Road construction was a major theme of the trip. Almost all drives were longer than expected, but we didn't have any major problems and the boys were mostly well-behaved.
Friday (July 17, 2015)
Jackson, MI, to Kasota, MN. Lunch at Oasis (Panda Garden). Katrina, Connor, and Rowen rode with Janelle and I. Trevor rode with my mother and father. Evening with aunts and uncles. Dinner at China Buffet. Evening boat ride - boys get to drive the boat.
Saturday
Early morning 5 min. fishing - Connor gets one on the line. Boat and swimming - rocky and shallow bottom, tour of lake, biting black flies. Spaghetti lunch. Kasota to St. Paul. Wedding in museum (sand, Star Wars, the missing place-setting, Mom's non-dairy meal, kids' toys and books, candy, lots of goodbyes). St. Paul to Kasota - arrive after midnight.
Sunday
Up at 5am. Dad and Katrina leave for Michigan. 7:30 mass at St. Peter and Paul's. Pick up groceries for Mom. Kasota, MN, lunch at Burger King (jalapenos for 25 cents more) to Badlands (90+ degrees, 1st outlook spot, door and window hike, visitor's center [water!], fossil path and climbing), dinner at IHOP (severely understaffed), and then to Spearfish, SD.
Monday
Still didn't go swimming at the hotel's small pool. Left Spearfish at 9am to Devil's Tower. Hiked the 1.3 mile path around the tower. Lunch at Taco Bell (ordered one meal too many). Connor having his own pop is not a good idea as we had to stop twice by the side of the road. No real stops from Casper, WY, all the way to Opal (pronounced Oh! pal). Boys didn't sleep for most of the trip.
Tuesday
The boys were up before everyone today. Eggs, bacon, and toast made up our breakfast meal. Visited Fossil Butte (took a 5.8 mile single lane road up and back to the over 8,000 ft vantage point). Kemmerer ("Kimmer") for groceries and gas. Visited the park in Opal. Elk burgers for dinner. Looked into the geodome ("Luke Skywalker") house.
Wednesday
Pancake breakfast. Trip to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area (picnic, driving ahead of the rain, dipping briefly into Utah). Elk roast for dinner. Boys got onto Minecraft on PC and XBox. Visited my in-laws future house (another year of work before it's ready).
Thursday
LONG drive. Woke up at 3am and left at 4am (Mountain time). Lunch on the road (sandwiches). Pizza Ranch for dinner (buffet of pizza, salad, and fried chicken dinner food). Arrived at the cottage in Kasota at around 11pm (Central time). Boys were awake for most of the trip again.
Friday (July 24, 2015)
Slow morning. Picked up my mother (who spent the past week at the cottage). Left the cottage just after 10:15am (Central time). Lunch on the road again (summer sausage, smoked salmon, and cheese curds). IHOP (now the boys' favorite restaurant) for dinner. Arrived home a little before midnight.