And then there was corn

Or driving thru Iowa and South Dakota...

I spy with my little eye, something that starts with "c"... If you guessed corn, you're correct! The only other acceptable answer was cows because that is pretty much all you see from the highway when passing through both these states. Oh, and hay. We've also seen a lot of bikers as there is a biker rally in South Dakota by Mt. Rushmore.

We went to see Mt. Rushmore yesterday evening. It is a great piece of American history to go see and if you're ever in Rapid City, SD or there about I highly recommend going to see it. If you decide to pay the $11 to park at the monument you get a year long pass that allows you to park your car there for free ( they take your license plate number so that it will only work with that car). The only downside to the monument is that there are no dogs allowed outside of the parking lot, so we had to leave Bear in his crate in the hotel while we were sightseeing.

Speaking of Bear, he has been an awesome little travel companion. I'm sure most of you have seen the pictures of Bear in his puppy seat in the car. That puppy seat and the fact that he is crate trained have made this trip across country with the little dog much easier then it would have been otherwise. While we're driving (never more than a few hours without a small break for both man and beast), Bear sits contentedly in his dog seat alternating between gazing out the window, staring at the person in the passenger seat and snoozing. When we get to our hotel for the night, we lug in our stuff and immediately set up Bear's crate with a blanket from home, one of his favorite toys and a chew bone. When we leave to go grab some dinner, Bear waltzs right into his crate and settles down to bury his treat in the blanket. Knowing that he is safe, calm and contained really helps Joe's and my peace of mind when we need to be out of the room.

Mostly we've been passing the hours on the road by playing then license plate game (we're up to 47 states so far, c'mon Rhode Island!), listening to music and listening to a Cesar Millan book on tap about raising the perfect puppy. The book on tape is probably our favorite way to pass the time and the Cesar Millan book has been really interesting and informative. Joe and I are really excited at the prospect of getting a puppy sometime in the coming year (after we get settled in a new house and with a new schedule, of course). If you are thinking about getting a puppy, I would bigot recommend this book in either format.

Lastly, I want to apologize for any grievous errors in this blog post. I'm literally typing this from the road on Joe's IPad, which is slightly more difficult than doing it on my laptop. :)