Sunday, June 30, 2013

Old Faithful

Friday morning after a breakfast of eggs and thick cut bacon grilled over a wood fire, we packed up and headed toward our long anticipated destination of Yellowstone.  Upon entering the park, we stopped at the visitors center, got our information, and realized Old Faithful was scheduled to blow within the hour.  Pulling into the parking lot we realized that the mecca of tourism was in front of our eyes.  We just made it in time to watch her blow, an impressive display, and something we could check off our list as "done that".

It was hot, very hot; hot enough that we decided to go to our camp, set up and come back for the evening, hoping animals may be more active as well.  When we finally arrived at our camp site in West Yellowstone, Montana, we were disappointed how far it was from the park.  While we were only 6 miles from the entrance, the park itself is huge with the miles in between attractions causing much travel time.

Our return to the park that evening was rather disappointing, simply miles and miles of pine trees... the kids compared it to traveling to Minnesota.  We did manage to see some hot springs, buffalo, and one very nice elk that came within 10 yards of us...  We also viewed the Yellowstone canyon, a canyon with many colors from the minerals in the area.  Our highlight was spotting our first wolf, it was dark enough that pictures did not turn out too well.

After the grandeur of the Tetons, Yellowstone was a disappointment.  We are told and can verify that there are several different landscapes within the park; sadly, our first day was in what was considered the lest beautiful of them.

Old Faithful and her many viewers

Buffalo, one of the first of many, the strangest animal we've seen.

Yellowstone Canyon, the picture does not do the colors justice.

Our friendly elk, he came within 10 yards of us and wouldn't look at us.


Saturday, June 29, 2013

Grand Tetons

We woke up Thursday morning to a perfectly clear cold morning.  Our plans were to get out fairly early, camping time, and take a hike around Jenny lake to "Hidden Falls".  The trail took us through a burn area, along rivers, and ultimately a fairly steep climb to the falls, it was a 6-7 mile hike.
We met numerous hikers along the way; at Darryn's urging we began to greet them with each one of us saying Good morning in a different language.  It was great humor to see the responses, even greater humor to watch Dwight try and say "Buenos Dias" without laughing.  The ultimate humor came when Darryn decided to greet them in "moose language"... MWAAAAHHHH. (Credit goes to the movie Princess Diaries 2).  Great times.

After we reached the falls we convinced everyone to go on up to "Inspiration Point" overlooking the lake.  It was a great view at 7200 ft elevation.  The trail continued going through a canyon next to the Grand Teton mountain deep into the mountain range.  Lyn felt "the mountains calling him" (credit Sound of Music), after failing to convince any of the kids to go with him, he took off to the end of the Canyon trail.  It was an amazing trek along along the river as it climbed to accept the runoff of melted snow.  Waterfalls, marshy bogs, bear, moose, marmot, snow capped mountains, steep cliffs, the list could go on.  It was a 13 mile hike that took 7 hours.

We made it back to camp and enjoyed a relaxing cool evening.  A few pictures are attached, many many others were taken, the beauty can only be experienced by being there.


The Tetons rise up out of the plains with no foothills.....


There must be a bear along the road - crazy tourists.

Jackson Lake in the morning

Hiking through the burn area in the shadow of the Grand Teton

Tourist trained chipmunks - kids enjoyed these fat little critters.
You can only imagine the beauty....

The Kid's swam in cold Jackson lake while dad hiked.

Jackson Wyoming.

After spending Tuesday night in Idaho Falls, Idaho we woke up and everyone wanted breakfast, a good thing after our illnesses.  Our road took us through some beautiful farming country, through the mountains to Jackson, Wyoming.  We decided to go right up to our campsite in the Tetons, set up camp and then head back to Jackson for the evening.  Jackson is a high priced tourist town, very nice but definitely tourist driven. Each evening they have a "shoot out" reenactment and many of the shops are western and wildlife themed.  The National Elk Preservation is just outside Jackson where 1000's of elk spend their winters, so elk is a major theme.
The "mayor" of Jackson

Shoot out reenactment

There were one of these elk antler arches on each corner of the town square.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Where's the spuds....

