Day 24 - Finally Home!

Day 24 - We Have Arrived!!!

It's hard to believe that this was the last day of this unbelievable trip! When we left there wasn't much more than a general plan and a very full mini van to send us on our way. We had one destination scheduled and the rest was just a bunch of ideas and wishes. We had no clue what was ahead, what difficulties we might encounter or how much stamina we would need for riding in the car. What we did know though was that we were all up for the adventure and we agreed that no matter what we did, it was going to be fun!

The final day of travel was bitter sweet. We managed to get ourselves packed up and out of the hotel by 8:30am because the GPS was saying 8.5 hours even though AAA triptik was saying 7.5hrs. It didn't matter because either way we knew that this night we would be sleeping in our own beds, in our own house with our own pillows! We were happy to be heading home, but we were definitely going to miss this trip. 

Since this portion of the trip was a total 'redo' there wasn't a whole lot of new stuff to see. So, we sat and listened to a book on tape and talked a little about all the cool things we did over the past 3.5 weeks. Surprisingly, the kids were not at all dissatisfied by the long hours in the car or the crazy raft ride. They didn't seem to mind eating peanut butter and jelly almost every day throughout the entire trip. They even didn't mind sleeping on the ground for as many days as we had to. The part they were missing the most was camping with all their friends. To them, it doesn't matter where we camp, it's more important for the kids that we are all together. Our  kids are already talking about next year's campsite and where we should go. 

Mark and I were talking about whether we would travel like this again. I have to be honest, it really wasn't as bad as it seemed. I spend most of my time in the car driving the kids all over the place anyway, this was just a longer jaunt. Having a goal in mind made the daily drives a little easier along with having the right company. It is amazing how a group of kids can keep themselves entertained on such a long journey. It was fun to sit up front and listen to their songs, rhymes and conversations. If Ally, Brooke & Matt weren't so open minded and patient, this trip would have been much tougher. I really think the kids were at a perfect age for experiencing a trip like this. It will be interesting to see if they are willing to do it again if the opportunity presents itself!

So, after 7,276 miles on the road we pulled into our driveway with a big sigh of relief. The house was still standing (it didn't blow away like the tent) and the grass was a bit taller. It looked as though nothing had really changed, but we all felt a little change inside each of us. Not only did we gain some educational tidbits along the way, but we also learned that we can have fun no matter where we go. We unpacked the car in record time. Everyone helped without me once having to raise my voice or even remind them to come back and 'do something'. Once of the best lessons the kids developed during this trip is that if we all work together the job gets done faster. That lesson followed us all the way home; let's see if it withstands the test of time!

After unpacking the car, I got dinner started and Mark and the kids took off to pick up the dogs. One of the really big motivators for getting home was seeing the pets again. The dogs came in with a whoosh! They were happy to be home as well. Copeland wanted nothing more than to be pet and Rue looked like she doubled in size. It was great to see their exuberance. We were all a little worried that Rue wouldn't remember us since she is still so new to the house, but that didn't seem to be the case. I think the dogs were as tired as we were though because it didn't take them long to just curl up next to us and fall asleep. 

When bedtime finally rolled around Rue hopped up to snuggle with Brooke and Copeland went downstairs to my bedroom where it was cooler. Evidently, Matthew decided he wanted to be with Copeland so at some point after he was put to bed, he hopped out and headed downstairs to find the dog. When Mark went to bed a couple of hours later he found Matthew and Copeland asleep on our bedroom floor. Everyone was happy and satisfied. Guess we couldn't really have asked for a better experience!

Day 23 - Still driving....

Another long travel day L  The triptik said 16 hours from our hotel location just outside of Chicago to home. It’s a two day trip…we can do it!!! Originally we planned to stop at Cedar Point and possibly even Rock & Roll hall of fame, but both these options have been removed from the list. We are now on a mission; even the kids want to get home.

After another breakfast of egg sandwiches, pancakes, yogurt and juice (same setup at every best western) we were on our way. Told the kids no bathroom breaks for 4 hours!!! That is a little unrealistic for Ally and I, but it’s a good thought. 

We did, however, stop at University of Notre Dame in Indiana to look around. I had always wanted to tour the campus and never did end up getting there so we thought, why not???? It’s a HUGE school! The athletic complex I think is bigger than the whole Providence campus. We couldn’t get into the stadium because they are renovating. I told them who we were, but that didn’t seem to matter ;-)

After walking through the campus and bookstore for an hour or so, we hopped back in the car to continue the journey. I did ask Ally if she wanted to start filling out the application now, but she didn’t seem overly interested. The ride through Indiana is much different than the states we traveled through over these past few weeks. A lot more traffic here and it has a definite ‘eastern’ feel to it. Lots of construction and oh yeah, the speed limit is no longer 75, UGH! After driving 75+ for so long I don’t know how I will get used to 55 again. Stop laughing, I know I never do 55, but I never get to drive 75 without getting a ticket!!!

The big bummer of the day is we pulled up to a fastlane toll and my transponder didn’t work. So yes, we were one of those people who held up the line while we actually had to get out of the car to go accept the ticket from the machine. It wasn’t bad, only 20-25 cars in line behind us. I don’t think we got any fingers, but we did get a horn. Then I remembered, a little late of course, that my credit card was compromised 12 days before the trip and I had to have it replaced. I forgot to check which accounts were linked to it on a monthly basis, fastlane being one of them. I’m expecting to arrive home to some interesting voice mails. Oh well, for the rest of the trip we will be ‘cash only’ drivers on the toll roads. Mark isn’t too happy with me right now.

For some reason today seemed to fly by. Maybe it was the diversion of stopping at ND or maybe it was because we actually crossed the borders for 5 states, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. This gave the kids something to celebrate. I know it’s minor, but it’s something to look forward too! We pulled off in a little town outside of Buffalo called Findley Lake. It’s a blip on the map, but we found a great little restaurant on a lake. This is one of the best meals we’ve had in days! Mark and I sat and enjoyed a couple of beers while the kids explored down at the lake. It was relaxing for all of us.

Tomorrow is the last leg of this trip. I definitely have mixed emotions right now, but I’m really looking forward to getting home. We’re missing the pets, our beds and most importantly our friends & family. We have 7 ½ hours to go…let’s hope the car holds up for these last 516 miles!

Day 22 - Still heading east...

This was a very, very long day in the car. We managed to pack up and leave the hotel before in record time! We were on the road by 9am Central Time, which for us is an accomplishment. I’m liking these “breakfast included” stops. We decided to forego camping and stay in some Best Western hotels on the way back. They aren’t terribly expensive and breakfast is provided which means it’s one less meal to make/think about for me. The cooler is at the bare minimum now and we are just heads down driving at this point.

I did look up Nebraska on the AAA site and there really aren’t many captivating points of interest to warrant hopping off the highway for, especially because we are trying to cover some pretty significant miles. I will say, it was not as boring to drive through Nebraska as we thought it might be. The corn fields are actually kind of a nice change to the barren fields and cow pastures of some of the other states. In some cases, the farmers plowed designs into some of the corn fields. Not sure if there was on purpose or if it was just to keep it interesting. Either way, we enjoyed the sights and it did help keep us more interested during the ride.

Nebraska also is kind of creative with the highway overpasses. Some of them are these intricate architectural designs, usually monuments of some sort, but still interesting none the less. Also, on the more mundane overpasses we would see windsocks; guess the winds in Nebraska are so strong it warrants notification to drivers. The coolest thing we saw in Nebraska though was a helicopter rigged with special wings for dusting the crops. It was so impressive to watch it fly so low over the fields and make such tight turns at the end of each pass. The traffic was moving a little slower at this point so we were able to watch it make 3 passes…it was very cool.

From Nebraska we moved into Iowa. Kind of more of the same as far as the landscape is concerned. Still not nearly as uninteresting as people had indicated to me. Lots of corn fields and some cattle farms. But, we here we were also entertained by the Iowa crop dusters. They didn’t use helicopters, they use little planes that fly similarly to remote control planes. The way they make tight turns and go into stalls at super low altitudes is really impressive. We watched one plane that looked as though it was going to run straight into some power lines. But, it gently dipped below the lines so nonchalantly we knew they must have done this 1,000 times before. The planes fly so low over the corn that you can almost see the spray landing on the crops. Truly amazing to watch the whole process. It does make you think a lot though about how many chemicals are on our foods. It was a good teaching moment though. The kids will be washing their fruit from now on without me asking ;-)

Another semi-interesting thing in Iowa were the wind-powered mills. In other states, these wind farms were usually off in the distance. In Iowa they are right along the highway in some cases. Driving right by them gives you such a perspective in the enormity of these things. Often, we would see tractor trailers driving down the highway with just one blade on the flatbed. It was HUGE! It kind of looked like a giant rib from a whale. We would see multiple trucks drive by with just the blades. Never saw the main shaft. Wonder how many trucks would be needed to move one of those?!?! One interesting thing the kids noticed is that not all the windmills are spinning. Some would be standing stock still, even during strong winds. We never did find out why. That is something to research when we get home. 

