Day 50

I woke up at 3 quite cold so I sneaked a little bit of Brayden's quilt and was able to go back to sleep. The girls were stretched out and looked perfectly warm. About an hour later I woke up with Ryan glued next to me so I slid a little more covers from Brayden and covered her up too. I was just happy he was not mad about sharing or maybe he didn't know yet!

The time change is taking some adjustment. I'm used to waking up around 5am and getting a few things done before the kids wake up. This morning I didn't wake up until 7am and the kids slept in until 8:30! I reminded them that was 10:30 in California and they all said 10:30 should be the new normal.  I'm not sure they could fit school in with getting up that late!

While they were snoring away a momma and her young one came through the campground. They walked right in front of our tent. Laney was going to be mad she slept through it!

Since the kids slept in I took some time to catch up on editing pictures and writing. Since we were down in the canyon the air stayed cool and the sun didn't reach the tent until the kids were waking up.
They were excited this morning because it was a breakfast they had been looking forward to since the beginning of the trip. When it's hot and I don't want to cook on the stove or over the fire I let them each buy a box of cereal for us to eat for breakfast. We don't usually eat cereal at home so these sugary boxes are coveted for all the days they are filled.

Our next stop was Cadillac Ranch. This is an art installation that is a tribute to the old cadillacs with fins in the back. They are often painted specific colors for commercials or special days but otherwise they want the public to have fun adding their own touches. I wanted to surprise the kids with this stop that Dave would have loved but Laney spotted it the day before. You have to walk up close to really appreciate it though!

Someone handed the kids their spray paint so they started marking up the cars with innocent smiley faces and "Hi".  After our Carhenge visit a few years ago I learned to have a Sharpie with you for signing too!

It was hot but there was a very strong breeze that helped us not to sweat like crazy. We pointed the car east and continued on through Texas. After about 30 minutes we stopped at the Slug Bug Ranch - a nod to Cadillac Ranch. I made sure to get a few "punch buggy" slugs in before my kids could! 

We listened to a few podcasts for the next few hours while we made our way east to Eisenhower State Park. It was 104 degrees and we were all looking forward to a little relief in the water. I reserved a site right next to the swimming beach so we could have easy access and enjoy the afternoon cooling off. As we checked in I noticed a sign that the swimming beach was closed. Apparently they were doing construction on the path down to the beach so they had closed it for today only. The ranger said if the "Keep Out" signs were gone we were welcome to go down and swim.

Our fingers were crossed as we drove toward the day use area but it didn't help. The signs were up in front of the path and we all sighed thinking of the hot afternoon and night we had ahead of us. We decided to get the tent set up and play some games before cooking dinner. The view reminded me of Oregon!

We heard people down at the swimming area and as we looked down over the cliff sure enough there were people in the water. I went back and forth in my head trying to decide if we should follow them and get some relief. We were all dripping and pretty miserable. I really really wanted to swim but decided instead to be the person I want the kids to grow up to be and pay attention to the sign. Either they will grow up and think I was just lame or perhaps they will take this lesson to heart.


I decided to cook the taco dinner Brayden wanted along with the much anticipated dutch oven dump cake. It was boiling hot and I was seriously dripping now - I had to watch out for sweat dripping in the food!! We had a delicious dinner and dessert to end the night. As we were eating I asked the kids if they were up for a long drive the next day. Brayden knew we only had a 5 hour drive to our next spot so his face lit up knowing I was asking if they just wanted to go home the next day. It would be a minimum 12 hour day in the car but they didn't bat an eye. They answered before I could even finish asking. This is the first year Dave hasn't driven all the way home with us so I think that was part of it but we also have our house waiting as well as all their friends.

Attitudes shifted considerably with the decision to drive home the next day. Ryan mentioned she was thinking about taking a cold shower before bed and Laney and I joined her. Brayden wasn't up for the challenge so he just changed into travel clothes for the next day. When the girls and I walked into the bathroom there were two scorpions waiting on us. I'd never seen one before outside of a zoo so I froze for a minute to decide what to do.

One of them ran (they were SO fast!) to the side which gave us enough room to slip by to the showers so we did a shower inspection for more before developing our plan. We posted one person outside the showers to keep an eye on these guys while the others showered. If you can call it that. Laney and I could only stand it for about 15 seconds and Ryan just washed her hair. We all felt much better though! It wasn't long before they ran toward the showers and we were going to have to spend the night in the shower!  The fast guy ran to the wall so we shuffled to our next obstacle to figure out how to get around him. I put down our shower bag between us and him and we slid by before grabbing the bag and running out. I knew one thing - we wouldn't be visiting this bathroom in the middle of the night!

By the time we got back to the campsite we were all getting hot again but knowing we only had a few more hours we were all just resolved to trying our best to sleep at least a little bit. I scrolled through Facebook to get my eyes tired and ended up finally falling asleep after 11.

Day 49

It's always easier to pack up when we only stay in one tent and helps with the cold weather too.  If the kids could cool their attitudes during pack up and set up I'm positive it could be even easier!

