Fiffer and Family

My Living Room and Beth Moore!

2009-05-07T22:07:00.037-04:00

OK so you are wondering what in the world my living room has to do with Beth Moore, and the answer is absolutely nothing! But that's my title because I have two different things to talk about!

We'll start with my living room since I am doing Kelly's tour of homes. I put a regular picture (how it looks today) and a Christmas picture but it's the time of year that I love my living room the most!

So if you remember from last week we live in a 200-year old farmhouse. Most of the house has been restored and updated but one room, our living room, has not been touched. We have lived here for 12 years and always talk about redoing it, but so far it hasn't happened. In some ways I love the primitive look of the room, but in other ways I don't really think it matches the rest of the house. One thing I don't like about it is the blue trim paint color. I have nothing blue in my entire house so don't think the room fits with my main color scheme of camel, golds, greens and deep red. Plus one thing you probably don't know about me is that I am an awful decision maker, particularly when it comes to choosing paint color. So I'd love your thoughts and ideas for when we eventually redo it. I sometimes think of putting stone on the fireplace and getting a nice mantle rather than the barn-beam mantle we currently have, but then I look at it and realize that ours is so primitive looking that it is unique, which I kind of like.

The one time of year that I love, just love, my old-fashioned living room is at Christmastime! After the gifts are all put under the tree, the stockings are all stuffed, and Santa's cookies are sampled, Alan and I sit there and take it all in and say, "He came!" And if any little kids happen to be peeking around the corner at that time they might well catch Mommy kissing Santa Claus! Don't miss the empty plate and letter to Santa in front of the fireplace...sweet days that are pretty much over since our youngest is 11 now!

I love to use our living room as a get-away...it's on the opposite side of the house from our busy kitchen/family room so it's nice to go to to relax, read a book, or have some peace. It also happens to be the warmest room in this drafty old farmhouse so many a winter day finds us in there in front of a cracking real-wood fire.

I love the fact that we have no television or computer in our living room (they're in the family room and kitchen) so it really is a primitive room in every sense of the word...how many rooms have absolutely no technology in them anymore?! However else I change our Living Room, that's one thing I'm keeping the exact same!

Then in contrast to our restful getaway of the living room we have the crazy chaos of our Family Room, which adjoins the kitchen. The one thing I am proud of in this room are the walls, which I faux painted myself in three shades of green. It actually is a much deeper color than shows up in this picture. I love how it brings out the rich cherry of the old woodwork in this room. The doors on the big cabinet are usually open, because our TV is hidden behind them! I was really pleased with how well the contractor got these new doors to match the 200-year old trim in the rest of the room. And don't miss our old yellow lab Gracie, a permanent fixture in that room!

Here the doors of the cabinet are open so you can see both the opened and closed look and see how nice it is to hide the TV sometimes.

I love my tray tables over in the corner. You wouldn't believe how often they get used, particularly on Tuesday nights when we have Taco Night while we watch American Idol...a family tradition! (Hey when you have three teenage daughters you've gotta make family traditions however you can!)

Here's something unique about our farmhouse...we have a cupboard door that is accessible from two different rooms. That's because when the house was built this Family Room was the Dining Room and our current mudroom was the kitchen. So the food would get passed through these cupboard doors.

OK so enough about Living Rooms...switch gears with me now to hear about the other big news of the day -- I MET BETH MOORE! Oh yes I did!

This year Beth is the National Chairperson of this event and we got to have her give the keynote speech here in Lancaster! When I first heard she was going to be here I thought it was going to be simulcast from Washington, DC but no, she was here in real life!

I really wanted to meet her so I went early and actually ended up sitting maybe 7 or 8 rows behind her. A fair number of women were sneaking up there getting pictures taken with her and I really wanted to also, and I definitely could have, but my wise husband kept reminding me that she was there to worship and to leave her alone. It must be so hard to be a celebrity, being watched all the time. Godly celebrities like Beth really need our prayers.

Beth rocked the place with her talk! It amazed me how little she used her notes. Is that cool or what -- it just goes to show that she has her words in her heart, as the Lord is giving them to her, not all written down just for her to read. That's what sets Beth Moore apart in the way she can bring a sermon!! It was REALLY awesome having so many men in the audience and she acknowledged that and gave an encouragement to the men to be prayer leaders in the family.

Beth had a tough act to follow after a 5-year old girl prayed like you wouldn't believe. I mean this child knew how to pray like nobody's business! She got a Standing O for her prayer and really I think it was a Standing O to God, for bringing up a little child like this to lead the people. "And a little child shall lead them..." Oh yes she did! Oh that we would raise up more children like this enthusiastic little girl!

Travis Cottrell was there leading the worship and on this beautiful May night it was pretty neat being out there with thousands of others singing our hearts out. It was A-MAZ-ING to gather together to pray for our country, and oh yes, does our country need some praying for right now. I was saddened to read that for the first time in many years our president did not attend a prayer gathering on this National Day of Prayer. It was a beautiful night after many days of rain and the sun was shining -- and the SON was shining! How wonderful to be in the midst of so many of God's people!

This was Beth right before she went on to speak...she had just come off a very stressful week being in our nation's capitol and I think she was enjoying being in the presence of so many of God's people! She even said "Lancaster" correctly!! (For the record, it's not pronounced LAN-CAS-TER, it's LANG-kiss-stir!" Because I'm sure you wanted to know that!)

Beth's husband Keith was even with her. Here's a picture of him laughing on the Jumbotron after she told a story about what a manly man he is.

One thing I give Keith a lot of credit for...after Beth spoke I was heading to the restrooms and passed the backstage area where the media was interviewing her. While several women hung around waiting for Beth to come out, Keith was standing there with several other men. A lady asked him, "Hey, Keith, can I get a picture with you?" And in the nicest way, he said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'd rather not." And as I thought about it I thought it was really cool that he doesn't want his picture taken with all kinds of random women. Just like I wouldn't want my Alan to be photographed with women everywhere he went. Because we all know how the media can distort a totally innocent picture into being something its not. And sad to say they try their hardest to dig up dirt on celebrities, especially Christians. So I give the Moores a lot of credit for being above reproach in this area.

When Beth came out I actually had a 2-second chance to say hi to her and tell her I'm a "siesta" who prays for her! And if you think a siesta is a long nap, you haven't been reading her blog. Check it out -- it's one of my favorites!

So that's the latest from Lancaster County tonight. Blessings to all!

Rainy Days AND Mondays

2009-05-04T12:31:00.007-04:00

On this rainy Monday I thought you'd enjoy a picture my 13-year old Caroline took. This girl loves photography and has so much iniative and motivation and just plain moxie that when she wants to learn something, she does it. She even created her own photography website, where you can see more of her work. Check it out here!

Caroline has willing models in her 18-year old sister Emily and Emily's boyfriend, who love to pose for pictures as much as Caroline loves to take them. In fact, next week is prom and already the girls are pre-planning the poses they want to capture, so many poses that their photography session may last as long as the prom itself!

So at least this rainy Monday gives me an excuse to stay inside and get a little cleaning done. Because, you know, the kitchen has stayed pretty nice but the rest of the house...oh my. Suffice it to say that if someone walked into my mudroom right now they might just think our house had been ransacked. Well, actually it has -- by one 16-year old Elly looking for her volleyball shoes and kneepads 2 minutes before we had to leave for open gym!

Actually Mondays aren't so bad. I get a chance to have a fresh start from an action-packed weekend. I love fresh starts! You get to do things over the way you would have done them the first time. My neighbor Beth and I always laugh and say "I'll take a do-over on that one" when we react in a way differently than we wish we would have. She always says that each of us should have been born with 3 do-overs that we could use when we really screwed something up. Like waving a magic wand to erase what just happened and get our "do over." Of course we agree we would have used up all three of our do-overs before we were 18 years old!

Speaking of "do overs," when my kids were young, there were too many times I'd react in a way differently than I wish I would have. Sometimes the busyness and stress of life would cause me to yell at them for things that didn't deserve yelling. And then I would feel so sorry and ache at the hurt in their precious eyes. And so I coined this phrase called "Mommy Bommy." Which I explained to them meant, ''You sweet kids did nothing wrong and it's my own sinful nature that caused me to react differently than I would have liked to. I love you all as much as a mommy can love and am so sorry." And of course I would ask their forgiveness. Because I thought it was important for them to know that parents are sinners and it is only Jesus Christ who can claim perfection.

It was in those "Mommy Bommy" moments that I most desired a do-over! But here's the awesome thing about God...while we can't truly have a "do-over," there is complete forgiveness in His amazing grace and He will give us a fresh start whenever we ask.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God;

and renew a right spirit within me."

Psalm 51:10

So excuse me while I go spend some time with God, asking Him to cleanse my heart and give me a fresh start this very rainy Monday morning!

The Kitchen Tour!

2009-05-01T17:31:00.001-04:00

This post is dedicated to my sweet 13-year old daughter Caroline, who has a heart of gold. We saw Kelly's blog today and thought it would be fun since we love seeing other people's kitchens. However, we had one major problem in doing that. Our kitchen was not what you'd call, ahem, photo ready. In fact it rarely is. Just keeping it real here! We have four children, and three of them are teenagers. Our kitchen is the center of our home...we live in it! And I generallly have papers, papers everywhere (one of the "joys" of homeschooling, for sure!). I wish each of you had a Caroline in your home. She's not the kind of kid who needs to be asked or told to do anything -- she sees a need and takes care of it. So after seeing Kelly's post she said "Let's do it!" We put some fun music on and went to work -- the two of us got the kitchen ready for pictures and in doing so we were able to give our kitchen one big Spring cleaning! And now it is looking fine and what a joy to prepare a wonderful meal to enjoy when Alan gets home from work. On second thought, the kitchen's so clean I think we should eat out!

We live in a 200-year old farmhouse in the heart of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and I love our old brick house. The only problem with it when we bought it was the kitchen was a TINY galley-style kitchen and the six of us would continually bump into each other. So after saving up for it for 7 years we had plenty of time to read all those kitchen magazines and dream about what I wanted. Finally in 2004 we did it! It was hard to make the addition blend in to keep it looking like it was always part of the farmhouse but I was really pleased with how it turned out. And it's so funny now, when people come to our home for the first time they say, "Oh this is what I love about old farmhouses -- the huge kitchens!" And I smile and show them what the "real" kitchen was for this old farmhouse - a tiny room that is now my mudroom, which I'd love to show you pictures of, but then you'd see all the papers I just took out of the kitchen to make it look so sparkly clean! Haha....Kelly, maybe sometime you could do a tour of mudrooms so I could get that photo-ready as well!

