After nine days of being away, the time came to leave our Wyoming nirvana. Our last day in the Tetons was bittersweet. No one was truly ready to return to Louisiana. It seemed as though we all found our home away from home. Some of us even entertained the thought of moving to the Jackson area! What a dream come true that would be. 

We packed our bags and loaded the minivan. The van was a bit more loaded than before due to our many purchases while in Jackson. We all know that a girl can't resist shopping!

"On the road again... I just can't wait to get on the road again..."

We waved goodbye to our cabin and hit the road. Our destination for the day: Colorado Springs, Colorado. Keeping with our road trip tradition, we made our way to the first roadside attraction of the day. The giant head of Abraham Lincoln in Laramie, Wyoming. This is an enormous bronze sculpture of the late president's head sitting atop a gigantic stone pillar. The landmark was constructed to commemorate Lincoln's 150th birthday. 

From there we traveled to Fort Collins, Colorado to view the Swetsville Zoo. It sits near the highway and borders a nearby waterway. This is not a living zoo. It is a collection of sculptures that were constructed from discarded metal bric-à-brac. It was truly incredible! There were animals, dinosaurs, vehicles, robots, flowers, fish, people, serpents, huge wind-chimes and so much more. This was one of our favorite stops! We are definitely fans of this brilliant and talented artist, Bill Swets.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2500.0"] Anna Grace, Grayson, Andrew and Duke![/caption]

After a quick dinner and a 2 1/2 hour drive, we arrived at our beautiful hotel in Colorado Springs. We stayed at the Wyndam Mining Exchange hotel. It was an old historic building that was converted into a hotel. At one time this was where mining companies would promote their stock. The building stands as a gleaming reminder of the gold rush, and its old vault sits proudly preserved in the lobby. Our room was very spacious and luxurious. It had old exposed brick walls plus Art Deco inspired fixtures and furnishings that contributed to the charm of this hotel. We highly recommend staying here!

We slept in and headed out just after noon to continue our journey home. Before we left the Colorado Springs area we visited the Manitou Springs Indian Cliff dwellings. These structures were built by the Anasazi Indians. They were actually relocated from southwestern Colorado to their current location in an effort to preserve them. We noticed that once you climbed inside the dwellings, the temperature dropped dramatically! No need for air conditioning here! Something we southern girls wouldn't know anything about. AC is our best friend! 

Just minutes outside of Colorado Springs sits the World's Largest Beetle, which is where we headed to next. The beetle was really big and looked to be made out of paper maché. We hurried up the cactus infested hill to snap a few pictures with the huge bug and off we went!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480.0"] Like our "A Bug's Life" leaves?! We couldn't resist.[/caption]

We drove twelve hours to our next resting spot, Fort Worth, Texas. In Fort Worth we stayed in the stockyards area. It is an area that is quintessentially the "Old West." It had so many amazing shops, activities and restaurants. The kids loved this place! They took pictures with cowboys, longhorns and motorcycles. They even got some Texas shaped suckers! Most importantly, Anna Grace found some pink sparkly boots. She's in love! 

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2500.0"] She's a natural with that bike![/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1200.0"] We found Rodéo-opoly![/caption]

While in Fort Worth, we happened upon the funniest beer can yard. It even had a sign saying "rehab is for quitters." Don't know that we agree with that motto but it got us laughing and the yard was quite a sight to see! 

The next morning we got in the car and headed to our last roadside attraction, the pig on a roof in Shreveport, LA. We pulled over quickly once we got there and snapped a few pictures. We then zoomed down the road towards Saint Francisville!

Finally we were on the home stretch! Only three hours away, we were so close yet so far. All of us were becoming a little antsy in the car. Although our journey had come to an end, we are now planning what amazing places we can visit next summer! Stay tuned for our next adventure and thanks for coming along on this one! 

Keep Dreaming,

The Rodéo Girls