Well, this is our last blog post as tomorrow we fly home. I have to say, Arches and Canyonlands were a great ending to a great trip. Theo said to me last night, "every time we get to a new campground, I think it's my favorite" and that is somewhat true for me: no matter which park we are in, it feels like the best. We definitely ended the trip in high spirits.
A few of the girls were under the weather for these last couple of days, which was a bummer, but while we curtailed plans to make them more commensurate with energy levels, the kids were real troopers and we managed to really enjoy both parks. We had reservations to spend both nights at a campground in Arches, but we had heard really great things about the Canyonlands first-come-first-served campground so we took a chance, cancelled our night 1 reservation at Arches, and prayed. It turned out to be a bit of a nail-biter. There are only 12 sites in the part of Canyonlands we visited, and by the time we got moving and got to the campground, they were all taken. Luckily, one site remains open until 5pm for handicapped campers and no handicapped hikers turned up so we ended up with a large, lovely in a beautiful, peaceful spot with gorgeous stars. It was worth the worry!
Canyonlands is a large, peaceful park. For some reason, itis much less busy than Arches, though they are only 30 minutes apart and both close to the relatively populated town of Moab. The whole place was one quiet, unbelievable view after another. Canyons as far as the eye can see in every direction, but each one different and inspiring. We took a late evening hike (after the hot sun went down) on a rock called Whale Rock, that was smooth and high. When we got to the top, we couldn't see another soul, and the wind had us feeling like we were flying. It was great.
Arches, though right down the road, was also beautiful, but utterly different. It was the only park besides Yellowstone where we encountered any traffic congestion. There were other tourists everywhere we went, particularly because we mostly hit the park highlights rather than stuff off the beaten path. But, we were still glad we visited. Most impressive in this park were not the vistas, though there was no shortage of terrific ones, but (drum roll, please) the arches! The park has more than 2,500 natural stone arches, most in a vivid, red rock and each with its own charm. It has other impressive and precarious rock formations as well that leave you wondering both how they were formed and how the rocks are possibly balancing that way. It's lots of fun.
We took a sunset hike to Landscape Arch, one of the longest in the world, which I loved, but the real highlight of the park for us came after the sun went down. Our visit to Arches apparently coincided with a meteor shower, so we joined the rangers and some other tourists for a night of telescopes and sky-gazing. Wow!! We saw amazing views of the moon through the scope, as well as a crystal clear view of Saturn and its rings. We also caught sight of the most incredible shooting star I have ever seen in my life. Called an Earth Grazer because it came so low, it was strikingly bright and shot across the sky for a full 2 seconds or more with a long trail like a firework. The whole thing was jaw-dropping.
As if that weren't enough, the kids were feeling adventurous and asked to sleep without tents so they could see more stars. So, we all spent our last night in just sleeping bags under this incredible sky -- everyone except Ruby, actually, who chose to sleep in the van because we had previously declared that it's not really a road trip unless you end up spending the night in your car! The ground was hard, but the air and the sky were gorgeous. I saw about 15 more shooting stars (just the regular kind!) during the moments I rolled over during the night, and Theo and I took a beautiful dawn walk before the world awoke. It was really special.
Tomorrow it is on the plane and back to civilization, definitely with mixed feelings. It was a great adventure. The kids rated the trip between 5 and a 9 out of 10, which I consider a success. For Theo and me, this one goes to 11!
Monday, August 12, 2013
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Grand Canyon and Lake Powell
Hello all -- our Internet connection is sure to disappear at any moment so, before I update you on our trip, I want to be sure to thank everyone for all the notes and comments you have been sending. Though we haven't responded, we HAVE seriously appreciated. Thanks for being out there.
Okay, so, Grand Canyon. Truthfully, I don't have a ton to say about GC. The weather gods took a well-earned day off and left us with rain and clouds at this wonder-of-the-world so we did sadly little in terms of sightseeing or hiking. I, for one, am wistful about it. People had cautioned that the GC might not seem 'all that' after some of what we saw in Yellowstone but, even with our limited view, I found it to be all that and more. The colors and cliffs were similar to other places we have visited, but the scale of the canyon was like nothing else I have ever seen. I would definitely like to go back some day and, if I do, I think I would book a rafting trip there to get the view from the bottom as well as from the top. It's HUGE!! One thing that was nice for us was that, what we did see, we saw from the North Rim, which is both higher and less crowded than the South Rim of the canyon. When we stopped at the scenic turn-out for the highest point anywhere in the Canyon, we were the only people there. I had expected a lot of things at Grand Canyon, but solitude was NOT one of them!