I love my black buffet...bought it and the frame above it from Ballard Designs. Since I don't have the type of fridge that you can cover with pictures I love posting them all on our bulletin board. I save the pictures from all the Christmas cards and love to be reminded of my friends & their families when I see their pictures.

Coleman wrote "Bless God" on our blackboard a year or two ago and I can't bear to erase it. So many people say "God Bless" and I always tell my kids to Bless God!

Enjoy this May weekend everyone!

Fiffer

Almost Four Years Later...

2009-04-30T08:57:00.000-04:00

So much for my comment almost four years ago that you ought to check back now and then because I might continue writing! Obviously not...though I thought often about keeping a blog I just never seemed to fit it into my day. Between laundry, cooking, homeschooling and (limited!) cleaning my days are full. And then when I do have a break I struggle with having the kids see me with my back to them as I sit here at the computer. Lately I have been impressed with how fast time is flying so while I totally admire those bloggers with mega-followers, I don't aim to be one of them.

That said, I am moved on a regular basis as I "drop in" on some bloggers. God is using the internet to reach MANY with the gospel and to me that's mighty cool. People who might not be able to reached by talking about God in a one-on-one situation can be reached through the words they read on another's blog. Through reading of the trials others are going through, I honestly think people start to "get it" about what it means to have a relationship with Jesus.

I wish I could link you to some that I am inspired by on a regular basis but honestly I don't know how. I'll put it on my "to do" list to learn how! So much to do, so little time! But for now, the laundry's calling and my husband wouldn't be too proud if he came home and saw that I mastered the blog thing but didn't have time to fold laundry! Know the feeling?!

Fiffer

East, West...Home's best!

2005-06-15T12:37:00.000-04:00

So here I am, sitting at the desk in my kitchen with a cup of coffee, overwhelmed with memories of an incredible trip. I never imagined things would go so smoothly, and feel more in love with my family than ever before. As we get back into the daily routine, I'm missing them! Amazingly enough, we never got sick of each other. I didn't look forward to a family of six sleeping in one motel room for over two weeks, and yet, it was nice. There's something pretty wonderful about all going to bed at the same time and talking about the day as we fell asleep. Two weeks of vacation was wonderful! And yet, I come home so refreshed and ready to get back into life! Because although the "mountaintop" of vacation is awesome, it truly is good to come down off the mountain (figuratively and literally!) and get back to a pretty wonderful life!

Before I give a few final comments about the trip, here's how our last day went...We had a great visit with Dwight Robertson at Kingdom Building Ministries on Tuesday morning. I could really see a couple of the kids going out to the "Laborer's Institute" someday...we were all really impressed with the whole organization. We actually made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Had a two hour layover at O'Hare, during which time Caroline threw up. But after that she seemed better and the rest of the trip was uneventful. Oh, except for a lady passing out in the aisle during the flight...kind of scary, but she was fine. Then the worst part was that when we arrived in Harrisburg, they couldn't get the gate to move out to the plane, so after a 15-minute forever wait we had to go down the emergency steps. Being "home" but stuck on the plane was frustrating, but soon enough we were off and there was my mom, waiting to pick us up!

If we had to do it over, what would we change? Well, besides little things here and there, the only thing I would have done differently is to come home after two weeks. That was long enough...the last two days were fun but the thing we wanted to see more than anything else was home! Was 2300 miles of driving too far? No...not really. (But maybe I should ask Alan, since he drove 2275 of them!) And yet, I wouldn't have wanted to do it any faster than we did. Staying two nights in the same location wasd always nice. The only thing I can think of that I may have skipped would be Silverton (the Old Hundred Gold Mine!) and Ouray, they were not that huge of a deal. But to get from Durango to Colorado Springs we almost needed to go through those towns, and it was an experience (notice I didn't say a good one!) driving over the Million Dollar Highway! I also would have found a way to whitewater (if I did it at all!) through the Glenwood Canyon on the Colorado River. The area where we went rafting was nothing spectacular as far as scenery is concerned.

And the highlights of the trip? Definitely the four-wheeling at Red Canyon in Utah and the horseback "steak ride" in Rocky Mountain National Park. But also all that time in the car was pretty special. We played games, told jokes, sang songs, and laughed a lot (except when the girls realized we were on our way to the Grand Canyon!) At one point we eavesdropped on a conversation Coleman was having with Emily. He likes thinking of things to invent, so said to her, "Emily, tell me everything you like to do and I'll tell you some things I could invent for you." Alan and I listened, and looked at each other and smiled. Long car trips make for captive audiences, and we had some great family conversation during those times.

We are home happy but broke! Our expenses shaped up as follows, listed as a percentage of the total...lodging 30%, car rental & gas 23%, food 20%, attractions 19%, and souvenirs 8%. The souvenir percentage would have been much higher had the Four Corners jewelry stands not been closed when we went by. Darn! Can you believe I came home without turquoise jewelry?! Alan did get me a pretty silver bracelet on the Navajo Reservation, though, so I'm not complaining too hard!

Here's the good news...all those expenses went on our credit card and the bill came today. Alan asked me how much it was and I said, "Don't worry about the amount...think of it in terms of how many frequent flyer points we've accrued towards our next trip!" He looked at me and rolled his eyes! I think he might cancel the credit card!

I close this journal with thanks to God for a vacation of a lifetime...not a day goes by that I don't feel blessed beyond measure. After two weeks of fun & adventure, I come home refreshed and looking forward to cooking, cleaning and taking care of my precious family.

Thanks for "coming along" with us on our trip. I know so many of you kept us in your prayers, and we thank you for that...so many little details "fell" into place, and I know that wasn't by chance. So happy trails for now, and may God bless each of you this summer!

P.S. I may continue writing on this blog from time to time, so bookmark it and check back from time to time (but not too often!)

Two days of fun in Colorado Springs

2005-06-14T01:56:00.000-04:00

We drove through pouring rain on Friday afternoon on our five hour journey to Colorado Springs. When we arrived in town Alan saw gas for just $1.99 per gallon, much cheaper than the standard $2.25 to $2.50 we’d paid on our trip. I asked him if we needed to fill up, and he said, "The tank’s pretty full...we’re down to only three-quarters." Coleman only heard the last part and yelled, "Oh no, just three quarters left for our whole trip! What are we gonna do?!" He didn’t know we were talking about gas, and thought that was all the money we had left. We laughed and assured him that although money was getting low, we had more than 3 quarters left!

It was about 7 PM when we arrived in Colorado Springs. I had booked a room on Priceline and ended up with a really nice Doubletree Hotel for just $45 a night! We called my cousin Sandy, whose son Justin was playing in a basketball game at Manitou Springs High School, so we headed over to watch him play. After two weeks away from home, it was wonderful to see relatives, especially ones we don't see very often. We made plans to get together with them again on Sunday.

After the basketball game we were starving hungry and really in the mood for Chinese food. We couldn't seem to find any, but saw many Korean restaurants, so figured that would be close enough. As Alan ordered "beef & broccoli," they said, "This is not Chinese food," and pointed to the menu where the first thing listed was "beef intestines." Um, no thanks! Our search for Chinese food continued, and we finally found a place, just as they turned their lights out. We ran in quick and convinced them that we were desperate for Chinese food! We got it to go and really enjoyed our Chinese feast when we got back to the room. Coleman quite possibly won the award for biggest eater! His appetite has been huge on this trip. When we go out to eat, he’ll often order what he wants, and then add "Actually, I’ll take two of them!"

Colorado Springs is a really nice town. On our trip, we’ve been in a lot of neat towns, but most have been built solely on tourism, with gift shops galore. But Colorado Springs seems more like a "normal" city than other places we’ve been, plus still has a lot of fun attractions. Also, it is swamped with Mexican restaurants which is fine by me!

On Saturday morning we swam at our hotel for a long time. Then we took showers and struck out for Focus on the Family’s headquarters. We’ve been Focus on the Family supporters for a long time and really appreciate their ministry. First we went to the Welcome Center where there were a lot of fun things for the kids to do and a huge bookstore for the parents. Then we went on a tour of the Administration Building. It was really interesting, and would have been more so if it was a weekday and we could have seen the employees in action. http://www.family.org/

On our way back we toured through Garden of the Gods, an area of rock formations. Although they were neat to see, they didn't compare to the mammoth red rocks we had seen in Utah, so we drove through the park to see them but didn't get out to hike.

I forgot to mention that our hotel was right beside a 20 screen cinema called Tinseltown. We were all in the mood to see a movie. The problem was that the boys wanted to see Sharkboy and Lava Girl, and the girls wanted to see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, a definite chickflick. So we parted ways, the boys putting on their 3-D glasses to see their movie, and the girls joining throngs of other girls at our movie. We spotted just one man in the entire theater, poor guy! Our movie was about four 16-year old friends who found a pair of pants at a thrift shop...oh, actually, forget it, it’s too long a story and you can see it if you want to! It received pretty good reviews, and wasn’t bad, but wasn’t great either. Most of all it was fun to be at the movies with my girls. I am so thankful for the "sisterhood" they share.

On Sunday morning when we woke up Coleman wasn't his usual chattery self, and we knew something was wrong. His head hurt, his tummy hurt, and he had absolutely no energy. Alan and the girls went out for brunch while Coleman and I stayed in the room. He got back into bed and fell asleep, waking up every now and then to throw up. Poor kid. After a couple hours, he woke up and said very cheerfully, "Guess what? I’m fine!" And he was.

Next he announced he was hungry...and you'll never guess what he wanted. A corndog, of all things! Even when I am feeling fine a corndog doesn't appeal to me, but it's really what he begged us for. We were headed for the town of Manitou Springs, and found him a corndog there. He gobbled it up and from then on seemed perfectly fine!

