Well, since the trip is winding down, I thought I'd ask everyone what they liked best, and here are their picks:
- India liked hiking the Colorado National Monument in Grand Junction and white water rafting.
- Noah had a hard time picking his favorites, but he chose white water rafting, hiking the
National Monument (copy-cat) and playing in the game room at the Grand Junction RV park.
- Ezra liked white water rafting, wind surfing, just being in the Hood River area and rollerblading. Falling while rollerblading, um, not so much. (But hey, the cast is off and all is well! Hurrah!!!)
- Judah's favorite was playing Buffalo Peak Golf Course in La Grande, Oregon. His second favorite was golfing at the Cedar's at Dungeness course in Sequim, Washington. Can you guess what his third, fourth and fifth picks were?!
- Gary liked floating in the Great Salt Lake and golfing with Judah.
- My favorites were white water rafting, smelling the air in Sequim, WA, eating blueberries we picked ourselves, walking the land just looking at the scenery, driving through Kanab, Utah and the Cache Valley, and having a veggie burger and fresh figs at Mother's Market in Hood River, Oregon. Sorry, there were just too many to choose from.
There was so much we did and have seen, and frankly, I'm not quite ready to quit. This country is so wide and varied and there are so many hidden gems that unless you really take the time, you'd never see a fraction of them. We're not even back yet, and already I want to do this again. I think I could sell the house, and just go exploring for a year. Yeah, it's cramped and some of us got a wee bit tense in the close quarters, (a WEE BIT??! um, I believe 'shoe box' was the term he used) but for the most part, it's been a fantastic ride. Even with all the trouble, what with the broken vehicles, broken RVs, broken arm (and broken bank account) . . . we all still have had really great fun.
Right now we are back in Salt Lake City, the nicest big city we've been to, with the nicest library and the nicest people. You can't beat it. The streets are so wide and clean and it's so easy to get around, it's just amazing. Here you have on one corner, an outdoor vegan hot dog vender, (I kid you not - and yes, we looked just a tad strange standing in line with people dressed head to toe in black leather with fire engine red mohawks, lip rings and tatoos. Why is it that all the health food nuts have to look - well - nuts?!) and just down the street there is a really great park with a wonderful farmer's market, further down is Whole Foods market and next door to it, is a Jamba Juice. AND - you're nestled in among these beautiful hills that are currently snow-capped, and, well, it's just beautiful. Not a bad place to spend a few days. :)
Last time we came here, we stayed at the same RV park, and they were having computer issues and Gary offered to fix it. He did, and the lady was so grateful, she wanted to give us a free night's stay, but we had already paid for the week and we were leaving the next day. So, when we stopped to check in yesterday, the lady remembered Gary and gave us a free night this time. That was sure nice of her. Hey, you know, there were a couple of other RV parks that could have used some computer help - maybe he should have looked into that a bit more . . .
Here are a few random observances:
-Always make sure the sewer hose is actually IN the sewer dump hole when you empty it.
-You know you are camping when falling leaves on the roof of your rv sound like a hail storm.
-Having a spare tire with you is a really good idea.
-Seashells do not remain intact when setting in the back of a pickup for 2,000 miles.
-An air mattress will deflate when changing elevation and going over mountains, except in Logan, Utah. Very strange.
-You can't believe everything the tour guide says. Did the Native Americans really scale a smooth rock wall, carrying a basket of deer meat up and down without ropes or ladders in the middle of winter? And those petroglyphs that they say the ancient Indians painted on those rocks - I guess I didn't know they came up with that hippy peace sign symbol, did you? I spose they also coined the phrase 'groovy man'. Um, maybe not.
-Just because an RV park says it has internet service doesn't mean it actually works. At all.
-There is a reason that used car/rv salesmen have bad reputations.
-When concrete meets bone, concrete wins.
-Cherries left hanging on the tree for 3 months are amazingly tasty.
-There actually is a place windier than South Dakota. Really.
-Sometimes Google maps is wrong. Very wrong. Trust us on this one.
-You really can do things you think you could never do because you thought you'd be too scared.
Here are some scary stats:
10 states
Over 6,000 miles
600 plus gallons of gas/diesel fuel
18 or so RV Parks
3 boxes of bandaids
8 new toothbrushes
At least 2000 pictures (Thank God for digital cameras)
Wow. A trip of a lifetime. This is a great country. Beautiful, diverse, majestic and an absolute brilliant picture of the awesomeness of the Creator - God. We have been blessed to be able to see a very, very small part of it.
