CARRIE: It was mostly rainy, muddy and buggy all week. Not my idea of a fun week…

AMY: Agreed. However, there was a great running trail around this beautiful lake:

AMY: I am grateful Jon has been joining me during my weekday runs. I enjoy sharing these early morning moments with him:

CARRIE: What did I tell you? Buggy! It wasn’t just mosquitos though, their little biting-gnat friends were in on it too:

AMY: We were also invaded by the gypsy moth caterpillars. They would dangle from tree limbs, door posts, awnings and many made their way into the RV. I wonder if we will find moths later this summer?

My sister Sherry recommended stopping at the Griffis Sculpture Park in nearby Ellicottville. It was a good hike around fleshy sculptures. Why didn’t you stick around to admire the artwork?

CARRIE: It was embarrassing! Also, the night before it had rained so hard the ground was swampy.

AMY: We also hiked an area called Little Rock City, a larger area similar to the Thunder Rocks we found in the state park.  At first, we assumed these large rocks were pushed here by the glaciers, but we discovered that they are very old sedimentary rocks that were once at the bottom of a body of water. The softer rock has eroded away leaving these marvels to hike through.

CARRIE: I wonder if there is this much mud and bugs in the jungle?

AMY: Even with all those challenges, it was an impressively beautiful place.

AMY: On Friday, we moved a little north and east to Letchworth State Park, the so-called “Grand Canyon of the East.”

CARRIE: I enjoyed it better than Niagara Falls because there were a lot less people. I. Don’t. Like. Crowds.

AMY: You are so right, Carrie. It was nice to just hang out and admire the falls as long as we wanted.

AMY: A runner I met in Williamsburg VA was able to connect me with this running group in Dansville NY (Thanks Bob!). After several weekends running solo, it was great to meet up with fellow distance runners. Running groups have been a great way for me to connect and get an inside scoop into the local scene. I am so grateful for these kind, welcoming folks!

CARRIE: On Saturday, we went to Women’s Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls NY. I was fascinated to see how hard women had to work to do more than what was just expected of them. I feel fortunate to be a girl in the 21st century.

AMY: We had an air conditioner go out on us this week (fortunately we have two). Jon very carefully examined the non-working unit and identified the broken parts. We’re expecting delivery of the new parts later this week. Total cost: $51! :)

AMY: Today, we drove to this campsite in the Adirondacks where we were warmly greeted by the fresh smell of pines.

CARRIE: Daddy took this picture approximately an hour after the photo above….this week has made me miss being out west where there was less rain, less humidity, and fewer bugs.

Maybe it’s because I love Adirondack chairs, but I have been looking forward to visiting this area and hope for some cool field trips this week.

NATALIE: At first I was really scared because I thought I would have to go on every ride and that most would be really scary.

We went on Wednesday afternoon in hopes that the crowds would be smaller. We crammed all our school and work in the morning and arrived just after lunch. No lines to get in — so far, so good!

Once inside the park, we could get on most rides in just 15 minutes. We were able to do a lot in just an afternoon.

NATALIE: This was one of our family’s favorite rides! It was fun because the cart would move all over to make you feel like you were in the movie.

Here we are in our cool 3-D glasses waiting on the Despicable Me ride.

NATALIE: This was my other favorite ride because there was a roller coaster in the movie and you felt like you were really on a ride, but it was just a movie.

And at the end of our short day, we were exhausted, and wondered how we would have managed any more walking in one day!

NATALIE: When we got there, everyone would walk on these flat escalators, probably wanting to get in line for the rides. But when we left, everyone was too tired to walk!

One thing I had been wanting to do while in the Orlando area was to visit Blue Spring State Park, a winter manatee refuge. I called ahead and learned from the rangers that only when it is cool enough to wear a jacket will you find manatee in the warm spring waters of the park. We had enjoyed almost two weeks of beautiful 80 degree days until Thursday! The weather then turned cool and rainy, so we packed up and left on Friday for the state park.

We weren’t disappointed! There were many manatee seeking refuge in the warm spring waters. Of course, there were lots of people there too.

NATALIE: Mom and I got up early the next morning to see the manatees. We were the only ones there and counted 18 manatee in the first spot. I loved how the water was clear so we could see the manatee. They are now one of my favorite sea animals!

Later on Saturday, we traveled a little further north to St. Augustine. It has been almost 500 years ago that Ponce de Leon’s landed in “La Florida” looking for gold, silver and the fountain of youth.

We were surprised when we had to drive around several times to find parking and then encountered long lines of people everywhere!

We stopped at the Castillo de San Marcos, a nearly 350 year old fort. We arrived just in time to hear the ranger give us a brief history of the place.

…and witness the powerful Spanish cannon drills:

This fort was built from coquina (very old shells). It’s quarried as a soft substance but the sun bakes it into a harder material suitable for building. This unique, local, natural resource proved to be the perfect building material and withstood a number of sieges over its lifetime.

