Glacier National Park

Day 26, miles 5582, states 15

Glacier National Park

We have now hit the westernmost (Eureka, CA) and northernmost (Glacier National Park) points of our trip.  From here, we will be plotting a generally southeasterly course toward home.  We got somewhat of a late start leaving Spokane yesterday due to a prolonged stop at the Walmart Supercenter for some resupply and bicycle repackaging.  We had bought five new Townie bicycles and a fancy 5-bike carrier for our trip before we left.  The Townies are great bikes, but we began having problems with the carrier almost immediately.  One of the struts started to bend under the load, and the bikes began to slide and rub together, causing lots of scratches on our new bikes.  The worst part was that the whole thing looked like it was going to break off and cause a highway catastrophe.  So I swapped out the fancy but failing 5-bike carrier for a 4-bike model from Walmart that was 1/5 the price.  I also bought some straps to secure the fifth bike to the ladder and bumper on the rear of the RV.  The new arrangement is much more secure and makes loading and unloading the bikes surprisingly easier.

After squaring the bikes away, we drove through a slice of Idaho and then entered Montana and took a scenic route up to Kalispell, where we found a nice RV park on the river.  We discovered from the people at the RV park that most of Glacier National Park was still closed due to snow.  This was hard to believe because the weather we'd encountered in Montana to that point was some of the warmest we'd had since leaving Nevada.  But they told us that the southern portion of the park was open, so we decided to drive up and do some biking and horseback riding.  The journey to Glacier this morning was an easy 45-minute drive from our RV park.  We parked our RV at the horse stables and took the bikes for a ride along some of the trails before having lunch at Apgar Village and heading back to the stables to get on the horses for our trail ride.  We didn't get to see much of Glacier, but what we did see was striking.  And we have two more full days to see more of Montana before we head to Yellowstone.

From Starbucks to Hoopfest

Day 25, states 11, miles 5311



Pike's Place Fish Market in Seattle

The fourth major city we spent any significant time in was Seattle.  We considered renting a car at Fort Lewis and driving there, but decided to take our chances in the RV.  Fortunately, we were able find a parking lot within walking distance of the harbor that could accomodate our 32' beast.  It was just good luck that we arrived on a weekend day when most of the downtown lots had plenty of room.  We walked the few blocks to the harbor area, and Alex and I enjoyed a coffee and frappuccino from the original Starbucks shop.  Then we all checked out the famous Pike's Place Fish Market and enjoyed some awesome sandwiches at Three Girls Cafe.  Natalie and I both had a Pacific Northwestern, which consisted of fresh salmon on sourdough with red onions, fresh cucumbers, and dressing.  The kids weren't up for the salmon, but they enjoyed some more traditional sandwiches that were also excellent.  After Natalie and Andi did a little more shopping from the vendors in the harbor, we walked to the Hard Rock Cafe for an addition to Alex's t-shirt collection (but not for any food, thankfully).  Then we bought a couple of jackets at the Patagonia store before walking back to the RV and heading out for Mount Rainier.

George and Alex at the Original Starbucks's in Seattle

Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier is famous for hiding behind the gloomy Seattle area weather, but we were able to get a family snapshot with the peak in the background as we drove in on the 410 scenic route.  We rolled in to the park around 7pm.  This was our first actual overnight stay in a national park.  These parks are more for the nature lovers, and don't offer much in the way of creature comforts--not even the electric and water hookups that most of the state parks have.  Some have showers, but there were none at Mount Rainier.  There are also restrictions on running the generator.  So we all enjoyed a game of cards in the RV before calling it an early night and heading out for Spokane first thing in the morning.

Hoopfest in Spokane

Spokane was an easy drive across the state.  After crawling the RV up and down so many winding mountain roads along the coast, it was nice to get back on a smooth, 4-lane interstate for a little while.  And this one (I-90) even offered a pretty view.  For some inexplicable reason, Kirk had been dying to see the movie "Cars 2".  The poor kid has been miserable with his allergies during all of our outings, so Natalie wanted to let him see his movie in a climate controlled theater and let the family spend an afternoon "back in civilization".  We arrived in Spokane to find the entire downtown area closed off to traffic for the annual "Hoopfest" event, where thousands of kids come from all over the country to compete in 3-player basketball matches.  There were backboards set up in the middle of all the streets with thousands of kids shooting hoops.  The atmosphere was quite festive.  Even with all of this going on, Natalie was able to scope out a great parking spot just across the bridge that spanned the gorgeous Spokane River.  We walked across the bridge to movie theater, which was in a three-level shopping mall, and bought tickets for our movies.  Andi went with Kirk to see "Cars 2", while Alex, Natalie and I opted for "Super 8".  By the time our movies ended, the Hoopfest was done, and whole city had been nearly completely cleaned up as if the "Cat in the Hat" had come through with his picker upper machine and magically put everything away.  We had dinner at Red Robbin, walked back to the RV and drove to our camp, which is about four miles outside of town.  I think we were all impressed with Spokane.  It's a pretty town with friendly people.  We also found something here that we have been missing for the past couple of weeks:  plenty of sunshine and warm weather.

