A Trip to Remember: Day Two

Saturday morning, we all popped out of bed bright and early at 6:30am. Our bodies were still on Eastern Standard Time, even though we were now in the Central Time Zone, and we took advantage of it.  For a $80 per night hotel room, the breakfast was fabulous.  Scrambled eggs, bacon, turkey sausage, biscuits and gravy, oatmeal, yogurt, donuts, muffins, cinnamon rolls, and made to order pancakes were all ready and waiting for us.  We ate until we couldn't eat anymore, and then packed ourselves into the van. 

Our plan was to head south and then west before circling back to Colorado.  We were surprised to find as we drove that we were on Route 66.  THE Route 66!  See?  You thought I was joking when I told you this trip had no plan.  We were literally planning it as we went along.  Nash was clearly less than impressed, though.

Heading southwest through Missouri, we traversed the rolling hills with about a zillion semi truck drivers.  Speaking of these huge trucks, if you don't already know, pass on the left, not on the right.

"passing side, suicide"

We came through Uranus, Missouri, home of the Uranus Fudge Factory.  Their motto? "The best fudge is found in Uranus."  In case you were wondering, we did not stop there.  I didn't know Missouri was sooo...funny.

As the hills kept on rolling, we stuck to Route 66, and it felt a little like we were back in time.  I kept thinking about the movie "Cars"and how every town was just a little dot on that long and winding freeway, trying to lure customers into their tiny shops and just barely making it through the years.

We finally left Missouri behind and the excitement was building.  Oklahoma!  We were in Oklahoma!

We celebrated by stopping at a truck stop and filling up on fried chicken, fried fish, hushpuppies and taquitos.  It was all homemade and the place was packed, but man, that was a lot of fried food!  It was 109 degrees outside, but the humidity was noticeably lower and the heat was much more bearable.

And then this scenario happened...
1:00pm, Nash: I have to go to the bathroom.
1:15pm, Nash: I have to go to the bathrooooom!
1:20pm, Nash: I'M TURTLE-HEADING BACK HERE!
And then we miraculously found a restroom and avoided a minor disaster. 

We were back on the road, where the rolling hills of Missouri had given way to the wide open plains of Oklahoma.  Really, the only thing to look at were the huge wind turbines dotting the landscape.  We have a few of these areas here in Michigan, but I had never seen anything like this! Our van was swaying back and forth in the high winds out there on Route 66, and I guess they were putting that wind energy to good use!

We crossed into Texas before 6pm and started looking for a place to hunker down for the night.  We passed cattle farms that were so vast, I couldn't see the end of them.  Thousands of head of cattle, on many different ranches.  I guess everything IS bigger in Texas!

We made a pit stop in Pampa, Texas, at a gas station and, according to my kids, that was the nicest bathroom they have ever used. Noted! We were planning to stay somewhere near Amarillo, but when we did a little research, we decided we'd head for a place called Lake Meredith, just a little bit off the beaten path.  A campfire was in our plans for the evening, so we stopped in Borger, Texas for some firewood.  $17 later, we had enough wood to get us through at least a couple of nights of fires.  As we headed out of town, I spotted an antiques store named, "Nothing New" and I gave a little chuckle.

With just an hour of daylight remaining, we arrived at Lake Meredith.  This wasn't a reservation kind of campground-you just had to find yourself a spot and it was yours.  There was just a little dirt road along the ridge of the lake, with only a couple spots large enough for us to fit our rig into.  Hey, at least there was a bathroom!  We were high above the lake, and it was soooo windy!  The views, though, were breathtaking.

Of course, I was scared to death of the steep drop off and warned the kids multiple times to the point of being highly annoying, to stay away from the edge.  My overly-cautiousness was met with eye rolls and sighs and, "Moooooooom."  I tried to relax. 

We quickly set up the camper and headed down to the docks where the boat launch was.  It might have been windy, but it was still quite hot, and after a day in the car, the kids were ready for a cooling swim.  The railing along the dock on both sides was filled with spiders.  Most of us were content to just walk down the middle, but Emerson has an intense fear of spiders and I'm pretty sure she was in her own personal hell, as there wasn't really another way to get down to the water.  There were plenty of no swimming signs posted, but apparently those rules didn't apply at sunset.  There were a couple of other families swimming and Owen, Alayna and Jason jumped right in.