We were packed up and parking at Rebel Donuts in Albuquerque for a couple birthday donuts each before 9. Having a birthday on the road and away from friends is hard so I thought this might hit the spot! Brayden picked triple chocolate and chocolate mint, Ryan picked chocolate mint and caramel green apple, Laney picked Boston cream and raised yeast, and I picked maple cream and blueberry pineapple pancakes flavors. My pineapple was one of the best donuts I've ever had! The chocolate mint bite Brayden shared was surprisingly great too.

This is what 15 looks like!

We made it to Santa Fe more than an hour early than expected so we went ahead and did a Walmart resupply for birthday meals and few other things we needed. We ate our lunch in the car on the way to Meow Wolf.  Dave found this spot in his research for when he was with us but the timing didn't work out for him to be with us. Meow Wolf is an interactive art installation in a 22,000 foot space. There was supposed to be a mystery to solve but we were there just to explore and have fun.

Everything about this place was amazing! The art was fun and very interesting to look at and try to figure out. We were able to climb into tree houses, walk into a refrigerator, climb in and slide down a clothes dryer. We climbed inside an ice machine and walked through a fireplace to take us to some surprising paths. There was even a cleverly disguised bookcase that opened into another room like Scooby Doo. We were able to interact with the art in surprising ways. We were even able to chill out on some of the most comfortable furniture, take it all in, and have fun talking. We had a blast! It's no City Museum, but it was super fun!


After all that excitement we stopped by the art center also in the building and took a few minutes to create something. It's always hard to bring creations home on a summer trip but with only a few days back I was hoping they would last!


We had more than a 4 hour drive left so the kids watched movies and I cranked up the music to help it be a little more enjoyable. It always helps to break up the drives with a little fun and smiles on a birthday are always the best. Brayden requested veggie tacos for his birthday dinner but by the time we would get to the campground it would be getting late.  I don't like cooking and cleaning in the dark and I definitely don't like cooking in the heat! He'd been wanting to try the new Impossible Burger at Burger King so we stopped there instead to grab dinner and keep going. They were messy but delicious!

It was 103 when we arrived at Palo Duro Canyon. The view was like a small grand canyon with colorful rock formations and deep slices in the rocks. As we drove down into the canyon I would have normally stopped about 5 times for pictures but tonight I was grumpy.

When we picked up the map Laney noticed there was a posting about no fires of any kind in the canyon. Brayden was disappointed because he'd picked a dutch oven dump cake for his birthday dessert. The best I could do was a couple of marshmallows out of the bag and a birthday song. This birthday was going to be memorable for sure!

Once we got to our site the kids were fussing at each other when we set up the tent so we all took a 10-minute mental break from away. This was day 49 of constant interactions and we were all miserably hot so it was definitely time for a break.

Brayden picked a few card games for us to play and we enjoyed the warm night back together. Once it was dark and all the weird Texas bugs were swarming the lanterns and dropping on us from the trees above we slipped into the tent for the night.

The girls and I opted not to bring in our sleeping bags but Brayden wanted a quilt to sleep with. I thought he was crazy with how hot the night was. I grabbed our Frog Togg cooling towels in hopes it would help us get to sleep.  It was supposed to be in the 60s overnight but I wasn't sure that was going to happen!

Day 19

I woke to a hummingbird dive bombing our tent a couple times at sunrise so I slipped out of the tent to get things ready. The kids and I were hiking a few spots today and the sky was beautiful as we got ready.

Our plans were to hike a couple trails around the lodge to catch some views and enjoy the early morning together. We made it to Fodder Stacks trail a little before 6am to the sun just peeking over the mountains. The mountain view just seemed to go on for days this early before all the smog set in.

Next we headed to part of the Bluff Ridge Trail. This trail ran the length of the Doughton Park area where we were staying. We decided to hike a section we'd seen the day before through a valley up to some rocks. It turned out this part was also a section of the Mountains to Sea Trail I've been pondering hiking as a build up to hiking the Appalachain Trail.






The views were gorgeous and we all wished Dave had been with us. We stopped for a snack and talked a lot about what we were going to do when he joins us. I was talking about my dad for a little while and we got into a conversation about the things he taught me I still remember and use. The kids laughed at some of the things they have learned from Dave!

The girls and I spotted another section to hike that had to have better views so we left Brayden to nap while we continued on. We told him to "Caw Caw" to us if he needed us to come back. The girls had a blast running around the meadow and sliding down the rocks to just climb right back up. They ran ahead of me "Caw Cawing" to Brayden as I enjoyed the view. See those two dots in the middle? Brayden is relaxing on the rocks behind them.

We made it back to the campground as Emily and Evey were cleaning up from breakfast. The maintenance people were beginning to mow the campground so the girls and I scrambled over to pick some flowers before they were eaten. They'd asked me to save a can from one of our dinners so they could make our dinner table a little more homey.



