What a long strange trip it's been...

We're back! Tired, excited to see folks at home, a little sorry it's over, and with a sense of accomplishment at having crammed so many wonderful things into three short weeks.

Accomplishments:

No tears

No fights ( a spat or two after 2 weeks)

No one threw up!!!!

Drew blood only twice (both Josh)

Postcards sent: 64

Ice cream stops: 11 states

Visiting 15 (18) states total

7 National Parks

11 National Historic Landmarks

6 National Monuments

Most scenic Interstate: I-70 (Utah and Colorado)

Least scenic: Rt. 30 in Indiana

Highest point: near Loveland Pass, Co 11, 000+ ft.

Number of KOAs: 4

Most pictures taken: at Bryce Canyon NP

Favorite spot: Depends on who you ask ;)

Total mileage: 6580

Cast of Characters:

Steve: the driver and official wallet carrier (buys the ice cream)

Mary Ann: the navigator and concierge

Matthew: chef, chief photographer (because he takes orders best), and photo archivist; also in charge of music

Elizabeth: organizer and people "mover", morning person, and Big Sister (also photographer)

Joshua: gas pumper, swy flotter, and Chief scapegoat (also photographer)

Victoria: voice of reason, helping hands, and big sister too (also photographer)

Madeline: enthusiasm specialist, mule motivator, planner, member of the BRC, and wildlife photographer

Miriam: Junior Ranger, cheerleader (c'mon cupcake!), bathroom rating specialist, and widest smile (sometime photographer)

You know its time to go home when...

...subtle reminders are popping up everywhere.

Webster County Iowa

Exit 277

Durant

Bennett

Eerie isn't it?

(For those who wouldn't know, those are the names of Elizabeth's "boss" and mine. Hi Olivia and Terri! See you soon! )

Trivia time!

Question: What state had the first western train robbery?

Answer: Iowa

Question: does anybody care about #1?

Answer: not really

Question: Where are we?

Answer: See #1, at a nice rest area that just happens to have wi-fi (and pictures of corn DNA on the walls...)

See, you're smarter already!

This morning was a wonderful start: we all got to sleep in some. The KOA that we stayed at was at least tied for the best we've stayed at yet. After a leisurely breakfast we left heading east, hoping to run, er...drive, faster than the rain which is hard on our heels. We went through a corner of Nebraska and, like most of the other states we've been in, we had to stop and have ice cream (number 10 all together in 9 different states). We stopped a place called Butch's. Lots of choices there, but we eventually made it back on the road to get here.

Plans? We're spending the rest of the day and tomorrow in the I states (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana). After that? Home!

Back to the road!!

Delivered in 30 minutes or less, or your next one free!

This is still Josh, for you viewing pleasure.So, the above picture looks like a semi normal room. Now, this room is in a ranch, a somewhat regular 60's ranch. Except for the barbed wire around it and this sign:


Note the "Deadly force authorized". Yeah. This is the former control center for ten minuteman-two missiles, known as Delta-01. It was one of 5 control centers in South Dakota, meaning that there were 50 missiles in SD that could be launched anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes. And that's just in South Dakota.

We arrived outside the ranch to find a line waiting outside, and although it we were told it would be a quick wait it still was about 40 minutes or so before we made it inside. Only 5 of us went in as Eliz thought this was a "boy toy" and preferred to wait outside with Miriam and Madeline. The rest of us made it through the tour. The upstairs really did almost look normal, it really wasn't until you made it downstairs that things started looking really strange.


This was the sign painted on the blast door to get into the firing vault. It's a chilling thought, but very true. All in all it seemed to be worth the wait to get inside, because how often are you going to be able to see a real live missile launch center in person.

And now a nice thought to keep you awake at night: There are still over 300 live and active minuteman missiles throughout the United States right now (10 per control center, 40 some odd control centers). The president still carries around a briefcase with the firing codes with him at all times (or someone near by him has it). The last thought: these control centers are expected to be active until at least 2040 or so.

After seeing this sight, we drove for a few hundred miles and made it to the Nebraska state line (or very close). We are currently sitting on the South Dakota side by 2 miles. Tomorrow is another driving day, and we should make it back to Ft. Wayne on Saturday (time dependent on how far we go tomorrow).

