It's over

Whew, we're done. It was great, but we are so happy to be back in NC. Here's our final post of
the 18 states.

Hope you enjoyed traveling with us!

Exploring the city of Chicago and going to Alison & Chris' couple's shower

We took the L downtown and did some sightseeing and shopping.


Chicago has some really great green spaces. We'd love to take a nap here!




The "bean."


Where are we? Can you find us?


Hello!


Too big to pinch!


Jenn in front of the Chicago River, her first trip to Chi town!


Maybe we should have traveled with a big pitch fork?!


Metal moose in downtown Chicago...interesting.


With the soon to be married couple at their couple's shower! What a treat to be there!!


Future bride + Maid of honor (Yeah!!)


Jenn, me, and Al enjoying the beautiful Munster weather before heading inside for delicious, homemade food and a whole slew of presents.


Al and Chris just before they began the present-opening extravaganza!


Amy, Al's sister-in-law, preparing the ribbon bouquet, while I wrote down names and gifts galore. It was getting a wee bit toasty in that room; thus the rosy cheeks!


Al and Chris reading one of the cards I gave them.


With the coffee mugs I got for them. Mmmm, coffee. I can't wait to use those when I visit their new condo!

The Badlands Part 2 and driving to Chicago

We woke up early (4:30) to the sounds of heavy rain, thunder and lightning. Oh, that and the sound of our rain-fly flapping in the wind. When the storm let up around 5:30 we decided to pack up and hit the road. We managed to get in some nice shots as we drove through the park.















We took a side road to see the Prairie Dog Town and were greeted by lots and lots of cows. We thought they were bison from far away. How disappointing! They were a bit intimidating; I worried we would have to call AAA. Do they cover stampede damage?




So cute. He posed for a few photos.


Do you think they'd make good pets?




I thought I could make out some big animals a ways down the road from the prairie dog, and we decided to check it out hoping it was a herd of bison, not cattle. Success!!


Lone bison rolling in dirt.


Lone bison looking camera ready.




A few last shots of the Badlands before heading out. What a great start to our day; Badlands, Bison, Cows, and Prairie dogs all before 8:00 am!








Lindsey took these while I was napping...and she was driving. I'm grateful to be alive.