Day 50

Date: Monday August 24, 2015

Location at the beginning of the day: Beavertail Hill State Park, Butte Montana

Distance to drive: way too far (626 miles)

Hours to drive: 9 hours and 54 minutes

Destination: HOME

Planned activities: get home

Quote of the day: “Where are we now?”  “Are we home yet?”

Here goes epic… Today we will drive 9 hours and 54 minutes to get home.

So far all stops have been decided upon by adults.  We have only added on 45 minutes in the first seven hours of driving.

Needless to say we made it home, but I don’t have the energy to write anymore.  I have reflected back on the trip and there are many things I would do the same and other I would change.  Unfortunately, I have more pressing issues, like my children and getting ready for the school year, so I will be keeping those to myself.

This is my final post.  I am finishing this and publishing all my posts over a week after we have been home.  I am proud of myself that I have managed to blog for the entire trip.  Chad and I have both written blogs, but neither one of us has read the other’s blog.  I plan on reading his blog and being able to relive the trip through his eyes. 

Day 49

Date: Sunday August 23, 2015

Location at the beginning of the day: Beavertail Hill State Park

Distance to drive: 0

Hours to drive: 0

Destination: the river about 50 feet from our campsite

Planned activities: hang out and relax

We spent most of the day in our campsite relaxing.  We played some board games with the girls and eventually made our way down to the river so the girls could splash in the water and play on the beach.  Chad wished that we were staying longer so that he could get a fishing license and fish in the river.  We had our final fire and marshmallow roast

Day 48

Date: Saturday August 22, 2015

Location at the beginning of the day: Grant Village Camprground

Distance to drive: 300 miles

Hours to drive: 5 hours

Destination: Beavertail Hill State Park, near Missoula Montanta

Planned activities: drive, grocery shop and relax

Today is a sad day.  We have officially confirmed that Lake Chelan State Park is closed until after the 26^th of August due to a forest fire and we will now be ending our trip 3 days early.  I hope that the fire can be contained quickly and safely and that the damage to homes and businesses is minimal.

We managed to only add on an hour and a half to our driving time and an hour of that was our grocery shop.  We arrived and the Park Ranger asked Chad if he had been to this park before.  The Ranger was curious because, yet again, Chad had reserved the best site in the park. 

Day 47

Date:  Friday August 21, 2015

Location at the beginning of the day: Grant Village Campground

Distance to drive: 78 miles (round trip)

Hours to drive: 2

Destination: the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River

Planned activities: a few hikes down the Canyon to see the Upper and Lower Falls from different vantage points (neither hike is recommended for people with heart lung or other health conditions)

Quote of the day: “A hiking we will go! A hiking we will go! There’s lots to see when you hike with me! A hiking we will go!” (That’s right we were singing and supposedly this is the version on Daniel Tiger)

Today my girls were rock stars.  We hiked down to the brink of the lower falls, a steep trail, with switchbacks, which descends 600 feet over the course of 3/8 of a mile.  There we were at the top of the falls that we could see the water plummeting 308 feet into the river below.  After checking out the two water falls from a couple of look out points and traveling along the rim of the canyon by truck we took Uncle Tom’s Trail to see the Lower Falls from part way down on the opposite side of the canyon.  This trail consists of steep paths and 328 stairs that go down the side of the canyon.  I now know that neither of my kids of issues with height, but there were moments on the way down where I was definitely outside of my comfort zone.  Most people were impressed to see my two girls going up and down these trails on their own.  We spent some time singing and observing our surroundings to keep their minds off the effort they had to exert, but they managed both trails with little difficulty and very few complaints.

