August 28-29 - Aquarium, Space Needle, Duck Tour, Pikes Place Market

Wednesday, August 29
Many of you who have been to Boston, DC, or other waterfront cities have probably seen the duck vehicle tours you can take. The vehicles are military land/water vessels from the 1940s that have been converted to touring vehicles. Sheri’s Dad went on one of these tours in Boston and really liked it so we gave it a try in Seattle. The drivers are trained to be comedians and keep you laughing for much of the trip. We enjoyed the 90 minute tour and learned some good things about Seattle. The tour actually gives you good spots to see in the following days. After our tour we went to the space needle for lunch. Since we were blessed with clear skies again, we had a great view of Mt. Rainer, Mt. Baker and the Seattle coastline. We allowed for an easy afternoon of swimming for the kids.
Tuesday, August 28
Today we went to the famous Pikes Place Market. It is best described as a cross between a farmer’s market and a flea market, but in a permanent setting. Some people who go to Pike’s place go there because they heard about the fish throwing that the Pike’s Fish Market. We didn’t really go there to shop, just to look. The market is just a short walk from the aquarium, which was next on the agenda. The Seattle Aquarium is pretty neat, but I guess you get spoiled if you’ve been to the Baltimore aquarium, which is huge. My favorite activity at the aquarium was seeing a wild sea lion swim up to the aquarium building. The aquarium building is built over the water so they have a boardwalk that looks onto the bay. Even the aquarium staff was surprised to see the sea lion. Today marked the day that I finally lost the battle with the stomach virus that was going around our family. I was the last to get it so now I get to enjoy its invasion in my body.

Monday, August 27 - Seattle - Chittenden Locks

For all of you, like myself, that picture Seattle as a rainy, cloudy town, today was contrary to all expectations. The sun was out and the temperature was in the mid 70s. For all of our eastern friends, I’m sure that sounds a lot better than the heat and humidity of August. We met up with Sheri’s parents at the hotel in the morning and went out to Chittenden Locks. I had heard that the locks were built with a fish ladder so you can see salmon jumping up the ladder. In my mind I pictured a dozen or so salmon jumping up every few seconds. The reality is that the fish ladder has tunnels through each step that the salmon prefer. We only saw about 4 fish that actually jumped out of the water to climb the ladder. Nonetheless, it was impressive and worth the trip. Particularly because they constructed a viewing area, which allows visitors to see the underwater ladder tunnels like an aquarium. Some of the salmon were about three feet long! I should mention that our fish ladder experience was part of a nice tour that the US Army Corps of Engineers offers. In fact, for all of you botanical folks, they also have a botanical gardens at the locks. The kids don’t quite appreciate variety in plant life, so we skipped that part. Some neat facts about the locks include their sea lion deterrent system. They use underwater speakers to project killer whale sounds that try to foil the sea lions. It works for the most part, but some sea lions have figured out the system. They even tried a robotic killer whale, but it didn’t take long for the sea lions to figure out that it wasn’t real.

Sunday, August 26 - Relaxing In Tacoma, Washington

No miles logged today. Looking back at my logs, this is the first day we haven’t logged any miles on the RV since July 26! That day we didn’t log any miles because we could walk to a bus. You’d have to go back to July 14 for the last time we actually stayed put at the campground. Sounds crazy, but we haven’t really stopped to take much of a break. We took it easy today and used the break to get some needed chores done. I vacuumed out the RV while Sheri attended to the 5 loads of laundry. After chores, we took a bike ride. Many of you from the northwest probably know that they have quite a few bike trails. One trail happens to come right next to our campground. This trail was unique because it was lined with blackberry bushes. Miles and miles of blackberries, just ripening. We couldn’t help but enjoy the treat! Tomorrow we meet up with Sheri’s parents. They decided to tour Seattle with us since they hadn’t been there. I think they were also missing the grandkids a wee bit. We will stay in a hotel while in Seattle to allow for quick access to the sites. I’ve uploaded some photos from Glacier and Mt. Rainier, be sure to check them out by clicking on the link to the right. Unfortunately, both parks had some cloudy, rainy weather so we didn’t get as many scenic pictures as we had at the other parks.

