'these are a few of my favorite things . . .'

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