Before long, Nash was in, too. 

Just before dark, we decided to head back to camp, where we were informed by the campers next to us, that there was a burn ban in effect.  No campfire for us!  And with no electrical hookups, and no other means of cooking anything, we opted for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the dark. What a way to spend our first night of camping! Luckily, I had picked up headlamps for everyone and they came in pretty handy as we made our way to and from the bathroom.

 It was pitch black and so windy, but we set up our camp chairs and watched an amazing lightning display out across the lake.  In between light-ups, we looked for constellations.  And in case you were wondering, the stars at night ARE big and bright in Texas.

The kids had slowly migrated into the camper, and eventually I followed them.  I got into bed, but shortly after lying down, I had a minor panic attack.  It was sooo windy, and even with all of the screens open, I was sure we were going to catch a gust that would send us and our little camper tumbling right over the cliff and into the lake far below.  My stomach was turning.  All I could think about was how our flimsy little pop-up camper was being held to the ground by two TINY tires and a few stick-thin jacks.  I couldn't do it.  My minor panic attack was quickly becoming a major panic attack.  Reluctantly, I took Alayna who was also not having it, and we headed to the van.  It was a hot night out, but with the windows cracked, it was bearable.  The winds were fierce well into the night, and in between gusts I could hear coyotes all around us.  The stars and lightning remained, though, so I stayed up watching them until my eyelids grew heavy.

An hour later, I woke up in a sweat.  The wind had completely stopped, and it was sweltering in the van.  I had all but given up sleep by that point.  An hour after that, the winds returned with a vengeance and this time they came with the smell of burning. 

Something was on fire.

The lightning from across the lake was now directly overhead, the clouds were thick like fog, and I felt like I could reach out and touch them.  The wind was blowing so violently, I was sure not only our camper, but every camper along the ridge had blown off the cliff, and I was betting that the van I was in would be next. This is how it would end for me.  Alayna was scared, too, and she had moved from a long seat in the back to the driver's seat next to me.  As I sat there, staring out at the storm, I watched as the campers around us completely abandoned their tents and headed to their cars with as much as they could carry.

Somehow, I must've dozed off again.  I woke another hour later, and this time I was freezing cold.  What was going on?!  I had to close all of the windows in the van and grab an extra blanket.  I could tell Alayna was cold, too.  She was curled up in a ball, still in the driver's seat, but seemed to be sleeping.  I pulled out one of those sleep masks, blocked everything out, and fell asleep.

To be continued...

A Trip to Remember: Day One

We didn't plant a garden this year.  We're in the middle of building a barn, which is taking for-EV-er.  We have chicks hatching nonstop, both inside in incubators, and outside under mama hens.  Our school district is on a balanced calendar, meaning that instead of nearly three months of summer vacation, we have about eight weeks.  We have softball.  And baseball.  And horsemanship lessons.  And robotics events.  And work.  And a dog.  And cats. And a bunch of bees who are insistent on making their home on our front porch.  Oh, and don't forget those bats in the attic. 

But I thought maybe, just maybe, we'd put all of that aside for a couple of weeks and just, well, GO. 

We had purchased a 12 passenger van earlier in the year, and scooped up a super cheap 30 year old pop-up camper just a couple weeks before we left.  We knew we looked like Cousin Eddie and family, but we didn't care.  We packed clothing and food and all the camping gear we would need to get us through the first five days before arriving in Colorado.  And, let me tell you, there wasn't much room to spare.  With friends taking care of the farm and family taking care of the dog, it seemed we were all set to go.

 I had planned on a 7am departure, but the kids were so excited that we opted to leave at 6am instead.  Fine by me!  With a destination of St. Louis, Missouri for the first day, we had a lot of time on the road ahead of us.  The kids pretty much woke up, climbed into the van, and went back to sleep.

