Across America Part V

Last week we were leaving Yellowstone, and heading to visit some good friends in Lincoln, Montana, former home of Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. It's also the home to a whole town of great people who know how to celebrate the Fourth of July. Even though we didn't get there until July 7th, they were still celebrating with fireworks, a rodeo, and plenty of beer.

I don't have a lot of regrets in my life, but there is one that comes to mind - that I don't have a photo of Justin in the greased pig contest at the rodeo. Try to imagine about 20 little boys running around in the mud trying to catch a very fast and very slippery little pig that had been greased with lard, and as silly as the whole idea sounds, you'll have a good mental picture. No one was successful except for the pig who did not get caught.

We spend a wonderful few days with our friends, but there were 2,308 miles that we had to drive back east. Remember all those swimming pool photos we took heading westward? Here are some more on the way home, along with a few others for variety.

A stop in Sidney, Nebraska so the boys could "drive" boats in Cabela's parking lot:

Swimming in North Platte, Nebraska:

Riding a dinosaur in Des Moines, Iowa:

Excitement about catching a fish in Oxford, Iowa:

Swimming in Oberlin, Ohio:

And home, 5,856 miles later.

It really was an epic trip, one that I'm glad we took. John still teases me about buying another RV so the two of us can travel around the country when we retire. I haven't yet told him that this trip was really so wonderful, I might even consider doing it again.

Thanks for sticking with me for five installments of Across America!

Across America Part IV

Two weeks ago (before the scanner broke), we were just arriving at our primary destination - Yellowstone National Park.

My photos probably look a lot like those of thousands of other families (who may have all been visiting at the same time we were).

We saw thousands of acres of fire damage, but fire is necessary for rejuvenation, especially after decades of suppression.

The West Thumb Geyser basin has hundreds of hot springs, mud pots, and hydrothermal features.

Ryan continued to point out interesting features, like stumps on the shore of Yellowstone Lake. He wanted reprints

of all the stumps he had pointed out on the trip and made his own photo album that he called "Stumps of the West".

It even includes this rare and wondrous petrified wood stump at Mammoth Hot Springs.

Yellowstone Lake is huge, beautiful, and also where we learned about the Yellowstone Caldera.

There were times when the crowds got be a bit too much for all of us, so it was nice that the park also afforded plenty

 of places to pull over and do some quiet fishing. Some of us knit in between our duties as the official fish photographer.

The Grand View of Lower Falls was exactly that.

And of course we had to see Old Faithful. I was proud that after a ranger had explained some of the geology of the park

 to us at Yellowstone Lake, my kids understood that the eruption of Old Faithful was not caused by a ranger

 pushing a button and could explain this to the woman sitting next to us. 

We hiked and saw elk in velvet.

And buffalo up close. I took this photo from inside the RV because of this:

Yellowstone is beautiful and I'm glad we went, yet much of what I remember is crowds and traffic jams. We were there in early July, so crowds were to be expected. We didn't expect traffic jams, but we spent several hours sitting still in traffic every day of the four that we were there. Much of this was due to road construction and maintenance, and traffic also came to a complete standstill every time wildlife was sighted. All of this is understandable (and we were part of the crowds!), but I think I would not try to view Yelllowstone in a vehicle if I were to visit again. I would go in the fall and do more hiking.

One of my favorite times during our visit was when we got up really early on our last day and stopped by Norris Geyser Basin

 around sunrise. It was quiet, lovely, and we were the only one around besides the birds. Ah, solitude and beautiful views.

Next week: A rodeo and the race home.

Across America Part III

At the end of  last week, we had gotten up early and hit the road, heading for Wyoming. At the campground in Estes Park we had picked up a brochure about the great dinosaur collection at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs. Since we tried to break up the long drives with things that might interest the boys, we made a stop. What a great place!

They had a multitude of bones and fossils besides Triceratops and Xiphactinus Audax, and with plenty of opportunities for Ryan to point things out à la Vanna White, it was a really enjoyable time for all of us.

Another thing we liked to stop for was a good hiking opportunity. Here is Justin, nature observer extraordinaire, looking for wildlife on a hiking trail in Rock Springs.

After staying the night in Rock Springs, we headed to another great town in Wyoming, Jackson. We all loved the antler arches around the Town Square. Jackson Hole is home to the National Elk Refuge, and for more than 50 years the local Boy Scouts have helped to gather the antlers that the elk naturally shed over the winter. Some of these antlers are auctioned off and some have been used to build the iconic arches. Someday I'm going to visit Jackson Hole in the winter so I can see the thousands of live elk on the Refuge and not just shed antlers.

Now it's time for a true confession: I love fish hatcheries. I don't know why, but I find the idea and process of raising thousands of fish fascinating. When I saw the sign for the National Fish Hatchery in Jackson, we had to visit.

They raise trout (mainly cutthroat) for stocking waters in Wyoming and Idaho. We met a retired couple that were living there in an RV for the summer and volunteering at the hatchery. Who know, that might be us in five years or so!

I mentioned last week that Rocky Mountain National Park was one of my favorite National Parks, but Grand Teton National Park is also right up there in my top three. The views are stunning from almost every place in the park.

