Monday October 26, 2010
Arrived at Aunt Merideth’s house! We have completed the trip! The Journey is now over! We are in Philomath Oregon! It’s beautiful, there are lots of trees. Furry trees, covered in a carpet of green moss. It is very rainy and wet, but so many colors. The house I will be living in is lime green, and out in the country. There is a tree house that was converted into a place for pigeons to live. There is a barn (with no horses) and next to it is the chickens. They have a little house and lots of space to run around. They provide fresh eggs that are brown and much healthier looking than store eggs. The backyard has an amazing view of the mountains. There are 2 cats that live outside and are not allowed in. Inky is the black one, and she is a ninja cat, very sneaky if you leave any door open for too long. Philomath is a very small town. Right next to is Corvallis, which is a bit bigger.
Aunt Merideth is obsessed with the Meyers Brigg personality test. She loves trying to figure out each person’s temperament. I am INTJ. I still have a hard time following what all the letters represent. Graham and Drew are my cousins. Graham is 14 and a freshman in high school. Drew is 12 and in middle school. Haven’t seen either of the boys in a long time, Graham is really tall and not really a boy anymore. He is dating a girl who has prize winning llamas. Drew is the same personality as my mom, he is kind of quite and imaginative. Aunt Meredith forbids me to introduce him to D&D, which is sad because I know he would love it. In a few days I will go find where the local gaming community hangs out and see if I can make some friends. I looked online and Pegasus games sounds like a good start.
THE END!!!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Day 14
Sunday, October 25, 2010
Went to church with my grandparents. They are into this crazy church called Unity. I do not approve. They are not true followers of Christ. Unity appears to be a new fad that I hope goes away. It was all about “spirituality” but there was no actual religion. To people who don’t know any better it gives the appearance of a God centered religion. But look deeper and you will notice that its all about me, and empowering humans – trying to make us more important than God. Everything was rather self-centered. How can I improve my life by being spiritual and meditating? Consumerism religion for the masses – just give us lots of money for our spiritual books of enlightenment and you will be healed of all your troubles. God is free, and he is the one who holds all the power.
It was missing all the important stuff – there was no deeper meaning, no commitment to a truth more profound than anything you can imagine. No talk of how Jesus died for our sins. They even go so far as to say the bible is just one of many “text books”. They claim the whole Old Testament doesn’t even count for anything other than history and an allegorical representation of our spiritual journey. I do not see them as being after God’s heart.
Unity is all about joining hands as we each try to find our separate ways to God. Except there is only one way – through Jesus Christ. God is jealous and does not tolerate competition. Combining other religions and meshing them together does not work. If you truly understand both Christianity and Islam, you will know that we do NOT worship the same God. Just ask anyone of either faith. Those who don’t believe in God at all are the ones who keep insisting that we do.
Some of their songs are about how great God is and how much he loves everyone, but that’s all the mention he gets. They try to make everything sound good with fluffy talk about peace on Earth, but it just sounds so fake and shallow without the Holy Spirit guiding the way. God is not all happiness and puppy love. He is definitely loving, but there is more to him than just that. This church way overdid the love factor, to the point where it lost all meaning. Love is powerful, but only when you truly mean it.
Anyway nobody fall for that trap please. The Unity church is not what it seems, dig deeper and you will realize it is not a way to find God. After church we just hung out at home and watched movies with Chuck.
Went to church with my grandparents. They are into this crazy church called Unity. I do not approve. They are not true followers of Christ. Unity appears to be a new fad that I hope goes away. It was all about “spirituality” but there was no actual religion. To people who don’t know any better it gives the appearance of a God centered religion. But look deeper and you will notice that its all about me, and empowering humans – trying to make us more important than God. Everything was rather self-centered. How can I improve my life by being spiritual and meditating? Consumerism religion for the masses – just give us lots of money for our spiritual books of enlightenment and you will be healed of all your troubles. God is free, and he is the one who holds all the power.
It was missing all the important stuff – there was no deeper meaning, no commitment to a truth more profound than anything you can imagine. No talk of how Jesus died for our sins. They even go so far as to say the bible is just one of many “text books”. They claim the whole Old Testament doesn’t even count for anything other than history and an allegorical representation of our spiritual journey. I do not see them as being after God’s heart.
Unity is all about joining hands as we each try to find our separate ways to God. Except there is only one way – through Jesus Christ. God is jealous and does not tolerate competition. Combining other religions and meshing them together does not work. If you truly understand both Christianity and Islam, you will know that we do NOT worship the same God. Just ask anyone of either faith. Those who don’t believe in God at all are the ones who keep insisting that we do.
Some of their songs are about how great God is and how much he loves everyone, but that’s all the mention he gets. They try to make everything sound good with fluffy talk about peace on Earth, but it just sounds so fake and shallow without the Holy Spirit guiding the way. God is not all happiness and puppy love. He is definitely loving, but there is more to him than just that. This church way overdid the love factor, to the point where it lost all meaning. Love is powerful, but only when you truly mean it.
Anyway nobody fall for that trap please. The Unity church is not what it seems, dig deeper and you will realize it is not a way to find God. After church we just hung out at home and watched movies with Chuck.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Day 13
Saturday October 24, 2009
Had a breakfast of eggs, potatoes and bacon. Then we drove back to Portland to visit Aunt Samara. She recently had a brain tumor removed; the back of her head is stapled together like a zipper. Kind of creepy. She has 2 kids – Nikoli and Remmy, they are very cute. On the way there we stopped at Mt Angel – a german town that looks like a great place to celebrate Oktoberfest- which we just missed by a few days. They had the Nation’s tallest glockenspiel. At 11 am the clock opened up and giant wooden dolls came out of hiding. They started making music and rotating around in circles, there 2 on a swing. Very cool. We also stopped at a candy store that has the largest continuously flowing chocolate waterfall. It was not for eating – just decoration. A bit disappointed about that but still it was a chocolate waterfall!! What’s not to love? They had free samples of normal chocolate. Aunt Samara has an awesome house.
Had a breakfast of eggs, potatoes and bacon. Then we drove back to Portland to visit Aunt Samara. She recently had a brain tumor removed; the back of her head is stapled together like a zipper. Kind of creepy. She has 2 kids – Nikoli and Remmy, they are very cute. On the way there we stopped at Mt Angel – a german town that looks like a great place to celebrate Oktoberfest- which we just missed by a few days. They had the Nation’s tallest glockenspiel. At 11 am the clock opened up and giant wooden dolls came out of hiding. They started making music and rotating around in circles, there 2 on a swing. Very cool. We also stopped at a candy store that has the largest continuously flowing chocolate waterfall. It was not for eating – just decoration. A bit disappointed about that but still it was a chocolate waterfall!! What’s not to love? They had free samples of normal chocolate. Aunt Samara has an awesome house.
Day 12
Friday October 23, 2009
We drove through Idaho following the Snake River as it winds it’s way into Oregon. It is so beautiful along the river! The scenery is amazing. We left the brown grassy plains behind and are now entering the land of rainbow trees. Oregon gets all the rain from the mountain shadow thing, so there are all sorts of plants growing here in a variety of shapes and colors. It’s a very rainy and foggy day, with gusts of wind swirling around clusters of yellow leaves. I’m told this is typical Oregon weather, winter is their rainy season. We stopped at a rest station along the Columbia river. It was the most awesome rest stop I’ve ever been to. There was a trail leading down to the water. Another trail led up a small bluff overlooking the river. Green moss grows everywhere, in soft clumps around the rocks and boulders. The grass is so green compared to the last few days, and the trees are many shades of yellow, red, orange and maroon. Oregon is added to my list of favorite states. (Which is now FL, CO, and OR) It was a lovely drive. Mom finally got Grandad’s number so we drove to Salem and stayed the night with my grandparents. We had chicken dumplings with chips and guacamole dip for dinner. Chuck is some relation that I forget exactly, but he is staying there too. We played cards until really late. I learned a new one- Canastra. Its similar to rummy only with 3 decks and lots of different twists and rules. Grandma Lee is starting an online business selling beaded jewelry that her friend makes.
We drove through Idaho following the Snake River as it winds it’s way into Oregon. It is so beautiful along the river! The scenery is amazing. We left the brown grassy plains behind and are now entering the land of rainbow trees. Oregon gets all the rain from the mountain shadow thing, so there are all sorts of plants growing here in a variety of shapes and colors. It’s a very rainy and foggy day, with gusts of wind swirling around clusters of yellow leaves. I’m told this is typical Oregon weather, winter is their rainy season. We stopped at a rest station along the Columbia river. It was the most awesome rest stop I’ve ever been to. There was a trail leading down to the water. Another trail led up a small bluff overlooking the river. Green moss grows everywhere, in soft clumps around the rocks and boulders. The grass is so green compared to the last few days, and the trees are many shades of yellow, red, orange and maroon. Oregon is added to my list of favorite states. (Which is now FL, CO, and OR) It was a lovely drive. Mom finally got Grandad’s number so we drove to Salem and stayed the night with my grandparents. We had chicken dumplings with chips and guacamole dip for dinner. Chuck is some relation that I forget exactly, but he is staying there too. We played cards until really late. I learned a new one- Canastra. Its similar to rummy only with 3 decks and lots of different twists and rules. Grandma Lee is starting an online business selling beaded jewelry that her friend makes.