Day 46

Date: Thursday August 20, 2015

Location at the beginning of the day: Grant Village Campground

Distance to drive: 70 miles (round trip)

Hours to drive: depends on how many times we stop (about 2)

Destination: Firehole Lake Drive, Firehole Canyon Drive, Lower Geyser Basin and Midway Geyser Basin

Planned activities: check out the four different thermal features of Yellowstone National Park (fumaroles – holes in the ground that emit steam and sometimes noise, geysers – holes that emit steam and water, but not constantly, hot springs – pools that often appear to be boiling and mudpots – bubbling mud)

Quote of the day: “After we use the outdoor bathroom (outhouse) do I need to use some san-appetizer (hand sanitizer)”

Nature is truly amazing.  We saw all sorts of really beautiful and fascinating thermal features today that are caused by the lava under Yellowstone National Park.  By the end of the day we had seen over a dozen geysers, a few mudpots, a bunch of hot springs and countless fumaroles.  Neither girl liked the sulfur scent emitted from many of the thermal features, but enjoyed the warmth of the steam when the wind picked up.  We walked around the boardwalks at the different destinations and by the end of the day we were exhausted and geysered out.

I think my favourite would have to be the Red Spouter (unfortunately at this time of year you do not see the red).  It demonstrates all four thermal features at different  times in the year, dependent upon the amount of ground water present.  In the late summer, when there is not much ground water, it is a fumarole that whistles.  Although the most beautiful would have to be the Grand Prismatic Spring, with its array of colours caused by the different minerals and temperatures.

We headed back to the campground for dinner, a marshmallow roast and bed.  We need our energy for our adventures tomorrow.

Day 45

Date: Wednesday August 19, 2015

Location at the beginning of the day: Grant Village Campground

Distance to drive: 40 miles

Hours to drive: about an hour round trip

Destination: Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin

Planned activities: shower (it is going on 5 days since we have showered), check out Old Faithful and walk around the Upper Geyser Basin

Quote of the day: “Look at that smoke!”  I think that I hear this about a hundred times between the two girls.  I then had to explain that smoke comes from a fire and what they see is steam that is from the really hot water that is exploding out of geysers.

We made and ate breakfast in the trailer, which quickly warmed up.   Now our trailer smells like bacon. 

It has officially hit the point in the trip where I have no idea what day of the week it is or what the date is.  I know how many days we have left here and where we go next, but the reality of date and time is completely gone.

At Old Faithful we watched the famous geyser erupt and then wandered around the boardwalk (about 3 miles).  In the visitors centre we learned about all the thermal features in the park as well as how they work and how the hundreds of earthquakes around the Yellowstone area affect them.

Day 44

Date:  Tuesday August 18, 2015

Location at the beginning of the day: Sheridan Lake Campground

Distance to drive: 500 miles

Hours to drive: 9 hours (our longest drive of the trip)

Destination: Grant Village Campground, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Planned activities: drive

Today our girls were spectacular travellers.  We set an alarm for the first time on our trip and we were pulling out of the campsite by 6:30am.  We were dressed in our regular camping attire, shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops.  The rain started to fall before we were out of the campground and it seemed to follow us most of the day.  I sloshed through many puddles while racing into gas stations to get coffee or taking my kids to use the facilities.  Despite the weather and many slower sections of highways with construction, we managed to only add 2 hours and 15 minutes onto our driving time. 

We have already had two up close encounters with bison.  One was walking down the middle of the highway as we drove to our campground and the other was hanging out in the grassy area (with a Park Ranger keeping people at a good distance), next to one of the visitors’ centres where we stopped to go to the bathroom.

We rolled into the campground a bit before 6pm.  We ate dinner in the trailer and spent very little time outside because the temperature was dropping quickly and it was supposed to dip below zero overnight.  Sorry for not letting you pack long underwear Chad.

Day 43

Date: Monday August 17, 2015

Location at the beginning of the day: inside the trailer

Distance to drive: 0

Hours to drive: 0

Destination: inside the trailer

Planned activities: stay dry

Last night the rain fell, the lightning flashed and the thunder shook the trailer.  This morning it is cold and the storm last night has left it wet outside.  We have had a lazy morning.  Everyone slept in and we hung out in the trailer.  In the afternoon Chad put together his spin rod and took the girls fishing.  The big one really enjoyed it and was a part of catching her second fish, a small mouth bass.  We needed a relaxing day because we have a big drive tomorrow.