Mt. Rainier to Tacoma, Washington

Today we spent more time in Mt. Rainier National Park. One of the most interesting things about the park is a flood that occurred last year. They said that it was a 400 year flood: 18 inches of rain in 36 hours. The devastation it caused was quite dramatic. One creek has a different route than it used to have. Trees were thrown around like matchsticks. Parts of the park will be totally altered from it. We were thankful we saw the peak of Mt. Rainier yesterday since the cloud cover today prevented us from seeing it. We went on a short hike through their wildflower trails and stopped off for a very short hike to a 168 foot waterfall. The boys and Sheri hiked behind the waterfall while I stayed with Bailey. We were somewhat hindered by the boys’ stomachs. Somehow they all have the same stomach bug, which requires maintaining close distance to facilities. By the way, I should mention that Mt. Rainier (being a volcano) has a totally different appeal than the parks of the Rockies. In fact, they say that Mt. Rainier stands more majestic than Mt. Everest. It certainly isn’t higher than Mt. Everest, but it is higher than its surroundings in a way that Mt. Everest is not. If you're into glaciers, we learned that Mt. Rainier has more glaciers than any other area in the lower 48 states.

August 24 - Yakima to Mt. Rainer, Washington

Sometimes in life you witness God's sprinkle of blessings. Today was one of those days. Over the last week the RV has been having trouble starting. I'd turn the key to the start position and sometimes the engine would turn over, other times nothing would happen. I had noticed this getting worse this morning after it took 8 tries to start-but the car always started. I figured I'd have it looked at in Seattle on Monday after the weekend. After attending a talk by a Mt. Rainer National Park Ranger and going on a 1 mile hike we started toward our destination - Packwood, Washington. The car took more times than ever to start after the hike so I told the family we really needed an auto parts store in Parkwood to see if there was a battery. On the main strip of Parkwood was an auto parts store. I purchased the battery and they installed it, but the engine wouldn't start. The parts store also doubled as a repair shop, which was exactly what I needed. Keep in mind that I pulled up to this store at 5:02 as they were closing. However, the two gentlemen were kind enough to stay after and diagnose that my starter solenoid was the problem. The solenoid was coming apart and there was literally one thread of copper holding it together. It really should have broken a long time ago, one more bump and it would have gone. Praise God, they had the part and they installed it. I expressed my sincere appreciation for the owner and the other mechanic's time on a Friday night after hours. Although I was appreciative of God's blessing to me, the owner was a hero and that story is even more amazing. About one year ago a gentlemen had gone 4-wheeling in the forest area of these mountains and was caught in a snowstorm. The official search for him ended after two weeks with nothing found, the lost man being presumed dead. The lost man's uncle called the auto parts store owner (who is an avid snowmobiler) and they rounded up three snowmobiliers. Within a half a day they found the man, who was still alive. Not every day you meet a true hero.

August 23 - Spokane to Yakima

Nothing really exciting to report on today's leg. I was surprised how desolate Washington state is. You hear about rainy Seattle, but apparently that rain stops and desert takes over as you move east. We saw many crops, particularly grapes and apples, but they were all irrigated. East Washington reminds me of South Dakota, rolling hills, sagebrush and brown grass. The funny moment for today is Bailey's request for her princess hat. The kids received an umbrella hat as a gift and Bailey kept asking for her princess hat. It took us a while to figure out that the umbrella hat was the "princess hat".
Today we drive to Mt. Rainer for a two day visit then on to Seattle.

August 22 - Montana to Spokane, Washington

In my last blog I discussed the jewel of the northwest, the huckleberry. Well tonight, the KOA had ice cream for a buck. Wouldn't you know they had huckleberry. If you ever get the chance, you must try this delicious flavor. I think I might like huckleberry better than blackberry or black raspberry, which are typically my favorite ice cream choices. We are now on a mission to find some huckleberries so that we can taste the raw fruit. Up until now we have had huckleberry cream soda, milkshake, ice cream, and preserves. The locals tell me the berry can only be purchased at fruit stands not at grocery stores. We'll see if we can find some. Spokane, Washington is a nice place. The weather is pleasant and the scenery is nice. Tomorrow we will venture to Yakima, Washington and then on to Mt. Rainer National Park before we get to Seattle. Today we entered Idaho at mile 6978 and Washington at mile 7050. In 53 days we have travelled about 7070 miles, which is an average of 133 miles per day. Not to bad.....although Bailey might disagree with that statement. She is the only one who is regularly disappointed with the travel time.

