Olympic Adventures

Well, we have come as far West as we could go. Olympic National Park is definitely a hidden gem in the NPS. They say it is actually three parks in one: the Olympic Mountains, the Pacific Coast, and the temperate rain forest. Well, after seeing two out of the three I would have to agree.

Our campsite was on the coast at Kalaloch, about 75 miles from anywhere. This is not a good thing, as I will explain later. We slept well with the sounds of the ocean helping us drift off and the next day we ventured up the hill to the Hoh Rain Forest Visitor center. This place was truly mystical. We included some photos here of our walk on the Hall of Mosses trail, but they really cannot do justice to the size of the trees and the incredible diversity that the climate brings to the plants in this area. The streams are amazing as well. Not much more than a ripple along the ground, but during September you can see full grown Salmon laying eggs and spawning.

After a full day in the Hoh, we headed back to camp and got ready to depart the next morning. But first we went to an evening program about the bald eagles in the park that the kids thought was pretty neat.

The next morning we found out how far off the beaten path we really were. Seems the RV was having some sort of problem with the throttle system and would not run. So after a few hours borrowing the Ranger Station phone (I had no signal, of course) I was able to find a heavy duty tow truck to come and tow the rig 75 miles to the nearest Ford dealer. The mechanic comes out and starts to take a look. Now here is the amazing part...he takes the air filter off and a MOUSE comes running out of the engine! A MOUSE!! Seems the little guys had made a nest in the intake of the engine, probably had been with us since Virginia! Now I am no mechanic, but I think that may have been the problem. Sure enough, they cleaned his nest out of there and put a new air filter on and we were good as new. Only lost about six hours on our timeline.

But here is is the silver lining. While were were waiting the three hours for the truck we went to the ranger led walk along the tide pools. It was amazing! Hermit crabs, mussels, sea stars, and brilliant green and pink anemones! And to top it off we saw one of the bald eagles! Not a bad day after all.

Here are some photos!

So now we are finally heading South and should be in California in a day or two. Stay tuned!

Seattle!!

What a fantastic day! We found a nice little spot to stay for a couple of nights in Kitsap Memorial State park, right across Puget Sound on Bainbridge Island. The afternoon we got there we were able to go down to the beach at low-ish tide and collect oysters, crabs, and all kinds of interesting things. Cate even got up the nerve to try one of the oysters raw...almost.

We got up early and caught the ferry into downtown Seattle. The first place we went was the famous Pike's Place Market. The kids got to rub the lucky pig, and it was really cool to see them setting up all the fish and flowers and fruits and vegetables for the coming day's business. After getting a coffee to go from the original Starbuck's store, we headed over and took the monorail to the Space Needle. We had reservations for lunch in the spinning restaurant on top of the needle and what a treat! It was an absolutely perfect weather day and we had gorgeous views of the Olympic Range, Mt. Ranier, and Mt. Baker as well as the downtown area and Puget Sound.

After lunch we went over to the REI Flagship store and checked that out, then we went back to the market and picked up some fresh seafood and pasta for dinner before taking the ferry back to our campground. The kids were pooped! But they had a great time and have now decided that Washington is their new favorite state.

Here are some more photos, and check out our next post about Olympic National Park!

Yellowstone!!!

“It is easy to comprehend my own littleness when I set my gaze upon the mighty architecture of Nature.” –Frederick V. Hayden, U.S. Geologist surveying the Yellowstone area in late 1860s

