Wednesday, August 09, 2017
Big summer Trip, Devil's Tower & Cody
Day 10 (Monday) - A long day of driving. We drove to Devil's Tower. We opted not to take the scenic route as we were worn out of driving. Just as well as there was a lot of road construction the route we took. At one point, we were just driving in dirt. No road at all, just following a "Follow Me" truck through dirt. We did eventually make it to Devil's Tower and it was really impressive. We were surprised that we got there quite a bit before my parents who went on a longer route, so we got some junior rangers and then we got our lunch and ate some. Once everyone was there, we went and walked the trail around Devil's Tower. The kids, especially Seth, loved the rock scrambling at the beginning. Seth was upset that we didn't let him hike even more. We had Noah in the stroller, and boy - that was one brutal hike with the stroller. It was pretty steep and I was completely worn out and faint by the end. The kids loved the hike, especially climbing on rocks and looking for climbers on the tower. We got some snacks, got the Junior Ranger badges and then headed back to the car for the drive to Cody.
The drive to Cody was pretty long, but quite scenic. I saw some pronghorn (I think everyone else missed it). The mountains were beautiful - pretty steep, but we didn't take the most scenic / super steep way. I couldn't get enough of the wildflowers - they were gorgeous. We got stuck behind a truck painting lines, so I figured we would be way behind my parents, but we all got to Cody pretty close to the same time.
Day 11 (Tuesday) - Cody
We first went to the Buffalo Bill museums. They had a wagon cooking food in the front, so we decided we'd definitely have to head over their for lunch. We started with the art museum. Or tried to. I had told the kids about the playground inside, I guess an unwise move, so we had to take Noah and Logan there first, while the others say the art museum. Then, we headed back to the art museum. It was really nicely done, plus they had a few nice kids exhibits - the kids spent a lot of time on the computer making their own artwork using pieces of art from the museum. Then, we went and the kids played more on the playground. Then, we went to see the Indian museum. Nicely done with lots of artifacts. We watched a little presentation on the native americans. It seemed like we kept losing Seth. Then, we played some more on the playground. At some point, we went and had our lunch outside and also sampled the muffins and beans from the wagon in front. Quite good. We went and saw the Buffalo Bill museum - very interesting as I knew very little about the man. The kids liked the interactive parts - especially where you could watch a show about his show and where you could play a boardgame that he made. Finally, we saw the natural history museum. The kids stamped a booklet at different places throughout the museum and really enjoyed that.
Dad wasn't feeling great, so he went back to the townhouse and the rest of us went to the Heart Mountain interpretive center. Noah fell asleep so we just pushed him around asleep in his stroller most of the time. They had a very nice film and also a very nice museum. I was quite impressed. Heart Mountain was one of the internment centers for the Japanese during World War II. The best part was the barracks showing what it looked like when they first got there and what it looked like once they settled in. The kids got bored quickly and were being kind of loud, but I think Katsu still got to enjoy his time there. Then, we went over and did a little walk around a memorial area where they pointed out different places. None of the original buildings were open (probably only one or two are still there). Then, we headed back to the townhouse for dinner.
After dinner, we hurried downtown to see the shoot-out at the Irma hotel. We got there just as it was starting and it was pretty crowded. It was pretty hokey, but the kids at least got to see a shoot-out. It was hard to hear the actors, but that's probably okay, because they weren't much of actors. Buffalo Bill must turn over in the grave every night when they play.
Cody was a lot of fun. The kids really enjoyed playing at the park close to the townhouse as well.
The drive to Cody was pretty long, but quite scenic. I saw some pronghorn (I think everyone else missed it). The mountains were beautiful - pretty steep, but we didn't take the most scenic / super steep way. I couldn't get enough of the wildflowers - they were gorgeous. We got stuck behind a truck painting lines, so I figured we would be way behind my parents, but we all got to Cody pretty close to the same time.
Day 11 (Tuesday) - Cody
We first went to the Buffalo Bill museums. They had a wagon cooking food in the front, so we decided we'd definitely have to head over their for lunch. We started with the art museum. Or tried to. I had told the kids about the playground inside, I guess an unwise move, so we had to take Noah and Logan there first, while the others say the art museum. Then, we headed back to the art museum. It was really nicely done, plus they had a few nice kids exhibits - the kids spent a lot of time on the computer making their own artwork using pieces of art from the museum. Then, we went and the kids played more on the playground. Then, we went to see the Indian museum. Nicely done with lots of artifacts. We watched a little presentation on the native americans. It seemed like we kept losing Seth. Then, we played some more on the playground. At some point, we went and had our lunch outside and also sampled the muffins and beans from the wagon in front. Quite good. We went and saw the Buffalo Bill museum - very interesting as I knew very little about the man. The kids liked the interactive parts - especially where you could watch a show about his show and where you could play a boardgame that he made. Finally, we saw the natural history museum. The kids stamped a booklet at different places throughout the museum and really enjoyed that.