Manitou Springs is a very artsy kind of town and we didn't like it much. Mostly it seems very New Age, with several psychic shops on the main street. We felt uncomfortable there, and didn't care to spend much time there. We did stop at a place that had been recommended to us called the Penny Arcade. It was full of old-time pinball machines, really old ones! Most of them cost a nickel or dime to play. The more modern ones were two games for a quarter. We had a lot of fun there. I told Alan if I was the owner of that place I'd sell those pinball machines on ebay and retire! Really these were extremely vintage machines and surely are worth a lot of money.

We headed back into Colorado Springs to have supper with my cousin Sandy and her family. We spent a few hours with them and laughed so hard at the similarities between our families. It was a great time that passed way too quickly. We left there wishing we didn't live a couple thousand miles away from them.

It was 10 PM as we arrived back in Denver for the final few days of our trip. Hard to believe that just two weeks and 2400 miles ago we were here! We checked into the Red Lion Hotel that I had booked on Priceline. Before you think I get all kinds of incredible deals on Priceline, you should know it doesn't always work that way. This hotel was supposed to be a three-star, and maybe it was at one time, but it was extremely dated. Definitely a huge notch below the other places we've stayed, but oh well, it was only $45. Really we were only there to sleep, and got out of there early on Monday to head to Water World, one of America's biggest water parks. http://www.waterworldcolorado.com/

Water World was a blast! Waterparks are always so much fun. We laughed so hard on the way there as I told the kids of a childhood memory of my family at Wet & Wild in Florida. My dad & I went down a huge waterslide...a straight drop in about two seconds into a small pool at the bottom, the kind I would never consider going on now! Anyway, at the bottom the lifeguards always hurry you out of the water so the next person can go, but my dad wouldn't get out. He kept saying, "Tell your mom to bring me a towel!" Turns out the force of him hitting the water had ripped his suit in two! The lifeguard was so frustrated that he wasn't getting out of the water and my mom was doubled over in laughter as she brought him a towel! The kids all decided if they saw a ride like that one they might just skip it in honor of Gippy!

There were so many fun rides at Water World, and the weather was nice, although it was pretty breezy. The sun was bright, though, so we kept slathering more sunscreen on, having learned our lesson last week at Glenwood Springs. There were a lot of family raft rides which we all loved. The most fun ride was a long trip in an innertube down a lazy river with a lot of waterfalls to go over. Now that's my idea of whitewater rafting!

Tuesday morning we will stop at KBM, a ministry we support. http://www.christianity.com/kbm (If you click on their website you can get a free subscription to "The Laborer's Journal," one of the best devotional magazines I've ever read.) Anway, the head of the ministry is Dwight Robertson, a great guy who knows Alan's family from their days in Indiana. We'll visit there for an hour or so and then head on to the airport and our flight home. On Wednesday I'll post my last entry of this trip journal from "home sweet home." Gets me excited just thinking about it!

2005-06-14T01:30:00.000-04:00

The kids at Focus on the Family headquarters.

2005-06-14T00:58:00.000-04:00

My cousin Sandy and I in her front yard...check out those mountains she can see from her living room. (The snow-covered one is Pikes Peak!)

2005-06-14T00:55:00.000-04:00

Our cousins Sandy & Bruce and their family in front of their gorgeous home.

2005-06-14T00:43:00.000-04:00

We bought so many souvenirs that we had to upgrade to a bigger car...same black Ford Excursion, stretch style! (There was a wedding going on at Garden of the Gods, so Caroline & Alan posed in front of this cool car!)

2005-06-14T00:30:00.000-04:00

The kids try to hold up this rock to keep it from falling! This is Balanced Rock, at Garden of the Gods.

2005-06-14T00:01:00.000-04:00

Water World

2005-06-14T00:00:00.000-04:00

There really is a Wally World here...this picture's for my Dad!

2005-06-13T23:58:00.000-04:00

Caroline's ready for fun at Water World

2005-06-13T23:54:00.000-04:00

Emmy in raft, heading towards a waterfall!

2005-06-13T23:30:00.000-04:00

Here comes Elly, floating down the lazy river

2005-06-13T22:58:00.000-04:00

Elly Blue...in Old Colorado City we found this shop and of course we needed a picture of our Elly girl here.

2005-06-13T21:01:00.000-04:00

Alan & Coleman with their 3-D glasses on, ready for the movies.

Next time we'll skip the gold mine tour!

2005-06-10T02:35:00.000-04:00

We left Durango mid-morning on Thursday and headed for Silverton and the Old Hundred Gold Mine. Now if you know anything about Durango you probably are thinking, "Did they take the train to Silverton?" It is the biggest attraction in Durango, a three-hour train ride through the San Juan Mountains. However, since we were heading to Ouray (pronounce Your-RAY) and had to drive through Silverton to get there, it didn’t make sense to take the train ride to the same location we had to drive to anyway. It isn’t cheap, either...would have cost our family close to $200. We debated about having some of us ride the train and some of us ride in the car to get to Silverton, but in the end most of us were into the one-hour car trip rather than the three-hour train ride. I’ve heard you see beautiful scenery on the way there, since it goes along the rivers and you see lots of waterfalls. On the highway, we were so high up that to see the streams we had to pull over and look down. Way down. Which was breathtaking not only for the beauty for also for the fear it struck in us!

Anyway, we drove over what is called the Million Dollar Highway, or the San Juan Skyway. The drive was really pretty and not too treacherous, at least not yet. More about that later. We came upon a stream rushing down the mountainside which was a highlight. We wanted a family picture there so pulled over. A family was already there taking pictures of their kids and Alan thought they might like a family picture (because of course, we wanted one) and asked, "Could I take a picture?" And the father looked at him kind of crazy and said, "Well, if you really want one!"

Anyway, we moved on and got into Silverton, an old western-looking town full of what else...lots of tourist shops. We wanted to shop but thought we would come back later after we’d toured the highly touted Old Hundred Gold Mine. This was five miles outside of town on a dirt road, and is a tour into an actual former gold mine. Mining is obviously huge in this region. (Hence the name "Silverton" because they got "silver by the ton.") On the mine tour you ride a third of a mile into the mountain and learn how the prospectors mined the gold. I had made it clear to Alan that I would not be going along on the tour...after nearly hyperventilating going through the one mile mountain tunnel at Zion, I knew my claustrophobia would do me in going into a dark mountain passage for an hour.

So we got there and were met by a burly old prospector, looking exactly the way you would imagine. We got to pan for gold and silver while waiting for the tour. They "salt" the mine with jeweler’s silver so we had fun discovering all kinds of small pieces of silver. Soon it was time for everyone to put on their raincoats and hardhats and head into the mines. The kids were very disappointed that I wasn’t going along, but I was not about to be talked into it.

The tour was less than an hour, and when they came out I saw few smiles. Any I did see must have been smiles of relief that the tour was over! As they told me how bad it was to go into that wet, dark place with water dripping all over them, I knew I’d made a wise decision. Alan said I would have flipped out with the tight confines they had to go through to get into the mine. When we got in the car, Elly said, "Daddy, did you tip the guy?" When he said no, she said, "Well, there was a sign that said, ‘If you liked the tour, tip your guide.’" And he said, "Well, I didn’t like the tour!" They were all feeling sick and hungry so we headed into Silverton for something to eat.
On the way, they told funny stories about the guide. For example, at one point he called all the kids over and told them to look way down in a hole while he shone a light down. When they finished looking, he said, "Know what that was? That’s the miner’s portapotty!" And then went into peals of laughter. You can imagine how amused the girls were!

They had a cute sign hanging up in the miner’s shop. It said, "We gladly remove Kerry/Edwards bumper stickers here...just .95 cents + $5.00 tax!" Anyway, we left the gold mine and arrived in Silverton at 4:30 PM to find that the town pretty much closes down at 4 PM when the last train leaves to go back to Durango. Whoops, guess we weren’t going to do much shopping after all. We ate soup & sandwiches at the Brown Bear Café, which was said to have the "world’s best" French Onion soup. Turns out maybe it was "Brown Bear’s best" anyway...they are legends in their own minds. I never trust places that ask if you want "brown or white gravy," anyway, as they asked the kids what color gravy they wanted on their mashed potatoes. If they can’t even call it beef or chicken gravy, I’ll pass!

Since the town was pretty much closed down, we headed on our way to Ouray. I was glad to see a sign that showed it was only 20 miles away, a quick trip. Wrong! This twenty-mile trip took us almost 90 minutes over the Million Dollar Highway. Hairpin turns like you’ve never seen before. You really couldn’t get going much faster than 20 miles an hour or so. This was treacherous driving! I kept telling Alan, "Hug that center line!" I couldn’t even enjoy the views because I didn’t want to chance saying, "Oh look at that!" and have him take his eyes off the road even for one nanosecond...there is just no margin for error. I know it was named the Million Dollar Highway because of the views, and yet in my mind it is named that because after people drive over it, they say "I wouldn’t drive that again for a Million Dollars!"

Ouray is a beautiful town nestled in the middle of a huge mountains, and is referred to as the "Switzerland of America." Evening was approaching when we arrived into town, and the whole town is lit up with lots of white Christmas lights on many buildings. We stayed at the Best Western Twin Peaks, whose big claim to fame is that John Wayne stayed there for 40 days while filming "True Grit." In fact, they assigned our family to the actual room he stayed in. This meant nothing to the kids...their only concern was that they were not sleeping in his actual bed!

One thing Ouray is famous for is jeep tours onto mountain passages inaccessible by car. After risking our lives driving the Million Dollar Highway, this tour option did not appeal to any of us! We did some hiking, though, and saw some gorgeous waterfalls. Then we enjoyed soaking in the hot springs at our hotel.

2005-06-10T02:07:00.000-04:00

Hugging Caroline in front of a gorgeous mountain stream on the Million Dollar Highway

2005-06-10T01:41:00.000-04:00

Family picture by the stream

2005-06-10T01:40:00.000-04:00

Pretty girl by a gorgeous tree...or maybe I should say gorgeous girl by a pretty tree!

2005-06-10T01:39:00.000-04:00

Gold mine tour...minus one claustrophobic Mommy! See that hole in the mountain they're about to go in...now you know why I didn't go!

2005-06-10T01:35:00.000-04:00

Panning for gold!

2005-06-10T01:30:00.000-04:00

Downtown Silverton

2005-06-10T01:16:00.000-04:00

Mist over Ouray

They should call it freezingwater, not whitewater!

