Trip Facts and Observations

Interesting facts and observations about our trip

• We traveled just over 5,400 total miles in 21 days. This includes all the side trips.
• Kids can sleep in any position in a car at all times of the day whether they've slept an entire night or not.
• Same thing above goes for dogs.
• Dog farts in a car smell worse than any where else
• Dog poop bags come in handy for car sick kids
• Free Wi-Fi advertised is not always free
• KOA stands for Keep On Adding ($$$$) and is what I was referring to in the above statement!
• Gas stations in the middle of nowhere don't carry all octanes.
• Being limited to 65 MPH (because of tires) sucks!
• If you don't own cowboy boots, a large belt buckle, and a cowboy hat, you don't really fit in in Montana (male and female alike.)
• Montana has a lot of cows!
• Montana is actually pretty boring until the western side.
• We heard Payphone by Maroon 5 about 1000 times on satellite radio, as well as Call Me Maybe, Starships, Dark Side, Blow Me (One Last Kiss), and some Katy Perry song we've blocked out.
• The girls don't like the 80s or 90s music except for what they know from Rock Band.
• It's going to take days getting all the bug carcasses off the camper
• 3 weeks with 2 adults, 2 kids, and 2 dogs as well as all our stuff in less than 200 square feet is a REALLY long time!
• Maya wants a buffalo as a pet!
• We saw black bears and grizzly bears and cubs both in captivity and in the wild.
• We traveled through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Nebraska.
• Camp Stores are expensive
• We won't let our 10 & 11 year go to the camp bathroom/showers alone, but evidently other parents let their 5 year olds do it.
• Some people spend mega money on a camper set up or class A RV Motorhome as well as all the toys to go along with it.
• Sand is a huge nuisance in the south. Pine needles and pine cone seeds are a nuisance in the north and west. I think I would choose sand over this crap!
• Dogs shed more in small spaces
• There is never enough storage for our stuff when camping and I pack very light.
• A Walmart is a Walmart no matter where you go, but the Walmart in Butte, Montana was the friendliest I've ever been in. Everyone knew everyone and people were willing to help and chat not matter what!
• The temperature in the top of the mountains is about 20 degrees cooler than at the base.
• Mt. Rushmore is interesting, but it is a “hey, there it is” kind of monument. And that is it!
• Quoting lines from a movie to go along with what is happening drives our children crazy!
• Referencing the above, I can think of daily events that coincide with National Lampoon's Vacation!
• The times the fridge opened while driving– 1. The times the cabinet door above the sink popped open – 2. How many times I wanted to hit my head against the wall because of this – 3.
• Thunder storms in our camper are loud and somewhat scary. Thunderstorms in the mountains are 10 times more intense, therefor they are louder and scarier. And I like thunderstorms (in Indiana)
• Camping next to the interstate makes for a difficult night's sleep.
• Camping next to night owls and loud kids who don't obey the “quiet time” rules make for a really difficult night's sleep.
• Following someone who is afraid of the curves and steep grade on mountain roads can be very, very frustrating!
• Cows look both ways before crossing the street! I am not making that up!
• We now know what people mean when they say smell that fresh mountain air! The smell of pine and the lack of exhaust makes the air smell beautiful!
• We had never been more excited to see an Indianapolis 200 miles sign than were were the day we were traveling home!

Day 20 & 21 - Another long day

This day finds us traveling from Grand Island, NE to Rock Island, IL. This was another long and very boring drive.

Again the kids slept most of the time. I tried, but with snacks at my feet, dog leashes, water bottles, cameras, maps, phones, etc, getting comfortable is, let's just say, not easy!

One thing I must recommend for those planning a long distance trip by car, is a book called The Next Exit. It's available on Amazon.com and came in very handy on our journey. It tells you of gas, food, lodging, shopping, and attractions at each exit.

Now I know what you are thinking, isn't that what a GPS is for? Well, yes, it is, but this was much easier to use.  Just turn to the state, then the interstate, and the exit number or mile marker and viola. What you need at your fingertips having never touched the GPS and messing up your route!

