Benson Boys Blog: Benson (Griswold) Family Vacation

In August of 2017 the Benson family jumped into the family mini-van for our own Griswold Family Vacation. We started out the trip heading Northwest through North Dakota. We spent a day at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Western North Dakota. There we got our 1st taste of Bison and trail hiking. We spent the night in Medora ND.

The next morning we headed West to Red Lodge MT. We checked out the town and area and hunkered down for the night at my client, John and Martha Radick's, lodge. The next morning we headed into Yellowstone via Bear Tooth Pass. We spend the day in Yellowstone, We saw plenty of Bison, hot springs and Yellowstone Canyon. We headed out of the park that evening around Yellowstone lake down the mountains to Casper WY before we headed back north to Red Lodge. It's a bit unnerving driving at night through the mountains - especially no cell service / GPS.

The next morning we left Red Lodge and hit the southern part of Yellowstone, passing through Grand Teton National Park and stopping for ice cream in Jackson Hole on our way to our rental home in the mountains of Star Valley WY. The next morning we drove into neighboring Thayne, WY for our 1st appt. with Dr. Sessions. Dr. Sessions is one of the few doctors in the country that could treat Grant's Misophonia. We spent the week in Star Valley doing treatment sessions and seeing the sights. We went white water rafting, fly fishing, drove ATV's int mountains, hiked, jumped off bridges, etc. It was really a fun week.

After a week in Star Valley we started heading home. Our plan was to make it to Gillette in NE Wyoming by nightfall (an aggressive goal). We rolled into Gillette around midnight but not after having issues with the van as we were coming down out of the mountains near Grand Teton National Park. We heard a thump on the van and pulled over. We thought we had a flat. Thank goodness we didn't. We were halfway down the mountain with no cell service and a map. All we could do was keep driving. We took it slow and headed for the town of Dubois. Dubois was a rinky-dink little town with one gas station that was open on a Saturday afternoon. I asked if anyone could check out our van and the lady said she would need to call Spike. Calling Spike would cost $100. I said "I don't care how much it costs" considering there was nowhere else for us to stay and the next real town was hundreds of miles away. Well, needless to say Spike was none too happy to be called in. He had been dealing with tourists all day in town for the solar eclipse. He checked out our van (broken tire bolt), tightened things up and assured us we would be ok driving with four bolts instead of five on one tire. He even offered us a discount if we "got the hell of out town". We said "Deal" and were on our way. That drive to Gillette was a looonnngg, white-knuckle drive. There are antelope on the side of the road staring at you the entire way - just waiting to jump in front of your car. The red splashes of blood on the road every hundred miles or so were a frequent reminder of the risk.

The next day we drove to Devil's Tower. After that we ventured into the Black Hills. We passed through Deadwood, drove along needles highway past Lake Sylvan to Mount Rushmore. After another long day we stopped for the night in Rapid City.

The next morning we started the last leg of our trip. We stopped at Wall Drug and drove through the Badlands. We timed it that we would be in the Badlands for the Solar Eclipse. The eclipse was 95% coverage where we were. It was very strange - it never got completely dark - more like dusk. It was eerie but very cool. From there we headed back to Buffalo - it felt like we would never get home! We finally pulled into the driveway around 10pm that night. It felt so good to be home.

We were on the road for nearly 13 days. At times it was miserable but in the end it was a great family trip filled with memories!

White water rafting down the Snake river in WY. The boys jumped in the water a few times when the river slowed down - the water was soooo cold! This was a blast!!!

Joel front and center at the front of the boat - he took a few big waves right in the face and ended up a few rows back in the boat.

Watching the solar eclipse in the Badlands of SD

Stopping for a pic along Bear Tooth Pass. When we woke up that morning I jumped in the driver's seat of the van to drive us from Red Lodge MT over Bear Tooth Pass into Yellowstone. Katie said "what are you doing"? I said, "I'm driving". She said, "No your not - I will get car sick". I reluctantly got out and let Katie drive. I was scared to death - one hand on the "Oh Shit" handle and one on the dash board. Katie was driving with one hand drinking her coffer the whole way like it was no big deal while I couldn't even look out the window at the scenery w/o getting queasy. This was the scariest road I've ever been on!

Stopping at the top of the Bear Tooth Pass before heading into Yellowstone.

Devil's Tower

Mount Rushmore

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Trout Fishing in Red Lodge MT

Hot tubing at our friend's house in Red Lodge MT

Smell those hot springs!

Steamboat Geyser. No we didn't see Old Faithful - timing just didn't work. I know, we are terrible parents!

Yellowstone Canyon - after driving through Bear Tooth Pass - Dad's nerves were frazzled and he couldn't even get close to the edge w/o his knees shaking.

Radick home we stayed at in Red Lodge MT. Apparently, they have Grizzlies show up in there driveway - luckily we didn't run into any!

Grand Tetons

Entrance to a trial we hiked near the home we rented in Star Valley WY

Fresh bear poop we found on the ledge of a trail we hiked. That lead to the question - "what the heck do we do if we run into this bear along this ledge?" We were armed with bear spray but that didn't really make use feel much better.

Fly fishing on the Salt River in Star Valley WY. We fly fished for four hours on the river and honestly didn't catch a ton of fish. We all had a lot of fun though - well except maybe Grant who never seemed to catch on to the casting. Mitch decided to skip the fishing and take the trusty mini-van and explore eastern Idaho.

Katie showing off her biggest catch of the day.

Joel caught on quickly to fly fishing. At least, I thought he had until he cast his line and caught me in the throat. The guide tried to yank it out but we subsequently realized it was in pretty deep. Our guide was able to thread it out of my throat and let me keep the fly.

Killing time in our rental in Star Valley

One afternoon we rented ATV's and drove through the mountains. We rented a 4 seat vehicle and a 4-Wheeler. It was a ton of fun. We stopped at a lake in the mountain, cruised up the side of mountains and went crashing through a couple streams soaking everyone.