Dad wasn't feeling great, so he went back to the townhouse and the rest of us went to the Heart Mountain interpretive center. Noah fell asleep so we just pushed him around asleep in his stroller most of the time. They had a very nice film and also a very nice museum. I was quite impressed. Heart Mountain was one of the internment centers for the Japanese during World War II. The best part was the barracks showing what it looked like when they first got there and what it looked like once they settled in. The kids got bored quickly and were being kind of loud, but I think Katsu still got to enjoy his time there. Then, we went over and did a little walk around a memorial area where they pointed out different places. None of the original buildings were open (probably only one or two are still there). Then, we headed back to the townhouse for dinner.
After dinner, we hurried downtown to see the shoot-out at the Irma hotel. We got there just as it was starting and it was pretty crowded. It was pretty hokey, but the kids at least got to see a shoot-out. It was hard to hear the actors, but that's probably okay, because they weren't much of actors. Buffalo Bill must turn over in the grave every night when they play.
Cody was a lot of fun. The kids really enjoyed playing at the park close to the townhouse as well.
Big Summer Trip, Black Hills
The Black Hills were beautiful and there was so much to do we could only see some of the best parts, but we had a great time.
Day 8 (Saturday) - We went first thing to Jewel Cave to pick up tickets. There was already going to be a long wait so we decided to buy tickets for late afternoon and to go see other things in the meantime. We did do a little hike around the cave visitor center for part of their junior ranger before we left. Andrew went with my parents and we all drove over to Mt. Rushmore. I totally went the wrong way when we got there and instead of getting in the short parking line got in the long parking line. Oh, well. We got in and met all up and got our lunches. We walked through the flags and took some pictures, picked up the Junior Ranger books, and then went and sat outside and ate lunch while admiring the view and looking at Mt. Rushmore. It was pretty crowded and no one was too keen on hiking around since the view seemed just fine from where we were at. So, we went around the museum a bit, watched the film, and finished up and got the kids Junior Ranger badges and then headed back to the car. Mt. Rushmore was pretty impressive, but the kids didn't seem to care too much, of course.
Andrew stayed with my parents and they went back to the rental and we decided to go see some of Custer State Park. The road from Mt. Rushmore takes you through the Iron Mountain Rd which is pretty crazy and has amazing scenery. They made this road specifically for the amazing scenery. There are 3 one-way tunnels that are meant to frame Mt. Rushmore and have a gorgeous view. There are pigtail curves and just crazy tiny curvy roads. I was paying tons of attention to my driving and I think we drove it backwards in terms of getting some of the beautiful views of Mt. Rushmore, but they were still gorgeous (maybe just a little less climatic, since we had already seen Mt. Rushmore). The tunnels made me nervous as from the other direction they were more or less blind, but hey, no one ran into us and we had a great time. We were kind of short on time, but we really wanted to see some wildlife, so we decided to go on the wildlife loop rd and just hope we got to Jewel cave on time. We did end up seeing wildlife - we saw some of the begging burros and we also saw a small herd of bison. Logan and Noah ended up sleeping most of the time so they missed it, but Seth (when he was looking up from his DS) got to see the wildlife.
We did, in fact, make it back to Jewel Cave on time. Katsu, Andrew, and Seth went on the more advanced tour which was longer. They had a great time, though of course, Seth wasn't paying very good attention and ran into the wall where there is black stuff that will never ever come off your clothes. I think it ended up not getting on his clothes, thankfully. It was supposed to be really pretty with lots of very interesting cave formations, but I can't tell you about it because I didn't go on that one. The rest of us went on the short tour and it was pretty boring. You just go to one room and you can see a few cave formations, but that's about it and they talk a lot. Noah just kept blabbing and blabbing. He is not really ready for cave tours, apparently. The boys finished up their Junior Ranger and Noah was feeling special because he had a little PeeWee Ranger badge that he got that was just unique to him.
Then, back to the rental for the day.
Day 9 (Sunday)
We woke up early and went to Wind Cave so hopefully we could get early tickets. We saw some bison on the way into the park. Thankfully, we did and got there just before they got really crowded. We all got tickets to go on a cave tour shortly after we got there. We went down to wait and then Noah started crying about wanting to go to the potty. I didn't think we had time to take him, plus he had just gone, but then he started throwing a huge fit and then we refused to go on the tour. So, Noah and I stayed outside while everyone else did the tour. Apparently, the cave was quite interesting with lots of boxwork (although I think everyone liked Jewel Cave better), but again, I wouldn't know about that. Noah and I wandered around the visitor center, did his Junior Ranger, and he got good and bored. About half way through waiting, he wanted to go on the cave tour, but at that point he was too late and he was pretty sad about that.
We were kind of worn out of driving at this point, so we went back to the rental for lunch and then waffled back and forth about what we should do for the afternoon. I wanted to see the Needles, sort of, but was nervous about driving in such narrow places and just kind of driving in general, so we decided we'll have to go back to the Black Hills another time and see it.
We ended up going into Custer, the town where we were seeing. We looked at a rock shop for a long time so Seth could pick out a rock to bring home. Then, we were went to get ice cream, but everyone decided on some candy instead. The city streets were quaint and it was a nice little detour. Andrew stayed back with Grandma and Grandpa and otherwise, we just relaxed the rest of the day.