Alternate post name: Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

"They're Badder Than I Thought..."

The Badlands turned out to be an unexpected surprise -- very cool views, lots of animals, and a nice campground with covered wagon tables. We saw goats, prairie dogs, a snake (not a rattler, despite the warning signs), and various pet dogs and cats.

Shower time now, so I'm turning this over to someone else...

Hey, swy flotter, I mean, fly swatter (aka Josh) reporting in. The badlands were cool, especially since they were so open. They said clearly that there were trails there, but the entire park was open to hiking (but hike at your own risk, as always). So the trails were little markers every 10-30 feet but how you got between them was up to you.

You also could climb the little dunes that seemed to be everywhere. It was there that the first major blood has been spilled (funny how all the blood spilled at all on this trip has been me) as I got into a fight with the badlands and (amazingly enough) lost. No pic of the war wounds though. I'll just take this as a lesson: while on a small dune pay close attention to where your feet are.

Unfortunately we just waited a little too long in the visitors center (somehow we spent almost 40 minutes in it), so it got too hot too fast and we decided it was better to leave outside and stay in the RV then spend more time out in the hot hot sun.

PS. The post title is from a little boy who was overheard near the bathrooms. When asked how the badlands were this was his response. And swy flotter is actually a brand name of fly repellent.

Freedom Express

On our travels, we have noticed quite a few other people traveling in a similar manner...by RV, camper, pop-up -- whatever you want to call it. Lately, we have been taking note of some of the names of these vehicles. We will now relate some of them here to you for your reading pleasure. We have divided them into several categories.

Cool names: Freedom Express ;), Passport, Wanderlodge, Hurricane, Open Road, Ultrastar, Sunseeker, Hitchhiker, Rampage, Searcher, New Horizons, Sundance, Casita, Flair, Dreams, Titanium

Spaceship names: Expedition, Challenger, Triumph, Endeavor, Air Stream, G Force, Conquest, Voyager

Misspelled: Kountry Star, Carri Lite, Cruise Aire, Mountain Aire, Skamper, Komfort

Animals: Cougar, Wildcat, Prowler, Jay Flight, Eagle, Artic Fox, Monarch, Hornet, Tail Manor, Raptor, Bobcat, Jay Feather, Mallard, Cardinal, Wolf Pack, Bighorn

Funny names: Minnie Winnie, Wanderer Wagon, Prairie Schooner, Intruder, Patio Hauler, Holiday Rambler

American themed: Independence, American Tradition, Spirit, Patriot, Pioneer, Majestic

Sports themed: Victory Lane, Sportsmen, Octane ZX, Weekend Warrior

Ones that make us go 'huh?': Alfa, Sprinter, Jamboree, Cypress, Cordova, Nash, Award, Impulse, Crescendo, Dynasty, Phaeton

Wind: Tradewinds, Four Winds, Windsong, Cyclone, Sea Breeze, Southwind

And some other random ones: Road Trek, Outback, Fiesta ("Goin' places with smilin' faces"), Road Ranger, Tropical LX, Terry Dakota, Cedar Creek

No doubt there are many more and we will see many more in the remainder of our journey.

Which is your favorite?

Lions and Tigers and...Mountain Goats, oh my!

I forgot to mention that not only did we get to see some very fuzzy and cute mountain goats here in South Dakota, but we also got to see some more petroglyphs and even dinosaur tracks in Moab. There were also some deer in our campground last night, just across the road. We've seen numerous deer along the drive, though we've been keeping a lookout for any types of wildlife.

Fourteen Games of Euchre Later...

After leaving Moab, we took a scenic drive through Colorado, stopping in Golden for dinner (and to visit the local library). The mountains in Colorado were very pretty and we must have gone pretty high, because there was snow on the ground at our level. We could have stopped and had a snowball fight...if we weren't in the middle of the highway. There were also some fun orange tunnels and we got to watch the Colorado river and comment on the size of the rapids.