2005-06-09T14:56:00.000-04:00

It was good to head out of the desert and back into civilization as we approached Durango, only an hour ride from the Mission. We came very close to Mesa Verde National Park, which I really wanted to visit, but Alan and the kids were not into more sightseeing. I guess it will have to wait for another trip. We checked into our hotel, Best Western Durango Inn & Suites. We were really hungry and found Gazpacho’s, a good Mexican restaurant someone had recommended. Had a nice dinner and then walked around downtown Durango. It’s a neat old town that smells like leather with all its western shops! We stopped at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for a piece of candy, for which we paid dearly. I think it was $7 for each of us to have one piece of chocolate! We did some souvenir shopping but Alan & Coleman parted company from the girls and me because we all wanted to shop for "necessities"...jewelry for the girls and boy stuff for the boys.

In the morning we scheduled our whitewater rafting trip. We had really looked forward to this, even though we'd heard the rivers were running fast and high because of all the snow. Whitewater rafting companies are a dime a dozen in Durango. I found out that all guides need to be licensed, so to me, it didn’t really matter who we booked with. We reserved a trip with Southwest Whitewater. We were going to do a four-hour trip, but decided to do a two-hour trip instead. And am I ever glad we did! This was definitely NOT the highlight of the trip for any of us. http://swwhitewater.com/rafting.html

First of all, the water was absolutely freezing. Second of all, we had to sit up on the rafts, not in them. All of us. Except when we were approaching the big rapids, they had Caroline and Coleman sit down in. It was our family plus two guides. They gave all kinds of worst-case scenarios and of course once again we had to sign our lives away, promising not to sue them when we got killed or maimed as is wont to happen on these trips. The bus trip to the put-in spot was filled with photos of capsized rafts. The guide asked us our names, and after we told her she said, "OK, now if you pop out of the raft, your new name will be 'Swimmer,' and you need to listen to everything I tell you. Oh, great.

Our guides sat in the back and shouted rowing instructions to us. In front of them were Caroline & Coleman, with Emily & Elly in front of them, and then Alan & me in front. The main guide was diagonally behind me, and she steered the raft, and managed to steer our raft at an angle that sent me first into every rapid. Lovely. Everyone can thank me for taking the hit and sparing them from the full force of all the icy water. Our raft would drop way down, almost standing on end, the frigid water would wash over us, and then we’d pop straight up, coming out of the rapid.

They had a photographer along the route who took pictures of us in every rapid. And every photo had me turned around, looking back. Why? I was counting kids, of course. It was a wild ride and I was really scared that the kids would fly out of the raft in the rapids. I really did worry about them. Maybe in warmer months coming out of the raft isn’t such a big deal, but the thought of the kids landing in that icy raging water really scared me.

Our feet were completely numb. We wore water shoes, but they didn’t keep us warm. They did rent wetsuit booties, which would have been worthwhile. If our feet wouldn’t have felt like icebergs, maybe the whole ride would have been more enjoyable. But overall, we could only recommend whitewater rafting if the water was much warmer. Plus, even though they take kids as young as 5 years old, the younger kids didn’t enjoy it. Even wildman Coleman said it scared him. Believe it or not, the one who liked it best was Elly, the same kid who was petrified on the four-wheelers. She kept saying she wished the water was faster! Go figure. The two hour trip was about an hour & a half too long for the rest of us.

We had planned to stay two nights at the Durango Inn & Suites, but after seeing the downtown area we wanted to spend our second night in Duango there. We found a room at Best Western Rio Grande right in the middle of downtown. This hotel was really nice. The indoor pool was in the center of the hotel, atrium style, open to all four floors of the hotel. It was a much nicer indoor pool than the kind in a humid stuffy pool room. We were all so cold from the rafting trip that we all sat in the hot tub for a long time, just relaxing and trying to warm up!

We walked around town some more, stopping at a nice French bakery, Jean Pierre’s. We had fresh bread coated with butter...we were hungry and it tasted good! The kids had eaten after rafting at Burger King, but Alan & I were saving our appetite to go out on the town later. So after we walked around with the kids for an hour or so, we bought them ice cream and rented a couple movies for them. They were set, and so were we!

There were so many restaurants in town that we decided to get one course at each place! We found a café called Steamworks, where we started with a hot spinach artichoke cheese dip. By the time we finished that we were pretty full so decided not to buy dinner after all. There is a really neat old Victorian hotel in Durango called The Strater Hotel which has a piano bar beside it called the Diamond Belle Saloon. http://www.strater.com/belle.php

We’d heard their Chocolate Avalanche dessert was to die for, so we ordered it! It said "for two" but looked like it was for at least four! It was huge...wish I’d had my camera along. Brownies, whipped cream, ganache, hot chocolate ice cream, and lots of strawberries all smothered in hot fudge. Can you say ALKA-SELZER?! Halfway through we were stuffed, but sat there for half an hour or so listening to "Hot Molly" on the piano. She was really good, sang a song with the words, "If God doesn’t live in Colorado, I’m sure that’s where he spends most of his time." As we walked back up the hill to our hotel on the beautiful Colorado night, we could understand those words.

2005-06-09T13:47:00.000-04:00

Ready for whitewater!

2005-06-09T13:43:00.000-04:00

Nice indoor pool at Best Western Rio Grande in downtown Durango

2005-06-09T13:40:00.000-04:00

French bakery in Durango

A day with the Navajo people

2005-06-08T02:09:00.000-04:00

We awoke Tuesday morning in a hurry to get to the Navajo Mission before Vacation Bible School began at 10:30 AM. But Alan made us a little late...

When he got out of the shower, I threw him his clothes for the day, including a pair of underwear. Meanwhile I was on the phone getting directions to the Navajo Mission, and because the route to get there sounded confusing, I handed the phone to him. When he hung up, he said, "Now, what did I do with my underwear?" No one could find them anywhere, and he was convinced we were all playing a trick on him. He started a serious search, even offering a monetary reward, but to no avail. He went through the sheets, duffle bag, and even pulled the drawers out (no pun intended!) looking for them. Meanwhile we are all dressed and ready to go and Alan’s still standing there in his towel. About that time, Coleman said, "Daddy, why aren’t you dressed yet?" We were all laughing so hard...all of us except Alan, that is! He was convinced one of us had his underwear on! Finally he put on his day-old underwear since everything else was still packed in the car. Remember I told you we play "stump the expert" and hide something in each hotel room to know that he fully searched the room? Well, we left his underwear behind at that Holiday Inn, never knowing what happened to them. He is still mad about losing a brand new pair of underwear! Maybe you had to be there, but he is Mr.Organization and was so frustrated...and the rest of us were in giggles.

We arrived at the Navajo Mission just in time for Vacation Bible School. There were about 25 Indian kids there. Our kids had fun getting to know them. Meanwhile Alan was snatched up quickly on the manual labor detail and helped to lay block and then drywall a ceiling for the Indian classroom. I was assigned to the cleaning detail, not having told them about my "disability" towards cleaning! As I was cleaning a bathroom, I called out to the other room to ask Diane, the lady in charge, "Ever see snakes around here?" She yelled back, "Yeah, why, did you find one?" I said, "Listen, lady, if I find a snake in here I’ll be on your lap!" She laughed and told me that just yesterday they’d seen a rattler, but most of the snakes are "good" snakes. Ha, only good snake is a dead one far as I’m concerned. From then on whenever I had to walk somewhere I stayed on the gravel and out of the sagebrush, with my eyes peeled for anything in the grass. There were a lot of lizards there, which aren’t as bad as snakes but aren’t a whole lot better.I was working with a Navajo lady named Vera, and while we worked we talked. She has recently started attending a Christian church, but still holds on to a lot of Navajo spiritual beliefs, of which there are many. She talked about an uncle who had recently died and said he was now an eagle. She said she can't believe in Heaven as an afterlife because it seems too vague, but instead believes that people go to a "third world." (As if that's not vague?) Anyway, I had a chance to tell her that's where Bible study and faith come in, and how I'm sure a lot more comfortable believing in Heaven rather than a "third world." She was a really nice lady and I enjoyed talking to her and learning more about Navajo customs. Our conversation really convinced me how much the Navajo people need the Lord.

When Vacation Bible School was over the girls came and helped out with the cleaning, but after a couple hours, there wasn’t much more for us to do. The Indian kids had already gone home. The kids and I were ready to go but the men at the Mission weren’t ready to part with Alan, really appreciating his talents. We left there around 5 PM and headed for Durango..I considered our time there a success since I didn’t see any snakes! Seriously, it was a good experience for all of us and we enjoyed meeting and learning more about the Navajo people.

2005-06-08T01:15:00.000-04:00

Coleman and his friend Benin

2005-06-08T01:14:00.000-04:00

The Navajo Kids

2005-06-08T01:13:00.000-04:00

Navajo Friends

2005-06-08T01:11:00.000-04:00

Too many lizards... but they're better than snakes! NOTE: I did not take this picture, Emily did...you don't think I'd get this close to a lizard, do you?

2005-06-08T01:10:00.000-04:00

Working hard at Navajo Mission

Our longest day of driving

2005-06-07T14:40:00.000-04:00

We very reluctantly left Zion to head on to New Mexico to volunteer our time at the Navajo Mission. The kids have really looked forward to this, though, and I have too, since I came out here on a missions trip when I was 14 years old. We have been having so much fun on this trip but it's been all about us, so we all really look forward to giving our time at the mission. Caroline, especially, is very excited to work with Indian children. She is decidedly not, however, looking forward to cleaning, which I've informed her we may need to do. In fact, she asked me to call ahead and tell the people to schedule her for childcare since she has "a disability toward cleaning." (She comes by it honestly!)

The worst part about Monday was knowing that we had a very long drive ahead of us, seven or eight hours at best, which was made worse by the fact of leaving the luxurious Desert Pearl. We talked to various locals about the "best" way to get from Zion (in SW Utah) to Farmington, New Mexico...the whole way across Arizona. Every single person we talked to insisted we had to go to the Grand Canyon, that it was not going to be far out of our way. The kids did not want to go...anything that added to a seven-hour drive was just not worth it to them, no matter what it was. Alan and I debated back and forth about whether to go or not. We too, hated to add to our driving time, but how can you drive on by one of the world's most famous geological features? Though some people said it was an hour out of our way, a lady at the Desert Pearl insisted it was just "twelve minutes" off our course to stop there.