I love our Sunday morning hikes, but they aren’t always everyone’s favorite. No one complained this morning when I suggested we walk the beach near our campground.

The beach and it’s soft, warm sand were very inviting even though the wind and currents were strong.

It was a great way to end our time in eastern Florida.

We headed back to the west coast this afternoon and are looking forward to spending the week with family again. Uncle Walter and I have signed up for a race next weekend that I am really looking forward to.

NATALIE: Actually, my friend asked me to do another blog post.

AMY: I thought I had a great idea after last week’s failed attempt at floating in the creek; everyone liked the idea of a creek hike!

NATALIE: I came up with the idea of a creek hike!

AMY: OK Nat, you had been asking to hike in the creek, but I was hoping it would get everyone used to the creek and willing to try floating again. We did the creek hike, but no one ever “warmed” up to the floating idea.

NATALIE: I didn’t like floating, it was scary!

AMY: So, we found some other things to do. There was a historic fish hatchery right next to our campground that we visited one morning.

NATALIE: My favorite part was feeding the rainbow trout. I had been wanting to see them since I had seen pictures of them because their skin looked like it had different layers of colors.

AMY: Is that what they looked like in person?

NATALIE: Yes, you can see in the picture the red, green and blue colors on the fish.

NATALIE: Feeding them seemed overwhelming for the fish. As soon as you would throw food into the water, they would all scurry to the same place to grab the food. It looked like the water was boiling.

AMY: We also drove to Deadwood, SD, not expecting much, but hoping for a fun afternoon.

NATALIE: There were a lot of casinos, some gift shops and stores. It was overwhelming and my feet hurt.

AMY: We also took a field trip to Wind Cave National Park. It was a 2 hour drive, but since there was a heat advisory and temperatures forecasted to be over 100 degrees, a cool cave sounded like a great place to spend an afternoon!

NATALIE: I was cold! My favorite part of the cave tour was the crystals that looked like popcorn.

AMY: It was a good tour and we saw some beautiful boxwork, a rare cave formation prevalent in Wind Cave.

AMY: When we emerged from our dark, cool refuge, we saw the sky filled with smoke from a nearby forrest fire. A ranger we found wasn’t able to give us many details but advised us on the safe route to take back to Spearfish. From other news reports, we learned this fire had started the morning before from a lightening strike.

NATALIE: It was very, very scary. We could even see flames.

AMY: We left Spearfish on Friday, heading further east toward Minnesota. It was another long day of driving.

NATALIE: I hate the long drives, they make me feel nauseous when I try to read.

AMY: Poor Nat, you do have a tendancy to get carsick. Although, you seem to have a much harder time riding in the car, right?!

NATALIE: Yes, I hate that feeling!  :(

AMY: When we stopped for gas, it was so hot, Jon recorded the temperature:

AMY: We made the drive to Pipestone, MN without anyone getting sick. The next morning, we stopped at the Pipestone National Monument. Aside from this site belonging to the National Parks, I didn’t really know what to expect. We found an interesting museum with good stories about the history and natural resources of this place.

NATALIE: There was a small table with three pipestones. We could carve into them and I tried to make a turtle.

AMY: The pipestone found here has been quarried for hundreds of years and crafted into pipes, valuable to the Lakota tribe living nearby. Here is a craftsman demonstrating his work. There was great skill and pride shown by the artisans here. It was a wonderful place to visit.

NATALIE: After watching them, I got an idea to make a buffalo, but it was too hard. The curves and horns are not easy to do!

AMY: There was a short walk through the pipestone formations to this lovely waterfall. Another good shot, Jon!

NATALIE: It started to rain in Pipestone. That was my least favorite part about the hike. I loved the waterfall.

AMY: This formation, named “The Oracle,” was well pointed out by this hole in the sign.

AMY: Good job, Natalie, for getting all your Jr. Ranger questions right.

NATALIE: Woo-hoo! I like doing the Jr. Ranger activities and games!

AMY: Then we drove just a little more than an hour to Walnut Grove, MN. There are many Laura Ingalls Wilder sites spread throughout South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri, but Walnut Grove is certainly what I remember best from the TV show. It was fun to see all the exhibits and memorabilia in this small museum. However, the weekends in July are very busy and we were quickly overwhelmed by a crowd of visitors, so we didn’t stick around.

NATALIE: My favorite part was the model of their house. I wish I could build one and play with it.

AMY: Emily, our resident safety inspector, leaves us reminders:

AMY: Now, if you saw my itinerary Jon posted, I made no mention of this next stop. Emily, however, saw that we were close to a large city, so she started to check out the airport and the potential for plane spotting. Before I knew it, she had a day planned in Minneapolis. We were less than 70 miles away from the airport, so I was game.