Spokane River

Dog Olympics



Alex and Andi in front of "Haystack Rock" on Cannon Beach

 Well, we had a close call with Sugar today.  We thought she might wind up with a new life as a snow dog living in the Olympic Mountains (see Andi's post below for details).  Since I last posted, we spent a couple more days on the beautiful Oregon coast, visiting Cannon Beach, Seaside, the Tillamook Cheese Factory, and the Columbus River Maritime Museum.  We also stayed at a couple more of Oregon's excellent coastal state parks (Cape Lookout and Fort Stevens) before crossing into Washington yesterday and following scenic 101 around the back side of Olympic National Park to Port Angeles where we had dinner at a local seafood restaurant and camped at the KOA RV park. 

On the road to "Hurricane Ridge" at Olympic National Park (just before Sugar's adventure)

The kid's celebrate Sugar's safe return

This morning, we drove the 17-mile trek up the mountain road to the front entrance of the park and enjoyed the wonderful view of the Olympic Mountains before our two-hour dog adventure (see Andi's post).  Shortly after Sugar was rounded up by our new friend, Austin, the rain and snow rolled in, and we crept back down the mountain at a cautious 20mph pace and drove to Tacoma and Fort Lewis, where the weather improved, and we made camp at the military RV park.  Even after all of our adventures with Sugar, we made it here early enough to have a little cookout and count our blessings again.

Sugar's Birthday Party

Day: 23

States: 11

Mile: 4852
Location: Oylimpic National Park

We're all getting up when my mom mentions something. "Today is a special day. It is Sugar's Birthday!" Alex and I gave Sugar a birthday rubdown. "June 24th." I confirmed. "Well, we are going up to the mountains today, but we'll have to walk after a certain point because the snow is too thick," My Mom said. "Snow?" I asked. "And Kirk will be on this road?" I asked, motioning myself throwing a snowball. Alex laughed. "His allergies are really bad so he's not going to come," my mom said. I shrugged. We leashed up the dogs, and headed down the snowy path. There were walls of snow. When we came to an intersection, we let the hyper dogs off their leash for a quick bathroom break/run around. Alex and I were behind everybody. When we caught up, I heard something I did not want to. "Where are the dogs?" I wasn't worried at first. They would always run ahead and come straight back. A couple we were walking with shrugged and looked around. We called and called, but they weren't coming back. The couple went on the snow covered trail for a bit to look. They saw Pinta and called her. But where was Sugar? My stomach lurched. They always came back together. Sugar was good about coming back. But getting lost in the woods where there are bears, cougars, and other things was something I didn't want my dog to get into. My mom reported that she thought both of the dogs headed for the trail. We looked around over the trail, but after a while the snow was to thick to pass. We weren't allowed to go off the trail, for my parents didn't want to add a kid to the search list. We decided to split up. Dad and I would wait on the trail and call while Mom and Alex continued on the main road. I called and called. My voice went as loud as it could go. "She probably found her way back to the RV," Dad said reassuringly. I called some more, and we got Pinta to bark. We met up with mom back at the main road. They were empty handed. My dad ran ahead of everybody to see if she went back to the RV. We trudged to the ranger station to report a missing dog. We were telling people to look all the way there. The rangers seemed very sympathetic, and ordered a dispatch. When we got back to RV. I went to the back and cried. I wanted my fuzzy white puppy back. One of less reassuring rangers said. "She'll end up in the pound or eaten by a cougar." The picture of my half eaten sweetie was too disturbing. I cried some more. A ranger tapped on our window. "Hi.We got word that someone saw your dog, and they are going to bring her up," the Ranger said. "Thank you," Mom said. Shortly after, my Dad came in. "Did you hear, George, they found her!" Mom said. "No they didn't. It was a mix up," Dad said grimly. Dad and Alex grabbed the bikes and rode up the main road further. They came back with no dog, but they did have news. "Someone saw her," Alex said. "When we asked her she said it was like fifteen minutes ago." Everybody was talking about Sugar, and I just looked out the window. All of a sudden, I saw a white flash go by our window. "Sugar!" I exclaimed as I ran out the door. I bolted out before she could leave me again. Our sweet girl with muddy paws curved back towards the RV. I hugged her head, and buried my face in her fur. I was so happy. A teenager was panting. "I chased her all the way here," he said. "Thank you so much," we cried. He said his name was Austin. Sugar won't even go near the door now. She was gone for about two hours. Thank you so much Austin!!!! You are the best.

