July 29, 2007

We left around 11 am (a bit late) with Carmen and AJ waving us off. We ran into a little bit of traffic a couple of times and finally got to our friend Rick's house in Indianapolis at about 10:30 pm. We parked in his driveway, and he grilled hot dogs for us. We spent our first night in our new camper.

July 30

We got up, had breakfast and met Rick's neighbor. Then Rick took us on a fun boat ride on the river. Rick is the one driving the boat in the photo (Jesse got a turn later). We all enjoyed it. John forgot to unplug the 12v cooler we keep in the van, and it had thoroughly killed the battery. Fortunately, Rick was able to give us a jump start, and we were on our way around 11 am for Kansas City, KS. After calling our friend Brenda, I finally got Melissa and Jack’s home phone number. We visited the Jack and Melissa and their four kids in Olathe, KS (We didn't get there until 9 pm) for about an hour and a half. Melissa suggested a very nice Wal-Mart for overnighting, but we were told by the manager that city ordinances prohibit staying there. We drove to another one but it wasn't a Super Center, so we decided to keep driving. We became desperate to find a gas station, and when we finally did, we discovered that our credit card had been suspended due to a suspicious pattern of use – making several very large gasoline purchases in a very short timeframe at several locations between VA and KS. Fortunately, John had other credit cards in his wallet. We ended up in Topeka but passed on the first Wal-Mart (looked a bit rough) and went to the second one which was very nice. There were also two other campers. By the time we found this Wal-Mart and got to bed, it was around 3 am. The consequence of these circumstances was profoundly felt the next day.

July 31

Before hitting the road, we went shopping in the biggest Wal-Mart we've ever been in and went on to Colorado Springs. John was able to get the credit card situation fixed. However, he did have to pull over at one point to take a quick nap. Jamie had a “nice” leaky poopy diaper, which I cleaned up. Not too long thereafter he threw up, and the whole car stunk. While we had planned to overnight at another Wal-Mart, we decided to get a full campsite in order to be able to do laundry and get showers. We carry water with us, but not enough to bathe. Nor is our grey tank large enough to accommodate several baths or showers. We needed a full hook-up. We arrived around 8 pm.

Aug 1

We took showers and cleaned the car seat cover (phew). John had forgotten to unplug the cooler (again) and killed the battery in the van. He got a jump from another friendly camper. That camper also gave John advice on how to add a performance package to the van. We then drove over Monarch Pass (elevation 11,312) to Ouray, CO. I think we finally had our first real dinner. We stayed at the 4J+1+1 campground in Ouray (yoo-ray).

Aug 2

First thing in the morning, we went to the natural springs swimming pool as soon as it opened (10 am). Everybody had a good time testing the different temperatures in the various pools and going down the slides.

Later we had lunch in the camper, and it was nap time. JoJo had made some friends at the camp ground and was playing with one of them. John went grocery shopping with Reagan and JoJo at the local market. After nap time, we drove to check out the local silver mine and ended up going on a mine tour. It was very informative but a bit long for the kids. We rode into the mine, where we were told all about silver mining, then came back the same way. We stopped at the bead store in town for a “short” time and then back to the campground for dinner.

Aug 3

After some time on the Internet at the wifi “hotspot” near the camp office, we drove to Black Canyon, which was spectacular. We went to the observation area and that was pretty scary. Afterwards, we watched a short movie at the visitor center then went back to the campsite. It started raining again, so Reagan, Georgia, and I went downtown again (back to the bead store). We had dinner and went back to the natural spring pool, and then it was bedtime.

Aug 4

Off to Durango, CO. We did NOT take the most direct route (the Million Dollar Highway). If you know anything about this road, you know how treacherous it is between Ouray and Durango, especially when towing a 33-foot trailer.

Nonetheless, in Durango, we stayed at a very nice campground outside of town. The kids were able to ride their scooters and play pool in the rec room. We drove to Wal-Mart for my meds and took a drive through town. We stopped at the railroad station to check out the train ride to Silverton. Ultimately, we decided not to go since it was 3 1/2 hours each way (to Silverton) and it also was quite expensive ($65.00 per adult and $35.00 per child. Back to campground and bedtime.