Day 8 (Saturday) - We went first thing to Jewel Cave to pick up tickets. There was already going to be a long wait so we decided to buy tickets for late afternoon and to go see other things in the meantime. We did do a little hike around the cave visitor center for part of their junior ranger before we left. Andrew went with my parents and we all drove over to Mt. Rushmore. I totally went the wrong way when we got there and instead of getting in the short parking line got in the long parking line. Oh, well. We got in and met all up and got our lunches. We walked through the flags and took some pictures, picked up the Junior Ranger books, and then went and sat outside and ate lunch while admiring the view and looking at Mt. Rushmore. It was pretty crowded and no one was too keen on hiking around since the view seemed just fine from where we were at. So, we went around the museum a bit, watched the film, and finished up and got the kids Junior Ranger badges and then headed back to the car. Mt. Rushmore was pretty impressive, but the kids didn't seem to care too much, of course.
Andrew stayed with my parents and they went back to the rental and we decided to go see some of Custer State Park. The road from Mt. Rushmore takes you through the Iron Mountain Rd which is pretty crazy and has amazing scenery. They made this road specifically for the amazing scenery. There are 3 one-way tunnels that are meant to frame Mt. Rushmore and have a gorgeous view. There are pigtail curves and just crazy tiny curvy roads. I was paying tons of attention to my driving and I think we drove it backwards in terms of getting some of the beautiful views of Mt. Rushmore, but they were still gorgeous (maybe just a little less climatic, since we had already seen Mt. Rushmore). The tunnels made me nervous as from the other direction they were more or less blind, but hey, no one ran into us and we had a great time. We were kind of short on time, but we really wanted to see some wildlife, so we decided to go on the wildlife loop rd and just hope we got to Jewel cave on time. We did end up seeing wildlife - we saw some of the begging burros and we also saw a small herd of bison. Logan and Noah ended up sleeping most of the time so they missed it, but Seth (when he was looking up from his DS) got to see the wildlife.
We did, in fact, make it back to Jewel Cave on time. Katsu, Andrew, and Seth went on the more advanced tour which was longer. They had a great time, though of course, Seth wasn't paying very good attention and ran into the wall where there is black stuff that will never ever come off your clothes. I think it ended up not getting on his clothes, thankfully. It was supposed to be really pretty with lots of very interesting cave formations, but I can't tell you about it because I didn't go on that one. The rest of us went on the short tour and it was pretty boring. You just go to one room and you can see a few cave formations, but that's about it and they talk a lot. Noah just kept blabbing and blabbing. He is not really ready for cave tours, apparently. The boys finished up their Junior Ranger and Noah was feeling special because he had a little PeeWee Ranger badge that he got that was just unique to him.
Then, back to the rental for the day.
Day 9 (Sunday)
We woke up early and went to Wind Cave so hopefully we could get early tickets. We saw some bison on the way into the park. Thankfully, we did and got there just before they got really crowded. We all got tickets to go on a cave tour shortly after we got there. We went down to wait and then Noah started crying about wanting to go to the potty. I didn't think we had time to take him, plus he had just gone, but then he started throwing a huge fit and then we refused to go on the tour. So, Noah and I stayed outside while everyone else did the tour. Apparently, the cave was quite interesting with lots of boxwork (although I think everyone liked Jewel Cave better), but again, I wouldn't know about that. Noah and I wandered around the visitor center, did his Junior Ranger, and he got good and bored. About half way through waiting, he wanted to go on the cave tour, but at that point he was too late and he was pretty sad about that.
We were kind of worn out of driving at this point, so we went back to the rental for lunch and then waffled back and forth about what we should do for the afternoon. I wanted to see the Needles, sort of, but was nervous about driving in such narrow places and just kind of driving in general, so we decided we'll have to go back to the Black Hills another time and see it.
We ended up going into Custer, the town where we were seeing. We looked at a rock shop for a long time so Seth could pick out a rock to bring home. Then, we were went to get ice cream, but everyone decided on some candy instead. The city streets were quaint and it was a nice little detour. Andrew stayed back with Grandma and Grandpa and otherwise, we just relaxed the rest of the day.
Big Summer Trip, Badlands, Wall, and Rapid City
I think we also went back to the visitors center and got our badges in the morning, but we might have down that the evening before. Andrew, Logan, and I think Noah got their Junior Ranger badges.
We did the rest of the Badlands loop road. We didn't stop at every turnoff this time, but lots of them. The views were incredible. There was one area with tons of different colors that was especially beautiful. We stopped and did the fossil trail, but didn't really see any fossils, so that was kind of disappointing. We were going to go take a dirt road down to a prairie dog town, but didn't want to risk it. Well, it worked out because we saw TONS of prairie dog town. Seriously, the prairie dogs were everywhere. We walked over through this field to one and watched the dogs - of course, I think the boys scared them all off. Andrew was convinced that he kept hearing rattlesnakes everywhere and that at one point several of them were chasing him and I think Logan. I really think he was just hearing bugs, but Andrew seriously should have lived in the days of tall tales, because he is perfect at making those.
