Oregon Trip Day 5

Westward ho!

We met up with my brothers Brian and Chris and Chris's girlfriend, Andrea, outside of Portland just before lunch.(They were driving up from Utah).

Stopped at the Lock and Dam and fish hatchery. Then over to Multonomah Falls.

I don't know if I was tour-guide barbied out, but none of it was very engaging to me.

The waterfalls were breathtakingly beautiful, but it was such a turn-off how commercial it all is. We had an insane time trying to park and then work through throngs of people to get to the waterfall and up to the bridge.

It would have been magical to stumble upon such a natural wonder while hiking in the forest.

Not so much when you park and "get in line" to see it.

Okay, it's still pretty great.

(photo by Brian)

After that we drove in to Portland. Checked in to our hotel and did a happy dance.

Erica was looking forward to the beds.

The kids were looking forward to bathtubs.

I was looking forward to not having to listen for bears while I slept. (yes, I am paranoid)

Brian stayed with the boys while I went to get my luggage.

I guess it took me longer than I realized, because when I returned, they had built a fort using every blanket, pillow, and a very creative use of the ironing board.

He also taught Andy how to do belly flops.

I know, he's rad.

We walked over to a local diner for dinner.

Just the boys and me.

The waitress/cook/owner asked me if I wanted a lid for Nate's drink. I told her no, he would be fine. 5 minutes later he dumped an entire glass of chocolate milk all over the counter which streamed down on to the carpet. Ugh. When she returned and saw me moping up the mess with our napkins she silently brought out a rag, cleaned it up, filled Nate a new chocolate milk cup and looked at me as she smiled and snapped a lid on top.

I texted Brian a few menu items I thought would entice him and a few minutes later he arrived with mom and dad. After that, the boys spend most of the time with grandpa trying to win a toy out of the arcade game by the front door (I never said this was a classy place).

$5 later, they won a bag of dollar-store safari animals.

And it was declared the best day ever.

Oregon Trip Day 4

We woke up after a cold night in the Montana mountains.

Dad got breakfast going.

We got the kids dressed.

Jackson and Andy played cars out on the picnic table.

Perfection.

We all piled in to B & E's van to drive up to the cavern entrance "just up the hill".

hahaha.

After 15 minutes of roller coaster worthy twists, turns, and steep inclines, we reached the top.

Lewis and Clark Caverns is named after the explorers Lewis and Clark (obvi) since the cavern overlooks over 50 miles of the trail from the Lewis and Clark Expedition along the Jefferson River, although Lewis and Clark never saw the cavern.

I relied on Erica again for photos because this place was a better adventure than the last caves with a lake ,

a slide- yes, we all (including pregnant SIL) had to sit down and slide down the limestone floor at one point,

and paths that I couldn't describe any better than "tricky" as there was not a good place to put your hand or foot for balance.

At one point the tour guide was telling a very dramatic story of a cave worker who snuck in to the cave at night alone, with a lantern (it was a long time ago), to steal some of the best rock formations. He slipped and dropped his lantern and was left in complete darkness for 3 days until the other workers found him. By then, he was crazy. Literally. Anyway, during the story, right when she said he dropped his lantern, she shut off the lights in the cave for dramatic impact, for it would have been completely dark with absolutely no hint of light- so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face. Unfortunately for our tour group, Jackson, Andy, Nate and Lauren all had their own flashlights. When the tour guide hit the lights, Jackson's flashlight was on. Ben hurried to cover it, just for Andy to turn his on! Then Nate, the Lauren. I kid you not. Ben apologized to the group who muffled laughter. We felt bad for killing the moment, but couldn't help but laugh too.

Cute pictures of the kids all together in the exit tunnel leading out of the cave to come, from Erica.

After that, we broke camp and continued West.

A couple of cute stories that happened on the drive the day before it had rained coming out of Yellowstone. When it stopped, we saw a complete rainbow! (one of the many rainbows we saw on the trip- Andy was always the one to eye-spy them). As we drove past "the end of the rainbow" grandpa gave the boys each a gold coin because we made it to the end of the rainbow. With smiles on their faces, the turned their coins over and over again studying them. Isn't he a great grandpa?

