The Great West, day 17 (SD, IA, NE, MO, AR, TN)

Up and at ‘em early this morning!  Left the hotel at 6:30, stopped for some pictures of the Corn Palace, and got on down the road.  The scenery is so much different the now.  When we left the Badlands, the terrain began to get progressively flatter.  Now in east SD and IA the landscape is farmland with only a hint of foothills way off in the distance.  Still pretty scenery, but it just lacks something without the mountains.

Before pulling into MO, Nathan detoured off of 29 in IA over the MO River into NE for 2 miles round trip so that we could claim that state too!  We have to do silly things like that on the last part of the trip to make it fun and enjoyable.  The last day or two allotted for driving home always seems so long and cumbersome.  We had a different route through MO once we passed through KC.  Today we drove through Peculiar, MO and Humansville, MO.  We missed Tight Wad altogether!   We did find Osceola though and took the opportunity to get out and sample and buy some more cheese, yummy cinnamon twists, and caramel puffed corn.

Topping the foothills of the Ozarks and pulling back into AR, we are again enjoying rolling tree covered hills.  I just have to imagine that the clouds out on the horizon are the next layer of snowcapped mountains.  L  I’m already having flashbacks to MT. 

God has blessed us with such a wonderful trip, given us safety, good weather, and so many special memories.  We are thankful to have had such an opportunity.  We have covered 6570 miles in the course of 17 days and 16 states!

The Great West, day 16 (SD)

So glad that we chose to bed down in Custer last night.  We awoke to beautiful skies and were able to drive straight up 16 to see Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore without any backtracking!  It seems to us that the horse’s head was a little more detailed this time.  Being able to see it progress is really neat.  The work goes slowly though because they are not federally funded.   All work is done through donations.  It was only $11 to get into Mt. Rushmore, so we went on in.  Andrew can now say he has been there too.  I’m sure it won’t be his only visit, but he has his first pictures of it now.  The weather couldn’t have been more agreeable.  Last time we were here the clouds were thick and heavy with intermittent snow, but today we had blue, blue skies, only a few clouds and temps in the upper 60’s.  One of the drillers was also in the gift shop signing books.  Nathan was going to get a picture of him and was told it was not allowed without the purchase of a book. Oh, well. 

We then drove on into Rapid City.  We really enjoy this city.  We can’t even get into town good before we have to stop at Fort Hays.  As soon as we were on the outskirts, Samuel and Caleb perked up and started asking if we could stop and see Mr. Herman, a fella we met 5 years ago who made a lasting impression on them.  He runs a tour bus service and a little “town” full of hands-on activities for the kids.  We were able to find and say, “Hi!” to Mr. Herman and met a new friend, Mr. Festus.  The boys ground corn, pumped water to operate the cowboy shower, and Taylor was able to use a vice with an ax head to split one of his geodes (“like a bomb”) from AZ.  Festus also made a rope with the boys and used the rope making process to share the gospel story.  The 3 strands of rope represent the 3 types of sin: thoughts, words, and deeds, and each strand was comprised of 4 pieces of twine.  4 x 3=12, the 10 commandments of the O.T. along with 2 from the N.T. (love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself).  As they had the stands stretched out, a pitchfork kept them separated, representing how Satan tries to tear things apart.  The twisted twine showed how we get so wrapped up in our sin.  One end of the rope was a loop (no beginning or end) representing God; the other end was comprised of all the loose ends of twine representing humankind.  Once the rope was complete and removed from the hand-cranked machine, Fetus stitched in the ends and created a knot.  The hole represented Salvation, and again the loose end was man.  We have to make to choice to enter into Salvation.  We can see it, but until we commit to it we are not a part of it.  Once threaded through, the further we enter in, the more we grow.  With the stiff loop, he created a rectangle and placed it on the floor.  He showed how we begin outside of the loop.  We have a race to run.  We first have to join the race, and then stay focused, on track and finish the race, placing us in heaven.  There were so many illustrations that he made with the rope; I am sure that I have not listed them all, but Nathan recorded the entire presentation.  Festus said that they have had requests already to translate and publish his illustration into 4 other languages.  This is a work in progress for them and a ministry that they plan to pursue.  So refreshing to see people in the tourism industry eager to serve the Lord and spread His word!  After spending longer here than planned, we drove on down the road to Storybook Island.  This park is filled with characters from childhood books that the kids can climb on, through, around, and over.  It was a great place to let the kids stretch before beginning what was to be another long drive.  Andrew was so glad to be free of his car seat!  He cracked me up the way he would run with his shoulders back and his arms behind him. He reminded me of some sort of bird strutting his feathers.  I know it felt good to be free!  We couldn’t tear ourselves away from Rapid City without grabbing a bite at Sanford’s.

Not too long down the road, Nathan reached his point of interest – The Badlands!  He absolutely loves this area and thinks it’s just BUTTEiful!  I’m not sure what our route has been in the past, but I’m pretty sure that we’ve never been on the drive we took today.  We started on the low road (44) and decided we were supposed to be on the high road (Sage Brush Rd and then onto Rim Road).  However, this still did not seem to be right either.  The land was much lusher than we are accustomed to, and we were on a lot of paved road.  The roads we have traveled on in the past were mostly gravel.  Our path today did not seem quite as colorful and majestic but was still enjoyable.  We encountered pronghorn running alongside the road, prairie dogs popping up to chatter and investigate, and buffalo enjoying a lazy day grazing in the sun.  Before leaving the park, the 3 older boys took the opportunity to climb and play on the giant rocky dirt formations and investigate some paths and cave openings.  This playground was more THEIR speed.

Our progress has not been nearly as productive today as we had planned, but there were so many places that we remembered visiting on past trips that we wanted to see again.  It got to the point that we were finally able to keep rolling because the places of interest were closed.  We managed to finally roll into Mitchell at 11:41 p.m.  The map showed that it was only a 6 hour drive from Custer through the Badlands to Mitchell.  MAN!  What a lazy day we had!

The Great West, day 15 (MT, WY, SD)

Whew!  We woke and began packing at 5:30 this morning.  By 7 we had said our goodbyes and thank yous and were on the road.  We turned off onto 83 outside of Kalispell and headed for Butte.  Again the scenery was breath-taking.  Nathan spotted a coyote with a big bushy tail running across the road in front of us, and we had numerous views of the snowcapped mountains and Swan Lake through the trees.  The scenery out here is just fabulous with all the mountains, green pastures, cattle, horses, deer, old barns, lakes, etc. 

As we got out onto 90 from 83, we began seeing signs for the sapphire mountains.  It would have been fun to mine, but – got to keep rolling.  These green sparsely treed mountains erupted into the granite mountains.  We stopped briefly in Deer Lodge, MT to look at the old Montana Prison, established in 1871. It was in operation until 1979.  We considered touring it, but time is not on our side right now as we are trying to get back to Memphis in time to leave out Sunday to take Taylor and Samuel to BSA camp.  It made for a nice stretch time though and a peek at history.  We stopped in Butte at MacKenzie River Pizza Company for lunch and then got right back on the road.

We are still catching views of snowcapped mountains, now layered behind lush green mountains which are sitting behind the rolling plains all topped with gorgeous blue skies and wispy clouds.  Every now and then we even see rushing rivers and streams snaking through the hills.  Gorgeous views!!  I have decided that though MT is also sparsely populated and towns are few and far between, I would choose to travel it any day over the deserts.  I LOVE the snow, trees, grasses and flowers and wildlife on the landscape!  So much more pleasing to my eyes!!