TillaMOOk

Day: 22
Mile: 3460
States: 11
Howdy! Well we travled to Tillamook to see the cheese factory, and it is all cows there. Their motto is cheese, trees, and sea breeze. We ventured inside, and the sweet eroma of ice cream filled the air. A huge gift shop was to our left, and the rest of the museum was straight ahead. We had fun sampling the cheese. There was Curd, which looked like scrambled eggs. There were the regular kinds like Cheddar. And there was this really spicy cheese that I really liked. It was really cool. We also went shopping at Seaside. They had the best Key Lime Pie there. Today we went to the Maritime Museum and explored the deadly history of the Graveyard of the Pacific. A.K.A Columbia River Bar. It had nice shows and I worked on my knot tying skills. That's it for now!

Golden Gate Bridge

Tetherball

ATV Adventures

Day 19, miles 4480, states 10


George here again.  This is getting to be my morning routine:  get up an hour before everyone else (that's what 26 years in the Army will do to you), let the dogs out, make some coffee and post to the blog.  For some reason, the blog is not letting me add pictures this morning.  I will have to check with Andi to see if I am doing something wrong. UPDATE:  After Natalie and I went for a nice, long walk on the beach this morning, I was able to fix the problem with some help from Google.




Cape Lookout State Park, OR

 We are in another of Oregon's fine state parks, Cape Lookout.  This one is just a little farther up the coast from our last stop.  There are no giant dunes here, but there is a lovely beach just a few hundred yards from our campsite.




Kirk Prepares to Tackle Dunes on ATV

 We thought we would surprise the kids yesterday morning by renting some ATV's and cruising the dunes.  The rental place even had a small ATV that Andi could ride.  I cautioned everyone about the dangers of ATV's (especially for novices like us).  Mom and Andi heeded my advice and kept to the "baby dunes" at a slow pace.  But Kirk and Alex (teenage boys!), raced away and up the biggest dunes they could find, forcing me to come rescue them a couple of times.  The girls headed back a little early, and I had to go searching for the boys

Alex Steers His Ride

again.  When I finally got to a tall enough dune, I spotted Alex waving at me, with Kirk lying on the ground beside his ATV, which was half burried in the sand.  This gave me quite a scare, but Kirk was just shaken up with some minor bumps and scrapes.  Alex and I were able to dig out his ATV and put Kirk "back in the saddle" long enough to limp back to the rental place.  Turns out Kirk had hit a drop off going a little too fast (imagine that), and "got some air".  I have to give Alex Kudos for keeping his head and sticking with his brother until he could signal me for help.

Andi and Mom Take a More Mild Pace

When we got back to the RV, Kirk complained that his wrist was hurting worse, so we decided to stop by the local ER in Florence and get him checked out.  We expected that this would pretty much consume the rest of our day, but we were pleasantly surprised to find the local ER the best of any small hospital we had ever seen.  They even had parking spaces for RV's!  The staff were quite friendly, and they had Kirk evaluated, x-rayed, and treated within an hour of our arrival.  We were flabergasted ("you should see how the Canadians react", the nurse told us with a grin). 
The ER doc gave Kirk a splint for his wrist pain (no fracture) and gently admonished us about the dangers of ATV riding (they'd had some much more serious injuries to kids recently, including a serious spinal injury).  We considered ourselves fortunate, and decided that our ATV riding days were over.  Natalie was so impressed with the ER, that she checked off another reason to like Oregon. 