We made it to Wyoming late Monday night, too late for ice cream, but not too late for bananas. ;) (Sorry, inside joke.) Anyway, that meant our goal yesterday was to find an ice cream place in Wyoming, which turned out to be harder than it sounds. We had to drive through several towns before we finally found The Hop, nearly on the border. They were serving huckleberry ice cream, which is apparently a regional thing, since I don't think I've seen it at home, but is everywhere out here. After our stop, we continued on to South Dakota, and the main attraction for some of our companions.

And there it was...four faces on the mountain. We took some pictures, then hid out in the museum while it thunderstormed and hailed. We got to watch a movie on the making of the sculpture and memorized nearly everything in the museum. And then it stopped raining and we were able to leave. We decided not to stay for the lighting ceremony, since we were all pretty hungry and it wasn't for another 3 hours. Instead, we came and found our campsite at Custer's Gulch. We started a fire and roasted sausages and later, Jiffy Pop.

How hot is it?

We've been watching temperatures back home, as well as our local weather. Here in Utah its been in the 90's, nearing 98 at times, somewhat dependent on the altitude, and whether you are at the bottom of a canyon or at the top of a mesa. (They tell us its actually cooler than usual here in Moab. Yeah for us!) We have been coping by trying to do our walking in the early part of the day, and finding shade whenever possible. They recommend drinking a lot of water, so we've been trying our best to keep hydrated. When we went rafting on the Colorado it was cooler there than in the park in the afternoon. Getting wet helped. :) There often seems to be a wonderful breeze on top of the mesas and that helps a lot too. We ran the air conditioner last night and slept very well.

Back home in Webster its been cooler (lucky you), but we understand its been very hot in Ft. Wayne, so the Hoosiers among us are just as glad to be here and hot, rather than home and very hot.

Kokopelli

We (my mother?) has been a little obsessed with Kokopelli lately. Fortunately, he shows up everywhere, including nearly every street corner in Moab. Kokopelli (the deity of fertility) is the cool guy with the spiky hair and a flute. We're trying to help my mom find a cheap souvenier with him on it, but cheap souveniers are hard to come by. In any case, he shows up in a lot of our pictures and we have fun pointing him out in every store we go into -- on magnets, jewelry, pillows, in metal, shirts, blankets, etc.

Moab, UT

Yesterday was a busy day in Moab. After our morning rafting adventures, we came back to camp for lunch and a quick nap. In the afternoon, we drove over to Arches National Park and did the driving tour, stopping for a bit of rock climbing at Double Arch.

It was pretty cool to be under an arch, although we were hoping that it wouldn't collapse while we were sitting there. We didn't get to see any Bighorn Sheep or Collared Lizards, even though we were looking for them. Most of us got a nap on the way through the park, which was good, because we made a fast change in the parking lot of the visitor's center to get ready for Mass, which was at St.Pius X in Moab. It was a small building, and most of the people there were just visitors.

After Mass, we went for a walk in downtown Moab, looking for cheap t-shirts and the like. We found lots of cool stuff, but didn't really buy anything, not even any postcards (gasp!). This would have been a cool t-shirt to get, but I guess I'll have to do with a picture:


Today we are going to Canyonlands and maybe a few other touristy places, depending on where the road takes us. More, later!

"That wasn't a very big wave"

Today we went rafting in Moab,UT. The Colorado river was brown and our guide said,"It's OK. It's a chocolate river,like in Willy Wonka." We saw a river otter and the guide said he only saw them about once a month. We also saw Mud Swallows(and baby Mud Swallows!). We went through four rapids(Josh didn't like that). The waves made the raft go up and down a lot. There was a small wave so I said,"That wasn't a very big wave". As soon as I said that a very big wave came and soaked me to the skin. Everybody got wet.(Except Steve) My shoes were full of water and it wasn't comfortable to walk. The best part was when the waves moved us up and down. Josh even said it "wasn't that bad".

--Madeline

Some kind of crazy

It has been suggested that I might in fact be crazy.

First of all, just because I willingly chose to go cross country in an RV with 7 other people doesn't automatically qualify me for the nuthouse. (Ok, I'll admit it is sort of a traveling nuthouse at times). These are my husband and kids, whose quirks I already knew, and 3 lovely Godcousins of theirs, who I've known since birth, and knew I could make miserable if they only gave me the chance (bwah ha ha). Just kidding. Who I thought would love the chance to see the country.