Day 52 - Tuesday, August 21

We started yesterdey (8/21) thinking we would go for a hike at the top of the Going to the Sun Road. However, the day before it had hailed on us at that location. When we considered the brisk winds and the approaching rain clouds, we decided to forgo the hike and get on the road. We drove about 3.5 hours to Polson, Montana, which is a beautiful location. It's on the edge of flathead lake and has a nice view of the rockies. We will travel to Spokane, Washington today after the kids play mini golf and swim in the pool this morning. One unique aspect of this area of Montana is their affinity for huckleberries. I must admit, I had heard of huckleberries before, but hadn't eaten any. Glacier National Park is known for them and the bears fatten up on them before hibernation. We went to a huckleberry novelty store and tried a huckleberry milkshake (very good) and purchased some huckleberry preserves. Our lunch menu is typically peanutbutter and jelly and/or lunch meat. So we go through jam pretty quick. I'd bring some back, but I don't think they would make the trip back. I don't think I could look at them without eating them.

Day 51 - Glacier National Park - Windy and Cold

Today was our big day for Glacier National Park. But before I discuss today, I must discuss last night. The east side of Glacier National Park gets some very high winds. I’m not sure if the valley channels the wind or if it is just the weather, but the RV was rocking back and forth all night long. It kept Sheri and I up quite a bit because the howling of the wind was pretty loud and the movement was enough to make you a little uneasy. Thankfully, the kids slept through it with no problem. I asked the locals if this was normal and they said it is fairly common to have high winds.
Today we started the day by boarding the free shuttle bus and taking it to the other side of the park (about a 2 hour drive). We then took a scenic lake cruise (via a 70 year old boat) on Lake McDonald (the left over water from a melted glacier). After a lunch stop we boarded the bus again and took it to a short hike. Much to our surprise, Bailey and Brandon did the 0.7 miles without whining a bit. Just goes to show you their legs are stronger than they sometimes lead us to believe. This evening we went to a ranger talk on Bears. Not as impressive as the talks in Yellowstone or Grand Teton, but informational and still worth going to. I had two encounters with animals today. A black bear was sitting beside the road as I was driving to the 7:30 ranger talk. Coming home from the talk a bull elk (or a very large buck) ran in front of the car. It happened so fast it was hard to tell what it was. Thankfully, I didn’t hit it, but it was the closest I’d come to hitting one in a while. Glacier National Park is much different than the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. The road that cuts through the park allows for breathtaking views. The road is cut right into the side of the mountain so it almost feels like you are flying at certain points because there is no shoulder and you look straight down. The views are as stunning as Grand Teton, but from above not from below. Since Glaciers cut the valleys they are shaped differently and not as jagged as other parts of the Rockys. The weather is quite different here. We were getting hail at the top of the mountain (6600 feet). Some folks reported snow today in some elevations. For the ranger talk tonight we were all in our winter coats (elevation 3300 feet). San Diego sounds good right about now! But we’ll have to wait a month before we get there.

Day 50 - Great Falls Montana to Glacier National Park

We started today by going to a church service here in Great Falls. We ran into a local person at the KOA who recommended their church. Then it was a short mile drive over to the Home Depot for the final toilet fix. Praise God, the toilet was easily fixed and we are now back in business. Wouldn’t you know that the one night we had to walk to use the toilet in the middle of the night Brandon had an upset stomach and had to make several trips. Thankfully, we were pretty close to the restrooms. The drive to Glacier National Park was interesting. We drove through tons of fields of wheat, not exactly what I would have guessed for Northern Montana. As we got closer to the mountains it was pretty clear there were fires as you could see the thick smoke surrounding everything, it almost appeared slightly foggy. The main road through Glacier is pretty hard driving so they limit vehicles to 21 feet or shorter. I’m about 25 feet with all our bikes hanging off the front and back. But, they just started a free bus service through the park this year. We’ll take advantage of that tomorrow. Just before the sun went down tonight the wind shifted and we actually got to see the tops of the mountains, another beautiful view.