Kirk Shows of his Wrist Splint in Front of ER in Florence, OR

Shortly after we got back on the road, we came across a Walmart and stopped for some supplies.  We had planned on making it a little farther up the coast, but after all of our adventures, we decided to stop here at Cape Lookout and call it a Day.  We stopped by the beach and got settled in early enough for me to release some of the day's stress with a little guitar practice (I think I was more shaken up by Kirk's crash than he was).  Natalie made some pasta for dinner, and I watched a little bit of Shrek (#1) with the kids before passing out.

Oregon Dunes

Day 18, Miles 4250, States 10


Looks like the kids are either losing interest in the blog, or exhaustion is setting in.  So for now I guess it's up to me. 


We are in Jesse M. Honeyman State Park on the coast of Oregon.  The major attraction here is the Oregon dunes, which stretch from here for about 50 miles along the coast.  Oregon has been Natalie's favorite state so far.  That might have been influenced by the slightly warmer weather than we had in California or the fact that Oregon has no sales tax, while California's is in line with all of their other exorbitant taxes (so why are they still insolvent?)  Well, however Oregon pays for it, they seem to have beautiful state parks and roads--at least from what we have seen.  The coastal highway here is also a much easier drive in an RV (if I had brought the convertible, I would have preferred California's switchbacks).

Kids Check Out a Giant Dune in our Backyard at Jesse M. Honeyman State Park

We had originally planned to cut inland when we left Crescent City to visit Oregon's Crater Lake National Park, then angle back to the coast.  But after talking to a nice family we met in the SF RV park, we decided to nix the inland trek and use the time we would save exploring the Oregon coast a little more.  This would also allow a slightly easier pace.  After Sunday's marathon Fathers Day, we slept in and got a late start on Monday, not leaving Crescent City until lunch time.  Then we made a leisurely pace up the coast, enjoying more scenic delights in Oregon's little coastal towns and rocky beach vistas.  We pulled into the park around dinner time and quckly checked out some of the large dunes that are just a few hundred yards behind our campsite.  Natalie made some yummy Fajitas in the RV, and we called it a night.

View From Highway 101 Along Oregon Coast

Fathers Day in the Redwoods

Day 17, miles 3950, states 9

Hey, it's George again.  Even though we only travelled about 200 miles yesterday, we were on the road for 12 hours.  We finally pulled into the "Redwood RV Resort" just as the sun was setting last night.  We got a fairly early start, leaving Fort Bragg around 8am and finishing the winding, spectacularly beautiful tour of the northern California coast along Highway 1.  The RV survived several more hairpin turns and fairly steep grades before we got on the more reasonable Highway 101 to head through the Redwood Forest.  Our first stop was in the tiny hamlet of Leggett to visit the "Drive Through Tree".  We did witness several people actually drive their compact vehicles through the tree for photo opportunities, but even I was not going to try squeezing our 32-foot RV through (that would have been an embarrasing call to the RV rental company: "Uh, I'm afraid your RV is stuck in a tree in California").  But we did all pose for the obligitory family photo at the entrance to said tree.

Following our stop at the Drive Through Tree, we continued north on 101 and pulled over at a lovely park in the Redwood Forest where the dogs and kids got some needed outside time and Natalie made lunch.  We left 101 for 30 miles to tour the scenic "Trail of the Giants", which snaked though miles of gorgeous, towering redwoods.  There were many giant trees with a diameter wider than our RV, but I seemed to be the only one awed by them.

Stopped Along Trail of the Giants

At the end of the Trail of Giants, we made it to the "Trees of Mystery" park just in time to catch one of the final cable gondolas that provide a gentle and majestic ride up and over a sea of redwoods and offers a wonderful view of the forest and Pacific coast in the distance.  Natalie (not known for her love of enclosed vehicles that rise into the air) had to steel her nerves.  But having determined to do everything her family does on our trip, she made herself board the gondola.  After some initial jitters (the term "white as ghost" comes to mind), she did fine and wound up loving the ride.  I was proud of her.

Natalie is All Smiles after Surviving the Tram Ride up the Mountain at "Trees of Mystery"

By the time we got to Crescent City (a small town at the northwestern tip of California with the dubious distinction of having survived the worst tsunami in North America), we were all fairly exhausted.  Waiting for an hour or so for a table at the recommended local seafood restaraunt was not going to work, so we wound up having a more speedy, if not quite as delicious Fathers Day dinner at Denny's before finally heading to the RV park north of town which was very lovely and fortunately equipped with clean, hot and fully functional showers.  All in all, a wonderful Fathers Day.

