Pit stop at Rushmore!

Our journey west had begun.

We had the lovely opportunity to experience Chicago's rush hour.  It was fabulous.  I don't think I have experienced a rush hour quite like it before.

We stopped in Wisconsin and bought some fabulous cheese.  We were lucky enough to pass this swiss cheese chalet right off the free way.  I thought it would be a tourist trap, but it was pretty legit and the cheese was fabulous!

The plains of the mid-west...not much to see.

Cora chose to ride with Dad the whole way.  She pretty much got to do what ever she wanted, no sharing movie picks or loud screaming boys.  She was pretty spoiled.

 We detoured up I-90 so we could stop and see this magnificence.

Mount Rushmore

 We are so excited!

 We watched the film, but we were sad because the sculptors studio was closed when we went.  However, the film did a great job describing what went into this monument.  It is a feat of vision that I can not even comprehend.

 My kids were a little tired of posing for photos...they have a bit of a crazy streak in them.

 The boys had these little mini rifles that they got in a Cracker Barrel.  Here they are taking aim.

Here is Jack's gun pose.

He had been doing it all day in other photo ops...I decided I needed one of just him.

 We stayed for the evening's lighting ceremony.  They do a brief program, show a historical film and then do a Soldier/veteran salute.  They lower the flag and then they light up the monuments.  It was a  pretty neat experience, very patriotic.  It was getting us ready for the 4th of July!