You know those parents who say, "You better go before we go-there won't be any stops!" to their kids before road trips?  Well, that's not us.  I mean, we say it, but what are you going to do?  Actually not stop?  With seven people on a road trip, we mentally added at least an hour per day for pit stops and another hour for meal stops.  It is what it is.  So, a couple hours down the road, having eaten a breakfast of muffins and donuts in the car, it was time for a stop.  I had picked up a little white board for the trip, and decided a photo of us in each state as we passed through would be a good way to track our journey.  State One: MICHIGAN. Duh. 

And then we were back on the road again.  I have to say, we were all pretty bored and anxious to get where we were going.  Indiana came and went, and we didn't even stop to document that we were there-just a selfie from the road and the sign in the waaaay back.

Once we got into Illinois, we were up for a little sight-seeing.  I mean, when the world's largest pitchfork is advertised, you have to stop for that, right?

It was a tiny little tourist attraction, but it was free and we took advantage of the corny displays.

Of course, Greyson tired of that very quickly, but did manage to smile and he sat and waited for the rest of us.

As we headed toward Missouri, nap time called.  I had shoved a couple of these sleep masks in the van at the last minute, and I can't tell you how useful they turned out to be.  Nash would put one on and be asleep in seconds!

A couple more hours down the road, and it finally felt like we were getting somewhere.  The Mississippi River was just ahead of us, drawing a line between our side of the country and all new land for us to explore.  The kids took turns showing off how quickly each of them could spell m-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i and then we were in Missouri!  First up, we had to go see the arch, up close and personal.  Well, actually, first up would be finding a safe place to park our campground-friendly-but-not-big-city-friendly van/camper combo.  Parking garages were out, parallel parking was out, and the open air parking lots seemed to be quite shady when it came to safety.  We decided to get as close to the arch as we could, and just pick a lot.  Luckily, we stumbled upon one that was only half full, and there were several other campers parked there.  We all piled out of the van, happy to stretch our legs, despite the sweltering heat-it was about 105 degrees with the heat index!

And then we were there!  I hustled down the steps to take a picture of the kiddos with the huge arch looming over them.

The kids all hurried down to touch the Mississippi.  The steps led directly into the river, because it had flooded earlier in the year and the waters had not receded fully yet.  The boats had to dock way offshore because there is actually a road down under the water!

As we were turning around, we heard it.  An older woman's voice.  "Harold!"  "HAROLD, OH MY GOSH!"  And then we heard him falling.  It felt like slow motion.  She was screaming and he was falling.  We could hear the thumps as he hit the stone steps with his arms, his legs, his body, his head.  She was still screaming, moving down the steps as quickly as she could, and he was lying, completely still, about 30 steps below her.  I prayed he wasn't dead.  As another lady and I called 9-1-1, a few other bystanders rushed to him.  By the time his wife made it down to where he was, Harold was conscious again.  There were scrapes on his arms and legs, and he was bleeding from his head, but he was awake.  I kept the kids at a safe distance, and the small group around him created a shade with his jacket, and offered him some water.  When things seemed to be under control and the ambulance was on their way, we decided to leave.  Surely he would have a concussion, and who knows what else he had injured.  We made it back up to the top and headed across the small park, back to our van.  Finally, we heard the ambulance as it pushed its way through rush hour traffic on a Friday night in St. Louis.

When we got back to our van, we grabbed some water.  Our GPS told us that it was a one mile walk to our destination for the evening: The City Museum. As we walked, Jason gave the kids a short lesson on heat and water consumption and pee color indicating hydration levels.  The kids thought it was funny and a little gross and vowed to make a conscious effort to take note the next time they used the bathroom.

Now, one mile doesn't seem that far of a walk, but in the extreme heat, it dragged on and on.  We were all drenched with sweat and getting really hungry, when we spotted a little Irish pub with just a few patrons inside.  We didn't even care what kind of food they had, as long there was ice water and air conditioning.