Day 42

Date: Sunday August 16, 2015

Location at the beginning of the day: Sheridan Lake Campground

Distance to drive: 30 miles

Hours to drive: about 20 minutes

Destination: Mount Rushmore

Planned activities: check out Mount Rushmore

Quote of the day: “It is not what I expected.” This seems to be the common theme on our trip.  This time it was Chad talking about Mount Rushmore, but the big one has said it regarding more than one thing as well.

I find history very interesting, so I learned (I am sure that I knew some of the information that I read, but the filing cabinet is full and unorganized and there is lots of information that is lost and other information that will soon be lost.) a lot at the monument.  Chad took a ton of pictures and we walked the Presidents’ Trail.  If we ever return we will check out the monument lighting ceremony.  I am always impressed by people’s visions and how they manage to accomplish it with a lot of hard work, versus the machinery that is used now a days.

For pictures of this and other parts of our trip see Chad's blog epicorzenroadtrip.blogspot.com

 

Day 41

Date: Saturday August 15, 2015

Location at the beginning of the day: a rest area near Chamberlain South Dakota

Distance to drive: just over 200 miles

Hours to drive: about 3.5

Destination: Sheridan Lake Campground, Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota

Planned activities: shopping and arrive at the campground

Quote of the day: “Why are there state troopers on the highway.  The speed limit is so fast nobody is speeding!”

South Dakota, the land where you can get everywhere quickly and everyone wants you to visit their tourist trap.  The speed limit here is 80 m.p.h.  I don’t know if we have managed to hit that speed yet.  The highway is lined with cow filled fields and almost constant roadside signs advertising some kind of tourist attractions.  We are driving so fast on the highway that when trying to read some of the signs I miss some of the information.  I am not worried because every attraction has dozens of signs along the way to attract you to their locations. The first tourist attraction to start advertising on the side of the road was Wall Drugs.  Their signs started before we even entered South Dakota.  The cows like the signs because it gives them shade.  Who can blame them it is currently 42 degrees Celsius according to the truck. 

We could see the Black Hills in the distance as soon as we started driving in the morning.  They truly look black at a distance.  This is because of the dark green needles and dark brown bark of the Ponderosa pines that cover them.  We crossed the Missouri river and arrived at Sheridan Lake Campground by early afternoon.  We have a beautiful and fairly private site overlooking the lake.  It is beautiful!

Day 40

Date: Friday August 14, 2015

Location at the beginning of the day: Rock Cut State Park

Distance to drive: 525 miles (plus an additional almost 100 miles to make the next day’s drive shorter)

Hours to drive: 7.5 hours (plus 1.5)

Destination: a rest area on Interstate 90 just inside the South Dakota border close to Sioux Falls (We ended up at a rest area just before Chamberlaine)

Planned activities: drive

Today we drove through Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota.  We spent most of the day in Minnesota, the land of never ending cornfields and roadwork. 

Today I am thankful for flushing toilets, clean bathrooms and a little one whose tummy is feeling a bit better.

After stopping for dinner we decided that we would drive a bit further, so that the next day we would arrive at the campground earlier.

Day 39

Date: Thursday August 13, 2015 (Our 10^th Wedding Anniversary)

Location at the beginning of the day: Rock Cut State Park

Distance to drive: 0

Hours to drive: 0

Destination: the outhouse L

Planned activities: play at the playground and go to the beach (two of us were not feeling great so we ended up showering again instead of going to the beach)

Quote of the day: “I have to go to the bathroom!”  My poor little one.

Life has taught me a lesson in gratitude today.  While visiting random public restrooms with my little one, I should have been grateful for flushing toilets and running water.  This morning the little one has woken up with a nasty case of diarrhea and at Rock Cut the only bathroom within walking distance is an outhouse.  We have a bathroom in the trailer, but the rule is ‘pee only’. 