Across the Golden Gate and up the Coast

Biking the Golden Gate

Day 16, Miles 3805, States 9

After another day exploring San Francisco, we got up this morning and headed out across the Golden Gate Bridge.  Once we had the RV across, we pulled over and unloaded the bikes for a quick ride back to the San Francisco side and a photo opportunity.  Then we rode back over the bay to the RV, loaded up the bikes, and headed up the coast.  We opted to take the more scenic Coastal Highway, rather than staying inland on 101.  The winding road was not very "RV friendly", but nearly the entire route was a postcard view.  We stopped at a beach along the way and let the kids (and dogs) get some fresh Pacific air before finishing our trek to our pit stop in Fort Bragg (no, we didn't drive all the way to North Carolina, this Fort Bragg is in northern California).  Tomorrow, we finish a few miles on the coastal highway, then head up 101 into the Redwoods.

Alex and Andi Enjoy a break at a Rocky Beach

Pulling over for a Break on the Coastal Highway

One of the Many Extrordinary Vistas on the Coastal Highway

Hello From George in SF

Sunset at SF RV Resort

After a long day of driving and exploring Fisherman's Wharf yesterday, everyone is sleeping-in this morning.  I am sipping a cup of coffee and enjoying the view from the RV which is parked in a camp that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.  The view is spectacular, but the park is a little crowded and it gets quite chilly in the evening due to the wind from the ocean.  Today we will venture back into the city and tomorrow cross over the Golden Gate and head north up the coast. 

I forgot to mention an incident on my previous post that occurred as we were approaching Yosemite a couple of days ago.  My GPS told me to take a slight detour from the main road into the park.  When we pulled onto this road, a man driving a pickup truck shook his head at us.  "I think that guy is telling us not to go this way," Natalie warned me.  "And I thought I saw a sign back there that said 'no vehihicles more than 7,500lbs' allowed".  But I could clearly see a bus and a heavy truck lumbering up the switchbacks on the mountain side.  "If they can get up there, we can, too," I replied, shifting the big RV down into 2nd gear.  Natalie and the kids, looking at the sharper and sharper turns and steepening climb, were not convinced.  "Maybe you should turn around, dad," Andi warned.  But the RV barely fit on the winding road.  Turning around was not an option.  Eventually, I had to manually shift down into 1st gear, and the straining RV barely managed 10 or 15 MPH up the steep, winding road.  When we finally got to the top, I reassured everyone that I was (of course) right, and they should not have given me such a hard time.  But when we left the park a couple of days later, and the GPS again directed me to the "shortcut" to go back down the hill, I saw the sign myself:  "STEEP WINDING ROAD!  ABSOLUTELY NO TRUCKS OR MOTOR HOMES ALLOWED!  VEHICLE GROSS WEIGHT LIMITED TO 7,500 LBS!"  Turns out that the trucks I had seen from the bottom were actually driving on the main road.  The switchback was a shortcut for smaller vehicles (like sports cars and experienced locals in pickup trucks).  Fortunately, everything turned out okay (thanks to my skillfull RV handling, of course :))

Snowball war!

Bellagio Water Show

Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas

Hoover Dam

A Spooky Metro

Well... We did it. We officially have seen the Pacific Ocean, and it looks pretty wet. We took a series of transportation units to get to the more... exciting part of San Fransisco. (Bus, Metro, and Cable Car)
There were some pretty interesting parts about these vehicles.

The Bus went through neighborhoods. Imagine mowing your lawn in the morning when you see a couple of strangers parked by your driveway. "Sorry fella, just waitin' for the bus." is your good morning. The metro made a creepy sound. The cable car was fun. We went up  and down the rather hilly streets of San Fran. I got a new animal hat. He is a dog. We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. Now we're chillaxin' in the RV. Catch you later.!

Vegas to Yosemite

Yosemite National Park, CA

Day #14, Miles 3450, States 9


Hello, George here.  We have been in areas of limited or no internet availablity for awhile, and Andi has not been able to post during our drives.  We are now in an RV campsite just outside Yosemite Park.  We have no cell or internet connection, but there is WiFi in the park lodge that I am using while Natalie does some laundry.  We wound up staying an extra night in Vegas.  The KOA Campground at Circus Circus was fine and gave us easy access to "the strip", so we went to another show on our final night.  During our three days in Vegas, the kids made use of the giant "Adventure Dome" in the Circus Circus hotel and we checked out some of the larger attractions on the the strip, including Caesar's Palace; the Hard Rock Cafe; the Bellagio (where we saw the fantastic Circ de Soleil show, "O"); Planet Hollywood (where we saw another excellent show, "Vegas, the Show"); and the Vegas Eifel Tower.