Secondly, if you don't take a few chances in life you don't get to enjoy some things you wouldn't have tried otherwise (Josh, pay attention here. Rafting on Saturday). And if you hate it, don't do it again. ;)

What would I have missed this time around if I wasn't crazy?

Ancient culture

Ooh Aah Point

Moki Dugway

Hoo Doos

Ice cream in 6 different states (so far)

Making a fashion statement

Sniffing Ponderosa Pines that smell like vanilla, or is it caramel?

And so much more...

If this is crazy, I'm glad I'm not entirely sane.

We Want YOU to comment

Every time we get on the computer we check to see if their are any new comments. Usually we are disappointed. We are feeling lonely,so if their is anybody out there please comment. We love when people respond. We are sharing our experiences with you so do us favor and comment.You can also read the other comments and comment about them. And we would love it if you ask us questions about the trip. We will be happy to respond.
-Madeline

"They're just a bunch of rocks."

Today we saw the best views yet in Bryce Canyon. It was pretty amazing. We got to walk down Wall Street, see Thor's Hammer, and pose for numerous pictures while smelling trees. We missed seeing the Queen, but we did get to see a picture. I personally took more pictures here than any other park, as every view was one I want to remember.

We got back to the camp fairly early so we could do 16 loads of laundry (ok, maybe 6 or so) and go to the pool. This afternoon actually feels like a vacation, since we aren't rushing off to do anything. We are planning to take a walk down to the Old Town touristy shops after dinner and perhaps look for some ice cream. Tomorrow is a driving day to get to Moab, where we will spend two more days of fun and excitement.

(P.S. The title quote comes from a 3-yr-old at Zion who was just a bit tired of being dragged around in the heat by his parents. He also made up some good stories about seeing snakes and announced to the entire shuttle that Mommy was going to give him monster kisses back at the hotel...)

Campfire!

Finally, we are able to have a campfire. It is lovely. Tomorrow we hope to make an early start for Bryce... but not as early as the South Rim.

Scenic Routes

We've taken a lot of scenic routes on this trip, but a lot of them have been in the dark. This time, we were fortunate enough to travel before sunset, so we could see the awesome views. We drove from Chief Sleep Easy in Somewhere, AZ to Zion Canyon, where we were able to take the shuttle around the park and go on a few short walks, as the temperature was over 95 degrees.

We left fairly early from Zion to make it close to the North Rim for today. The camp that we stayed at last night was truly in the desert -- water shortage = expensive showers and no flush toilets. We are all looking forward very much to our showers tonight. In fact, the girls are in the pool right now, which is how we bribed them to get up this morning. As it was, we didn't get to the North Rim until almost 11, which meant it was a little more crowded than at the South Rim. The views were spectacular, though, so it made up for the people.

The views on the ride from the North Rim to Bryce were pretty awesome as well. We tried to stay awake the best we could and kept cool by getting ice cream at the Three Bears Creamery Cottage in Arizona, our fifth state for ice cream. We're at Ruby's Inn now, which is supposed to be the resort site, but we'll let you know more about that later. And now it's almost shower time, so more posting in a while!

The Best Dam Place in Arizona/Nevada?

The Hoover Dam was not quite as big as I expected, but it was much hotter. We managed a brief stop at an overlook/gift shop before the nearly 100 degree weather sent us back into the RV. The new bridge construction was kind of cool, and we had lots of opportunity to study it, as it took at least 20 minutes to get across the bridge.

From there, the ride to Vegas was pretty short. First, we had to find an oil change place that was big enough for an RV, which took 2 tries. Then we got some advice about the best place to go for dinner from the guys at Firestone. After some wandering, we ended up at the Golden Nugget, which had a cool shark tank in their swimming pool and a bathroom rated 10, but the buffet was a little disappointing. The raspberry sorbet was good.

We took a few more pictures as the lights started coming on, but soon headed out of town. Too much craziness for us...

Today we're headed off into the wilds of Utah for some more canyon excitement. It's gonna be hot, so we'll do our best to keep cool. Until later, happy summer reading!