August 18 - Day 49

I know just about everyone out there has probably tried to repair something at one time or another just to find out that the "easy" fix was about three times more difficult than you thought.
We’ll that happened to me today. The toilet in the RV lost its ability to add water two days ago. We could still add water via a milkjug and flush it, but the water valve had broken closed. The milk jug method was getting old, so I thought I’d just get a new toilet. I was fortunate that an RV dealer was 1 mile from our campsite and we arrived at the campsite one hour before they closed. "Piece of cake" the lady at the RV store told me, "two bolts and the water supply connection". After removing the old toilet I noticed the new toilet was a tad bit higher than the old, but it appeared that I had enough slack in the water supply line to handle it…..Not true. No big deal, I thought I would just put on the old toilet and use the milk jug method until I could get a short section of hose to bridge the gap. When I put back the old toilet, the valve was now stuck open so water was gushing out. This now meant that all water pressure had to be removed from the RV, a much larger problem. Again, I was fortunate that a Home Depot was still open and was very blessed that the guy in the plumbing section could rig me up a short extension (I wouldn’t have found the right section or the snap connectors on my own). However, since I didn’t have exact measurements he gave me some extra. I knew I had plenty of slack and I didn’t have a measuring device so I didn’t worry about trimming it. Well, once again, bonehead move. Now I have too much. So tomorrow after church we head back to Home Depot. All I need is the quick disconnect ring and their cutters to make a clean cut (steak knife wouldn’t work). By lunch time, we should be open for business. Next time, I’ll settle on the milk jug method and save the hassle, the flooding, the cost, the frustration, and the time. Oh, by the way, we are in Great Falls, Montana and we will be at Glacier National Park tomorrow (Sunday) and stay through Tuesday.

August 17, 2007 - Day 48

Today was a big travel day-about 6 hours with stops. The boys are swimming in the pool, excited that they are out of the car. We backtracked our way through Jackson Hole, Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone to make our way to Livingston, Montana. We entered Montana at mile 6199. Just as proven true in the past, the days we travel most seem to be the rainy days. However, Elk like to move when it rains so we saw two large bull elk near the road and a herd of female elk at another spot while we were driving through Yellowstone. One of the bull elk had velvet hanging from his antlers. Once again, we saw another Bison in the road walking right down the middle of the lane. In fact, when I finally got to him he started walking on the yellow line, which made it near impossible for both lanes to move. I’ve updated the blog with pictures so be sure to click the link. It’s fun interacting with the poll as well, so be sure to vote. We read all of the comments too. Thanks to those who take the time to tell us what you think.

Grand Tetons

August 16, 2007
Today we finished up our day in Grand Teton National Park and crossed the 6000 mile mark (we have been mile heavy the last few days). The highlight in the category of animal sightings was a pair of bull moose. The only bummer is that I couldn’t pull over and park. One guy had already gotten stuck in the loose dirt on the shoulder. He buried himself pretty good. I dropped off Sheri, who took some pictures and then walked to where we could park. The highlight in the category of activities was a hike we took. The neat thing about this hike is that you rode a boat to the trailhead and then hiked up to waterfalls and a 500 foot overlook (that is 500 foot above the lake, elevation was 7200). Brandon, Bailey, and I stopped at the waterfall and waited for Sheri and the older boys to complete the overlook portion of the hike. The highlight in the category of entertainment was an evening outdoor gunfight/show that takes place each evening in Jackson Hole, Wyoming right in the middle of the town (they shutdown an intersection for it). When I had first heard about this, I envisioned an old western shootout between the good guys and the bad guys. I set the expectation a little too high. It was put on by the local theatre so it appealed to the musical folks. It was more like guys and gals singing and dancing with a few gunshots mixed in. Still entertaining, but not quite the "shoot em up" I expected. Our next stop is Glacier National Park. However, it will take us 2 days to get there. We actually have to back track through Grand Teton and Yellowstone Parks to get back up to Montana.
August 15, 2007
Today we left Yellowstone and drove down to Grand Teton National Park. There are only 7 miles between the parks, so essentially they are connected. Most people cover both parks. However, they are very different. Grand Teton does not have any thermal features, but has more magnificent views and landscape. The towering Teton range spurts up and the views with the lake in front are beautiful. We didn’t see any wildlife today other than a bald eagle, but we are told they have similar wildlife to Yellowstone. The highlight of today was the evening ranger talks at 7 and 9 pm. The 7 pm talk was on the pronghorn antelope, which is quite a strange creature. The thing I found the most interesting is that it runs 70 mph but it won’t jump fences like mule deer or elk. Another really good talk was at 9pm on the Raven. These creatures are incredibly intelligent. They actually have a symbiotic relationship with wolves. Wolf scientists have proven time and time again that ravens will show a wolf pack where an injured animal, or other available kill is so that they can kill it. Then the ravens will dine with the wolves. Coyotes, on the other hand, will kill the raven if it tires to share in their kill. Our ranger had many fascinating stories that proved how smart the raven really is. My favorite was that Ravens will kill a squirrel but without a sharp beak they cannot puncture its hide. So they have developed a good mechanism for getting it open. They drop it in the road and wait for a car to run over it! I must admit that when I heard the talk was on ravens, I was thinking I’d be bored. However, the presenter, the amazing raven behavior, and the stories she told were well worth attending.
August 14, 2007
Today was our last full day in Yellowstone and a full day it was. We left our site around 10 and arrived at the Old Faithful geyser area around 11 am. The boys received their junior ranger badges and then signed up for a young scientist program. The program is a pilot program they just started this year in the Geyser area. Its similar to the junior ranger program where they have a workbook with questions and activities that require you to go and find answers in the geological features. The boys really liked the scientist program because they had a tool backpack that you borrowed for the program. In it they included an infared thermometer. The kids really liked that fun gadget. Old Faithful is actually one of 50 or so geysers. It’s the most predictable and one of the largest, but not the highest. However, they are all similar, so seeing Old Faithful covers about 80 percent of the experience. The upper geyser basin in Yellowstone is one of four areas in the world. The other three areas are in Iceland, New Zealand, and somewhere in Siberia. We finally left the old faithful area around 6 or so and went to another mud hole area. There a small volcano erupted in 1870 so you can view what remains. On the way we saw a huge bull elk, but we didn’t get a picture before he bedded down in some tall grass. We also saw a badger at the gas station, but once again I missed the photo. Another missed photo was an osprey with a fish in its talons. That one would have been a great photo because he flew right by an erupting geyser. But sometimes the eye is faster than the finger. We also saw another bison walking down the middle of the road. They must prefer to travel by road. We finally arrived back at the site around 8:30. Tomorrow we will go to the Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole. Then we will work our way up to Glacier National Park in Montana.