Well, we should be getting back in a couple weeks, God willing. It'll be great to see everyone again, and the boys are really anxious to get back into the routine of their sports activties. Someone asked me if I was looking forward to getting back to my own bed, and well, I had to tell her that actually, I brought my bed with me! It's an air bed and even though it barely fit, I'm so glad it did. What I am looking forward to is having more than 7 shirts to wear, walking around the house without bumping into someone, or stepping on something, and having an oven that a pizza pan and a regular casserole dish actually fits in. I'm also looking forward to long walks in the country with Gary and sitting on my new patio listening to the birds. (yes, even in the winter, well, some days, anyway) Yeah, we're coming home just in time for the cold and snow. Really planned that out well, didn't we? :) That's okay. You know, you can visit other places, but you really get that aaaahhh moment when you get back home. South Dakota, here we come!
Well, we'll talk at you later. Have a great weekend everyone!!
Blessings,
jill and all
Friday, October 23, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
From fall to winter in three days . . .
Well. We woke up yesterday to our water in the RV completely frozen. The water hose was hard as rock. Thankfully, nothing busted. Weather's just a tad unseasonable here. We drove out in the country a ways, and there were inch thick icicles hanging from the fruit trees and the grass was frozen and looked like it was growing up in icey spikes from the ground. It was so bizarre. Beautiful, but very strange. This sudden cold has caused all the leaves to fall from the trees seemingly overnight, much to the boys delight. They have been disappearing in the piles they have made and quickly they'll pop up like 'Leaf Man' or something. Too much fun.
The hillsides are covered with this vine/tree kind of bush that is beginning to turn a deep, dark red. It is absolutely gorgeous. That, along with the brown of the barren land against the bright yellow of the cottonwood and the green of the pines; well, it's simply magnificent.
Can not believe the cold though. They already have a dusting of snow in the high hills around us. It is breathtaking, but gee whiz, it's not supposed to be this cold this early here. Sure is remarkable how wimpy we've already gotten being away from South Dakota. We're ready to head south. Way south. Like Arizona. But, we won't. We are headed a bit south the end of this week as India is taking her Calculus mid-term in the Tri-cities of Washington on Friday. (God willing) It will be a bit warmer there, but they are having a cold snap too. Oh, what was that? Al Gore groaning in confusion?? MMM.
We drove up to the Grand Coulee Dam yesterday. Wow. Pretty amazing. We were too late in getting there to take a tour, which was sad to everyone but me. The thing terrifies me. One guy told us that when he took the tour and stood on the top, he could feel it shake when the turbines were running. Okay, I do not need to experience that. That and the fact of it being 500 feet high and my being extremely afraid of heights, well, that just does not sound like an enjoyable afternoon. I mean, that's a loooong way down there. Can you say, 'gulp'? Come on, isn't there a video you can watch about it in the comforts of your own living room or something? It's got to be on youtube - right??
Well, better run. Making lentil soup today and chili tomorrow. Hey, we have to stay warm somehow!!!! You know, that's actually a pathetic thing to say when it's currently only 42 degrees, isn't it? I know. Maybe we're just getting soft out here listening to the natives. There was a lady from western Oregon complaining about the cold and their 'long' winters they have over there. She wasn't looking forward to it getting down to 50 degrees, she whined. Good grief. Well, I guess it's all in what you're used to.
Anyway, have a great week, everyone!
Blessings,
jill and all
The hillsides are covered with this vine/tree kind of bush that is beginning to turn a deep, dark red. It is absolutely gorgeous. That, along with the brown of the barren land against the bright yellow of the cottonwood and the green of the pines; well, it's simply magnificent.
Can not believe the cold though. They already have a dusting of snow in the high hills around us. It is breathtaking, but gee whiz, it's not supposed to be this cold this early here. Sure is remarkable how wimpy we've already gotten being away from South Dakota. We're ready to head south. Way south. Like Arizona. But, we won't. We are headed a bit south the end of this week as India is taking her Calculus mid-term in the Tri-cities of Washington on Friday. (God willing) It will be a bit warmer there, but they are having a cold snap too. Oh, what was that? Al Gore groaning in confusion?? MMM.
