Where in the World is Dakota?

Arizona Gets Crafty!

2008-12-09T06:06:00.000-08:00

Looks like Arizona is staying busy at Grandma & Grandpa's!

Meet Arizona!

2008-12-01T04:03:00.000-08:00

Dakota's sister, Arizona, is 11 days old today and she's already started traveling! She is going to be with her Grandparents through the holidays and then there's no telling where she might go!

Arizona - Born November 20th, 2008
Height: 5.5 inches
Weight: 4 ounces

Dakota Has a Sister!

2008-11-22T14:18:00.000-08:00

First off, Dakota has been located and is doing well! He is having a great time in Nebraska and we hope to see pictures soon!

Second, Dakota has a sister! She was born November 20th and is in need of a NAME! Please comment on this post and give us some ideas...

Here's her picture - more to follow soon:

OK, Seriously - Where is Dakota?

2008-11-18T13:09:00.000-08:00

It has been over a week and we have not heard from the little guy. We know he arrived safely in Nebraska but have not heard from him since. He's only about 4 inches tall and could easily have disappeared in a snow drift....

We're doing everything we can to locate him. If YOU see a funny looking little guy with a red face and a great smile, please post a comment for us on this blog. We really want to know that he is OK...

Dakota Hits the Road Again!

2008-11-07T06:05:00.000-08:00

It seems like only yesterday that Dakota left to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Georgia and today he's heading to visit someone else!

Safe travels Dakota!

My last day with Grandma and Grandpa

2008-11-05T16:06:00.000-08:00

Dakota spent a lot of time outside today. Grandma told him to enjoy the mild weather in Georgia because it was going to be a lot colder where he was headed next (Nebraska)!

Later in the afternoon Grandma gave Dakota some new, warm clothes for his trip north. He seemed pleased with his new outfit.

Tomorrow, Dakota packs up for his trip north. I hear there might be snow up there! Brrrrrrrrrrr!

Dakota Carves a Pumpkin!

2008-10-28T06:01:00.001-07:00

Gone Fishin'

2008-10-27T16:53:00.001-07:00

Grandma let Dakota do some fishing today in her pond in the back yard. He seemed pretty keen on the idea until he found out you have to actually sit and wait for the fish to take your bait...

If he DID catch a fish he would go straight into the pond with it! Maybe it's better that Dakota does not like fishing after all...

Dakota Gets Ready for Halloween

2008-10-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

Dakota is working hard to get ready for the 'Trick-or-Treaters' next weekend. I got these pictures today via email:

Good costume Dakota! you had me fooled!

Dakota gets a Halloween Costume?!?

2008-10-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

He was hoping for a Pirate costume...

Not a Fairy...

Dakota Sends his First Email!

2008-10-22T05:29:00.000-07:00

Things seem to be going well for Dakota. Here's his latest update:

Grandma is working on his Halloween costume - Can't wait to see it!

The U.S. Mail Delivers!

2008-10-19T17:17:00.000-07:00

Well, it turns out Dakota got sent USPS Priority after all... He arrived safely at Grandma & Grandpa's Saturday afternoon and immediately began to fill them in on his harrowing adventure.

After the initial shock, Dakota set out to explore his new surroundings.

Grandma & Grandpa have promised him lots of great adventures - we can't wait to hear about his adventures this week!

Over the River and Through the Woods...

2008-10-16T11:12:00.001-07:00

To Grandma's house we go....

I swear I told him last night. I think he just forgot. I hope the US postal service is fast. Probably should have sent him Priority, huh?

I'm Getting Ready to Hit the Road Again!

2008-10-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

After blogging about my adventures with Charles and Robin on Nothinglikeit, I've received invitations to travel and visit other places in the U.S.A.! We're getting my travel kit ready (photo album, teddy, and my suitcase) and I'll soon be off to my first destination. Stay tuned for my big, gulp, send off (I'm kind of nervous).