We never really did come to a decision, but when we reached the turnoff to the Grand Canyon our car just followed it. We didn't tell the kids since they'd so vehemently rallied against taking the time to stop there. Unfortunately, the "twelve-minute drive" was over an hour, and the longer it took the more we considered turning around, knowing as far as we drove in we had to come back out. After about an hour the girls needed a bathroom stop and the rest area had all kinds of Grand Canyon souvenirs. They suddenly realized that we were headed for the Grand Canyon and were furious, absolutely livid. I'm sure people wondered what was up as they saw these two big girls crying their eyes out saying, "Who cares about the Grand Canyon? We just want to get to our hotel!" Both girls insisted that they would NOT get out of the car when we got there. We explained to them that if we'd known it was this far out of the way, we wouldn't have come, but that we'd be given incorrect information. Plus we thought this may be their only opportunity to see the Grand Canyon. Nothing we said helped, they were just plain mad.

When we finally got to the entrance, the park ranger was extrememly upbeat and welcoming to us. He was an older man that reminded us a lot of my Grandpa Finney, who died five years ago. This jolly man’s name was Virgil Tinkleberg, so we instituted the "Virgil Tinkleberg Award," a one dollar award which will be given each day to the kid with the happiest attitude. All of a sudden the kids got very silly and were trying to be the happiest kid in the car. Elly even wrote a poem, "Virgil's cool, Virgil's awesome, Virgil's hot!" We also heard plenty of tongue-in-cheek comments like, "Thank you, Daddy, for driving us three hours out of our way to see something SO spectacular!"

We stopped at the visitor’s center and were sobered to hear that a ranger had fallen and died in the park that day. As we walked out to the most scenic point at Angel’s Landing, our thoughts were on the reality that someone really could slip and fall in, especially with the extremely gusty wind we were experiencing, with very few guardrails for safety. It was very scary just walking out to have our picture taken...we held on to the kids tight and couldn't wait to get back to solid ground. At a safer place, Elly took a picture of Alan and me as we posed for a re-enactment of the engagement. They thought it was pretty silly seeing their daddy down on one knee, but it brought back sweet memories to me!

After we got back to the lodge we bought sandwiches and had a picnic lunch. Less than an hour after we arrived, we were back on the road again. And the kids admitted they were glad to have seen the Grand Canyon...although none of us will forget how windy it was there!

On the road again...we just hate to be back on the road again...but here we are, driving through Navajo country. Which gives me plenty of time to work on my blog, since this is flat boring land, just desert and sagebrush everywhere. Except for the impressive mesas that rise out of the desert, which you can almost remember from western movies. Especially Alan...he's seen 'em all, I think! In fact, I tease him that he has the words to his favorite movie memorized..."Bang, bang, bang-bang, bang." But this scenery really does look like the sets of western movies, and you almost expect to see the cowboys & Indians come riding out. Actually, we do see some Indians, because this is Navajo Nation. We see an occasional roadside jewelry stand, but I haven’t convinced Alan to stop yet. I can’t go home without some turquoise jewelry! I've heard the Four Corners area is inundated with Indian jewelry stands, so I look forward to that stop.

The kids are growing immune to the beautiful scenery out here. As gorgeous at it is, I think it is all starting to run together for them, and things that wowed them at first now don't excite them nearly as much. If airfare to get out here wasn’t a concern, it would have been more fun to make this into two trips. For one week, I'd fly into Denver and "do" Colorado, making a big loop. And then for another great vacation, I’d fly into Las Vegas and make the two-hour drive to Utah, spending a couple days at Zion and a couple at Bryce. But this is the way it worked out best for us...were it not for the free airfare, we probably wouldn’t have made this trip at all. We are having so much fun, and it’s been an incredible experience. I can’t imagine things going any better. And yet...how much fun can a person have? We’ve never been on a vacation this long, and are missing home...our relatives, our house, and our dog. So really we are ready to do some work at the Navajo Mission, as long as we don’t have too big a "disability" towards what they ask us to do!

By nightfall, not only was there nothing to see, we still had several hours of driving ahead of us. But some of our best family times happened in the car. We played so many games of "Three Spooks and a Ghost" that we were all a little silly. It’s a spelling game that everyone says a letter, and you can’t end a word or you get one spook. If every letter you think of ends a word, you often throw in a weird letter, acting as if you know what you’re spelling. Then the person after you can challenge you, and if you get caught fooling you get a spook. If you get three spooks, you’re a ghost and then no one can talk to you. If anyone does, they’re automatically a ghost, too, so of course the ghosts have a ball trying everything to get the others to talk. Everyone was acting silly and we had fun.

Later Alan had fun teaching us the Military (phoenetic) alphabet...Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc...He laughed at us as we made up our own version. At one point crossing the dark barren desert he pulled over and we all looked at the stars. I’ve never seen anything like it. At an elevation of 5,000 feet, you are a mile closer to the stars than at home, plus there are no city lights to brighten the sky. The sky was inundated with bright stars...they never looked so three-dimensional as they did in that black sky. I’m sure we’ll all remember the beauty of that beautiful desert sky.

You won't believe what happened. I kept telling Alan how excited I was to get to the jewelry-laden Four Corners area. He would just roll his eyes and remind me that he’s not made out of money. But I had some "cookies" from my dear Aunt Helen’s cookie jar which I was planning on spending. (Every now and then Aunt Helen sends a check (i.e. "cookies") to each of her many nieces and nephews, so I’d saved some of her cookies for our trip!) Four Corners is the only place in the United States where four states (Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona) come together at one point, and for a couple dollars you can get a picture with a hand or foot in each state. But because we didn’t get there until 10 PM, it was closed and we couldn’t do it. Even worse, that also meant we couldn’t shop for turquoise & silver from the Indians. Alan pleads innocence on getting us there too late to shop, but I’m wondering...do you think he planned it that way?!

We didn’t get close to the Navajo Mission until 11 PM, so we grabbed a room at the Holiday Inn Express. It was nice, and we were so glad to hit the hay after 10 hours in the car (except for the hour at the Grand Canyon). The kids all did so well that we couldn’t pick just one to win the Tinkleberg Award (which Emily referred to as the Peabody Award!) so we gave them each a dollar and praised them for their excellent behavior. Really, we are so thankful for how well they are getting along.

2005-06-07T14:39:00.000-04:00

Too windy at Grand Canyon! You can barely see Elly for all the hair that's blowing around. There's a guardrail out at the point, but not on the narrow path on the way out there.

2005-06-07T14:37:00.000-04:00

The re-enactment!

2005-06-07T14:08:00.000-04:00

Cute guy at Grand Canyon

2005-06-07T13:30:00.000-04:00

Virgil Tinkleberg, a Grand Canyon Park Ranger, and one of the happiest people we ever met! (He's the one on the left.)

2005-06-07T13:22:00.000-04:00

Arizona Mesa...has got to be the site of many Western movies.

So much better than we expected!

2005-06-06T17:51:00.000-04:00

We woke up Sunday morning just in time for the Baptist church service at Bryce Canyon Lodge. Obviously Mormonism is huge in Utah, so we double-checked that we were indeed hearing the Baptist service! A pastor with a church in nearby Panguitch comes out each Sunday morning to do an 8AM service. There were 8 worshipers there until we arrived; you can imagine how glad they were to see us, which almost doubled their attendance! It was a beautiful service...singing "Majesty, Worship His Majesty" never seemed more appropriate.

By 10 AM we left Bryce Canyon and headed towards Zion National Park, only an hour and a half drive. Of all the National Parks, Zion was the one I was least excited about. Probably because the highlight of Zion for most people is wading in "The Narrows." However, because of the big snowpack and warm spring, the narrows are closed. The normal amount of water moving through there is 100 cubic feet per minute; currently it is 1350 cubic feet per minute! We were disappointed about it, but after hearing those statistics we realized it would have to wait for another trip.

The one thing I was excited about Zion, though, was our hotel. I’d done a lot of research in planning our trip on Fodor’s Travel website. http://www.fodors.com/forums/?lid=Forums&lpos=top_nav You can ask questions or do searches on any location; then many people who’ve been there give advice...where to stay & eat and other "must do" things for an area. It was a big help to me in planning our entire trip. For Zion, many people had recommended staying at the Desert Pearl Inn. When I called to make the reservation, the clerk recommended booking for two nights. She said no one ever wants to leave and they are always fully booked and unable to accomodate a last-minute request for an additional night. After spending five minutes there, we understood why. Fodor's picked this place as one of the Top 20 Best Deals...at $158 per night, it truly is! http://www.desertpearl.com/

We arrived at Zion in 95 degree weather and after touring the park for a couple hours, checked into the Desert Pearl. We were thrilled to find a gorgeous room and really nice pool. Hiking in that oppressive heat could wait; we had relaxing to do! The room was just gorgeous, more like a condo than a hotel room. It was very spacious with hardwood floors, and decorated with a southwestern flair, complete with a leather couch in the front of the room. The front of the room was all glass, and led out onto a private patio with easy access to the pool. And all in the most idyllic mountain setting. Ahhh...now this was luxury! Oh did I mention the bidet in the bathroom?? The kids all thought that was the grossest thing they’d ever seen!

While the kids swam I sat on the patio (not the bidet) catching up on my journal. Then the weather was so nice I headed out to the pool. A man sat down beside me as we watched our kids swim. We struck up a conversation with the obligatory, "Where are you from?" Turns out he was from South Carolina, near Charleston. Now that got my attention, since Charleston is my most favorite place in all the world. It’s where Alan & I spent our honeymoon years and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Now here comes another story you need to know to understand the "rest of the story." Alan & I got married 2 weeks after I graduated from Penn State with an Accounting degree. I got a job with a public accounting firm, Arthur Young & Co. (same ones who’d offered me the job in Stamford, CT). My office was on Meeting Street, arguably the most beautiful and historic street in the United States. I loved the city but did not like my accounting job...long hours and high pressure. All I ever did was look out the window and dream of being a carriage tour guide, but didn’t know how to reconcile that career with my accounting degree. When my grandparents came to town and took me on a carriage tour, I was hooked! I studied hard to learn the history of Charleston, worked on my Southern accent (since we wore Confederate uniforms you couldn’t have a YANKEE giving the tour!), and got a job at Old South Carriage Company. Quitting my accounting job was wonderful and I loved the time I spent giving carriage tours in Charleston! http://www.oldsouthcarriagetours.com/index.html

So I told this guy the story and he said, "Which carriage company did you work for?" When I told him which one, he said, "So you worked for David?" Turns out his name was Doug and he was the priest where David and his wife Debbie went to church! Wow, what a small world! We had fun hanging out with Doug & Tricia and their children, and all of us wished our mutual friends, David & Debbie and kids were there as well.