We drove up to the Grand Coulee Dam yesterday. Wow. Pretty amazing. We were too late in getting there to take a tour, which was sad to everyone but me. The thing terrifies me. One guy told us that when he took the tour and stood on the top, he could feel it shake when the turbines were running. Okay, I do not need to experience that. That and the fact of it being 500 feet high and my being extremely afraid of heights, well, that just does not sound like an enjoyable afternoon. I mean, that's a loooong way down there. Can you say, 'gulp'? Come on, isn't there a video you can watch about it in the comforts of your own living room or something? It's got to be on youtube - right??
Well, better run. Making lentil soup today and chili tomorrow. Hey, we have to stay warm somehow!!!! You know, that's actually a pathetic thing to say when it's currently only 42 degrees, isn't it? I know. Maybe we're just getting soft out here listening to the natives. There was a lady from western Oregon complaining about the cold and their 'long' winters they have over there. She wasn't looking forward to it getting down to 50 degrees, she whined. Good grief. Well, I guess it's all in what you're used to.
Anyway, have a great week, everyone!
Blessings,
jill and all
Monday, October 5, 2009
Autumn has come to central Washington . . .
It's beautiful here. The leaves are turning and falling and the very green grass is littered with a carpet of gold. (aahh) We are in a cozy little RV park next to the river and except for the trains that run all night, and the loud traffic, it's quite nice. :) The park has bikes to use and so the children have been riding around, and there is a bright yellow tandem bike from the 50's that they have had a blast on. There is a rec room with a couple of exercise machines, one of which is one of those vibrating machines - you know - where you put a strap around your waist, turn it on and it jiggles the fat off and rattles your teeth in the process. Hysterical. And there are a ton of books and videos to use for free - you just take what you want and bring it back when you're done. You do that with the game/sports equipment as well. It's the old honor system. Gee, that still exists? Amazing. And refreshing. Great owners - they are wonderful.
Ezra turned 12 yesterday and of course, he had his favorite meal of tacos. That's one day out of the year I never have to wonder about what to fix. I do believe he'd eat tacos every meal, every day for the rest of his life and be perfectly content!
And it's now 2 weeks and counting for the cast to come off. That is, if he doesn't break it again jumping off the RV or trying to climb trees! (worried mother rolls eyes in frustration)
Here's a little piece of advice - when you're in the state of Washington - always wear shoes, and take a couple extra bike tires with you when you go for a ride. Why? Well, because of the goat heads. Yes, the goat heads. Does anyone remember 'stickers' growing up? You know, those little round size-of-a-pea kind of weed things that had sticky pricks all over it, and you were always worried going barefoot that you'd hit a patch or even just one stray one and it would stick into your skin and, well, OUCH! Anyway, multiply that by 10 and you got yourself a goat head. It's a - thing - with about 2 to 3 sharp points on it - kind of like the points on a tack and about that long. And they penetrate into - well - everything - like a knife. Just ask Gary, as his feet can testify to it. Or Judah, as his hands can atest to it. You find they really stick well to your shoes and to vehicle tires. And you also find they stick really well to bike tires - that is - bike tires on borrowed bikes. And you know what - it's not all that fun sheepishly walking that borrowed bike back to the office because BOTH tires are completely flat - on every single bike!! Rascally things, those goat heads.
So - have you ever heard of a library that has only 8 parking spots and 2 of those are handicap? And have you ever heard of an interstate being closed because of a dust storm so bad it hinders visibility? And have you ever driven around on roads that don't exist and probably haven't been driven on since the time of the Oregon trail and you wonder if you'll ever see civilization again or just end up covered in sand next to a broken wagon wheel? And then you rejoice when you finally find the real road you were supposed to be on and discover it was just a little ways down from where you started when you took the wrong turn and ended up driving in the barren hills for hours?
And have you ever had a woman in a blue jeep follow you all over town just because you pulled into her drive way to turn around because you were lost? No? Well, you just haven't lived!!