We decided to stop at Wall Drug. Everyone says it is a must stop. It is, in fact, not a must stop. Everything was too expensive, so we decided to go elsewhere for lunch. The boys wanted to do the arcade or the rock mining, but it was all too expensive so we just took some kitschy pictures with the jackalope and the little Mt. Rushmore and continued on.
We stopped briefly at the National Grasslands Visitor Center and watched the film and Andrew, Logan, and Noah all got their junior ranger badges.
There was no where else to eat in Wall that sounded appetizing, so we drove on toward Rapid City. We went to Dinosaur Park first, this old, kitschy, but really awesome park full of dinosaur statues that has the best view from Rapid City. They had a hot dog stand, so we got some lunch for cheap, including a root beer float for me once Noah woke up from his car nap. It was a really nice stop, met some really friendly people and loved the view and the way cooler weather than the Badlands.
Next, we went to Storybook Island, another old, kitschy park, but again free and awesome. It has like every Disney and other beloved child's character in the park with all kinds of old slides and playground equipment. I have never seen anything quite like it. The kids thought it was great and the rain more or less stayed away, so we spent some great time here.
Then, we drove to the rental and met up with my parents. Along the way in Rapid City, we stopped to see most of the presidential statues, which Noah and Logan loved looking for. Andrew and Seth may have looked up from their DSes. Another great day.
Tuesday, August 08, 2017
Big Summer Trip, Part 2 - Winter Quarters & Kanesville & Sioux Falls & Badlands
DAY 5 (Wednesday) - We got an early start. By the time we were bored of driving, you know, like two hours in or so, it was time to stop at Trader Joes. Which no one was as excited about as I was. Oh, well. We got some yummy snacks and some food too. Our next stop, a couple hours later was at Kanesville Tabernacle. It was kind of hard to find and doesn't look like a church site at all, but it turns out that is because it wasn't rebuilt by the church, but by people interested in Mormon Trail history and they gave it to the church recent-ish. The kids were not interested at all, but they enjoyed pushing buttons on the map to see where all the church had settlements. I was surprised to learn how big Kanesville was, how important it was to the church (the Tabernacle is where they sustained Brigham Young as the next prophet - the built the tabernacle specifically for that), and how permanent the settlement was for 10 years or so - they even had a paper or two! We drove over to Winter Quarters. Noah had fallen asleep at this point, so we ate sandwiches and then finally had to wake him up so we could go on a tour. It was awful! You can't just go through the museum, which is a shame because it is actually nicely done with nice little things for kids to do at each part. But the sisters kept asking questions like "How do see the light of Jesus in your life?". Seriously, that was their first question. The boys were not interested at all and started making snarky answers and it just didn't go well. We probably should have skipped it. The boys did like a few parts - they liked trying to pull the handcart like ox, but were pulling it too fast and almost hit the wall. They liked climbing on the ship and imagining what it was like to be on the ship. Then, we went to see the cemetery, but the boys were pretty much done at this point and I didn't like taking upset boys around a cemetery that was attached to temple grounds, so Katsu mostly wandered around. Thankful that that was our last church history site, but I wonder if we would have been better off just ending it with Nauvoo.
We got to the Sioux Fall hotel and were just ready to relax, get some food, and get in the pool, but there was some sort of mix-up with reservations - they had like 3 sets for us. Katsu got that figured out, we had some food, and then the boys went to the pool. The pool was amazing and the whole reason we booked the hotel. It had a huge couple stories high water slide and then a whole little kid section with 5 little slides all around a big pirate ship plus 2 hot tubs and a pool with a basketball hoop. The boys were in heaven. They played for a good 3 hours until past 9 when we finally convinced them they had to go to bed.
DAY 6 (Thursday) - We woke up, had some breakfast in our room, and waited until 9 am on the dot and headed to the pool when it opened. It was like a clock went off and all the children descended to the pool. We played a couple more hours. Noah was sad he was too little to do the big slide, but I think we all had fun. Seth was upset because he wanted to do the arcade, but it was closed in the morning. We finally found one machine, one of those claw ones, downstairs by the pool that was working, so Seth played one round of that and got nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not enough to learn that arcades aren't worth it, though, as he whined about wanting to go for the rest of the trip.
We drove to the nearby Sioux falls and it was worth it - there is a huge amount of waterfalls and you can walk all around. We stayed about 20 minutes, climbed around and took some pictures and then were off to the car to drive across South Dakota to the Badlands. The trip looks not too long on paper, but it takes a long time in truth. We stopped half way at a Taco Bell for lunch - our first time eating out this trip!
We finally got to the Minuteman Missile Site. It was HOT when we stepped out and pretty crowded. We weren't planning on doing a tour, so we just looked at the exhibits and learned about missiles (it was pretty interesting) while Andrew, Logan and Noah worked on Jr. Ranger badges. It was a nice little stop. Then, we went on the other side of the highway to the Badlands national park, stopping for some gas before we went in.
WOW! The badlands were just beautiful. There is no way to give them justice in words, but this was probably our most favorite stop on the trip just for the sheer beauty. It is amazing how the ground erodes and makes something so beautiful. It looks so strong and sturdy, but when you actually climb on the formations, it is so difficult because the ground is so loose and just crumbles away.