From Vegas, we drove to Death Valley National Park.  We had originally planned to spend the night there, but because of our extra night in Vegas, we had to settle for a driving tour. Even from the RV, the scenery was spectacular.  We did drive out to "Scotty's Castle" and take a guided tour before heading north toward Yosemite.  We had also planned to make it to Yosemite the same day, but the Tioga pass was closed due to snow (this was hard to believe after just driving out of the 120 degree heat in Death Valley).  This meant that we would have to go around the park to the north and enter from the west.  That was too much driving for one day, so we camped overnight  in a pretty little RV park in Lee Vining California that overlooked Mono Lake.  The next morning, we headed north and took the Sonora Pass around Yosemite.  We climbed this winding switchback up the Sierras very slowly in our heavy RV--often only managing 20 miles-per-hour.  When we reached the summit of the Pass (nearly 10,000 ft), the snow was piled 6-8 feet on either side of the highway.  The dogs and kids were delighted with this, but they quickly found out that running around in packed mountain snow in your bear feet is not very comfortable.  It was hard for us to believe that only the day before we had been driving through the 120 degree heat of Death Valley at 190 feet below sea level!







Natalie Looks Down over Death Valley

 

After finally crossing the mountains, we stopped in Sonora for lunch and then climbed another steep mountain switchback to reach the RV camp.  After checking in, we drove the RV into Yosemite and did some hiking and bike riding in the incredibly beautiful park.  We made it back to the RV park just before dark, and Natalie made us dinner.  Then we all watched "Groundhog Day" and turned in. 

Kids Play in Snow in Sonora Pass

Driving Through Sonora Pass

We got an early start this morning to beat the traffic into Yosemite.  Once we secured a good parking spot, Natale got our second day in the park started right by baking some hot biscuits and frying some eggs.  Then we hiked and biked some more of the trails before having lunch at Yosemite Village.  We weren't able to get any horseback rides for the afternoon (we'll save that for Montana), and it was getting too hot for more hiking and biking, so we called it an early day and headed back to camp to "rest and refit".  Tomorrow, we head out to San Francisco, where we will spend three days and two nights before driving up the coast.

Unloading Bikes at Yosemite





That's what you get for waking up in Vegas.

Day: 12
States: 9
Mile: 3178
"O" my gosh. The "O" show was so fantastic and amazing! But the next day, I woke up with the kind of sore throat you get when you sleep with your mouth open, my mom in a stress stage trying to clean the RV, and my cute new cow clock. By the way, the title of this post is a song. Anyways, we spent an extra day in Vegas, and several things happened that caught my interest.
1. My mother tried out an online poker game and also rode up and down a 46 story elevator.
2. Just keep reading #1 because that's all I thought about for the rest of the day.
By the way, the answer to the poll is 1,000,000 years. Everybody got that right. Good job guys!

 We're passing through Yosimite now.We also went to this show called Vegas. It had alot of showy dance moves and such. But the singing was great. As much as we loved Vegas, I think it was time to go. My Dad was getting annoyed from all the people who try and hand you trading cards of naked ladies. I was tired of the smoky smell in the casino areas, and my mom was tired of all the fast-driving taxi drivers. Death Valley was fun too. We got a rock as a keepsake.  Catch you later!

Let's Hope This Works! Updated Pictures (click on picture for larger view)

Sin City

Hello, George here again.  Andi is shopping "on the strip" in Vegas with Natalie.  Kirk and I are holding down the fort here in the RV with the dogs for a little.  Alex is chaperoning the girls and hunting for some cool Vegas t-shirts.  We'll meet up with them for dinner and then head to the Bellagio to see "O".  We are in an RV park attached to "Circus Circus", which is right on the end of "the Strip".   We arrived here yesterday afternoon after driving up from Williams and stopping briefly at the Hoover Dam.  So far, so good.  Hard to believe we are all living almost comfortably in less than 300 square feet of RV.  Takes a little getting used to.  But we are staying so busy and having so much fun, that the small living space has not really been an issue.  I've been doing all the driving so far, but Natalie is helping out with lots of advice.  The Grand Canyon was awesome, and Vegas has been great so far.  More to follow.