Once in WY we began seeing our pronghorn along the roadside again.  It has been fun coming down 90 and remembering stops we made 4 years ago on our trip out here.  Some stretches of 90 in MT and WY will nearly send you soaring.  I’m not sure why the roads were so bumpy, but we’d be rolling along and all of a sudden it felt as if the road was dropping out from under us.  Not good since we are all tanked up on Mountain Dew, cappuccino, and chocolate!  Blah! The boys are being super!!  We are all tired and ready to stretch, but attitudes and temperaments all still pretty pleasant.  We’ve had rounds of naps, laughing, griping, more naps, sightseeing of landscape and critters, and games.  So far we’ve covered over 700 miles and still have about 200 to go as we are looking to roll into Rapid City tonight.

We had a change of plans again as we came to Hwy 16 we opted to drive in to Custer tonight so that we won't be backtracking to see Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore, Rapid City and the Badlands.  The drive time was going to be about the same as driving into Rapid City tonight, so here we are.  We found a DQ open, grabbed a bite for supper and now turning in for the evening at 11:20.  We enjoyed our sunset much earlier tonight now that we have come south.  It actually got dark around 9!  My what a day of driving will do.  We came 840 miles today and traveled for 15 hours!!!  On a happy note, the van's gas mileage started out at 18 this trip, dropped to 16, and is now back up to 20 mpg! :)

The Great West, day 14 (MT)

Jan was off to work in her own car this morning.  Nathan was off to Larry’s shop.  The boys and I were off on a 2 block adventure.  We headed down the road until we came to a Conoco and grabbed some breakfast and coffees/hot chocolate.  It was good to get out this morning.  The skies were so blue and the weather so much nicer than yesterday!  We lounged a bit more this morning and then decided it was time for another walk.  We checked out an antique and 2^nd hand tool shop not far from Jan’s and then began to hike down Main.  I considered taking them about a mile down Main to a toy store but thought perhaps I should check with Nathan first to see what his progress was.  He said he was about 30 minutes away, so we only walked a bit further, let boys check out some antique cars and then turned back for the apartment.  We had considered leaving out today, and by 2 p.m. Nathan was back with the van in working, NONCHIRPING order!  He said that the van has been put through so many miles this trip considering that it is usually a "couch potato" kind of vehicle that usually is not driven more than 3 hours a week.  It's no wonder things began to malfunction.  I had spoken with Jan earlier and she said that if we were still around when she got off work, she would show us around Lakeside and Whitefish.  Nathan and I talked it over and decided that we could stay, get up rested and leave early in the morning.  While we waited for Jan, we toured around Kalispell on our own and checked out an antique store and old fashioned soda fountain.

When Jan arrived we headed for Lakeside, where she lived when she was working with YWAM (Youth With A Mission).  She showed us the YWAM campus and then took us to HER lake.  More beautiful views of rippling clear waters and serene sailboats with snowcapped mountains gracing the background.  We played on HER dock for awhile and took pictures before heading to Homestead for Nathan’s awesome prime rib (The rest of us enjoyed our dinner as well.) AND more huckleberry shakes.  We may be purple by the time we get home!!  As we drove back up into Kalispell we were able to watch as the sun made its slow descent and transformed our view to purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain!  Such gorgeous views – 360 degrees of mountains!! LOVE IT!  In Whitefish we saw some really neat homes, the train station, the theater Jan is involved with, and the lake.  Our timing was perfect to catch the sun as it set over this lake! J

So very grateful today for all the ways the Lord has provided for us while we were here.  Nathan said that the van breaking down was such a good thing.  He so enjoyed his time with Larry, which helped me feel better about him not being with us at Glacier.  He has made a new friend.  We were provided a van to use on Sunday.  We have our own working van again, and we were able to see all that Jan had wanted to share with us while we were here.  I felt bad that we turned Jan into an Extended Stay, but she was so gracious and understanding.   And we were able to glean a couple of extra days of visit out of it.

The Great West, day 13 (MT)

Today was another relatively still day.  Nathan took Jan to work so that he could use her car if need be to get to the parts stores, and the boys and I hung out in the apartment.  They watched more movies, and I worked on catching up on some pictures and journals.  I also kept Nathan company while he worked on the water pump. Unfortunately the rain didn’t hold off today though.  Taylor had been helping him and holding the umbrella over him while he worked when I was inside. The rain got heavy enough a couple of times that they had to pack everything up and wait for a break in the clouds.  When I went back out with him, it was hit and miss with the sprinkles.  He finally managed to get the water pump in place, and we cranked it again.  STILL the engine was chirping!! UUGGGHHHH!!  Where was that awful sound coming from, and what was it going to take to make it stop?!  It was still running rough and dying out on us too.  After more thought and contemplation, Nathan decided perhaps it was the camshaft synchronizer since the water pump is bolted down onto the housing that houses the synchronizer. He began googling it and found a youtube video that had the exact same chirp.  Nathan, Larry, and Clint (another mechanic friend) had all thought the sound was coming from the water pump, but since he had the new one on now, he could rule that out.  Tired and frustrated, Nathan called Larry back and asked if he could just bring it out and let Larry replace the camshaft synchronizer in his enclosed shop in the morning.  While Nathan was getting the wheel and everything put back together, I went and picked Jan up from work and then took her to the church for a senior banquet they were having for their youth.  I waited with Nathan as he finished up on the van and then went and picked Jan up after the banquet.  We stopped through Fruggles (a local burger joint) to pick supper up for the guys and me.  Again not eating until after 9 because it just didn’t feel that late!

The Great West, day 12 (MT)

Still no working vehicle, and Jan’s is not large enough to hold all of us. Nathan said that the mechanic told him he could come out if he wanted and they could try to figure it out together, so Jan, Andrew, and I drove him out there while the older three boys got showers and watched another movie. Once we left Nathan, we headed back to the apartment to pick up the other boys so that we could get to church. We had to double stack a little bit, but we managed to all get in and make it to Easthaven Baptist. I had to laugh when a lady who was checking Andrew in for nursery asked how long we’d be in town. I just looked at Jan and laughed. Guess that all depends on the van. It was really nice to be able to meet Pastor Daniel and other members of Jan’s church family. Everyone here has been so friendly! We enjoyed a nice service and time of fellowship. Pastor Daniel preached from James 5:13-18 about the importance of community and being willing to serve in our community as Christians. (I thought it was neat that I had just seen this at work on Saturday when Jan had been networking with her church family to try to help us find someone to assist us with our van.) We can’t ride the fence and be a mugwump – with our mug hanging over one side and our wump hanging over the other. Before leaving Jan had an idea that perhaps we could borrow a church van for the afternoon to make the trek to Glacier. Though that was not a possibility, the preacher’s wife offered her minivan for us to use. Wow, how generous! What a blessing!

I talked to Nathan, and they were still running all kinds of diagnostic tests and working on finding a solution. He told us to just go ahead and enjoy the day and go see Glacier. It was hard for me to go without him because this is the first time any of our vacations have ever been disrupted like this. In fact, Trish posted on Facebook today, something that spoke directly to me – "We can make all the plans in the world, but God will direct every step! So thankful God has all the answers!!" We never make set in stone plans for our vacations. We have general plans and add to and take away as we go, but in my mind, yesterday was to have been a family day with Jan visiting local areas and attractions, and this afternoon was supposed to have included everyone going to Glacier. I am not in control. I have been trying to figure out what exactly God has planned for us, where He wants us, and how He intends to use us or speak to us.

