The first night we spent in Spokane, WA. Then we headed across ID and MT. Well lets just say there is lots of untouched land. We really enjoyed the beauty of our country. To see the land the way it was (or as close to it was) when the settlers came over. Our God is very creative!
MT and ND have tons of ranches. It was miles and miles and miles and miles and miles, did I mention MILES of Ranches? It was neat to see all the openness of the the BIG SKY COUNTRY. I know now why they call it that. It seems to look as if the sky goes on forever.
Then we moved into MN. The northern part of MN is beautiful with green grass and rolling hills. It was not till we got to Minneapolis that we felt like we were back into civilization. It was so nice to look at my phone and see 3G! We went to the Mall of America. We had a blast at Nickelodeon Universe, American Girl and just window shopping. We stayed till the mall closed. It was nice to have a day off the road and just have fun!
The next stop was IL and we took in the sights of Chicago. We did the Chicago Sightseeing Tours and hit the "High Spots" as would say in the south. We had Rain Forrest Cafe for lunch. YUM! We then finished out our tour and hit the Navy Pier. We rode the Ferris Wheel just as the sun was starting to set. It was a great end to a great day!
Then we finished out our drive across the US. It was after Chicago we started hitting the Toll Roads. We don't have them down south and well I have to say that we felt the PINCH! What made it hurt worse was the roads were horrible! It was not till we got into NY that the toll roads started to pay off. The roads were nice. We did stop and see Niagara Falls. We took the Maid of the Mist tour. It was very neat to see the Falls and how powerful they are. All I could think of was the Lord and his Mighty Power!
We pulled into Fort Drum August 27th at about 9 pm. It was a sight for sore eyes! We are excited to start our new life in the North Country. I have to say I am loving the rural area here. The rolling hill and the leaves are starting to change. When we pulled into town, I rolled down the windows! Hannah-Grace asked me "Mom, what is that smell?" I told her Freedom! LOL! It was cow and horse farms we were smelling. It is nice to not have to smell the the car exhaust fumes of WA. I loved our time in WA and we meet life long friends but I am digging the rural life up here. Watertown is a town that has everything we need. Tons of stores, restaurants and we are even getting more! Syracuse is just an hour up the road IF we should have to need something that we can't get here. I love the 1800/1900's Victorian Homes. They are breath taking. I love the Black River that RUSHES through town. We are going to explore Watertown even more this weekend. I am looking forward to living here in the North Country!