Late in the afternoon we crossed into Illinois. Iowa was our last big, long state to travel through on the road home. Our destination was just west of Chicago, traffic permitting. It’s hard to be traveling like this and not forget that the weekdays still celebrate rush hour. We were approaching the Chicago area just at 6:30pm and I was really concerned that we were going to hit the same traffic we managed to get ourselves locked up in on our way out west. Thankfully, we were far enough outside that it didn’t affect us. Found the hotel and checked in by 8pm. The kids wanted to swim, but we still hadn’t eaten dinner. Off we went in search of food. Not sure if this hotel thing is more cost effective or not. Using hotels over campsites is taking 2 days off the trip, but the food stops can be brutal. I can’t wait to get home and eat fresh fruits and veggies again!!!! Our cuisine for this night was Thai, just for something different. Not bad, but not like home.

Back at the hotel, Mark took the kids for a swim while I prepared for the next day’s travel and sleeping. The time change is making this a little tricky because the kids just aren’t hungry or tired on a schedule. I, on the other hand, can fall asleep in a moment if given the chance. It’s finally dark at a normal hour. I’m hoping they will be tired soon. 

Day 21 - Heading East

This is the first day of our journey home. Originally, I had planned on taking a scenic route home in order to enjoy some of the other states that we haven’t seen yet. But, after 20 days of traveling and sightseeing we are all ready to head back home. The kids have even agreed to skip Cedar Point; this was a huge sign that everyone is ready to get home. 

We packed up the Yurt and said our good-bye’s to our new friends at Arrowhead Campgrounds and pointed the car east. We did stop for a nice breakfast in Buena Vista at a lovely little restaurant called Evergreen’s. This restaurant came highly recommended by our white water rafting guide. There we saw our climbing guide from the day before as well. I felt like I was back in Framingham, knowing people wherever I go! Over breakfast Mark and I mapped out our ride home. The fastest path would take us up through the Northeast corner of Colorado, through Nebraska, through Iowa and then retracing our ride through Illinois to Boston. Total trip time would be 39 hours. If we push, we can be home by Saturday night which has now become our new goal. Once again, our attempt at starting early turned into a 10:30 take off, but at least we have a plan this time.

The initial ride through the mountains of Colorado was wonderful. The tall peaks of the mountains in Colorado reach so high up into the sky that the clouds look like they sit on top of the peaks like a cotton wrap. There were some sections where the clouds looked like they were out of place, sitting on the side of the mountain. The sunny skies truly brought out the beauty of the scenery. The roads through these mountains were somewhat narrow and winding as we made our way along at 45 miles an hour. These speeds felt fast to us, but other cars were zooming by us like we were standing still. On the decline the trucks were flying, almost appearing to be out of control. Going up the inclines is where the trucks would struggle. The incline was quite severe compared to what we are used to in the east. We thought the Black Hills of South Dakota were big, but they paled in comparison to the mountains of Colorado. Guess that’s why they are called ‘hills’ and not mountains.

Throughout our travels, I have seen many bike riders traveling through these parks and mountains on their road bikes with the panniers hanging off the front handle bars and over the sides of the back tire. In my opinion, there is no better way to explore the countryside. Every time I saw a rider my initial thoughts were that of jealousy, wishing I brought my bike on the trip, but knowing it just wasn’t an option. Riding a bike allows a person to soak in the sights much more completely than driving by in a car, especially if you are the driver. Then, there are those moments where the road narrows and tips up at such an angle I decide that driving is the better choice. Guess I’m a fair condition rider. I know the mountains of the west would have pushed me past the levels of conditioning that I’m used to, but the challenge would have been fun! Not something I can do with the family though. It wouldn’t be fair for them to wait while mom goes on a bike ride. Maybe someday I come back and try it on my own.

Anyway, we decided to stop in Lakeside, CO (Denver suburb) at a Walmart to buy some books. I think Mark is determined to stop at all the Walmart stores between here and home. If I’m not careful, I’ll lose him in there for hours. We have a number of books downloaded to the Kindle and ipad, but Ally keeps plowing through them. I can’t download fast enough. Our wifi is great for checking email and updating the blog, but I can’t download anything large. With only two e-readers available we still have a need for the physical product to keep all the back row occupants busy. I’m wishing that I brought more from the library. I didn’t anticipate that they would read so much!

After Denver, the landscape changes dramatically. It flattens out like the lands in South Dakota. We still see lots of farms, but not as many hills. Not only does the land flatten, but the road straightens. Our ride stays like this pretty much the rest of the day. We stop every 2+ hours to stretch, switch drivers and use every truck stop bathroom we can find. We are the family of small bladders so part of our cross country tour includes bathrooms. I think we’ve seen more of those than even the Bisons in Yellowstone!!! The highway through Nebraska boasts a plethora of corn fields and cow farms. Due to the 88 degree temperatures, the smell going through the cow farms was a bit much. Matt got blamed a lot ;-)

About 2 hours before our arrival in Grand Island, Nebraska, the skies in front of us turned a deep shade of gray. The highway appeared as though it was going straight into a wall of rain. The winds picked up so much that you could feel the car being pushed to the side. I don’t mind normal rain storms, but we are in the plains and there is a decent chance that a storm can turn into something greater. So, we kept watching and checking the local weather. As it turned out, the storm was just a drenching rain that left a beautiful rainbow which, for as far back as I can remember, was visible from end to end.

We arrived in Grand Island at 8:30 central time. Oh yeah, somewhere back a couple of hours we crossed from Mountain Time to Central Time. Now we have to start adjusting to the time change again. The only thing that changes time automatically is the cell phone. Everything else I have to change manually, but I do this so the kids can try to get on the proper time schedule.

We pulled in at a Holliday Inn express, dumped our stuff in a really big room and Mark and the kids took off for the pool. For the sake of expediency, we decided that hotels will be the preferred accommodations since setting up and breaking down campsites takes a lot more time. I was tasked with finding dinner, gassing up the car and getting everything we needed from the car. We are now brining in the minimal amount of stuff so we can jump up and take off first thing in the morning. Finding a hotel with a pool is key. The kids need a physical outlet after sitting in the car all day. I found a local pizza place that stayed open long enough to make us a pizza. This city shuts down at 9pm! We just made it under the wire.

The room we were in was a king size bed with a pull out couch. So, I made up the couch for the girls and got the room setup for their return. While they were away , I was able to watch Real Madrid play Barcelona in a fabulous soccer match. It was a match up of two of the best players in the world, Ronaldo vs Messi. In the last 20 minutes Messi scored 2 beautifully timed goals to give Barcelona the win. The family arrived as the game was ending. They were tired and hungry, ready to settle for the night. After my finely cooked dinner the kids crawled into bed and fell asleep within minutes.

We have another long ride ahead of us….

Day 20 - And now for something different....

Day 20 - And now for Something Different...

The day started off fairly normal. Wake up, shower, coffee, etc. We do not move very fast as a family. I know those of you who deal with us normally are not surprised to hear this. We are nowhere near efficient. I realize that setting a departure time is futile with this group. Someday I'll learn to reset my expectations. Anyway, we got chatting with the owner of the campgrounds and it turned out that she is from Pittsfield, MA. She was so happy to that people from 'back home' were out here staying at their campground. Cathy was a super host and made our stay very enjoyable. 

Today we scheduled a day of rock climbing and white water rafting. Check-in time is 8:30, guess when we got there?!?! Yep, 8:45 and we were not even ready. After some scrambling to pull our gear together and put on sunscreen, we finally headed out for a morning of rock climbing. We were matched up with a mother and daughter from Illinois, who waited patiently as we organized ourselves. Together the 7 of us put on our helmets and climbing harnesses. After a very brief introduction we were all ready to start climbing up a 30 foot section of rock. The most useful piece of instruction they gave us was that climbing is actually done with the legs, not the arms. I found this helpful since I was a little concerned about how I was going to pull myself up those rocks. Once I realized it was mostly with the legs, I no longer worried. 

They didn’t have enough climbing shoes for everyone, so we had to swap around a little, but nobody seemed to mind. They set up two ropes, one slightly harder than the other, and taught the adults and Ally how to belay (support) the climber. The job of the person on the ground was to pull in the slack each time the climber made progression up the rock, thus keeping the rope out of the way. The climber had to have complete faith in the person on the ground and trust that the person was belaying properly.

Going up was definitely the difficult part. Finding the right foot and hand holds was more of a challenge than expected on what they called “beginner rocks”. The incline was very steep. We all agreed that the climbing shoes make a huge difference regarding traction on the rocks. All that was needed was the smallest of footholds to help move you either laterally or horizontally along the rock. Mark and Matt started on the slightly easier section while Ally, Brooke & I tackled the tougher section. Brooke went first and through determination made her way to the top. She carefully picked her way along the rock face until she found sections that she trusted. Ally and I looked on and we were able to pick a path based on Brooke’s challenges. Ally went next and she managed to scamper up the rock with what appeared to be very little effort. Then I followed and of course made it a “challenge” because I can’t do anything slowly.

Meanwhile, Matt was working hard over on his rope. I noticed that Matt was trying desperately to use his arms rather than legs to get him moving up the rock. The instructor did specifically say that men tend to use their upper bodies more than the women do on a climb. It takes a while to learn the technique and Matt fell into the ‘typical’ bin. When it was Mark’s turn the instructor asked me to belay for him because he had to help the kids get setup for their next climb. Here’s where the trust part comes in ;-)  I was happy to help and Mark worked his way up the climb with no problem.

