Day Nine - Driving and South Dakota

Day 8 – Wednesday, June 27th – A mostly uneventful day. Lots of driving. We decided to take our time out of the hotel in Cody because it offered everything and was very comfortable. WE finally got out of there about 10 am and decided to stop at a couple of stores in Cody. The highlight of those stores – AND maybe the entire trip – FOR ME – was stopping at the fireworks warehouse. I think I could have spent a thousand dollars in there. They had all the types of firecarackers I used from when I was a kid. A little reminiscent. Look out Platte Lake – you are going to see some fireworks this year. Anyway after that we got some cowboy hats for the kids and some Buffalo Jerky for the parents – hmmm good. From there it was just a long drive – about 7 hours onto Custer. We passed through a small town called Upton which claimed - very boastfully I might add - to be the best place on earth. Hmm - the first thing you see upon passing upton - is a junkyard. Yeah - I don't think so. Near Sheridan we passed over the Custer mountains – very beautiful with about a 10,000 foot peak and rocky grassland all around. I guess this is where they were when they Rode the High Country. The drive down was a twisty turnny pretzel of a highway – with everyone asleep in the car I somehow made it through. Laura took over from there and we literally jetted across Wyoming. Some very majestic countrysides for certain. We got to the hotel around 6:30 and we instantly went to the pool. It was a pizza dinner and then quiet time. The kids were particularly good today. Just playing and sleeping in the car. I think they are used to the routine. Although Sammie asks everyday – “Are we on the way to Michigan yet?” Very sweet.

Tomorrow we will go to Mt. Rushmore and to a local indoor hot springs pool called Evans Plunge with Water slides and fun for the kids. Should be a fun afternoon. The weather has cooled down quite a bit and we are enjoying the milder tempatures. Of course it helps that we now have clean clothes as well. Til tomorrow.

What we learned today – Uptown is the best town on earth; Buffalo Bill was commissioned by the government to make a city so that people would think the West was inhabitable, Buffalo Jerky is good, Cody is a cute little tourist town – but expensive. The drive from Yellowstone to Cody and from Cody to Custer, SD – is very beautiful. Classic views of the old West.

Day Eight - YellowStone and Cody

Tuesday, June 26th – We decided in the morning as we were driving away from our Dust Bowl of a campsite that a) we were glad that we would not be camping again on our trip, b) we were disappointed in Yellowstone, and c) that the morning after camping you wake up tired, cranky, and dirty. While conversely when you stay at a hotel you wake up refreshed, clean, and rarin to go. The bottom line – camping with young kids in a dusty site like the one we had was very difficult. We were up early and it was COLD. We had used all of our wood the night before and we also had a very cranky Lucas baby. He would not stop crying until we changed his pants (duh). Then packing the car was again stressful and we were finally on the road again by 10. Lucas was instantly asleep in the car and we headed north to see the Tower Falls. When we got there – mob scene. People everywhere. We hiked down saw the falls (moderately pretty) and bought some souvies and took off. On the way we passed Bear country – we didn’t see any Bears but there were hundreds of people stopped with binoculars salivating at the chance to see one. An interesting site. Then we began our trip out of the park. It was about 12pm and it took us (really) 4 hours to reach the East entrance of the park. Not all of it was bad and actually if you have to go to Yellowstone definitely do the final few things we did. See the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It was incredible. We stopped at various view points and took shots of the upper and lower falls. At this point both kids were done and just sat in the car as Laura and I took turns running to the viewpoints – leaving the car running so Sammie wouldn’t have to pick up the “complicated” story line that runs through Barbie’s Princess and the Pauper (sarcasm here in case you didn’t hear it in my voice). These views were the highlights of the trip to Yellowstone. Then while on the road to our picnic spot we ran into a herd of Buffalo crossing the road. This created a monstrous traffic jam – but we did get some cool pictures without getting out of the car. It also gave me the cold sweats as it reminded me of sitting in traffic waiting to get through the Caldecott tunnel. We finally got on the exit road and started to skirt the Yellowstone Lake – an immense and beautiful lake. Very scenic – which prompted a very prominent water engineer I know to say – “This is the most beautiful lake I have ever seen.” We ate lunch next to it and got on the road to get out of the park. Then we hit the road construction. We sat in a line of cars for about 30-40 minutes waiting to go through and then we had to follow a pace car for the nearly 15 mile length (!!) of the construction. Just painful and by the time we left the park we sadly decided that we most likely would not go there again. The next 60 miles went by quickly and we got to our hotel in Cody. I don’t know how we did it – but this hotel had it all. Parking near the room, first floor, laundry (yes we did six loads), pool (indoor!), dvd player, fridge. Again the pool was much needed and we all cleaned ourselves up and went out to dinner. Laura and I commemorated Buffalo Bill by have a burger from his namesake. Quite tasty. A long day and more than anything we learned that we are no longer roughin it campers. We like our Starbucks and cushy beds (even more so the kids like their pools which make it easier on us). We now are heading east and expect to roll the Pathfinder over 100,000 miles in South Dakota – our next stop.

