The Journey Home

I am sad to say, but this is the last entry for our blog for this trip. The trip went by so fast. Barry did an excellent job of planning, and we just had a wonderful time. We have been talking about funny stories all day all the while doing laundry and unpacking.

Jacob and I went to the Harry Potter movie Thursday night at midnight. We got back to our hotel about 2:30 am and went straight to bed. Now we planned it to where we stayed at a hotel close to the theatre which was a great location. We walked to dinner one night, and we were able to walk to the theatre the next. We had a great time. We saw teenagers dressed as their favorite characters and they counted down the clock to when the movie was to start and took pictures of each other; it was great. Jacob and I just decided to dress as Muggles (non magic folk). I did surprise Jacob with a Harry Potter t-shirt. So we both wore one. There was lots of cheering and clapping during the show and Jacob and I joined in. All I have to say is, "Thanks Harry for an enjoyable and memorable ride."

We all slept in on Friday, which was a good thing considering Jacob and I were out partying all night. We started with breakfast at the hotel. We had pretty much packed up the night before, so it didn't take long for us to be ready to go.

The plan was to drive to Denver, about 70 miles, and visit the Denver Mint. We only had 4 tickets and we couldn't get a fifth one, so Barry let the four of us go in because he had been before. It was about a 20 minute tour that told the history about the mint and money in general. The mint doesn't make coins everyday, but we did get to see a couple of machines making pennies. The kids loved this. We also saw a couple of bins that had thousands of dollars of quarters. We had a really good tour guide. There were about 30 of us, but he took the time to answer all of the kids' questions. He a couple of times gathered all of the kids in the group and explained specifically how the coins are bagged and counted. The last 5 minutes of the tour took us through the original part of the mint.The murals on the walls and the green glassed chandeliers (that weigh 3,000 pounds) were absolutely beautiful! We thoroughly enjoyed the short tour. I think that we spent the first 15 minutes getting used to an armed guard in front of us and one behind us though.

We finished the tour, and headed straight for the Denver airport. We were about 15 minutes away. We turned in our vehicle and proceeded to ticketing only to find a mass of people waiting in line. I mentioned in earlier blogs about having severe thunderstorms in which the prominent precipitant was hail. Well, this long line was a result of that bad weather. So many airlines had to cancel or delay flights, that there was chaos everywhere. It was organized chaos, but chaos none the less. We did make our plane, but we did not get lunch. Fortunately, I packed some leftover snacks and junk food. Unfortunately, we had to split up on the plane and only Samuel and I ended up with a large quantity of snacks. It was the first time that I had ever had a Poptart on an airplane.

Anyway, we ended up at home about 9:15 last night, after a stop for milk and bread, only to find a fresh pan of homemade brownies and a fresh gallon of milk. Now that's a homecoming! We had a wonderful time seeing and visiting so many things that we had never seen and talking to new people on our trip, but all agreed that it was nice to be in our bed last night. We all slept well. There is no place like home!

Thanks to all who have been following our journey!

Until we travel again . . .

Climbing The Mountain (The Easy Way)

It's hard to believe that this trip is slowly coming to a close. But, we have one more full day to go. Today we started our day with a drive around north Colorado Springs and saw from a distance the Air Force Academy and saw a great view of Pike's Peak. Our first stop of the day was to be in Manitou Springs just a few minutes from our hotel. We took the Cograil Train to the top of Pike's Peak. The entire trip up and back down took about 3 hours and 20 minutes. Of course, we got an abundance of information about the mountain. Several ideas that we had about the peak was totally wrong, so we learned quite a bit. There are only 3 cograils in the U.S. One in Michigan, one in New Hampshire, and this one in Colorado Springs. It just so happens that Jacob has been on 2 of the 3 in the last month.