Now, once you’re up you then have to come down the same way you went up. But here the technique is so different. You literally just lean back, like you are going to sit in a chair, and walk your feet down the rock. This is where you need to have complete faith in the person who is belaying for you. The kids all had trouble really leaning back like that initially. Brooke and Matt figured out the hard way that if you get too close to the rock it is very sharp and you end up with cuts on your legs. Both suffered this effect during their descents. Ally on the other hand figured out the fun in leaning back and walking down the rock. She even developed a little hop along the way. The descent was definitely my preference as well. I liked the feeling of going down.

Once the morning climb was over we headed back to the AVA (Arkansas Valley Adventures) head camp for lunch. It is nice to have lunch there for you and you don’t need to think about it more than choosing a deli meat and the type of chips you want. So, the girls from Illinois and us hung out with our guides and enjoyed our noontime meal. I forgot to mention that the weather for the morning climb was just over 80 degrees and very sunny. Before we left for the climb we had applied sunscreen since you are more likely to get burned at the higher elevations.

After lunch, we changed into our bathing suits and applied more sunscreen to prepare for the rafting ride. The ride was schedule do take place on the Brown River. This river winds its way through some of the tallest peaks in Colorado. Since the spring and summer here have been so devoid of rain, the rivers have been running at low levels, until this week. The days prior to our arrival had seen enough rainfall to almost double the volume of water. The river was still a little on the shallow side, but the trip was “sure to be more fun” says the guides. Also, since the temps were so warm they recommended against wet suits. They had splash jackets which were like high end rain coats. Anyone could take a splash jacked if interested.. Some of the rafters decided to take the splash jackets and others opted out. We took one for each of us just in case. Last year the kids got a little cold on the rafting trip and even though it was so warm out, there was still a 60% predicted chance of rain.

We started out for the raft trip roughly at 1:30. It was a 30 minute bus ride to the drop-in site. On the bus ride you learn all about the do’s and do not’s of the river tour. This is always an entertaining piece of the trip. As we were headed up the mountain to the river entry site it appeared as though we were driving right into the dark clouds. Once we arrived at the river, the guides sorted out the families and we ended up in our own boat with a first year guide. I guess they thought it would be easier for her to have the little guys. We were hoping to share a boat with our friends from the morning climb, but that wasn’t the case. They loaded up the six boats and we headed out onto the river. The length of the ride is 8 miles through mostly class II and III rapids. Now here’s where the story gets good….

I noticed our guide was struggling a little with our boat. We kept turning around in circles. This probably was a combination of lack of weight combined with unsynchronized paddling. She kept a positive attitude the whole time; it would have driven me nuts. Anyway, about a mile+ down the river we hit the first set of class III rapids. The water was warm and the rocks were just barely covered which made it even more challenging for the guides. See, in the lower waters she can use the exposed rocks to bounce the boat off of and back into the rapids. But, the water level of the river today caused the boats to get hung up on rocks more often which added other challenges for these guides. Not only was this river filled with big rocks, but it was also very narrow which made it tough to pull over and wait for the group to gather.

While we pressed on the sky kept getting darker and darker. After the next set of smaller rapids we pulled the boat over to get the splash jackets on because the temperature had already clearly dropped and the rains were starting. In the distance you can hear the rumbling of thunder. Just like our guide last summer, Kerri explained to us that we are actually safer on the river during a thunder and lightning storm because there are many taller objects on both sides for the lightning to strike. I guess that is supposed to make us feel better!?!?

She maintained her optimistic manner and continued to navigate us through the river. The storm increased in intensity with pouring rain and visible lightning strikes. As the rain intensified we noticed that it was starting to sting as it made contact with the skin. I thought it was just raining hard, but it turned out to be hail stones! Hail stones a little smaller than pencil erasers. This storm was big. The thunder and lightning was roaring above us and the river was turning brown (it started out crystal clear). The drenching rain was bringing silt and sediment off the hillsides into the river. The boat was littered with pine needles on the bottom. They were coming up through the drainage holes. The rapids were looking angrier and angrier as we traveled along. I kept saying along the way “looks like it’s getting lighter” and each time I said the rain would pour harder. I was trying to be positive J

At this point we are only halfway through the 8 mile trip and Brooke is still smiling. The kids are cold, but not quite miserable. I was hoping for a quick ending to this trip since the water was moving so fast and the guides were clearly cold too. The rain/sleet still hasn’t let up at all and we are nearing one of the trickier class III sections. As we approach we look ahead to the bend in the river. ALL boats, other companies included, have pulled over to the shores to evaluate. Looking ahead we saw a flash flood coming down off the mountain side. The waters were so high that the trees near the river’s edge looked to be the size of saplings. Our guide explained that right where the waters from the mountain side were pouring into the river is the line we are supposed to take to move further down river. It was a little daunting to look at the flood and to think that they are actually considering taking the boats through there. I also want to point out that at this time the smiles were gone from all our faces and everyone was pretty darn cold. Mark didn’t have a jacket because we ended up with 4 kid sizes and one adult. The kids were shivering and there was nothing we could do to help them.

The guides all gathered to discuss the options. One walked downstream a bit to see if we could portage the boats. Once they decided on a location about ¼ mile downstream they started unloading all the rafts. The bank up from the river was very steep and covered with loose gravel and stones. The footings were tough so the guides threw a rope down to another guide on the bank. They used the rope to guide the masses up the hill to the waiting group at the top. 

Once all the people were up the hill, the guides started pulling the boats up the hill. This was a big job getting these rafts up this hill so Mark and some of the other men helped out. We were fortunate that at the top of the hill was a decommissioned railroad. It not only provided us with a cleared area to walk through, but it also provided us with a means to easily move the boats from the take out spot to the put in spot down river. The boats are big and heavy so two people from an all adult boat helped Mark and I move our boat down the way. Brooke also lent a hand, but the other two were just way to cold at this point. Most people were at various stages of cold and some were shaking so miserably that they couldn’t even wrap their hands around the handles. Mark, myself and two other people hopped in to help move the other boats. I am so glad we took splash jackets. They definitely helped a little.

Just before we cleared out of the area we were in, I heard a crunching noise at the top of the hill above us. When I looked up I saw a rock roughly the size of two bowling balls tumbling down the hill and taking a whole bunch of other, smaller rocks with it. We were very fortunate that this happened far enough away that nobody was in any danger. But, the realization hits you that getting back into the boats on the water might be a safer spot. We hurried the group along to the put in area.

The guides, with the help of some rafters, got all the boats back down to the river. Once again, this section of bank was really no better than the one where we got out of the water. The big difference here is that the mud along the bank was like quicksand so now we had the extra challenge of loading boats without getting people stuck. Everyone worked together to get the boats loaded back up and we pushed off, heading for the end. We had a couple more sets of rapids up ahead, but the rain and sleet has let up and now it’s just drizzling. The thunder and lightning are moving off and the air was feeling warmer. Not sure if that’s because we were so miserable during the storm or it actually got warmer. Either way, the violent shivering seemed to be subsiding and we were about 2 miles from the end. I have to give our guide Kerri some credit, she managed to keep a positive outlook throughout the whole experience even though she was freezing cold herself.

As we were nearing the last set of rapids a woman in the raft in front of us screams and you see the whole group of them shuffle around. The guide moved his way up to the front of the boat where he was obviously trying to grab something that kept eluding his attempts. Finally, he stands up with a 2-foot river snake in his hand. At that point, he unceremoniously tosses it back into the river from which it came. I am soooo glad that wasn’t in our boat. I think I would have jumped into the river before he caught it!

We finally see it, the end of the line. As it turns out, it is now sunny and much clearer, but the temperature is not a whole lot warmer. We get out of our raft and head to the bus that will now take us back to the AVA meeting spot. The ride is longer on the way back since the river runs away from the headquarters. We are all very wet, cold, dirty and tired, but at least everyone is safe and unharmed.

Back at the store they gave us some hot chocolate and tea while people hurried to get out of their river clothes. Our campground is only 8 miles up the road, but we are so cold that changing was the foremost thing on my mind. My hands were barely moving. I couldn’t zipper or snap anything; we were cold. Credit to my kids, they all still would like to go rafting again, just not anytime soon.

Back at the campgrounds we commandeered all the showers and put in our $1.25 for 7 minutes of pure delight. Once we were clean and somewhat warm, we put in a load of dirty river clothes and headed off to our new accommodations. See, the cabin we stayed in last night was already rented out so they moved us to a Yurt. A Yurt is a designed after a tee-pee in a way. It is cylindrical in shape and then gently tapers to a sunroof point. Like the cabin, it had a full size bed and a set of bunks. The girls shared the bottom bed and Matt had the top. This was a much more spacious room though and we were able to bring all our stuff in rather than leave it in the car.

After setting up the room we headed to downtown Buena Vista, a tucked in a valley between the Ivy League mountains, where we had dinner at a wonderful restaurant called the Eddyline. It was my first steak dinner in the west and it was wonderful! Of course, Mark and I sampled the local beer as well. It was really nice to sit there in the restaurant and relax. I felt like we had been running on overdrive most of the day. 

After dinner we headed back to the Yurt where the kids and I fell into bed while Mark went and got the laundry. The day was absolutely exhausting, but nobody was unhappy; just tired.