We did laundry first hoping that Nathan and Larry would have the van issue resolved, and Nathan could go with us. When we called again they were still working, and he told us to go on and have fun. It was about 5 p.m. when we got to the park. The drive was breath-taking. The clouds began to clear and give way to a beautiful view of the snow covered mountains. Oh, how I’d love to get up into the mountains more, but the park is not entirely open, and the drive around to East Glacier would take too long. Before entering the park, we stopped for the best huckleberry shakes we’ve had so far, soooo thick and creamy and loaded with huckleberries! I was still feeling bad that Nathan didn’t get to come, so we bought him some huckleberry pie and huckleberry licorice. Best of all, I found huckleberry seeds!!! The packet says that they grow in any climate, so we are going to set up a very fertile flower box to get them started. We did get to see mountain waterfalls, creeks and rivers as we drove through the park. We stopped in and looked around a bit at McDonald Lodge where Samuel and Caleb begged to rent a boat. Then Jan drove us on up to Avalanche campground where we hiked the Trail of Cedars. It was nice to be in the outdoors and take some time out to enjoy more of God’s beautiful creation, especially with a dear friend! The breeze coming off the rushing waters was so cold and the sound so relaxing. Even with the running water, we could see the all the colorful rocks beneath: shades of red, green, gray blue. Under the cover of the trees we enjoyed rich green mosses and delicate little flowers. There was even a prairie dog that greeted us along the way. We came upon a deer as we were leaving the park, but fortunately we saw no bears this time. Maybe next time we’ll invest in some bear spray and hike some of the longer trails. We just decided it was getting too late and there were not enough other people on the trails to help scare off the bears. The ranger told us that they had only recently opened some of those trails back up because there had been so many bear sightings.

We finally made it back into town around 9:30 and picked up Nathan. He and Larry had found where a ground wire for the computer had not been properly replaced when the ac was worked on last summer. It hadn’t given us problems because it had not been bumped, but Nathan bumped it unknowingly when he was replacing the pulley and it became ungrounded. When they got that one finicky wire back in place, the car cranked right up! Sigh of relief… Nathan could still hear chirping, so he brought the van back and decided he would replace the squeaky water pump tomorrow. We all decided it was time for nourishment, but the choices at 10 p.m. were few. We found Famous Dave’s and settled in to fill our tummies.

The days here are throwing us off so badly! The sun comes up around 5 a.m. and then works overtime not really setting until after 10 p.m.! I love the long days and the opportunity to get to see more, but it’s hard to get the sleep that we probably need because we feel like it’s time to be up and doing, not settling down for the day.

The Great West, day 11 (MT)

Well, Caleb managed to brave the cold and stay all night on the porch.  Really kind of surprised us.  Our bodies continue to wake us early, so we tried to keep quiet after we awoke around 6 until Jan was up.

Today has been filled with lots of down time.  Nathan has been working trying to diagnose the trouble with the van while Jan is networking with her church family to try to find a mechanic for us.  Nathan decided that it was the idler pulley.  He made a trip to AutoZone here in Kalispell, purchased the parts and got to work.  As is usually the case, it took longer than he expected, but he was such a trooper working out there with the tools that he had brought in case of emergency.  Once everything was back in place, he asked me to crack it up…  (Can you hear the crickets?) Nothing, absolutely nothing, happened.  The van didn’t even turn over.  Nathan’s first thought was that the battery had run down because he had had the doors open.  Again, Jan brought her car to the rescue, but alas that was not the trouble.  Our battery is only a couple of months old, and Nathan decided the trouble was not in the starter either.  Now what?  It has cranked and started every time this trip with no hesitation!  Could it be the alarm system somehow has wigged out?  Nathan worked for hours trying to figure it out, but to no avail. L

The boys watched movies, and Jan and I just hung out and visited.  There is a friend of a fellow that Jan goes to church with that is a mechanic .  He said that he attends church on Saturday and will be able to work on it Sunday.  The only issue is that his shop is 13 miles north of here.  He recommended a someone that could tow it for us, so Nathan is waiting on him now.   It was not exactly the day we had planned or hoped for, but we did have beautiful weather and time with a wonderful friend!

The Great West, day 10 (WA, ID, MT)

Van cleaned out and organized…again. Everyone loaded in their spots…check.  Crank ‘er up….chirp, chirp, chirp…  No we haven’t picked up a pet bird along the way, but something was certainly chirping away under our hood this morning.  Nathan checked on it and wasn’t sure if it was a pulley or ac compressor, but after a few minutes it stopped, so he said we were fine to get on down the road.  After pulling out of North Bend, just outside of Snoqualmie, we got back on 90 heading east.  We discovered later that Snoqualmie is home to some beautiful waterfalls and used when movies are filmed in this area – a little bummed that we missed it, but my sights are set on greater things today!!  Our original route across 2 would have proved much more scenic, but 90 had some beautiful mountains as we began this morning that gradually faded into farmland.  The land was still a rolling landscape and WSU has even made a section of the drive educational by labeling the fences every so often with the kinds of crops planted in different sections.  My favorite views through here were the large rolling fields beneath a beautiful blue sky that was dotted with puffy white clouds.  There were also some fields with wavy rows that had pretty yellow and brown tones. We again saw windmills working to produce electricity for the area.  The mountains are the way I had remembered it when I came to this area to hike back in ‘90, and seeing them made me want to break out singing, “Climb every mountain, ford every stream…”  Mountains are good therapy for me. There’s nothing like a beautiful mountain view to melt stress and worries away!  I didn’t realize, however that there are parts of WA that are similar to views we saw in NV and AZ with dry dirt landscaped scattered with sagebrush.  Yet another example of why Nathan says it’s so much better to drive here than fly.  There are so many things we would miss from the sky, and by doing it this way we have a broader filled in view of our country.  We want our boys to cherish the diversity of the world the Lord has given us which is why we try to build our vacations around State and US Parks instead of amusement parks.