Yellowstone

August 13

We took a boat cruise this morning on the yellowstone lake. It's the second highest lake in the world, and it has more thermal features than all but one lake in the world. We saw another bald eagle today, but that was the extent of our wildlife sightings. They tell a neat story about one of the islands in the middle of the lake. One summer they had two bison on the island in the middle of the lake. They got there during the winter by travelling on the ice and they didn't make it back before the ice breakup in May. Would have been strange to see two bison on a small island in the middle of the lake. After the boat cruise we went to an area of the park where there are 50 or so bubbling springs and mud holes. Some of them have bright orange and yellow parts. The temperature of the springs range from 100 - 200 degrees.
Levi, Seth, and Sheri took a ranger hike that was supposed to cover a mile, but it was much shorter than that. I knew Brandon couldn't do the mile so I stayed back in the RV with he and Bailey. The hike explored identification of wildlife using paw prints and scat (that is scientific for animal dung). After dinner we sat through a National Park Ranger talk about the early explorers between 1800-1810. He demonstrated a flint striking rifle and he demonstrated how to make a fire with flint and steel. The ranger talks are excellent. They have ranger led hikes, evening talks, talks at the geological features, and they manage to keep the boys attention which is always good.

August 12, 2007
Today was a great day. We saw: an Osprey, a Bald Eagle, a thousand or so Bison, elk, deer, and a black bear with two baby cubs. The wildlife here is everything people talk about. One major blessing of the day is in regards to the fire I talked about. The fire has now spread to an area which has caused road closure of the east gate. If we would have tried to enter the park today instead of yesterday, we would have had to take a major 5 hour detour. Once again, another blessing from above. We took a stagecoach ride, which was a short 1 mile jaunt in a stagecoach. Just like in the 1880s and 1890s when they first started using stagecoaches for tourism. We actually saw a large hawk while on that ride. All in all Yellowstone is great. Someone reported a bear eating a bison visible from the road, but we weren't able to drive to that location in time. We did see a bison walking down the road exactly as a car would travel. It was in the other direction and holding up about 30 cars. I don't know how long he walked until he decided to stop following the road. The kids got quite a kick out of the bison walking in the middle of the road. Even Bailey said her high was seeing the silly buffalo in the middle of the road.