I am not sure when it started, but at some point in the trip, my mom was dozing off and Andy exclaimed, " We got a nodder!" a classic line from the movie Cars (see here). I know you won't believe me, but he probably said it two thousand times on the trip after that. Any time there was a lull in conversation Andy would exclaim, "We GOTTA NODDER!" And since it usually provoked laughter, he would said it again and again and again.

My parents, bless their hearts, never once complained (at least to me) about traveling with my kids. The only minutes on silence was when both boys were asleep at the same time- which was not often. Andy felt the need to fill the air with singing, commentating the drive, point out anything he saw interesting, ask if he could climb on every mountain he saw, play in every river, lake, pond or puddle, eat at every Old Mc Donalds.... you get the idea. Every time I answered his inquiry with "no"... (which was every time he ask a question), it would go like this:

Mom! Look at that mountain! Should we go there? Should we go there, Mom? Can we climb it?

- No, not today. Maybe next trip.

Maybe next time?

- Yeah

Maybe tomorrow?

-No

Maybe later?

-Yeah.

Mom! Look! A river! A river, Mom! Should we go there? Should we go there, Mom? Can we play in it?

- No, not today.

Maybe next time?

-Yeah

Maybe tomorrow?

-No

Maybe later?

-Yeah

.. and so on. I tried to change my answers to discourage this such as, we need to get to our next campsite or maybe when we go on a trip with dad, or you're too little climb a mountain, maybe when you are older, etc. It didn't matter my answers, the questions still followed the same order. The. entire. drive. But since it comes out of this adorable face

I let it slide.

This night I had not booked a campsite, but printed off a couple of different options along the route. The first one we checked out was... um.... how do I say this... it wasn't that it was run-down, it was just never get good in the first place. We didn't even pull in. We scooped the loop and headed back out of town. The next place was right off of the interstate and was by far the worst place we stayed with trucks pulling in and out all night. We survived knowing the next night we would be in Portland and in a hotel! Woo hoo!

Oregon Trip Day 3

Morning of Day 3

Day two we had hoped to camp in Yellowstone, but when I was making reservations, all soft sided RVs or popout spots were spoken for. The bear are extremely active this year and many camp sites were sticking to a "hard sided only" RV vehicles. So, I I found a place out of "bear country" who allowed tent sided pop outs that had a playground and booked it.

The kids and I played soccer on the grass and played on the playground while the guys hooked up the camper and Mom got dinner started. Mmmmm a cheese burger never tasted so good!

In the morning we got up early and finished the drive to Yellowstone.

This is the day Andy still talks about. He says, " Member that time we stopped and ate in the camper and got out and there were big animals (buffalo) but we can't touch them. And we drove and got out and saw some big animals (carribou) . Yeah. That was fun."

Right before driving through the Yellowstone gates a black bear ran in front of Ben's van just in front of us. I could hear him (in my in mind) saying, "You guys see that?!" Much of the forest on the east side of the park has been destroyed by the forest fire. I remember hearing about it, but it is overwhelming to see in person. Heartbreaking.

Our first stop was Yellowstone Lake.

My mom just kept saying,"this lake is HUGE!"

But, as we live on Lake Michigan, my kids didn't even bat an eye, they just got down to business.

Throwing rocks.

Collecting sticks.

Getting wet.

Let me take a minute to say how wonderful it is to pull a camper while traveling with little kids. Though the beds pop out, the camper itself, is "ready to go" at all times.

Fooooooor example, we are on a stretch of highway and a 2 year old has to go potty.

Pull over and go in the camper.

Or we are starving, but still have another few hours to go before we get to our campsite for the night. Pull over and eat in the camper.

bathroom.

fridge.

freezer.

microwave.

oven.

stove.

sink.

table.

benches.

All at immediate access.

It was heavenly.

My only concern now is that on our next road trip, Andy will expect to be able to "pull over! I need to poop in the camper!"

We stopped for lunch just on the other side of Fishing Bridge (where, despite the name, you can't actually fish from) because there was a buffalo sitting on the hill. Erica snapped a couple of pictures of him (that I will steal). We guessed there were more up on the hill and found a good place to climb up. We were right. But did not venture closer as more people die from buffalo attacks than bear attacks each year.