There was a huge grassy area there so while the adults hung out together, Alan held a volleyball clinic for all the kids. A few lizards even showed up to join the fun. I don’t think I will ever get used to lizards, but I guess this is the desert, and for sure they are better than snakes!
Zion National Park turned out to be one of our favorite parks. Isn’t it nice when you have modest hopes for something and it exceeds your expectations?! There are huge stone mountains everywhere, and the nicest thing is that there is a shuttle system that takes you anywhere you want to go. It was nice, especially for Alan, to be able to park our car and then let the shuttle drivers deal with the treacherous hairpin turns in the park. Zion’s stone mountains are really impressive and there are so many trails to hike. Unfortunately it was extremely hot and tiring and our hotel was extremely cool and relaxing. So we will have to save our serious hiking of Zion for the next trip Zion is only two hours from Las Vegas so I don’t doubt that someday we’ll be back, specifically for Zion, and of course, more four-wheeling, which is very popular in southwest Utah. And to think we almost cut the Bryce/Zion part out of our trip! We talked about how much extra driving it would entail and probably would have nixed it had my friend Brenda not brought her album down and insisted we go there! It's been the highlight of our trip so far.

The Desert Pearl was within walking distance of town and enjoyed pizza at Zion Pizza & Noodle. At night the hot tub at the Desert Pearl is adults only so we put a movie in for the kids and then joined some other adults in nice conversation out at the hot tub. We had a great night’s sleep on plush mattresses with down comforters. Alan says to not forget to tell you about the 300 count sheets. (I had no idea he even knew what they were!)

As I sit here typing on Monday morning, I see a gardener working on the flowers. Gives me a twinge of homesickness...I’m really tempted to ask him if he needs some help! I envied him digging in the dirt. It will be nice to be home again working in my gardens; stopping every now and then to play with our very much missed dog, Gracie. But for now, we are having an incredible trip and I am loving having all this time with Alan and the kids. The kids are doing so well with all this driving; unfortunately our biggest day of driving awaits us tomorrow as we need to drop down into Arizona, cross the whole state, and end up in Farmington, New Mexico.

2005-06-06T17:41:00.000-04:00

Our room at Desert Pearl

2005-06-06T17:40:00.000-04:00

This is where we stayed, the Desert Pearl Inn in Springdale, Utah, just by Zion National Park.

2005-06-06T17:39:00.000-04:00

Twins

2005-06-06T17:35:00.000-04:00

Big guy, bigger mountain

2005-06-06T17:31:00.000-04:00

The Three Patriarchs

2005-06-06T17:30:00.000-04:00

Majestic Zion

2005-06-06T15:51:00.000-04:00

In the pool at Desert Pearl...in almost one hundred degree heat, we'd rather be swimming than hiking!

2005-06-06T15:50:00.000-04:00

Small world...these are friends of friends from South Carolina!

2005-06-06T15:49:00.000-04:00

Volleyball Clinic at Desert Pearl Inn

2005-06-06T12:57:00.001-04:00

Uncle Bobby the Warrior

2005-06-06T12:57:00.000-04:00

Junior Rangers

2005-06-06T12:56:00.000-04:00

Gummaw Squaw

2005-06-06T12:55:00.000-04:00

Chief Gippy

2005-06-06T12:54:00.000-04:00

After a long hike

2005-06-06T12:50:00.000-04:00

Alan on solo hike...lucky for him Elly tagged along to record the moment!

2005-06-06T12:48:00.001-04:00

Waterslide fun!

2005-06-06T12:48:00.000-04:00

Utah Rocks!

2005-06-06T12:46:00.000-04:00

Roadside vista in Utah

2005-06-06T12:45:00.001-04:00

Ice cream at Moab Diner. At dinner here Coleman ordered "Fish & Chips." Just before they brought him his meal, he said to me, "I can't wait to get my two favorite things...fish and chips, too!" Ut oh...I had some explaining to do.

2005-06-06T12:45:00.000-04:00

Hot Springs

2005-06-06T12:39:00.001-04:00

Top of Bryce Canyon

2005-06-06T12:39:00.000-04:00

The girls

2005-06-06T12:38:00.000-04:00

The boys

2005-06-06T12:37:00.000-04:00

Ready to ride!

2005-06-06T12:36:00.000-04:00

The 3 girls

2005-06-06T12:34:00.000-04:00

On the trail

2005-06-06T12:33:00.000-04:00

Motorheads

2005-06-06T12:32:00.000-04:00

Gorgeous girl, gorgeous view

2005-06-06T12:31:00.000-04:00

Hotrodder Caroline

2005-06-06T12:28:00.001-04:00

Enjoying the view

2005-06-06T12:28:00.000-04:00

More Hoodoos

2005-06-06T12:27:00.001-04:00

Hoodoos at Bryce

2005-06-06T12:27:00.000-04:00

Alan's tree

2005-06-05T12:56:00.000-04:00

Caroline at Skyline Arch

One National Park after another!

2005-06-05T00:06:00.000-04:00

After I got the laundry done on Friday, we reluctantly checked out of the Best Western Canyonlands. One thing is, we definitely overpacked. Which I'm sure comes as absolutely no surprise to my dad and brothers! Growing up in a family with 5 brothers, we would go on vacations and my brothers would pack a couple shorts and t-shirts and be done. Then there was my suitcase, which was bigger than all theirs put together. After all, you never know what the weather conditions might be and you need to be prepared for anything...and everything! I made a list for each kid what to bring, knowing that we were going to be in a lot of different weather conditions. I thought I was keeping pretty tight rein on it. I planned on doing laundry once or twice during our trip. I hate doing laundry so I was in favor of more clothes, less laundry. This is vacation, after all, and who wants to spend it in a laundromat? But every hotel has had plenty of washers available and it's been so easy to throw a load in quickly. When I get the laundry done the kids just grab from that rather than digging back into their duffel bags. I know we are a little earlier in the season than the big crowds so maybe in the middle of the summer it wouldn't be as easy to find empty washers as now. We have gotten pretty good at having everyone get out what they need for the night at each hotel and taking in just one bag, which makes checking in and out pretty easy. We always like to hide one thing in the room to "stump the expert." Who could that be? He always finds it!

So on Friday, it was off to Arches National Park. The moutains are just unbelievable. So many of them look like huge castles in the distance. You can almost imagine that thousands of years ago they just may have been castles but have weathered so dramatically that you only see the form of what they once were. Some look like huge courthouses, some like ancient pyramids. As we drove through we had fun talking about what each mountain reminded us of.

Then in the midst of these red mountains are these natural arches, an amazing sight. We drove through the park and got out and hiked at various locations. At one point we hiked way back to an arch, to see it close up. This day was cold, rainy and windy, and although we were thrilled with the beauty of the park, the car was a lot more comfortable! After hiking a half mile or so back to see the arch, Alan the Hiker decided we were continuing on to the far arch to have a family picture taken. The kids were freezing and didn't want to go. I wasn't so cold as fearful of seeing a snake, as he was going off the path to see this arch. So we mutinied and headed back for the car, but Elly didn't want him to go off on his own. Plus she wanted to record his big adventure on video so she struck out with him. (She'll do anything to avoid the car!) We waited half an hour or so for their return, and finally they came back with the picture to prove that they'd made it. They were proud of themelves, and the rest of us were proud of our decision to view the beauty from the warmth of the car! Isn't it nice when we all end up happy!

By 4 PM we left Arches to head for Bryce Canyon in Southern Utah. We'd heard that the rain we experienced that day was snow at Bryce (oh goodie), and received warnings about traveling the mountainous and windy Route 12, considered one of the most scenic routes in America. Several people told us it was a 5-6 hour trip in good weather, so we dreaded the thought of what time we'd arrive at Bryce considering the poor weather conditions. I couldn't even bring myself to tell the kids the truth about how long we'd be driving, instead answering with a much safer "I'm not sure." Because of the poor driving conditions we'd heard about, Alan decided we should take the longer interstate instead. One thing we learned was that you can call Triple A while you're driving, tell them exactly where you are, and they'll give you the best directions to where you're going, considering the roadwork and conditions going on. They advised going the way Alan thought, via interstate roads. This proved to be a wonderful move as we realized we were making really good time. It was a good road with no one on it and the posted speed limit was 75. And after just 2 hours of fast driving we realized we were over halfway there! We stopped at a Wendy's and as we came out I told the kids to look out at all the snow-covered mountain peaks and remember that beauty the next time they ate at the Wendy's at home, which is on a busy highway.

We were in the town of Richfield, Utah, which our brother-in-law Wendell had told Alan was the four-wheeling capital of the world. Alan had his heart set on four-wheeling, but we had reservations at Bryce Canyon and had to push on. He wistfully pointed out all the four-wheel trails as we moved on.

The best news of the day was that by 8 PM we were at Bryce, a full 3 hours earlier than anticipated. We were all lovin' on Alan for getting us there so quickly! Our motel for the next two nights was at Best Western Ruby's Inn at Bryce Canyon. Many people who'd been there said it was an attraction in inself and the place to stay at Bryce, just one mile from the park entrance. Anyone who's driven I-95 South approaching South of the Border knows what we experienced as we approached Ruby's. Whatever you wanted or needed you could find at Ruby's Inn, for the right price, of course. And their "right price" and mine were nowhere close! It was a huge place with almost 400 rooms. The rooms were very run of the mill motelish, the least nice of our trip so far. Ruby's owned the whole strip around Bryce and with the cost of things I'm sure the owners were probably vacationing in Maui while we were vacationing there. Breakfast, for example, each of us got a danish and drink and the bill was $16...at the supermarket! We ate our snacks for lunch and then for supper were starving, so decided to eat at the huge buffet there that everyone talked so wonderfully about. It was a very run-of-the-mill buffet with very resortish kind of prices. With few other choices, we ate there...the kids started with their favorite, mashed potatoes, and soon were full. Hate to tell you the cost of their mashed potato meal! Turned us a little sour on the whole Ruby's place. It is highly overrated in our opinion. Later in Bryce Canyon National Park, we had a chance to see the lodge and restaurant...both seemed very much nicer than Ruby's (albeit no swimming pool), and next time we'll try hard to get a room there, though there are few rooms and you'd need to reserve very early.