We stopped at every lookout this day and also stopped to do some trails. Andrew was terrified of rattlesnakes and running out of water and so did not want to hike. Plus, Noah was like in footie pajamas which were obviously too hot since it was like high 90s until late in the evening. And we didn't bring water because it was a short stop, but we really should have because we all got kind of dehydrated. So, we went to the door trail. Right as we got there, we saw some longhorn sheep, which was cool. We loved the door trail. There is a boardwalk for the first bit and then the path ends and you are just walking among the tops of the buttes looking for the next yellow posts. It is kind of scary when you look back at where you came because you are high up and it looks like you could just fall down. In truth, except for the very last bit, it is easy to find a safe way without any big drop off between the posts. After post #4, Andrew refused to go any further. I took the rest of the boys all the way almost to the end, but then I was nervous about carrying Noah. At that point, Katsu decided to hike up to us. I wanted to go back to Andrew, but then all the boys wanted to go to the end, so we quickly went back and went all the way to the end, took pictures, and then I ran back to be with Andrew. We were all super hot by then and way dehydrated (learned our lesson about water), but it was so beautiful.
We didn't stop for any hikes after that because we were all hot & thirsty, so we checked into our hotel we were staying at - a cabin right in the park. It was really nice, with a futon bed and two really big beds, a nice log cabin and very cool inside. Everything was new and very eco-friendly. We ate our dinner and then went back to the Visitors Center to get the junior ranger booklets for the 3 willing boys (not Seth). Then, we went backtracking to the Cliff Shelf trail. I really liked the trail - it was very different than the one we had gone on before - it was in a place that gets more water, and so there was quite a lot of brush and you were going along on this boardwalk kind of up along a cliff, which gave you some very nice views. We kind of went the wrong way and ended up hiking it backwards, but it was still beautiful. Then, we went a little further and did the window trail. This was really just walking a ways over to a few "windows" that had been naturally carved through the badlands so you got some nice views. All the kids and some adults in the area were scrambling along the formations. Logan went but then was crying his head off because he didn't get to climb as high as he wanted. Then, Seth went and hiked some and then Katsu took Logan to hike more then Andrew was crying because he had wanted to hike it, too (although I am pretty sure he said he was too tired), but he said he was just watching our stuff and that was the problem. And then Seth was crying because he wanted to climb the notch trail, but there was not time, it was too long, and I was worried about Seth being scared of heights on that one. So, basically everyone was crying so it was time to head back to the cabin.
We got to the Sioux Fall hotel and were just ready to relax, get some food, and get in the pool, but there was some sort of mix-up with reservations - they had like 3 sets for us. Katsu got that figured out, we had some food, and then the boys went to the pool. The pool was amazing and the whole reason we booked the hotel. It had a huge couple stories high water slide and then a whole little kid section with 5 little slides all around a big pirate ship plus 2 hot tubs and a pool with a basketball hoop. The boys were in heaven. They played for a good 3 hours until past 9 when we finally convinced them they had to go to bed.
DAY 6 (Thursday) - We woke up, had some breakfast in our room, and waited until 9 am on the dot and headed to the pool when it opened. It was like a clock went off and all the children descended to the pool. We played a couple more hours. Noah was sad he was too little to do the big slide, but I think we all had fun. Seth was upset because he wanted to do the arcade, but it was closed in the morning. We finally found one machine, one of those claw ones, downstairs by the pool that was working, so Seth played one round of that and got nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not enough to learn that arcades aren't worth it, though, as he whined about wanting to go for the rest of the trip.
We drove to the nearby Sioux falls and it was worth it - there is a huge amount of waterfalls and you can walk all around. We stayed about 20 minutes, climbed around and took some pictures and then were off to the car to drive across South Dakota to the Badlands. The trip looks not too long on paper, but it takes a long time in truth. We stopped half way at a Taco Bell for lunch - our first time eating out this trip!
We finally got to the Minuteman Missile Site. It was HOT when we stepped out and pretty crowded. We weren't planning on doing a tour, so we just looked at the exhibits and learned about missiles (it was pretty interesting) while Andrew, Logan and Noah worked on Jr. Ranger badges. It was a nice little stop. Then, we went on the other side of the highway to the Badlands national park, stopping for some gas before we went in.
WOW! The badlands were just beautiful. There is no way to give them justice in words, but this was probably our most favorite stop on the trip just for the sheer beauty. It is amazing how the ground erodes and makes something so beautiful. It looks so strong and sturdy, but when you actually climb on the formations, it is so difficult because the ground is so loose and just crumbles away.
We stopped at every lookout this day and also stopped to do some trails. Andrew was terrified of rattlesnakes and running out of water and so did not want to hike. Plus, Noah was like in footie pajamas which were obviously too hot since it was like high 90s until late in the evening. And we didn't bring water because it was a short stop, but we really should have because we all got kind of dehydrated. So, we went to the door trail. Right as we got there, we saw some longhorn sheep, which was cool. We loved the door trail. There is a boardwalk for the first bit and then the path ends and you are just walking among the tops of the buttes looking for the next yellow posts. It is kind of scary when you look back at where you came because you are high up and it looks like you could just fall down. In truth, except for the very last bit, it is easy to find a safe way without any big drop off between the posts. After post #4, Andrew refused to go any further. I took the rest of the boys all the way almost to the end, but then I was nervous about carrying Noah. At that point, Katsu decided to hike up to us. I wanted to go back to Andrew, but then all the boys wanted to go to the end, so we quickly went back and went all the way to the end, took pictures, and then I ran back to be with Andrew. We were all super hot by then and way dehydrated (learned our lesson about water), but it was so beautiful.