Let’s recap: What made this day different?
 - Staying in a Yurt
 - rock climbing
 - rafting in a hail storm
 - being within 50 yards of a flash flood
 - walking our rafts down a railroad track
 - seeing a snake in a raft
 - finding out our host was from Pittsfield, MA
 - learning that Nate Soldier, Patriot Lineman, is from Buena Vista, CO (they are very proud of this fact)

Day 19 - Road to Colorado

Day 19 - The Road to Colorado

We woke up this morning feeling clean and well rested. The hotel was humming with people at 8am. There are a lot of firemen from surrounding states here to help out with the wildfires. Some of them look exhausted because they have been here for two weeks fighting the wild fires. Others are just now arriving to sub in for the weary workers who are heading home. I spoke with a couple of them and it amazes me how happy they are to do their jobs. They have worked hard and suffered some challenging setbacks, but they both felt confident that the wildfires in western Wyoming were coming under control. One of the challenges for us has been has been trying to figure out where all the fires are and how to safely avoid them.

After much deliberation and math, Mark and I decided that heading down to Utah to see Moab and the Arches doesn’t make sense at this time. It adds too many miles and hours to our return trip. So, we are heading Southeast today to Granite Colorado to a campsite along  a river. Tomorrow will be one of our last touristy things. We are going to do a family combination trip of Rock Climbing and white water rafting.

Once I finished making all the reservation for sleeping and playing, we packed up the car and headed out of dodge, I mean Pinedale.  This is going to be another of those long rides in the Western states where the roads are wide open with nobody around and no speed limit signs to be found. Because I made it all the way to Yellowstone without even getting pulled over, Mark doesn’t want to chance me gloating so he’s being a little conservative. Cars keep passing us on the dotted lines, but that doesn’t sway him. He keeps a safe pace. A funny thing happened though. One of the cars that passed us was gesturing upwards to the roof of his car. After a moment it occurred to Mark that he was indicating that our roof top carrier was open; ooops! It didn’t look like we lost anything, thankfully. We’ll know for sure tonight.

Unfortunately, a few miles farther down the road that same car was pulled over for speeding. Guess I should stop picking on Mark ;-) Onwards through Colorado we went. We were all starting to get a little punchy so we decided to stop and get some dinner. Choosing the next available exit we got off in this quaint little valley town. Very modern little town nestled in the mountains. It turned out to be Vail! Too bad my brother didn’t still live here. We found a brewery with patio seating so we could look out over the mountains. This town wasn’t quite as busy as Jackson Hole; it had a quieter way about it. I’m sure the winter months bring the crowds, but I’m glad we saw it in the summer. I could get used to hanging out there. The kids were overjoyed to see people could bring their dogs to restaurants. It kept them entertained while Mark and I enjoyed our beer. I’m happy to report that we have done a remarkable job sampling local beers throughout our trip. I took a picture of the kids standing in front of the brewery and texted it to my brother with the “guess where we are tag”. He was happy to hear that we were in his old neighborhood.

After dinner it was an uneventful ride to the campgrounds. We pulled in to the grounds a little before 9pm. The office was closed, but our key was taped to the door. I LOVE how trusting people are in this part of the country. Knowing we were going to pull in late we decided to get a cabin over a tent site. This turned out to be a great choice for a number of reasons, most notably, the tent sites were very rocky and staking down the tent would have been a big challenge. The cabin was very cute and rustic. It had a full size bed and a set of bunks. The cabin was barely bigger than our tent, with the exception of the ceiling height. But, it was warm and met our needs. 

By the time we settled in it was after 10am and we had to plan to get up early for Monday’s activities. We have a full day planned with rock climbing and white water rafting.

With alarms set for 7am and people tucked in, we all quickly fell asleep.

Day 18 - Packing Up :-(

Day 18 - Packing up and saying Good-bye

What a hard day emotionally. Even though we haven’t showered since Sunday morning and we are dirtier than I think we’ve ever been and the mosquitoes are dreadful and the bathroom only has cold water we are still going to miss Yellowstone. More importantly, we are really going to miss the Pierson’s. It was great being together again and saying good-bye for another year is as hard as ripping a band aid off a turf burn (the soccer ladies understand this reference). But, it’s time for us all to head our separate ways. So, good-bye for now…we will miss you all so very, very much.

So, my initial plan was to be packed up and heading out of the campsite by 9am. I really wanted to get as far as Salt Lake City, UT tonight. But wherever we end up, we need to pull in early because we have to do laundry and take really long, deep scrubbing showers. But, I forgot that now I’m working with Mark and not Sharon. He moves at a very different speed, similar to that of a turtle. Departure time ended up being at 11am. Oh well, guess we aren’t going to make it too far, but we’re flexible. We need to stop at Old Faithful one more time to load up on the memorabilia. From here, we’ll be heading to the Grand Tetons for a quick visit. With 4503 miles on the odometer we have officially left Yellowstone.  We did stop to take one more family picture at the South Park Exit in front of the Yellowstone National Park welcome sign. We’re looking a little grungy so it probably won’t be the official holiday card picture.

Teton National Park entrance is immediately after the Yellowstone exit. You literally drove from one park right into the other. So, of course we had to stop and take a picture in front of that sign too. Ally was so delighted ;-) Well the Grand Tetons were definitely worth the visit. The day was very overcast, but we could still soak in the grandeur of this mountain range. We chose the scenic route which wound its way along the mountain range. We stopped to soak in the scenery at Jenny Lake. There was a short trail that led down to the water’s edge. So, we went down and hung out on the lake shore for almost 30 minutes. It’s too bad we need to make some tracks today because we would have liked to explore a little more in the park. Brooke wants to return someday and do some rock climbing. She really wants to hike to the peak of a mountain. We talked a little about winter camping and the other 3 in the car had no interest, but I can see Brooke and I giving it a shot someday.

After the park we stopped in Jackson Hole. What a resort town!! Definitely not setup for kids though. Tons of bars! If it were just Mark and I we would have had to try a beer in each bar! Funny thing though, we bumped into the Obar’s at the visitor center. Both families were trying to decide if staying in Jackson was worth it. Apparently this weekend is a festival weekend and therefore all accommodations have inflated prices, ie Best Western $249. But, it was hard to say ‘no’ because there are so many fun activities like gunfights and rodeos. After a lot of back and forth discussion between Mark and I we decided it was best to push on. We still need to do laundry and take showers. If we stayed in Jackson to play we would not have gotten to any of this stuff and then we’d really be behind. So dinner was a quick trip to Wendy’s and back on the road we go. Have reservations in a town called Pinedale for the night. Laundry, Pool and Breakfast included…ahhhh!!! We have to start paying attention to our travels though. Evidently we are heading in the direction of some of these wildfires. Not exactly sure what route we are taking home yet. The original plan has already been thwarted by the fires. We have high speed access tonight so I’ll have time to do some research.

On our way down to Pinedale we went through a town called Bondurant, population 100. Along the highway you saw the Bondurant Fire Department, Church, Post Office and Elementary School and then that was it! It’s pretty remote out here. But this side of Wyoming is worth the time. I went to a Laundromat to do our 4 huge loads of laundry. While there I sat outside for a little while and got to watch a rancher herd his cattle for the night.

The kids swam until almost 10pm which is when the laundry was finally done. We all folded clothes, repacked our bags and climbed into bed. It was nice to have a real bed. I love my camping, but I do appreciate my bed when I’m away for this long.

Tomorrow we’ll plan for the rest of the ride home. We only have 7 days to travel 2600 miles, 40 hours of drive time. Guess we’ll be saving UTAH sights for another trip. 

Day 17 – Last full day in Yellowstone

Day 17 - Our Last Day in Yellowstone

The discussion at our ‘parent meeting’ last night went in circles a little bit. Nobody really knew exactly what they wanted to do for the last day, but we did know that we wanted to spend it together. We tossed around ideas like hiking out to a lake, canoeing or driving to Mammoth Hot Springs. Nobody was too committal so we decided to sleep on it a bit.

When we got up this morning Stewart and Summer had already left to do a very difficult hike up one of the mountains. The hike would take them above the tree lines and give them a spectacular view of the Grand Tetons. Due to the amount of time required to drive to this hike and then the time required to actually hike the trail, we determined that they wouldn’t be back before noon. So, Ben and I decided to take advantage of the down time and go find some internet access. We had to drive 30 minutes before finding a spot that worked. While we were gone the remaining adults were tasked with coming up with a ‘plan’ for the day.

I know, why am I looking for internet access while on vacation?!?! But the truth of the matter is that I had time to kill, might as well get something done (can’t sit still). I was able to get my bills paid and start planning the trip home. It’s hard to believe that starting tomorrow we will be on the road back to Massachusetts, via a few national parks.

When we returned the group was ready to roll. We decided that it was best to try to finish up touring Yellowstone since that is ultimately why we are here. After making lunches for the road we took off for Mammoth Hot Springs. Along the way we stopped to see some smaller, but equally as beautiful landscapes. This place is so amazingly gorgeous. The views keep changing as we drive along. Today we are driving up in the mountainous areas. The roads are very narrow with absolutely no shoulders for pulling off to look. The drop off is steep and scary at times, but the mountains are absolutely captivating. It’s hard to take pictures though since we really can’t stop. As you stare at the vast landscape the reality hits that this is the only time I will see so much sprawling land undeveloped.