First of all, Pike's Peak is not the highest point in the range here in Colorado. It is the most visible and recognizable of all of the peaks. There are actually 53 peaks that are over 14,000 feet in the range and Pike's Peak is #31 for the highest point. Pike's Peak is at 14,110 feet. The ride up was absolutely beautiful. The unnerving part was that at several points we were at a 25% grade. That is pretty steep. At these points, we were probably only going about 3-5 miles per hour. The conductor told us many stories about the railway and the pioneers who forged through the forest and rock. When we reached the top, the air was unbelievable thin. The kids didn't do much running around on top while we were there. We had taken water bottles with us because one can easily get dehydrated at that altitude. We only stayed about 45 minutes because a lot of people will start to experience certain high altitude sicknesses. So, we had just enough time to walk around the top, take about 20 pictures, use the restroom and return to the train. We also ate a warm donut while on top. It was the thing to do.

Interesting notes about the weather. The temperature had dropped 30 degrees from where we started. We knew that this would be a possibility, so we packed jackets. The temperature on top was about 49 degrees which wasn't bad except it was very windy and overcast. We got several shots of storms approaching. It is amazing what you can see this high up. The rain shafts were clearly visible. As we were heading back to the train, it started hailing; lots and lots of hail fell very fast. The clouds were pretty low and we were pretty high, so the water was frozen. By the time our train started moving the thunder and lightning had started, and as we were traveling, it looked like it had snowed there was so much hail on the ground. What's interesting is that we saw hail last night while at dinner, so we have seen a ton of hail in less than 24 hours. In some parts of town last night, golf ball size hail along with flooding was reported.

We then returned back to the location of our hotel and found a Red Robin and had dinner. Jacob and I will finish off the day and start the next day with the midnight showing of Harry Potter. Yes, we will be out with all of the rest of the crazies not being able to wait for a decent hour to view the movie.

Tomorrow we head to Denver to fly home. On the way to the airport we will stop off at the Denver Mint and take a 20 minute tour. Hope Jacob and I can stay awake.

Alabama home bound . . .

Rocky Mountain High

Today was another day that was just trying to get us from "Point A to Point B".

We woke up this morning in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Because we didn't have very far to travel (about 200 miles), we slept in and tried to get caught up on all of the excitement we have had over the last week or so. We left the hotel around 9:30 headed south. Our travels took us through the Colorado highlands. We spent most of the day above 8,000 feet in elevation. At one point, the outside temperature was 51 degrees. We felt sorry for all of our friends in North Alabama who have been suffering with 110+ heat indexes during this past week. (But, not sorry enough come home today!)

We pulled over into a parking space and had lunch in the van in downtown Breckenridge, Colorado. Breckenridge is one of the most popular ski communities in Colorado. After our lunch of PB&Js, we walked around the downtown area and visited several shops. It's a great town.

After that, we drove through Fairplay and approached Colorado Springs from the west. We made a brief stop at the Fossil Beds National Monument and saw some petrified tree stumps. It was interesting, but more importantly, we went on a one-mile hike and that gave the kids a chance to get some of their "wiggles" out.

When we arrived in Colorado Springs, we drove around the Garden of the Gods before heading to the hotel. Immediately next to the hotel was an Outback Steakhouse. As you can tell from the blogs, we've been trying to save money on our meals. Nearly all of our hotels offer a full breakfast and we've been eating lunch out of our cooler. That has allowed us to reserve dinner for a better meal (hopefully involving vegetables). So, we thoroughly enjoyed Outback.

While we were eating, our (weather geek) iPhones went off informing us that we were under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning. Within a couple of minutes, hail was falling from the sky and the rain was pounding hard. It actually worked out really well. We had walked over to the restaurant and the rain had stopped by the time we were finished.

We're all settled into the hotel about it get a good night's sleep. Our only scheduled activity for tomorrow is a trail ride to the top of Pike's Peak.

Until tomorrow…

We Passed The Test!

(Barry filling in again today.)

There is not a lot to report today. Our goal for today is to travel from one location (Yellowstone/Grand Teton area) to our next location (Colorado Springs). About halfway between those two locations is Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Steamboat Springs is mostly known for its skiing in the wintertime. Obviously, there not much of that going on right now.