My dad is coming up the hill behind Ben- you can just spot his head. I know his thinking: He was thinking he better go over and stand by Ben (who was closer than we were) in case the buffalo charges and he can jump in the way to block Jackson/distract the buffalo, etc. That's just how my dad thinks and that was the reason I had my "danger" thoughts up in the woods with the turkey. He is incredibly protective of his kids and grandkids. I can't write all of the examples, but he is always gently making suggestions for the safety of the kids. He is very aware of them. I think it's sweet and thoughtful instead of crazy and overprotective:) I know you're reading this! I love you, dad!

From buffaloes we viewed the fountain paint pots, geysers, mud pots, Old Faithful and other geothermic wonders. Again, I deferred to Erica for photos. Here she is snapping one of this geyser in Yellowstone Lake.

We did not make reservations for Night 3, as we didn't know what time we would leave Yellowstone/ how far we would drive that night. Dad bought an atlas at a gas station about an hour west of the park and eye-spied Lewis and Clark Caverns and Campground.

Picking this place off of a map, we had no idea what to expect. It was my favorite campground all trip. It had a great playground, shower houses, fire pits, picnic tables, GRASS!

Erica and I took the kids to the playground while Dad, Ben and Nate set up shop and Mom got dinner started. This had become our routine and it worked so smoothly.

This was the first night I felt like we just "hung out".

Night 1 we returned late from Mt. Rushmore and went straight to bed.

Night 2 we got to bed early so we could get up early for Yellowstone.

Night 3, we didn't need to worry about the morning, we were staying there to go to the caverns. We could just relax. We made s'mores. played on the playground until dark. And sat around talking by the fire.

this was why I wanted to come on this trip.

Perfection.

.

Oregon Trip Day 2

Morning of day2, 680 miles logged

After the pancake breakfast Grandpa made, the kids and I went on an adventure while the others packed up. Our campsite was nestled in the beautiful black hills of South Dakota.

It was incredibly beautiful.

I didn't really have a plan while exploring. We were all wearing sandals.

And pajamas.

It never crossed my mind that we would be in any sort of danger until Lauren spotted a wild turkey.

And then another.

And another.

Pretty soon, I noticed there were about 6 wild turkeys that were not walking away from us, but coming toward us on the outside edge, as if to surround us. I have no idea if wild turkeys are territorial, or attack when feeling threatened, but I casually guided the kids back toward the campsite. I realized how I was lucky it was just a few turkeys- we could have stumbled upon a mamma bear and her cubs, or a mountain lion- anything really- and what could I do to protect those kids in my jammies and flip flops? We weren't in Iowa anymore.

We had a few stops as we drove to Yellowstone.

-Black Hills gold store (boys bought flecks of gold that are floating in a (sealed) glass jar

- a fun Wyoming visitors center where we ate lunch and the kids played soccer and climbed on rocks

Mostly we just enjoyed the beautiful, beautiful drive.

Oregon Trip Day 1

Sunday night (later than planned) we left my parents house in route for Keystone, SD.

Home of Mt Rushmore

(a 10 hr. drive)

Before even checking in to our campsite, we explored Rushmore Caves.

I know, I live on the edge.

While traveling with toddlers, I wear white.

(Also, let's pretend I didn't sleep in those clothes in the back of a truck between two car seats all night)

It was extremely hot in South Dakota. who knew?!

But the caves promised to always be a nice, refreshing 60 degrees.

Not that we merely stopped by on a whim.

Don't you worry 'bout a thing.

I had this trip pre-planned front and back. top to bottom for weeks before we left.

(just ask my poor SIL who I emailed multiple times a day, "check out this place, should we go here?" or "what do you think about this one?" ," we must go here!")

I didn't take many pictures in the cave as I had to have my hands on Andy at all times.

Oh, Andy.

There's a reason my friends call him "the heart attack kid"

Because he's sure to give me a heart attack.

I am pretty sure he's destined to be a free runner

(see this youtube video if you need to educate yourself).

