Medicine Rocks State Park

     Even though we are on the eastern plains of Montana instead of the popular Rocky Mountains in the western part the state, there is still beauty to be found! We firmly believe that beauty can be found anywhere-you just may need to change your definition of beauty! This week found us driving 20 miles south to explore the 330 acre Medicine Rocks State Park. Rolling green hills accurately describes the landscape. Out of nowhere, there appears soft sandstone rock formations that only cover a small area.

These little beauties are in every shade from pink, to dark blue, and purple!

     Years of wind and water erosion have created amazing shapes in these rocks. This was a travel stop for Indians, pioneers, and cowboys for many years. Bison, antelope, deer, and many small animals lived here in abundance. Water and shelter from the wind was also available. Sadly, there is no more bison roaming but we have seen plenty of deer and antelope. We spotted 3 turkeys wandering around as well.

    We hiked over 2 miles, just wandering through these gorgeous rocks.

Admiring the rocks.

People have carved all over them :(

Loved this lone pine!

Teddy Roosevelt said "As fantastically beautiful a place as I have ever seen."

Michael spotted this cute baby bunny.

     The children were not as excited as we were about hiking again but they were troopers and had fun. Eldon said their highlight of the day though was pumping water to fill all our empty containers and I think he's right!

   It was so good to spend a day outside hiking and just basking in the beauty! We discussed how we keep thinking we've found the most beautiful place ever but then we find another. I love it!

Richland Dam Recreation Area

     Richland Dam has got to our favorite boondocking spot yet. A small lake in the Ft. Pierre National Grasslands is surrounded by gentle rolling hills. Big spaces with no other faces! If there have been large amounts of rain, the road getting there could be a mess since it is dirt and not gravel. Also, there is no fires of any kind allowed but otherwise it's perfect! No water, electric, dump station, or trash services here but that is ok with us!

Look at that sky!

From the other side of the lake.

She is such a good little mother to him :).

Hurray for big smiles!

     Once again God blessed us with a stunning sunset. We fished until dark and didn't catch a thing but it sure was fun! We saw lots and lots of turtles and birds.

They have more patience then me!

Even the little guy!

A drone picture. Doesn't it look amazing?!

Mulberry Bend WMA, NE

     This is another great boondocking site right along the Missiouri River. We had a small issue finding this place too, but did find it and requested the directions to updated at freecampsites.net. While the road in is a mile or two of gravel, it's very nice and big rig friendly. It needed mowed but thanks to the gravel lot, it wasn't too bad. Be warned, ticks live here in abundance. There is a vault toilet and 2 small trash cans but no other services here. 

We love all the free sites we can find!

     Watching the sun go down was a spectacular show!

"Me, me, me, MOM! Don't forget me!"

Brownville Riverside Park, NE

     Since we now have solar, our goal was to boondock as much as possible on the way to Montana. We're pleased to announce that it works very well and it's so nice to not run the generator anytime we need to do anything with electricity.

     I spend a ridiculous amount of time using freecampsites.net, campendium.com, and Google Earth to find a boondocking spot that we can easily fit into, isn't far off our route, and has clear directions. Unfortunately, we had some issues with the clear directions part the last few places we've been too. However, I'm delighted to report that freecampsites.net will update their listing and directions if you let them know it's off. Leaving reviews is critical, people! I'm on a mission to leave reviews for all places now, lol. Let's just say, turning a 40 foot rig around when everyone is hungry and grouchy is no fun. And I don't even have to drive :)!

     We spent a night at the Brownville Riverside Park in Nebraska. It was.......ok once we found it. The grass needed mowed but the fact that is was right along the Missiouri River and we were completely alone redeemed it. It was easy to get into and right off the road. Also, you will enter where it says "The South Entrance for River Resort Inn is Closed". No wonder we were confused but the directions on freecampsites should take you to the correct spot now.

It was a weird feeling to look out the window and have the river flowing so close and fast. 

This river was SO muddy.

      Within easy walking distance is a dredge ship. The Captain Meriwether Lewis National Historic Landmark is one of the few surviving examples of its type built to control flooding and improve navigation along America's rivers.They would somehow pull sediments and debris from the bottom of the river and toss it up on the banks, making it possible for large ships to continue up and down the rive while building the banks higher at the same time. Sadly, it's only opened for tours on Saturday and Sunday afternoon but looked super interesting.

This end looked like a vacuum cleaner!

How cool is this?!

This thing was huge!

Isn't that a gorgeous set-up?! :)

Visiting "home"

     Recently Eldon and I were talking how blessed we are to have so many different places that give us the "home" feeling. I'm guessing it also has to do with the fact that home is not a place anymore, but the people and loved feeling. At any rate, a visit in Harrison, AR definitely brought on those feelings. Harrison is the town where Eldon and I met 12 years ago, dated, and spent the first 8 years of our marriage. It's where Eldon got his RN degree and all 4 of our children were born. 

     Emily tends to get a little grouchy when we talk about Arkansas memories since she was to young to remember much but when we walked into church Sunday morning her face lit up and she said, "I totally remember this place!" Happily, there was a potluck planned in honor of Mother's Day so we had a good visit with many different people.

Makayla and Kayla are only 3 months apart and I have pictures of them as babies to age 6 together so when I saw this I knew I wanted a picture of it!

     Later in the afternoon we headed out and drove past our old place. Much to our delight, the new owners now have a garden planted and goats in the pasture. Perhaps it will once again be a hobby farm someday. We also had a great visit with our neighbors, Henry and Loretta, as well as their 2 granddaughters, Paige and Eva. Eldon used to work for Henry when he wasn't at the hospital and they were also on the volunteer fire department together so they had plenty to talk about.

Riding horse!

They loved it!

Just a little sampling of the beautiful landscaping Loretta has done.

Doesn't everyone play on their barn roof?!

Swinging!

Eva and Ethan loving their orange floats. They are only days apart and could easily pass for twins.

     Our next stop was to spend the evening with some more friends. We're all in the young married stage (well, kinda :) ) so lots and lots of children! I had a group picture of us girls but I simply cannot get it to upload so you don't get to see it.

It was so fun to just hang out again!

Michael and his friend Carson.

     By the time we drove 45 minutes back to our camper in Branson, the children were all asleep and had to be drug inside. We just tossed them in bed with sticky faces and sandy clothes. Sometimes, baths just aren't worth it :).