Back to my story. We became hungry and were desperate for something that wasn't Subway or McDonald's and I was really not wanting to eat my lunch, alone in the camper as I had done most of the trip home. With my gluten-intolerance, I can't eat at many places except for a salad. Have you ever had a salad from McDonald's? Me too and I won't do it again. I flipped open the much used The Next Exit with it's rumpled pages and bent cover to Interstate 80 in NE to my surprise and excitement as well as everyone else in the car there was a Steak -n- Shake just 20 miles away! Hooray! Someplace I can eat and everyone else loves! We were able to park close with ease and keep the truck running for the dogs and keep an eye on them.

After arriving at our campground we came to find out that Antique Archeology was just 20 minutes away. If you don't know what I'm referring to, I'm referring to the one and only American Picker's anchor store in Le Claire, Iowa! We love Mike and Frank and it was really cool to see some of the picks we had seen on TV! I must admit though, I don't believe this is the actual shop we have seen on TV because the locations didn't match, but that's okay! It was still cool to see!

A stop at Fazoli's for dinner and then back to the camper to relax, shower and sleep.

Day 21 finds us heading home! We can't wait!

Day 19 - 10 hours in the car!

Today was a long drive from Casper, WY to Grand Island AKA In the middle of nowhere, Nebraska. We are surrounded by corn fields and cows, but that's better than last night's interstate and junk yard dogs barking all night!

When we arrived to this KOA we unfortunately scared a bunch of toads and their mamma away. Hopefully they all are back together tonight.

Besides being a very boring drive, there were no major hiccups and really nothing to note about. We are now an hour behind Indiana time and will be rising early again for another 9+ hour drive to Rock Island, Iowa. It's weird to see trees with leaves again after weeks of just mountains, hills, fir trees, barren cattle ranches, sage brush, and dead grass. It was sad to drive over completely dried up creeks and streams. This drought is worse than I ever imagined.

Makes me wonder what my yard looks like. Not that it matters to me it's just grass, but to people who make their living farming, my heart just aches for them. I know it will hurt my wallet eventually.

My big decision now is do I purchase a digital picture frame to show people the pictures or have a picture book done. I'm sure I have, after editing, over 1000 pictures. If you think a book would be better, what site would you use. I'm a member of Shutterfly, but I've never ordered anything from them. Any suggestions would be good, thanks!




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Day 17 & 18 Heading Home

We rose early and left West Glacier KOA to start the 32 hour 1900 mile trip back to Indiana. Of course, this trip is not without it's "Oh Crap" moments.

The first one so far is when we pull into a rest stop and notice an alarm going off in the camper. Upon further inspection we found it was the propane detector. So all gas was off, so why would this be going off you may ask. That's a funny story, really. I guess on one of the many m
any switchbacks and bumps and sudden stops for crappy drivers, the cabinet above the sink popped open and the coffee creamer, bread, and the big bottle of Kirkland Brand Canola Oil Spray came flying out of the cabinet. The coffee creamer exploded all over the floor. The Oil spray top shattered, but that wasn't noticed until Maya saw it. She picked it up and it proceeded to spray E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E! All over the cabinets, floor, blankets, etc. After getting the bottle outside we moved the dog food container we were now using to make sure the fridge door stayed shut and noticed a HUGE puddle of canola oil! So we are guessing the gas used in the bottle set off the alarm and now our fridge door (which is wood paneled to match the cabinets) is very shiny as well as the floor and back of the dining table bench! Good times!

Our first stop and overnight stay was in Livingston, MT. We were able to get a "premium" spot at the KOA. Premium means concrete patio and picnic table, versus gravel pad. At the West Glacier KOA, premium was a concrete patio, with a firepit and benches on the patio. A stone table with wrought iron cushioned chairs and lighted umbrella as well as gorgeous landscaping and emerald green grass. Premium at this KOA mean, concrete patio and OK table and fire pit. No grass and hardly any gravel or trees. Thank goodness it didn't rain or it would have been a nasty mud pit.