We spent a good bit of our day visiting our second family!  Jan is in Kalispell, but the rest of the family was in Spokane.  Annie and Dion were at the hospital because Annie was having some tests run.  We were able to stop in and visit them and Dion’s mom while Annie was in recovery. It was not the place any of us had planned on visiting, but I was so glad that we were able to see them.  From the hospital we headed to see Mom and Dad (Grammy and Grampy) at the house.  It is always just like coming home when we get to visit with them. We had a great visit out on the deck before heading down the street to say hi to Holly.  She was still at work, but we were able to visit with her for a bit in the lobby. What a treat; I was thinking we wouldn’t get to see her.
As we left Spokane, we realized that we have now rolled over 4000 miles.  So glad I am journaling because I know there are things that I would never remember if I didn’t.  We remembered stopping at the Cataldo Mission in Coeur d’  Alene four years ago when we came through, so we had to stop again and update our family picture taken out behind the mission so that Andrew could be in it with us! J I think I forgot to mention that we have noticed that a lot of the mountain towns/communities are marked on the mountainside with the first initial of the community’s name; I suppose for identification purposes from the sky.  Jan said that she thinks it is probably more of a school pride thing.
The roads keep getting longer and longer to me.  Driving last night and this morning, I see mileage signs and think, “Oh, not much further now.”  Then I drive, and I drive, and I drive, and when I reach the next mile marker, I’ve only covered 10 miles!  It’s really bad when it’s getting later because I feel like a mouse reaching for that piece of cheese dangling in front of it, and I want to scream, “Who moved my cheese!”  I tend to get heavy footed the closer I get to home and coming to see Jan was like that.  It seemed like such a short distance that we would cover today, and yet the road kept getting longer and longer.  I wondered if I would ever see her. 
We pulled off at St. Regis for supper, our first real meal of the day, as we headed north into Montana.  There is a travel center/restaurant there, and mmm did they have some yummy food.  Being in huckleberry country, we all splurged.  We had huckleberry bbq sandwich, double bacon huckleberry bbq sandwiches, turkey wrap with huckleberry sauce, “the best grilled cheese” ever, huckleberry soda, and huckleberry shakes! 
Driving up 135 to 28 out of St. Regis we followed a beautiful river that wound in and out of the mountains with boiling rapids is the turns.  It was such a beautiful drive up!  The mountain views gave way to larger open grazing areas where we saw not only cattle, but also longhorn and buffalo.  The clouds were lit so beautifully as the sun was setting.  (Maybe that’s why it takes so long to reach our destinations we keep having to stop for pictures!)  Jan told us to look for her lake as we got closer in, and I was becoming concerned that we might miss it.  (I didn’t realize that we would follow this lake for 20+ miles.) When suddenly we topped a hill, and there it was!! It was so very pretty with the town’s lights reflecting off of it.  Even at 10 p.m. it was only slightly past dusk!  There was a turnout, so Nathan stopped for me to get pictures.  He had been clowning with me at other turnouts by acting as if he was going to drive on when I would start to get back in the car, or he would pull forward just as I started to snap a picture so that I ended up with the front of the van in my shot.  This time I got back in and he started to pull forward and the van lurched and bucked a little on the gravel as he was about to pull out.  I gave him a look and told him to cut it out when he said, “It’s not me,” and the van died!  Oh no!  We were on the reservation, about 2 miles from the pretty little town on the lake, and about 35 miles from Jan!  Shoot!  Nathan popped the hood and began hunting with a flashlight.  He had me try to start it while he searched for the trouble.  It died again once and then finally kept running, though not well.  Nathan hopped back in, said a little prayer, and we were off again in hopes of limping it along to Jan’s.  After a mile or so it seemed to begin to run smoother again, and we relaxed a bit.  As we pulled to our last light in Kalispell, the van began to chirp and sputter again, but thankfully the Lord carried us safely to our parking spot at Jan’s.  Nathan has tools with him and there are parts stores here, so that is what he’ll be working on tomorrow morning so that we can be mobile again.  It was sooo very good to see Jan!!  We stayed up ‘til after midnight before shutting down for the night.  Jan had offered to let any of the boys that wanted to sleep out under the stars on her balcony.  Caleb was the only on to take her up on it, so he bedded down in the brisk night air with his sleeping bag and blanket, while the rest of us snuggled down warm inside.

The Great West, day 9 (OR, WA)

We left from La Chateau Inn in Florence this morning to continue our drive down 101 along the coastline of Oregon.  Not far out of town we came across the Sea Lion Caves.  We opted not to pay the $58 for the tour.  Instead we went down the road a short distance and found an overlook where we were able to observe them sunbathing on the rocks for free!  They looked a bit lethargic, but every now and then they would squirm and wiggle on the rocks as if scratching their backs.  There was a distinct aroma to this overlook, and after a few minutes the kids were ready to move on.  We also stopped to look at a few antique stores along the way.

In Tillamook, OR we happened upon the Tillamook Cheese Factory, family owned since 1909.  We stopped here to stretch and watch the cheese factory in operation.  We were able to stand on the second floor and look down on the line as workers sorted, packaged, checked, and boxed the cheeses.  This factory also makes and sells ice cream and fudge.  We stocked up on cheese curds and some yummy garlic, chili pepper cheddar.  We also found a roadside stand selling cherries, so we picked up some bing and Rainier cherries.  The lady told us that these cherries were actually harvested in CA.

There were so many lovely views of the Pacific as we drove along.  We were told that the state owns all the beach front property, so the shoreline is not cluttered and littered with hotel after hotel, gift shop after gift shop.  This was another drive that was certainly worth taking!  At every turn and with each new glimpse, Samuel would ask, “Can we stop at this beach?  Oh, Dad, there’s a good beach!”   The mountains, their thriving, lush plant life, and rushing streams have been the highlight thus far for me.  Nathan has been in awe of the magnitude of all we’ve seen and the vastness and diversity of it all. But the boys have all been absolutely taken with the ocean, so as we were driving last night, I had each of them write their own little blog.

Taylor:  The ocean was so amazing.  I’m glad that I was able to visit.  It was so cold that I felt like I was freezing.  My face got so cold that I could hardly talk.  It was so fun!

Samuel:  The ocean is the best part of the trip so far. The best part about it was when the waves kept crashing against me!  I tried to fight them, and I won most of the time.  I found a bunch of sand dollars on the beach.

Caleb:  I love the ocean the way it hit you and knocked you down, and you got salt water in your mouth. And most of all it was freezing!

When we went to the beach the first time on Wednesday it was chilly but bearable, but tonight was totally different!  We parked at Cannon Beach public parking and hiked about half a mile down the beach in the blustery ocean winds towards Haystack Rock.  As soon as we were within reach of the water, the boys were running and splashing in the surf.  I was bundled in a jacket with my hood up and my ears were still hurting, but the temps weren’t even beginning to slow the boys.  We stayed for about an hour as Taylor, Samuel and Caleb splashed through the incoming tide and stood strong against the waves.  Andrew loved playing in the sand.  He would pick up fistfuls and gleefully share them with us.  He made a few treks toward the incoming waves, but after the first few hit his feet, he watched intently to be prepared.  If the waves crept too close to his feet, he would quickly run the opposite direction!  He was not at all excited about having his feet in the frigid water nor was I.  I went down the beach with him a couple of times, and when the water washed over my feet it was painfully cold!  Nathan waded out not quite knee deep for a few minutes to get a few pics and decided he had had his fill.  I just can’t understand how the other three managed to stay in it and look like it was so much fun.  The folks walking the beach looked at us as if we had lost our ever loving minds!  Our boys were the only ones in the water.  Everyone else was bundled in coats and walking the shoreline or flying kites.  Andrew was in a sleeveless short outfit and for the most part stayed dry.  (He did tumble back on his behind a couple of times as the tide went back out.)  He was having a great time with his unlimited reign of the beach though.  He would just run and run in the opposite direction of us and finally look back at us with the biggest grin.  I know he must have been thrilled to finally be free of the car seat and stretch his legs. I tried a few times to bundle him in a blanket fearing that he was getting too cold, but he would only squirm to get down.  Finally Nathan and I had had all the wind we could handle, so we began rounding the boys up.  Once out of the water, Taylor was shivering and talking about how awesome the ocean was.  I know he was freezing.  We didn’t bring towels with us because the ocean was not in our original plans, so the older three were subjected to having to walk back the ½ mile to the car in cold wet clothes.  At least we got off the beach right away and walked down the street where the winds were not nearly as bad!  A few people asked what pool they had been in or said that they had seen us on the beach and couldn’t believe that the boys were in the water.  But when you’ve traveled over 3500 miles to the Pacific, you should be able to swim in it if that what you want to do.  Taylor was so funny when he tried to talk because his tongue and lips were somewhat numb.  Watching him talk reminded me of someone who had been to the dentist and had their face deadened!  They finally thawed and were still very glad they had taken the opportunity to swim in the Pacific.

We drove every bit of 101 right on up into Astoria and had a fresh seafood dinner at Dooger’s before beginning our return to the east.  We took 30E and got on 5N heading for Olympia.   Nathan spotted a beautiful rainbow in the sky as the sun was setting.  It was sooo much wider than most we have seen.  And as we came through Longview, we could see Mt.  St. Helens in the distance.  We have rethought our plans.  Originally we had wanted to pick cherries, but we are about a month too early for that, and since time is closing in we are going to bypass our trip to Chelan.  We will take 90E into Spokane and visit with Jan’s family before heading on tonight to Kalispell…and JAN!