So, we made that drive today. We spent the first part of our day in the Wyoming highlands around 6,000 feet in elevation. We could see snow covered mountain ranges on our east and west. It was beautiful. We spent the rest of the day traveling backroads and finally made our way to Steamboat Springs.

We actually had one more goal for today. Tabatha is taking a class this summer that is going towards her teaching certification. Unfortunately, her mid-term exam fell during this week of the trip. She's been studying off and on during the trip, but performed a "cramming session" today while we drove. When we got to Steamboat Springs, the kids and I left her alone in the hotel room and went downtown to walk around. About 90 minutes later, we got the call she had successfully passed her exam and that she was ready for dinner. So, we picked her up and went out to eat.

We've had a pretty hard schedule during this trip, but the last three days are much more relaxed. So, we are looking forward to sleeping in a little, then making our way to Colorado Springs tomorrow. I haven't been to "The Springs" in a few years. I used to travel out here a good bit on a former job. I'll be glad to spend some time out there when I don't have report to work every morning.

We didn't very many pictures today, so I'll leave you with a picture from yesterday. However, this picture was sent to us from Alabama. Nick, a friend of ours from home, was able to capture our family yesterday as we waved at the web-camera in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I guess it is digital proof that we are actually here.

Until tomorrow…..

I Finally Saw A Moose

We started our morning in Colter Bay in Grand Teton National Park. We drove about 45 minutes to Moose, Montana to take a raft ride down the Snake River. This was about a 2 hour excursion. So we donned our life-vests and boarded the raft with 7 other people. The view was spectacular to say the least. Our guide was very knowledgeable; he has been guiding these raft rides for about 5 years, so he knew where to look for the animals and could tell us many stories about the Tetons. We saw a bald eagle and one of its offspring, and we saw 2 bull moose eating by the river. We were so excited, I think we would have ridden again. It was quite chilly this morning (about 60 degrees), so some of us had jackets on during the ride, quite the temperature difference from Athens, Alabama.

Now during the ride our guide of course was educating us about the mountains. We had noticed that there was a lot of snow still on top. The guide said that they normally receive 450 inches of snow a year, but this past year, they received 732 inches, so the snow is still quite thick on the mountains. This also explains why the Snake River was so cloudy. Typically, by this time of the year, you can see the bottom of the river. So, the river is still receiving runoff. The water is moving so swiftly, that we could hear the popping of the stones underneath us. The stones were actually be moved by the current.

After the raft ride, we found a picnic area and ate our usual lunch of PB&J sandwiches and then headed toward the Jenny Lake Visitor's Center to get our books stamped. The lake was very pretty and so clear that you could see the bottom of the water. This was the happening spot today. There were hikers getting ready to hike the Tetons, people taking boat rides out onto the lake and us others who were just wondering around taking in the view.

We left the the visitor's center and traveled to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to stay for the night. We walked all over the town and had a great burger at a little bitty hole in the wall diner. It is amazing the people you meet and how they end up where they are. Our waitress was from Russia. Now how does a Russian girl end up in Wyoming?

During our "walk-about" we came to the town park. What is so famous about the park is the antler arches that you walk through to enter. We knew that there was a web-cam there, so we emailed a couple of people that we were there, and we started getting texts and emails about them seeing us. Again technology is amazing!

The story about the antler arches is that elk loose their antlers every winter, so the Boy Scout Troops go out into the fields and collect the them and sell them. There are so many, that they use them for decorations. It is a $750 fine for removing an antler from the arches.

Next to the park at 6 pm this evening, there was a mock gunfight. I thought that the kids would love this; boy was I wrong. Once those guns started firing, you'd thought that my kids had been shot. Elizabeth Ann started balling, Samuel was curled up in a ball with his hands over his ears, and Jacob just wasn't looking. I did not get "Mom of the Year" for that activity. Gunfight--not good!

