On to Wyoming and Martin's Cove

After Mt. Rushmore we drove to Casper, Wyoming.  We had all snoozed and refreshed in the car (except Wes) and we were ravenous when we woke up.  I didn't feel like cooking a late dinner at the campground we were headed to, and it didn't take much asking to convince Wes that we should find a restaurant.  We went to Home Town Buffet so that all the kids could find something they liked.  Wow! They can eat a lot!  After dinner we grabbed some groceries and headed south. 

 This is Elias after Home Town Buffet. 

Because of our long dinner stop, we didn't get to the missionary campground until after dark.  Wes was exhausted.  He didn't want to set up the tents.  He thought we should all sprawl out in our sleeping bags.  But I thought we should go ahead and set up the tents.  I told him I would do it . . . he had been driving all day.  I guess he had a guilt complex, because he insisted on helping.  I was glad, because the middle section of our tent proved cumbersome for me.  I did order him off to bed shortly after our end of the tent was set up (it has three sections), and soon he was cutting Z's. We were glad we had set the tents up.  It got quite windy and cold in the night.  It also rained sporadically throughout our stay. 

 In the morning, while I was preparing breakfast,
Ryanne and Mckay held stick-pull competitions.
They were closely matched,

but Ryanne was usually able to up-seat Mcaky.

Elias had his own adventure. 

The patrons before us kindly left

all sorts of kindling and logs for the fire. 

Elias decided it was his goal in life to organize the logs

by size. 

 He methodically transported every single

stick,

twig,

branch

 and log

 in our campsite into a nice, straight row

of sorted and sized wood.

Thanks to Elias, it was easy to find what we needed for the nights' campfire. 


We all enjoyed lounging around the fire after our busy day.



Elias was under strict orders to: "Stay VERY Far Away From the FIRE!"
He did.  We didn't give him his chair back.  He had to sit on the log benches. 



Leah enjoyed warming herself and relaxing.  What a big smile!


Ryanne journaled almost every day of our trip.  One of her favorite moments was when we let her stay up later than the other kids to sit peacefully by the fire and record her thoughts. 

Some of the things we loved about Martin's Cove, Wyoming:


We loved the missionaries. 
Especially our family friends John and Jean Fenn.
Here is Brother Fenn Showing Elias how to sharpen his tools. 


Here is our family standing with Brother and Sister Fenn. 
It was nice to see someone from home when we were
so far from home!

We Loved The Signs. 

And The Snakes. 

It wasn't a rattle snake. 

Just a bull snake we saw by the visitors center.

He was trying to get out of the rain

and happened to find that it was very dry

right there under the patio were

we also were waiting out the cloudburst. 

 We loved the deer. 

 They were everywhere. 

And we mean Everywhere!  Watch your step!

 We loved when Ryanne got the "dust" from the bottom

of a cereal bag and tried to pour it in her mouth. 

Instead it went all over her head. 

We love that mommy can cook great food anywhere!

And that she makes us hot chocoolate every time we camp.

 We loved the Beautiful flowers.

And the Gorgeous blue skies with puffy white clouds.

 We loved fleeting rain showers

that included booming thunder and sizzling lightening

and large raindrops that splattered you for ten minutes 

and then blew away as quickly as they had come.

And Ryanne loved best of all:

 
THE PIT-TOILET!
I WILL ACTUALLY USE THIS ONE!

I must say, I have never, ever, ever, seen such a clean and well-kept pit-toilet.  It didn't even smell bad! And, as Ryanne made sure to mention several times, it also had no spiders!  Hat's off to Senior Missionaries who can even make a toilet look inviting to a teenager! (Ryanne insisted I take a picture of this toilet.  She will keep it forever in her book of pit-toilet-standards).