After a pretty easy night, we rose at 7am and departed at 8:15 for a 7 hour drive to Bar Nunn, WY, just north of Casper. We are right next to the interstate on a sandlot with maybe 1 tree and surrounded by junk yards! Oh the good life! They also have the sewer hook up opposite of what it should be so we can't hook up. That's no biggie, but it's irritating. Again, it's just for one night. The good news is, they have a nice indoor pool and decent internet service!

We have an almost 10 hour drive with stops tomorrow to our next destination of Grand Island, NE. That ought to be a fun drive, HA! This part of Wyoming is brown and you can see for miles with nothing to look at but cows, horses, the occasional antelope and fencing. No cars, or houses, or people. At least there are some pretty snow covered mountains WAY in the distance! Nebraska, I imagine, will be a lot like Kansas, flat, brown, and boring. Can't wait.

One thing I forgot to mention on our last day in Glacier was we got to see a mama grizzly and her cute cub foraging in the foothills of the mountains. Don't worry, they were a good 400 yards away, but with Tony's excellent binoculars, we were able to see them very well! Another thing we saw when walking the dogs in the campground at Glacier was a Honda CRV with a crinkled front end, above it a picture of a buffalo, and below that a huge tuft of buffalo hair! We walked by a few more times hoping to ask the owners what happened, but we were never able to meet up! Would love to know that story!

My laptop battery is about dead and I'm out of things to say. Adios amigos!

Day 16 - Do You Remember Dial-Up?

It's been quite a while since the days of "you've got mail" and that terrible screeching sound that my kids have never heard except in the movie, You've Got Mail. We have Wi-Fi in this joint but it is worse than dial-up at times. I needed a recipe and it took almost 5 minutes to load the page! Luckily, I had the time. This blog has taken me half a day so far!

Today was just a shopping, waste some time sort of day. We started off with a trip to a rock shop, followed by an art and antique shop that was nice. Then onto the Hungry Horse Dam. At the time of it's completion in 1953, it was the 3rd largest dam in the US. Of course we quoted Vegas Vacation most of the time with the kids shaking their heads, but who can resist a good movie quote, right? This trip has been full of them. If you have know idea what I'm referring too, please go to Youtube.com or rent Vegas Vacation and reference the Hoover Dam scene!

After the dam, we had lunch and then went to a place that has a maze, go carts, bumper boats, and mini-golf. We started with the go-carts, then Tony and Layla did the bumper boats which, and I quote, were the lamest thing ever! Then on to the maze. Tony and Layla against Maya and me. Um, yeah, it was hard! Tony and Layla finished about 20 minutes before Maya and me! We finally had to cheat and ask a staffer for some clues! Almost an hour later, we exited the maze, dazed and confused and tired! After 7 holes of mini-golf cut short because of rain, we came back to the camper to relax, watch movies, do laundry, and figure our path back to home. We have done what we can to get out of here tomorrow at a decent time. Our plan is to drive to Livingstone, Montana, about 6 hours plus stops. We have to come home through Nebraska, and not South Dakota because of Sturgis. The motorcycle mecca is August 2-6 and there is not place to stay within 150 miles.

That is really about it. It's been a pretty low key day. Except for the fact that I think I have a perforated ear drum from some major pressure changes in the mountains yesterday. It's slowly gotten worse, but from my search on the internet, there is not much that can be done except take some ibuprofen and keep it dry. No biggie, just irritating. I already have trouble hearing in my left ear. Now with my right ringing and muffle sounding, it's really irritating!

Looking forward to being home! It's going to be hard to get up early, being that we are two hours behind Indiana time. The girls are going to love that! I think we will be getting up at 8am each morning we are home which will feel like 6am to them!

Day 15 - Glacier Park Take Two

We rose early again to get to the park and get to Grinnell Glacier trail as we were told this was the trail/glacier to see. After a few stops and the construction we made it to the trail in about 3 hours. After searching for a place to park, in the shade, for the doggies, we made it to the trail head. Upon further investigation, we found the trail to be 5.5 miles, one way, but was closed at the 3.3 mile marker because of a snow dam, blocking the path. It is so crazy to us to stand at a trail head, the temp is about 75 degrees and half the trail is closed because of snow! We only had about an hour anyway because of the dogs. We hiked in for 30 minutes then out. It was a beautiful trail, but no glacier.