Aug 5

We took a trip downtown which was quite charming. There was a cute toy store, where we bought some jump ropes, and we checked out a candy store. The kids started to get whiny because it was past lunch time and nap time. We drove back to the campground, had lunch and John went back to Wal-Mart. We had also discovered that our shower leaked and John bought some Silly Putty to rig it. I did a bunch of laundry and the kids rode their scooters. Georgia and JoJo went for a quick swim in the pool and Jesse and Jamie got all wet just splashing. We had chicken drums that night. One more load of laundry after bedtime...John and I got caught in the laundry during a downpour of rain. Eventually, we converted the same trash bags we had used to carry the laundry as rain coats and made a dash back to the camper.

Aug 6

We retrieved our last load of laundry from the dryer, packed up and left for Lake Powell. We took the long way and drove to Four Corners which is run by the Navajo Indians. It's pretty pathetic (only cost $18.00). The kids had fun though looking at all the Indian jewelry, bows and arrows, and other wares. After that stop, we made our way to and through Monument Valley. We eventually arrived at Lake Powell. However, our GPS took us on a route that wasn’t exactly safe for RVs, so we had to do some back-tracking to find a safer route. After dinner we drove down to the lake since it was getting dark. We checked out the ferry and drove to the boat ramp but it was already dark by then. We got out of the car and walked down to the water. On the way back Jesse tripped over Johnny's legs and scraped up his face. The next day I noticed that his nose was also swollen and proceeded to turn blue and greenish. We were concerned that he may have actually broken it.

Aug 7

After packing up we went straight to the ferry. It was great fun crossing the lake with the ferry. We didn't see any beach meant for just swimming. The lake seems more meant for boating. We decided not to attempt swimming so that we could get to Capitol Reef early in the day.

When we arrived in Capitol Reef we chose to stay in the park without hook-ups. The campsites were very well shaded so it was not too hot. However, the heat in the sun was definitely an issue.

Johnny was sick at this point. He had a temperature. Reagan had already recovered. We went to the historic house right next to the campground (walking distance) and had some homemade ice cream and bought a loaf of homemade wheat bread. The house had been built by and once belonged to a Mormon man with two wives. It reminded me of the surveyor's house that Laura Ingalls had lived in. Jamie was particularly fond of the horses (Dee Dee). At that time, Jamie called any four-legged animal “Dee Dee” in honor of our neighbors’ dog. Jamie, Jesse, and JoJo had fun feeding the horses pears from the tree right on the farm.

We had already put on bathing suits so we drove back to the swimming hole which was a nice deep chocolate color. We all had fun playing in the water. I called Jamie “Mud Boy” since he was happy playing along the bank in and with the sandy mud. Johnny had come along and was watching the rest of us.

Back to the camper for dinner.

The stars were very bright and John and I saw some shooting stars and satellites in the sky after putting the kids in bed.

Aug 8

We got ready to continue our journey but stopped briefly at the historic house for some more ice cream and bread. We also stopped at the visitor's center for some postcards and discovered the National Park’s passports. Everyone got one and our first stamp.

The campground also had orchards where people were picking fruit. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time for that.

We started driving to Moab, Utah. Upon arrival we chose to stay at the campground downtown. We set up camp and it was super hot in the sun (102 degrees). Since our spot wasn't shaded at all one was miserable as soon as you stepped out of the camper. John decided to move to a shadier spot and we were much more comfortable. Thankfully, we were within walking distance to a grocery store which was a good thing since we were out of almost everything. We also went out to dinner this evening for the first time on our trip. We went to a Mexican place which looked very authentic and the food was pretty good.

Bedtime.

Aug 9

We got a late start and drove to Arches National Park. We got our passport stamps and watched the movie. It was extremely hot in the sun. We spent the next few ours driving around in the park and looking at the various formations (Balanced Rock, The Three Gossips, The Sheep). We also took a look at the campground which looked very nifty right in between formations with great views (not much shade though). The spots looked a bit on the small side. If it hadn't been so hot it would have been fun exploring a short trail. We eventually went back to the campsite. We also went to the pool. The water almost seemed kind of chilly but it was very hot in the sun. We had a great dinner out on the picnic table: roast from the crock pot, mashed potatoes, corn and broccoli. We actually had cable for the first time and I watched some Hannity and Colmes and Greta.

Aug 10

Back on the road to Canyonlands National Park. It was also spectacular, and the drop-offs were very scary. The canyons seemed to go on forever. We drove to a number of them. Johnny didn't enjoy it all that much. I think he was also exhausted and not completely recovered.