We didn't stop for any hikes after that because we were all hot & thirsty, so we checked into our hotel we were staying at - a cabin right in the park. It was really nice, with a futon bed and two really big beds, a nice log cabin and very cool inside. Everything was new and very eco-friendly. We ate our dinner and then went back to the Visitors Center to get the junior ranger booklets for the 3 willing boys (not Seth). Then, we went backtracking to the Cliff Shelf trail. I really liked the trail - it was very different than the one we had gone on before - it was in a place that gets more water, and so there was quite a lot of brush and you were going along on this boardwalk kind of up along a cliff, which gave you some very nice views. We kind of went the wrong way and ended up hiking it backwards, but it was still beautiful. Then, we went a little further and did the window trail. This was really just walking a ways over to a few "windows" that had been naturally carved through the badlands so you got some nice views. All the kids and some adults in the area were scrambling along the formations. Logan went but then was crying his head off because he didn't get to climb as high as he wanted. Then, Seth went and hiked some and then Katsu took Logan to hike more then Andrew was crying because he had wanted to hike it, too (although I am pretty sure he said he was too tired), but he said he was just watching our stuff and that was the problem. And then Seth was crying because he wanted to climb the notch trail, but there was not time, it was too long, and I was worried about Seth being scared of heights on that one. So, basically everyone was crying so it was time to head back to the cabin.
Saturday, August 05, 2017
Big summer Trip, Part 1 - Driving and Nauvoo
What a trip we had! I should have posted about it a long time ago, but it's been crazy in our life with traveling, moving, and having our house up for sale. We'll see what we remember.
DAY 1 (Saturday) - We left on July 1st on a rainy day in NC. It cleared up by the time we got to Virginia, but the traffic was terrible! It looked like there was a wreck, but even after we passed that area, we would start going only to stop again. And again. Highway 77 in West Virginia and Virginia was just awful and I decided we were definitely NOT driving this way home again.
We got to Dayton, OH in okay time, considering. Our hotel was super sketchy. The area looked fine, but we pulled up and knew the hotel would be ... interesting. The kids loved the room because it was a huge suite room with a separate loft upstairs that all the older kids slept in and Noah slept downstairs with us. Outside, all the wood was completely disintegrating and there were holes everywhere - not sure how this place wasn't condemned. We had a kitchen and made up some spaghetti for dinner and the kids watched lots of TV and took baths and had a great time.
DAY 2 (Sunday) - We were woken up early by a black man banging on our door over and over. We finally called the front desk who apparently called the police and we saw several police cars as we went over to breakfast. The breakfast spread was good though the food seemed a little off, but the boys loved it and said it was our best hotel ever. Of course. Otherwise, a fine drive. We made the kids watch some church movies, which they weren't thrilled about, but didn't have time to stop for church. We did stop at Aldis in Illinois and picked up enough food to last us while we were in Nauvoo because there is little food there. The roads were mostly corn fields all day with an AMAZING number of bugs. Seriously, one slammed into our windshield more than every minute. Our car looked like a bug war zone.
We got to Carthage. Noah was not very interested in sitting still and it started out with a long talk and then a movie in which he was pretty restless and loud. Then, we toured the jail which everyone enjoyed more or less. I can only enjoy it so much when I spending the whole time making sure the kids aren't running into anyone or anything or touching anything and being quiet. Noah should have probably just skipped it. There were several missionaries there that had served their young missions in Japan and so they were eager to talk to Katsu. They said that our kids behaved well, except the little one. Ha ha. While we were at Carthage, we got an offer on our house, so the rest of the evening was spent trying to negotiate that. We went to the log cabin we were staying at for the next 3 days. I thought it was super cute and just the right size - it had a big full or queen bed and then bunkbeds and then a fold out futon all in one room. We brought plenty of food to microwave, so we could make do with a little microwave and fridge. We also could walk to the city park, so we spent some time there, too.
DAY 3 (Monday) - Logan and Seth spent a lot of time outside the cabin playing a little game they made up where they would throw stones along the stones on the path. I have no idea how it worked, but it kept them occupied. Once we were all ready, we got to the visitor center when it opened to get tickets. Then, we went on a carriage ride through the more wild part of town and listened to inspirational stories. Andrew really enjoyed it and got a lot of it, Seth was somewhat ambivalent, Logan fell asleep, and Noah did a pretty good job staying quiet. Next, we drove over to see the play, "Just Plain Anna Amanda". We all enjoyed it - they had some fun jokes and things to start out, which was good because Andrew was pretty hostile to seeing plays. But it was perfect for kids and a nice way to spend time without just seeing the historical houses the whole time. Then, we had just enough time to go on the Wagon Ride around Nauvoo which we all enjoyed. Finally, time for lunch - we had lunchables and go to listen to the band perform as it drove y. We went to the bakery and enjoyed a cookie and then to the Living Center where the boys had some bread and made rope. For the most part, it wasn't too crowded and the missionaries were pretty good about making a condensed version of the story. Sometime during the day, we learned the the offer was not going to go through as the couple found out they had cancer, so that was kind of a big bummer.