Day 11
Thursday October 22 2009
Woke up at 8am, ate some breakfast and left at 9:30. We drove through Montana and then into Idaho. Stopped at Idaho Falls. There is a really wide waterfall that is also extremely short. Very pretty – the trees are all orange and red. We left the mountain area and hit more prairie full of cows and sagebrush. Idaho has 3 buttes –solitary mountains in the middle of nowhere. (A butte is a hill with a flat top) The first one had pointy things on top – lots of antennae, radio towers and other equipment used for research- possibly a weather station. We passed all 3 of the buttes. In the distance on the horizon are some mountains – a pale pink and purple shadow with pretty clouds on top. Stretching all the way to the bottom of the mountains is brown prairie grass. We stopped in Arco Idaho and had lunch at “Something” Pickles. It was ok food, they make their own blend of seasoning spices. We had to watch out for the attack waitress, she has an ice cube and knows how to stuff it down people’s shirts. They had a giant green rocking chair. Mom got Laura a cool pickle shirt. A giant hill near town was covered in giant white numbers. The graduating class each year paint their year on the side of the mountain. We continued to Craters of the Moon National Park. It was awesome! A volcano exploded millions of years ago and coated all of North America with volcanic soot and ash. The lava flows hardened into lava rock. The area of the volcano is now a giant mountain of cooled lava. Lava rock comes in many varieties – Aa is one of them. We drove up on a road that twists around the park and stopped at various places for pictures and further exploration. The whole landscape looks like the moon – because not much can grow on lava rock. As far as the eye can see is piles of black rubble resembling bits of charred wood. Some are very cool looking – you can see how the lava flowed and then cooled down forming large bubbles and ripples. Streams of oozing lava frozen in mid-ooze. Some of the lava formed caves and crevices which can be explored. We went spelunking in one such cave. We weren’t dressed appropriately in spelunking gear, so it was a bit difficult. The rocks were loose and strewn everywhere. Lava rocks are very sharp and spiky, mom cut her hand on one of them. We had a flashlight, but it was small and not very bright. It was also a bit cold, there is a strong wind on the lavabeds that makes it seem chillier. I explored a small shallow cave and caught it on video. I stole 2 pieces of lava rock despite the many rules posted saying that this is not allowed. I blame it on Mom, she convinced me that no-one would notice such a small rock went missing. The lava rocks are filled with air bubbles and tiny holes. They are charcoal grey.
I got more post cards and we continued on our way. We were thinking of stopping at this fossil bed museum – but by the time we got close to it, they were closed. We didn’t feel like going a bit out of the way to Twin Falls either so that was our last stop. We drove through Idaho along the Snake River valley, which is actually very pretty. Surrounded on two sides by mountains, with the river down the middle all curvy and beautiful. On the way to Boise Mom got pulled over by a cop She was speeding!. The speed dropped from 75 to 55, but we didn’t catch the switch. A cop was waiting for us. With the sun setting over the mountains, we arrived in Boise. We are staying at the Hyatt. Ate dinner at this great restaurant –Romanios. It was greek and Italian, my two favorites.
Woke up at 8am, ate some breakfast and left at 9:30. We drove through Montana and then into Idaho. Stopped at Idaho Falls. There is a really wide waterfall that is also extremely short. Very pretty – the trees are all orange and red. We left the mountain area and hit more prairie full of cows and sagebrush. Idaho has 3 buttes –solitary mountains in the middle of nowhere. (A butte is a hill with a flat top) The first one had pointy things on top – lots of antennae, radio towers and other equipment used for research- possibly a weather station. We passed all 3 of the buttes. In the distance on the horizon are some mountains – a pale pink and purple shadow with pretty clouds on top. Stretching all the way to the bottom of the mountains is brown prairie grass. We stopped in Arco Idaho and had lunch at “Something” Pickles. It was ok food, they make their own blend of seasoning spices. We had to watch out for the attack waitress, she has an ice cube and knows how to stuff it down people’s shirts. They had a giant green rocking chair. Mom got Laura a cool pickle shirt. A giant hill near town was covered in giant white numbers. The graduating class each year paint their year on the side of the mountain. We continued to Craters of the Moon National Park. It was awesome! A volcano exploded millions of years ago and coated all of North America with volcanic soot and ash. The lava flows hardened into lava rock. The area of the volcano is now a giant mountain of cooled lava. Lava rock comes in many varieties – Aa is one of them. We drove up on a road that twists around the park and stopped at various places for pictures and further exploration. The whole landscape looks like the moon – because not much can grow on lava rock. As far as the eye can see is piles of black rubble resembling bits of charred wood. Some are very cool looking – you can see how the lava flowed and then cooled down forming large bubbles and ripples. Streams of oozing lava frozen in mid-ooze. Some of the lava formed caves and crevices which can be explored. We went spelunking in one such cave. We weren’t dressed appropriately in spelunking gear, so it was a bit difficult. The rocks were loose and strewn everywhere. Lava rocks are very sharp and spiky, mom cut her hand on one of them. We had a flashlight, but it was small and not very bright. It was also a bit cold, there is a strong wind on the lavabeds that makes it seem chillier. I explored a small shallow cave and caught it on video. I stole 2 pieces of lava rock despite the many rules posted saying that this is not allowed. I blame it on Mom, she convinced me that no-one would notice such a small rock went missing. The lava rocks are filled with air bubbles and tiny holes. They are charcoal grey.
I got more post cards and we continued on our way. We were thinking of stopping at this fossil bed museum – but by the time we got close to it, they were closed. We didn’t feel like going a bit out of the way to Twin Falls either so that was our last stop. We drove through Idaho along the Snake River valley, which is actually very pretty. Surrounded on two sides by mountains, with the river down the middle all curvy and beautiful. On the way to Boise Mom got pulled over by a cop She was speeding!. The speed dropped from 75 to 55, but we didn’t catch the switch. A cop was waiting for us. With the sun setting over the mountains, we arrived in Boise. We are staying at the Hyatt. Ate dinner at this great restaurant –Romanios. It was greek and Italian, my two favorites.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Day 10
October 21 2009 Wednesday
Had a lovely breakfast in the morning. When we went outside our car was covered in ice and snow! We had to go buy an ice scraper and scrape off the windshield. It was a cold day, but not currently snowing. We drove to the Grand Tetons which is a national park right below Yellowstone. On the way there we went through a lot of construction, all the roads are being rebuilt. Several sections had guys with flags waving at us to slow down or stop and wait. The roads would narrow to one lane and they had to direct traffic so we wouldn’t crash into oncoming cars. One of them then had a muddy truck pull in front of me with a sign on the back saying “Pilot car – please follow me” It then drove off and I had to follow it through the construction zone. For quite a ways too, it was a large section of road being worked on. We had to swerve around trucks carting road material, avoid large bulldozers plowing up dirt, and not run over any work crew, good thing we had the pilot car to help us navigate the treacherous path. This must be the season for road work up north, before the snows and after the summer tourist season. There was a lot of construction and we ended up following pilot cars at least 2 or 3 times. The first time it was just us because it was so early in the morning. The 3rd time we had a whole string of cars playing follow the leader, with another pilot car going the opposite direction.
We missed getting a stamp for Grand Teton – we entered halfway through the park, and this particular entrance’s visitor center was closed for the season. We stopped at a lake and a waterfall viewing area for pictures. The rest was just a boring drive through the evergreen forest. Mom was super excited about seeing trees again. I think these particular trees aren’t very pretty ones, and they block line of sight so I can’t see anything else. Yellowstone was much the same – long winding roads where most of the view was identical fir/ spruce? trees, that didn’t look very healthy. A lot of dead looking trees, which I guess they aren’t really dead, just hibernating for the winter. We stopped at a section of road where it snowed and took cool pictures! I’ve decided evergreens look much better covered in a layer of white snow, very pretty. Without the snow they are ugly and boring. I like snow, it sparkles a bit and is very white and covers everything with a soft powder. It crunches under my feet, and is hard to walk on. The ice forming on branches sparkles prettily in the sunlight. Not all of it is beautiful; some of the snow is dirty and melting into cold slush mixed with mud that is slippery and wet.
We drove all the way to Old Faithfull. Mom got lost trying to find the visitor’s center. We asked a park ranger for directions. They are rebuilding a new center so the current one is in a small brown trailer hidden behind more construction. Most everything is closed down for the season, but the good news is that means no huge crowds. We arrived with perfect timing to watch Old Faithful squirt some water. It was mildly interesting. Most of the time it quietly sits and steams up large clouds of vapor which I thought was pretty awesome by itself. When it starts to gush water, most of it gets lost in the vapor clouds that I couldn’t really tell the difference. It didn’t make any cool explosive noises either, just a bit of hissing and splashing as the water fell back to the ground.