We got back to the campground pretty tired all around and let the kids watch animal planet. We also did a couple of loads of laundry (one load being the bedding from JoJo's accident the night before). We had hamburgers from the grill and watermelon. Reagan had some more hitting practice with the Personal Pitcher machine at the nearby high school football field. John had to flush out the toilet...yuck.

Aug 11

Reagan's birthday!! Not only was it going to be a travel day spent mostly in the car, we didn't even have a gift. Thankfully, Georgia had bought a bracelet at Four Corners and JoJo had purchased some sort of Indian whistle/flute. We were on our way to Golden Spike, UT at Promontory Summit where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads finally met on May 10, 1869. We ended up camping in Brigham City where the slide-out all of a sudden wouldn’t slide out. John tried all kinds of things, the campground owner and our neighbor tried to help but to no avail. Finally, John found a phone assistance service on the Forest River website and was told that there is an additional fuse hidden under the frame. Sure enough, that was the culprit. We eventually had dinner and went to bed.

Aug 12

Now we were on our way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We arrived in the evening and got settled. John got a couple of things at the small local grocery store. We stayed in the same condo as we had the year before at -- The Aspens. We all started watching The Food Network and after the kids went to bed we stayed up far too late (around 2 am) watching an old movie. That was nice, though.

Aug 13

John registered, and I started doing laundry. We also picked up the rental car. John took the camper (we had brought it with us) to have the window repaired. I went to the grocery store with JoJo and back home.

In the evening John and I went to the reception at the Four Seasons. Since we had missed most of the appetizers we went to a local Italian place for dinner. It took a very long time to get the food and it was only okay. Back to the condo and bedtime for everybody.

It was much warmer this year in Wyoming, and the girls (and Jamie and Jesse) were pretty uncomfortable in the loft since there was no window and the unit had no air conditioning. Thankfully, there was a fan in the closet of the master bedroom. That made it more bearable.

Aug 14

John went white-water rafting with Reagan in the morning. The day started out cold and rainy but it cleared up later. I took the other kids downtown for a little shopping. It got a little unpleasant because we went past lunch time and nap time. We went back to the condo and had lunch.

In the evening we went to the top of the mountain at the Four Season with the gondola for the Congressional awards dinner. Since there was still daylight outside we had a great view riding up the mountain. The dinner was very good and the kids had a good time. It was dark on the ride back down and bedtime when we got back to the condo.

Aug 15

After breakfast we went to Grand Teton National Park where we saw a couple of moose eating leisurely while wading through a pond. We also stopped at the post office within the park in Moose, WY and went to the brand new Craig Thomas visitor center. The kids really enjoyed the various displays (lots of fur samples to touch).

We had lunch at the condo. Reagan and I went downtown and John took JoJo on the photo safari. We got back around the same time (about 6 pm). We had bought some things at the Dollar Tree for Jesse's birthday and also bought the boots he had tried on the day before.

John had to rush off to another business event/dinner. The rest of us had tacos at the condo.

Aug 16

After lunch, John took Georgia horseback riding and JoJo and I went back downtown to get the other boots for Jamie, the rifle for Jesse, another bow-and-arrow set for JoJo, groceries for the road the next day and birthday cupcakes for Jesse. I also went back to the store I had bought my ring at and “found” some more matching jewelry. We rushed back and set the table for Jesse's birthday celebration. When he woke up from his nap we celebrated. He really liked his boots.

We had to get ready right away for the BBQ cookout at Crescent Ranch. Jesse wore his new boots. The kids enjoyed the little horse-wagon ride and when we got back the net was there and all the kids tried to trick the fish into it. It started pouring and we all went inside to have dinner. We were at the table with friends of ours and former colleagues of John -- Libby, Jack and Mike. It turned out we ended up being one of the last people to leave. It had been fun!

Aug 17

Time to pack up and leave. It took us quite a while to get everything collected and moved into the camper. John had brought it to the condo. We managed to get out around 11 am. We were now driving to Montana and over-nighted at the Wal-Mart in Butte, MT, but on our way, we stopped at Virginia City, MT. What a wonderfully preserved Old West town. Unlike Dodge City, KS (a real disappointment during our 2006 trip), this is the real thing. We had a very nice lunch (fish and chips) at a antique shop and restaurant.

Aug 18

We continued to Hungry Horse, MT where we stayed at Mountain Meadow Campground. It was very nice but impractical for us. There was a pond Jamie was drawn to and only the leftovers of a playground which was also too far away from our campsite. We took the kids to the pond after dinner where they had a lot of fun fishing out crayfish with their nets. After we went back, John played Monopoly with the four older ones, and Jamie and Jesse had gone to bed a little earlier.