Saturday morning Alan still had four-wheelin' on his mind as he had seen signs even in Bryce for ATV adventures. We checked a couple of them out, and found one that was not associated with Ruby's that we decided to try. I wasn't sure I wanted to do it but knew how bad Alan wanted to so we gave it a try. We rented three four-wheelers for a three hour guided tour of Red Canyon. They first gave us a crash course (bad choice of words!) in driving the things, and told us if we wrecked 'em, we bought 'em. They also told tales of everything that could go wrong, and the number of people who had been taken out on ambulances. Then asked us to sign a release. Oh great, this was sounding more fun by the minute.

The drivers were Emily, Alan & I with the others as riders. Coleman was pretty mad that he didn't get to drive his own, but had fun riding on Alan's. Once we got going and I figured out how to shift it was an incredible adventure. We rode up and down mountain trails and through a lot of streams, getting really muddy and wet. But once we were so dirty, who cared, so we started hitting the streams even faster! The further we went the braver we got. Emily did an awesome job and rode like a pro. Elly had started out on the back of Emily's bike but in tears begged me to take her instead. So she & Caroline switched places, which still didn't help much. The experienced guide offered to take her on his bike, but she stayed with me, still very nervous. It was a blast, total fun in the most beautiful of settings! When we got to the straight part near the end we stopped and switched drivers. Caroline drove Alan, Elly drove Emily (at a top speed of 2 mph!) and Coleman drove me. The fearless kid kept telling me how to shift so we could go faster and kept telling me "OK, now we're gonna open it up!" We probably ruined the bike as I kept both hands on the brakes as he had the gas full throttle. At one point I let off a little just as we came up to a huge stream. He hit it hard & fast and absolutely soaked us. All we could do was laugh, as we wiped the red mud from our faces. We came back filthy and exhausted, but totally exhilarated. It was the high point of our trip so far, and by the end, even Elly admitted it was fun. http://www.atvbrycecanyon.com/onehour.htm#3

That night, after a long swim, we toured Bryce Canyon. This park was unlike anything we'd ever seen. It is full of what they call "hoodoos," tall columns that look like the sandcastles you make at the beach when you let the wet sand drip down between your hands. They were really impressive, and we enjoyed the beautiful light on the canyon as we watched the sun set. The nice thing about Bryce is that you can see beautiful views without hiking far off the road to see them.

One thing I didn't tell you. A couple years ago when Coleman and I were running errands I told him a long story about how his daddy was a cowboy and his mommy andIndian when we met, and the hardships involved with the melding of Cowboy & Indian families. Although I told him many times that it was only a really good story, it was too cool a story for him to not believe, and ever since then he's enjoyed telling people about it. So at Ruby's there was a giftshop with all kinds of Indian souvenirs, and a whole section of Indian portraits. Jokingly Alan found them and told Coleman that this is Mommy and her parents and brother as Indians. His eyes grew wide and he was pretty impressed. Hopefully you'll enjoy them as much as Coleman did!

2005-06-04T19:14:00.001-04:00

good buddies

2005-06-04T19:14:00.000-04:00

Elly at Hot Springs

2005-06-04T19:12:00.000-04:00

Emily's perfect dive!

2005-06-04T19:10:00.000-04:00

Coleman's flip!

Did you know how bad hot springs smell?!

2005-06-03T22:37:00.000-04:00

Our room for the night was right at the Hot Springs Lodge in Glenwood Springs so after a very long drive (almost 6 hours) we wasted no time in changing into our swimsuits and hitting the pool. This was no ordinary swimming pool...it is the world’s largest hot springs pool. Believe it or not, it is two city blocks long! On our walk over, we smelled this awful rotten egg smell. Wondering what it was, Alan mentioned "Oh, that’s the hot springs, didn’t you know they really stink!" Suddenly the glamour of this huge pool was gone. Not only that, but it didn’t even look like a normal pool. Most of the bottom of the pool was dark stone, so you can’t see through the water very easily. The girls were having second thoughts, big time. To top off their dampening spirits, I happened to mention to them that I’d heard some of these hot springs were "clothing optional" so not to get too close to anyone.

We found out that there were two pools there, one heated to 94 degrees and the other to 102 degrees. It’s a beautiful setting right in the middle of the mountains. The hot springs were used for healing by the Ute Indians, and even today many people swear by their healing powers. There was a big sign on the wall listing what minerals were in the water; Alan told us that it was the sulfur that made it smell bad.

No sooner had the girls gotten in the pool than an older man started approaching them. You should have seen their faces pale as he got closer. In just a moment it became clear that he was heading for the steps and not for them; they were sure relieved to find out he wasn’t a nudie! The good news is we never did see any "clothing optional" bathers!

Once we got in the water we didn’t think about the smell anymore and had fun there, even in the 60 degree weather. Only problem was that when you got out you nearly froze. For a short time we got into the hot pool...the whole side of the pool has steps down so you can sit with half your body in the hot pool and half out, and it’s really relaxing. (To be completely submerged for more than a couple minutes got too hot.) After an hour or so of playing we were starving hungry so went back to our rooms to change for dinner. So far we have only been buying supper at night. That’s because every hotel we’ve stayed at has had free breakfast, then for lunch we eat snacks...trail mix, granola bars, cheese & crackers, etc. So by dinnertime each day we are starving for some real food! The kids were getting sick of Mexican food but Alan & I could eat it every day. Someone had recommended Fiesta Guadalajara in Glenwood Springs whiich conveniently enough was right beside a KFC. So Alan & I shared a big plate of delicious chicken nachos while the kids feasted on a bucket of chicken. We knew Coleman was sick of granola bars when he picked up a piece of chicken and said, "Ah, protein!"

We sat outside to eat and enjoyed the evening. There’s a pedestrian bridge which crosses the Colorado River that we decided to cross to go downtown. There was a light rain falling, which got progressively heavier the further we got from the hotel. By the time we finally got the whole way across the bridge it was absolutely pouring so we turned around and ran the whole way back and never did see downtown. The hot springs were open until 10 PM so we headed back out to swim some more, even though it was raining (just lightly again). We had the hot springs practically to ourselves and enjoyed it. The lifeguard let us play in the diving well and the kids had fun practicing their dives. Coleman did a major belly flop and when he came up we said, "Ouch, Coleman, that must have hurt." He said, "No, it just felt like a little pinch...like a pinch from a baby!" Tough kid...an "injury" like that would have had the girls in tears screaming for us to call 911.

Even though the evening was cool, we never felt cold until we had to cross the road to get back to our hotel, and then nearly froze to death. We all needed showers because the hot springs make you feel really gross until you shower off; after that your hair & skin feel nicer than ever. I can see why they are such a popular spot with the locals, and probably really are better for you than swimming in a normal chlorine-laden pool.

The next morning it was time for what else...more swimming! Normally it would have cost our family $70 to get into the pool each day, but admission is included free when you stay at the Hot Springs Lodge, so that made the $178 hotel rate much more reasonable. On our way over we walked past this really small hot spring and noticed a sign "Drinking Spring." There were two people there talking to the man in charge. They asked if they could have a drink and he handed each of them a cup. This was unbelievable to us that anyone would consider drinking this foul-smelling stuff. The lady went first and gagged and spit the water out. Of course the guy downed his sip of it but I noticed he dumped the rest of it out. I don’t care how healing that water is to drink; those people probably felt sick the rest of the day!

Anyway, it was a warm sunny day and we ditched our plans to leave by 11 AM in favor of a day at the pool. There are also waterslides at this pool, which the kids enjoyed. There was a five foot diving board so they had a Olympic competition with their fancy moves. Alan did his wild back flips and Coleman decided he could do them, too. No fear! It was a riot watching Alan teach him how to do a flip. Alan insisted that the key was to keep his chin tucked, so Coleman would go running Sonic-speed down the board with his chin tucked and then do a big jump. After coming up out of the water, he’d yell, "I did a flip!" Eventually he really did do a flip...if Daddy can do it, he'll find a way to do it, too! Caroline also was brave enough to try a few flips and really got good at her diving as well...not only just from the side of the pool but from the diving board as well.

By the time we left around 2 PM I knew we’d spent a little too much time in the sun and we all had sunburns to prove it. The day had started out so overcast that we didn’t put sunscreen on and paid for it later. Someone told me that because of the higher elevations in Colorado you are closer to the sun and burn faster and now I believe them. As a typical teenager, Emily’s biggest concern about our trip was that she wouuld come home without a tan...she doesn’t have to worry now.

So back into the car we piled, with fussy kids hurting from sunburn. I declared a moratorium on talking since all they were doing was fussing at each other. "She said, he looked at me, she touched me, etc. etc. etc." Sure glad I never fussed with my siblings like that when I was growing up! Alan also was a little grouchy and I had to threaten to pull my nice anniversary post about him if he didn’t get nicer.

Our next stop was Moab, Utah. As we left Colorado there was a big sign that said, "You are leaving colorful Colorado." How right that was as the scenery entering Utah was pretty boring at first, and I assumed it was because we were entering the desert. Wrong! It wasn’t long until we started seeing mountain peaks again, snow covered ones! Turned out they were the La Sal Mountains. We loved looking at them but were sure glad we didn’t have to drive up into them.

It took us almost 4 hours to drive from Glenwood Springs to Moab. It wasn’t until we approached Moab that suddenly there were red rocks everywhere! Huge red rocks. Funny thing is Colorado was so named because everything looked very red to the settlers, but obviously they hadn’t been to Utah first or they would have named Utah Colorado (did you follow that?). Red dirt, red stone, red everything.

We checked into our hotel, Best Western Canyonlands Inn, which was at a gerat location right on Main Street, Moab. In fact, it appeared that maybe that was the only street in Moab. It is a much smaller town than I envisioned and seems like the whole town is motels, restaraunts, mountain bikes, and rafting businesses. We found a drugstore and bought some stuff we needed, like sunscreen! As we browsed around the store, we laughed because in the games & puzzles section, here was a selection of "Lancaster County Amish" puzzles! Made us feel right at home. What didn’t make us feel at home was that on our way, we saw a huge poster advertising a gathering of the Utah Free Militia, which said something like "Never forget Waco." Kind of creepy, glad we weren’t going to be around for their big anti-government rally.