Snake River Overlook:

My all-time favorite family photo taken at Oxbow Bend:

And examining stumps and skipping stones at Jackson Lake:

It's a known fact that breakfast even tastes better if you eat it next to Mount Moran.

Next week: Yellowstone Ho! (I bet you thought we were never going to get there.) 

Across America Part II

Last week's installment featured our intrepid travelers making their way from New Jersey to Kansas, and more photos of them swimming than you may have wanted. Today we get to some of the good stuff we had driven more than 1,800 miles to see.

This view of the Rocky Mountains as we approached Denver excited all of us. I enjoy this same scene when I visit Ryan now, and I still get the same thrill whenever I see those snow-capped peaks.

We arrived at Spruce Lake RV Park in Estes Park, Colorado, and all of us were glad to spend the next few days doing things instead of sitting, driving, and spending seemingly endless days in the RV. Ryan and Justin leaped out of the RV, grabbed their bicycles we had strapped on the back, and headed off for a ride. We all fished, played miniature golf, and some of us shopped for groceries, prepared food, and drank Coors. 

We were beginners at this RV thing, so we we weren't confident enough in our driving ability to tow a car behind. That meant that every day we drove the RV to whatever sights we were going to see, but that worked well for a real jewel in our trip itinerary, Rocky Mountain National Park. We drove Trail Ridge Road, which traverses 48 miles between the Park's east and west sides, and provides incredible sweeping views as it gains more than 4,000 feet in elevation.

There are plenty of places to pull over, get out and hike to better appreciate the rapidly increasing elevation and changing terrain. We stopped at all of them.

Rainbow Curve:

Tundra Communities Trailhead:

and played in snow along Lava Cliffs.

Things got a bit worrisome around halfway when we reached the Visitors Center at 11,796 feet elevation. 

Ryan really did feel as bad as he looked. (Yes, I was that awful mother that took a photo of my child before I understood how much he was suffering and that it was a potentially serious situation.) A ranger told us he had altitude sickness and advised us to head back down to a lower elevation immediately, with plenty of stops for water along the way. 

The doctors at Timberline Medical told us the same thing. Altitude sickness happens when people don't acclimate to elevation and ascend too quickly. Even though Ryan now lives only 60 miles away from the park at an elevation of 5,000 feet, he still suffers from altitude sickness above 12,000 feet, as he found out when he tried to climb Grays and Torreys Peak a few years ago. Because we were really concerned about Ryan's headache, shortness of breath, dehydration, and confusion (approaching delirium!) we stayed at a lower elevation for the rest of our time in the park. There is so much to see that this was easy to do. 

Rocky Mountain National Park is one of my favorite National Parks, and Bear Lake is one of my favorite places in the park.

Ryan and Justin were trying to fool me into thinking that there was a bear behind me (there was not). Rangers do tell visitors to be aware of their surroundings and watch for bears, so it was nice to see that my kids had listened.

We spent three days in the park, which really isn't enough. I've been back at least a dozen times since then and never tire of the beauty. 

Last week I mentioned that one of the reasons I was hesitant about the trip was that I didn't want to do the same things I do at home, but have those things be harder to accomplish. I did still have to do laundry in the laundromat at the RV park before we left, but I had the excitement of seeing elk while I did it. That never happens at home!

Next week: on the road to Wyoming

Across America Part I

In my quest for something to write about, I decided that it was time to tell you the story of our drive across America. Where else can you read the thrilling story of a family fulfilling their dream of driving across the country in an RV to see the sights? Every Friday, I'll present a new installment of our epic 5,856 mile journey. It's sort of like a modern day Oregon Trail Game, except we didn't have to caulk the RV to float across the Kansas River and nobody died of dysentery.

John had always wanted to drive across the country in an RV, and I resisted this idea for a year or more. When we plan vacations, I always say that I don't want to do the same things I do at home and have doing them be more difficult. John pointed out that Justin and Ryan were 9 and 11 years old; this would be educational, fun, and a family-bonding experience, and if we put it off much longer, the boys wouldn't want to go with us at all, so I finally came around. We bought a used 23-foot RV, stocked it with all the comforts of home, and planned a trip to Yellowstone. On June 23, 2002 we left New Jersey and drove 240 miles to Bedford, PA. Our plan was to stay in campgrounds with pools so the boys would be happy and we could all relax after a day of driving.

Justin loved to "look for creatures", so he spent lots of time exploring and lifting up every rock he could find. This next photo is what a nine-year-old looks like after he has smashed his fingers under a very large rock. Don't these people look like they are ready to Let The Good Times Roll?

The next day we drove 430 miles to Greenfield, IN and swam again.

The third day we had some trouble with the RV, fixed it in a Walmart parking lot, but still did 500 miles to make it to Grain Valley, MO, where we swam once more.

June 26th found us 420 miles farther in Goodland, KS. We knew we were in Kansas by the combine on the overpass.

I'm sure swimming happened here, but just for some variety, here's a different type of picture from the pool.

Next week: We head further west and do some more interesting things besides driving and swimming. (Promise!)