He uses any wall, ledge, platform to launch himself.

This is obviously a very bad idea in a cave with low ceilings, narrow pasages, steep (and slippery) stairways, deep drop offs into the unknown and stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

I didn't feel like I could get a tight enough grip on him.

Pictures were not a option.

It wasn't much of a concern as we had our family photographer with us ;)

(I will put a link up to Erica's page when she gets her pictures up on her family blog.)

Rushmore Cave was discovered in 1880 when a log flume that supplied water to the local town of Hayward broke and spilled onto the side of the hill. As the water flowed down the hill it started flowing into a small hole in the side of the hill. The miners who went up to fix the flume noticed this abnormality and became suspicious of where this water was going. After fixing the flume, the men decided to go inside and explore. After about 30 feet, the men came to a large drop off which went down about 15 feet. They exited the cave, and went out into the woods where they cut down a tree and then used this tree as a ladder to access the cave. The miners then noticed that the majority of the cave was made out of limestone. Knowing that limestone doesn't contain any gold, they abandoned the cave as a mining opportunity, and left it alone. Some of the local townspeople heard news of this discovery, and became very curious as to what they might find inside the cave.

The white parts are "active" formations, where the stalactite is still growing.

I spy some tight hand holding.

Our group: My neice, my mom, SIL, my nephew, my brother, Nate and my dad

My sister-in-law is one amazing woman.

She did all of the hiking and exploring at 5+ mo. pregnant.

A round of applause, if you please.

After our cave adventure we hooked up the camper at the campsite.

Erica and I took the kids swimming.

I am sure we ate some sort of dinner, but I can't remember what... but I sure remember those pancakes my dad made the next morning:)

Just before dark, and right as it started to rain, we went to see Mt. Rushmore for the nightly lighting ceremony.

My good lookin' parents

I read in one of the (many) travel booklets my dad picked up along the way that a New York attorney (go figure) named Charles Rushmore was looking at some land for a client in the area. He asked the guide what the name of the mountain was and the guide said it was first something like big cat valley (or mountain lion something or other ...) and then it was named Massacre Mountain... but it would be better to be named Mount Rushmore. They all laughed (clearly having no idea how famous it would become), and the name stuck. Years and years later, Gutzon Borglum carved his sculpture.

We sat in stadium seating and watched a video.

I am pretty sure it was about Lewis and Clark... I was tired

At the end of the video, when it was completely dark out, they slowly lit up Mt. Rushmore

(think LED light bulb slowly getting brighter).... (isn't that the kind?)

Anyway, we all stood and sang "My Country Tis of Thee"... I think... again, I was tired.

It was heart warming and stirred a little patriotic spirit in me.

It made me wish I had payed more attention in 5th grade social studies.

I hope encourage my boys to be more patriotic than I was.

Favorites from this day:

Loving the cave adventure with the boys, but feeling so sad because I know Chris would have absolutely loved it!

Falling in love with South Dakota. So beautiful!

Thank you, Ritz Camera

After trying a few (unsuccessful) attempts to get my photos off my sd card, I took it to Ritz camera, fearing I would accidentally erase all of my photos if I kept working on something I know nothing about.

SUCCESS!

After texting Chris the good news, he replied, "time for a blog-a-thon!

Not today,

but yes,

it will come.

IAMINLOVEWITHCRAIGSLIST!

Milwaukee's craigslist is the.best.

No lie.

After a few minutes of browsing, I already found a handful of pieces I love.

Fantastic bodies. Just need a little make over.

Skirted wing backs. Super awesomely deep wings. 2 for $30!

Love this shape. Super easy to reupholster. $5!!

I have a thing for green velvety sofas. $45

I really wanted this aqua flamestick one, but it's sold. $30.

LOVE these chairs. Such a fantastic shape $20 each!

Campaign dresser, anyone? Me! Me!

I promise you there is more to these pieces than old, slightly ugly furniture that nobody wants.

It's like the nerdy girl in a teen drama who once you take off her glasses and put her in fantastic outfit, everyone realizes how gorgeous she is.

Where do you find your bargains? Do you have a great Craigslist where you live?