AMY: In her research, she found this hill where we picnicked and watched the planes come and go. We even saw a fighter jet take off, our bonus for the afternoon!

AMY: Part of Emily’s itinerary was to stop at the Mall of America, conveniently located near the airport.

NATALIE: My favorite part of the mall was the American Girl Store! I really wanted the camping gear, but I didn’t have enough money. :(

NATALIE: I didn’t care about the rides, I like to shop!

AMY: Emily was immediately drawn to the “Peeps” store. She loves them! I wasn’t expecting much, because I am a chocolate girl. However, we were greeted with free  samples of their chocolate Peepsters when we walked in. Oh my, the dark chocolate variety is very good!

NATALIE: The milk chocolate Peepsters were good too. I also loved the giant stuffed bunnies you see in the background (which I wanted, but I didn’t even have enough money for the medium-sized one).

AMY: I don’t think they would have fit in the RV either!

NATALIE: These were great Lego sculptures! My favorite one was the warrior with the big horned sheep, but you can’t see that one in this picture. Mom also made a challenge for us: if we could figure out the new price of an item on sale she would buy it for us. I got some mix-and-match socks and fake nails that smell like fruit. Little Miss Matched was my favorite store!

AMY: Here’s Emily with one of her purchases of the day. Imagine that…building a Lego plane!

AMY: We will be camping near Rochester, MN for most of the week. Next weekend, we will travel through Wisconsin for a few stops, then back to Indy. Unbelievable. This journey has taken us places we never knew existed and taught us more about our country and ourselves. I have loved the life lessons we have learned and will now face the challenge of incorporating those into the next chapter of our lives (whatever that ends up being!)

EMILY: Blue, because it is the Boeing color!

AMY: We enjoyed our time in West Yellowstone camped right next to Shawna and Matthew.

EMILY: Gus, their cat, and Bella, their dog, were really cute and fun to play with. Natalie had a lot of fun with Bella. Though I am a cat person, so I paid more attention to Gus.

AMY: Monday evening, we packed a picnic and headed off to see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, about an hour drive from West Yellowstone. We were less than half way there when traffic came to a crawl due to two small traffic accidents, and an unknown third traffic jam up the road.

EMILY: It was so miserable. We were in traffic for half an hour and had only gone 4 miles. We drove for a while and it felt like the traffic never ended. Good thing we didn’t bring the RV down there because we couldn’t turn around in the narrow roads.

AMY: So, we grew impatient and hungry. We turned around looking for an easier place to have our picnic dinner.

AMY: Matthew led us to the Madison area for our picnic. Sitting in traffic can really make you hungry!

AMY: These beautiful lodgepole pines were plentiful in Yellowstone. What happened to the bark?!

EMILY: Those crazy buffalo love to rub their horns on the bark. :)

EMILY: Then, we went to the stream where really hot water collided with a cold river. The hot stream felt like a hot tub. I wish I saw a fish, but I didn’t.

AMY: This was a really “cool” place to visit! Rocks had been placed around the hot springs, like little natural hot tubs.

AMY: On Tuesday, we found a local place for you girls to get haircuts.

EMILY: I just loved my hair! Natalie didn’t like the way her hair stuck out at the bottom.

AMY: On Wednesday, Shawna and Matthew gave us an early anniversary gift, a date night!

EMILY: So while Mom and Dad went on their little date, Carrie, Natalie and I hung out at Shawna and Matthew’s. We watched a few episodes of Project Runway, baked cookies, and messed with Gus and Bella. Mmmmmmmmmmm, cookies.

AMY: And we packed a romantic picnic dinner and headed for a beautiful peninsula on the Hebgen Lake. We arrived just as a storm blew in, so we ate in the car.

AMY: The storm quickly passed, so we decided to stick around and luckily caught site of this amazing double rainbow. It faded fast, so I am glad we saw it at its fullest.

A beautiful sunset:

And these post-storm, sunset colored clouds:

AMY: On Thursday it was time for us to say our sad good-byes to Shawna and Matthew and head east. We drove back through Yellowstone to see a few more sites, like these elk.

EMILY: There were traffic lines just for elk and bison. I know they are really cool, but why so much traffic for just two animals?

AMY: Roaring Mountain’s hissing steam vents:

AMY: We had a full day of driving to get to Devils Tower in eastern Wyoming. We budget about a tank of gas a week and, knowing where the truckstops are with our handy-dandy exit guide, we ran the tank down to the lowest we have had it yet.

EMILY: I was so scared! I don’t like running low on gas.

AMY: But now we finally know how big our gas tank is! This is what a full tank costs at one of the best prices we have paid so far on this trip:

AMY: We got to Devils Tower National Monument late that day and camped at their quiet, no-hookup campground, so we would be ready to explore the park the next morning.

EMILY: It was a really nice campground. The sunset was cool. 