After Grand Canyon we went to Lake Powell. This was where we finally hit the HOT part of our trip -- We were very glad to be at a lake! Lake Powell was created when the Glen Canyon Dam was constructed to tame the Colorado River. It is an amazing convergence of man-made ingenuity and nature and the area is really lovely. The water is a beautiful, clear, green-blue color and is surrounded by dramatic clay-colored cliffs and rocks. The rocks look big, but it isn't until you go and stand near one that you realize they are enormous. (As a side note, I really fear our whole sense of scale is going to be disrupted by this trip. The size of absolutely everything we are seeing is so vast compared to the East, I can't imagine what it will feel like to be home. On the other hand, we passed one Wyoming "town" with an official population of 10. And it will be tough to drive 40mph again, too, but that's another story...)
For the night, we stayed at a nice, beachy campground right on the lake with lovely views. For the day, we rented a 19 foot motor boat and tooled around the various canyons and crevices in the lake exploring, swimming, and playing. We had PERFECT weather (welcome back, Weather Gods) and I think it was the kids' favorite day. While Theo and I could sightsee forever, the girls clearly prefer doing to seeing, especially when the doing involves water. They loved the boat and the swimming, and tried to lobby us to rent a houseboat with a cool slide and stay on the lake for the rest of the trip. We didn't cave, but we were tempted :-)
From Lake Powell, we had a long drive up to where we are now: Moab, UT. We made the drive even longer by "swinging by" the four corners on our way. It was a fun little stop but we were glad to finally arrive at our motel last night. Our plan is to spend the next 2 days camping and exploring in our last 2 National Parks, Canyonlands and Arches, but a few of the kids seem to have caught a bug and I'm not sure what the group will be up to. This is our last stop before we fly home, so hopefully we will get to do something.
One more blog post coming your way at most. Either way, we fly home on Tuesday...
Okay, so, Grand Canyon. Truthfully, I don't have a ton to say about GC. The weather gods took a well-earned day off and left us with rain and clouds at this wonder-of-the-world so we did sadly little in terms of sightseeing or hiking. I, for one, am wistful about it. People had cautioned that the GC might not seem 'all that' after some of what we saw in Yellowstone but, even with our limited view, I found it to be all that and more. The colors and cliffs were similar to other places we have visited, but the scale of the canyon was like nothing else I have ever seen. I would definitely like to go back some day and, if I do, I think I would book a rafting trip there to get the view from the bottom as well as from the top. It's HUGE!! One thing that was nice for us was that, what we did see, we saw from the North Rim, which is both higher and less crowded than the South Rim of the canyon. When we stopped at the scenic turn-out for the highest point anywhere in the Canyon, we were the only people there. I had expected a lot of things at Grand Canyon, but solitude was NOT one of them!
After Grand Canyon we went to Lake Powell. This was where we finally hit the HOT part of our trip -- We were very glad to be at a lake! Lake Powell was created when the Glen Canyon Dam was constructed to tame the Colorado River. It is an amazing convergence of man-made ingenuity and nature and the area is really lovely. The water is a beautiful, clear, green-blue color and is surrounded by dramatic clay-colored cliffs and rocks. The rocks look big, but it isn't until you go and stand near one that you realize they are enormous. (As a side note, I really fear our whole sense of scale is going to be disrupted by this trip. The size of absolutely everything we are seeing is so vast compared to the East, I can't imagine what it will feel like to be home. On the other hand, we passed one Wyoming "town" with an official population of 10. And it will be tough to drive 40mph again, too, but that's another story...)