I think this quote best summarizes how I have felt each time I visit the world’s first and still most grand National Park. Our visit this time was no exception. We had a wonderful four days filled with geysers, vistas, wildlife, and wonderment.
Our visit started last Wednesday when we drove in through West Yellowstone, MT. We stopped for a couple of hours to watch Old Faithful and get the kids their Junior Ranger booklets and then drove on to our campground at Fishing Bridge RV Park. TheRV campground has seen better days as the electrical system burnt out a couple years ago and they are still working on getting it fixed. So we only had water hookups, but we were in Yellowstone so who really cares right? That night we went to a fascinating Ranger-led program about the wildfires in Yellowstone and how vital they are to the diversity of the ecosystem. He had some great photos of how much growth is coming back into the areas that were completely burned through in the devastating fires of 1988.
The next day, since Janelle’s Mom was with us to help with the kids, Janelle was kind enough to let me take an entire day and go fly-fishing! It was amazing. I left right after breakfast and drove about an hour up into the Lamar River Valley in the northeastern section of the park. This valley is famous for being a hot-bed of wildlife and it did not dissappoint. As I waded around Soda Butte Creek trying in vain to entice the trout I saw Elk, Bison, Coyotes, Eagles, Herons, Ospreys, Pronghorn, and even a Black Bear. I did not even mind so much that I did not catch any fish!
While I was out trying to catch fish, Janelle took the kids to the visitor center right near our camp and they were sworn in as official Yellowstone Junior Rangers. I think that makes something like eight badges for the trip, and we’re not done yet!
After dinner we went down to the lake so the girls could fish as well. When we got to the parking area there was a HUGE bison resting in the dirt about ten feet from the road. He paid us no mind as we got our gear and went across the road to toss a line in the lake. He did however mind when the black bear came ambling along munching grasses. The bison got up and started pawing the ground, the bear kept munching and ambling by, the bison walked down the road, and the bear went on his way. No big deal right? Except that we were only about 30 yds from the whole thing happening right in front of us! What was the lesson from all this? NEVER get in the car in Yellowstone without your camera!!
The next day we got and early start after breakfast and drove through Hayden Valley to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We would have made better time except we had a traffic jam, or should I say a bison jam. Seems the herd was hanging out along the road and did not seem to care that cars were trying to get by. Fine by us, we have no set timeline! Once we got there the canyon was of course breathtaking and we even got the chance to take a short hike along the north rim. On the way home we saw a Brown Bear and this time we even had our camera with us. We came home from the Canyon and decided to spend a quiet evening playing games and relaxing at the campground.
The next morning was cloudy as we drove over to the West Thumb Geyser Basin along Yellowstone Lake to look at some of the more colorful and interesting geysers and other thermal formations in the park. The clouds stuck around all day and made for some beautiful skylines during the day, but the rain put a damper on our explorations. That afternoon we ventured over to the famous Yellowstone Lake Hotel to look at the historical building and have a cocktail in their lounge. We had made some dinner reservations earlier in the day so we sat down to a scrumptious meal with a terriffic view of the lake. We drove back to camp and then decided to give the fish one last chance to cooperate. We drove over to Gull Point on the advice of one of the rangers and I finally caught a Yellowstone Cutthroat trout. A truly beautiful fish and one that I am sure will keep me longing to return here and try to catch some more.
Tonight we are in Bozeman again as we take a break to do laundry, re-supply and clean up the RV. We also got the chance to go have a beer with an old squadron-mate of mine who lives in Bozeman and runs a beer/soda distribution company. Tomorrow we drop Grandma off for her return flight and then it’s on to Couer d’Alene, ID and Seattle, WA!
Here are some photos and stay tuned for more updates!

Custer's Last Stand

We took a small detour on our way to Yellowstone and stopped at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. It was way cool! The kids and Janelle got a kick out of hearing all the stories about the Native Americans and their way of life, and I got to study the battlefield itself. After being in Custer State Park and hearing all about the buffalo it was refreshing to see the Native american side of the story told so vividly. Most of the rangers at Little Bighorn are even of native decent and have lived in the area for generations! If you are ever travelling on I-90 you should definitely make time to stop. It is actually one of the most visited parks in the NPS since it is literally a stone’s throw from the freeway. Cate got to do a very cool Junior Ranger program that involved some pretty impressive detective work at various locations around the battlefield. It was a lot of fun to dispel some of the more common myths about Custer, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull.

Here are some quick photos of the battlefield.

South Dakota Rocks!!!

There is no other way to say it. South Dakota’s Black Hills rock. I cannot believe that I have never been here before. It is definitely easy to understand why the Lakota considered this area sacred. There is so much to see and do here in the Black Hills that I cannot even begin to describe it, but I will try. This is actually the first stop we have made on our journey that I wish we could stay longer.
Once we got here and got settled into our campsite, we went up to the visitor center and got the kids all enrolled in the park’s Junior Naturalist program. This is very similar to the Junior Ranger program at most of the national parks so the girls knew the drill pretty well. After dinner that evening we went to a ranger-led program on the geological history of this area. Oh yeah, in between dinner and the program we caught several rainbow trout from the stream in our campground.
On Saturday, the 3rd of July, we went to Mount Rushmore for their big Independence Day celebration. It was fantastic! They do a really good job with lots of thing to do for the kids; from presidential impersonators, to a native American interpretive village. And yes, another Junior Ranger badge for Cate and Meg. We had originally intended to stay at the Memorial all afternoon and see the lighting ceremony but the crowds were VERY large and the kids were getting burnt out. So instead we headed home and had a nice dinner, fished some more, and watched a special movie about the annual buffalo round-up here at the park. Custer State Park is home to the largest free roaming herd of bison left in North America, about 1500 animals. Each year they have a round-up to corral the herd, count them, brand them, vaccinate the calves, and other necessities for managing the herd. It looked like a really cool event; definitely the only time you could ever get a feeling for what it must have been like for the Lakota Indians who inhabited this land.
On Sunday we slept in a little bit and worked on finishing up the Junior Naturalist workbooks. After that we decided to drive the Wildlife Loop, an 18 mi loop through the entire Southern portion of the park. It was raining and we thought this might be a good chance to see some animals. Boy were we right! In a one hour drive we saw wild turkeys, mule deer, whitetail deer, wild burros, pronghorn antelope, mountain goats, and of course buffalo! In fact, the buffalo herd was astride the road and at some points we were within five feet of the massive animals. It was amazing!
We hated to do it, but we had to say farewell to the Black Hills on Monday, 5 July. We went and picked up the dog (who was very happy to see us!) and headed back westward on I-90 to our next stop for the night in tiny Dayton, WY (pop. 380). On the way we took a side trip to see Devil’s Tower. This is another must see if you are headed West. An ancient volcanic plug rising out of the ground, the tower is visible for miles. The Junior Ranger program at this one was really interesting as it talked about the geology as well as some of the Native American legends for how the tower was formed.

