The Ratty Road Trip: Seven Days, Six Nights, Ten States, Two Dozen Rodents

Becky presents Nezumi, the Subaru of Magic and Mystery, laden with its ratty cargo destined for the interior.

Day One

Onward to Snoqualmie Pass!	Washington has a lot of water.	Oooh, rolling hills and evergreens.
Central Washington, fewer trees, more cows.	Oregon welcomes us!	More brown rolling hills, this time in Western Oregon.
Idaho, where strange science fiction cities dwell hidden in the hills.	And giant electric bibles proclaim salvation. Idaho is weird.	Michelle Nelson of Sugar and Spice, Michelle Carroll of Curly Whiskers and Becky chill at Michelle the first's swingin' pad in Boise.
	All tubbed up and ready roll onward!

Day Two

Lovely mountains in Idaho.	Becky pauses to admire dried up Lake Bonneville, ID.	Our first glimpse of Utah.
Willard, UT - what more fitting city to welcome us to Utah?	Pretty canyon in Utah.	Becky chats with some natives at a rest stop.
Oh boy, sunflower seeds!	Fat Boy, King of the Prairie Dogs.	Wyoming lives up to its wild west billing.
Little America, WY - America's greatest travel plaza!	Lynn and the Sinclair dinosaur at Little America.	Inexplicably, Little America boasts a dead, stuffed penguin as its mascot. Sure, I get it, penguins and Wyoming, a natural association.
A butte or something rockish and Wyomingy.	More nifty stripey rocks!	The Gas Lite Motel, our sanctuary in Laramie, WY.
The Gas Lite does the local tourist board proud.	Who can resist sticking their head through the hole for this festively painted photo op!	The Gas Lite offers a grim example of what can happen if you don't take the hunter safety course!

Day Three

The Budweiser brewery - this Bud's for you, Dad!	This is what Kansas looks like - all of it, endlessly, forever...	We stopped at Prairie Dog Town horrific petting zoo in Kansas.
Where badgers look sad and exhausted,	and goats perform ariel feats on picnic tables, hoping for snacks.	The least oppressive thing at Prairie Dog Town were the scary prairie dog idols a la Easter Island.
	The Six-Legged Cow, our most vivid memory of Kansas.

Day Four - Kansas City

Giant badminton, anyone? at the...	Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.	Lynn prepares to tuck into some BBQ at KC Masterpiece.Mmmmm!
Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.	A lovely doorway of Missouri.	A lovely fountain of Missouri.
All of Kansas City is closed for repairs.	No, really, all of it really appears to be under construction.	Especially the exit you are looking for.
The Kansas City area rat fanciers, including Crystal, her daugher, Sarah of Lone Star Rats up from Texas, and Elisabeth of Spoiled Ratten.	Kim from Landmark.	Kim, Elisabeth, Crystal and daughter, Becky and Sarah admire some ratty goodness.
	Seth, Sarah's son, rules. At two, he's already snapping cool self portraits. Go Seth!

Day Five

Nebraska welcomes us with an arch.	It's also home of Cabela's, mecca of the sportsman or woman.	Lovely farmland.
The circus snacky truck!!!	Laden with popcorn, corn dogs, cotton candy and foot longs!!!	A giant Virgin Mary watches over Nebraska and parts of Wyoming.
Rugged Wyoming welcomes us...	with a giant head of Abe Lincoln.	And a pointy rock formation thingy.

Day Six

Beautiful Utah mountains.	Idaho spreads out before us.	The reason for the trip - ultimate ratty cuteness of babies napping in their dish!

Day Seven

Our beloved Washington winds us toward home.	A curious cow in Ellensburg welcomes us back to WA.	Amazingly, it's not even raining when we return!