Today marks ten years that Chad and I have been married.  Throughout the day we reflected upon what we would have been doing ten years earlier. Behind the trailer there was a patch of grass that quickly became the dance floor for the girls’ dance party (consisting mostly of ‘Royals’ by Lorde, ‘Radioactive’ by Imagine Dragon and ‘Shut up and Dance’ by Walk the Moon).  On occasion the big one would suggest that they do the wedding dance (They mean dance the way they saw Auntie Sue and Uncle Darren dance at their wedding.  The girls constantly wanted Auntie Sue to play the wedding song in the weeks leading up to the wedding.).  We had to explain that the type of dancing you do, depends on the kind of music that is playing.  I thought it was fitting that I play our wedding song and that Chad and I show the girls how it is done.  We spend part of the song dancing just the two of us and part of the song having a four person family dance.  That moment was the best part of my day and everything that I would have wanted on my tenth anniversary.

Day 38

Date: Tuesday August 12, 2015

Location at the beginning of the day: rest area near Gary Indiana

Distance to drive: about 200 miles

Hours to drive: 3

Destination: Rock Cut State Park (near Rockford Illinois)

Planned activities: get to the campsite and pick up beer (to maybe or maybe not drink because alcohol is not permitted in state parks in Illinois)

Quote of the day: “Oh my!!!” said by some, but felt by all as we drove through Gary

Indiana.  Due to construction there was a very unclear detour and we ended up taking a cruise down one of the main streets of Gary.  It is very run down.

I woke up this morning with a sore throat, which means I am getting a cold.  I should have known it was coming.  Suzanne was sick the last week we were in Montreal, the big one had it and the little one was so sick one night that I ended up having to sleep with her. 

We enjoyed a symphony of creatures fireside.  There were cicadas, crickets, frogs and many others. 

Sorry that is all I have for today.  Feeling tired and sick!

Day 37

Date: Tuesday August 11, 2015

Location at the beginning of the day: a rest area just inside the Pennsylvania border

Distance to drive: 400 miles to where we actually stopped

Hours to drive: 5 (but when we arrived at the ‘travel service area’ at 4:30 we decided to continue) In the end it was more like 7

Destination: a travel service stop on the Indiana Toll highway (it was supposed to be at mile marker 156, but instead we stayed at the final one at mile marker 22).

Planned activities: grocery shop and drive

Quote of the day: “Are we there yet?” For some reason today the little one really wanted to be somewhere, even if it was just the next travel plaza.

We started out the morning by grocery shopping in Erie Pennsylvania at Wegman’s.

We took the Ohio Turnpike and Indiana Toll highway today.  Both are toll highways, but they saved us many hours driving, which meant less gas and more sanity.  The Ohio Turnpike was awesome.  Let me rephrase that…the Travel Plazas (rest areas with gas stations, fast food restaurants and bathrooms) were spectacular.  They were clean, had WIFI and seemed to show up every time we needed one.  The Indiana Toll highway was not so wonderful.

Overall the day was uneventful.  The moment in the day that stands out was when we were in the travel plaza just outside of Toledo Ohio.  We saw the most diverse groups of people wondering around.  There were the Amish women, the nuns, the ethnically diverse travellers and my favourite would be the trucker from Georgia, who looked more like a rapper, that we chatted with, while standing in line for a coffee.

Day 36

Date: Monday August 10, 2015

Location at the beginning of the day: Dorval Quebec

Distance to drive: 750 km

Hours to drive: 7.5

Destination: a rest stop just inside Pennsylvania (on the New York border)

Planned activities: driving

Quote of the day:  “I am sad!” Both girls told me many times how sad they were to

be leaving Auntie Sue’s house. 

It was hard leaving Montreal!  I know that I will be back again someday and next time there will be more time to relax and enjoy all that Montreal has to offer, including of course Suzanne and Darren, our amazing hosts.

Our trip is now 2/3 over and we are now onto the sight seeing and camping portion of the trip. 

Our crazy weather experiences continue.  While driving on the I80 in the state of New York we saw signs that said that you needed to use your hazards if you were traveling under 45 m.p.h.  We didn’t really get it, until we hit the wall of rain.  It went from overcast to crazy downpour and we could barely see the car in front of us.  We went from 65 M.P.H. to less than 30 m.p.h.  The windshield wipers were going as fast as they could, but it wasn’t making a difference.