There are lots of geysers, all of them producing steam and spraying water at various intervals. Old Faithful is the most famous because it’s the most predictable. Supposedly there are other ones that are better and more awesome; but we didn’t bother to look for them. We got some information on where to find wildlife and ended up backtracking all the way to Yellowstone Lake. We drove along following a river, where we were told that bears, wolves, bison and elk are common. We found a herd of bison across the river! I didn’t see anything else. I kept a lookout for bears or wolves, but of course they are smart enough not to come near the road. Unlike the grass eaters which crossed the road in front of us quite a few times. Maybe if we went off the road and did some hiking or camping we would have had better luck. (Or worse luck depending on how you view it, I mean wolves and bears are not very friendly)
We then explored some geothermal pools at west thumb. There was a boardwalk with lots of signs warning us to stay on the path because the ground is thin and the water is unbearably hot. Apparently the animals did not get that memo since they can’t read. There were lots of prints in the mud near the edges of hot pools. It makes we wonder if they are immune to the heat, or maybe they know which ones are ok and the more dangerous areas to avoid? Or do they just fall through a deceptively thin layer of crust into a pool of boiling water and die like the signs suggest will happen to disobedient humans? There were lots of pools filled with bubbling and boiling water. Some were extremely deep and colorful. Others were shallow and small, little more than a puddle. They were all steaming - clouds of mist that blew with the wind. The big ones kept billowing thick clouds of vapor right into our faces, making it difficult to take pictures. It is nice and warm though, a short relief from the cold air. Some of them poured out into little rivers and streamlets that drained down to the lake. There were even some pools at the lake’s edge and out into the water. Very cool, I like this part of Yellowstone.
We then drove all the way back to Old Faithfull so we could call people and tell them to look us up on the web cam and see us waving. It started to get really cold so we left after a few minutes. Some ravens annoyed us as we snacked in the parking lot. One of them heard me unwrapping a granola bar and suddenly 1 multiplied into 5. They are like giant black seagulls. Not afraid of humans and always on the look out for free food. They are beautiful and shiny black but have that annoying seagull habit of calling in all their buddies to flock around us until we give in and toss out a scrap. I resisted the temptation and they perched on the car watching us with beady black eyes.
We drove to the west exit as the sun was setting. Apparently this section is where all the wildlife has been hiding out. We saw some more elk and a herd of bison by the road munching on grass. I got pretty close to the bison while taking pictures which freaked mom out. There was a lone stag with big antlers a bit further down the road. The light was fading into dusky twilight so pictures didn’t turn out as good as the could have. We also heard a coyote howl somewhere in the distance. The sun went down as we drove through the most picturesque part of the park in the dark.
We stopped for the night in West Yellowstone at 3 Bears Inn. Almost as cool as the twin pines lodge, they also had a whirlpool spa. The inn’s restaurant was closed for the season so we walked down the block to find somewhere else to eat. Most places close early in the off-season, or shut down entirely. We found one restaurant still open – Sydney’s Mountain Bistro. It was amazing! Delicious French food! Mom says it was the best food on the whole trip. (I still think Charlie’s in St Louis is my favorite, but this was definitely good.) I had spinach artichoke dip, Mom had butternut squash ravioli. We ordered pumpkin rolls to go for breakfast tomorrow.
Had a lovely breakfast in the morning. When we went outside our car was covered in ice and snow! We had to go buy an ice scraper and scrape off the windshield. It was a cold day, but not currently snowing. We drove to the Grand Tetons which is a national park right below Yellowstone. On the way there we went through a lot of construction, all the roads are being rebuilt. Several sections had guys with flags waving at us to slow down or stop and wait. The roads would narrow to one lane and they had to direct traffic so we wouldn’t crash into oncoming cars. One of them then had a muddy truck pull in front of me with a sign on the back saying “Pilot car – please follow me” It then drove off and I had to follow it through the construction zone. For quite a ways too, it was a large section of road being worked on. We had to swerve around trucks carting road material, avoid large bulldozers plowing up dirt, and not run over any work crew, good thing we had the pilot car to help us navigate the treacherous path. This must be the season for road work up north, before the snows and after the summer tourist season. There was a lot of construction and we ended up following pilot cars at least 2 or 3 times. The first time it was just us because it was so early in the morning. The 3rd time we had a whole string of cars playing follow the leader, with another pilot car going the opposite direction.
We missed getting a stamp for Grand Teton – we entered halfway through the park, and this particular entrance’s visitor center was closed for the season. We stopped at a lake and a waterfall viewing area for pictures. The rest was just a boring drive through the evergreen forest. Mom was super excited about seeing trees again. I think these particular trees aren’t very pretty ones, and they block line of sight so I can’t see anything else. Yellowstone was much the same – long winding roads where most of the view was identical fir/ spruce? trees, that didn’t look very healthy. A lot of dead looking trees, which I guess they aren’t really dead, just hibernating for the winter. We stopped at a section of road where it snowed and took cool pictures! I’ve decided evergreens look much better covered in a layer of white snow, very pretty. Without the snow they are ugly and boring. I like snow, it sparkles a bit and is very white and covers everything with a soft powder. It crunches under my feet, and is hard to walk on. The ice forming on branches sparkles prettily in the sunlight. Not all of it is beautiful; some of the snow is dirty and melting into cold slush mixed with mud that is slippery and wet.
We drove all the way to Old Faithfull. Mom got lost trying to find the visitor’s center. We asked a park ranger for directions. They are rebuilding a new center so the current one is in a small brown trailer hidden behind more construction. Most everything is closed down for the season, but the good news is that means no huge crowds. We arrived with perfect timing to watch Old Faithful squirt some water. It was mildly interesting. Most of the time it quietly sits and steams up large clouds of vapor which I thought was pretty awesome by itself. When it starts to gush water, most of it gets lost in the vapor clouds that I couldn’t really tell the difference. It didn’t make any cool explosive noises either, just a bit of hissing and splashing as the water fell back to the ground.
There are lots of geysers, all of them producing steam and spraying water at various intervals. Old Faithful is the most famous because it’s the most predictable. Supposedly there are other ones that are better and more awesome; but we didn’t bother to look for them. We got some information on where to find wildlife and ended up backtracking all the way to Yellowstone Lake. We drove along following a river, where we were told that bears, wolves, bison and elk are common. We found a herd of bison across the river! I didn’t see anything else. I kept a lookout for bears or wolves, but of course they are smart enough not to come near the road. Unlike the grass eaters which crossed the road in front of us quite a few times. Maybe if we went off the road and did some hiking or camping we would have had better luck. (Or worse luck depending on how you view it, I mean wolves and bears are not very friendly)
We then explored some geothermal pools at west thumb. There was a boardwalk with lots of signs warning us to stay on the path because the ground is thin and the water is unbearably hot. Apparently the animals did not get that memo since they can’t read. There were lots of prints in the mud near the edges of hot pools. It makes we wonder if they are immune to the heat, or maybe they know which ones are ok and the more dangerous areas to avoid? Or do they just fall through a deceptively thin layer of crust into a pool of boiling water and die like the signs suggest will happen to disobedient humans? There were lots of pools filled with bubbling and boiling water. Some were extremely deep and colorful. Others were shallow and small, little more than a puddle. They were all steaming - clouds of mist that blew with the wind. The big ones kept billowing thick clouds of vapor right into our faces, making it difficult to take pictures. It is nice and warm though, a short relief from the cold air. Some of them poured out into little rivers and streamlets that drained down to the lake. There were even some pools at the lake’s edge and out into the water. Very cool, I like this part of Yellowstone.
We then drove all the way back to Old Faithfull so we could call people and tell them to look us up on the web cam and see us waving. It started to get really cold so we left after a few minutes. Some ravens annoyed us as we snacked in the parking lot. One of them heard me unwrapping a granola bar and suddenly 1 multiplied into 5. They are like giant black seagulls. Not afraid of humans and always on the look out for free food. They are beautiful and shiny black but have that annoying seagull habit of calling in all their buddies to flock around us until we give in and toss out a scrap. I resisted the temptation and they perched on the car watching us with beady black eyes.
We drove to the west exit as the sun was setting. Apparently this section is where all the wildlife has been hiding out. We saw some more elk and a herd of bison by the road munching on grass. I got pretty close to the bison while taking pictures which freaked mom out. There was a lone stag with big antlers a bit further down the road. The light was fading into dusky twilight so pictures didn’t turn out as good as the could have. We also heard a coyote howl somewhere in the distance. The sun went down as we drove through the most picturesque part of the park in the dark.