Our advice: Don’t go to Yellowstone and if you must – camp or stay in either the Tetons park or Jackson and drive in for a day. It is just a mob scene there and the Tetons are MUCH less crowded and more enjoyable. If you do go WHATEVER you do DO NOT GO IN OR OUT OF THE EAST ENTRANCE. It was painful.

What we learned today – Cody is strange. Sadly we most likely won’t be going back to Yellowstone. Yellowstone Lake is the largest natural mountain lake in the country. Sunflower seeds cause canker sores. I converted Laura into a “seeder.”

Best unintentional comedy moment of the day – Lucas in the back seat while waiting to get through the Yellowstone roadblock sneezes. He has a graham cracker in his hand and has been eating it. With the sneeze a nice solid booger lands on his lip. Laura and I turn in horror and react as we always do – diving for the Kleenex box – “No Lucas…” Then we watched in horror as he kept chewing his cracker and then licked his lips adding the snot to his meal. The look on his face was not much different from Karl Spaeckler’s face when he ate the Baby Ruth in CaddyShack. No big deal. Very funny.

Footnotes - Deux

More from Sammie's Camera:

Day Seven - Tetons and Yellowstone

Monday – June 25th – we actually slept in quite late (7am). The cabin beds were very comfortable. The morning slipped away quickly and again the most stressful part of the trip was packing the car and getting on the road. We managed to do this by about 9am and were headed out to Jenny Lake to take a boat ride and a short hike. The boat ride was very nice – about 20 minutes across a small alpine lake with incredible views of the Tetons behind us. Lucas and Sammie enjoyed the ride. We were a little skeptical about the hike to come – not knowing what to expect from Sammie. The hike was about .60 of a mile up a rocky trail to get to the Hidden Waterfall. Sammie was a true champion and we could see her confidence rise as she walked further on the trail. By the end she wanted nothing to do with holding our hands – “I can do it!” We were very proud of her. On the way down Lucas fell fast asleep in the backpack and even slept through the boat ride back. It was a real treat for all of us. Sammie also made friends with another family on the way down the hike. They had a 2 ½ yr old and a 6 week old. She chatted them up and wanted to know why he was a daddy but had long hair and a pony tail. By the time we got back across Jenny Lake in the boat, EVERYONE on the boat knew our life story (…moving to Michigan, cousins named Olivia and Chloe, mommy had a tummy bug at the Grand Canyon…). After Jenny Lake we jumped back on the road and had lunch at the Jackson dam – with a perfect view of the Tetons – maybe the best lunch spot EVER. Then on to Yellowstone.