By the way, the reason we chose to drive and not hike to a lake was because the morning temps still were not above 60 when we left the campsite at 12:30. It takes the days a while to warm up around here. When we arrived at Mammoth Springs it was finally up into the 70’s, too late to change our minds. Some of the kids were not too happy about seeing another “hot spring”. But, like the waterfalls this one was different. It had the appearance of water cascading down over ice. The stone was so white that it almost looked frozen. The colors at these springs were so significantly different than the bright colors around the geysers. Also, we were high up on a mountain side so not only were the springs great to look at, but the waterfall had the appearance of an infinity pool. The water ran off the side of the cliff and in the background was a mountain range with a resort village in the valley. Even the kids appreciated this different view.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot the best part of the day…we saw a Grizzly Bear!!! We were driving along, on our way to the Hot Springs and a bunch of cars were pulled over on both sides of the road, which by the way had absolutely no shoulder. The strangest part about this sighting is that you had to climb a hill that was about 15 feet high with a very serious grade. I’m not sure how these people knew to stop here, but we got lucky. When we all got to the top of the hill we saw our first Grizzly Bear in the wild. It was roughly 200 yards away (safe distance) just grazing. This was the first time that I was really thankful to have bought the new camera lens. With the lens I was able to get a decent shot of the bear when he looked up from eating. He was young and small, but a Grizzly none the less. We watched him eat for a few minutes and then suddenly his head popped up and he was at attention. Something spooked him and he started taking off in the opposite direction from us. There, moving through the woods, was a gigantic Bison. He came out of the woods and began to graze right where the Grizzly was eating. Apparently, Bison have a hoof up on the bears; who would have thought?!

Well, 5 o’clock came up fast. It was time to find a picnic sight to start cooking. Tonight’s cuisine is penne & meatballs with some red sauce. We found a small picnic area called Wraith Falls. It had only 4 picnic tables, but it was right on a river. This was a perfect place for the kids to play while the adults cooked. The stream was loaded with Rainbow trout so Ben moved down stream and fished while we prepared. Everyone was happy. Soon dinner was ready and just like every other night the kids were ravenous and everyone helped themselves to 2 or more helpings. The night is absolutely beautiful and dinner came at a perfect time. We are going to spend our last evening searching for all the wild animals that have eluded us these past five nights. At the picnic sight we were visited by little prairie dog like creatures known as a Peeka. These little guys are definitely used to people. They went right up to the kids and Asher actually reached out and touched one of them. This was not recommended, but he didn’t realize his mistake ahead of time. Thankfully the little guy only ran away, a little disappointed that he didn’t get any treats. The rest of dinner was uneventful, no Bison or Elk to join us today. On a side note, we told the kids that as far as we’re concerned, they have eaten out every night this week so they shouldn’t be asking for a night out. Our dinners have been plenty yummy and entertaining!

Our last stop on today’s loop is a place called Lamar Valley. This location has been well known for the revival of the wolves in Yellowstone. We’re hoping for the best, but there is never a guarantee. On our way to the valley we got to see some young deer scampering around right off the road in a valley. We pulled over and watched for a while and they didn’t seem to mind our presence. Five of them were just babies so it was fun to watch them romping and playing. We continued our trek through the valley, but have not been lucky enough to see any wolves. We did get to see a really fat beaver. It was just hanging out in the water eating something from the bottom of the river. He would dive down into the water, pick up something off the bottom and then use his front paws like hands to eat the delicious find. When he was all finished he turned his back on us and swam up stream.

The sun was now setting in the West. The silhouette of the mountains was mesmerizing. As we wound our way down through the mountains we got to enjoy the beauty from all different views. We did come up on a number of traffic jams caused by the animals, mostly Bison and deer. But, our final traffic stop, right after the sun was almost fully set, was caused by a gigantic grizzly bear. I saw him in the distance, but it was way to dark to make out his features or get a good picture. I could just tell it was a grizzly by the way he lumbered as he walked. Once again, it was surprising at how many people were out of their cars trying to get a picture. They were much closer to him than the recommended 75 yards.

The rest of the drive back was uneventful. We arrived back at the campsite at 10:30 and everyone was wiped out. All the kids were eager to get to bed tonight. It was a wonderful final day together.  

Day 16 - The Day of the BIG hike!

Day 16 - The "Big" Hike

Before I talk about today’s events I want to mention how stinking dry my skin is at this elevation!!! This high elevation is brutal. The skin around my eyes is so dry that I feel like if I blink too hard it will just crack like dried mud. The eczema on both hands is red, raw and swollen. It never occurred to me to bring extra moisturizer. UGH!

So, today is the day we will go for a big, long hike. Unfortunately, it is also the day the Brennan’s depart and begin their ride home. The good-byes are hard because we have had so much fun together these past few days. The group is now down to 21.

 The total length is 8 miles up to a lake (yes I said up). By no means is this as challenging as Chocura, but this is a long hike. We are predicting that it will take roughly 5 to 5 ½ hours to complete at kid pace. This year Maggie, Matthew and I were added to the hike. Each year we extend the participant list to include kids who can physically handle the hike. This is the first year that all three of my guys can go so it is my first year going as well, yeah! It will be a pretty good challenge for the kids, but it wouldn’t be camping if we didn’t do a grueling hike with the masses. Let me add that the day is overcast and rather chilly, 59 degrees. We really have no idea what the weather report for the day is going to be, so we’ll take our chances. We are a hearty crowd.

To digress briefly, another observation for this trip; I am totally unaware of what is happening in the world. My plans to keep up with current events went out the window. The kids have done so well keeping themselves entertained that we have had to use very little electronic time. So, most of the electronic time has been me keeping up on the blog. I’ve been trying to keep up with emails too if I have enough time.

OK, back to the important stuff…today’s hike. It is amazingly difficult to get 21 people organized for an all day adventure. The group is being split up between different events. Suzy & Shannon are taking Cole and Rinny for a short hike today and Alexia & Will are heading off to Cody, Wyoming. The rest of us have to pack lunches, water and rain equipment for the day because there is a chance for rain. The guys are busy setting up tarps to protect the tents. We had to get 15 people into two vehicles which required a huge shuffling of ‘stuff’. I ended up having to repack the car in order to free up two of the seats. We finally pulled out of the campsite by around 11:30.

The hike was originally supposed to head out to Wapiti Lake, but that main trail was closed for animal rehabitation. So, we chose another loop to get out us out to Ribbon lake. After some final preparations and bathroom runs we started out on the hike. A big part of the pre-hike preparation included attaching Bear Bells to the children so they can make even more noise than they usually do. Then we split up the adults, 2 in front and 2 in back, so each pair had a can of bear spray (just in case).

The hike starts out winding us through some rolling hills and wide open fields. It is a little daunting knowing you are so exposed with no trees to hide behind if one of the animals decides to launch at us. We followed the path for a little while and came upon our first Bison of the day. He was off in the field a decent distance so we weren’t too concerned. One rule of thumb when hiking near the wild animals is to get no closer than 25 yards to a Bison and no closer than 75 yards to a bear. We gave ourselves a greater distance when moving through the fields with the Bison. No need to take any chances. The trail then wound around into a patch of trees. There, right off the main path were two big Bison. So, we went off the path to the other side, into the trees to make sure we would be able to safely pass. About halfway into the walk the mosquitoes attacked. It was crazy how they just swarmed around us pretty much through the rest of the walk to the lake. We didn’t let this small detail detour us.

The terrain changed from wide open fields to a combination of wooded areas and sulphur pits. We would wind through the woods for a while and then you would smell the sulphur. The pits looked like a baron dessert. The area surrounding the active pits had dried mud that almost looked white. Dead trees littered the area and gave it an eerie appearance. There was a Bison hanging out in one of the pits, but it was far enough from us that we didn’t have to veer off the main trail.

After walking just over 2 hours we arrived at the lake. The lake was rather small, but very quaint. We were hoping to see a Moose grazing, but it wasn’t in the cards. We did, however, get to see gigantic frogs leap into the lake from the lily pads along the edge of the lake. This was our halfway point and our lunch stop. It was late so the kids were ravenous. We did have to dine with the mosquitoes, but I think people were so hungry they barely noticed. While eating lunch the wind started to pick up a little and it did appear to get a little darker. So, we packed up our stuff and headed out. The walk back to the parking lot was on a different trail so the scenery was a little different. We only ran into one Bison on the trail who barely registered our existence. We veered off the path to stay a safe distance and continued on our way. The rain started about 20 minutes before the end of the hike, but we were well prepared. Everyone took out their raincoats and we managed to stay dry the rest of the hike. The kids were relieved when the parking lot came into view. I think they were tired, but they really should be very proud of themselves because they truly did a fantastic job. The entire hike took right around 4 ½ hours. Pretty good pace for a bunch of kids!

We loaded the cars back up, boys in the Leeming’s car and the girls in the Chalmer’s car. The boy’s car headed back to the campsite. The girl’s car headed out to find wifi connection (I just can’t go without!). It just so happened that the wifi search took us to a lodge that had an ice cream shop. Mark and I were concerned that the girls would not want any, but we were wrong ;-) Mark picked up some stuff at the General Store while I helped the girls eat their ice cream. Hmmm, I don’t think the boys will be too happy about this. The girls agreed so together they came up with a story to answer the “what happened to you guys?” inquiry that was bound to be asked by the boys upon our return. The story had something to do with following ‘Moose Tracks’ that ‘sprinkled’ the trail and Abby’s hat blew into the canyon and we had to go get it…

Wouldn’t you know, it was the first question asked when we returned to the campsite. The girls tried hard to stick to the story, but Shannon read right through it. Tonight it was Shannon & Stewart’s turn to cook and thankfully Shannon had started dinner before we got back. This was the perfect dinner for a cold, rainy night. It was a kielbasa and tortellini stew that was quickly gobbled up by all the cold, tired, hungry hikers. The night was so raw that the kids didn’t even want to play around the campgrounds. So, we all huddled around the campfire and Stewart took out the guitar. We usually spend our evenings singing, but this trip has been so different because of the long daylight hours. The kids have been so busy playing that campfire song time hasn’t even occurred, until tonight.

