On Vacation!!!

Most of the time I blog during our bigger vacations, but being that Benny the Beard Fisher is so darn cool... I thought I would share our Sunday Adventure with you!  We decided to take an afternoon drive to Germfask to see a really cool troll sculpture created by Danish Artist Thomas Dambo. He has created more than 100 trolls all over the world by recycling materials. Benny is his 117th troll and was installed/created this summer.  We decided to make a loop out of trip and we ventured to Manistique where we stopped for a late lunch and then made our way to Kitchitikipi.  It was nice to run into Shaunna too! We were good friends in high school, and it had been entirely too long since we saw each other!

 We are home! We drove from Park Rapids, Minnesota to home today. I didn't take a single photo today. so you get a few candids from our whirlwind trip! We just arrived home and the boys are already to to go back! Let us know if you want to join us on the next dinosaur dig adventure, I have a feeling we will be headed west again soon!

Today we started our trek home. We said goodbye to Glendive for this time and drove across North Dakota and into Minnesota.  Our first stop this morning was Udderly Cool-   Salem Sue. She is a giant roadaide cow. We visited her a few years ago and wanted to stop again ;).  Then, we made our way to Bismarck, North Dakota to the North Dakota Heritage Museum. We were impressed! We spent a lot longer at the museum than we anticipated.  One of the exhibits was of a mummified dinosaur! "Dakota" is a juvenile Edmontosaurus.  After our dinosaur look alike contest in Glendive, we opted for a fish look alike contest in Bismarck.  We grabbed a quick bite to eat, and then we were off again.... with a short stop in Jamestown to see the world's largest Buffalo.  The live buffalo were difficult to see. With the heat, we thought perhaps they were in the trees/shade.  Then we drove

Today was the big day!!! We joined the Minnesota Mineral Club and had an awesome time digging for Dinosaurs at the Baisch Ranch.  It was a hot day to be digging- 99 degrees at some point. There was a nice breeze most of the day though.  We all found something... various bone fragments... gar scales, agatized wood, pieces of turtle shell, ...... Steven found a triceratops tooth. Steve found a pretty cool vertebrae.  Someone else with the club found the jaw bone of a T-rex!!! It was pretty amazing to see.  Overall, it was a pretty amazing day digging! 

Today we drove across North Dakota and into Montana.  Our first stop was the Barnes County Historical Society Museum.  We were pleasantly surprised with how many interesting artifacts they had... in addition to their dinosaurs.  Our next stop was the Badlands Dinosaur Museum.  Although some of us had been there before, it was still an awesome stop.  I really enjoy that their displays are diverse and many of them are in the sand.  We kept on cruising to fit everything in today. The boys wanted to make it to Glendive before the museum closed there.  Some of the boys tried to "twin" one of the dinosaurs. Who is the best dinosaur doppleganger?? After the museum, we went straight to the Hell Creek Music Store.  Damian found a guitar he decided he needed to bring home.  We rounded off the night with dinner at Penny&#