying thing we had to deal with for the whole trip, I think we did pretty well.  We had an incredible time, and I am already looking forward to our next foray across the country (where shall we go next?)

Stay tuned for a pictorial retrospective!