We sang for 45 minutes, right up until quiet hours at 10pm. The kids were pretty toasty by then so the bedtime routing was quick and easy. The parents stayed up talking until almost midnight talking about the events of the day and helping each other think through some of the challenges of adolescence.

Tomorrow is the last day at Yellowstone and the parent meeting had not come up with any solid plans. Wonder what we’ll do?!?!

Day 15 – Happy 4th of July!

Day 15 - Happy 4th of July!

This trip has been amazing so far. The things we have seen and done in the last 14 days have been so memorable. Today was a little of a bummer though. The Kerr’s had to pack up and leave Yellowstone this morning to continue their explorations of the West. They are going to do the big loop that includes many of the national parks of the West. Happy and safe travels you guys; we will miss you L

We planned to start the day a little later today because we were going to stay out exploring the park late tonight in the hopes of seeing some of the wildlife we haven’t seen yet (Read: wolves & bears). In the parent meeting it was decided that today was less sight about seeing and more about relaxing and water play. So, we took off for the river area in section called Fountain Flats. It’s on the West side of the park just North of Old Faithful. The original plan was to picnic at Firehole Canyon. But, best laid plans can be thwarted by raging water through the canyon rocks. We were kind of hoping for a swimming hole as well as a picnic area, but the signs were clear and we weren’t about to break the rules. Off we went in search of another suitable swimming/picnicking location. And that’s how we ended up at Fountain Flats. The name even sounds safe.

It is not a very large picnicking area and therefore parking can be at a premium, but we were able to find spots for all 5 cars. We unloaded all the food (remember each family is responsible for their own lunches) and commandeered 3 picnic tables. The kids jumped immediately into the river which was only knee deep. Today the river was a bit colder than yesterday, but it didn’t slow down the kids. It’s just amazing how powerful a draw water has for kids. Meanwhile, the parents started putting together the lunches. The kids came out of the water just long enough to scarf down their lunches and then off they went to play. As we were cleaning up, I looked up and saw an enormous Bison about 100 yards up river on the other side looking at us. We felt a certain sense of security being across the river from the great beast, but we were still very aware. The kids were called out of the water and positioned at a very safe distance from the big boy. Stewart, Jim and I decided to try to get a little closer and capture a candid shot of him eating and drinking along the river bank. It’s so neat being this close to the animals in this great park. Anyway, we decided that cleaning up lunch in case we needed to make a fast get away was the prudent thing to do at this point. Eventually, Mr. Bison decided to head in the opposite direction from us and he terrorized the tourists on the same side of the river as him. He galloped up into the parking lot sending people scrambling into and behind the cars. He made his way past them into the meadows on the other side of the road. I think he finds humor in making tourists run. I’m sure there’s a good Far Side comic for this event.

While the kids played, Suzy took Ben up stream to do some fly fishing and Shannon, Jim, Alexia and I headed back to Old Faithful to get the cars gassed up. While there the three of us girls decided to take advantage of the limited amount of connectivity available. We all checked emails and I was able to post yesterday’s blog. I tried to pay bills, but that just wasn’t in the cards today. If I can’t get enough of a connection here I’ll just wait for the first night after camping. I think we’ll be finding a hotel in Moab. Evidently it gets a tad bit warm there!

After we finished our business at O.F. we went back to the Bison watering hole, I mean the river to pick up the families. When we arrived we found out that Stewart was almost arrested! Apparently while he and the kids were playing in the river he decided to rearrange some rocks that were previously arranged to make a damn. The idea behind this was to have a water shoot for the kids to slide through. Well, evidently this is not acceptable behavior in Yellowstone Park. The Rangers were called in and they arrived on the scene with flashing lights and guns drawn. OK, maybe not the guns drawn, but the ticket pad & pan were at the ready. The ranger tersely explained why this was unacceptable and Stewart had all the kids throw the rocks back into the water in random fashion. That was acceptable. It was a close call for Stewart, but fortunately he is still allowed to stay in the park. When Alexia, Shannon and I returned the kids were done playing in the water and it the day was moving on towards 5pm so we packed up and took off for the picnic site which we had previously decided would be good for dinner. It was a little North of where we were and wasn’t going to take more than 15-20 minutes to get there. Once again, all good plans are meant to be altered.

We stopped to see the waterfall at Firehole Canyon which was spectacular in it’s own way and while we were there 2 ambulances and 3 police cars went screaming by the parking lot. Uh oh, something bad happened. We were just deciding what to do when a person told us that there was a head on collision just up ahead and the road was being shut down. It was a bad one because as we were driving in the opposite direction a fire truck and rescue vehicle were also heading to the scene. It’s not hard to imagine how the accident occurred. People are driving and looking around either at the scenery of for wildlife. It doesn’t help that they are trying to take pictures while driving. I’ve been fortunate to share the driving with Sharon and Mark throughout the trip. This way I spend some time looking and other times driving.

So, dinner was at a nice little picnic area just off the main road. The best part is that it actually has flush toilets and hot water! Have I mentioned that most of the bathrooms in the park are pit toilets with either purel or just freezing cold water to wash up with after?!?! For those who don’t know what a pit toilet is, just imagine a port-a-potty that goes down into the earth rather than into a big blue box. It is much deeper (so there’s no splash), but just as smelly. Anyway, tonight was Jim (aka Flapjack) & Terri’s (aka baconater) night to cook and they were making breakfast for dinner! We had blueberry pancakes, bacon, sausage and eggs and you couldn’t have had a group of happier people. The kids had space to start up a small soccer game while the parents prepared for dinner, beverages included. Tonight’s selection of beverages had a little bit of the local theme sprinkled in with the old reliable Budweiser. We added Flat Tire (amber ale) and Moose Drool (Brown Ale) to the selection. You know me, always happy to support the local guy! I have to say, anyone who thinks beer doesn’t go well with breakfast has not tried it!!!!

While we were cleaning up from dinner Mark, Jim & Stewart decided to take advantage of the hot water situation and headed over to the bathrooms for a quick shave. They took a few of the little guys with them for potty time. The rest of the kids were sitting at a picnic table between the bathrooms and the cook area and the rest of the adults were milling around the cook area doing various tasks related to the clean up. Suddenly, Shannon yells “look, Bison” and there in the parking lot was a gigantic Bison heading our way. So, it was a mad scramble to get the kids at the picnic table up the hill and to the cars safely. Then we realized Cole was standing outside the bathroom pointing at the Bison. Suzi made a quick dash over to Cole to make sure he was a safe distance from the creature. Meanwhile, Mark, Jim & Stewart were so busy shaving they had no idea all this was going on in the site. Thankfully, the Bison started moving towards the picnic area and away from the bathrooms. He didn’t seem to mind the commotion. He just went on grazing, but his grazing took him right through the area where we just had dinner. There is no better way to get people moving than add an 800+ pound Bison to your picnic. So far, we have had wildlife attend 3 of our meals. At least it’s not the bears. Mark’s summary of the dinner, “It was a close shave with the Bison!”

After dinner, we decided to take a long, scenic route back to the campsite in hopes to see some of these evasive critters. It will be a bit disappointing if we don’t get to see any bears in the wild. So far, not luck though. We stopped a number of times where groups of people were collected. There were bear sightings by the people who arrived before us, but it was too far in the distance for us to actually get a legitimate view. Unlike us, these people on the hills are very prepared with their high powered binoculars and cameras. Our equipment just doesn’t cover the distance required. I don’t think we can afford equipment like that. The kids managed to entertain themselves while the adults looked for bear. They organized a rousting game of red rover at the top of a hill. As you can imagine, it wasn’t very quiet and the group of bear viewers near us moved farther away from our viewing spot. I think people have been thinking that this big group is a commune of some sort.  Now it’s really dark and bear sightings will be minimal. Oh well, guess we wait and try again tomorrow. We did, however, see a coyote along the side of the road on the way back doing his business. We couldn’t stop to take a picture because there wasn’t a safe place to pull off the road.  

Back at camp now. It’s 10pm and time for bed. Big hike tomorrow. 

Day 14 – Day 2 in Yellowstone

Day 2 - Second day in Yellowstone

We are officially halfway through our trip. It’s hard to believe we have been away this long. So, last night during the Parent Meeting we decided to try for an earlier start today. Our first stop will be Old Faithful, which is the most visited spot in the park. If you were to have only one day to visit this park you would go to see Old Faithful. So, in anticipation of crowds and tour buses we decided this would be a good place to start the day. The goal was to roll out of the campsite by 9 am. We only missed by 25 minutes. It’s not easy getting 29 people motivated and moving as early as 9 am. With practice, we’ll get better.

The ride to Old Faithful is 38 miles, but because of the traffic and motorists stopping to take pictures of nature it took us almost an hour to get there. This is yet another place where the pictures in the books or on the internet don’t paint the true landscape. It is not just a hole in the ground spouting water. It’s part of a much larger collection of geysers and chromatic pools spread across miles of the park.