We had several options of traveling toward the Grand Tetons, since we weren't well, we opted to take the interstate which took us through Idaho.  It was one state none of us had ever been in.  We kept looking for the potato fields and finally began to see them as we got further north.  The little bit of Idaho we saw was impressive; green mountain slopes with fertile fields in the valley.  It's another one of those places " I think I could live here".  There is something about the wide open west that draws a person to it....

Beautiful Idaho potato fields

Oh nooooo... & World's Greatest Mom award.

Traveling toward Salt Lake City Monday night, we stopped for a sit down meal since our food that day was rather meager, we enjoyed a salad bar and a normal meal.  As we headed out across the Wasatch Mountains toward Salt Lake it became apparent that something was not right with our health.

A short time later we pulled over for Lyn to unload his dinner the same way it was loaded.  Jolene took over driving and Renae promptly mentioned that her stomach was not well.  Since we were in the mountains, it was several hours before we came to a town with motels, camping was now out of the question.  By then, Darryn and Devan were both not feeling well.

To summarize and save you the graphic details, Jolene earned super mom award as she took care of 4 sick people the same night, at times there were three people lined up for the bathroom; trashcans became vital necessities.  Renae said she lost track of how many times she upchucked.  By morning, Ericka and Dwight joined in the party as well.  I'll refrain from posting pictures with this post.

Needless to say, we parked at the motel until around noon, by then the stomachs were empty, but the pain was still prevalent.  We made our way to Idaho Falls, Idaho were we are again in a motel trying to gain our strength back.  Supper was a trip to Wal Mart for chicken noodle soup and some fruit.  I think we are mostly over it, Devan and Renae always seem to hang onto these bugs the longest.  I'm afraid to mention that now Jolene is not feeling the best....

We are a bit puzzled at what caused this outbreak, we didn't eat the same food, so we can't blame that.  We talked about something in the water we drank, but normally those illnesses don't pop up until several days later.  Whatever the case, we've never experienced anything like it before and don't wish it on anyone.

We were just saying that we have a "free day" with nothing pressing on our schedule, the illness fell on that day.  We are also grateful that we all got sick at once instead of having it drag on for days and days.

Hopefully tomorrow we can head out feeling better and ready to enjoy the Grand Tetons.  Jackson Hole Wyoming will be our first stop.


Arches National Park

We arrived in Moab, Utah Sunday evening.  Jolene really wanted to to go up into Arches for the Sunset.  When we got there, the visitor center was closed so we went on other information that Delicate Arch was the best place for the sunset not realizing that it was a 3 mile hike rated difficult.  We rushed to the parking lot and took off, the trail went and went uphill, as the sun set we realized our failure.  However, we pressed on, when we got there, many people had stayed to watch the "supermoon" rise.  Of course, we did not have flashlights for the return trip, but it's full moon, we can easily see the trail....

We enjoyed sitting up there as darkness descended and the moon rose, we did not know how to use our camera to get good moon pictures, so that was a bust.

We headed down the trail with others, who were wise enough to bring flashlights, they were slow, so around them we trekked.  It was going well until we met a hiker coming up who told us there was a rattlesnake in the trail 100 yards ahead.  That snakes feed at night in the desert never crossed my mind.  Needless to say we waited on the flashlights, then the challenge was to find the snake, which we never did.... so sad.  The journey back was long, we ended up eating supper at 11:00 PM and we still had to set up our camper.  Vacations are meant for spontaneous things, a bit more preparation may be wise...

Arches is a place worth visiting.  The stunning beauty of red rock formations and the many natural arches is amazing.  We went back up on Monday to hike to a few closer arches since it was in the middle of the day.

We left Arches Monday afternoon headed for Salt Lake City and on to the Grand Tetons.


Balanced Rock

Our trail to Delicate arch

Inspired by the "Joe Byler dozen" - we don't quite fill it up.




Utah Barren land

Sunday afternoon we left Colorado and traveled toward Arches National park in Utah.  We stopped at an overlook and I asked Darryn to take a picture, his reply "Of what?"  That was precisely what our opinion of Utah is, lots and lots of barren land.