For the night, we stayed at a nice, beachy campground right on the lake with lovely views. For the day, we rented a 19 foot motor boat and tooled around the various canyons and crevices in the lake exploring, swimming, and playing. We had PERFECT weather (welcome back, Weather Gods) and I think it was the kids' favorite day. While Theo and I could sightsee forever, the girls clearly prefer doing to seeing, especially when the doing involves water. They loved the boat and the swimming, and tried to lobby us to rent a houseboat with a cool slide and stay on the lake for the rest of the trip. We didn't cave, but we were tempted :-)
From Lake Powell, we had a long drive up to where we are now: Moab, UT. We made the drive even longer by "swinging by" the four corners on our way. It was a fun little stop but we were glad to finally arrive at our motel last night. Our plan is to spend the next 2 days camping and exploring in our last 2 National Parks, Canyonlands and Arches, but a few of the kids seem to have caught a bug and I'm not sure what the group will be up to. This is our last stop before we fly home, so hopefully we will get to do something.
One more blog post coming your way at most. Either way, we fly home on Tuesday...
Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon
Sorry for the hiatus--internet service out here is refreshingly appalling! Anyway... Capitol Reef was another success! We were a little anxious about getting to the park early because we did not have a reservation for the night. The campground we wanted to stay at, Fruita, was first come-first served, and we had heard that it filled up by mid-day. As it turned out, we were there in plenty of time to get a spot and the campground was as lovely as promised. Set among orchards planted by early settlers and on an open, breezy riverbank frequented by families of deer, it was a truly lovely spot. We had the feeling that some of the other campers had settled there for the summer!
It was tough to leave our new home to explore, but explore we did, via a scenic drive that led to a long, dirt road that wound between tall, pink and brown canyon walls. This arduous pass, forged by early settlers, had been the main driving route for the area into the 1920s! Hard to believe. At the end of the dirt road, we continued on foot into an old gorge where we found graffiti from the 1800s -- lists of the names of settlers who had passed through on their journey west. Very cool, and also very quiet. For all its beauty, Yellowstone was crowded and full of hubbub. Capitol Reef was the opposite -- blissful miles of no one.
During the evening, we took it easy. A short hike along the river near camp (just us, munching on apples from the orchard along with the deer and the rabbits) and we were off to bed. Our cooking has been nothing to write home about but, despite this, our nights have been some of our favorite times. We have sung a few songs, the girls have been playing cards endlessly --and, for the most part, happily-- and Theo has been telling an ongoing bed time story that has everyone on the edge of her seat and begging for more. Now that we have gotten into some routines with the tents and the food, loud giggling has been our biggest challenge!
We got an early start on day 13, again to get an unreserved campground spot, this time in Bryce Canyon. We had had a hotel booked for the evening, but we prefer the camping so we took a chance and cancelled. All went well. Again there were plenty of lovely spots available in the park when we arrived, and we made ourselves a home at a large, peaceful site overlooking a grove of Utah pines.
Before I go on describing Bryce, I need to back up and mention our drive there. By this time you would think it would be hard for views to impress us, but our country continues to amaze. We drove south through a region called The Grand Staircase Escalante. Picture narrow cliffside roads, winding switchbacks, altitudes over 9,000 feet, and awesome panoramic views that were gorgeous no matter which way we turned. We were almost disappointed to arrive at our destination.
Luckily, Bryce had the same, and more. We are ruing more than ever that we can't manage picture posting, because Bryce can really only be seen, not described. In the near-ground, wherever you look, there are "hoodoos" -- towers and towers of red, rippled rocks perched in ways that defy gravity. In the far-ground, the views are similar to what we experienced during our drive, but the air is so clear you can see mountains more than 80 miles away. I must have said "no way!" to at least 10 different vistas. We enjoyed a terrific 3 mile hike down into Bryce canyon. It was hot and the steeps were VERY steep, but the girls were total troopers -- I think even they felt it was worth it for some of the up close views and they had lots of fun finding faces in the rocks. That night, for the first time, we left the rain fly off our tents and slept with screens only between us and the cool desert air. Beautiful.
