For our second anniversary Chance gave me a couple options - we could go to the California coast for a few days, or to Las Vegas. While both sounded so fun, I knew that Chance had been dreaming about going to Green Bay for a Packers game for years. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to give him that dream, so we bagged the beach and headed out on a road trip! It was CERTAINLY a long drive, but we had so much fun, and got to see some beautiful country. Although most would say that a drive through Eastern Montana and North Dakota would be far from exciting, we thought it was gorgeous (for the most part)! I think we were most excited to have a few days together "away from it all."
Just across the Montana/North Dakota border we came to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This was a pleasant surprise, as neither of us knew this was here! It was absolutely stunning - it almost felt like we were in Nevada!
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| Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Dickinson, ND. |
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| "Badlands" of North Dakota |
Another unexpected treat was passing the "Enchanted Highway." This is a really cool stretch of road that runs from just past Dickinson, down to Regent, ND. Along the way these HUGE pieces of metal artwork are featured. We were only able to see the first one from I-94, and didn't have time to take the whole highway detour, but just this one was fascinating!
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| Enchanted Highway, ND |
We spent the first night just outside Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. The next morning we were driving through the beautiful countryside and came upon this Amish buggy on the side of the road! I have read quite a bit about the Amish lately...super interesting...so this was really cool to bring all the information to life! We passed several Amish farms - no telephone or power lines - with buggies parked, and an Amish quilt shop.
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| The pictures were taken through the car windshield, so they're not super clear... :( |
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| Beautiful corn crops and these picturesque farms made up the landscape. Everything was so green! |
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| This was a change from the "Watch for Jumping Deer" signs we see around Great Falls! |
Finally we arrived at our hotel in Neenah - about 30 minutes south of Green Bay. It was game day morning, so we geared up in our jerseys. The Packers were set to play the Bears (nearby Chicago) for Thursday night football - and right away there was taunting and trash talking from some Bears fans in our hotel! People really take their football seriously around here! :) We jumped in the car and headed to Green Bay right away, where the Packer fans were sure to outnumber the Bears fans!
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| We ate lunch, then parked a few blocks from the stadium and decided to explore on foot until the game. |
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| This was four or five hours before game time, and already the streets near the stadium were jammed, and green and yellow were everywhere! |
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| The training center for the Packers |
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| Practice field |
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| Bret Favre's Steakhouse! |
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| A tribute to good ol' #4! |
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| Everything is painted green and yellow! |
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| There are hardly words... |
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| Tailgating Rigs |
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| In front of the main gate to Lambeau Field |
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| Donald Driver (Beth's favorite player) heading into the game! |
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| Waiting in line... |
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| Standing on the Stadium steps, looking back across the tailgating zone at the Practice Complex. This was still over two hours before kickoff and look at all the people! |
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| Some of the Bears warming up on the field. |
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| We had some amazing seats! There were two Bears fans right in front of us, but they were pretty quiet - not much to get excited about as the Packers routed the Bears! |
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| Thursday Night Football Crew - Rich Eisen, Deion Sanders, Steve Mariuchi, Marshall Faulk, Michael Irvin |
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| Julius Peppers and Crew - these guys are HUGE! |
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| Aaron Rodgers hands the ball off to Cedric Benson |
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| Toward the end of the game - it got a little chilly, but we were so excited we didn't even notice! |
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| Go Pack Go! |
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| The scoreboard with 0:56 left in the game... The Packers Defense was the story of the night... 7 sacks, 4 interceptions, and a fake field goal ran in for a special teams touchdown! It was sure loud at Lambeau Field! |
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| Clay Matthew had an awesome game - he joined the TNF crew for a post-game interview, and we got to get right up close and listen. |
The next morning neither of us had much of a voice! We woke up and headed back up to Green Bay (30 min. drive), ate breakfast (I had some soothing tea to drink), and then returned to the Lambeau Field Stadium for a tour.
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| This is looking down at the field from a Private Skybox Suite. Big comfy leather armchairs with theatre style seating, a bathroom just outside the door, and food/drink servers at your beckon call... all for the low price of around $20,000.00 to watch a Packers/Bears game! |
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| I'm glad Chance didn't know about this before our wedding!!! :) |
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| Down by the Player's Locker Room... in the tunnel... the injury "cart." |
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| Looking down the tunnel out onto the field - this is where the Packers run out when they are announced before a game. |
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| Chance hitting the plaque that all the players touch for good luck before a game as they run out onto the field. |
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| Down on the field! Our tour guide had us yell "Go Pack Go!" from down on the field to hear the acoustics of the stadium - it was incredible how loud only 15 or so voices were! The noise the players hear during a game must be insane! No wonder false starts happen! |
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| Chance touching/smelling/tasting? the grass... :) |
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| After our stadium tour we spent a few hours in the Hall of Fame. |
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| One really neat Packers tradition is that kids in the community bring their bikes to the stadium, and the Packers will ride them (sometimes with the kids on the backs) to and from practice every day. Because of the small community, things like this are possible! |
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| The gear has come a long way! |
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| Before the "Super Bowl" there was the "World Championships." The Packers have won more titles combined than any other football team. |
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| A piece from Coach Lombardi's chalkboard of probably the most famous Packers play of all time. |
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| Chance in the "Hall of Fame" |
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| The actual "belt" that Rodgers was given after the 2011 Super Bowl win. |
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| Vince Lombardi's desk |
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| Anyone remember this "club" from the 2011-2012 season?! |
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| He may not have the wingspan, but I still think Hubby is more of a man than Derek Sherrod! :) |
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| And I thought I had big hands! |
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| Inside the "Players Dressing Room." |
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| One of the last jerseys that Favre wore as a Packer. |
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| Here's Chance attempting the Lambeau Leap! This is a tradition by Packer players of jumping into the stands and getting patted by the fans after scoring a touchdown. It's harder than it looks.... I definitely won't be posting any photos of my feeble attempt as that would be just too embarassing! |
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| Hubby did it with ease! |
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| In front of the four Super Bowl "Lombardi" trophies. |
That evening we ate at the Stadium at Curly's pub. Curly Lambeau was the organizer and first player/coach of the Green Bay Packers. Really neat atmosphere.
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| And delicious burgers with Green Bay curd cheese! |
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| Hubby looks pretty satisfied here! |
The next morning it was up and at 'em as we had a 22 hour drive back to Great Falls. Overall, the trip was so much fun! There was so much to see and do that we didn't get to... I think we'll have to come back soon to see the rest!