The Great West, day 8 (OR, CA, OR)

"O Lord my God!When I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power thro'out the universe displayed. When through the woods and forest glades I wander, and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees; when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur, and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze; then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee; how great thou art, how great thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee; how great thou are, how great thou art."

This morning we were planning to find the namesake of Klamath Falls, but after some questions, we learned that although there used to be falls here, they damed the upper lake which stopped the falls. Alas no falls to be found anymore. Nathan pulled in to fill up before starting our day, but before he could get out of the car, a bearded mountain looking man bundled in a coat had already approached the gas lid and was removing it. Quickly Nathan threw his door open to stop him and get him away from the van. He said, "No, thank you! I'll pump my own gas." The man explained that it's OR law (as well as NJ law) that station attendants have to pump the gas. If we were caught pumping gas, we could receive a $750 fine and so could the station. Nathan apologized for being so jumpy and explained that we were not accostomed to having someone approach and fiddle with our car.

So then it was on to Crater Lake which is what had actually brought us this far over initially in OR. We were blessed to be able to drive through more beautiful forest on our way to the park and found some interesting lava formations. In one area, we could even see the gas vents that gases had bubbled up through the lava after the eruption . Then deep down at the bottom of that gorge was our first glimpse at some falls and a rushing river. As we climbed the mountain on 62 fog began to settle in on the road and snow was blanketing both sides of the road. We reached the park entrance and were ready to pay our $10 when the ranger said that we were welcome to come up, but all cameras where showing that fog had settled on the crater as well and there were no views of the lake. Since there was no guarantee that it would clear up anytime soon, we opted to head on out of the park.

We entered the Rogue River National Forest and were excited to see even more glimpses of the river flowing alongside the road. Samuel and Caleb had fun running along side the shore and begging to get in. BRRR! They stuck their hands in, and that seemed to settle the urge to swim. We were again getting a drizzle, but it only made things look that much greener. Some of the pines in this area have something draped through them that reminds me of Spanish moss. It is beautiful to look out through the forest and see all the hues of green, but it's sad to come across regions that have been burned out and have only evergreen skeletons left standing. Today brought views of more lovely flowers on the drive as well.

Now heading back west across OR, we drove through Steward State Park and marveled at its beautiful lake. Nathan called Jan this morning to work on coordinating schedules, and when he talked with her about his desire to see the ocean but fear that there wouldn't be time, she told him he'd better go or he'd regret it! So to the coast we headed. No need to let a little rain and closed park ruin the day. Our vacations are never set in stone, so we have the freedom to pick and choose as we go. I was driving this morning and just following Nathan's directions. I was a little thrown off by the time he was saying it would take us to get back up the OR coastline. I kept questioning him, and he confessed that he was trying to surprise us. He was leading us BACK to CA to see the Redwood Forest before we began our drive up the coast. It pained him to think we would have come this far only to miss the ocean or redwoods by only a couple of hundred miles. So our adventure continued!!

This part of CA was still largely populated with evergreen, but there were some deciduous trees in the mix. We stopped at Patrick Creek River and saw crystal waters rushing over the rocks. The boys were skipping rocks and Andrew stuck his toes in the frigid water.

We pulled into the Redwood Forest and were immediately greeted by towering monsters! We had already been marveling at the massive Ponderosas when all of a sudden we caught our first glimpse of these majestic redwoods. The trees we had been in awe of earlier now seemed dwarfed. Some of these trees probably had a circumference of 40 feet or more. Nathan took a picture of the 3 older boys and me with our arms stretched out, holding hands, trying to hug the tree, and I don't think we even made it half way around! There were beautiful, lush ferns growing on the forest floor. We had some light drizzle in this park too that seemed to make everything look that much more crisp. We were enjoying our scenic drive when I rounded a corner, and we saw a distressed lady waving her hands on the side of the road. Now let me explain something here. This was a two lane road through the park, filled with hairpin curves and winding roads. There were occasional pull-offs, but not much in the way of shoulders. (Some parts made Hwy 7 in AR look straight!) There were areas where the land just dropped off on the side of the road into ravines. So the car in front of us spoke briefly to the woman and continued on until they could find a pull-off. We had to go a bit further to be able to find another place that we could turn around and go back. As it turned out, this lady had been coming down the road the same direction we were, lost control near a hairpin turn, regained control, but overcorrected and went down into a ravine. Her truck, a 4 wheel drive, rolled over and was upside down in the bottom of about a 30 foot ravine with its lights on. She had clawed her way back up the slope to the street just as we were driving by. Miraculously she did not appear badly hurt. Her hands were cut up from the climb, and she was obviously quite shaken. There was no reception in this area, so we drove back down the road until Nathan could get reception and call 911. The rangers, ambulance, and firetrucks showed up, and we left on out of the park before the roads got closed off so that her truck could be retrieved. She was blessed to have regained control before going off the opposite side because she went into the more shallow ravine. She was also blessed to have been able to climb out so that she could be seen because there were no skid marks on the road, and her truck was not at all visible from the road.

About 20 minutes out of the park the boys got their first look at the Pacific Ocean. A chorus of OOOs and AAAHHHs and WOWs sang out from the back seat as they drank in the views. We crossed back over into OR, and stopped just after Brookings, OR at a state park to play on the beach. The three older boys immediately headed for the water with rolled up pant legs, but in no time were completely soaked. Andrew had his first experience walking in the sand and only playing at the waters edge until a small wave came in and caught him off guard. He tumbled face first but caught himself, looked a little disturbed, but quickly got over it. He enjoyed grabbing up firstfulls of the gray sand and offering them to me. Samuel found a long piece of sea kelp and immediately had his very own whip! Taylor found a large section of kelp stem that looked like a pipe and another bulb piece that he said would make a great vase. Taylor, Samuel, and Caleb all got brave and were running well out into the surf, knocking each other over and climbing the rocks. Andrew overcame his nervousness in short order, and was running into and out of the surf. We enjoyed the lovely sunset and a great opportunity to stretch! We have now finished up our day at 3333 miles in Florence, OR. What a marvelous day it has been!

The Great West, day 7 (CA, OR)

"For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth, over and around us lies. Christ our God to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise. For the wonder of each hour of the day and of the night, hill and vale and tree and flow'r, sun and moon and stars of light. Christ our God to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise."

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." We pulled out of Truckee and back onto 89N instead of diverting over to I-5, which would have been a faster drive, and drove through Plumas National Forest. What a great choice! We were surrounded by beautiful, towering, majestic pines and myriads of mountain flora. There were unique red flowers that seemed to only grow in the thick shade of the forest, while other purple and yellow flowers thrived along the more open roadside. We even saw what appeared to be a dandelion flower that was the size of a saucer and evidence of forest fires through this area. Nathan loves the pines out here. Some have a deep red hue and the fingerprint of the bark is monstrous. We have seen some with a circumference of 10-12 feet and some as skinny as only a few inches. As the elevation changed so did the types of evergreen, each with its own distinct coloring and structural patterns. The roads were quiet, and we were able to stop randomly along the way for pictures. Though cool and breezy, the sun was shining down on us today. I truly needed today! I think I was becoming frazzled due to the lack of living, thriving plant life. I’m sure it helps that green is one of my favorite colors, but it was SOOO very refreshing to soak up the beauty of the tree covered mountains and all the brilliant colors peeping out from the forest floor!! AAHHHH, SERENITY! Nathan seems to have found it therapuetic as well. He was taking in the views at one overlook and commented that it takes getting away from everything and seeing the magniture of all that God has made in order to realize just how small we are and just how BIG God is!!