Next, we went to the brickyard. Noah had a really hard time sitting still through the presentation, but we got our brick. Then, we went to go to see another play, "The Promise" at the visitors' center. Noah left to go the bathroom about halfway through and I didn't want to have to bring him back in, so he and I walked through the womens' garden and took pictures with all of the statues. We went back to the cabin to have dinner. Katsu had a migraine, so I took the kids to the park, only to rush home because somehow Seth got bug spray in his eye. Then, we left to go start watching the show "Sunset at the Mississippi" without Katsu. Almost as soon as we got there, Seth started having a horrible headache and Noah feel asleep, so I gave up and we just went back to the rental.
DAY 4 (Tuesday) - We wake up early every day so we decided to make the best of it and went and walked the trail of hope. The kids did well - we took turns reading the signs (of course, this caused occasionally arguments), but we got to see the Memorial and find some of our ancestors names and then spent a lot of time skipping rocks across the Mississippi. Seth started getting pretty good. Noah just threw rocks straight in. We walked back to where we parked and saw the Seventies Hall. The boys enjoyed playing I Spy upstairs and seeing our ancestors name on the list of the seventies. Next, we went to the blacksmith / wainwright. The boys LOVED the rings. I think we might even still have one or two of those left. Then, we went and toured Brigham Young's house. My favorite part was when we were asking what BYU stood for. Andrew said the U was for university and the Y must stand for Yale. We all had a good laugh about that one.
Noah had to go to the bathroom so I ran him over and the rest of the family sat down to watch the Youth of Zion perform. They were quite good and we stayed for the whole performance and then to listen to them sing all kind of songs after that - seriously, one from Frozen and one from Moana and one about PB and Jelly. Next,w e went to the gunsmith. We visited John Taylors house and then the printing shop and post office. By this point everyone was tired of seeing historical houses (well, except Andrew), so we went back to our cabin and made up some lunch. Noah ended up falling asleep so Katsu and Noah stayed at the cabin and we went up to rush and try the Oxen Ride before it closed for the day. It was short, but fun and informative (I didn't realize that oxen just meant any kind of cow that is trained to pull). We went and saw Lucy Mack Smith's house and the apothecary and school. The kids enjoyed the school part, but all of them didn't care too much about the other houses. We went back to the cabin and picked up Noah and Katsu.
We went to go and see the Community of Christ sites of Joseph Smith. We saw the grave. We didn't want to tour the houses because we were all toured out, but we saw the outside and then went into the red brick store. Noah threw a massive fit (who knows what about) so he and I sat outside while the boys bought candy and a postcard. We then spent a lot of time back at Pioneer Pasttimes playing with all the toys. Andrew and I went to see more houses because he wanted to see all of them. We went back to the cabin, checked out a small but intensely full museum at the log cabin rental place and then had some dinner. Then, we headed back to see the senior missionaries perform in the show "Nauvoo Rendeveaux" which was surprisingly good. The boys took lots of bathroom breaks and I was pretty embarrassed with how often we were in and out of there, but oh, well. Then, we went home and watched fireworks on TV. By then, I think I was getting a little worn out of the tight quarters and ready to move on.
We mostly took pictures on our camera, but these are the few from my phone.
DAY 1 (Saturday) - We left on July 1st on a rainy day in NC. It cleared up by the time we got to Virginia, but the traffic was terrible! It looked like there was a wreck, but even after we passed that area, we would start going only to stop again. And again. Highway 77 in West Virginia and Virginia was just awful and I decided we were definitely NOT driving this way home again.
We got to Dayton, OH in okay time, considering. Our hotel was super sketchy. The area looked fine, but we pulled up and knew the hotel would be ... interesting. The kids loved the room because it was a huge suite room with a separate loft upstairs that all the older kids slept in and Noah slept downstairs with us. Outside, all the wood was completely disintegrating and there were holes everywhere - not sure how this place wasn't condemned. We had a kitchen and made up some spaghetti for dinner and the kids watched lots of TV and took baths and had a great time.
DAY 2 (Sunday) - We were woken up early by a black man banging on our door over and over. We finally called the front desk who apparently called the police and we saw several police cars as we went over to breakfast. The breakfast spread was good though the food seemed a little off, but the boys loved it and said it was our best hotel ever. Of course. Otherwise, a fine drive. We made the kids watch some church movies, which they weren't thrilled about, but didn't have time to stop for church. We did stop at Aldis in Illinois and picked up enough food to last us while we were in Nauvoo because there is little food there. The roads were mostly corn fields all day with an AMAZING number of bugs. Seriously, one slammed into our windshield more than every minute. Our car looked like a bug war zone.