August 11, 2007-Cody to Yellowstone.
The drive to Yellowstone was only an hour and a half so we decided to see something in Cody. We picked the Old Trail Town museum, which is supposed to replicate an old western town. Inside each building were artifacts and displays. It was pretty neat, but once again, Bailey and Brandon just aren't into that stuff. After a quick Wal-Mart trip to restock, we went to the Buffalo Bill Dam, which was built from 1905 to 1910. At the time it was built it was the world's largest dam. They created it for irrigation but added power generation about 20 years later. God really blessed us at the dam. On the walk back to the RV, Brandon thought he lost his knife. So Sheri went back to the visitor center and asked around. The folks at the visitor center said, we haven't found your knife, but we have your credit card (we had made a purchase at the gift shop). As soon as Sheri returned to the RV, we found Brandon's knife in the RV. If Sheri wouldn't have walked back to the visitor center, we would have left the credit card. We felt truly blessed by God's hand at work. As we approached Yellowstone we were overwhelmed by a burning smell. It just so happened that there was a fire right near the east entrance. The Ranger said that they have about 200 fires each year in Yellowstone. Most of them started by the 10,000+ lightning strikes they get. Another cool thing: the ranger at the entrance gate grew up about 2 miles from where I grew up. It was neat to bump into someone in Wyoming that knew all about West Springfield, Va. Yellowstone is a really cool place. Just in the time we have been here (one afternoon), we have seen a herd of Bison about 10 yards from the road (including two baby Bison), a coyote running through the parking lot, and we didn't see a bear, but they told us to get all the kids in our RVs this evening because a bear had been spotted about 100 yards from our section of the RV park. Don't worry grandparents, we haven't let Bailey walk outside alone since that incident.

August 10, 2007 - Buffalo to Cody
Today we drove from Buffalo to Cody. The trip was only supposed to take 3 hours. However, the route went from 3000 feet to 8000 feet and back to 3000 feet. Sometimes, the RV will only go about 25 mph with the pedal to the floor up those mountains so our trip stretched out about an hour or so. I was concerned the RV would overheat, but all was well. The only problem I had was two pieces of weather stripping that came off as a result of the heavy crosswinds, an easy fix. We took a stretch break about halfway in Big Horn National Forest. We viewed a nice waterfall there and the kids were excited because the ranger gave them some Smokey the Bear water bottles. We arrived at our campground just in time for the kids to join in the craft time they had at the KOA campground. After dinner we went to the world famous Cody Rodeo, which is held each night throughout the summer. I think they had just about every Rodeo event. Seth entered the calf scramble along with 100 other kids. The goal was to pull the red ribbon off of a calf's tail. Unfortunately, the other kids beat him to it. In Wyoming, the kids don't play soccer. They ride bulls. We saw an 11 year old boy being bucked by a small bull and a 5 year old girl barrel racing. You just don't see that back in Virginia.

Yellowstone

I'm having trouble getting on. I won't be able to post for a week or so.

August 9 - Hil City, SD to Buffalo, Wyoming

Yesterday was pretty laid back. We spent a couple hours at the KOA doing the scavenger hunt and playing mini golf. Then we drove the 3.5 hours to Buffalo. We entered Wyoming at mile 5242. In Buffalo, we just enjoyed the pool and played a family card game. Today we travel to Cody, Wyoming. Then on to Yellowstone. With all of the pool time we have had, Brandon and Bailey have become better and better in the water. Brandon has learned how to swim the dog paddle and can make it from one side of the pool to the other (short ways). Just yesterday, Bailey started swimming with her floatation suit. Up until now she had been unwilling to let go of us, but yesterday she realized the suit made her float and she could swim with it. Before we ever got to the poool, she threw a royal fit when we told her she had to wear it because she wanted to wear the other one. But eventually she put it on and I think she was happy she did.

August 9 - Relaxing and Crazy Horse

Today was definitely a day needed by all. We spent from morning until about 3:30 hanging out at the KOA. This KOA is rather large with about 500 sites so they have other attractions like a water slide, putt-putt golf, a scavenger hunt, and other cool stuff for kids. Then we drove the short 20 minute ride to Crazy Horse and spent time there through the laser show at sundown. The Crazy Horse monument is absolutely huge - much bigger than Mt. Rushmore. They started it in 1948 and aren't even 25% complete. Of course the project is entirely privately funded so they have a very small team working on it. I truly wonder if they will ever fully complete it. The laser show was pretty cool as well. The drive home tonight was the most breath taking drive yet. Not because of the scenery, but because of the deer that I almost hit. This deer was right on the white line but practically invisible because of oncoming lights. Thankfully, he chose to run away from me instead of towards me. That was the closest I have ever come to hitting a deer. Tomorrow we are driving to Buffalo, Wyoming where I hope not to hit a Buffalo. We had planned to stop at Jewel Cave on the way, but I think we will just make it a direct shot. The kids really enjoyed the relaxing time today. Sometimes I think I forget to plan more of that in the schedule. As I have said before, once we get beyond Yellowstone, we are going to take it a little easier and probably stretch out the West Coast a little.

