westward bound

i'm currently heading out west for the wedding celebration of a niece.......my sister's family lives in montana so we drove 1300 miles over 2 days to get here, passing such notable sights as the corn palace in mitchell, south dakota, birthplace of my late mother in law. 

years ago when she traveled to venice and saw st. mark's for the first time, she had remarked that it "looked just like the corn palace!" 

and with the exception of millions of corncobs, cheezy, inexplicable murals of people on segues and flying motorcycles, i have to say that it does............just the tiniest bit.

god bless her.

then we crossed the wide missouri -- never knew what a beautiful river this is~

next stop: mount rushmore....where watching people taking photos of the monument was almost as interesting as seeing the monument itself

or catching it in a reflected image....

then it was up over beartooth pass, supposedly one of the top 10 scenic drives in the united states....

where there is such a thing as a cold day in july........

sun, mountains and snow all together is a nice birthday present --- mine is tomorrow and a little bird told me that there may be an extra cake amidst the wedding celebration☺

being with family is a wonderful thing.    feeling very grateful......

xo♡a