As we left Plumas National Forest we entered Lassen National Forest home of Lassen Volcanic National Park. Now on Hwy 36 we decided it might be fun to drive on up into the park to see what was there. We encountered our first up close snow as we drove towards the entrance. Along the mountain side, patches of snow were still dotting the ground. Once to the entrance we were told that the park was closed to car traffic because t.hey are doing renovations. So we headed back down the mountain and stopped to let the older boys run the mountain side, stretch and play in the snow. As we were driving out of Lassen Natl. we noticed that both sides of the road were peppered with lava rock, and we could see the mountain that it had probably blown from hundreds of years ago. Lassen Volcano’s last eruption was 1914 and was active for 3 years. Nathan said that we were probably even driving within an old volcano because we had part of a mountain rising up all around us, and there appeared to be a cinder cone surrounded by lush green meadows that the road was encircling.

We were now pulling into Red Bluff to get on I-5 by around 3 p.m. It was here we became even more thankful we had been on 89. From the interstate there were so many buildings and exits and significantly less trees and plant life to be seen. Fortunately this was only true for about the next 30 miles. As we drove through Redding, Mt. Shasta became visible. What a glorious sight!! Towering at 14,162 feet, its peak was bathed in snow and wrapped in fluffy white clouds against an azure sky. This magnificent mountain kept us in awe and entertained all the way into OR. We arrived to Lake Shasta which sits at its base just in time to catch a setting sun sparkling across the water. THIS is my kind of scenery! I absolutely love tree covered mountains, babbling brooks, large green meadows filled with grazing cattle or horses, and beautiful reflective lakes!! Now THIS was "worth the drive!"

As we entered OR, there were strawberry fields to our left and right. Each row, had low lying plastic covers running the length of each row to protect them from frost. It was in this area that we also found a herons, swallows and a pelican! (The pelican required a few turn arounds in the highway to finally capture a picture, but Nathan got it!)

We pulled into Klamath Falls and bedded down for the night at the KOA after dining at Big Bear Diner. This place was recommended to us by a lady at the KOA. Apparenltly it's a chain along the west coast that has 58 locations. We have a very nice server that reminded Nathan a great deal of his former boss, Larry Lemon - in his height, hairstyle, mannerisms. His name was Richard, and he was so very helpful and full of suggestions. Nathan inquired about cherry picking here in OR, and he let us know that around her they grow potatos and strawberries. However, he suggested that we drive through Zillah on our trip up through WA. He said he hasn't lived there in 20 yrs., but they used to have orchards and the farmers were very nice people who would usually let you pick if you let them know you were just traveling through and wanted the experience. So our plan is now to drive up 97 into Zillah before heading into Spokane.

The Great West, day 6 (NV, CA)

We all felt so much better after showers and a good night’s sleep.  We awoke and checked out Tonopah before heading on down the road.  We discovered that the Jim Butler Inn where we stayed was named after the town founder.  He discovered silver and later gold in the late 1800’s in that area, and then brought the railroad into that area.  Tonopah means little water.  It was unknown to them at the time that they had good aquifers beneath them.  We attempted to tour some of the old mines, but they were closed because of the holidays.  As we headed out we also noticed that Tonopah is home to the stealth fighter.  There is an air force base nearby, and the stealths were created and tested here in the 80’s.
Before we reached our next stop as we headed up 95, we came across a random patch of trees and greenery.  It turns out it was a rest stop.  I guess for those of us unaccustomed to desert amenities.  I just can’t understand why people would move out west and simply settle in the middle of a desert with no water nearby and no shade!  I mean the people didn’t even try to hug up against the mountain for shade or wind block – just right out in the broiling sun!  Some of these towns are still functioning and some have become ghost towns.  Hawthorne was the next town of size we came to.  As we rolled into town we saw hundreds of earth covered mounds/bunkers out in the desert reaching all the way to the horizon.  This part of 95 was named Veterans’ Highway which I found quite fitting for the day. As we came into town we came upon the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. We had been guessing that perhaps what we were seeing was barracks or something.  In town, we came across and an artillery museum that no doubt caught the eyes of all the guys.  There was a nice older couple that was running the museum and Mr. Cliff was full of knowledge and information.  As it turns out what we had been seeing was actually the world’s large munitions storage. YIKES! On the way out of town we came across a Memorial Day ceremony that we pulled over and to listen to. Then as we pulled out we noticed a sign off the road warning about unexploded munitions that could cause death or injury.  This thought had already run through my mind.  We were ready to get on out of this town!  Sure feel sorry for all those wild horses that were grazing out in that area! We came across the first water we’ve seen since Lake Mead.  There are only two natural lakes in NV, and we drove past Lake Walker (2^nd largest) as we headed out.
Traveling up 95 north we began to see desert lands gradually have some grassy areas – what a pleasant sight!  We reached Fallon and headed west on 50. We chose to miss Reno and go through Virginia City and Carson City. We received our first rain of the trip but it never got much heavier than a good sprinkle. In Dayton, we saw a mill just off the road where rock/ore had been mined to extract the silver and gold.

Then we headed for Virginia City – where the series Bonanza was based.  It was really cool (according to the boys) because it was covered in mines.  Every 50 feet Samuel was informing us that he had spotted another mine and wanted to know if we could go investigate it.  Some were still active, but most were abandoned from the 20’s.  We spent a couple of hours walking Main Street and enjoying the old facades, wares, and terrific barbecue burgers.  The area is still very rich with gold and silver, but in most cases it is no longer cost effective to mine it.

We opted to continue on 50 so that we could catch a glimpse of Lake Tahoe.  As it turns out we probably saw over half of Lake Tahoe.  For over an hour and a half we drove around the lower portion following the shoreline right on into CA and then turning onto 89 north.  The lake was amazing and so choppy today with the winds.  We loved all the pines that surrounded the lake and were even warned to watch for bear though we never saw any.  At one point in CA we had begun climbing the mountain and had Lake Tahoe to our right.  Nathan was driving, and I was snapping pictures as we went.  However at one point, he stopped on the highway (lightly traveled) so that I could get a good clear shot and I heard him gasp.  I looked over at him to see what was wrong and realized that there was lake on the other side too.  Mind you there was about a 60-90 degree drop off on either side of the road with relatively no shoulder to speak of!  Wowzers!!  Add to that our steady drizzle we were getting at the time.  We breathed a sigh of relief when we had land back around us.  As we left the shores of Lake Tahoe, we began to see granite chunks along the shoreline.  The guys all got out at one spot to have their picture taken in the trunk of a monstrous tree that had been damaged by previous forest fires.  The trees in this area tower over us. The sun was now down and with the weather still drizzly we decided we would stop for the night.  We are planning to continue on 89 tomorrow which will keep us in the state park area with relatively few lodging options when it’s too cold and wet to camp, so we are staying the night in Truckee, CA on I-80 north of Lake Tahoe.