We moved on to go back through the park and decided to stop at Logan Pass, a very popular destination. They have a trail the hikes up the mountain to a lake called Hidden Lake. It's about a 4 mile hike. We just wanted to hike far enough up to the snow. We could not have done the entire hike anyway because a big sign was posted that the trail was closed at mile 1.3 because of dangerous bear activity. Oh Darn! Again, we were limited to time because of the dogs. That is okay. Despite being very limited on activities because of time, we are still glad we were able to do what we were able to do.

We are now back at the camper. Tomorrow is going to be a tourist day with a trip to some shops and a place that has a wooden maze, bumper boats, slides, etc. Then we will pack up to start our 30+ hour drive back to Indiana.

Day 14 – Glacier National Park = W.O.W!

I decided to take the laptop with me this time so I can journal while we were out at the park. Turns out it is coming in handy because we are sitting on the road, at about 5500 ft, waiting for road construction. A worker came by and said it would be about a 15 min wait. While we wait, let me describe, to the best of my ability what we see.

As I said before we are at about 5500 ft elevation. To my right is an almost vertical drop down the side of the mountain. Also to my right is the most beautiful view of Glacier. Right in the middle about 3000 ft down is a creek that snakes through the valley. Behind the creek is a snow covered peak that look as if it has had a coliseum carved out of the side. To the right of that is Heaven's Peak at an elevation of 8900 ft. The snow covered top is draped with the shadows of the small cotton ball like clouds and baby blue sky blanket the horizon. To the left of the creek is another snow covered peak with a paper thin ridge pointing to the heavens. One side is bathed in sunlight while the other sleeps in the shadows.

To the left of the car is a small waterfall in the valley of two mountains. Pine trees rise out of the rock and the smell is unlike anything I have every smelled before. It looks like a post card. Cone flowers and trumpet vine mingle together. Birds and bugs fly in unison. There is not too much more to describe there except at the beauty. Why are mountains so beautiful? If you think about it, it's just rocks. But for some reason they are beautiful. Is it because they are mysterious? I can't answer it, maybe you can.

We finally moved on after about 15 minutes. I had looked at the map and although Glacier is considerably smaller than Yellowstone, the road is much more windy and at a considerably lower speed limit. Upon further investigation, we figured it would take us 2+ hours to get to the trail we wanted. We were not expecting that. We did not bring the dogs. We did bring lunch, but when we realized how much longer it would take, we ate it on the road.

Our plan was to take a 2 lane highway outside the park home. BIG mistake! I was sitting in the front seat and it was so windy that I was getting car sick and our elevation and the straight drops down from the side with NO rails what so ever made it even worse. I'm not afraid of heights mind you, but it's the plunging to my death part that sort of makes me nervous! That and the darn cows! The switch backs were so tight and we came around a corner to hit the brakes for, you guessed it, cows! One popped into the road and froze, looking both ways. Then Tony would go slow and the cow would start to walk. Tony would stop and the cow would stop! It was like a 4 way stop nightmare but with cattle! We were finally able to just go around him/her(it was a small cow, so I was unable to tell.)

It took us almost 3 hours to get back to the camper.

Now we know why no one really uses the east entrance to Glacier. It takes to damn long to get there!

All in all, it was a good day with gorgeous mountains, a few large deer, and high, narrow, windy roads with beautiful waterfalls and flowers. We did get a glimpse of one glacier, but we were too far to get a good picture. Hopefully tomorrow we will actually get to hike to one! We have our bear spray ready. Glacier is home to over 400 grizzlies and over 1000 black bears. They actually said the big horn sheep are more aggressive towards humans than the bears and drowning is the number one cause of death here. Good to know! I would love to see a bear, just not up close and my worst fear is drowning, even more so than getting attacked by a bear!

Let the good times roll!