So, we all know that Old Faithful was named that because of the fact that it goes off at a pretty set interval of time. What I didn’t know was that there are over 300 geysers in Yellowstone Park all of which erupt at various intervals and if you are lucky you are there when one of the rarer ones chooses to blow. We looked at some geysers that have as many as 7 years between eruptions.

Anyway, we got there not realizing the size of the park. The initial intention was to see O.F. and then do some of the short walks to the see the other geysers and pools. We topped off the water bottles and threw some snacks into the packs and off we went. When we arrived at O.F. we found out that we missed the last show by 7 minutes so we had to kick around a little while to wait for the 55 minutes in between shows. We went over to the visitor center to learn a little more about the fascinating natural occurrences in the park. It was like a mini museum and most of the kids were interested in the science behind the things we have seen so far. To top off the visit to the visitor center, there was a 15 minute film about the origin of Yellowstone, some of the amazing things you can see in the park and safety precautions visitors need to heed when traveling through or staying in the park. It was a perfect break before the big show.

We left the movie and headed out to the boardwalk surrounding O.F. It was jam packed with people all trying to get the best vantage point to see the geyser. Little did folks realize, but the boardwalk around the geyser game you a pretty equal view no matter where you stood. So the 29 of us wandered a little away from the crowd to get an unobstructed view for the kids. The Show started right on time, 11:33 am, and it lasted just over 3 minutes. It was beautiful to watch. The combination of water shooting up so high and big plumes of white steam rushing out of the hole in the ground was awe inspiring. When the wind changed directions you would get a little spray of water which was actually very surprising because you kind of expected the water to be pretty hot, but in actuality it was very cold.

After the show we took a quick look at the map and decided that we would like to venture our way around this section of the park for a while. The map showed all sorts of hikes varying in length. Our thought as it would be easier to keep it short since it was so late already. But, once we got started hiking and realized how much there was to see and enjoy we just kept on going. A mere 2.5 hours later we met back at the cars to make lunches. It’s a good thing we packed plenty of snacks today. This could have gotten ugly if we didn’t have anything for the kids.

After lunch we decided the kids deserved some general ‘play’ time. The day before Mark & Rich saw some people splashing around in what appeared to be a reasonably shallow river not too far from O.F. They had no idea where they were going or how far it was, but they did remember that the river entrance wasn’t too far from the O.F. parking area. So off we went in search of water. It didn’t take us long to find a great picnic location that had everything we were looking for; bathroom, river and tall grass to stretch out and just lay down on to rest. The kids all put on their bathing suits and waded into what we thought would be a dreadfully cold river. But, it turns out that the water was partly comprised of two of the smaller geysers upstream and it was reasonably warm. They had a blast! The current was strong enough for them to all float down a section of the river over and over. And, the best part was that the river was shallow enough that when they stood it was barely over knee deep. However, standing wasn’t appealing because the wind was blowing so hard you would freeze your butt off when you were out of the water, so staying low in the water was key.

After watching them for a while, it occurred to me that this was my best chance for a shower so I ran up to the car and changed into my suit. Off I went to take my deep woods style bath. I had to skip the soap and shampoo because none of my stuff was bio-degradable. It wasn’t the most perfect bath, but it was better than nothing. If nothing else, I was refreshed and regenerated for the evening. Tonight is our night to cook for the masses. Bring your appetite because we’re making some pulled pork! Not that we have to remind people to eat. The kids are so hungry after all the activity that they will eat just about anything.

After 6 lbs of pulled pork, 1 gallon of macaroni and cheese, 2 lbs of coleslaw and 1 lb of cherry tomatoes later dinner was over and the kids were full. Dinner was a hit for both kids and adults. When we were planning our meal for the trip it was a huge challenge because of how we were arriving. Sharon and I were coming into Yellowstone from a direction that had no shopping between Big Sky and Yellowstone and Rich and Mark were flying in with only their clothes so buying enough food, transporting it to the campsite and keeping it from spoiling was a big challenge. We finally concluded that preparing our meal ahead of time and freezing it would solve some of the problems. But, there was no way we could transport it all the way from Framingham to Yellowstone so we called a few take out restaurants in the Utah/Idaho and made an unusual request. We asked if they would freeze the pork and mac-n-cheese ahead of time and we would pick it up on the way through. We found a place that agreed and placed our order. Mark and Rich stopped at the Walmart in Idaho city to buy coolers, bread, beer and veggies and then continued on to get the food. The timing worked out perfectly and we all got to enjoy a fabulous pulled pork meal. If you are ever in the Mid-West and you encounter a chain restaurant called “Big Daves” we highly recommend the pulled pork and mac-n-cheese. Hmmm, maybe I should put their add on the blog to earn some money ;-)

Anyway, after dinner Robin, Ally, Brooke, Ethan & Matthew entertained us with a bunch of songs that they wrote and sang during the car ride from Framingham to Yelllowstone. This was one of the many ways these guys kept themselves busy during the long days in the car. They made up a bunch of different songs to summarize some of the great sights and activities that entertained us throughout the trip. The kids really wanted to perform their songs for all their friends. The songs were witty and funny and totally summarized our experiences together. One of the wonderful things about this entire group of people is we all encourage each other and the kids are so comfortable together that they will sing and dance without a care in the world. To watch these kids work together to put on plays and dances is heart warming. These are lifelong friendships for these guys.

Well, it’s another late night to bed for the kids. No total meltdowns yet!

Day 13 - First day in Yellowstone

Day 13 - First Day in Yellowstone

Guess we were tired. The Chalmers family didn’t roll out of their tent until after 8:30. When we arrived everyone else was cleaning up from breakfast. Now, in past years we always assigned one breakfast and one dinner to each family. But, because of the logistics this year we decided that each family is responsible for their own breakfast and lunch and each night one family will cook dinner for the masses. It’s the best dinner party ever; you don’t have to clean your house and the guests do their own dishes! Anyway, the only communal part of breakfast was going to be the coffee which is all fine and well until you are the last family to arrive and there is only enough for Mark and I to each have a half a cup. I have been very coffee deprived this trip. It makes for a slow start.

After breakfast everyone got ready for the days adventures. Today we planned on heading out to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Another thing to keep in mind as I describe our trip, everything we chose to do or see in this park will require a drive of at least 15 miles, but more like 30-40 miles. Today’s event was one of the closer sites so the car weary travelers hot a little bit of a break from car time.

The ride out to the Canyon was beautiful. The hills were alive with Bison and lots of native birds. There is a lot of rubbernecking due to the strong desire of all tourists to stop and see every Bison and Elk that is within their range. The strangest thing happens though when you match tourists up with expensive cameras…they lose some brain cells. There are signs all along the roads warning you “NOT” to get out of your cars because the animals are unpredictable. There are other signs that warn you that Bison will charge and potentially gore you. What do these people do, they get out of their cars and pose for pictures with the Bison standing right behind them. Just 5 days ago a man got a horn in the butt from a Bison, but evidently that doesn’t detour some folks. The picture is worth the chance.

Anyway, we arrived at the beginning of the hike through the canyon. Got the troops ready, reminded everyone of bear safety and grabbed the cameras. Off into Yellowstone we go. What a hike it was. The length wasn’t overly impressive, just a mere 2+ miles, but the views were gorgeous. There are two falls along this walk, Upper and Lower. After seeing Niagra Falls you would think that other waterfalls would pale in comparison, but that is not necessarily true. Although the falls weren’t as large or as long, they were still very impressive. At the top of the falls the water was bottle green the water at the bottom sent up so much spray that there was a permanent rainbow visible from any angle. The walls along the gorge are pale, soft and yellow in color. At one point of the hike you can climb down 800 feet into the gorge to get an almost full on front view of the lower falls. I counted 328 stairs down to the viewing spot. At the top was a sign that warned people that this was NOT a recreational walk. As we are walking down you can see people really struggling on their way back up. The kids were great, no complaints and they all loved the view of the falls. I think we’re all just plain sick of the car so anything is better than the leather seats.

The hike finished at a place called ‘Artist Point’. It was the most perfect view of this canyon. The camera just does not capture the sights like our eyes do. It’s now 2pm and we found some picnic tables in the woods to have some lunch. Well, this was not going to be a typical lunch. There was a 6-point Elk who decided to graze right in the picnic area. He was enormous and everyone was trying to get a good vantage point for pictures. He kept moving his way through and finally settled on someone’s picnic table for a snack. He helped himself to their carrots, sandwiches and the bread left in the bread bag. After that he moved up into the parking lot where he worked his way through all the cars looking for more food. It was certainly an interesting experience.

After our exciting lunch we headed off to see a Sulphur Caldron and Mud Volcano’s. Fascinating works of nature. The smell that is emitted from both these sites is painful for the olfactory sense. Think of rotten eggs on a 100 degree day. Something we had to get used to. But, to stare down into the Sulphur pit and watch the light gray mud just bubbling away was captivating. It looked so inviting, but then we read the geological explanation and quickly realized that it’s not something you would ever want to get too close to. The PH level is one step below battery acid. So, we kept our distance and just watched the mud churning. Then the Mud Volcano’s were equally as smelly, but they looked a little more like small water holes filled with mud. The Mud Volcano’s were not as acidic and the kids saw many animal tracks around the edges. The most fascinating fact about both these sights is they can change in size, dimension and location at any point in time. These formations are caused by volcanic activity below the surface. At any time this activity can change and cause a shift that redefines these sites. In 1975 one of these major shifts occurred and created what we are looking at today. Wonder what we’ll see next time?!?!