We are staying at Best Westerns as much as possible because they have free wireless internet access at all their hotels, which makes it possible for me to post to my journal and Emily to IM her friends. Could you possibly imagine the horror of having to be out of touch with your friends for over TWO weeks?! But seriously, I don’t mind her spending 20 minutes or so every now and then on the computer because she has been an invaluable help to me in getting the pictures posted. Without her you would only be able to read my journal, which Alan has declared "ridiculously long!" But there is so much I want to remember about our trip, and this is the best way to do it!

Every motel we’ve stayed at so far has been really nice, but none so nice as Best Western Canyonlands. There were huge flower pots everywhere, a really neat lobby with several leather couches, free fresh-baked warm cookies all afternoon, free coffee, free game room, not to mention a really nice room, too! In our room there was a free goody bag that included lots of snacks, gum, toothpaste, and even Snap, a fun family card game. It received the Chairman’s Award for being one of the top Best Westerns. Really nice hotel...wish we were here for more than one night but tomorrow we’ll move on – again.

It’s funny how much driving we cut out from our original plans (over 1200 miles!), and yet it still seems like we are moving at a quicker pace than I’d like to be. We are out here for 16 days altogether, until June 14th. Originally we had planned to make it as far north as Yellowstone and as far south as the Grand Canyon. However, after plotting out many different trip versions, it finally came down to the realization that too much driving would not be a true vacation to us. You have this feeling that while you’re "out west" you need to do it all and see everything. After discussing this and mapping out many different routes we finally decided we’d save Yellowstone for a different trip. Besides, my parents have been there in wintertime and say snowmobiles are the way to go, that you don’t have to put up with the horrendous traffic so common in the summertime.

The Grand Canyon, that most romantic of spots, was sacrificed in order for us to spend a few days at the Navajo Mission in New Mexico. Our church denomination sponsors a mission for recovering alcoholics and their families on the Navajo Reservation. They are always happy for help, so when Caroline heard about this it was the one thing she cared most about doing. There are a lot of children there and she wanted to help. So the kids voted in favor of cutting out the Grand Canyon because we couldn’t fit in both that and the Navajo Mission.

Even so, we are moving at a fast pace, seeing a lot but not getting to really "do" the area. We are barely scratching the surface of these national parks. At Rocky Mountain National Park, for example, there are hundreds of ranger programs you can be a part of. We met a family who spends a week there every summer, because there is so much to do there! So us spending a day and a half there just gave us a glimpse of all it offers.

Oh, one more thing about the Best Western Canyonlands. I did our laundry there, and when I left to carry a load up to our room, I’d left the mismatched socks and the paper I was reading on the counter. As I got on the elevator, the maid said something to me in "Spanglish" and all I knew was the word "laundry." I smiled and said, "Yes, a lot of laundry with four kids!" Well, she heard the "yes" and I guess she had asked me if I was done there. When I came back five minutes later the socks were gone and the trash had been emptied! I had to track her down, and with all Spanish-speaking maids there it wasn’t easy. I dusted off my Spanish, did my best to explain the situation and finally she arrived with my socks!

We are about to tour Arches National Park so I'll fill you in on that soon!

2005-06-03T01:50:00.000-04:00

Windy day on Trail Ridge Road

2005-06-02T23:13:00.000-04:00

Cold Continental Divide...but the kids are looking a little happier because we are on our way down the mountain!

2005-06-02T22:07:00.001-04:00

Boots anyone? Maybe the sandals in the snow had something to do with why they were so cold. Notice Elly sandals were missing here...they were in the car, feeling carsick.

2005-06-02T22:07:00.000-04:00

As high as you get! This is almost 13,000 feet up, over 2 miles higher than sea level. The kids DID NOT want to be out of the car here...see how happy they all look!

2005-06-02T21:47:00.000-04:00

Movin' on up. We are driving up Trail Ridge Road, the highest elevated paved road in America. At this high elevation (10,000 ft.) there are still a few trees but they all have the "flag effect." That is, branches only on one side and all blown the same direction. It was getting very cold and windy at this point, which is why there are pictures of trees and not kids here!

2005-06-02T21:44:00.000-04:00

This is not a postcard!

2005-06-02T09:48:00.000-04:00

Got milk? Alan got tired of just smiling so he posed with the gallon of milk we had with us. The tall stake beside him is one of the many snowplow guides along Trail Ridge Road. Can you imagine being the one who operates the snowplow, with huge dropoffs, hairpin turns, etc...and only these sticks here and there as your guides?

The coldest road and warmest pool...

2005-06-01T21:15:00.000-04:00

Wednesday morning...and I had to think about what day this was...isn’t that the true sign of relaxation! We are off to our next stop in Glenwood Springs, CO. We filled our tank in Estes Park at $2.29 per gallon, but better than chancing running out of gas in the middle of the Rockies! Today we drove 5 hours, giving me plenty of time to get caught up on my journal. No boring drive though, this one took us up over Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous paved road in America. This road is closed from October through May, and in fact just opened today after Monday night’s snow. The kids loved our time at Rocky Mountain National Park yesterday, but today were a little less thrilled by the mountains. Alan & I still were pretty amazed at the sights we were seeing! As we climbed higher and higher Elly (always our carsick one) started feeling sick. She refused to get out at most scenic overlooks, instead lying in the backseat, with her bucket beside her. Thankfully, it was never used, but we're keeping it close to her.

As we were heading higher and higher the cliffs beside the road got steeper and steeper. No guardrails, either. I knew then I should have bought Alan a set of blinders from that stable last night. Every time I heard him say, "Wow, look at that!" I'd watch the road instead, knowing he wasn't! Overall, he did a pretty good job driving but it’s a still a good thing he had me along to offer advice.

The sights were incredible but the weather was not...at that high an elevation it was extremely windy and cold. We got up into the area called "the tundra." And really it was. It was an area with an ecosystem similar to the Arctic Circle. There were signs everywhere saying to stay on the paths since any vegetation stepped on would take hundreds of years to recover. The growing season at the top is just 6 weeks per year, and they were obviously not in it yet. COLD! Felt like we were in a blizzard. We forced the kids to get out at most of the places, so if their smiles look like grimaces you’ll understand why! They did like having their picture taken at the Continental Divide, spitting just like their Aunt Jan told them to! She told them to spit east, and that would someday end up in the Atlantic, and then spit west, and that would go to the Pacific.
After we finished driving Trail Ridge Road, we thought we were out of the mountains. Ha. We had to get to I-70 to cross Colorado. Well, we should have paid closer attention to the elevation on the map instead of just looking at the straightest road. We ended up climbing back up the mountains, this time into Arapahoe National Forest. This time none of us enjoyed the mountains, since they were no where near as spectacular as those we’d just seen and we wanted to get to our destination! Finally we reached I-70, which we knew would be better driving, and just as we got on we saw a wolf! Alan stopped and backed up and we admired it, took pictures, etc. until Emily noticed it had a collar on and was in someone’s backyard. Uh...maybe it was a dog. Delete pictures!

We all needed a bathroom and stopped at the Visitor Center in Georgetown, which was right off I-70. It was a delightful place to stop...tons of beautiful photos lining the walls, free coffee, tea & hot chocolate, a neat movie, computers with free internet access. After driving hours through deserted mountains, it was a perfect place to stop and stretch our legs.

The drive on I-70 took us through Vail, one of the celebrity ski hangouts. There were two exits with huge mountain home and luxurious slope-side condos. All the workers for those condos have to live somewhere, and we saw where, as the third exit to Vail is full of thousands of trailers, not the RV kind, but the low-income housing kind. Seeing that impacted all of us...I think all our motel tips will be doubled from now on.

So on we went...Alan couldn’t believe how it the whole trip, once we got out of the mountains, was downhill the whole way. He just kept exclaiming, "I can’t believe we’re still going down!" For a hundred miles we went down, with runaway truck ramps spaced every mile or less. We didn’t think we’d see much until we reached Glenwood Springs. Ah, but nobody told us we’d be driving through Glenwood Canyon, with the might Colorado River whitewater rushing beside us. Wow, wow, wow! Unbelievably enough, there were no scenic pulloffs along this road, and not even much of a shoulder either, so we couldn’t pull off, but just kept oohing & aahing! It was so spectacular I even took pictures through the car window. We saw some people whitewater rafting on the Colorado. We have hopes of doing that on this trip, though we’ve heard the rivers are running so high & fast that novices can’t do it. I’m sure there are plenty of gorgeous places to raft in Colorado, but rafting down the Colorado through Glenwood Canyon would be absolutely awesome. Our plans are to whitewater next week near Durango, if we get a chance. Does it not surprise you that Coleman can't wait to do this but the girls are a little nervous about it?!

Finally at 5 PM we reached our destination of Glenwood Springs. We are staying at the Hot Springs Lodge, right beside Glenwood Hot Springs, the largest hot springs in the world. More later, time to swim!

2005-06-01T09:50:00.000-04:00

Looking down from our horseback ride! We were way up in the Rocky Mountains looking down on the town of Estes Park. This is right about where Coleman's horse turned around and thought about bolting back to the barn.

2005-06-01T03:47:00.001-04:00

Our chefs on the trail...gracias,gracias! These guys were masters of "Spanglish" and it was fun to talk to them!

2005-06-01T03:47:00.000-04:00

Dinner on the trail...you can't imagine how good this smelled as we approached, and how wonderful it tasted. They were big, juicy steaks, not even overcooked! Yum!

2005-06-01T03:45:00.001-04:00

Wrangler Coleman, the bravest boy in the world!

2005-06-01T03:45:00.000-04:00

Caroline and Alan discuss the view. One of the Mexican wranglers came galloping up to me, pointed to my camera, then to them, saying "Thas a peek-tor!" And so it was!

2005-06-01T03:40:00.000-04:00

Coleman on Blue

2005-06-01T03:30:00.000-04:00

Elly at Bear Lake

2005-06-01T03:25:00.000-04:00

Seeing double!

2005-06-01T03:20:00.001-04:00

The boys check out the knive