Day 17 - There's No Place Like Home

2008-10-09T06:39:00.000-07:00

We arrived home on Tuesday night after a couple of really long days on the road. Once Dakota found out that we had new episodes of his favorite TV programs on TIVO he completely lost interest in the trip and seemed hell-bent on getting home. Can't say that we blame him really...

Over 15 days we managed to travel 5454 miles. We drove through 17 states and stayed in 9 hotels and 2 family homes. We went to a great wedding and met a lot of family members for the first time. We visited the nation's first national park (Yellowstone) and the nation's first national monument (Devils Tower). We ate at too many fast food restaurants and had a few good meals (mostly the homemade ones). Most importantly, Dakota learned that we live in an amazing country full of wonderful people and beautiful places.

Once Dakota catches up on his favorite TV shows and gets in some time on his Nintendo Wii he has promised to finish his second movie. He is also talking about writing his memoirs but we told him he is still a bit young for that.

What happens next for Dakota? That's hard to say:

He might retire to a shadow box with a few of his favorite photos and treasures.
He could go on more exciting adventures with US in the near future.
There's always a chance he could visit friends, relatives, or total strangers for more travel adventures to blog about.
Finally, he might star in his own sitcom on NBC next fall.

OK, the last one is highly unlikely but you never know.

* Hey! What do you think should happen to Dakota? *

Day 15 - We Left Behind the Cold Weather but not the Cold

2008-10-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

Dakota can't blog tonight - he's been sent to bed early with a head cold. He'll be back tomorrow night with more tales from the road.

Day 14 - Dakota Begins the Long Trip Home

2008-10-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

The night after our visit to Yellowstone park, we took Dakota back to the hotel and did a little first aid on his broken leg. We did not have much of a first aid kit so we cut up some strips from an old map and wrapped his leg. Of course we gave him a little wine to kill the pain. He did not complain too much.

Leaving the park the next morning we crossed the continental divide twice. Dakota has been watching the presidential debates and he thought this was some kind of political demarcation. We tried to explain to him that the continental divide is the watershed of North America. Water on the east side flows east, water on the west flows west. Dakota then asked, "Do the Elephants live on the east side and the Jackasses on the west side?" We gave up at that point.

It was a cloudy and rainy day so we missed the great view of the Grand Teton mountain range as we drove south. We stopped at the visitor center to learn more about the mountain range and the surrounding park.

Dakota had some time to kill so he finished up his first movie while we were on the road.

Day 13 - Yellowstone All Day!

2008-10-04T18:49:00.000-07:00

We booked into the Stagecoach Inn at West Yellowstone for 2 nights so we could have one full day exploring Yellowstone - today is that day! We headed north around the grand loop in Yellowstone park, making our first stop at Mammoth Hot Springs. The mineral deposits from thousands of years of flowing thermal springs make the place look like a winter wonderland.

While driving around the grand loop we saw lots of wildlife. Dakota was especially fond of the Bison (Buffalo).

We made it to Old Faithful just in time to see the almost predictable eruption. They say the geyser blows about every 90 minutes but that's just a rough estimate. Dakota got a little impatient when Old Faithful was 15 minutes late.

We wandered over to the 104 year old Old Faithful Inn after the geyser eruption to look at the amazing architecture. While there we met an author signing his book of Yellowstone photography. We decided his pictures were better than ours and Dakota got him to autograph the book just for him!

Dakota saw lots of wildlife at Yellowstone - Buffalo, elk, deer, and ground squirrels. He did not get to see a bear. We suspect that the bears were a rare sight because most of the berries and other 'bear food' were no longer in the Yellowstone area. They have had a few frosts and are expecting snow there Saturday night. We tried to keep Dakota entertained with things that looked like bears. He seemed happy enough.

Toward the end of the day we went exploring a few walking paths. It was interesting to see the small new "lodge pole" pine trees that were growing everywhere. They are a direct result of the fire in 1988. Fire is the only way a lodge pole pine cone can release its' seeds. Dakota got a kick out of climbing a small one.
Our last stop was Tower Falls. There is a great view of the falls from the top of the trail but the signs said the path to the lower falls had been washed out so that view was inaccessible. Dakota decided to make his own way down to the bottom of the falls. That is how he broke his leg but we'll save that story for tomorrow.