It’s been a long, hot day. Temperatures topped out at 88 and everyone is looking a little weary. We headed back to the campsite to start dinner and clean up a bit. On the way back Mark and I stopped at a Ranger Station to find out if there are any recommended swimming areas close by our campsite. The very helpful ranger explained that swimming is somewhat limited in the park. The rivers run fast and the lakes are frigid. But, he did give us a couple of suggestions, all of which require driving to. This is the first time we have ever camped without having lake or river access. The kids are not too happy about the swimming issue. Sorry kids, didn’t really think about it before we left. Just assumed the water would be swimmable; lesson learned.

Dinner was a perfect camping meal of franks and beans. The kids were famished and many had seconds and thirds. After dinner the parents got together for our ‘Mandatory Parent Meeting’, beverages required, to discuss the next day’s activities. One of the many changes I have noticed about camping with the families this year is the kids are so into seeing each other that they require very little from the parents. The 18 children have this amazing ability to organize themselves into group games like Capture the flag, Red Rover and pickup lacrosse. Meanwhile, the parents can sit around and actually have adult discussions without interruption. After our parent meeting, we got to watch a brief slideshow of yesterday’s hike and sights, particularly the Elk. Isn’t technology grand!!!

Highs of the day: seeing all the wildlife, especially the up close Elk, the beautiful waterfalls in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and the fabulous hike down into the Canyon.

Lows of the day: Alexia’s back going out. Mosquitoes eating us alive. The kids really didn’t care for the Sulphur or Mud Volcanoes smells and running out of water on the hike. We only brought one water bottle per person and we flew through the water during the hike. We will buy some more bottles tomorrow to be better prepared.

Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow if possible…I think I’ve located some spots in the park where I can get some service. I’ll have to drive, but I won’t complain. The mosquitoes aren’t as bad in the car ;-)

Day 12 - Big Sky down to Yellowstone - the end of Cannonball run!!!

Day 12 - Big Sky down to Yellowstone

Wow! Waking up to the rising sun peaking over the mountain tops is one to remember. I have been regularly going to bed with the sunset and getting up with the sunrise. It’s not as bad as it may sound. Albeit, I may be a little tired, but it’s sure worth it.

So, Beth and I were the first ones up and we got to catch up a little while the rest of the house slept. After a quick cup of coffee, the two of us headed down the mountain to this wonderful bakery to get some fresh baked muffins, scones and egg sandwiches. We also stocked up on some giant homemade cookies for the ride into Yellowstone thanks to Beth’s thoughtfulness. After eating breakfast and taking our last shower for 5 days we packed up the car and said our good-byes.

We were so excited to get to Yellowstone and setup camp, but we had to stop and stock up on food. One minor error in our plans though. We left Big Sky and headed directly towards the park, 42 miles to the North Entrance. We figured there must be a town before the park to stop and get groceries, but we figured wrong. Instead, we entered the park and there is a little town just inside the North Entrance where you can get anything you need like gas, souvenirs, restaurants and groceries. But, it all comes at a premium price. So, we called Mark & Rich and who happened to be in the Idaho City Walmart. Did our grocery shopping simultaneously with the boys…we are so resourceful!

Well, until we entered the park we really did not have a good perspective on the size of this park. It is absolutely enormous. We had to drive 38 miles to get to the campgrounds. Oh yeah, that means it’s 38 miles back to the grocery store. Hope we didn’t forget anything.

We arrived at the campsite just after 3pm and soon found out that we were the first family to arrive. Yeah, we won!!!!!! Ok, I’ll  stop gloating now. As we were getting back in the car the Leemings pull up and 30 seconds behind them come the Brennans! Half the group has arrived; now the fun begins!

The campsites are tucked far in the back of the park. Wonder how they knew that was a good place to put this busy/loud crew of 29. The campgrounds are rustic. Sizable sites, but the bathrooms are few and far between with only running cold water. At least the toilets flush this time. The Rangers were very specific about what to do and what not to do. The bears are plentiful and we need to be very aware.

The Piersons arrived just after 5 and the Obars pulled in just before 6. The group is almost complete. Mark and Rich are among the missing, but nobody was really surprised. We got the campsites setup and Suzy started dinner. The sites are inundated with mosquitoes. We used a whole can of bug spray in one night. The sunny sites are less affected, but the reality is at 87+ degrees hanging out in the sun isn’t as appealing.

When dinner was complete, Stuart sat all the kids down and gave them a brief talk educating them on what to do if they encounter a bear. For some of the kids it was funny, but for many of them they were spooked enough to pay attention. The reality is that the places we are going, the hikes we plan to do and the sites we plan to see are very tourist filled and the mere masses will scare away the bears. But, it’s better to be prepared and educated.

Once dinner was over and the kids were properly washed up we got them all to bed. It was almost 10 pm already and we know that we have a lot planned for the days ahead. The parents stayed up and planned out the coming days because not everyone is planning to stay the whole time. Many beers and laughs later we were able to put together a plan. Keep in mind, we are planning for 29 people starting at age 7…the plans aren’t always going to work out, but at least we have each other.

It is really great seeing the Piersons again. Hard to believe it’s been a year!

Day 11 - Glacier National down to Big Sky, Montana

Day 11 - Glacier National Park to Big Sky, Montana

Up early again. It's strange that the sunrise doesn't seem to match the sunset. It's light by 5:30 here. You would think the sun would rise later since it sets so much later, but that is obviously not the case. Oh well, we have to get going anyway. The GPS is saying its a 6 hour ride down to Big Sky and we still need to get the oil changed today. So we packed up the site and were out of the campgrounds by 8:30. Yes, it takes us 3 hours to get 7 people up, showered, fed and the campsite packed. And, I haven't had a coffee in 2 days....need coffee!!!

So we set off and it's nice that the ride down from Glacier is so different then the ride up to Glacier. We are now on the western side of the state and it is much greener and mountainous than the Eastern/Center regions. I like these views. I am definitely a mountain girl. The roads out are winding and the mountains feel like they are surrounding us on all sides. The other benefit of coming out of the mountains are the mountain streams and rivers that add to the overall picture. The funny part of the ride are the suicide gofers. As you travel down these mountain roads, averaging 75+ miles and hour, you have these gofers who like to play chicken with the cars. It's kind of like the squirrels back home, buy these guys are much faster. It was like playing dodge ball trying to avoid all these critters without endangering the passengers. The kids liked the game, but after a while I was getting sick of it because the more I had to watch for the critters the less I got to enjoy the scenery.

The other natural site the kids particularly enjoyed in Montana are the horses that appear to roam free. Sometimes, you come around a curve and there are horses right there along the side of the road or just up on the grass. They aren't in big groups like the cows, but they are often with at least one other horse. They are so graceful looking as they stand in the tall grass and graze. I wonder if they play the license plate game too?!?!

We drove up until about 1 pm and then stopped for lunch and an oil change in Helena. What a nice city. So different than the big cities in the east. It was like a flat, sprawling Framingham. It had every store you can imagine in all directions. But, it's so clean and not nearly as congested. Everyone is incredibly friendly and nice. We found a Jiffy Lube for a jiffy change. We arrived just after one of their machines malfunctioned and spewed transmission fluid all over the guys in the garage. Hmmm, I hope this isn't some foreshadowing. They still greeted us with a smile and took the car in right away. We went inside to wait and to the enjoyment of the kids there, on the floor, lays a Chocolate Lab with Yellow eyes named Buck. Buck adored the attention from the kids and happily laid there on the floor getting tummy rubs while we waited. Turns out his owner is the unfortunate guy getting the transmission fluid changed. So, Buck hung out with us and kept the kids busy while we waited. In no time the car had fresh oil, vacuumed carpets and clean windows. Well worth the $40!

We arrived in Big Sky (the town) by 5pm. We were trying to follow Beth's driving directions to find the house. The Resorts in this town are gorgeous! This is a ski resort town with lots of beautiful condominiums overlooking the mountains. As we continued up the big mountain side the resort housing got bigger and bigger. If felt like we were going on forever. So, when I questioned our direction following abilities I called Beth & Pat and they assured me that the Moonlight Basin resort is at the 'top' of the mountain. So, we kept going. We knew we arrived when we encountered the grand, stone masoned entry way. It was like entering a kingdom. Beth met us at the entry way so we could follow her up to the house. As we drove through the resort, the houses just kept getting bigger and bigger until we finally arrived at her sister's house...Oh my! This place is almost a palace! It is over 8000 square feet sitting right on the side of a mountain. During ski season you can ski right up to the back porch! This place is absolutely beautiful. I took pictures, but it will never give you the perspective that we have just sitting here. I am sitting at a dining table that seats 10 people. It has a lodge like decor, with timber framed beams. Cabinets in the kitchen are made from reclaimed wood.

I could go on describing this house for hours. It was amazing and we can’t thank Beth and Pat enough for inviting us to join them. It’s nice to have a comfy place to sleep and do laundry before our week in the very rustic campsites of Yellowstone. The updates may come less frequently from Yellowstone. Not sure how often we will find a place to connect. Don’t worry though. I’ll do the updates in a Word doc and then upload them when I can ;-)