The Great West, day 5 (AZ, NV)

We woke again around 5 a.m. to the chatter of the local ravens, broke camp and made one last visit to the Canyon at 6:30 this morning. Our bodies are still on CST, so we start each day early. We headed towards Williams to get on 40, so we could go to Hoover Dam. The guys - all but Andrew who had already fallen asleep and I wasn’t about to disturb him! - stopped into a Bedrock Community in Valle, AZ and saw rabbits, lizards, goatasauruses in addition to the Bedrock buildings that they could walk through. From there it was on to Seligman, AZ – the birthplace of Route 66. We detoured off of 40 and drove through the old Rt. 66 town. We were all hungry by then. Out here towns/stores are few and far between, so you if you see something you need or want you better get it while you can. That would explain our choice for breakfast – Roadkill Café. As we pulled into our parking spot I noticed that the plate on the car next to us was Shelby Co, TN, and I let out a cheer!! Nathan told me that it was a rental car and not to get my hopes up, but it was so neat to see a bit of home. As I was getting Andrew out of the car, Nathan struck up a conversation with them. As it turns out it was a husband and wife from West Memphis, and her sister from Branson. Can’t get much more back home than that!! We marveled at how we had ended up at the same spot and talked about our travels. Felt good to hear a southern drawl. (We also met a cashier at Grand Canyon that had just moved up here from Brookhaven, MS.) I was a bit skeptical about the fare at this restaurant, and it was making Taylor a little squeamish. The food was quite good though as long as we didn’t focus too much on the name of our food selection. We had Rigor Mortis Tortoise which included sides of Flat Cats and Smear of Deer.

Back on the road we drove through more desolate desert land filled with scattered desert grasses and random cacti and still the occasional windmill off in the distance. The homes and people were even more obsolete. As we entered into Nevada, we pulled off to the side to see Hoover Dam. We had driven across the Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge and had not realized just how high up we were, and then when we walked over the dam and looked down the L O N G concrete face…WOW! The water in Lake Mead was beautiful and the weather has been perfect! We have had sunny 70’s – 90’s with nice DRY breezes during the days.

Our next stop was Las Vegas. We headed straight for Gold and Silver Pawn home of Pawn Stars. The guys were hoping to see some of the cast members, but they’re all on vacation until next week. The prices in that place were outrageous!! Things they were selling for $5000-$10,000, we would be able to find in antique stores back home for $100-$300!! I didn’t even bother to look at any of the gold and silver, but the guys seemed pleased to have visited this landmark. We attempted to visit an antique store but were turned away because the kids were with us. Good clue/reminder that Vegas is not a family friendly town. Next we found Rick’s Restoration, another iconic place for the guys, but they’re closed on Sunday. We took a quick drive through part of the old strip and headed out of town. Just before we got back on 40 we spotted a casino that looked like the Space Needle. On top we could see that they had swings that swung out over the edge of the building as well as a Space Shot that went up the needle. Samuel was in awe and proclaimed that he would "so do that!" to which Nathan quickly informed him, "Oh, no you wouldn’t!" We reached the 2000 mile mark of our trip as we left Vegas on North 95.

In Nevada, we began seeing grand dirt mountains. There is little to no vegetation on them, and we are even seeing rock mountains. I personally prefer mountains with trees and life on them, but these are pretty out on the horizon. They have a bluish tint and the range is nice to see as we travel the flat desert land. About 100 miles outside of Vegas we have even found mountainous sand dunes. Palm trees are also now part of our scenery. Town, or maybe even villages or compounds, are now spotted way back off the road every so often. We have discovered that we are still two hours behind our local time, because after we left Arizona, we entered Pacific Time in Nevada. Glad to know we aren’t losing an hour today because it seems we haven’t made the progress we had thought we might because we are taking time to add attractions we hadn’t planned on. We made a stop in Beatty, NV where part of Death Valley is located. Right now we are traveling up the side of NV, and in places have been about 20 miles from CA. We will keep following the coast line until we reach Reno.

Nathan began singing while ago, "Well, I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name." Any suggestions out there as to what we should name our weary horse? Attitudes are good in the van. Samuel and Caleb are rowdy but laughing and having a great time in the back. Taylor is semi-plugged into his music while he and Andrew make funny faces at each other, and Nathan and I are enjoying the sunset behind the mountains. Good family times…good memories! We are eager to arrive in Tonopah where we plan to bed down for the night and SHOWER!! (We didn’t have shower availability at Grand Canyon.)

The Great West, day 4 (AZ)

We survived the night and actually slept pretty well.  Most of us wore our coats in our sleeping bags or layered up.  I believe the temperature this morning was 31, and I’m not sure how cold it will get tonight.  Seeing as how we all got plenty of sun today, I’m sure it’s bound to feel cooler on our skin though.

We began our day with a trip down the road into Tusayan this morning to grab some breakfast at McDonalds and try to find reception for our phones/laptop.  Apparently this area doesn’t have ATT so we have little to no service here.  After breakfast we came right back and began at Mather Overlook which is just down from Yavapai. The views here were quite a bit broader.  While driving 64 we saw several areas with fire damage from 2010.  The grasses are growing back and new saplings have sprouted.  Some trees were completely lost while others had only the lower limbs burned.  One thing I noticed was that typically while driving down 64 it was just wooded on either side of the road and seemed as if we were traveling any other highway, but when the trees would break, the Canyon was just right there!  It was nice to be out hiking along the rim and seeing the different angles.  From here we continued down 64E for 25 miles towards the East entrance stopping along the way to take in new perspectives.  Taylor and Caleb got adventurous when we arrived to Grandview Point.  They discovered a part of the trail that takes you to the base of the Canyon, and they we itching to go down it.  We obliged them for a while but reminded them that whatever we went down, we also had to climb back up! Taylor stopped us abruptly at one point and hushed us.  When asked what the problem was, he reported that there was a snake just off the path climbing up the rocks.  So of course we all had to get pictures; we still aren’t sure what kind it was, but we know it wasn’t a rattler.  Samuel stayed busy today working on his Junior Ranger packet and earned his Junior Ranger badge this afternoon after a Ranger talk.  We learned that the Canyon is ½ to 18 miles wide, 6000 feet deep and that the Colorado River is about 100 feet at the deepest.  The water now is a beautiful shade of green, but in about a month, the ranger said they will receive their “monsoon” and the water will turn a muddy brown.  There is a dam up the river that typically slows the flow.  This area receives about 15” of rainfall annually, and most of that will come in the next month.  Sounds like we were here at the right time!

One thing I just absolutely love about the western parks is that you can be driving along and around any curve you may discover that traffic has just come to a halt so that people can capture wildlife pictures.  The elk have been plentiful today and SO tame. We get within a few feet of them, and they nonchalantly continue their grazing. There are rock squirrels that have tufts of fur standing up from the tops of their ears that are also laid back and will stand right beside you on the sidewalk for picture opportunities. We captured pictures today of the elk, squirrels, chipmunks, falcon (We finally spotted him with our zoom lens calling out from the canyon.), and random butterflies.

All the food and supplies here are priced astronomically.  We are hoping that this is just price gouging in this area because it is remote and not what we will experience for the next week!  We purchased peanut butter and jelly ingredients for lunch and had fruit for dessert.  Nathan was looking at crackers for snacks and a box of club crackers were $5.59, milk was $4.89, and Honey Nut Cheerios were $7.39. OUCH! If we ever come back out this way we will know to stock up on nonperishables to bring with us.  We went back into town for dinner and ate at Big E’s Steakhouse and Dinner Theater.  We finally chose this place because it seemed to be the best value.  The restaurants are just as crazy.  Talk about price gouging! The boys were thrilled with the dinner theater.  It began with a video set to music that details the history of the area.  Then a lady came out on stage and did a song and dance routine.  This was followed by and illusionist.  A 15 minute break was taken, and they started a new set of song/dance and illusion.  It worked wonders for Andrew who was beginning to get restless in his highchair. When the lights dimmed and the performers came out, he got just as still and quiet even at times when he was working up into a fit.  He couldn’t even concentrate on eating because he was in such awe!