Here is another slideshow of our stay in the Black Hills region. Enjoy! Next stop: Yellowstone!!

Blowin' In the Wind in South Dakota

What an amazing day!! We had a long day of driving planned so that we could be settled in the Black Hills for the holiday weekend. We got up early and were on the road at 0515 with 475 miles to go. South Dakota was not at all what I thought it would be like. From looking at the map I expected a flat, deserted landscape with nothing but corn fields as far as the eye could see. There were some portions of I-90 that this held true, but othersu8 that were quite lovely to watch roll by. And as it turns out, there is a lot to see and do!
Our first stop was in Mitchell, SD at the “World Famous Corn Palace.” This is a tourist attraction of the first order, a building made entirely out of corn! Pretty cheesy, but now we can say “been there, done that.” Besides, it was time for a potty break.
Next we relaized that we were crossing into the Mountain time zone. With an extra hour in our day we decided to swing through and stop at Badlands National Park. I would characterize this as a must see if you are ever in this neck of the woods. It was breathtaking, stark, beautiful, and other-worldly. And the kids got their second Junior Ranger Badges!
From the park we drove out to Wall, SD, home of the famous Wall Drug Store. Another touristy type place that has actually been featured in several magazines and TV shows (at least that is what all the billboards on the highway said). The kids got a kick out of it mostly because we gave them some ice cream from the soda fountain.
From there it was on to the Safe Haven Pet Resort in Rapid City where Sophie had a reservation to spend the weekend. Then on into Custer State Park for three nights of camping.

A word about Day to Day Life

I thought that you all might be wondering a bit about what we are doing when we are not visiting some of the coolest places in North America. So here is a little bit about our day to day lives and some photos to go with it.

I have decided that I am not only “Mommy” but a crew chief/flight attendant. When ever there is a rattle, I investigate to make sure everything is secured. I spend a fair amount of time reminding the girls to stay in their seats and tighten their seat belts.

In the morning, we are up with the sun. The girls, on the other hand, prefer to sleep. So we roll Cate and Lily into our bed and make sure Meg is secured in her bed. A quick batch of coffee, disconnect what ever we are attached to, and we are off. It has always run more smoothly when we travel if we get a couple of hours of driving in before the girls are awake.

On the road, our fuel stops have coincided with meals. While John pumps the gas, I fill up the girls with food. For breakfast, its usually a cereal, muffins, and fruit. Lunch is basically a sandwich. It’s been easy and so far on this trip we have only eaten out once. We do stop for the occasional treat just to keep the vacation feeling going.

We try to be done with the driving by 2 or 3 o’clock. This gives us all a chance to hang out and play. The campgrounds we have been staying at all have playgrounds and for the most part pools or some sort of swimming area. We all hang out , unwind and have a nice meal at the end of the day at our little home on wheels.

When we started this journey, I wondered how the whole cleaning thing would work out. So far, its been a lot like being at home. The girls still don’t clean their rooms or make their beds. I am always pushing a pile of stuff to the side when I need to make a sandwich. I never thought we will still be living with so much clutter even with less stuff! Somethings never change….yep, no one has volunteered to clean the bathroom yet.

Laundry is still piling up. I got the chance to do laundry at the Hidden Valley R.V. Resort in Milton, WI. It was so easy! I threw in a couple of loads and went back to the pool to watch the girls swim! Couple more loads and the girls were still swimming. Final out come: clean laundry and worn out girls! A winning combination!

All in all, I am getting the experience that I had hoped for. We are self-contained so I don’t have to keep up with a trail of belongings as we go from hotel to hotel as I have on other moves/trips. Having all the girls’ gear means they play more. We have not watched TV since we left Virginia! When we arrive, John will pull off the bikes and pull out the bin of balls and toys and they are happy. We have been eating healthy meals by not eating in restaurants or fast food. That alone is something that I am very pleased with. At the end of the day, I can watch the girls ride bikes and make new friends while I have a glass of wine and we make dinner. Life is good!

Just in case you're curious, I have included some pics of the interior