We stopped for the night in West Yellowstone at 3 Bears Inn. Almost as cool as the twin pines lodge, they also had a whirlpool spa. The inn’s restaurant was closed for the season so we walked down the block to find somewhere else to eat. Most places close early in the off-season, or shut down entirely. We found one restaurant still open – Sydney’s Mountain Bistro. It was amazing! Delicious French food! Mom says it was the best food on the whole trip. (I still think Charlie’s in St Louis is my favorite, but this was definitely good.) I had spinach artichoke dip, Mom had butternut squash ravioli. We ordered pumpkin rolls to go for breakfast tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Day 9
October 20 2009 Tuesday
Walked Skyler to school then drove to Fort Laramie in Wyoming. It is way out in the middle of nowhere. We were the only visitor. Saw a sign stating that the town of Fort Laramie has 250 good people and 6 soft heads. The fort was mildly interesting- maybe it would be better on a warmer day. Today was a bit too cold to be wandering around outside looking at old buildings. Most of them were completely in ruins – people carted off the building materials to use on their own homes after the fort was officially shutdown. We watched an interesting video on the history of Fort Laramie. The North Platte river isn’t as big as it was in the past. We walked across an old iron bridge. In the video we saw that it spanned a large river, today it was mostly over dry ground.
We continued on our way. Wyoming is kind of nice if you like rolling prairie wasteland – which apparently I do. I like being able to see for miles and the mixture of wild grasses are pretty in an unconventional way. Lots of bluffs, hills and short prairie grass. Not many trees except near homesteads or in town. We saw lots of tame horses, but no wild mustangs roaming the countryside. On the way to Dubois it started to snow! Snowflakes were mixed in with the rain! Not very much snow, just a light flurry of white powder. It covered the landscape for a bit, turning it grey and silver. Then it stopped and we drove past the snow. (Also some of the roads in Wyoming are red.)We are now in Twin pines lodge in Dubois. Very cute place and they have a whirlpool tub!
Walked Skyler to school then drove to Fort Laramie in Wyoming. It is way out in the middle of nowhere. We were the only visitor. Saw a sign stating that the town of Fort Laramie has 250 good people and 6 soft heads. The fort was mildly interesting- maybe it would be better on a warmer day. Today was a bit too cold to be wandering around outside looking at old buildings. Most of them were completely in ruins – people carted off the building materials to use on their own homes after the fort was officially shutdown. We watched an interesting video on the history of Fort Laramie. The North Platte river isn’t as big as it was in the past. We walked across an old iron bridge. In the video we saw that it spanned a large river, today it was mostly over dry ground.
We continued on our way. Wyoming is kind of nice if you like rolling prairie wasteland – which apparently I do. I like being able to see for miles and the mixture of wild grasses are pretty in an unconventional way. Lots of bluffs, hills and short prairie grass. Not many trees except near homesteads or in town. We saw lots of tame horses, but no wild mustangs roaming the countryside. On the way to Dubois it started to snow! Snowflakes were mixed in with the rain! Not very much snow, just a light flurry of white powder. It covered the landscape for a bit, turning it grey and silver. Then it stopped and we drove past the snow. (Also some of the roads in Wyoming are red.)We are now in Twin pines lodge in Dubois. Very cute place and they have a whirlpool tub!
Day 8
October 19 Monday
We walked Skylar to school in the morning. We were originally planning on going to Denver to see the mint and/or something else nearby to pass the time. That’s what we decided last night. Aunt Allison is teaching today, we have to be back by 3 to walk Skyler back home from school. We would only have time for one tourist attraction, and the mint didn’t sound that exciting after all. So we decided to go to Nebraska instead! So much more fun! Nebraska borders Wyoming, which isn’t very far from Fort Collins. So we drove out to Nebraska so we could cross it off the list of states we’ve been to. We planned on going to chimney rock – which is featured on the back of the Nebraska state quarter. (The Indians apparently call the formation elk penis, which I think is a much more interesting name.) Nebraska at first looks just like Wyoming and Kansas – until you reach the bluffs. We ended up stopping at Scott’s bluff. It was awesome! We drove up to the top and had a spectacular view of the badlands… now I see why it gets its name. A cross country road trip in a speedy car with paved roads is long enough, imagine being in a covered wagon with no GPS and lots of this impassably bumpy terrain. (There were some rabbits!! They were so cute!) There is only one way through the bluffs by wagon train – through Mitchell’s pass. The Oregon Trail went through that pass. We got to walk along the real Oregon Trail! Its rather appropriate since we are on a trail to Oregon ourselves. We could see chimney rock way off in the distance from the top of the bluff. We decided it was too far and we didn’t have time. We headed back home just in time to pick skyler up! The rest of the day was spent uploading pictures to facebook. We had pizza for dinner and played apples to apples.
We walked Skylar to school in the morning. We were originally planning on going to Denver to see the mint and/or something else nearby to pass the time. That’s what we decided last night. Aunt Allison is teaching today, we have to be back by 3 to walk Skyler back home from school. We would only have time for one tourist attraction, and the mint didn’t sound that exciting after all. So we decided to go to Nebraska instead! So much more fun! Nebraska borders Wyoming, which isn’t very far from Fort Collins. So we drove out to Nebraska so we could cross it off the list of states we’ve been to. We planned on going to chimney rock – which is featured on the back of the Nebraska state quarter. (The Indians apparently call the formation elk penis, which I think is a much more interesting name.) Nebraska at first looks just like Wyoming and Kansas – until you reach the bluffs. We ended up stopping at Scott’s bluff. It was awesome! We drove up to the top and had a spectacular view of the badlands… now I see why it gets its name. A cross country road trip in a speedy car with paved roads is long enough, imagine being in a covered wagon with no GPS and lots of this impassably bumpy terrain. (There were some rabbits!! They were so cute!) There is only one way through the bluffs by wagon train – through Mitchell’s pass. The Oregon Trail went through that pass. We got to walk along the real Oregon Trail! Its rather appropriate since we are on a trail to Oregon ourselves. We could see chimney rock way off in the distance from the top of the bluff. We decided it was too far and we didn’t have time. We headed back home just in time to pick skyler up! The rest of the day was spent uploading pictures to facebook. We had pizza for dinner and played apples to apples.
Day 7
October 18 Sunday
Woke up a bit later than yesterday. We planned out our trip to Yellowstone and made reservations at a hotel. Aunt Allison has as a facebook and is trying unsuccessfully to convince mom to make an account. Today was a lazy day, just relaxing at the house. I downloaded all my pictures and edited them. Aunt Allison made lesson plans for her class. Sounds like a fun class! We went out to eat downtown then played lasertag. I dressed all in black like a ninja. The only black pants I had with me were these long underwear that I got at a winter adventuring store and they were super warm – actually very hot - bad idea to wear them. We were the only ones there, so it was 2 against 2. The area to play in was huge, it was hard to find anyone either teammates or enemies. I came in 3rd and Sklyer won. (The lasertag place in St pete has better equipment and rule scenarios but this one was still fun.)
Skyler has a collection of butterflies and he showed me some of them. Right now Violet (the chocolate pointer) is trying to fit in my lap. She really wants to sit with me, but doesn’t understand there is no space in the chair. Bara is no longer here, I still remember dogsitting him way back in elementary school. Aunt Meredith called – Drew is sick with the swine flu. So we are going to delay our trip a bit and take our time. Maybe if we go slow enough we can arrive after he gets better. We were going to Yellowstone tomorrow, but instead we are now postponing it until Tuesday.
Woke up a bit later than yesterday. We planned out our trip to Yellowstone and made reservations at a hotel. Aunt Allison has as a facebook and is trying unsuccessfully to convince mom to make an account. Today was a lazy day, just relaxing at the house. I downloaded all my pictures and edited them. Aunt Allison made lesson plans for her class. Sounds like a fun class! We went out to eat downtown then played lasertag. I dressed all in black like a ninja. The only black pants I had with me were these long underwear that I got at a winter adventuring store and they were super warm – actually very hot - bad idea to wear them. We were the only ones there, so it was 2 against 2. The area to play in was huge, it was hard to find anyone either teammates or enemies. I came in 3rd and Sklyer won. (The lasertag place in St pete has better equipment and rule scenarios but this one was still fun.)
Skyler has a collection of butterflies and he showed me some of them. Right now Violet (the chocolate pointer) is trying to fit in my lap. She really wants to sit with me, but doesn’t understand there is no space in the chair. Bara is no longer here, I still remember dogsitting him way back in elementary school. Aunt Meredith called – Drew is sick with the swine flu. So we are going to delay our trip a bit and take our time. Maybe if we go slow enough we can arrive after he gets better. We were going to Yellowstone tomorrow, but instead we are now postponing it until Tuesday.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Day 6
October 17 2009 Saturday
Woke up early and had a wonderful breakfast of biscuits, bacon and hot cocoa. Drove out to the Rocky Mountain National Park somewhere near Denver. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous! We are surrounded on all sides by mountains, the top most peaks are covered in patches of snow and lots of rocks and evergreen trees on the lower ones. The weather was perfect – sunny and not too cold. I took lots of pictures. The mountain backdrop was breathtaking. (Literally! It takes your breath away since the air is so thin.) We reached the park and there is a pretty valley where we might expect to see some wildlife. Hiked through the grass, across a small stream, and over there by the trees! A herd of elk!! Awesome! Some had red collars to identify them. There was a male buck with his harem of females. (We saw elk but no bighorn sheep so Aunt Allison owes Skyler $2 for a bet.) That was exciting! Then we hiked up a mountain trail to see Alberta falls. The thin mountain air and steep climb was exhausting. I was huffing and puffing the whole way up. It was a long hike, and there was lots of snow on the trail! Large patches of it! There was ice on the path that turned to dirty slush. The sun was out and with the exercise I didn’t even need my jacket. The weather was surprisingly warm considering there was snow everywhere. Perfect day for a hike!
