The best adventures are the unplanned ones

The usual silly child calm and peaceful...
A picture for scale-my worrisome nature allowed little climbing

Small fry and his new animal tracking pocket guide, in case we needed to identify the prairie dog prints

Big Fry's close up, not a zoom len my friends

In quiet awe (he sat like that for quite awhile)

I could write about my super annoying hubby and his perpetual bad mood about work and its carry over affect at home-I won't it is just venting and does no one any good.
I could write my soap box message about women and weight that has been weighing heavily (no pun intended) on my mind-I won't

I could write about the cool vintage ice cream bowls I got and the homemade ice cream I tried to make to go in them

I had planned to write a whiney message of my summer being almost over and how I am approaching super sad about it-this has truly been one of the best summers (hubby's work aside). But I won't, instead I will write a cool story of another adventure.

Somehow our best fun mom days wind up being the ones I didn't really plan for. MY plan was to go on the Mickelson trial to which both boys wrinkled their noses at. So instead they choose the hatchery at Spearfish. On the way to Spearfish I see a sign: Exit 23-The fastest way to Devil's Tower. I ponder, I have never been either have the boys-I cautiously throw out, "Who wants to go to Devil's Tower?" Right away Big Fry is on board, Small Fry wants to know how long and do I have enough fuel. I purposely don't tell him how long A) he will whine and B) I don't know. We hit exit 23. I have to tell you the area around Belle Fourche is not that great but once we hit Wyoming I was in love! I want to retire right there in that little corner, in one of the old barns/houses I saw and was dying to jump over barb wire fences to take a pic of.

The trip was awesome, seeing the big cone for the first time for all of us was awesome. We hiked around took some pics. My most favorite pic, I couldn't get. It was of Big Fry in the prairie dog field, commando crawling like a true Nat Geo photographer to get up close and personal. We ate at a little paneled table in a small dive in Hulett and headed home. The sky was super blue and the day was super fun. I love those days where the stars align, everyone gets along, and the following conversation with Big Fry takes place: Mom, it would take men along time to make this, huh-if ever. Me-You know what I don't think men could make anything this beautiful. Big Fry-your right mom, no way, only nature could make something like this.