AMY: An early (for my family) hike took us from the campground to the Visitor’s Center and  around the base of this interesting geological formation. Millions of years ago this was created by an underground lava flow, then the ground surrounding was eroded away to expose this formation.

EMILY: The Indians called it “Bear Lodge” because it looks like a giant bear scratched the  rock while he was climbing it. We also watched the movie “Close Encounters Of the Third Kind.” It has Devils Tower in it.

AMY: Then on Friday, we drove about an hour to get to Spearfish, SD because I was signed up for a half-marathon. Here I am, eating dinner all by myself because everyone else thought it was too hot outside. It was much warmer here than at Yellowstone, but I need to get out of the RV, so I don’t mind.

EMILY: I don’t like eating outside on hot days. The flies are really bad here. We constantly have to kill them. Most of the time, we miss.

AMY: I had been wanting to run another race since the last one in Boulder, CO and had scoped a few out along the route. When I discovered this race finished in the City park, right next to the Spearfish City Campground, I knew I had found the perfect match.

EMILY: Heh heh, there I am building a fairy house. It is a nice campground! I really like riding my bike around. There is a creek that is nice and cool that I like to wade in on these hot days.

AMY: I love all the shade trees, room to play and the bike path that runs through the park and then around the city.

AMY: The race down Spearfish Canyon was on Saturday morning. I was able to walk to the shuttle that took us to the start line and then ran back to the park for the finish. There were only about 300 runners, so I felt like I was running by myself with just a few people along the way for encouragement. I loved it! It was nice to not have to shout out to avoid the bears too; that kind of ruins my peaceful runs.

EMILY: Dad and I thought this would be a big race with huge crowds and roads blocked off, but we were way off, it was a super small race. Dad was thinking “Uh-oh, I don’t see the crowds and the roads blocked off, this must be a long walk!” But, it was just around the corner from the RV, it was great. Good planning, Mom!

AMY: The creek was a perfect place for cooling my heels.

EMILY: Good thing it isn’t like the melted snow at the Grand Tetons! That was much colder.

AMY: Later that day, the girls and I went to a local service station to pick up some tire tubes for floating down that same cool creek.

EMILY: I couldn’t see anything and I was squished.

AMY: While on this trip, we have seen many great rivers and streams with happy people floating along. It always looked like so much fun, so we were excited to finally try it ourselves. The excitement faded when we realized how difficult it was going to be to keep us all together down this unfamiliar creek. An overturned Natalie was cold and panicked, Emily had scraped legs from the rocks and I was yelling out “helpful” instructions, while Carrie was floating along cool as a cucumber.

EMILY: My leg still hurts from tubing.

AMY: Em and Nat were out after just one round. When Carrie and I made a second pass at the creek, I discovered that my iPhone had gotten wet and wasn’t coming on. Not good! So, the tubes then doubled as a fun place for backbends…

…and hide-and-seek.

EMILY: It is more fun than floating in the river.  

AMY: For our Sunday morning hike, I was eager to show everyone the peaceful canyon I had run the day before. I found mysterious instructions (“look for the deepest curve in the creek and head toward the thin draw between the two hillsides…”) that led us to this local-favorite hike. Once we found the secluded trail, it was a good climb to get to this point with the caves.

EMILY: The cold waterfall felt so good on my hot head.

AMY: We climbed a little further to get to the top of the falls and found some interesting rocks along the way:

AMY: We ended our morning with a short walk to the Roughlock Falls. I love Jon’s picture!

EMILY: It felt like Washington (my favorite state) because of all the moss, trees, and waterfalls.

AMY: Spearfish is a great little town and I am looking forward to hanging out here this week. I hope to see some nearby sites we missed on our way West last year.

EMILY: I am looking forward to going to Oshkosh, WI. There is a big airshow with lots of activities like flight simulators, and other plane stuff. I am super duper duper duper duper excited to see everyone when we get back!

NAT: I want to be pink.

Great, and I’ll just be plain black. So, we started our week with a short trip from West Wendover, NV to Tooele, UT, so we could stay at an inexpensive fairgrounds campsite for the week. Along the way, we marveled at the snow-white salt that went on for miles.

NAT: I liked driving the RV on the salt! I was kinda nervous and it was a little scary.

On Tuesday afternoon, the girls and I went to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The library is an effort of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to preserve genealogical records from all over the world. As soon as we walked through the front door, we were greeted and given special “first time guest” name badges, watched an introductory video, then assigned a missionary who got us started with our family research. We never had to stand around wondering about what to do or where to go.

NAT: It was fun looking up our family. I did not get a computer but Carrie and I shared one. Carrie and I thought it was hard finding family members, so when we did find one we were really excited. The lady that helped us was really nice and printed copies for us, but only mom wanted copies.

Yes, you girls worked well together. We set out with a few family “mysteries” we were trying to solve. We didn’t get to finish our research but found some interesting facts and a new-found interest in family history!