We saw lots of streams (probably all the same one winding around the path deceiving me into thinking its not.) One of them had a branch hanging over the rushing water and it was covered in long silver icicles!! I ate some snow along the way. It tastes like a flavorless snow cone – how interesting, imagine that. I should have brought some flavored syrups and had a party. Another stream we passed had patches of ice where the water froze. Very thin ice that cracked and broke apart when stepped on or hit with a stick. Do not try walking on it, even in the shallow areas or your feet will get really cold as the water seeps into your shoes. Sklyer apparently doesn’t mind cold wet feet, he waded right through the icy water in his bare feet to chase after a fish.
We finally made it to the falls! Water spilling across the rocks and roaring past as it tumbles around smooth river stones. There were some cute chipmunks and plenty of other tourists watching the water fall down the cliff and splash across a pile of boulders. Very pretty. The way back down was so much easier and quicker than coming up. It was also a bit slippery, the path was covered in melting snow and ice slushies just waiting to trip people. I had the video camera ready to record someone falling on their butt. We were all extra careful and made it down without any super embarrassing moments. Darn. I love this park! So beautiful!
I bought more postcards and we had lunch at a Tapas restaurant. Came home and tried to download my pictures to my portable hard drive. I was out of space on my memory cards. Turns out they have a Mac and when I tried to hook up my hard dive, it recognized that it was connected, but wouldn’t let me transfer pictures onto it. Since I am not familiar with apple computers, I didn’t understand how to fix the problem. I ended up bringing in my computer and setting it all up. I brought my computer with me even though it’s a desktop and doesn’t like to travel well. Yay I can take more pictures now!
Woke up early and had a wonderful breakfast of biscuits, bacon and hot cocoa. Drove out to the Rocky Mountain National Park somewhere near Denver. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous! We are surrounded on all sides by mountains, the top most peaks are covered in patches of snow and lots of rocks and evergreen trees on the lower ones. The weather was perfect – sunny and not too cold. I took lots of pictures. The mountain backdrop was breathtaking. (Literally! It takes your breath away since the air is so thin.) We reached the park and there is a pretty valley where we might expect to see some wildlife. Hiked through the grass, across a small stream, and over there by the trees! A herd of elk!! Awesome! Some had red collars to identify them. There was a male buck with his harem of females. (We saw elk but no bighorn sheep so Aunt Allison owes Skyler $2 for a bet.) That was exciting! Then we hiked up a mountain trail to see Alberta falls. The thin mountain air and steep climb was exhausting. I was huffing and puffing the whole way up. It was a long hike, and there was lots of snow on the trail! Large patches of it! There was ice on the path that turned to dirty slush. The sun was out and with the exercise I didn’t even need my jacket. The weather was surprisingly warm considering there was snow everywhere. Perfect day for a hike!
We saw lots of streams (probably all the same one winding around the path deceiving me into thinking its not.) One of them had a branch hanging over the rushing water and it was covered in long silver icicles!! I ate some snow along the way. It tastes like a flavorless snow cone – how interesting, imagine that. I should have brought some flavored syrups and had a party. Another stream we passed had patches of ice where the water froze. Very thin ice that cracked and broke apart when stepped on or hit with a stick. Do not try walking on it, even in the shallow areas or your feet will get really cold as the water seeps into your shoes. Sklyer apparently doesn’t mind cold wet feet, he waded right through the icy water in his bare feet to chase after a fish.
We finally made it to the falls! Water spilling across the rocks and roaring past as it tumbles around smooth river stones. There were some cute chipmunks and plenty of other tourists watching the water fall down the cliff and splash across a pile of boulders. Very pretty. The way back down was so much easier and quicker than coming up. It was also a bit slippery, the path was covered in melting snow and ice slushies just waiting to trip people. I had the video camera ready to record someone falling on their butt. We were all extra careful and made it down without any super embarrassing moments. Darn. I love this park! So beautiful!
I bought more postcards and we had lunch at a Tapas restaurant. Came home and tried to download my pictures to my portable hard drive. I was out of space on my memory cards. Turns out they have a Mac and when I tried to hook up my hard dive, it recognized that it was connected, but wouldn’t let me transfer pictures onto it. Since I am not familiar with apple computers, I didn’t understand how to fix the problem. I ended up bringing in my computer and setting it all up. I brought my computer with me even though it’s a desktop and doesn’t like to travel well. Yay I can take more pictures now!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Day 5
October 16 2009, Friday
Woke up really early. Had free breakfast and a few minutes online with their computer access. Bought some Kansas postcards and mailed the ones from St Louis. We tired to go see the mushroom rocks I had heard about online from Google earth. We had an address to put in the GPS, and it took us off the highway onto a 2 lane road through fields of hay. Got stuck behind a slow RV, and the road was so curvy it took a while to find a good spot to pass it. The GPS led us to a driveway with a closed gate. Ok so now what? Is this it? I don’t see any rocks bigger than pebbles for miles, and unless they are the actual size of mushrooms they should be easy to spot. We saw some signs for Mushroom state park, but they led to a another closed gate. Is it just closed for the day? I was ready to just climb the gate and see what was on the other side of the hill. But of course with my mom in the car there is no rule breaking. We considered this a lost cause and kept going.
Not much farther we spotted some cowboys herding cattle. We stopped to watch and take pictures. The cowboys were a bit weirded out by us – random strangers stopping to videotape them. (I suppose I would be too) We tried explaining that we are on a road trip and never seen real cowboys at work before. The cowboys thought we might be from the humane society or local newspaper. So we left after a few minutes, they were mostly done, and I didn’t want to intrude on them too much. They were weaning the calves. Young females were allowed to go back with their mom, and the male calves were loaded into trucks. So that was exciting!
Then the GPS gave us directions back to the interstate, only instead of going back the way we came it decided on a short-cut down a dirt road. The road was very rocky and I could see mud and rocks fly up behind my tires and hear them clunking around on my car’s underbelly. I tried to drive very slow, but my wheels kept slipping around on the mud and rocks, particularly when we hit some steep hills. We stopped to photograph cows and grass. Kansas scenery consists of rolling hills covered in brown prairie grass. That’s it; not much else other than the cows, fences, and rolled up hay bales. Every few miles we spot some trees clustered around a tiny pond near a homestead or small town. Probably not native, they were planted by the people who live there. This is the wrong season for sunflowers. Everything has been harvested already, leaving empty fields of dried up husks. I got mad at the GPS when it told me to turn onto another dirt road. And then continue for 12 miles! No way I’m driving 12 miles on mud only going 10 m/hr! But by then it was too late to turn around, and go back, might as well continue forward. We were driving around in the middle of nothing but cow pastures. Never trust a GPS with out first looking to see where its taking you. It wasn’t very far before the dirt road became paved and I was saved having to drive the whole distance on dirt. We made it to the interstate! I’m a bit disappointed about the mushroom rocks, maybe you can only get to them by tornado-express.
We drove through Kansas and stopped at Goodwill/Goodland/something. It was a very tiny town. We were attracted to it by the giant easel, the world’s largest. The small town only had 2 stop lights on Main street, which was entirely brick. Non of the roads had any markings on them, such as lane dividers. Main street was wide enough I assumed it had multiple lanes going in opposite directions, but it was hard to tell. A faulty address for the GPS/ or just our bad sense of direction got us lost again. We ended up stuck in the middle of a long funeral procession which the whole town had come out to attend. Almost drove to the cemetery before we turned off and found our way back to the easel. We had to stop and ask for directions. It was large enough to see from the interstate, but apparently once in town the huge factory blocked our view. It’s not like there were many roads to choose from, but I was behind the wheel and mom was navigating. This is a bad combination when neither of us know where we are. We took a picture and got back on the interstate again. Then my ipod died and I can’t listen to it and charge it at the same time so we switched to radio. There wasn’t much selection, only one clear station– country music of course. We listened to the local news and they mentioned the guy that died, but I forgot what his name was. They are having a memorial dinner at the senior center with homemade pie for dessert. RIP whoever you are, the town of Goodland misses you.
Many miles later we reach the border and enter into Colorado. I thought Kansas was plain and boring, but this section of the Colorado foothills is worse. (I know the rest of CO is much prettier.) The landscape is completely brown as far as the eye can see, which is quite a ways; since there is absolutely nothing to block line of sight. Kansas had tall prairie grass, this is just short and scrubby grass. Maybe in the spring this might look better, if the grass is green? Not a single tree, just brown nothingness until it joins up with blue nothingness. There are hills, fences and clouds. Not even hay bales or fields of crops. The sky is immensely vast, this would be a great place for star gazing. Too bad we didn’t think of it last night, we will be in Fort Collins by the time the stars come out again. The road is very finely grooved and there are chain stations where you can pull over for 30 min to chain up your tires. We passed a single solitary tree that looked a bit lonely and out of place. A few cows here and there, and some dilapidated farm buildings reminiscent of old westerns. Still no sign of the mountains we ought to be approaching. Ooh off in the distance! Very faintly I can see pale shadows that look like mountains! They blend in so well with the sky its hard to tell if they are actually just clouds. We passed a Christmas tree farm – rows of evergreens waiting for December.