We got to Carthage. Noah was not very interested in sitting still and it started out with a long talk and then a movie in which he was pretty restless and loud. Then, we toured the jail which everyone enjoyed more or less. I can only enjoy it so much when I spending the whole time making sure the kids aren't running into anyone or anything or touching anything and being quiet. Noah should have probably just skipped it. There were several missionaries there that had served their young missions in Japan and so they were eager to talk to Katsu. They said that our kids behaved well, except the little one. Ha ha. While we were at Carthage, we got an offer on our house, so the rest of the evening was spent trying to negotiate that. We went to the log cabin we were staying at for the next 3 days. I thought it was super cute and just the right size - it had a big full or queen bed and then bunkbeds and then a fold out futon all in one room. We brought plenty of food to microwave, so we could make do with a little microwave and fridge. We also could walk to the city park, so we spent some time there, too.
DAY 3 (Monday) - Logan and Seth spent a lot of time outside the cabin playing a little game they made up where they would throw stones along the stones on the path. I have no idea how it worked, but it kept them occupied. Once we were all ready, we got to the visitor center when it opened to get tickets. Then, we went on a carriage ride through the more wild part of town and listened to inspirational stories. Andrew really enjoyed it and got a lot of it, Seth was somewhat ambivalent, Logan fell asleep, and Noah did a pretty good job staying quiet. Next, we drove over to see the play, "Just Plain Anna Amanda". We all enjoyed it - they had some fun jokes and things to start out, which was good because Andrew was pretty hostile to seeing plays. But it was perfect for kids and a nice way to spend time without just seeing the historical houses the whole time. Then, we had just enough time to go on the Wagon Ride around Nauvoo which we all enjoyed. Finally, time for lunch - we had lunchables and go to listen to the band perform as it drove y. We went to the bakery and enjoyed a cookie and then to the Living Center where the boys had some bread and made rope. For the most part, it wasn't too crowded and the missionaries were pretty good about making a condensed version of the story. Sometime during the day, we learned the the offer was not going to go through as the couple found out they had cancer, so that was kind of a big bummer.
Next, we went to the brickyard. Noah had a really hard time sitting still through the presentation, but we got our brick. Then, we went to go to see another play, "The Promise" at the visitors' center. Noah left to go the bathroom about halfway through and I didn't want to have to bring him back in, so he and I walked through the womens' garden and took pictures with all of the statues. We went back to the cabin to have dinner. Katsu had a migraine, so I took the kids to the park, only to rush home because somehow Seth got bug spray in his eye. Then, we left to go start watching the show "Sunset at the Mississippi" without Katsu. Almost as soon as we got there, Seth started having a horrible headache and Noah feel asleep, so I gave up and we just went back to the rental.
DAY 4 (Tuesday) - We wake up early every day so we decided to make the best of it and went and walked the trail of hope. The kids did well - we took turns reading the signs (of course, this caused occasionally arguments), but we got to see the Memorial and find some of our ancestors names and then spent a lot of time skipping rocks across the Mississippi. Seth started getting pretty good. Noah just threw rocks straight in. We walked back to where we parked and saw the Seventies Hall. The boys enjoyed playing I Spy upstairs and seeing our ancestors name on the list of the seventies. Next, we went to the blacksmith / wainwright. The boys LOVED the rings. I think we might even still have one or two of those left. Then, we went and toured Brigham Young's house. My favorite part was when we were asking what BYU stood for. Andrew said the U was for university and the Y must stand for Yale. We all had a good laugh about that one.
Noah had to go to the bathroom so I ran him over and the rest of the family sat down to watch the Youth of Zion perform. They were quite good and we stayed for the whole performance and then to listen to them sing all kind of songs after that - seriously, one from Frozen and one from Moana and one about PB and Jelly. Next,w e went to the gunsmith. We visited John Taylors house and then the printing shop and post office. By this point everyone was tired of seeing historical houses (well, except Andrew), so we went back to our cabin and made up some lunch. Noah ended up falling asleep so Katsu and Noah stayed at the cabin and we went up to rush and try the Oxen Ride before it closed for the day. It was short, but fun and informative (I didn't realize that oxen just meant any kind of cow that is trained to pull). We went and saw Lucy Mack Smith's house and the apothecary and school. The kids enjoyed the school part, but all of them didn't care too much about the other houses. We went back to the cabin and picked up Noah and Katsu.
We went to go and see the Community of Christ sites of Joseph Smith. We saw the grave. We didn't want to tour the houses because we were all toured out, but we saw the outside and then went into the red brick store. Noah threw a massive fit (who knows what about) so he and I sat outside while the boys bought candy and a postcard. We then spent a lot of time back at Pioneer Pasttimes playing with all the toys. Andrew and I went to see more houses because he wanted to see all of them. We went back to the cabin, checked out a small but intensely full museum at the log cabin rental place and then had some dinner. Then, we headed back to see the senior missionaries perform in the show "Nauvoo Rendeveaux" which was surprisingly good. The boys took lots of bathroom breaks and I was pretty embarrassed with how often we were in and out of there, but oh, well. Then, we went home and watched fireworks on TV. By then, I think I was getting a little worn out of the tight quarters and ready to move on.
We mostly took pictures on our camera, but these are the few from my phone.
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