Now it is morning, and we are making our way 3 more hours south to the Grand Canyon. We just crossed into Arizona, our last new state on the trip. A wildfire is burning in the distance ahead of us and, behind me, Allie and Ava are making friendship bracelets, Risa is making designs with Wiki-stix, and Ruby is crafting a variety of objects out of duct tape. The computers have been on plenty as well, but we are making happy trails and that's what counts:-)
It was tough to leave our new home to explore, but explore we did, via a scenic drive that led to a long, dirt road that wound between tall, pink and brown canyon walls. This arduous pass, forged by early settlers, had been the main driving route for the area into the 1920s! Hard to believe. At the end of the dirt road, we continued on foot into an old gorge where we found graffiti from the 1800s -- lists of the names of settlers who had passed through on their journey west. Very cool, and also very quiet. For all its beauty, Yellowstone was crowded and full of hubbub. Capitol Reef was the opposite -- blissful miles of no one.
During the evening, we took it easy. A short hike along the river near camp (just us, munching on apples from the orchard along with the deer and the rabbits) and we were off to bed. Our cooking has been nothing to write home about but, despite this, our nights have been some of our favorite times. We have sung a few songs, the girls have been playing cards endlessly --and, for the most part, happily-- and Theo has been telling an ongoing bed time story that has everyone on the edge of her seat and begging for more. Now that we have gotten into some routines with the tents and the food, loud giggling has been our biggest challenge!
We got an early start on day 13, again to get an unreserved campground spot, this time in Bryce Canyon. We had had a hotel booked for the evening, but we prefer the camping so we took a chance and cancelled. All went well. Again there were plenty of lovely spots available in the park when we arrived, and we made ourselves a home at a large, peaceful site overlooking a grove of Utah pines.
Before I go on describing Bryce, I need to back up and mention our drive there. By this time you would think it would be hard for views to impress us, but our country continues to amaze. We drove south through a region called The Grand Staircase Escalante. Picture narrow cliffside roads, winding switchbacks, altitudes over 9,000 feet, and awesome panoramic views that were gorgeous no matter which way we turned. We were almost disappointed to arrive at our destination.
Luckily, Bryce had the same, and more. We are ruing more than ever that we can't manage picture posting, because Bryce can really only be seen, not described. In the near-ground, wherever you look, there are "hoodoos" -- towers and towers of red, rippled rocks perched in ways that defy gravity. In the far-ground, the views are similar to what we experienced during our drive, but the air is so clear you can see mountains more than 80 miles away. I must have said "no way!" to at least 10 different vistas. We enjoyed a terrific 3 mile hike down into Bryce canyon. It was hot and the steeps were VERY steep, but the girls were total troopers -- I think even they felt it was worth it for some of the up close views and they had lots of fun finding faces in the rocks. That night, for the first time, we left the rain fly off our tents and slept with screens only between us and the cool desert air. Beautiful.
Now it is morning, and we are making our way 3 more hours south to the Grand Canyon. We just crossed into Arizona, our last new state on the trip. A wildfire is burning in the distance ahead of us and, behind me, Allie and Ava are making friendship bracelets, Risa is making designs with Wiki-stix, and Ruby is crafting a variety of objects out of duct tape. The computers have been on plenty as well, but we are making happy trails and that's what counts:-)
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Days 10 and 11 -- Grand Teton and Beyond
I'm going to start this blog post with a confession: I wasn't really expecting much from the Tetons. After Yellowstone, I was a little spoiled and was figuring that the Tetons would be more of the same. Well, not the first time I've been wrong and undoubtedly not the last.
I am continually amazed on this trip about how fast the landscape can change, and how many, many different kinds of mountains there are. When we rounded the bend and saw the Tetons it simply took my breath way. Unlike Yellowstone's mountains which were on the soft, green side, the Tetons were bare and jagged and stark. Lit up by the morning sun and reflected in Jackson lake, they were just beautiful.
We didn't really do any sightseeing in the park: our plan for this area was a whitewater rafting trip down the Snake River. I was worried the girls might be nervous, but (wrong again) I was much more nervous for them than they were for themselves. I'm happy to report the trip was great and all 4 girls LOVED it! The class 2 and 3 rapids were exciting without being too scary, and the scenery was gorgeous. We saw 2 bald eagles within the space of 5 minutes, and several cormorants and osprey throughout the ride. All 4 girls and Theo took a dip in the river -- 58 degrees cold but beautiful-- and, in a burst of testosterone, Theo took the guide's challenge and braved one rapid out of his seat, sitting on the nose of the boat, holding on only to a rope. It was pretty awesome!