For an uninteresting state I sure had lots to write about Kansas. It’s because I was bored sitting in the car observing the same scenery so it was more entertaining to write about it. Made it to Fort Collins! Saw the movie Julie and Julia with Aunt Allison and Skyler.
Woke up really early. Had free breakfast and a few minutes online with their computer access. Bought some Kansas postcards and mailed the ones from St Louis. We tired to go see the mushroom rocks I had heard about online from Google earth. We had an address to put in the GPS, and it took us off the highway onto a 2 lane road through fields of hay. Got stuck behind a slow RV, and the road was so curvy it took a while to find a good spot to pass it. The GPS led us to a driveway with a closed gate. Ok so now what? Is this it? I don’t see any rocks bigger than pebbles for miles, and unless they are the actual size of mushrooms they should be easy to spot. We saw some signs for Mushroom state park, but they led to a another closed gate. Is it just closed for the day? I was ready to just climb the gate and see what was on the other side of the hill. But of course with my mom in the car there is no rule breaking. We considered this a lost cause and kept going.
Not much farther we spotted some cowboys herding cattle. We stopped to watch and take pictures. The cowboys were a bit weirded out by us – random strangers stopping to videotape them. (I suppose I would be too) We tried explaining that we are on a road trip and never seen real cowboys at work before. The cowboys thought we might be from the humane society or local newspaper. So we left after a few minutes, they were mostly done, and I didn’t want to intrude on them too much. They were weaning the calves. Young females were allowed to go back with their mom, and the male calves were loaded into trucks. So that was exciting!
Then the GPS gave us directions back to the interstate, only instead of going back the way we came it decided on a short-cut down a dirt road. The road was very rocky and I could see mud and rocks fly up behind my tires and hear them clunking around on my car’s underbelly. I tried to drive very slow, but my wheels kept slipping around on the mud and rocks, particularly when we hit some steep hills. We stopped to photograph cows and grass. Kansas scenery consists of rolling hills covered in brown prairie grass. That’s it; not much else other than the cows, fences, and rolled up hay bales. Every few miles we spot some trees clustered around a tiny pond near a homestead or small town. Probably not native, they were planted by the people who live there. This is the wrong season for sunflowers. Everything has been harvested already, leaving empty fields of dried up husks. I got mad at the GPS when it told me to turn onto another dirt road. And then continue for 12 miles! No way I’m driving 12 miles on mud only going 10 m/hr! But by then it was too late to turn around, and go back, might as well continue forward. We were driving around in the middle of nothing but cow pastures. Never trust a GPS with out first looking to see where its taking you. It wasn’t very far before the dirt road became paved and I was saved having to drive the whole distance on dirt. We made it to the interstate! I’m a bit disappointed about the mushroom rocks, maybe you can only get to them by tornado-express.
We drove through Kansas and stopped at Goodwill/Goodland/something. It was a very tiny town. We were attracted to it by the giant easel, the world’s largest. The small town only had 2 stop lights on Main street, which was entirely brick. Non of the roads had any markings on them, such as lane dividers. Main street was wide enough I assumed it had multiple lanes going in opposite directions, but it was hard to tell. A faulty address for the GPS/ or just our bad sense of direction got us lost again. We ended up stuck in the middle of a long funeral procession which the whole town had come out to attend. Almost drove to the cemetery before we turned off and found our way back to the easel. We had to stop and ask for directions. It was large enough to see from the interstate, but apparently once in town the huge factory blocked our view. It’s not like there were many roads to choose from, but I was behind the wheel and mom was navigating. This is a bad combination when neither of us know where we are. We took a picture and got back on the interstate again. Then my ipod died and I can’t listen to it and charge it at the same time so we switched to radio. There wasn’t much selection, only one clear station– country music of course. We listened to the local news and they mentioned the guy that died, but I forgot what his name was. They are having a memorial dinner at the senior center with homemade pie for dessert. RIP whoever you are, the town of Goodland misses you.
Many miles later we reach the border and enter into Colorado. I thought Kansas was plain and boring, but this section of the Colorado foothills is worse. (I know the rest of CO is much prettier.) The landscape is completely brown as far as the eye can see, which is quite a ways; since there is absolutely nothing to block line of sight. Kansas had tall prairie grass, this is just short and scrubby grass. Maybe in the spring this might look better, if the grass is green? Not a single tree, just brown nothingness until it joins up with blue nothingness. There are hills, fences and clouds. Not even hay bales or fields of crops. The sky is immensely vast, this would be a great place for star gazing. Too bad we didn’t think of it last night, we will be in Fort Collins by the time the stars come out again. The road is very finely grooved and there are chain stations where you can pull over for 30 min to chain up your tires. We passed a single solitary tree that looked a bit lonely and out of place. A few cows here and there, and some dilapidated farm buildings reminiscent of old westerns. Still no sign of the mountains we ought to be approaching. Ooh off in the distance! Very faintly I can see pale shadows that look like mountains! They blend in so well with the sky its hard to tell if they are actually just clouds. We passed a Christmas tree farm – rows of evergreens waiting for December.
For an uninteresting state I sure had lots to write about Kansas. It’s because I was bored sitting in the car observing the same scenery so it was more entertaining to write about it. Made it to Fort Collins! Saw the movie Julie and Julia with Aunt Allison and Skyler.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Day 4
October 15 2009 Thursday
Woke up at 6am because we went to bed really early, and I’m still on FL time. Had a continental breakfast at the hotel – bagel and peppermint hot cocoa. Today we are driving across Missouri. Its rainy and wet with temperatures in the 40s. I dressed in lots of layers and when well dressed and warm the weather is actually quite nice. I’ve been layering on at least 3 shirts each day, plus my coat so I’m nice and snug. I will miss the sunshine, I heard Oregon is really rainy this time of year. The sun rarely makes an appearance. I have not seen the sun in the sky, or even a pretty sunset or sunrise. Does it still exist? During the day the landscape gradually becomes lighter and clear without any warmth or bright sunrays. The sky provides ambient light from the layers up above which is completely white - solid cloud cover. Some of the clouds come down low, providing some mist and thick fog in the distance. Today’s kind of weather is what I expect to see the rest of the trip.
The scenery is much the same as Illinois, spectacular fall colors with some cows and silos thrown in. We are crossing the state of Missouri then stopping in Kansas City, which is on the border, before continuing across Kansas. I have many Weird Al songs on my ipod. Still haven’t gone through my whole library yet, although some songs are starting to repeat already. Right before Kansas City is the town of Independence. We stopped there and went to the Harry Truman house – had a private tour with the ranger. Harry Truman was vice president to Roosevelt for only 82 days before becoming president. Perfect timing to view the house. Next week its being closed for repairs and renovations.
The GPS went crazy for a bit – had no idea where we were and left a crazy blue trail of the route we did not take. (Our car cannot jump sideways, and not once did we take a shortcut across the middle of a park.) We had our picnic outside in the cold because we weren’t sure where else to eat that didn’t cost extra money. We then tried to go see a hair museum that sounded interesting but couldn’t find it. Maybe it was closed; there was an empty lot with a bulldozed building near where it should have been. We went to the trails museum next. The Oregon, Santa Fe, and California trails all started in Independence Missouri, which today seems to have been eaten up by the larger Kansas City. The trail museum cost money that we didn’t feel like spending so we didn’t go inside. Instead we found a railroad station next door that had free tours. It was the old Independence railroad depot from the 1800s, the Chicago-Alton line and in operation until 1960. The guide was amazing and he showed us all kinds of cool stuff in the building. While on tour of the upstairs living quarters we saw a hair-wreath-thing. People used to save their hair and when they died, the dead person’s hair was used to make artwork as a sort of memento. So it was almost like we went to the hair museum, we got to see one of the exhibits. We are now headed to the toy and miniature museum - it was awesome! Spent the rest of the day wandering around admiring the amount of skill it takes to make such realistic miniatures. No photography allowed, but it gave me some ideas for my own miniature making with the wood elf army. We stayed there until they kicked us out because it was closing. Only saw half the museum, we will have to comeback another day and finish.
Now driving through Kansas. I-20 is apparently a toll-road. An expensive toll road and you pay after you exit, based on how far you drive. The gas station we stopped at had a storm shelter for tornadoes. I wonder when tornado season is? Maybe they are always in season? I hope we don’t get caught in one. We are staying in America’s Best off I-70 in Salina. Dinner was at Freddy’s Frozen Custard place – home of the freddy burger. It was almost identical to Steak N Shake, only with sundaes not milkshakes. Watching some TV before bed.