We finished up and headed the 5-10 minutes back up into the park just in time to catch our last sunset here.  There was a lady (another tourist) at the point who was acting as traffic cop and moving people about at the point so that everyone could get their sunset pictures.  At first she made us laugh, but after sitting and listening to her for a while, she became a bit obnoxious and pushy.  We noticed tonight that many people have brought little padlocks and attached them at the lower portion of the fencing as their way of leaving their mark.  I found that interesting.  The boys were a little bummed that we didn’t go down to the lower canyon, but there is no public road that leads to the base.  They offer plane rides that will take you to a jeep and then you can go even further by taking a boat, but these packages were going to run from $750-1600 for our family.  We had considered taking a train ride from Williams, AZ back into the Canyon, but I believe it was going to bring us in on the rim, not at the base.  We decided against that since we were already at the Canyon, and we would see the other landscapes that the train ride advertised as we drove out of the Canyon and into Williams to get back to 40.

The Great West, day 3 (AZ)

We backtracked a bit this morning to travel through Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. The morning began with a "Happy Birthday" for Taylor at the gift shop when he received a phone call from Mamaw on his new phone. He also had text messages from Aunt Amanda, Katelin and Brappaw. I think we managed to surprise him. He seemed tickled with his new toy. Glad to now have a camera of his own, he went to town taking pictures of the geodes and agates at the gift shop. Samuel and Caleb got busy picking out special rocks for him. It was like watching kids in a candy shop as they marveled at all the interesting rocks and wood. We then made the 28 mile drive through the desert east of Holbrook, AZ. The first stop was Rainbow Forest Museum where we began a small hike through the remains of Petrified Forest and saw several cacti and pieces of trees. Before we got back in the car we saw the park's most massive log, "Old Faithful" and took in the sights of the beautiful petrified wood. (Some of the logs looked as though they had melted crayons over them.) We stopped at Agate Bridge and saw a tree that had fallen across a gully and remained there long enough to turn in solid agate. Next we saw The Tepees – an interesting mountain formation of colorful gray, blue, purple, and white and stripes. Although pretty in its own way, we decided that the Badlands of SD are much more impressive to us. There is not much wildlife to be seen around here, but we did manage to sneak a peek at a prairie dog and bunny this morning. There was a stop on the route called Newspaper Rock that was quite fascinating. Off in the distance viewable with viewfinders, we could see petroglyphs carved on the rocks. Samuel discovered one that even looked like the Arrow of Light (a Scout symbol). While at this stop we were entertained by a bold raven. He sat on a post just watching us, undaunted by our presence. I had just finished coring a couple of apples, so Nathan decided to offer him a bite. He flew over to where Nathan had tossed it and held it with his foot and went to town. I imagine the poor guy was parched. We waited for him to finish and then gave him the other core; he seemed quite grateful. We were winding down the drive when all of a sudden we rounded a corner and BAM! There it was… the gorgeous vibrant Painted Desert. It made the first part of our drive look more like a black and white picture. The last views were breath taking and the colors so electrified! The drive brought us out on 40 again east of Holbrook.

We recovered all that distance and then headed to Meteor Crater - "the best preserved meteoric crater on earth." We asked why the main part of the meteor was not still in the hole which measures about 2.4 miles around, nearly a mile across, and over 550 ft deep. To give an idea the brochure reads "It would accommodate two million fans on the crater walls watching 20 football games being played simultaneously on the crater floor." The ranger explained that the largest portion was so hot and coming in so fast that on impact the iron and rock experienced limited vaporization and extensive melting. We toured through the museum and saw the largest portion of the meteor that they have. It’s probably about 2 ft wide and weighs 1049 lbs. We were told that that particular piece was discovered a couple of miles from the site back in the early 1900s. It is said that this lunar-like landscape was created 50,000 years ago. (Go figure - as always we laugh and walk on past all the info that reports that things were created millions of years ago and such.) It was used as an official training site for the Apollo astronauts. The winds were unreal on the rim! We hiked down a bit to get a closer look, but boy, oh boy, those winds!!

Our next destination was Flagstaff, so another stint in the van…sigh. We arrived to the KOA in Flagstaff where we had planned on tent camping. The only available sites were 2 concrete pads. Not ideal for tent camping in sleeping bags. Now in Flagstaff we realized that we were still 72 miles from the Southern Rim…GROAN! We then opted to look into camping closer in and discovered Mathis Campground inside The Grand Canyon National Park. Nathan called to check on availability and was told that reservations could not be made for today but that he could reserve for tomorrow. So he did go ahead and lock down our site for tomorrow night. We would have to actually make the drive up to determine whether or not the site was available for tonight. Going on faith that there would surely be SOMETHING available SOMEWHERE we made the hour and half drive up into the park. Along the way I noticed that contrary to popular belief, up here anyway, the grass is pinker on the other side of the fence thanks to the mountain grasses. Nathan had been told that our campsite reserved for Saturday would be 178, so we drove straight to Mathis Campground inside of Grand Canyon National Park. The sign outside of the campground read "campground full" but we proceeded on anyway. When we have stayed at State Parks the policy was claim your site and then go pay for it, so we drove to 178 in hopes that the site would be vacant ... and it was!! Taylor, Caleb, Andrew and I got out and began setting up the tent while Samuel and Nathan went to pay. Nathan came back with an amazing story! He said that when he went in to pay, the ranger scolded him for setting up camp before checking in and that payment and arrangements were ALWAYS to be made before setting up. Nathan apologized for the confusion and explained that we had reservations for Saturday night and that we were just trying to get the same site so that we wouldn't have to move. The ranger went on to say that there were NO availabilities for tonight and that they had been booked for months. (I'm not sure whether people book ahead of time and then don't show because we have seen many empty sites, but nonetheless we were told that we would not be able to camp here tonight - no room in the inn.) The ranger again began scolding and said that he had NEVER as long as he had worked here had someone pull into a site and then find it available without a reservation. He was prepared to tell us to leave when he said, "Wait, and I'll look for any cancellations." Nathan said that he turned ghostly white in the face and looked at him and said, "I don't believe this! The only cancellation that we have just happens to be the very site that you set up on and picked." Nathan asked, "How many campsites do you have here?" To which he replied, "327." Nathan figured we had a 1 in 327 chance of setting up on the one that had been canceled. He said, "No, that's impossible odds! When I get off work I'm going to come get you, and you and I are going to buy a lottery ticket. One would have a better chance of winning the lottery or being struck by lightning than pulling in and finding a vacancy, let alone driving right to it." It definitely had to have been God!!

After setting up we stopped by the general store in the park and then made a beeline to Yavapai Overlook to catch the sunset on the Canyon. We were greeted by three does grazing casually in the median of the parking lot. As we headed down to the overlook and it came into view we were amazed! It was absolutely breathtaking!! The longer I stood and looked down on it, the more my eyes played tricks on me. It was so very deep and layered that if you looked at it long enough you could become confused as to which sections were rising up and which were dropping into the Canyon. The skies were clear, and we had a full moon tonight. There was only canyon to be seen for 180 degrees. We spotted an elk crossing in a crosswalk of the park as we headed back down to Tusayan. We ate dinner at Yippee-Ei-O Steakhouse and celebrated with steak, rattlesnake and a cowboys’ rendition of Happy Birthday and some chocolate cake for Taylor. (He kept watching his back and looking over his shoulder to make sure there wouldn’t be a surprise pie in the face for him.) He also managed to catch the song of a cricket in his new phone for a ringtone. We then headed back to camp and stopped once more at the overlook for a view in the moonlight and then turned in for the evening. According to the weather on my phone, it shows that Grand Canyon is to have a record low of 29 degrees tonight. BRRR!