August 7 - Badlands to Mt. Rushmore

Today was perhaps one of the most interesting days for me personally. We got the chance to view a control center that controlled 10 of the 1000 minuteman II nuclear warheads that were deployed in the great plains. The door on the control center was approximately 3 feet thick. Prior to today, I didn't really know just how many of these warheads we had ready to launch from 1963 to 1991. Even today we have 500 active warheads that can be deployed on short notice. With the nuclear warheads on our soil and Russia's soil in the 70s and 80s, we could have easily wiped both nations out in a short time period. After touring the control center, the boys got another junior ranger badge at the missle visitor center. We then drove about 2 hours to Mt. Rushmore. Once again, God blessed us with a great weather day. Despite the looming clouds, the rain never fell on us. Mt. Rushmore was impressive, but it was us and about 1000 bikers. Not really a problem except for a few choice t-shirts. I asked one biker just how big this Sturgis rally is. He told me that there will be about 1/2 to 3/4 million bikes there. I got a small feel for that today as I was surrounded by bikes on the way to Mt. Rushmore. Everyone is still holding up well. The two hardest parts of our day are bedtime and wakeup time. At bedtime, we've crammed all four kids in a row, and they sometimes struggle with having their personal space and sharing covers. In the morning, Brandon seems to wake up first and has a hard time not waking others up. Unfortunately, being woken up usually results in grumpiness for some of his siblings. During the day, Brandon and Bailey often get run down, but so far we've all coped quite well. Couple of milestones: Yesterday we crossed 5000 miles and the day before that we entered South Dakota at mile 4828. We are thinking about spending tomorrow chilling out at the campground and taking a short trip to Crazy Horse in the evening. We'll be at the same place tomorrow night and then on to Buffalo, Wyoming. We'll be in Yellowstone by Saturday, where we will spend 5 nights.

August 6 - Badlands

Today we kicked off the day spending an hour with a Ranger who discussed the black footed ferret. These little guys were thought to be extinct in 1979 until a dog brought one home to a rancher in Wyoming. Now there are about a 1000 or so in the wild. We drove the Badlands park loop and stopped to: hike short trails, view a bison crossing the road, look at the prairie dogs, and visit a fossil excavation site where 2 days ago they unearthed a skull from an extinct warthog like creature. The Badlands is the one of the most densely populated fossil areas in the US so digs are usually in some part of the park. This particular one was started because a hiker found the bone sticking out of the ground in 1993. We wrapped up the day visiting Wall Drug. We were surrounded by about 200 bikers because this is bike week in Sturgis, which is a sort drive north of the Badands area. I've never seen so many motorcycles in one place in my life. This morning I just barely made it through the sea of bikes to get gas at the gas station. Tomorrow we will drive to the Mt. Rushmore area for two nights. Oh, and by the way, if you are curious about the poll, we are thinking about 2 weeks for transition. We'll see how the family is holding up by the end of September.

August 5 - Gothernburg, Nebraska to Badlands, South Dakota

From seas of corn to rolling hills of brown grasslands simply describes our journey today. Then out of no where pop up these amazing buttes known as the Badlands. Our trip today was 6 hours, our first trip that long. The kids did really well, and Bailey slept off a few hours, which made us all a little happier. Tomorrow we will be exploring Badlands National Park and the kids will be attending a ranger session. We hope to check out an old minuteman missle silo as well.

August 3 and 4 - Nebraska Corn Country

August 4, 2007 – Grand Island to Eustis to Gothenburg, Nebraska
Today was like reliving Sheri’s family history from 100 years ago. We drove from Grand Island to Eustis, which is the town that Sheri’s great grandparents (The Heaters) lived in from around 1900 to their death. (Note that more distant relatives were in the area earlier, we simply reference the great grandparents because we have a written diary from Sheri’s great grandmother Heater). We met Uncle Truman who lived in a house constructed right on top of the old Heater house, which would have cost too much to remodel. The house still has the fireplace from the Heater house and some other family antiques. Uncle Truman will turn 100 this year!. Sheri’s grandmother lived to be 101 and her great grandmother to 102. I think the Nebraska water must have something really good for longevity. Surprisingly, Uncle Truman still lives in his house alone. In fact, last winter he was by himself when they were without power for 4 days. He still gets around okay and his long term memory is quite good so he told us about some things of the past. His son, Bruce Barret (now 70), was quite a character and joked with the boys about all sorts of stuff. The kids (and Sheri) got a real treat by getting to ride on his Honda Goldwing Trike (3-wheeled motorcycle). While in Eustis we also visited the cemetery where the Heaters were buried and we ate lunch at a restaurant over 100 years old that great grandma and grandpa Heater would have visited. We then ventured to Gothenburg, where we visited the Pony Express office (original 1860 cabin). In 1861 hey had to pay 5 dollars per ounce to ship mail across the country from Missouri to California. The pony express only lasted 18 months because the telegraph and the railroad replaced them. To top the day off, we ate dinner at a RUNZA, which is a Nebraska sandwich with meat, onions, and cabbage. My coworker, Lisa Runge (a Nebraskan) is probably licking her lips as she reads this because she misses her runza sandwiches in Virginia. I enjoy eating food from the area. In fact, I almost ordered Bull Frys at the 100 year-old restaurant in Eustis. I told the boys they needed to try some since we were experiencing the west. If you don’t know what Bull Frys are, you may not want to Google that one. Some things are best left undefined. Instead, try some when you’re out west and find out for yourself how tasty this fine delicacy is!