Where to begin? As Don Henley once said “Call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.” Maybe it was because we went to the aesthetically pleasing Tetons first – but Yellowstone and it’s Martian landscapes, stinky sulpher pits, unbelievable crowds (more crowded than Grand Canyon – midweek), traffic jams, road work, and enormity – just left us with a bad taste in our mouth. First of all the park is maybe three times the size of the Tetons. We were driving for a long time just to get to Old Faithful. On the way we passed the Continental Divide and officially became Easterners. We noticed right away that this park was MUCH more crowded than the Tetons – and to us it just wasn’t as pretty – just more vast and the landscape was grey and ugly (this was on the eastern geyser basin drive). By the time we got to Old Faithful Sammie was practically jumping out of her seat. There were maybe 1000 people to see Old Faithful blow off some steam. Bor-ring. IT blows about once every 70 minutes and we got lucky and arrived with about 10 minutes to go. After a couple of fake ones it finally went off. Kind of cool if we were alone – but with all the people it just sucked the soul right out of it. The picture of Laura above pretty much sums it up. Then the ensuing traffic jam was worse than the exodus from a rock concert. Just painful. Both of us were just frazzled – made worse when there was another traffic jam on the way to the campsite and it turned out to be a grisly auto accident – a Toyota Highlander upside and crushed on the road. Yikes. We finally got to the campsite and it turned out we were in this incredibly small site in between two families who were friends – their kids running back and forth in our site. The site was just plain dusty and barren from the ten thousand families that had stayed there before us and ground the rocks to dust. In 10 minutes Lucas and Sammie looked like Dick Van Dykes kids from Mary Poppins. A quick dinner of toasted cheese and tomato soup. Then the fire and TWO whole smores for Sammie. She gobbled them down. The other thing we noticed is that it was increasingly colder – which prompted me to ask Laura again how cold it was going to be in Michigan. We all bundled up and hunkered down in the tent. Lucas slept a little better – and we all got a decent night sleep. I wrote half of the blogs from the past two days sitting at the campsite picnic table with the smoke of the fire wafting over me and stinging me eyes. Kind of cool.

Quote of the day from Sammie: Mom: “Well Sam most of the time mountain lakes are very cold.” Sammie: “You’re tellin’ me!”

Another favorite Sammie quote: “Are you on Vacation? We aren’t on vacation, we’re moving.”

What we learned today: If you want to see Old Faithful – just go to Disneyland and ride the Matterhorn instead. It is much more exciting and there will probably be less people. Go to the Tetons instead. Laura learned that Oregon fans are EVERYWHERE. Both Sammie and Lucas had Oregon gear on and no less than 6 people commented on how they were from Oregon during our trip to Jenny Lake. Sweet – Ducks Baby. We are not desert people. Sorry Dad.

Day Six - The Grand Tetons

Day Six - Sunday, June 24th – Not even knowing what day it was we got up kind of late (we needed the rest and so did the kids) and got on the road by about 10 am. We fought Stella the whole way on which route to take and of course we won – the scenic route over the back side of the Tetons. As we drove on the scenery changed from the scorched desert to the green mountains – it was a welcome change. By the time we began heading East Laura was smiling and must have said “This is gorgeous!” about 100 hundreds times as we climbed up the back side into Jackson Hole. We hit the summit and Sammie was eager to get out of the car and snap some pictures – unfortunately we lost her shots because she was goofing with “The RED button” – don’t ask. We decided to go to Teton Village – where the main Jackson Hole ski resort is – and take the Tram to the top. The kids absolutely loved the ride and the views were phenomenal. Lucas stood at the window and grunted the whole way up and down. Laura and I decided that we were going to visit Jackson Hole again – just a very cool place – tons of mountain biking and lots of activities in either summer or winter. Once down we headed into the Grand Teton Park and got our first views of the summits. They were, of course, beautiful – about 5 or 6 peaks just jutting up out of the landscape with crystal blue lakes at their base. Just breathtaking – unless you are a 5 year old – then Barbie and the Princess and the Pauper is what takes your breath away. We got to our Tent Cabin about 7pm – it was a VERY cool site (when I went in to the rental office, I rented the cabin from a carbon copy of Jim from “The Office”.). We were excited to know we could have a fire – so was Sammie – as it means Smores – and as far as camping goes that is IT for her. Also we could keep our food in the car and actually forage for wood on the valley floor – both of which are illegal in bear country in California. Anyways the campsite was cozy and very comfortable. Sammie greeted it by dancing and serenading the cabin with a random song for about 20 minutes while trying to keep Lucas at arms length. She also picked up the tent broom and swept around like a little mouse. Needless to say they were excited to be out of the car. We ended the night with an excellent dinner of hot dogs and quesadillas – rounded out by smores and a nice little fire. All in all an excellent day. The kids were good and we were excited for our prospects to see some of the Tetons the next day and get on into Yellowstone.
What we learned today –
Laura likes the mountains MUCH more than the desert.
The Continental Divide is not at the Grand Tetons.
Moose climb ski hills in the summertime