Flagpole and Beyond

Yesterday, we left the Grand Canyon and headed south. We passed through Flagpole, er Flagstaff, (sorry, Victoria!) on our way to Sedona, where we stopped for a short walk. Apparently in Sedona, they want you to eat bugs and other weird stuff. We decided on pizza instead.
















After dinner, we headed further south to follow the scenic route through Jerome (a city on the side of a mountain - very pretty, very steep) and then the rest of the way was dark (kind of like the Painted Desert, which somebody painted black).

We stopped in a lovely trailer park in Seligman for the night. They had nice bathrooms.

News Flash!

Josh has been kicked off the island for excessive snoring.

Or maybe that was coming from the train tracks 50 feet away from the RV...

Random travel musings

• Do you know how it feels when you have something so pretty or exciting that you have to share it with everyone? I'm feeling that. And I'm so glad I do have people to share it with!

• I've come to be a map skeptic, which makes me sad because I love maps. But these last few days have shown me just how much a map can't tell you.

• It's sad to see the lack of respect so many people have for our land. We have seen graffiti and litter defiling the most awesome and sacred places.

• I've run out of superlatives. Everything we've seen has been so awesome and incomparable. Its amazing there can be so many unique ways to be beautiful.

Ooh-Aah Point

Does it get any better than this?

C'mon, Cupcake; or, The Best View Yet

Yesterday was Grand Canyon Day. We were too excited to wait until it was light out, so we left the RV at 4:40 in order to make it to the rim by sunrise at 5:11. Well, we thought it was 4:40, anyway, so we were rushing around in the dark, trying to beat the sun to the rim. When we finally found a shuttle heading the right way, we discovered that it was actually only 3:45 am and we had a long time to go before we would see any sun. In reality, it took a lot longer than we were expecting, as the sun missed its entry cue and didn't show up until about noon. By that time, we were back at the RV for a nap – a long nap. The Canyon was pretty spectacular anyway, even in the early morning light, with all the clouds. We weren't the only crazy people waiting for the sun to come up, either; we got to listen to some cool accents and languages from the other crazy people.

Since we were up anyway, we did some exploring before the crowds arrived. It was at 8 am that we came across one of the funniest events of the trip – something that will no doubt continue to amuse us for years to come. If you plan your trip far enough in advance, you can book a ride on a mule to the bottom of the canyon. As this is not the most comfortable way of travel (nor does it appear the safest), the mule guide gives a little speech each morning to the day's group of adventurers...and draws a crowd from those that heard about him. He gave some advice to the mule riders: Show your mule you are not a marshmallow – use your mule motivator. Keep your mules head to tail – if you let them stop to eat, they will eventually notice and run to keep up with the herd. The mules have all been down in the canyon before – and none of them want to go back, so keep them facing the bottom at rest stops. You'll have to ask for a personal imitation of our favorite part when we get back – we've been perfecting it for hours!

Anyway, when we got back to the rim after our mid-morning nap, we went for a real hike, down into the canyon. We made it as far as Ooh-Aah Point, which truly lives up to its name. It was quite windy, which is not surprising, considering the location.


Here, we found the “best view yet”. Of course, we found this view many, many times over the course of the day, and I suspect we'll keep finding more. It's hard to believe we can beat this view, though...

Did You Know Mesa Verde is on a Mountain?

Yesterday, we learned that Mesa Verde is on a mountain. A big mountain. Upon arrival, we were warned about black bears, so of course we went looking for one before dinner. We did find evidence of some large animal, a bunny, and a little growling dog, but no bears. Maybe tonight...

And now for the featured attraction...
Mom wanted to just post the word "Wow" as a caption to this picture and leave it at that, and while I agree with that sentiment, I'm going to try to get my tired brain to put together a few more sentences for your reading pleasure.
...
Ok, having thought on that sentence for a few moments while waiting for a picture to load, I am only going to post one thought -- 150 people in an area that big? I only hope we survive the next two weeks in our falling apart RV...
...
And while I'm still waiting to be able to post a picture, you get to hear some of the saga of our falling apart RV. So far, we have lost screws, had wooden pieces fall off while driving, had the sides of the table seats come out, had the staples pop out of the molding, and you already know about the broken step. Pictures almost loaded now...

