Great Falls

We did get an early start this morning, checked out of the hotel, and made it to the Gates of the Mountains by 8:30. The kids had no idea what we were doing which made it even more fun. My sweetie bought tickets for the boat tour while I walked the kids down to the marina. They still didn't really get it even when we got in line!
We had lots of fun. The tour took us a couple of hours on the Missouri River. As the driver fired the engines, Baby Doll looked up at me and breathed, "This is the first time I've ever been on a big boat ride!" She was so excited. Then she fell asleep after the first 10 minutes and slept until we were re-entering the marina.

When our tour was over we climbed back in the van and drove the hour or so to Great Falls. We stopped at a little park and ate lunch. My sweetie pushed the kids in the swings and they mostly enjoyed the slide even though they had to share it with another family.

Do I look like Lewis or Clark?

Then we headed straight to the Lewis and Clark Interpretation Center. The kids loved the museum and they earned Jr. Explorer badges. I don't know what I was thinking, I only got this one pic of Baby Doll. I guess we were too busy looking for answers to their quizzes and enjoying the exhibits.

After we left the museum, we tried to check into the hotel but our rooms weren't ready yet so we went up the street to the Burger King and had ice cream and fries while the little ones explored the play place. After an hour we headed back to the hotel and we were able to claim our rooms. We rested for a bit while the kids watched a little TV. Baby Doll fell asleep, so we waited until about 7:00 before we tried out the pool and the hot tub.

By 8:00 the kids were ready for dinner so we found an Applebee's nearby. When we were finished, I programmed the nearest LDS chapel into the GPS and we took off to find it. The kids just thought we were trying to find the hotel and they were very confused. Apparently the GPS was too. It sent us down several dirt roads and we got lost multiple times.

Now that's what I call a monster fry!

I finally gave up and put the address for the hotel back in the GPS. That's when I saw the steeple! We drove around a rather large stake center and enjoyed a wave from what appeared to be a bishop visiting with someone in the parking lot. It made us so happy to know that the church is anywhere we want to be. :)

Tomorrow we head into Glacier National Park. We are planning another early start and my sweetie is already sleeping. I will try to take more pics so you can see all of our adventures.