Day Five - Arches and Salt Lake

Saturday, June 23 - after enduring about 4 days in the extreme heat with NO CELL phone coverage - we finally are starting to make our way North and cool down a bit. We started at Dead horse Point bright and early and the minute we were awake the attack of the Gnats and the Ants began again. Needless to say Laura and I broke everything down and got ready to go as if the campsite was going to explode - one more minute with the Ants and we were going to strangle each other. By 9:30 AM we were in the The Arches National Park. This is an incredibly large park and we spent the better part of the next 4 hours driving through the different areas and viewing some truly awe-inspiring pinnacles and landscapes right out of Planet of the Apes. The highlights were walking with everyone around the balanced rock (Sammie counted every footstep around the entire trail) (see even you are rolling your eyes - but yes it was cute - for about the first few minutes...). The other highlight was walking with Lucas on my shoulders up to the trail to Windows Arch. Truly amazing and every few feet Lucas would point and say "Ooh". After that we went and had a picnic lunch under a tree in the BLAZING HEAT. Another scorcher. I had overstayed my welcome and Lucas fell fast asleep after lunch so we quickly headed on our way. For most of the rest of the day we traversed Utah with Lucas sleeping and Sammie watching her beloved Barbie Princess movies. Another day where the kids were great and did a good job in the car. By the time we made it to Utah it was about 5:30 pm and even though it was still hot it was no longer the desert heat and getting in the pool was like jumping into a cool glass of water - washing away the dirt and silt of two days in the desert. Plus it was back to civilization for at least a day AND cell phone coverage as I called a few of you tonight. We went out for dinner and the kids were revenous so it was an easy dinner - Lucas ate every vegetable put in front of him - zucchini, carrots, cailiflower. He drew the line at pickles though and then opted for the fries.

Next stop is the Grand Tetons tomorrow night and then Yellowstone for a night before we head to Cody. Most likely we will not have Internet for the next few nights so you won't see anything until Tuesday night most likely. Talk to you soon...

What I learned today: Laura knows the address of the house I grew up in, John D. Rockefeller bought the land and gave it to the US Gov that is now The Grand Tetons National Park; Lucas LOVES vegetables; Utah is big and hot.