White Sand Dunes

New Mexico Lake

A Grand Time

Day: 8
States: 7
Mile: 2490
Andi here with more RV news! We took a train up to the grand canyon yesterday. It was long, but the spectacular view was worth it. The ride back was much more entertaining. We got robbed by cowboys, but I gave them a hard time about it. The girls had fun staying in an RV for the first time. We watched a movie. I didn't sleep to well because Sugar kept licking my face in the middle of the night. PS. The answer to the question of the stop was Horseback Riding.

Showdown in the Coldest Summer Town

Day: 7
Mile: 2460
States: 7
Hello from Williams! After I had reconnected with my friend, my mom reconnected with hers. Tammy Kopelman and her twin daughters, Samantha and Hannah, met up with us near the Grand Canyon in Arizona. We had fun eating and swimming. Wish us luck at the Grand Canyon tomorrow. We're taking a train early in the morning. Its freezing here. The desert gets cold at night I suppose. The place is also known for cowboys having "duels" every night. One of them dies. (pretend of course) We even got one of the cowboys to give us directions.

Hello From Dad

Well, we crossed the 2,000 mile mark today on our way to Albuquerque, NM to visit some friends who live here.  Nothing like having the Beverly Hillbillies pull up in front of your home in a 32-foot RV (complete with Alabama tags) and unload three kids and two German Shepherds into your living room ("hey, great to see you, we were just passing through . . . okay if we plug our extension cord in to your front porch?").  Last night, we stayed at the military RV park on White Sands Missile Range, which is about four hours south of here.  Natalie saw some western wildlife on the drive up that she did not recognize.  There was that "super-long-eared kangaroo looking thing" (jack rabbit), and the "scraggly, white fox" (coyote) that crossed the highway in front of us.  Andi has been doing a great job with the blog, but she is busy with her long-lost best friend, Jenna, so I will summarize.  We are about to bed-down for our sixth night on the road.  We had two nights in New Orleans, one in the Wal Mart in Fredericksburg, TX, one in Bottomless Lake State Park, NM, and last night was spent in the previously mentioned White Sands Missile Range.  So far everything is going well, other than an inoperative microwave oven.  I think we are averaging 6-7 MPG.  Let's hope the gas prices stay under four bucks!  Tomorrow, we're off for Arizona and the Grand Canyon.  Ciao.

Pinta's Efforts

Going Loon over the Dunes

Hi it's Andi! We just did the white sands surfing, and it was so fun! Because of advice from the guide, our parents were determined to venture to the very back of the park. But once Alex and Kirk saw some steep ones, they begged them to stop. We slid down very nicely. The hills were so steep, and it was so scorching hot that climbing to the top required a huge amount of effort. We even got Pinta to go down with Dad. (She wasn't the least bit happy about it though.) Later Gators! I will post pics in a while! By the way, check out the slideshow I posted.. It is jam packed with pictures! Signing off, Andi

Texas Desert

Endless Pedaling and Bottomless Lakes

Day: 5
Location: Bottomless Lakes State Park in New Mexico
States: 6
Miles: 1640

Hello! It's Andi here! Well, we are at a RV park with a nice lake and pedal boats, so we decided to rent one. Alex and I got one by ourselves. We had some struggling because we both kept tugging at the steering wheel and pedaling in opposite directions. After some bickering about who the better driver was, Alex took over. I stuck my toes in the water, afraid of the coldness, when Alex pushed me in! (The nerve of my brother!) It was freezing, but it felt good compared to the New Mexico air. Check out the newest question of the stop and I'll catch you later! 

Digital slideshow generated with Smilebox

Bourbon Street...

On the Road Again

Day: 4
Mile: 1208
Location: Texas
States: 5

Hi! Andi here. Yesterday was a long driving day and today will be too. We got kicked out of the Walmart in Austin, and ended up staying at one in Fredericksburg. We are at a McDonalds now. See ya later!

Depart

Hi it's Andi here. Well, we are on the road again for another 10 hours. (sigh) Our next stop is Austin, Texas! We had fun the last day in New Orleans. Kirk played chess with an expert while mom and I returned to the market. Kirk played some good chess, but he lost. We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe and went swimming at the RV park. I'll get back to you guys soon. By the way, the answer to the poll was graves above the ground. Congratulations! It appears most of you know New Orleans well.