We gorged ourselves on fried pickles, chicken tenders, pretzel bites, and chips and cheese.  It took awhile, but eventually we had all cooled off and rehydrated and it was time to go.  The City Museum was just around the corner.  After visiting this place last year, it had been on my list of places to take my family.  If you have never been, you're missing out.  I tried my best to explain it to Jason and the kids, but they all assured me I had done a terrible job.  This museum is no ordinary museum.  This museum was built with recycled and reclaimed objects, both from the recent past and centuries ago.  Indoors, the museum has multiple floors, connected by staircases and slides and tunnels, with a huge slide that travels from the very top of the building all the way to the basement.  Mixed into the different floors are caves, ropes courses, giant tree houses, ball pits and it's like a giant adult-sized playground. I assured Jason that everywhere the kids could go, HE could go, and he did! 

Outside, the fun continues with a welded mass of metal tunnels and ladders and slides and cages, fitted together like a maze.  Jason and Owen climbed through most of it, despite the sweltering heat. 

Speaking of heat, it was so hot, that back inside the museum there were several "cooling spots" where you could go to sit among air conditioners and fans to cool off.  All of that climbing and hiding and running around had us soaked with sweat. 

There was so much to look at and so much to do there and we all played together until everyone had had their fill.  One more "refreshing" drink, and we had to make the trek back to the van.

I'd love to tell you that when we left the museum after 8pm that the temperature had dropped and the air was cool, but that would be a big, old, fat LIE.  It was still hovering around 100 degrees, and the humidity was unbearable.  We had to stop several times along the one mile trip back to rest, and Jason and I ended up carrying Nash most of the way.  In case you're wondering, he's not a lightweight dude.

Finally, there was our van.  It was still there, waiting for us.

When I finally checked my GPS for our walks to and from the museum, I realized that it wasn't one mile each way, but nearly 2.5 miles!  That would explain why it had taken nearly an hour to walk each way!  Oh well, at least everyone would sleep like the dead!  We had planned to grab a hotel for this first night because we knew we'd be in a big city and we didn't want to rush the museum to try to set up camp before darkness fell.  That decision proved to be a great one, as we were all exhausted from the day's adventures and it was just so hot outside.  We managed to find an inexpensive hotel right outside of St. Louis, in Fenton, Missouri, complete with air conditioning, an indoor pool, and breakfast buffet.  The kids only lasted in the pool for about twenty minutes and then everyone was DONE.  Our hotel room was completely silent and still by 10pm, which is no small feat when you have seven humans crammed into one little room.  And just like that, Day One was in the books.


Stay tuned for more of our adventures to come!

Adventure Awaits

In the early 1940’s, my great-grandfather bought a piece of land on a beautiful lake in Northen Michigan. Logs were brought in and raised with the help of a team of horses, and giant stones were carried by boat to create a beautiful fireplace. It was the first cabin on that beach, a three bedroom, one bath cabin, with a window-filled porch, overlooking a vast, sandy beach.

This is where I spent my summers. Every summer. Every possible weekend, we’d load up the van and head “up north” to our favorite place to be.

This place is still our home away from home. My kids have grown up in that cabin and on that beach, too. We are blessed to have a little piece of heaven on earth where we can go to escape the summer heat and get in some much needed lake time.

And because it’s so easy to pop up to the cabin on a weekend, or every weekend, we’ve never felt the need to travel anywhere else with the kids. Jason and I have taken little trips here and there to different parts of the country, and I have wanted to explore many different places with my kids. It’s hard to imagine, but we only have three more summers before Owen is off to college, so time is of the essence. For years I have dreamed of this. For the past year I have planned this. Today, the dream becomes a reality. Today we embark on one epic journey.

We have studied our state capitals...

We have hunted and gathered and packed everything we could think of, and we are ready to go. In the next 16 days, we plan to visit 16 states. Aside from the days we will be spending with my aunt and uncle in Colorado, we have no reservations. We have a tentative schedule, but we plan to just see what each day holds and roll with it. Did I mention we are camping and that we have never even been camping as a family? Are we crazy? Maybe. All I can tell you is that this family is nothing but excited. Today we bid farewell to our farm filled with tiny chicks and surrounded by fields of gold to see what this great country has to offer.