Then on Wednesday, Emily and I went to the Salt Lake City International Airport for some plane spotting. She had been scoping out good places to view planes and had high hopes that it would be a good spotting airport. It turned out to be just ok. Here is a shot she took from the parking garage:

This airport also had a bike trail that ran through the property. The friendly policeman that stopped to question us recommended it as a better spotting site. As we walked the trail, a Boeing 757 came in for a landing. That was the most exciting part of our day!

NAT: Sometimes I wish I liked plane spotting, but it’s not my thing!

This county-run complex turned out to be a great parking spot for the week; full hookups, good internet and cheap! We even had the whole place to ourselves (until Thursday when a softball tournament started).

There were several sports fields, BMX and motorcross tracks and…

…a waterpark! What luck for a heatwave week!

NAT: But I got a bad sun burn on my face, and now have flaky stuff on my face. And moisturizer does not work.

On Friday, we moved to Antelope Island State Park, a large island on the Great Salt Lake. The island is home to its namesake antelope, but it was the large herd of bison that was brought here in the late 1800’s that got Natalie’s interest.

NAT: That was my favorite thing of course! There were a lot of babies too!

Very few animals can survive in water with such a high concentration of salt. However, these brine flies were flourishing! They form a blanket near the edge of the water and move in waves as you walk toward them. The tiny creatures proved to be a formidable barrier for our girls’ nerves, except for Natalie.

NAT: The flies weren’t that bad, truly. I watched someone else walk through the flies first and so I did it too. 

Natalie was brave, not only to walk through the flies first, but she was the only one in our family who tried to swim and float in the salty water.

NAT: You didn’t really have to try hard to float, it was really fun. Just a drop of the water was really, really salty. I got some in my mouth and could taste it for five whole minutes!

Eventually, we all tip-toed through the flies and trudged through the murky waters with a clay-like bottom that squished through our toes. We wanted to say that we had been in the Great Salt Lake.

NAT: The campsite was really nice and a short walk to the lake. 

We found these interesting tracks too. Who made those, Nat?

NAT: Bison! 

Later that night, Jon was outside working on a stubborn plumbing repair problem by this bright moonlight.

NAT: Dad called us outside (mom was already asleep and I was almost asleep) to see the bright moonlight. I never thought the moon could be so bright!

What is this?!

NAT: This is a mouse. They were everywhere. Dad said that he could hear this one scurrying around him while taking our picture by the moon. He is a cute little critter. 

We started our Saturday by searching for an RV plumbing parts store and got stuck in this 4th of July parade route.

After several hours of searching, Jon found a part that would work and we were finally on our way north to the Golden Spike National Historic Site. The girls and I have been reading a book about the Transcontinental Railroad, so we were glad this stop was not far off our route. They have two replica steam engines to “transport” you back to the 1860’s.

NAT: Golden Spike was cool and it was fun to watch the historical train run. Since we have been reading the book, I understood this site better. I remembered the two teams that were racing to finish the railroad. Libby (the book’s main character) remembered the teams like this: the Union Pacific started with a “U” for “us” since she lived on that side and the Central Pacific was from California and many of the workers were from China, all C’s.

While the original golden spike resides in a museum at Stanford, the last tie laid was still there to commemorate this important place in history. It was remarkable to see just how hard these “teams” worked to build this important transportation link. They weren’t allowed to build the rails any steeper than a 2% grade, so this meant the Central Pacific team had to blast and dig through the Sierra Nevadas, progressing at a rate of only 8 inches a day!

Then we drove on to Idaho!

NAT: The state of famous potatoes!

We stopped at a small town on the Snake River, which had a very nice, clean RV park next to their city park. We got there in time for the sunset.

The cold river felt really good on tired toes.

We drove a little further north on Sunday morning to the Minidoka National Historic Site, the largest Japanese Internment Camp during WWII. We were on a roll, getting to see another place we had recently read about. This book from the Dear America series was a favorite for us girls.

NAT: The book was sad, but a good book.  This was an interesting site to go to, but I thought it was upsetting. But at least the Japanese made the best of it. They had girl scouts, a post office, a hospital, a school and lots of other things too. I thought this site was a good spot to go see. 

This was all that was left of the 420 barracks that once occupied this dry Idaho dessert and housed more than 7,000 people with Japanese ancestry. Each family, no matter the size, was given one room. It was disturbing to think that even American citizens were forced from their homes, leaving behind belongings and businesses, and forced to live here for nearly four years.

About an hour and a half up the road, the landscape made another dramatic change. This is Craters of the Moon National Monument:

This park is made up of lava flows that are just over 2,000 years old; “yesterday” in geological terms. We arrived just in time for a Ranger-led hike into the lava tubes…what luck! Our hike was led by a former kindergarten teacher who pointed out many interesting facts and features around the park, like these ferns growing in a hot and dry climate.