After the Tetons, it was southward bound and some rest time for us. We drove down through Idaho then just a bit into Utah where we hotel-ed in a small town called Bear Lake. The west is incredible. In the middle of a fairly bare, dry landscape, out of nowhere came a stunning lake with water as clear and aqua as the Caribbean. Not only was it a great place to siesta and swim, it also turned out to be the raspberry capital of the country (or so it claims) and we landed there during Raspberry Days. Go figure! The crowd was a little Jersey Shore meets Hometown Utah (read: Yikes!), but the raspberries were absolutely delicious and the famous raspberry shakes definitely lived up to their hype.
With rest and clean laundry under our belts, we continued our trek to the southern part of Utah. We drove through Salt Lake City to take a glimpse of the Mormon Temple, continued down highways with an 80mph speed limit, and eventually caught another motel, not too far from Capitol Reef National Park, which will be today's adventure...
Friday, August 2, 2013
Yellowstone at last!
Apologies for the break in blog entries, but as it turns out we were completely off line during our four days in Yellowstone. Who knew there was actual wilderness left in America?
Yellowstone IS incredible wilderness. It is very tough to convey the awesome size, variety, and beauty of this jewel of a park. Because a 30 x 45 mile section of Yellowstone is actually the crater of a huge volcano (most recent eruption about 500k years ago) there is an amazing variety of landscapes, land forms, and ways that superheated water and the minerals that they bring with them try to break through to the surface. These include boiling mudpots, foul-smelling sulfuric springs with water at 180 degrees, shooting geysers, steaming aquamarine and orange colored pools, and many more. The place looks like something out of a 6th grade movie about how the Earth was formed! Despite the primordial inhospitability of these areas though, the other miles and miles of Yellowstone's mountains lakes, valleys, hills, rivers, and forests are also home to massive elk, deer, bear, and huge herds of bison. It's indescribably beautiful.
We entered the park from the north after a beautiful drive and a lovely lunch in Montana. (How cool is it that we were in Montana for lunch???) Our night in Cody had been uneventful. The thunderstorm during our drive had left a rip in our roof bag but, luckily, just before we left home Ruth thought to give us some waterproof storage bags so our tents stayed warm and dry and we were geared up for our adventure.
Our first two Yellowstone nights were in a lovely wooded campsite in the northern loop of the park. It thunderstormed severely both nights, but the kids were brave and the tents did their job. We were all ready to be out of the car for a change, so our first morning we took a somewhat ambitious hike through the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone - gorgeous waterfalls, crystal clear rivers, and unbelievable views. We were not, unfortunately, prepared for the 40 degree temp or the sudden downpour that came our way. Oops! anyway, we made it and at least some of us thought it was worth it. ;-)
After that day, we learned to pace ourselves a bit better. Our next few days included a second, less secluded campsite in the southern park, shorter hikes, more leisurely exploration, and ice cream stops. In the hot springs area, we saw gorgeous, naturally formed terraces made of travertine marble. In the valleys, we were stuck in a 1 hr traffic jam caused by a herd of bison. In the geyser area, we watched Old Faithful do her thing -- twice. The best part of the Yellowstone stay for the girls was probably a fun morning spent body-surfing down the rapids of a section of the Firehole River (naturally heated by the thermal hot springs). It was a real test of nerve for them (and for us), and they went back for at least three long runs.
We've really gotten the hang of the tenting thing now, but we do long for the comforts of home. We are DEFINITELY ready for a laundry and some new food, and there has been some homesickness, but nothing that s'mores and a few games of hearts couldn't cure. Rafting in the Tetons is our next adventure and then we are off to a hotel and warmer climes.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Day 5: Rapid City to Cody, the trek across Wyoming
Day 5 has been an odyssey and we are still going, with a likely 4 more hours ahead of us. We got up early this morning and broke camp for the first time. We were most nervous about whether everything would fit in our minivan but, with the help of a cheapo roof carrier we bought at WalMart, we fit no problem.
