It was snowing in Denver when we left after the afternoon concert. My Dad drove all night some 1100 miles through Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana never getting off of I-70 (in Indianapolis we got on I-74 to Cincinnati). My Mom says, with such a nice straight road, if it was Germany we’d be home in 1/2 the time.

Dante www.idobelieve.com

Dear Mrs. Berger

We just drove all night from Denver CO to Indianpolis IN. We drove across three states (Kansas, Missouri & Illinois) and are working on the fourth. I am very excited to see you - tell the class I said Hi!

Dante

Yesterday we went  to Mt. Rushmore and we saw it up close.  We watched a movie of how it was made.

The guy who had the idea, Mr. Burglum took two years to build nine models and see if this would work on a mountain.  Burglum worked on it with many other men for 14 years before he died.  After he died, he passed the job down to his son. My Mom said: “Only in America you can have such a big, crazy dream and make it come true.”

- Dante

Last night a guy named Rudy, wearing a cowboy hat, leather vest and jeans shook my hand and told me he enjoyed the concert. He asked me if I had ever seen a sod house, because he had built one just a few minutes off the road on which we would be traveling the next morning. The invitation was accepted.

This morning we had breakfast at the only diner in town. Alex, who is a regular customer there but not a local, said he enjoyed the concert. He paid for our breakfast without us knowing it. That was a very generous an moving gesture for which we are greateful

Then Matthew, I and the boys went to find a farm to which we were also invited for a ’round up’ of the cattle. We couldn’t find the farm, but we drove down a dirt road, got out of the van and walked in the grass.

On out way out of town we did stop to check out Rudy’s sod house. Quite amazing. The view from the front of the house was breathtaking!

Tajci www.idobelieve.com

What a cool experience! We got a private tour of Beula’s lighnite coal mine .  It’s all surface mining done by huge machines.  The truck on the photo

holds 300 tons of coal.  We watched it being loaded with coal. It takes 7 to 8 giant scoops to fill it up.  After the coal is dumped, the cab rises about 3 ft back to it’s original position.  The tires are about 10 feet across.

I asked what they do with the dirt they remove from the top in order to get to the coal.  The lady who was our tour guide sa

id they put it all back, and within 3 years, the crops, or the grass are all back.

- Dante

Tajci www.idobelieve.com

Do you ever wonder what kind of person hosts us (seven travelling strangers who usualy show up at night)? Here is one of them - Caroline with her 1976 five speed Mustang Cobra. She bought it ten years ago when she was 66. Caroline volunteers at the local nursing home, at her church and still runs her farm. She put us up, fed us and inspired us. Thanks Caroline

And it’s not even Haloween yet! People here say it’s going to be a long winter, but they don’t seem to be worried about it.

Tajci www.idobelieve.com

Well, there is no snow here, but we had a lot of fun taking a walk and finding different kinds of rocks.  I also found a cool rock that looks like it has gold in it.  I learned that North Dakota has a lot of oil that’s being drilled.

It’s very cold here.  It’s so cold that the lake behind the house is frozen!

We arrived into Minot, North Dakota late last night. I was sleeping.

I was also sleeping this morning when my Mom, Dad and Blais went to do an interview at the local television station.