Woke up at 6am because we went to bed really early, and I’m still on FL time. Had a continental breakfast at the hotel – bagel and peppermint hot cocoa. Today we are driving across Missouri. Its rainy and wet with temperatures in the 40s. I dressed in lots of layers and when well dressed and warm the weather is actually quite nice. I’ve been layering on at least 3 shirts each day, plus my coat so I’m nice and snug. I will miss the sunshine, I heard Oregon is really rainy this time of year. The sun rarely makes an appearance. I have not seen the sun in the sky, or even a pretty sunset or sunrise. Does it still exist? During the day the landscape gradually becomes lighter and clear without any warmth or bright sunrays. The sky provides ambient light from the layers up above which is completely white - solid cloud cover. Some of the clouds come down low, providing some mist and thick fog in the distance. Today’s kind of weather is what I expect to see the rest of the trip.
The scenery is much the same as Illinois, spectacular fall colors with some cows and silos thrown in. We are crossing the state of Missouri then stopping in Kansas City, which is on the border, before continuing across Kansas. I have many Weird Al songs on my ipod. Still haven’t gone through my whole library yet, although some songs are starting to repeat already. Right before Kansas City is the town of Independence. We stopped there and went to the Harry Truman house – had a private tour with the ranger. Harry Truman was vice president to Roosevelt for only 82 days before becoming president. Perfect timing to view the house. Next week its being closed for repairs and renovations.
The GPS went crazy for a bit – had no idea where we were and left a crazy blue trail of the route we did not take. (Our car cannot jump sideways, and not once did we take a shortcut across the middle of a park.) We had our picnic outside in the cold because we weren’t sure where else to eat that didn’t cost extra money. We then tried to go see a hair museum that sounded interesting but couldn’t find it. Maybe it was closed; there was an empty lot with a bulldozed building near where it should have been. We went to the trails museum next. The Oregon, Santa Fe, and California trails all started in Independence Missouri, which today seems to have been eaten up by the larger Kansas City. The trail museum cost money that we didn’t feel like spending so we didn’t go inside. Instead we found a railroad station next door that had free tours. It was the old Independence railroad depot from the 1800s, the Chicago-Alton line and in operation until 1960. The guide was amazing and he showed us all kinds of cool stuff in the building. While on tour of the upstairs living quarters we saw a hair-wreath-thing. People used to save their hair and when they died, the dead person’s hair was used to make artwork as a sort of memento. So it was almost like we went to the hair museum, we got to see one of the exhibits. We are now headed to the toy and miniature museum - it was awesome! Spent the rest of the day wandering around admiring the amount of skill it takes to make such realistic miniatures. No photography allowed, but it gave me some ideas for my own miniature making with the wood elf army. We stayed there until they kicked us out because it was closing. Only saw half the museum, we will have to comeback another day and finish.
Now driving through Kansas. I-20 is apparently a toll-road. An expensive toll road and you pay after you exit, based on how far you drive. The gas station we stopped at had a storm shelter for tornadoes. I wonder when tornado season is? Maybe they are always in season? I hope we don’t get caught in one. We are staying in America’s Best off I-70 in Salina. Dinner was at Freddy’s Frozen Custard place – home of the freddy burger. It was almost identical to Steak N Shake, only with sundaes not milkshakes. Watching some TV before bed.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Day 3
October 14 2009 Wednesday
We drove to St Louis today. Woke up later than usual thinking Tim would accompany us, but he decided not to. He has work tomorrow and doesn’t feel like the extra drive, plus he also has to drive back since he is not coming to Oregon with us. So we left on our own and stopped at the Illinois welcome center for a map. (we had a map for every state on the way except Illinois) Last night Mom looked up a website called Roadside Americana which lists all sorts of interesting places to stop. One of them was the world’s largest ketchup bottle. We took a slight detour to go see it. The ketchup bottle is actually just a water tower painted to resemble a ketchup bottle; it does not contain any real ketchup. I wonder if there is a giant mayonnaise and mustard bottle? We continued on our way and arrived in St Louis. We parked at the arch which cost $6. I thought you could drive under the arch, but I guess not. We went to the arch museum which is underground. It was all about the Lewis and Clark expedition up the Missouri river. We rode to the top of the arch in little elevator bubbles and looked out over St Louis from the tiny windows at the top. The passengers that rode up with us in the bubble were from Tennessee. We compared notes on how cold it was in our hometowns.
The ranger at the Lewis and Clark museum was very friendly. Many of the exhibits and pictures on display had no information describing what they were. We talked to the ranger about this and he said they had a book many years ago explaining all the exhibits, but for some reason the giftshop never reprinted it. He showed us his well used copy. Apparently the curator expects museum patrons to be intelligent and know it all themselves, which makes the museum rather pointless. Why go to a museum if you already know what its about? This particular ranger was very chatty and recommended us some great restaurants. He also said we have to try the fried ravioli – it’s a St Louis classic that isn’t very common in the rest of the world. It was really cold out so we voted against the picnic lunch. (We brought food for lunches so we could avoid spending extra money by only eating out one meal a day) We decided to try the Italian restaurant – Charlies. We walked over since it wasn’t very far. Loved the food! It was amazing! Yummy and very garlicky! A bit pricey but delicious!
The scenery in Illinois and Missouri is very beautiful - full fall colors. The trees are green, yellow, orange, brown, red and all shades in between. Even the grass is colorful! The sunlight is very thin here. I packed away my sunglasses, might not need them for a while. After lunch we walked around downtown, tried to go see the toy museum but they were closed. The dog museum and Jefferson national monument were on the wrong side of town; by the time we got back to the car and thought of driving over they were closed. We are now headed to a hotel just past the city where we made reservations last night. The roads out here have lots of cracks in them – caused by expanding and contracting of the ice in winter. Most of the cracks are precut so they can control where it cracks.
We drove to St Louis today. Woke up later than usual thinking Tim would accompany us, but he decided not to. He has work tomorrow and doesn’t feel like the extra drive, plus he also has to drive back since he is not coming to Oregon with us. So we left on our own and stopped at the Illinois welcome center for a map. (we had a map for every state on the way except Illinois) Last night Mom looked up a website called Roadside Americana which lists all sorts of interesting places to stop. One of them was the world’s largest ketchup bottle. We took a slight detour to go see it. The ketchup bottle is actually just a water tower painted to resemble a ketchup bottle; it does not contain any real ketchup. I wonder if there is a giant mayonnaise and mustard bottle? We continued on our way and arrived in St Louis. We parked at the arch which cost $6. I thought you could drive under the arch, but I guess not. We went to the arch museum which is underground. It was all about the Lewis and Clark expedition up the Missouri river. We rode to the top of the arch in little elevator bubbles and looked out over St Louis from the tiny windows at the top. The passengers that rode up with us in the bubble were from Tennessee. We compared notes on how cold it was in our hometowns.
The ranger at the Lewis and Clark museum was very friendly. Many of the exhibits and pictures on display had no information describing what they were. We talked to the ranger about this and he said they had a book many years ago explaining all the exhibits, but for some reason the giftshop never reprinted it. He showed us his well used copy. Apparently the curator expects museum patrons to be intelligent and know it all themselves, which makes the museum rather pointless. Why go to a museum if you already know what its about? This particular ranger was very chatty and recommended us some great restaurants. He also said we have to try the fried ravioli – it’s a St Louis classic that isn’t very common in the rest of the world. It was really cold out so we voted against the picnic lunch. (We brought food for lunches so we could avoid spending extra money by only eating out one meal a day) We decided to try the Italian restaurant – Charlies. We walked over since it wasn’t very far. Loved the food! It was amazing! Yummy and very garlicky! A bit pricey but delicious!
The scenery in Illinois and Missouri is very beautiful - full fall colors. The trees are green, yellow, orange, brown, red and all shades in between. Even the grass is colorful! The sunlight is very thin here. I packed away my sunglasses, might not need them for a while. After lunch we walked around downtown, tried to go see the toy museum but they were closed. The dog museum and Jefferson national monument were on the wrong side of town; by the time we got back to the car and thought of driving over they were closed. We are now headed to a hotel just past the city where we made reservations last night. The roads out here have lots of cracks in them – caused by expanding and contracting of the ice in winter. Most of the cracks are precut so they can control where it cracks.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Day 2
October 13 2009 Tuesday
Woke up at 8am, had breakfast and headed out. Aunt Stella went to work way before we were awake and Uncle Isaac was still asleep. The original plan was to have lunch in Chattanooga with Tim’s friends, but he couldn’t get a hold of them so we kept going. Georgia is beautiful, the weather is perfect, and the trees are just starting to show their fall colors – yellows and oranges with a few reds. Most of them are still green though. We are in the Smoky Mountains. Drove through Chattanooga into Tennessee then went to the Ruby Falls park. It’s a cavern with the nation’s tallest underground waterfall. (That’s accessible to the public.) Spectacular! We took a detour off the highway to Look Out Mountain to find the cavern entrance. The GPS lady yelled at us the entire time. “As soon as possible make a u-turn. You’re going the wrong way! Why won’t you follow my instructions! In .2 miles turn right, then make a u-turn – Recalculating!” Good thing the GPS is just a computer not a real person or it would have called us idiots. But then a real person would figure out we are taking a detour. If we were smart we would have just turned off the GPS instead of listening to it recalculate the entire way up the mountain.