Day 12 - Yellowstone Park, Part I

2008-10-03T19:01:00.000-07:00

We left Sheridan , Wyoming and drove most of the morning, making a lunch stop in Cody, Wyoming - a town made famous by Buffalo Bill. Dakota was interested in learning more about this great American personality but we were anxious to get to Yellowstone so we told him he would get to see Buffalo Bill later. As we got closer to Yellowstone, the plains gave way to mountains and the fences disappeared. This made for some interesting road blocks along the way.

We arrived at the East entrance to Yellowstone around 2pm and we're really happy to see no lines at all! Our plans were to spend the night in West Yellowstone, about 60 miles away at the far west of the park. We had some time so we made a few stops as we traveled across the park. Our first stop was the Mud Volcano to see the "Dragon's Breath" hot spring.

Along the way we discovered that Yellowstone truly is a WILD place. Our next stop was the "Artist's Point", also called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. There are upper and lower waterfalls here and judging by the number of people with cameras, it must be one of the most photographed places in America...

Our last stop before heading for West Yellowstone was the Canyon Village Visitor's Center. We watched a good movie about the park and took a tour through the exhibit to learn about the geology of the park.

Tomorrow we have a full day at Yellowstone planned. Stay tuned!

Day 11 - Dakota Meets the Presidents

2008-10-02T18:29:00.000-07:00

We had a great day exploring the Badlands. The next morning we headed for Mount Rushmore. We tried to explain the monument to Dakota but we're not sure he understood it completely.

Once he saw the monument Dakota was REALLY excited. We thought it was pretty cool too!

In addition to the monument, there were some great exhibits about the Lakota indians. The Lakota indians were in the Black Hills long before the European settlers and are an important part of American history. We've added a tiny tipi (tee-pee) to our shopping list...

We thought Dakota had a pretty good understanding about Mount Rushmore until he started talking about Paul, John, Ringo, and George. Charles tried to set him straight again.

We gave Dakota a few quarters to play with the powered binoculars while we grabbed a bite to eat.

After lunch, we hit the road and headed for Wyoming. Our next destination was 450 miles away - Yellowstone National Park. As we drove through Wyoming we noticed the signs for "Devils Tower" and realized it was only about 25 miles away. We made a short detour to check out this natural wonder.

In 1906, Teddy Roosevelt declared Devils Tower the first National Monument of the United States under the newly formed Antiquities Act. Along with being a geological wonder, it is also part of an important symbol for the Kiowa indians (click here to read the legend). If the picture of Devils Tower looks familiar to you, it's because it played a big part in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".

Tomorrow we head for Yellowstone National Park!

Day 10 - Dakota in the Badlands

2008-10-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

We said goodbye to Erika and Dick Tuesday morning and hit the road, headed for the Badlands in South Dakota. We passed dozens of corn fields and just as many sunflower fields before finally coming to the North Dakota / South Dakota border. Dakota insisted we stop for a picture. He liked sitting on top of the sign but seemed a little anxious when Charles headed for the car. He was only retrieving the camera we forgot...

Back on the road I gave him a small 'Mickey Mouse' character to play with. He had no idea who Mickey was. We stopped again one more time after Dakota said "Explain this corn thing to me again?"

We stopped at the visitor's center when we reached the Badlands and Dakota learned a lot about the geology and history of this region. We have been looking for a cowboy hat for Dakota but they don't seem to make one in his size. He has now heard the phrase 'Red Man' and decided he would rather be an American Indian than a cowboy because, after all, he's red. We're now shopping for moccasins and a beaded war shirt.

We stopped a number of times during our drive through the Badlands and had to keep telling Dakota that the signs said "stay on the walking path". We think he finally figured it out.

