The Longo's take Lalolado!!

Pete and I have always loved a good road trip. That said, the idea of trekking 4,000+ kilometres with 3 kids under 5 didn't have quite the same appeal as our trips of days passed. Despite this we packed up the gang and headed off to Keystone, Colorado where Pete was attending a 4-day mining conference (which we stretched into a 9-day family vacation).

We left late afternoon on May 7th and made it to the border just 15 minutes before it closed (we didn't realize that part of North Dakota was in the Central Time Zone... 10 minutes later we were back in Mountain Zone...!). The kids (all 4 of them!) fell asleep shortly after we made it into the States and I got us all the way to Bowman, North Dakota (approx. 840 kms from Saskatoon) around 1:00 am. Fortunately the Super 8 owner was willing to give us a room after we woke her up and we all slept surprisingly well crammed into two double beds and a pack-n-play.

The next morning we ate a quick breakfast (which was expedited further by the hotel cat that took an interest in terrorizing Josh) and got back on the road. We stopped for lunch shortly after we crossed into South Dakota, at what is apparently the geographical centre of the US.

A few hours later we made it to Mt Rushmore and did some hiking around the monument.



We stopped that night in Lusk, Wyoming at a motel complete with pool and playground. The next morning, Pete took advantage of the road's wide shoulders and what appeared to be good weather, and left ahead of us on his bike. After an hour exhausting the kids at the park, we set off in search of Daddy. This was what it looked like when we left the motel:



This is what it looked like just 5 minutes later:



And this is what a wet, cold and relieved Pete looked like when we found him 20 minutes later:



We made it to Keystone, Colorado later that afternoon (also known as Lalolado, California and Vancouver depending on which monkey you ask...!). When we embarked on this adventure, we had no idea that paradise awaited!!! The scenery was spectacular and the condo was exceptional (particularly after 2 nights in tiny hotel rooms!). Here are some pictures from our stay:

The resort:


The view from our condo:


The condo:


On top of the world:


Five little monkeys sitting on the couch:


We came home via Wyoming and Montana. We stopped early on our second day in Billings, Montana as we had some kids to thank for being so awesome on the trip. How do you reward such awesomness you ask? Well with minigolf, bumper boats, and a hotel complete with waterslides of course!!! They are still talking about it...









(As an aside, I should point out that yours truly won the minigolf game - complete with baby and diaper bag!!). Needless to say, a fantastic time was had by all and we've already started the 6 week countdown to our Ontario adventure in July!

Until next time...