Aug 19

We went to Glacier National Park and stopped by the visitor's center for our passport stamps. Then we started driving the Road to the Sun. Up, up, up the mountain. We had no idea that we were going up that high. The road was deteriorated in a number of places and it looked pretty scary. We got all the way to the top where we saw some cute ground squirrels. There was also another visitor center. We went out on the path for a short while which got one closer to the glaciers but did not go all the way. Unfortunately, the view was hazy (maybe from the smoke of some of the forest fires in the area). On the way down we stopped at a water hole with some water falls. John saw a guy and a girl jump in. It looked inviting but the water was bitter cold. A couple of kids jumped also in the water. A little further down the road, we stopped again to dip our feet in a glacier lake. The kids had a great time picking up pebbles and making them skip in the quiet smooth water.

We were all tired at the end of the day.

Aug 20

We packed up and got on our way. We had a long drive ahead. We drove back to Butte, MT and ate dinner in the camper at the same Wallmart we had over-nighted before. After dinner we continued and eventually over-nighted at Wal-Mart in Billings, MT. There were probably around ten RVs staying overnight.

Aug 21

We drove on to Custer, SD where we had stayed the year before during Sturgis week. No bikers here this time and the town looked so empty in comparison. We eventually decided to stay again at campground Welikit after checking out the Flintstone one and driving to Custer State Park. The campground there was too deep into the park and had no WiFi. We had dinner and went to bed.

Aug 22

We went to Crazy Horse and spent the day there. We watched the informational movie, browsed the gift store, had lunch, watched Ogala Lakota Indians do a few dances. The traditional women's dance was a stationary dance where the girl stayed in the same place bending at the knees to the sound of the drum. The second girl performed some sort of jingle dance which referred to her dress which was decorated with lots of jingles made from lids of Copenhagen snuff cans. The boy performed a war dance and later on a hoop dance which was pretty impressive. At the end all spectators were asked to come up front to join in a circle for another Indian dance. The performers were Frank and Heather Weitzel and another woman. We browsed the house of Kocak, the sculptor who started it all, and another gift shop and left. We relaxed at the campground and went back in the evening for the laser show which was somewhat disappointing because it was raining cats and dogs. Some of the images were hard to make out. Bedtime.

Aug. 23

We got up, finished some post cards, took showers, did a load of laundry and left. We visited Mt. Rushmore again where a naturalization ceremony was being performed. Unfortunately, it started raining and we didn't go on the trail.

We continued driving to Wall, SD and stopped at Wall Drug which is a famous family business and tourist attraction. It was a big hit with the kids. We also had some ice cream there. Since it was already after 7 pm we decided to skip Badlands National Park and continued driving. We stopped at the Mitchell Wal-Mart.

Aug 24

Before we left Mitchell, we stopped for a self-guided tour of the World famous Corn Palace. We happened to be there at their annual festival. The palace is decorated with corn mosaics on two sides and also has corn mosaics on the inside. The designs change every year. It was an easy and interesting stop and one of the best things was the price --free!

We continued on to Wal-Mart in Cedar Rapids, IA, which is where we spent the night.

Aug 25

More driving all the way to Woods-n-Waters Kampground in Columbus, IN.

Aug 26

We left and drove to Beckley, WV and had dinner at the Cracker Barrel which was a very big hit with the kids. We pressed on and over-nighted at the Wal-Mart in Lexington, VA.

Aug 27

Off to our last stop which was Jamestown, VA. We wanted to go there during the 400-year celebration and didn't think there would be another opportunity this year to make it happen. We stayed at the American Heritage campground which was very nice and spacious but also quite expensive. After a little (very little) relaxation and some food we ventured into Jamestown and got to the official National Park visitor center just in time to have a quick look and watch their educational movie.

Back to the camper for dinner.

Aug 28

We packed up and went back to the visitor center. This time we toured the site of the original fort and participated in a ranger guided tour. It was very interesting. We got a glimpse of the original site which is being excavated and were able to step into the church which has original foundation visibly exposed. We also saw the museum that houses many of the excavated articles from the original fort. It was a very neat museum.

After this very educational stop we got back into the car and were on our way HOME. The kids were very excited to be going home at this point, and so were we.