NAT: There was a Limber Pine growing there and the park ranger explained the difference between a Colorado Blue Spruce and a Limber Pine.  A spruce would fall at craters of the moon (she used Em & me for the example, I was a limber pine & Em was a blue spruce) and a Limber Pine would be fine here. 

We learned about the three types of lava flows that are found at Craters of the Moon. This amazing creation is an example of pahoehoe (p -hoi hoi), a hawaiian word meaning “smooth, unbroken lava”.

NAT: My favorite was the ‘A’a (ah-ah) lava and the ‘A’a dance. If you walk on this type of lava you will say “ah-ah” because it is very sharp.

The ranger led us into this large lava tube called Indian Tunnel. It was a cool and refreshing part of our hike compared to the heat that was radiating off the dark lava beds on the surface.

NAT: There were lots of different colors in the cave. My favorite was the orange colored lava, which was made from rain.

We walked and scrambled through the 800 ft. tube and climbed out the back door.

The landscape surrounding this large lava field was beautiful too:

We ended the day with a climb up Inferno Cone:

It was very windy at the top:

And fun to run down:

The cone was covered with these spectacularly beautiful cinders. They were clay-like with many hollows on the inside but iridescent and colorful on the outside.

Jon is proving just how much spinach he has been eating lately:

We stopped just a few more miles up the road in Arco, ID. It will be another quick stop, as we are headed to the big park next week…Yellowstone.

While at the creamery, I discovered a local Jersey farm that welcomed visitors. Natalie says Jerseys are her favorite. The other girls were not interested in milking a cow.

Natalie got to try her hand at milking. Success!

I did too. Funny, I didn’t notice that fresh pile at the time:

We came home with these farm-fresh eggs. The blue-ish ones are from a so-called “easter egg” chicken which has a gene responsible for the blue shells:

…and of course I had to get some raw milk. Jon, being the milk connoisseur of the family, thought it would taste more exotic but agreed it was just really good milk. The cream was wonderful in my coffee!

That day was also a travel day, so it was a convenient opportunity to wash the RV (one can tell it’s Spring now, unlike the bug-gut-free Winter we enjoyed.)

While we were out, Jon stopped at a tire place to use their air compressor. The air compressors at gas stations — and even truck stops, surprisingly — just can’t seem to put in the full 120psi that our RV tires take.

Since visiting Kennedy Space Center in Florida a few years ago, Houston has been on our “must see” list.

We also got to tour Johnson Space Center and saw the new Mars rover:

I intentionally picked a day when they would have an astronaut as a guest speaker. I am so glad I did, as that turned out to be the best part of the day.

We traveled again on Saturday, stopping at this state park for a picnic lunch. There were more bugs! Jon and Carrie were driven inside because of the gnats at this site. They weren’t bothering Emily, Natalie and me as much, maybe we needed a shower?!

We stopped in here too for a little more Texas history:

When we arrived at our campground, we found this little spot across the street. We walked there after dinner:

The girls wanted to take a dip, but the pool was unfortunately not quite ready for summer. (That green water was not a festive nod to St. Patrick.)

This is a pretty large campground, so the girls and I are examining the map to figure out the best way to get around:

The sign was promising, but we haven’t seen any yet:

But the wildflowers are plentiful:

And there are lots of butterflies:

Since the girls preferred activity wasn’t open, we dug out the basketballs from the storage compartments. It was fun to do something new.  There isn’t much in this area in the way of field trips, so I am looking forward to a slower week, catching up on our school work and maybe a little more basketball.

We spent a day checking out the San Antonio missions while Jon got caught up on work after SXSW.

These Spanish missional communities date back to the early 1700’s. They are beautiful buildings, carefully maintained and still used by active parishes.

Afterwards, we thought we would just grab some dinner down on the River Walk. It turns out that most of Texas lets out the same week for Spring Break; this was that week. The sidewalks were bursting and we did our best not to fall into the river. We struck out finding an authentic Tex-Mex restaurant that could seat us in a reasonable amount of time, so we settled for a nice Italian place. They did have a mariachi band, though.

The next day, we took in more of the San Antonio sites, including the Market Square and another Mexican restaurant we had been eagerly anticipating. This place was packed and with a street festival going on outside, we decided to just grab some treats from the bakery. Strike two.

On Saturday, Jon joined us for a trip to the Alamo. The girls and I had just finished reading “A Line in the Sand: The Alamo Diaries of Lucinda Lawrence” (Jon and my parents even enjoyed listening in as we read.) That book helped bring the history of Texas “alive” for us, so we were eager to see this historic site.

It turned out that this was one of those places where photography isn’t allowed inside. Maybe it was the atmosphere, but Jon just about took on his own battle with the docents over the independence of the photographer!

While it still wasn’t authentic Tex-Mex, we did find a great place to eat. I loved the made-at-your-table fresh guacamole! Thanks again, mom and dad, for a great lunch.