It was actually pretty cool today here, probably because we're on top of a mountain. It would be a perfect night to have a campfire, if we had any firewood. It's possible that we'll all just go to bed early, though, as we have had some very long days and very short nights. We're halfway between Eastern and Mountain time, meaning that things can get very confusing for our heads and our stomachs. We just keep eating ice cream every time we get hungry, though, so that's one solution. And now, the picture is finally loaded, so that's all for this post. Later!

Long Day's Journey into Night

We spent the entire day on the road today, leaving Tulsa this morning and arriving in Albuquerque late tonight. It was incredibly HOT, on the order of 95 degrees (but of course its "dry heat"). We ran the generator part of the day so we could have A/C, and also the kids could start watching a movie. After running afoul of poor directions yesterday I actually made reservations today at what I thought would be an easy to find KOA...all I can say is hurray for GPS.

After our third or fourth rest stop of the day the "girls" were starting to rate the restroom facilities. The hands down winner was the Texas Welcome Center in Amarillo. Everything in Texas was big, and the restrooms were no exception. We also made a quick stop at the Cadillac Ranch. It makes me wonder if all artists are wacky, especially after yesterday's giant concrete Totem Pole. Or perhaps they are just visionaries.

I must stay that every state has had a great and helpful Welcome Center. I have to ask questions just for the regional accents. :) Each state has had its own personality in vegetation and terrain as well. Its been everything from dead flat to rolling hills to mesas. And colors from several shades of green to browns and reds. I've been amused by the personality of the underpasses, having seen Amarillo's painted in lovely Southwest colors, and Indian decor here in New Mexico. Oklahoma had red carved rock and way back in Missouri they were boulders surrounded by grass. One thing the plains areas had in common was giant wind farms, taking advantage of that natural resource. There were certainly a LOT of miles with just open spaces.

My most curious observation of the day was the roadkill in Oklahoma...armadillos.

On the Road: Day Two

Here's the 'before' picture, with all of us in our personalized trip shirts. Hopefully we'll still be smiling like this at the end of the trip...

So far, we have driven through (or past) Brazil, Cuba, Lebanon, Webster County, Bennett Springs, and Eureka.

We arrived at the Gateway to the American West yesterday evening. The girls in particular were excited about the horse-drawn carriages, the six-person bicycle buggies, cobblestone roads, and the elevated railway system. The riverboat casinos were pretty cool, too. Oh yeah, and we saw the Arch. It's a lot bigger close up than it looked from across the river. We went underground to the museum (they let me in even though I set off the metal detector three times), which was impressively large and had life-size animals from the history of American expansion. We missed sunset at the Arch, but instead drove to the sculpture museum to cook dinner in the parking lot. There is an awesome picture of a giant eyeball from there, but as it's out on my camera in the RV, you'll have to ask to see that one later.We spent the night at a truck stop and amazingly all managed to get some sleep, despite the engines, pouring rain, and early morning thunderstorms. This morning, we've made it as far as Springfield, MO, where we are sitting in the lovely air-conditioned Reliable Service Center, waiting for someone to fix our front door step. Hopefully it won't take too long, and then we can get on our way to the next state, Oklahoma. Or maybe Kansas. Guess we'll see where the road takes us...

On the Road: Day 1

The trip from Webster to Ohio was pretty uneventful, as expected. Arriving in Toledo sometime after 1 am, we were serenaded all night (and morning) by the bullfrogs. We were able to test out the sleeping arrangements without needing to test the bathroom, which was nice for the first night. Thanks, Uncle Mike!

After a leisurely breakfast with the grands, (Hi, Grandma and Grandpa!) we made the short trip to the next state on our map...Indiana.

In Fort Wayne, we were greeted by the countdown.

Here, we had the chance to check out some of our new (ok, borrowed) toys. G helped me set up the tent.

This is probably the last day of reliable internet access, so there might not be as many pictures in future posts, but don't worry, because there will be plenty when we get back. Signing out from Ft. Wayne, IN...

And We're Off...

Here it is. The day has finally arrived and after our 3 hour tutorial, we are ready to hit the road. Well, almost. In any case, this the last you'll be hearing from us from Webster. Stay tuned to hear about our adventures as the Great ESCAPE begins! Freedom, here we come!