Day Four - Monument Valley and a Dead Horse

Friday, June 22nd - Day Four. After a good night sleep we got an early start out of the Grand Canyon. We had a quick stop to do a couple of final photos and shot out of there. Another riduculously hot day and you could see the crowds already teeming for the weekend. We were glad to get out of there. Our next stop was Moab, Utah for some groceries. To get there we drove through the Navajo Nation and through Monument Valley - some large stone monoliths jutting out of the landscape. A precursor of what was to come. Again the kids were pretty good travelers. Not much complaining - just the knowledge that driving was actually the easy part - the co-pilot job was much more difficult - as Laura dubbed it - "The Tour Director" - two words are all you need to know - binky and movies. We had a lunch stop in BLuff, Utah and had lunch there. Lucas was the hero as he greeted EVERYONE that walked through the door. The Navajo frybread was delicious - if not compltely fattening. After about 6 hours we made it to Moab around 6pm with the one hour time change. Moab was hot and not the town we had expected. Everyone was very leathery there - and it was very touristy. We got some directions, got our groceries and were out of there. The drive up to Dead Horse Point campground was beautiful and we got to our campground around 7pm. The campsite was up quickly and Laura had the Hot Dogs and CousCous going. Only problem is that we were OVERRUN with the biggest ants you ever saw AND the gnats were EVERYWHERE. Luckily nothing was biting or these city folk would have been out of there. Anyways we rushed through dinner and got up to Dead Horse Point just in time to see the sunset. Maybe the highlight of the trip so far. Just EPIC views - even Sammie was quiet (for maybe a few minutes anyways). No wind and so quiet it was amazing.

We got back to the campsite right as the sun went down and miraculously the bugs were gone and so were the gnats. A short reprieve. The tent held our Aero bed and enough room for a sleeping pad. So Lucas slept between us and Sammie slept next to us on the pad. She was out like a light - but Lucas flopped around half the night like a fish - painful for us but cute in its own way to. Anyway it was a long day and we were excited to hit Saturday running to see the Arches and head up to Salt Lake.

What we learned today: Not all red ants bite, Lucas can move like a fish, the desert is dry and hot, we ARE city folk, and caterpillars CAN make you jump.

Good Sammie Quotes: anytime we see a body of water - "Ooh is that Platte Lake?" Anytime we see anything - "Are we in Yellowstone yet?"

Footnotes - first few days

Classic quote number one: on Wednesday night after a long day we are sitting in the restaurant surrounded by people and Sammie belts out at the top of her lungs:

"So Dad do you have a job yet?" Needless to say Laura and I burst out laughing.

Dispatches from Sammie's camera #1:



Picture #1 - don't ask.
#2 - observe Lucas
#3 - no I'm not vain
#4 we'll work on framing later....

Day Three - Grand Canyon Deux

Thursday, June 21st - Day 3 - it started very early as Lucas and I got up with the sun and tried to figure out the bussing system at the Grand Canyon. I missed our bus twice and Lucas I'm sure learned some new words for his burgeoning vocabulary. He was a stout little hiker though. We put him in our little carrier and he was quiet the whole hike. I had a little mirror so I could check on him and each time he was staring out into the canyon. He seems destined to be an outdoorsman of some type. Anyways he was a little star on the trip and not a person went by me that didn't have a comment on how cute he was. Meanwhile Sammie and Laura stayed at the hotel and waited out Laura's sickness - when I got back we were pool bound (mermaids and diving) and then went to see the IMAX movie about the Grand Canyon that was right around the corner from us. Sam and Lucas both enjoyed it greatly. We decided that we should have one more attempt at a hike with all of us - to see if we could get Sammie on the trail. With a little bit of bribery, smoke and mirrors, and few white lies, Sammie found herself about 1 mile away from our bus stop on one of the most beautiful viewpoints in the park (the shot with Sammie and Laura below). Some truly amazing vistas there and after the movie I think the enormity of it was sort of driven home to Sammie.

The trail back to the bus stop was rather interesting and kind of backfired on us. Sammie was a little trooper (a princess in hiking boots if there ever was one) but the trail essentially was hugging the cliff with major drop-offs. Needless to say Laura and I were ready to get off that trail and have a beer ASAP. The hike ended without any mishaps and we got some tremendous pictures of the canyon. We were passed on the trail by a young college student who was a ranger and Sammie tried to make her slow down so we could follow her. Pretty funny how Sammie was chatting her up. Then we had dinner at a cafe in the park that nearly ruined our entire experience for the day - very crowded and Lucas turned into a baby gorilla throwing everything that came near him. He is cute MOST of the time. Tomorrow we pack up and head out to Utah for camping at Dead horse Point State Park right outside of Moab. It should be about a 6 hour drive to get there.