Our original plan for the day had been simply to make the 6 hour drive to Cody, WY, but there were so many things still to see in SD, we revised our plan and started the day with a detour to Jewel Cave, the 3rd largest cave in the world. Unfortunately, after the 1 hour drive there, we learned that the earliest cave tour we could do was an 11am. Not ideal.
We decided to go for it anyway, and we were rewarded with a cool trip underground and close up views of cave formations that resembled everything from mummified bodies to rivers of caramel. The highlight was a 20ft long formation that looked truly indistinguishable from a humungous piece of fresh bacon.
Thanks to our jaunt, we got a very late start on our very long drive. The funny thing is, the prospect of hours more in the car doesn't really bother us grown-ups because the drives are so interesting. Today, on a route that is largely highway and NOT designated scenic, we have seen vast, rolling green meadows; rushing waterfalls; a spectacular lightening storm (still waiting to find out if our roof rack is waterproof!) plunging canyons; flat, ragged cliffs; the snow-covered Bighorn Mountains; and--as I was writing this sentence -- 2 moose out for their evening meal. Literally every bend in the road brings a new wonder. I can't say spectacular enough times.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Day 4 -- the Badlands
Today we drove to our first National Park -- The Badlands. Put simply, it did not disappoint.
Badlands includes a huge stretch of land that was under water for a few ages and has since evolved from sea, to jungle, to forest, to its current state, which is an indescribable mix of gorgeous, varied landscapes that stretch as far as the eye can see. Its most dominant feature is beautifully striated barren cliffs that are so dry the ground is literally cracked and crumbling under your feet. Climbing these was at times kind of hairy as rocks crumbled to pebbles, but it was also really fun and rewarded us with breathtaking views.
Somehow, this totally inhospitable land is surrounded by gorgeous waving grasslands where bison and antelope graze peacefully. Some of the plain looks so green and rolling it could be a golf course. And, there are other cool land features as well, like the Yellow Mounds, which are exactly what they say they are and are like nothing I have seen before. They have an other-worldly yet very serene vibe. I could have walked among them for hours...but for the rattlesnake warnings. At literally every turn in the road there was an awe-inspiring view. It took alot of self-control not to stop at every one which leaves me wondering how we are possibly going to see all we want to at the other parks on our itinerary. I fear we booked about half the time we will need everywhere!
When the Badlands finally tired us out, we made a stop at Wall Drug, an infamous tourist trap, for some ice cream and then headed back to camp for a pasta dinner. It is our last night at here the Rapid City KOA. It's been a good place to get our bearings and the kids have loved finishing each day in the pool, but I'm psyched to move on. We have one more night at a KOA in Cody, and then we try some more rustic camping. Seeing all this beautiful land makes me wish I were experienced enough to really camp in the middle of nowhere under the stars...but Theo points out that we might miss our flush toilets! ;-)
Friday, July 26, 2013
Day 3 - Custer State Park
Right now all 6 of us are cozied up in the girls' tent reading and playing cards (and blogging)... a lovely end to a lovely day. After a breakfast of bacon and eggs cooked on our new camping stove (thank you Walmart) we headed off to explore Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The day brought more rolling hills and forests that took our breath away, but also animal encounters, rock structures and man-made monuments.
Not 5 minutes into the park, we were surrounded by a herd of at least 200 buffalo, including young calves, nursing moms, and rutting males. They crowded onto and around the road within inches of us - the pics were great; the odor not so much. Later we saw prairie dogs (the girls' favorite part of the day), deer, antelope and an eagle.
The highlight for me and Barb was probably climbing the many rock formations with the girls (ok, maybe it was the chocolate bar we snuck when the kids weren't looking). And we also saw Mt. Rushmore from a variety of angles, including through a series of tunnels that framed it beautifully.
We' re getting a hang of the camping thing a bit, too. Seems almost normal now to spend the day in the same clothes we slept in and end every meal with 5 marshmallows...
Not 5 minutes into the park, we were surrounded by a herd of at least 200 buffalo, including young calves, nursing moms, and rutting males. They crowded onto and around the road within inches of us - the pics were great; the odor not so much. Later we saw prairie dogs (the girls' favorite part of the day), deer, antelope and an eagle.