People of Many Hats

We've been doing a bit of hat shopping lately. A good hat has a lot of uses. Some are good for sorting, some are good for keeping you warm, and others are good for scaring people away. Other hats, on the other hand (er, head?), are meant to keep you cool and from getting sunburned.

While we will not be bringing any of the above pictured hats along (since all of them are walking around on some Webster kid's head now), we will definitely be bringing our sun hats. Otherwise known as the "Outback" hat...All the cool kids are wearing one. ;)

Stockpile

Here is just some of the food we've picked up for our trip, mostly thanks to Costco. Wait, did somebody say we're supposed to be able to fit people in our RV, too?


I'm getting hungry now...must be time for breakfast...

Delayed Posting

I've totally been meaning to post for quite some time now, but some other events have monopolized my time for the past few weeks. Now that St. Rita's Fiesta is over, we can focus more on the trip, which is a good thing, since our departure date is fast approaching. We have been trying for weeks to visit the RV again and take some of our own pictures and measurements, but when we made it there, they had rented our RV to someone else! How dare they! Well, as long as it will be back in time for us, I guess we can share. ;) But it means no new pictures today. Except this lovely one of a Rock Star poster...guess what we're renaming the trip?! I've even got the fuzzy dice to go with it...

And the Practicing Continues...

Last week, we went for a whirlwind tour of Highland Park, just before the Lilac Festival started. Here, Josh practices scaring away...well, everything. You'll notice from the lack of crowds that it was very successful. ;)

In other trip-planning news, we are preparing menus. Easy, quick, preferably few-dish meals that have wheat-free, meat free, and dairy-free options. Suggestions? Share! Share!

The Trip Dot-to-Dot

For those of you playing at home, here is the basic itinerary in a location to location fashion so you can create a dot-to-dot version of the Great Escape.*
Webster, NY
Toledo, OH
Ft. Wayne, IN
St. Louis, MO
Oklahoma City, OK
Amarillo, TX
Albuquerque, NM
4 Corners
Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Hovenweep National Monument, CO
Natural Bridges National Monument, UT
Tuba City, AZ
South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
Flagstaff, AZ
Hoover Dam
Las Vegas, NV
Zion National Park, UT
North Rim, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
Moab, UT
Arches National Park, UT
Canyonlands, National Park, UT
Denver, CO
Cheyenne, WY
Mt. Rushmore National Monument, SD
Jewel Cave National Monument, SD
Badlands National Park, SD
Sioux Falls, SD
Davenport, IA
Ft. Wayne, IN
Webster, NY

*Subject to change without notice. (But I'm sure you'll hear about it later).

Learning the Gear

Today we went for a basic 5-6 mile walk. Not much in the way of practice for the varied terrain and challenges of the great west, but a chance to try out some new gear. This proved to be a little difficult for some.



Lesson learned: Take the cap off first.

Up next: Itinerary info...

Doing Our Homework

One of the benefits of working at the library -- easy access to books. We've all been bringing home travel books for a few weeks and they've been piling up, literally. We're making progress on the itinerary front, though, so that's what counts. It's probably about time to return some of them...but Josh says he doesn't want to be the one to shelve them. Come on, at least they're in about the same place...

Training

Now that the weather's mostly nicer, we've started our training hikes so we'll be more prepared for the wilds of the National Parks. Our first 3.5 mile hike wasn't much of a challenge, except for the thorny bits, but it was a good warm-up. And I found some cool bones...

Ask us about our vacation

The contract is signed for the RV, the shopping has begun, and the itinerary planning is in full swing (along with lots of list making). We're taking a huge family vacation this summer. I think it is really going to happen, but it all seems rather far away and conceptual right now. The current plan is to leave our little town and head out through Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri (Rt.66 here we come). Then through Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico to the amazing Southwest! Mesa Verde National Park, the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, and even Hoover Dam and Las Vegas. We'll make our way back via the northern route to swing through South Dakota for a stop at Mt. Rushmore, the Wind Cave, and the Badlands. We'll be back through our eastern route and home 3 weeks later.
Its ambitious and crazy, but we're lovin' it!