As the temperatures cooled in the afternoon the prairie dogs came out by the hundreds. Dakota was a little cautious at first since the word 'dog' was in the description but when he saw the little guys he was OK. When he asked for his horse because he needed to herd the prairie dogs we decided it was time to find a hotel for the night.

Stay tuned... Tomorrow we head for Mt Rushmore, Devils Tower and beyond!

Day 8 & 9 - Down on the Farm

2008-09-30T18:45:00.000-07:00

After the big wedding we followed Dick and Erika out to their farm, about 50 miles NW of Jamestown. Miranda (the new bride) is Erika's Grand Daughter and Erika is Charles' cousin. They have only seen each other once in the last 20 years so they had some catching up to do!

While we visited, Dakota was more than happy to make himself at home on the farm!

After deciding that chickens cannot be herded and ALL dogs are potentially dangerous, Dakota was happy to say goodbye to the farm.

Next stop... The Badlands of South Dakota!

Day 7 - Oh What a Night!

2008-09-28T06:32:00.000-07:00

Dakota has had so much attention lately he's thinking of staying here in Jamestown. We tried to explain to him that the big party last was for the newlyweds, not him, but he does not believe us...

The Newlyweds Miranda and Dustin

We'll have more wedding pictures soon - here are just a few funny shots:

We're off to Dick and Erika's farm after breakfast and there's no internet there. Dakota will be back online when we get to the Badlands in a few days...

Day 6 - Where's Dakota?

2008-09-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

You're still here? OK, here are some other things to entertain you while Dakota is away:

* Check out some interesting things about North Dakota
* Learn some cool trivia about Buffalo

Leave a comment if you want a postcard from Dakota, he thinks that licking stamps is fun...

Day 5 - Buffalo Dreams

2008-09-26T15:52:00.000-07:00

We had an easy day planned today so we took the back roads from Fargo to Jamestown, ND (a.k.a. Buffalo City). We drove about 100 miles and got to see a few of the farming communities that are spread across North Dakota.

We made it to Jamestown about 12:00 so decided to visit the Frontier Village and the world's largest Buffalo before going on to the hotel.

We also found the National Buffalo Museum nearby which turned out to be one of the best small museums we have ever visited. This place tells you everything you ever wanted to know about Buffalo (and maybe a few things you didn't want to know). There were also some great wildlife exhibits that Dakota really got into...

After the museum we visited a great art shop filled with things from local artists. We met Bill Nybo there working on one of his pieces, a colorful cartoon illustration. We bought a few things then headed to Babb's coffee house (a Taste of Seatle) in downtown Jamestown for some great soup and coffee. There was a model of the Seattle Space Needle there and we had Dakota convinced it was the real thing.

Day 4 - Off to Fargo, eh?

2008-09-25T18:32:00.000-07:00

We had a relaxing evening at the White Rose Inn and a good night's sleep. Before hitting the road again we were spoiled with a wonderful home cooked breakfast. Charles had french toast, I had an omelet, Dakota had a little of both.
The breakfast room was decorated in ancient roman grotto style and Dakota really LOVED the decor.

We left Winconsin Dells around 9am with a goal of reaching Fargo, North Dakota by 5pm. The drive was pretty uneventful except for a scare when Dakota starting screaming we were going the wrong way. It didn't take us long to discover why he was so upset.

We had a few stops for gas and to stretch our legs but since breakfast was so good we skipped lunch and kept traveling.

Thanks to our wonderful GPS, LOLA, we located another Granite City restaurant near our hotel. We had a nice meal and Dakota, although he begged, did NOT get any beer tonight. He's still sulking.

Tomorrow, we head for Jamestown, North Dakota where we'll meet up with family and enjoy the weekend wedding festivities.

Day 3 - Are You Gonna Eat That Cheese?

2008-09-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

Dakota woke us early shouting "I'm hungry!" We showered and took him to the free breakfast in the hotel lobby.

We all had the same opinion of breakfast...