While traveling across Utah's barren land, Jolene wondered what it would have been like for the early settlers facing this terrain and lack of water.  Lyn commented that they likely would have sent scouts out front to find suitable paths and water.  Devan chimed in with "They would have sent scouts out to find a Royal Farms and get a sweet tea".





Ouray, Colorado


Sunday morning, after leaving our camper in Montrose,  we headed south to Ouray, Co.  Ouray is a small mining town in the San Juan Mountains; it's referred to as the Switzerland of America.  The trip did not disappoint.  We were driving a 2 lane road through the valley, ahead of us was high mountain peaks with snow, green mountains on either side.  As we climbed to Ouray, we stopped along a rushing snow fed river...  I really can't describe this too well.  Needless to say, it was the most favorite place to date.  We ended up going through Ouray taking the 13 mile trek to the top of Red Mountain pass.  You really need to experience that road.  Having been to the Alps on two different occasions, I must say that this brought back many memories with many similarities.  What was missing was the totally snow covered peaks, otherwise it was perfect.

We took a hike up to a waterfall, had lunch at a park in town, kicked the soccer ball around and just relaxed in the beauty of the mountains.  After doing some shopping in town, we headed back to Montrose and began our trip to Utah.





Ouray from the road to the pass

Shopping Ouray, Colorado

Monday, June 24, 2013

Reflections

Monday morning:
We're sitting in Moab Utah having a "chill" morning, an oxymoron since we are in the desert.  A nice breeze is blowing and the kids are in the pool, so all is well.  Ericka woke up this morning with a stomach bug and the kids were showing signs of travel fatigue, so we felt it best to take a break this morning.  Our plans are to head toward Salt Lake City this afternoon.  The internet here is too slow to upload pictures, so I'll just type some thoughts from our trip.

We have been pushing pretty hard, 3400 miles on the trip so far.  We have not camped in the same place more than one night, so there are many pack and unpack days.  Often we do something in the morning, travel in the afternoon, and then do something at the new location in the evening.  Our travel times have been focused on the scenic routes making travel a bit slower, especially in the mountains.  There have been numerous occasions when the Yukon was in first gear creeping up a mountain road.

Our meals have been less than consistent, usually cereal for breakfast, stopping at a grocery store for sandwich stuff or catching the dollar menu at a fast food joint.  We will often eat on the road so as not to waste time.  Suppers are usually late in the evening, last night was 10:30.  Devan's comment sums it up "This 8:00 supper time is a killer, it's got to stop".

The camper debate continues...  We originally planned to bring tents, I'm still not sure that wouldn't have been better.  According to my calculations we would have spent $200 less on gas so far and the added aggravation of towing a trailer in the mountains makes a compelling argument to go without a camper.  It is nice to have a place for food and sleeping bags plus it's easier to set up.  Whenever we can drop the trailer to do some sightseeing, it sure is nice.

The campers been holding up OK, just ok.....  There is duct tape on all sides of the camper now, some my fault - no details coming.  The air conditioner cover is dry rotted and tattered in the wind, but no major break downs yet.... honestly, I'm expecting them to occur.

It's been interesting being together as a family this close and long.  I'm amazed at how well the kids are doing, overall positive and relating well.  I was amused yesterday as I heard these two comments "Let's try to go 1 whole day without saying 'shut up'" (Mom) and "Let's try to go one day without saying 'fart'" (Ericka, although I'm not sure she is so innocent)  The most interesting relationship issue is likely Jolene & I.  We both relate to the kids and process decisions so differently, at home it's not been a constant issue since we aren't together all the time and now we are.  I trust our kids won't be permanently scared from watching this play out on a day to day basis.  How does the song go "We will survive"....

It's been very relaxing for me.  A huge shout out to the Byler's staff who are making this time away very easy to do.  I have not had the time to read and write like I thought, that may be yet to come when we get to the Tetans and Yellowstone - 3 days in one spot times 2.