I took some video of the falls, it was gorgeous. The water sparkles as it falls down and they had it all lit up with rainbow lights. We had to take an elevator 1000ft underground to get to the caves. I am almost out of video memory we need to buy more film. (The current dvd thing also has Disney on it, so there wasn’t much left.) We had a picnic lunch in the mountains. I love the scenery – very beautiful. Forest covered mountains in the background behind a blue haze. Some are shrouded in clouds and mist. There are lots of rounded tops and curvy hills. The mountains are covered in greenery with patches of yellow-green and orange. The highways are dotted with brilliant pink flowers. (phlox – which Mom says is a good scrabble word) The air is crisp and clear. The sun is still shining and the sky is lined with silver clouds.
The interstate is full of trucks – they seem to travel in groups. Packs of 6-8. The road is very curvy, but at least they kept it fairly level by cutting into the sides of mountains instead crossing over the top. It was a long boring drive the rest of the way to Paducah. I usually drive in the morning and evenings, mom does the afternoon driving. We finally made it, and are now in another time zone. I had to reset my car clock twice already. Once on the way to Georgia, we realized it was an hour off. (Probably from the last daylight savings change.) Then we switched time zones so I had to reset a second time. We are in central time now. I texted Laura on the drive to entertain myself. In Paducah we had dinner at a buffet place Tim recommended. It was ok, but not that great. I certainly did not eat $9 worth of food. We went to walmart and bought some food and more dvd tape things and colorful shoelaces for my shoes. Tim’s dogs fought over their bones.
Woke up at 8am, had breakfast and headed out. Aunt Stella went to work way before we were awake and Uncle Isaac was still asleep. The original plan was to have lunch in Chattanooga with Tim’s friends, but he couldn’t get a hold of them so we kept going. Georgia is beautiful, the weather is perfect, and the trees are just starting to show their fall colors – yellows and oranges with a few reds. Most of them are still green though. We are in the Smoky Mountains. Drove through Chattanooga into Tennessee then went to the Ruby Falls park. It’s a cavern with the nation’s tallest underground waterfall. (That’s accessible to the public.) Spectacular! We took a detour off the highway to Look Out Mountain to find the cavern entrance. The GPS lady yelled at us the entire time. “As soon as possible make a u-turn. You’re going the wrong way! Why won’t you follow my instructions! In .2 miles turn right, then make a u-turn – Recalculating!” Good thing the GPS is just a computer not a real person or it would have called us idiots. But then a real person would figure out we are taking a detour. If we were smart we would have just turned off the GPS instead of listening to it recalculate the entire way up the mountain.
I took some video of the falls, it was gorgeous. The water sparkles as it falls down and they had it all lit up with rainbow lights. We had to take an elevator 1000ft underground to get to the caves. I am almost out of video memory we need to buy more film. (The current dvd thing also has Disney on it, so there wasn’t much left.) We had a picnic lunch in the mountains. I love the scenery – very beautiful. Forest covered mountains in the background behind a blue haze. Some are shrouded in clouds and mist. There are lots of rounded tops and curvy hills. The mountains are covered in greenery with patches of yellow-green and orange. The highways are dotted with brilliant pink flowers. (phlox – which Mom says is a good scrabble word) The air is crisp and clear. The sun is still shining and the sky is lined with silver clouds.
The interstate is full of trucks – they seem to travel in groups. Packs of 6-8. The road is very curvy, but at least they kept it fairly level by cutting into the sides of mountains instead crossing over the top. It was a long boring drive the rest of the way to Paducah. I usually drive in the morning and evenings, mom does the afternoon driving. We finally made it, and are now in another time zone. I had to reset my car clock twice already. Once on the way to Georgia, we realized it was an hour off. (Probably from the last daylight savings change.) Then we switched time zones so I had to reset a second time. We are in central time now. I texted Laura on the drive to entertain myself. In Paducah we had dinner at a buffet place Tim recommended. It was ok, but not that great. I certainly did not eat $9 worth of food. We went to walmart and bought some food and more dvd tape things and colorful shoelaces for my shoes. Tim’s dogs fought over their bones.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Day 1
10-12-09 Monday
I am going to Oregon to stay with Aunt Meredith. I couldn’t get a job in Tampa so Oregon will hopefully have better luck. I’m taking my car and driving across the US. Mom is coming with me so I don’t have to drive alone. I made a plan of where we will stop along the way. Today is Day 1 and we just left FL, now entering Georgia. We are driving up with Tim as far as Paducah. Tonight we stop in Atlanta to stay with Aunt Stella and Uncle Isaac. We can’t arrive before 9pm because she has class until then. We have to stall for time along the way up so we don’t arrive to early. We stopped at a rest stop to eat a picnic lunch. We brought along a video camera, my regular camera and a whole carload of stuff. There is barely any space left in the car its packed so tight. I forgot my Publix peanut butter, my favorite brand. I don’t think Oregon has a Publix so I was going to bring some with me. We almost forgot the GPS, had to go back for it right before we got on the interstate. We are listening to the music on my ipod. My music library is about 3 days long so we will hear each song on average 3 times during the trip. We brought 2 plants with us as gifts. The one in back is getting sunburnt, which I did not realize could happen to plants. The Florida violet is upfront and we will see if it makes it with out being squished. I am going to miss everyone in Tampa, all my friends which took me almost 4 years to develop friendships. I have no idea when I will be back, maybe months, maybe years? Hopefully I won’t be away too long, I don’t like making friends and then never seeing them again and losing them. I will have to make new friends in Oregon, but I can still keep in touch with people in FL with facebook. It’s raining now. I put rainex on my windshield before leaving and so the rain beads up and flies off. It’s very cool to watch. We are passing cottonfields on the right. They are actually kind of pretty, fields of white flowers. Mom does not like my Down With the Sickness Song.
So we arrived at Aunt Stella’s. We stopped at High falls on the way. It’s between Macon and Atlanta, a state park near a dam in the river. Very beautiful waterfall. There were some geese and a boardwalk, except that you couldn’t get to the boardwalk. It went out over the water and had a little sign explaining something, but it was not attached to dry land. There was a huge ditch in the way filled with water and no bridge to connect the boardwalk. We then stopped at a pizzeria for dinner. The food was ok, but not great and the building was outfitted rather cheaply. The weather here is beautiful, nice and cool but not too cold. I had to wear shoes and socks, not barefoot kind of weather. We gave the Fl violet to Aunt Stella.
I am going to Oregon to stay with Aunt Meredith. I couldn’t get a job in Tampa so Oregon will hopefully have better luck. I’m taking my car and driving across the US. Mom is coming with me so I don’t have to drive alone. I made a plan of where we will stop along the way. Today is Day 1 and we just left FL, now entering Georgia. We are driving up with Tim as far as Paducah. Tonight we stop in Atlanta to stay with Aunt Stella and Uncle Isaac. We can’t arrive before 9pm because she has class until then. We have to stall for time along the way up so we don’t arrive to early. We stopped at a rest stop to eat a picnic lunch. We brought along a video camera, my regular camera and a whole carload of stuff. There is barely any space left in the car its packed so tight. I forgot my Publix peanut butter, my favorite brand. I don’t think Oregon has a Publix so I was going to bring some with me. We almost forgot the GPS, had to go back for it right before we got on the interstate. We are listening to the music on my ipod. My music library is about 3 days long so we will hear each song on average 3 times during the trip. We brought 2 plants with us as gifts. The one in back is getting sunburnt, which I did not realize could happen to plants. The Florida violet is upfront and we will see if it makes it with out being squished. I am going to miss everyone in Tampa, all my friends which took me almost 4 years to develop friendships. I have no idea when I will be back, maybe months, maybe years? Hopefully I won’t be away too long, I don’t like making friends and then never seeing them again and losing them. I will have to make new friends in Oregon, but I can still keep in touch with people in FL with facebook. It’s raining now. I put rainex on my windshield before leaving and so the rain beads up and flies off. It’s very cool to watch. We are passing cottonfields on the right. They are actually kind of pretty, fields of white flowers. Mom does not like my Down With the Sickness Song.
So we arrived at Aunt Stella’s. We stopped at High falls on the way. It’s between Macon and Atlanta, a state park near a dam in the river. Very beautiful waterfall. There were some geese and a boardwalk, except that you couldn’t get to the boardwalk. It went out over the water and had a little sign explaining something, but it was not attached to dry land. There was a huge ditch in the way filled with water and no bridge to connect the boardwalk. We then stopped at a pizzeria for dinner. The food was ok, but not great and the building was outfitted rather cheaply. The weather here is beautiful, nice and cool but not too cold. I had to wear shoes and socks, not barefoot kind of weather. We gave the Fl violet to Aunt Stella.
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