After departing Mount Vernon around 8am we drove for hours and hours. We learned that Illinois is a very big state (South to North) and it is very flat. Dakota was excited to see his first corn field and grain silo, not so excited about the next 50. He slept until Wisconsin.

We were making good time and had a few hours to kill so we asked someone where we might stop for an afternoon of entertainment. Someone told us "Wisconsin Dells" was a lovely spot - we headed that way. On the road Dakota picked out a nice Bed and Breakfast from a magazine and I called and made a reservation.

After we checked in to the hotel we went for a walk around town. It is a friendly tourist town and reminded us a lot of Helen, Georgia. We did manage to find a really good cheese shop on the far end of Main Street.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the River Walk Pub and sat on the patio over the Wisconsin river to enjoy a beer. Dakota wanted to try beer.

On the Road - Day 2

2008-09-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

The day started out slow - Dakota complained of a headache (could it be the bottle of wine from last night?). I made him join me on a side trip to visit my best friend who lives nearby in Canton, Georgia. When we got there we were introduced to the new family member, "Annie", a very cute Sheltie. Dakota was fascinated by this small dog and wanted to say hi. Here's what happened:

We left Mom and Dad's around 11 am, hoping to travel around 500 miles today. Dakota was quiet for most of the morning. I would say he was sleeping but since he can't close his eyes it's really hard to tell. We stopped for lunch near Chattanooga and that's where Dakota has his accident. While jumping into Charles' pocket his foot fell off. He took in all in stride and we soon had everything back in order.

He perked up after lunch and was soon reading the highway signs to us to make sure we did not miss anything.

We made a bathroom stop at the Kentucky state border and Dakota had to get his picture made in the welcome center. He's such a ham...

He was also fascinated by the mini pumpkins on display...

We arrived in Mount Vernon, Illinois around 5:30 pm and decided to stop for the night. Found a good room for a fair price and checked in. Dakota had a big day today so we decided to leave him in the hotel tonight and go out for a romantic dinner. he seemed fine with it:

Dakota's First Day on the Road

2008-09-22T18:29:00.000-07:00

Dakota was cranky this morning because we woke him before 7am. We had to get over to the car rental place by 9 to pick up the rental car. We brought the car home, loaded up our bags and we were on the road by 11am.

His mood improved when he discovered he had a traveling companion in the new rental car. "Lola" the GPS was talking to him in a smooth, silky voice and he soon fell under her spell.

We stopped in Dothan, Alabama to buy gasoline and we (Dakota included) were shocked at the price per gallon. We had just paid $3.59 a gallon on the beach but in Dothan the price was 3.79!

This is very strange because normally the price goes down as you head north. We talked to a friend in Atlanta and learned that because of gas shortages in Texas, many Atlanta stations were OUT OF GAS!

After filling the gas tank, Dakota said it was past his lunch time. We were hungry too so we stopped at Wendy's. While I was getting a straw, Dakota dove into my salad .

I grabbed the fork from him and sat him on the other end of the table with a pack of saltines. Dakota was not happy. I'm glad Lola stayed behind in the car, she would not have approved of Dakota's colorful language...

Another three and a half hours on the road did not improve anyone's mood but traffic was light so we made it to Mom and Dad's in good time. We arrived around 7:30pm and socialized for a while in the kitchen. We suddenly realized we had not seen Dakota for a while and when we went to the bedroom this is what we found...

He is so busted when he wakes up, those mini wine bottles were MINE!

A 4000 Mile Drive...

2008-09-21T11:31:00.000-07:00

OK, you're probably saying "What?!? Are you insane? Gas prices are through the roof!" It turns out that traveling by car is not much more expensive than flying, especially with a cheap, fuel efficient rental! The added benefit is we get to see a lot of this great country along the way. I'll not be able to flatten anything on this 3 week trip (except a few bugs and snakes with the car). I've decided to blog our trip through the eyes of a tiny travel companion:

We pick up the car Monday morning and head to Atlanta for our first stop.
Stay tuned... This could be funny.