We have finally retreated to our hotel and are going to turn in early tonight. Tomorrow is a long driving day to Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Until then . . .

Pictures From Yesterday

We are in Jackson Hole, Wyoming tonight and have a great Internet connection. So, I'm including a few pictures from yesterday.

Yellowstone National Park

We started our day in Cody, Wyoming. We had stayed at a Mom and Pop type hotel last night which turned out to be a very roomy place. Everyone had a bed and plenty of room to move around.

We ate breakfast at a McDonald's with all of the locals and bikers that were in town and then headed for Walmart. You know that you have reached some sort of civilization when you find a good 'ole Walmart. That was a stop for poptarts, OJ, and waterbottles. We weren't sure of what our options would be for breakfast for tomorrow, so we thought a cold poptart would at least fill us up.

We headed into Yellowstone National Park about an hour later and were amazed by what we saw. There were lots and lots of Kodak Moments to say the least. The first wildlife we saw were some big horned sheep just standing on the hillside; we then watched them walk onto a large bank of snow. Then the excitement started. The bison were out. Jacob and I had to take a picture of everyone that we saw. Finally, there were herds of them. They weren't countable anymore.

At this point, we were on the Northeast point of Yellowstone Lake. We stopped at the visitor's center, and everyone got there passport stamped. We walked down to the lake and took some pictures. It's amazing that we saw, what I call, Christmas trees on the shore of the lake. Absolutely beautiful.

When we left the center we drove up to the upper and lower falls. They were breathtaking. These are the falls that are usually shown in pictures and on TV.

Originally, we were to drive the upper loop of Yellowstone, but we changed our minds. We were only about 15 miles from Montana and four of us had never been there, so we decided to go. We drive through West Yellowstone, Montana just to say that we had been there.

The next major stop was Fountain Paint Pot. Here we walked a loop around some boiling mud pools. The kids weren't too crazy about the sulfa smell, but they loved what they saw. We literally saw the ground boiling and spitting mud. One of the pools was named "The Dragon" and for good reason. The venting made a horrible roaring noise. I guess a dragon could sound like that.

The next couple of stops involved viewing geysers. The landscape changes so drastically here. Beautiful grassy fields, rolling mountains, boiling mud pools, and ground that has hydrothermal activity with spewing water. We eventually made it to Old Faithful. It erupts approximately every 93 minutes, and we watched twice. We knew that there was a webcam at the top of the visitor's center that looks out over the viewing area and of the geyser, so we called Bonny and Barry's parents, and they were able to see us. Technology is amazing!

In between the two eruptions, we walked into the Old Faithful Inn and ate a quick bite for dinner. For you Disney fans, this was one of the hotels that was a model for the Wilderness Lodge in Orlando. The similarities were obvious.

We left Old Faithful and finally exited the Yellowstone National Park and entered the Grand Teton National Park. We could see these mountains from Cody, but the closer we got, the bigger they got.

We did see a huge grizzly bear on our way out of the park. I quickly decided that he was big enough for about 5 bears and that I didn't care to see anymore. That huge thing sauntered right across the street. I guess it is his territory, and we are the visitors; I don't mind staying out of the way. My goal for the rest of the evening was to see a moose. We saw one on the way into the park, but there was no pull-off. He was just a blur in my lens. I have seen no moose today.

We arrived too late to go to the park's visitor center, so that is first on our list tomorrow. We are to take a raft ride down the Snake River before lunch. We are really looking forward to that.

We are actually staying in a cabin tonight in the park. We have stepped out of the door a couple of times and have had deer between us and our van. We have to abide by all park rules, so our food and drinks have to be stored in our vehicle. This cabin has no telephone, no TV, no kitchen amenities, no A/C, and no Internet. We are, however, close to a "guest lounge" that is a common room, and it has wireless access. So, we have been able to eek out a weak wireless signal in our cabin. Since it is so hard to have good bandwidth, I won't be posting any pictures tonight. I will try to post some extra tomorrow night. We will have full internet tomorrow evening.

Until then . . .