Wild West Earlventure: Second Leg

So we last we left you we were in Nebraska, and Big Earl was resting comfortably in a nice RV park.  We all got a good nights' sleep, and were ready to head back out onto the open road early the next morning.  But not before I had a chance to get a couple of quick photos at a nearby tourist trap!

After checking out this stagecoach, Brutus really appreciates all the traveling comforts of Big Earl.

Brutus also met his first "bison".   As you can tell by the photo, he wasn't too sure he was ready to meet any more wildlife.

Thankfully we soon left the flatness of Nebraska.  The scenery started to get a lot more interesting as we crossed into Wyoming, the majestic Rocky Mountains rising out of the West.

Once we got into the Rockies, it really got more interesting, as you can see here (through bugs on the windshield).

Well, actually...  This is more of what my view was like most of the time:

After another few hours, we finally reached Utah, almost 2000 miles from home.  We made it to Ogden (near Salt Lake City) in just under 48 hours - pretty impressive!  Speaking of impressive, so was the view from our site in the back yard of the cousin who hosted us there:

We had a little reunion with a bunch of Paul's extended family, as well as his parents (who had flown out to Utah from Ohio a few days earlier).  It was nice to spend a few days with them, relaxing on their farm after all those hours on the road.

There was even a power hook-up for Big Earl (they own a boat as well as the camper you can see in that photo - B.E. totally dwarfs it though), so it was the perfect spot to park him.  Brutus and Mason were happy to have some room to roam after being confined to the coach for the last few days.  Being the inquisitive guy he is, Brutus wanted to check out the cool "toys" you get to have when you live on a farm.

The tractor was neat, but not nearly as fun to ride around in as their sporty Polaris!

So of course we all went for a ride around the pastures (he's hard to see in the photo, but Brutus was strapped in safely on my lap)!  This was A LOT easier to maneuver than Big Earl!

Funny, my view looks kinda familiar though...

After a few days hanging with the whole family in Utah, we will be heading out to the Tetons & Yellowstone with my in-laws on board for the next leg of our trip. We've traveled together before, so already have our alternate seats figured out (I get bumped from the navigator position to the couch where Brutus is, Mason gets bumped from the couch to the floor).

So tune in next week to see what we find in Montana, Idaho & Wyoming!  Signing off for now from Ogden, UT -

Michelle & Traveling Brutus