Between the traffic in Austin and the crowds in San Antonio, we couldn’t wait to get out of the city. We took my mom and dad to the campground we stayed at just before getting to Austin. The girls were excited to show them the deer, and they had tiny cabins so we could be just across the way from my parents. It was refreshingly quiet!

Jon and my dad even worked on a “house project.” They were able to replace a bad electrical part, so that the house batteries are finally being charged up while we drive. It is great to have that working.

The recent rains have made the Texas landscape colorful. The wildflowers, including these beautiful, fragrant Texas Bluebonnets are in bloom!

We moved the RV to Stonewall, TX to visit the quaint, little towns of the Texas Hill Country, and my mom and dad moved in with us for a few days. They were great sports and we enjoyed sharing our routines with them. They even got to experience a Texas-sized storm, complete with torrential rain, hail and howling winds!

We visited a great state park called Enchanted Rock. It is a dome of beautiful pink granite.

Natalie even made it to the top in her cowgirl boots!

Back at the RV for several rounds of our favorite game “Spot It”:

This place was just down the street from our campground:

It was a charming farm, functioning just as a Texas farm did in the early 1900’s.

They produce all of their own food and provide meals for the volunteers and park staff throughout the year. It was inspiring to see how everything in their house had a purpose and nothing went to waste.

We also got to see the famous Texas longhorns:

Adjacent to the farm was the LBJ Ranch, which is now a National Park site. Natalie’s affection for bison has now migrated to its more common bovine relative; Natalie loves cows. Hereford cattle were LBJ’s favorite:

And this is what he called Air Force 1/2, which often carried him to and from his ranch. Cows and planes together; Natalie and Emily were happy! We also got to tour his house (another place we weren’t allowed to take pictures; good thing Jon was working!) and learned a lot of presidential history in the process.

We circled back to Austin because my parents would be flying home from there. Here we are the evening before they would leave, wondering how our time together goes by so fast.

We met my parents the next morning to say good-bye until we return in August:

We found the “family viewing area” at Austin’s airport to wave good-bye and let Emily watch the planes.

I am getting a little work done before heading toward our next destination. I love working outside!

We moved toward Houston, but are camping in a nice, quiet rural area next to the Colorado River. It can get a little warm in the RV by the afternoon, so it is nice to have pools at some of these campgrounds.

A little sunset walk n’ ride. I really do feel like I have been given an incredible gift, to be on this journey with my family.

Nearly every morning here we have woken to misty, foggy weather:

While grocery shopping at the small, local store, Jon found this toxic toy that he remembered from his childhood. I guess you will have to see if we survive for another week…

We were a little unsure about camping all week in a parking lot, but since the girls and I had plans to visit with our friends Jake and Melissa all week, we decided it would be ok.

On Tuesday, the wind came in and blew the dust around so that the sky turned grey and the scenic views disappeared. I was glad we weren’t driving the RV.

Jake ended up on Army duty all week and Jon had an extra busy work week as well. So, this became the girls’ week! We did some errands and shopping with Melissa and Kaine. Natalie got a fresh new ‘do:

Melissa and Kaine joined us in the RV a few times so the girls could hang out.

We took a picnic lunch and field trip to Hueco Tanks State Park.

There were great climbing rocks:

My girls loved helping Kaine climb and hike.

Afterwards, we stopped here for some treats and found a great source for homemade tortillas and chips.

The girls couldn’t resist the pretty cookies.

We also took a field trip to Chamizal National Monument and learned about a 100 year border dispute between the US and Mexico that was finally resolved by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Here are the girls at a border marker from the 1860’s. The current border is further south at the Rio Grande River. It is a little more heavily fortified these days.

I often check for running clubs wherever we are, but many meet in the evenings or weekends (which is when we typically travel). I was excited to find this group of early risers. It was wonderful to have company during a long run and to get the local scoop on the good things do in Texas. Thanks so much El Paso Runners!

All week, Jon had been looking longingly up at Mount Cristo Rey from the casino parking lot, so that is what he wanted to do on Saturday. It was a 2 mile climb up to the top, but it didn’t look nearly that far.

The trail zig-zagged up the mountain, making it an easier climb:

…but a longer hike:

We took a few shortcuts:

At the top we found this large, Rio-like monument. Ah, perspective…it didn’t look nearly this big from the bottom.

At the top you could see Texas, New Mexico, and Juarez, Mexico. Left of the long fence is Mexico and on the right is the US. You could see the Border Patrol SUVs stationed at various places along the fence. We noticed, however, that the fence stops at the hills and the hills didn’t appear that challenging to cross.

Jon wanted to see the fence up close. We were quickly approached and questioned by Border Patrol, but they were friendly and helpful. They warned us about the kids who come to the fence asking for money or worse, hurling rocks. These kids were interested in dollars and candy. I wished we had some candy for them.

