Wild West :: Part One

Go west, young woman, and see how wild it can be...

The first leg of the Wild WEST Vacation began in Minnesota. Hey, it's WEST for me! And boy, is that WILD.

See what I mean? Here's me with my game face on. It is hard to put the Electric Run into words, but I think you already get the picture.

I drove to the Twin Cities in the afternoon and checked into our hotel. Met up with the family at Old Chicago restaurant for dinner. From there, it was an ultra-long traffic line to get into the State Fair Grounds for the Electric Run.

What you will find here are some of the photos for the course. What you won't find is a group picture of all of us (8 siblings and 3 nieces) because we all were together once -- with 30 seconds to spare before the last wave of walkers headed out at 10 p.m.

Yes, past my bedtime. But worth it! So coooooool.

Walking toward the starting line. Probably hard to see with my camera phone, but there were glow stick costumes and blinky lights every where you turned. Fun all around.

 

They had several different "worlds" to walk through. You can see why Candy Land was my favorite...

Yup, I can spot an ice cream anywhere -- especially one that is taller than me! Like my mohawk?

The lighted forest was way cool. I want a purple tree at my house!

Ready to battle jellyfish in what I call "SpongeBob World."

Where are you, Mary Poppins? Lots of umbrellas hanging in trees, too.

Even the water station glowed! I expected flavored water according to color!

Tunnel to the Finish Line!

And the rockin' After Party! Didn't stick around long there as some of us had to get up this morning and head even further West. For real!

I left my car at my brother's in Burnsville and hopped in Rayna's vehicle with Mom and Rachel. Next stop: South Dakota.

Well almost. Had a few quick stops, including lunch in some town called Lake Crystal. There I learned my first lesson of traveling with our mother. One, you should whisper the word "bathroom" in public and two, don't say "sh*t" even if your smart phone is having technical difficulties! We may be too old to get grounded, but we are learning manners all over again!

Four "Great Faces" (that's us) crossed the border in late afternoon. My first time in South Dakota!

We made it to Sioux Falls by 5 p.m. and then to visit Rayna's "Winter Texan" friends Don and Betty, who fed us a delicious supper and are putting us up for the night. After we ate, Betty gave us a wonderful tour of Sioux Falls.What a gorgeous booming city!

We also stopped at the Falls Park. To climb the tower and take pictures of, you guessed it, Sioux FALLS. You know me and my fear of heights...

First, it helped there was an elevator. Second, I backed my butt up to the fenced rail and could smile at the camera because I was not looking DOWN -- and I was clinging tightly to the rail! Pretty falls though, aren't they?

Took lots and lots more photos but I think I left my camera cord on the desk... back in Wisconsin Rapids. So you may just be stuck with camera phone photos on this Wild West Adventure.

I'm sure that's was real cowgirls use anyway, right?