To explain: First of all, the map did show that the road continued on through her land - (which she admited to when I finally stopped to talk to her) - and she did have a gate that was open, that she could have closed if she didn't want people driving in her driveway. Right? That's what we thought. But, see we were a little concerned that someone called the FBI on us, because they saw us driving around and around in circles in the golf course parking lot the other night. See, we got one of those compass/thermometer/tacometer devices you plug in to the cigarette lighter and it displays all this wonderful information you just can't live without - as long as you can actually figure out what all the numbers mean, that is. Well, in order to calibrate the silly thing, you have to push the reset button and then drive around in a complete circle a couple times so it can get the directional thing set properly. Well, we tried it - let's just say - a couple - um, few -times that night and we kind of thought how strange it must look - this vehicle driving round and round in circles in the golf course parking lot - at night like that. You'd call NCIS or CSI or the CIA or some other crime solving cop agency thing - right?! So when blue jeep lady starts following us street after street - talking on her cell phone - we thought for sure it was the Feds and she was calling her backups. Turns out she's just sick and tired of people driving in her yard and decided to find out what we were doing. I was waiting for the AK-47 to pop out at any given moment, I gotta tell you. But, thankfully, all was explained and all was well. Except for the fact that we never did get the goofy compass device thing to work. We sent it back. Guess we'll just have to look to the stars to find out what direction we're going and guess how cold it is out. Hey, isn't that how they did it on the Oregon Trail??
Have a great week, everyone!
Blessings,
jill and all
Ezra turned 12 yesterday and of course, he had his favorite meal of tacos. That's one day out of the year I never have to wonder about what to fix. I do believe he'd eat tacos every meal, every day for the rest of his life and be perfectly content!
And it's now 2 weeks and counting for the cast to come off. That is, if he doesn't break it again jumping off the RV or trying to climb trees! (worried mother rolls eyes in frustration)
Here's a little piece of advice - when you're in the state of Washington - always wear shoes, and take a couple extra bike tires with you when you go for a ride. Why? Well, because of the goat heads. Yes, the goat heads. Does anyone remember 'stickers' growing up? You know, those little round size-of-a-pea kind of weed things that had sticky pricks all over it, and you were always worried going barefoot that you'd hit a patch or even just one stray one and it would stick into your skin and, well, OUCH! Anyway, multiply that by 10 and you got yourself a goat head. It's a - thing - with about 2 to 3 sharp points on it - kind of like the points on a tack and about that long. And they penetrate into - well - everything - like a knife. Just ask Gary, as his feet can testify to it. Or Judah, as his hands can atest to it. You find they really stick well to your shoes and to vehicle tires. And you also find they stick really well to bike tires - that is - bike tires on borrowed bikes. And you know what - it's not all that fun sheepishly walking that borrowed bike back to the office because BOTH tires are completely flat - on every single bike!! Rascally things, those goat heads.
So - have you ever heard of a library that has only 8 parking spots and 2 of those are handicap? And have you ever heard of an interstate being closed because of a dust storm so bad it hinders visibility? And have you ever driven around on roads that don't exist and probably haven't been driven on since the time of the Oregon trail and you wonder if you'll ever see civilization again or just end up covered in sand next to a broken wagon wheel? And then you rejoice when you finally find the real road you were supposed to be on and discover it was just a little ways down from where you started when you took the wrong turn and ended up driving in the barren hills for hours?
And have you ever had a woman in a blue jeep follow you all over town just because you pulled into her drive way to turn around because you were lost? No? Well, you just haven't lived!!
To explain: First of all, the map did show that the road continued on through her land - (which she admited to when I finally stopped to talk to her) - and she did have a gate that was open, that she could have closed if she didn't want people driving in her driveway. Right? That's what we thought. But, see we were a little concerned that someone called the FBI on us, because they saw us driving around and around in circles in the golf course parking lot the other night. See, we got one of those compass/thermometer/tacometer devices you plug in to the cigarette lighter and it displays all this wonderful information you just can't live without - as long as you can actually figure out what all the numbers mean, that is. Well, in order to calibrate the silly thing, you have to push the reset button and then drive around in a complete circle a couple times so it can get the directional thing set properly. Well, we tried it - let's just say - a couple - um, few -times that night and we kind of thought how strange it must look - this vehicle driving round and round in circles in the golf course parking lot - at night like that. You'd call NCIS or CSI or the CIA or some other crime solving cop agency thing - right?! So when blue jeep lady starts following us street after street - talking on her cell phone - we thought for sure it was the Feds and she was calling her backups. Turns out she's just sick and tired of people driving in her yard and decided to find out what we were doing. I was waiting for the AK-47 to pop out at any given moment, I gotta tell you. But, thankfully, all was explained and all was well. Except for the fact that we never did get the goofy compass device thing to work. We sent it back. Guess we'll just have to look to the stars to find out what direction we're going and guess how cold it is out. Hey, isn't that how they did it on the Oregon Trail??
Have a great week, everyone!
Blessings,
jill and all
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