Natalie wanted to do a little cowgirl shopping:

On Friday, Jake and Melissa gave us a tour of Ft. Bliss, the base where Jake is currently stationed:

We got to see the stryker vehicles that Jake works with:

Inside a stryker, the girls check out the safety equipment.

Emily aiming the big guns (at my head!):

We had a great week visiting with the Jake, Melissa and Kaine, and seeing El Paso. A big thank you to them for showing us around, sharing their home and laundry facilities. Sunday we made the long trek to be near Austin, where Jon will be attending SXSW on Friday.

It was the longest drive we have made since the beginning of the trip: 545 miles in 11 hours, stopping only once for gas. We have much to look forward to this coming week, as my parents are flying into Austin on Saturday. I can’t wait to see them!

Natalie kindly decided to come along so I wouldn’t have to be alone.

It was a beautiful day, but there had been a “winter storm” the day before and it was rough sailing once we left the harbor. Natalie was beginning to regret her choice, until…

Our guide spotted a group of five gray whales (just after mentioning that they tend to travel alone)! We never saw them jump magnificently out of the water, but it was wonderful to watch them as they slowly migrated south. They have a pattern to their swimming, making it easy to observe these amazing creatures.

And if that wasn’t exciting enough, we were treated to a bonus sighting of a mola mola, or sun fish. Natalie can now tell you all about the parasites that live on the sun fish and the barnacles and lice that live on the grey whales. She also likes to tell how the gray whales have come back from near extinction, twice! We had a great morning; I was really glad she joined me.

We moved a little north, toward our exit of California, to Menifee, CA. These were our neighbors for the rest of the week and unfortunately we were downwind.

Our campsite neighbors were a family from Florida. Their daughter, Alli, made quick friends with Natalie and both of them enjoyed having a new playmate.

Emily got word that Alli’s grandfather was a pilot and she had to meet him. They enjoyed talking about airplanes and flying. His advice to Emily: study math and stay healthy!

Our last stop in California was Joshua Tree National Park. We came better prepared, finally, for a nice campfire under the bright stars.

This national park boasts a panoramic view of the Coachella Valley and the San Andreas fault. The fault line runs right in front of the ridge of hills in the middle of the valley. There was a noticeable gap in some places.

And impressive rock formations that are great for climbing and scampering about.

The rocks are the result of lava pushing up from under the ground and then erosion, resulting in their unique rectangular shapes.

Another rewarding view:

These rocks were coarse, making for great traction and easy climbing. It was a lot of fun!

I simply love the National Parks. I am proud that our country has done so much to preserve these amazing landscapes. The rangers we have met are happy, helpful people. I am so appreciative for the time they take to encourage the girls and answer our questions.

And of course, the Joshua Trees. Their name is fabled to have come from the Mormons, thinking the tree looked like the biblical Joshua with his arms outstretched in prayer.

We have enjoyed “living” in California, but it is time to move on…on to Arizona!

I bribed my family (with Julian CA’s famous apple pie) to take a sunrise hike.  It was tough getting everyone moving, but it made my day to have company during an early morning outing.

We discovered some cool ice formations under the mud:

After we finished our lessons for the day, the girls and I drove into Julian to get our pie. This quaint California town is also home to some old gold mines, so we took a tour. Our knowledgeable tour guide filled our heads with mining processes and jargon. Suffice it to say that it is a lot of hard, dark work to mine gold, especially in the late 1800’s.

Here we are enjoying our Julian apple pie. It lived up to its reputation, “the best pie ever”!

We moved further south at the end of the week to be near San Diego for the weekend. The girls and I took a field trip on Friday to the Birch Aquarium, part of UCSD’s Scripps Institute of Oceanography.  I am afraid that as cool as these places are, they are starting to look the same.

We experienced a typical San Diego winter day on Saturday, cool and rainy.  It was a good time to give the RV a good cleaning. Window washing is the preferred chore.

It cleared up enough later that day to head to the San Diego harbor where we toured the USS Midway:

Natalie playing the “gator” or navigator. I love military titles; I am working on a title for everyone in our family.

It was fascinating to see the planes and understand how they are able to take off and land on a ship.

We were reminded of the hard work and dedication it takes to run a military vessel like this one. It was another notch of respect added for those who serve (thank you).

By Sunday the “winter weather” had moved on and we enjoyed a nice afternoon in La Jolla.

But it smelled a little fishy….

We were also educated on the controversy surrounding San Diego’s Children’s Beach. This seawall was built in the 70’s to provide a protected beach for kids to play, but the sea lions took over and they have resided here ever since. The sidewalks were filled with those who thought both people and sea lions could use the beach together and others that feel the beach should be closed to people. The sea lions didn’t have much to say about it.

But we found another beach that was less controversial to enjoy our afternoon.

Next week should be our last week in California, so we are going to be taking in all our favorite things before we move on.