August 3, 2007 – Lincoln to Grand Island, Nebraska
Today we drove about 1.5 hours to Grand Island. The town has a Pioneer Living History museum that is somewhat like Colonial Williamsburg but on a much smaller scale. They have a town called Railroad Town, which has buildings that were of the 1890s (they actually moved them there from their original location). We really enjoyed talking to the tinsmith, who explained all of the tools he would have used and let the boys use some. We purchased a Virginia shaped cookie cutter the tinsmith had made. We also enjoyed watching the blacksmith, where Seth purchased an "S" hook. The boys got a kick out of hiding in the coal car of the train when other folks walked into the locomotive and never knew the boys were hiding right next to them. My highpoint of the day was being able to get the whole family ice cream and drinks for $10. I was surprised how affordable they had priced the food there. Levi tried Butter Brickle, which is vanilla with some crunchy butter brickle stuff.

August 2, 2007 – Kansas City to Lincoln, Nebraska

Couple of surprises today..First, I hadn’t really looked closely at the interstates to observe that we wouldn’t be driving into the state of Kansas at all. Instead, we drove through Iowa for 15 miles. With the trusty GPS I don’t really spend much time with a map. I tend to just look at the route that day using the GPS. An addition to the first surprise was that the trip wasn’t 4 hours but only 3.5. That last half hour is helpful, trust me. Little Bailey doesn’t like her car seat so much anymore after about 2 hours. The second surprise is has to do with what we did in Lincoln. As I have mentioned in the past, Sheri’s great grandfather was a state representative in the Nebraska state legislature. We had planned on going to the state historical society to look at some documents from the 1920s and 30s. The pleasant surprise was just how helpful the lady was at finding information for us. We came home with copies of pictures of Great Grandpa Heater and other interesting stuff from that era. The third surprise was that G.G. Heater was present when Nebraska switched from a bicameral legislature to a unicameral legislature. Nebraska is the only state with a unicameral legislature. I knew that part, but I was under the false impression it was always that way. We got a copy of the official vote tally when they made the switch. We wrapped the day up by spending an hour in the children’s museum (right next to the state historical society) and then a surprise trip to Arby’s (Brandon and Seth’s favorite place to eat). Seth continues to out eat me at mealtime. He sometimes consumes twice as much food as I do. The next two days will be spent in Nebraska. We hope to see the town that GG Heater lived in and the cemetery where many of Sheri’s distant relatives are buried.

August 1, 2007 – St. Louis to Kansas City

We left St. Louis about 10am and arrived at Kansas City around 2 pm. Couple of milestones: Illinois was 3783 (we actually crossed Illinois on July 30), Missouri was around 3942 (the second time, we stayed on the Illinois side of St. Louis). One significant milestone today was the RV’s oil change. I used the GPS to find nearby automotive shops and then I had to find one that had a bay door big enough to take the RV. Thankfully, I found a nice two-man shop only 1 mile from the campground that had an outdoor lift they use to change oil on school buses. I was also fortunate to be able to call at 2:30pm and they took me today. I’ll have to plan ahead a little more for the next one. Tomorrow we drive about 4 hours to Lincoln, Nebraska. Sheri’s great grandmother (who was born in the 1880s) moved from Iowa to Nebraska in the late 1800s, and Sheri still has family in that area. She recorded a nice compilation of her diaries throughout her life and we have read them during our trip. It’s amazing to hear her life story and the changes that took place from transportation in a horse drawn wagon to the automotive era.