The Grand Canyon was spectacular and I think even our kids gained an appreciation for it. My hike with Lucas was definitely the highlight. Even with all the packing and unpacking and trudging gear, so far, it has been more than worth it.

What we learned today: Lucas likes to hike. Lucas likes Teddy Grahams. Lucas likes food. Sammie likes to swim.

..til tomorrow...

Day Two - The Grand Canyon

Day Two - the Grand Canyon - Wednesday, June 20, 2007.

We had a surprisingly quick start out of Barstow around 8:30 AM and everything confirmed our beliefs that we will NEVER be recommending BARSTOW for ANYTHING. Gas was 3.69 a gallon - even more expensive than the Bay Area! Plus the Mojave desert is just barren - only thing it would be good for is as a hiding place if the Russians attack (Red Dawn reference). Unfortunately (most likely too much info here but this is a blog so this is what you get) our family has been hit with a stomach bug - I had it last week, Sammie had it the first couple of days and now Laura came down with it today. We are not looking forward to Lucas having this - trust me. The drive today was about 6 hours - our new portable GPS system - which we have decided to call Stella - was particularly bored today because the road was straight and hot. We made it to our hotel by about 3 pm and promptly jumped into the pool amidst accents from several different countries. Sammie is swimming fearlessly now and will swim in water over her head without any supervision. She has come a long way - but still refuses to play mermaids with me. After the pool we went to over to the Grand Canyon and I learned that I am not as patient as I thought (the picture above was taken by a tourist after about the 6th try - as my mother always said - patience is a virtue). Honestly I think the best picture of the canyon we got was of Lucas picking his nose. I will save that one for only those who request it. After a few minutes of viewing one of the 7 WONDERS OF THE MODERN WORLD Sammie was asking to go back to the hotel and that her feet were tired of walking - not a surprise. Needless to say she won't be making much of a hike tomorrow (I think the IMAX movie is in her future). Unfortunately Lucas doesn't have a choice. We brought the backpack and tomorrow I am going to take him into the canyon for a short hike. We plan on doing some other things around the canyon and then head out for camping on Friday. Our hotel room for the next two nights is on the first floor - thank goodness - makes for the unpacking ritual to be much easier.

What we learned today - Barstow still sucks. Sammie does not like to hike. The Tusayan Cafe serves Black Butte Porter (nice!). Germans like Quesadillas.

More tomorrow. We look at each other daily and can't believe that this trip is not going to loop back to California. Michigan here we come....

FYI - our house closed and the money is in the bank. YAHOO!!

Day One - Barstow

Tuesday, June 19th – Day One - We got off a little earlier than planned at around 10:30 and said Goodbye to the town where we began our little family. Maybe a little nostalgic but not too sad to be leaving – just excited to get going. Not 30 minutes into the trip we had already used 10 wipes on Lucas and Sammie had asked – no kidding – at least twice – are we in Michigan yet? Yikes! A lot of juggling but we arrived in Barstow in about 7 hours with a couple of stops. It was about 105 here today. Sammie and Lucas were good kids for most of the trip – but as we crossed the Mojave (no gas stations for miles) with maybe 30 minutes within our destination we hear the dreaded “I have to go potty.” So Sammie crossed her legs and we jetted on into Barstow. As we checked in Sammie continued to bounce while at the same time telling the clerk our life story. Anyways no accidents – and the pool was next with a couple of beers for daddy. We ended up eating at a strange diner called Peggy Sue's that was a relic of Old route 66 – food wasn’t great but we loved the décor. What we learned on day one: unpacking and packing the car over and over again is going to be unpleasant. Before this is over I AM going to be Chevy Chase in Vacation. Barstow is not a place we would recommend anyone settling down in.