The highlight for me and Barb was probably climbing the many rock formations with the girls (ok, maybe it was the chocolate bar we snuck when the kids weren't looking). And we also saw Mt. Rushmore from a variety of angles, including through a series of tunnels that framed it beautifully.
We' re getting a hang of the camping thing a bit, too. Seems almost normal now to spend the day in the same clothes we slept in and end every meal with 5 marshmallows...
Well, day 2 is under our belt. Some of the euphoria has definitely faded (read: bickering and yelling have begun to creep in) but, overall, we are still riding high. Our main goals for the day were:
1. To get from Cheyenne , WY to Rapid City, SD: smooth as silk with gorgeous vistas that we have given up on posting here because trying to conquer the technology is sucking us dry. We played some great car games that had everyone together and laughing. A parents' dream! The landscape was fabulous. The kids were awed by the wide-open spaces and Theo was reduced almost to tears by the beauty though we're not even in a National Park yet. Huge ranches, with sometimes no house in sight, green rolling hills, cool rock formations, amazing long stretches of beautiful land without any people. America is truly beautiful.
2. To set up camp at our first KOA: whatever the opposite of smooth as silk is. We were basically fine but it took us an embarrassingly long time and our attitudes were less than ideal. Still, we did it AND we did it well enough so that when a massive thunder and lightening storm blew in at 3:30am we were no worse for wear. Yay us! One happy surprise: a couple of the kids were wishing our campground had fewer amenities and were more natural. Yay them!
3. To get provisions at WalMart: they had everything, but, seriously, they have EVERYTHING! I think we were in there more than 2 hours and, at a minimum, by the time we left I had forgotten what the weather outside was. The kids held up great, the parents were wiped, and we barely made it back to camp in time to make dinner. Let's just say I don't want to do that too many more times.
4. To cook our first campfire dinner: we kept it simple -- hot dogs and s'mores -- everyone was happy. The kids enjoyed a pre-dinner swim in the KOA pool and the grown-ups enjoyed a pre-dinner beer by the fire. All was well. Safely rest. God was nigh.
Day 2's unexpected surprise: our young campers have taken on jobs. Each day we will have Betty and a Crocker who will help with cooking and cleaning; a Navigator who will help us learn about our area, and a Goddess who will keep spirits high. Needless to say, jobs will rotate!
TTFN!
1. To get from Cheyenne , WY to Rapid City, SD: smooth as silk with gorgeous vistas that we have given up on posting here because trying to conquer the technology is sucking us dry. We played some great car games that had everyone together and laughing. A parents' dream! The landscape was fabulous. The kids were awed by the wide-open spaces and Theo was reduced almost to tears by the beauty though we're not even in a National Park yet. Huge ranches, with sometimes no house in sight, green rolling hills, cool rock formations, amazing long stretches of beautiful land without any people. America is truly beautiful.
2. To set up camp at our first KOA: whatever the opposite of smooth as silk is. We were basically fine but it took us an embarrassingly long time and our attitudes were less than ideal. Still, we did it AND we did it well enough so that when a massive thunder and lightening storm blew in at 3:30am we were no worse for wear. Yay us! One happy surprise: a couple of the kids were wishing our campground had fewer amenities and were more natural. Yay them!
3. To get provisions at WalMart: they had everything, but, seriously, they have EVERYTHING! I think we were in there more than 2 hours and, at a minimum, by the time we left I had forgotten what the weather outside was. The kids held up great, the parents were wiped, and we barely made it back to camp in time to make dinner. Let's just say I don't want to do that too many more times.
4. To cook our first campfire dinner: we kept it simple -- hot dogs and s'mores -- everyone was happy. The kids enjoyed a pre-dinner swim in the KOA pool and the grown-ups enjoyed a pre-dinner beer by the fire. All was well. Safely rest. God was nigh.
Day 2's unexpected surprise: our young campers have taken on jobs. Each day we will have Betty and a Crocker who will help with cooking and cleaning; a Navigator who will help us learn about our area, and a Goddess who will keep spirits high. Needless to say, jobs will rotate!
TTFN!
Sunday, July 21, 2013
About This Blog
Hi! This is our group blog for our western road trip! Click on our names to find our individual blogs. I hope you like it!
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