I will often comment that 'this would be a great place to live' as we go through a particular scenic spot.  This has led to an argument several times, with the kids resoundingly declaring they don't want to leave Delaware (I wonder if this means I've failed as a father).  It's interesting to me that while the landscape is appealing to them, their relationships with friends trumps it all.  For me the idea of a new start, getting away from a busy life, and the landscape is a draw.  For the kids it's "What about our friends".

Hopefully soon we can have internet to upload pictures from Ouray Colorado and Arches National park, two incredible places.  I trust you have been enjoying this blog, most of the posts have been by Ericka, Darryn or myself.  It's been fun for us to record bits and pieces of our trip.

Until later - Lyn



Sunday, June 23, 2013

Darryn's Toe

While walking through the woods in flip flops on Friday, Darryn stubbed his toe on a branch.  He kept complaining it hurt and talked about a piece of dead skin above the toe nail.  He finally let us look at it Saturday night and we found a chunk of tree embedded.  With a washcloth in his mouth to keep him from screaming and a needle nose pliers, we successfully extracted it.  Now to keep the infection away...

Black Canyon

Saturday evening we stopped at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. We drove the rim of the canyon stopping at various points to look down into the canyon. The depth of the canyon made you dizzy; at the deepest part it was twice as deep as the empire state building is tall.




We enjoyed the sunset over the canyon.

Across the mountains

Saturday afternoon we drove across the beautiful country of Colorado. 






Focus on the Family and Whit's End

Saturday we went to the Focus on the Family headquarters. We were all excited to see Whit's End and get some ice cream. Renae and Devan enjoyed the three story slide.

We got to try the wodfamchocsod.

White Water Rafting

We had a reserved rafting trip at Echo Canyon Rafting Expedition near Canyon City, CO on Friday afternoon. We got there a little over an hour early so we could get all our gear on. We then took a bus up stream on the Arkansas River. With the help of our guide, we made it through levels one-three rapids in the Big Horn Sheep Canyon. Half way through, we took a break on a sandy shore. Lyn, Darryn, Ericka, and Dwight walked up stream and got to jump in the river and float down in the 60 degrees water which actually felt pretty good. By the end of the trip we were all wet, but everyone had lots of fun.



Wind & Fire

After a long day of scenic driving we crossed into Colorado to camp at Trinidad state park.  This was the first night of camping on the trip and we loved the location on the side of the mountain overlooking a lake.  The many forest fires in Colorado were on our radar and even more so when the camp hosts told us there was one burning just across the mountain from us.  They proceeded to say that there were warnings that I25 could be shut down by morning, the only way to our next destination. The smoke was north of us, but plainly visible.

We went to bed with a gentle breeze blowing, such a nice evening Dwight was told he didn't have to stake his tent. About 11:00, the wind picked up and our camper started swaying, the tent was being buffeted around, no one could sleep (except Devan), some serious wind was whipping us around.  It got worse, around 1:00 Darryn, Dwight, & Lyn got up and took down the tent, we contemplated taking down the camper.

From the direction of the wind, it crossed our mind that the fire could be headed our way.  Around 2, Darryn, Dwight, & Lyn hiked to the top of the hill to see what it looked like.  Thanks to the bright full moon, it was easy to navigate.  The wind was actually coming from a  different direction at the top and no fire was visible.  Our estimation was that there were 40-50 MPH gusts.

It was the strangest wind we've ever experienced, it finally died down to where we could sleep.  The next morning we found out that the fire turned a bit north and we were OK to travel.  Several miles up the road we were able to get a good view of one part of the fires.  Smoke from the many fires continued to be an issue in Colorado, blocking many majestic views.
The "Spanish Mountain Fire" from I25

Northern New Mexico

As we got into northern New Mexico, the landscape became greener. We took the scenic root up through the ski resort area of Taos; when the road took us out of the mountains and into the plains we saw three herds of elk, over 100 antelope, and a few mule deer.  The first sight of likely many where we would like to live.... if only our friends lived there.



Bandelier

Thursday morning we left Albuquerque at about 8:30 and drove to Santa Fe for breakfast with Jonathan, Stephanie and their kids. From there we headed to Bandelier where we went on a mile hike and saw cliff dwellings.  Very interesting remnants of the Indian culture, quite amazing how they lived.