Uncle Kevin and Grandpa should be so proud as the girls taught our traveling buddies how to play what we call "Kings". Right now we are playing for rocks but we plan to play for pretzels next. Maybe we'll graduate to quarters before the end of the trip! I need to earn laundry money somehow!








After a couple (hundred) rounds of cards, Evey and Laney sketched the lighthouse on the rock Ryan had found. Laney was so proud of her drawing she wants to do a couple more and enter one in the fair for 4H.

We had a quick lunch and decided now that the meadow had been mowed it would be perfect for running around and playing in now. Ryan, Laney, and I went up to the top of the hill and threw the frisbee as hard as we could into the wind to try and catch it. Check out the height Ryan got for one catch!

Once Emily and Evey got back from their walk all the kids and I played Ultimate Frisbee again. This time teams were Evey, Laney, and Brayden against Ryan and me. The frisbee was incredibly hard to catch with the wind but Ryan and I ended up winning 5-4.

Now that we were all exhausted we decided to take a ride back to the Blue Ridge Music Center to see what kind of new music we could find. We all loved the last guys and were hoping to discover someone new. We tried to make the timing perfect for arriving at a break so we could score the rocking chairs.

About a mile from our campground is the Brinegar cabin it was only scheduled to be open on the weekends so we planned to visit on our way to our next spot. We were surprised to see a sign that it was open this morning so we made a quick turn in to check it out.

This cabin belonged to a shoemaker's family for many years. Inside a park ranger was demonstrating spinning wool into thread and she showed us a typical sweater for a child. Laney says it's itchy but I'm guessing if that's all she had she'd wear it!

We visited the spring house with an actual spring running through it. Ryan was not interested when we talked about the kids having to trek down there for water, milk, eggs, or butter a few times a day. Next was the apple house which stored all the vegetables and fruits the family needed.
Just outside was a display of the different tools needed for mountain life. Emily picked up a bundle of flax which I assumed would be the same texture as wool but it was a soft and fine as a baby's hair!

The garden appeared like it was just recently planted with pumpkins, flax, tomatoes, pole beans and more. I bet it will be full of goodies in about a momnth or so!

When we got to the music center we all immediately knew something different was going on. There were so many cars and people in the breezeway that it must be good! We made it to the area and realized what we were going to have the pleasure of watching was a jam session of local artists leading songs in the round.

***music center***

They all looked like they were having so much fun! There was everything from mandolins, dobros, banjos, a stand-up bass, and even a washtub bass! At one point a guy appeared playing a native american instrument we'd never seen before but when he was introduced and was able to play by himself it was put-you-to-sleep lovely.

By the time we got back it was time for dinner. Emily had a pink note on her car - we got in trouble for our firewood. Even though we'd purchased it just 6 miles away in town, there were new regulations that said it had to be heat treated a special way. The park ranger had us bag it up and put it back in her car. I would've thought she would have taken it, but I supposed putting it in a bag was their lame solution.

The campground was filling up quick since it was Friday and kids were finally out of school. A pack of boy scouts even showed up to camp that appeared to be backpacking. We had dinner and the kids and I all did our traditional campground walk. They discovered all kinds of dogs and we saw a deer (which are becoming almost as common as dogs)!

Once we got back Emily had just about finished some popcorn over the fire so the kids ate and we started to pack up for the night. The Clarke kids were in foul moods so we quickly got ready and went to bed early. We'd had a very long day and sleep would do all of us good.
 

Day 42

**Clearly we are back home by now as I have NO time to write! There are only a few days left that I hope to get to finishing today.***





We knew we wanted to get back downtown pretty early so Grammie had waffles all ready for us before she left to walk Lola and shower. The kids were up pretty early and easy to motivate to get ready because they knew the plan for the day was to visit one of their all-time favorite museums and the Arch.

It was Sunday morning so there wasn't an issue parking downtown and we were at the Arch within a few minute walk. It is currently under construction so pictures were challenging but I did make sure to try to get the same picture as I'd gotten 5 years earlier on our very first trip!

That year we hadn't had time to go up in the arch so we made sure we made time this year. Our first stop of course was grabbing junior ranger books. This would be our last national park for this trip. And our second stop was the movie about the creation of the arch. We were all once again blown away by the ingenuity, creativity, and sheer bravery in the creation of this marvel, especially more than 50 years ago!

After the movie the kids had a little time to work on their books then we headed to the elevator to head 600-ft up to the top. We were all a little curious as to how the ride up would be. Grammie and I were teasing the kids that by the top of the arch we would be laying down and have to roll out! It was actually much easier being lifted in our own little private car that adjusted beautifully to the angle as we climbed.

Just as expected the view at the top was wonderful! The kids spent time spotting different landmarks and watching the cars and boats go by. There are about 10 different windows so we all popped back and forth checking out the different views.

We made our way back down to chat with the park ranger and were on our way. There was a museum that was currently under construction that looks like it's going to be pretty awesome once it's finished next year so we'll have to return to St Louis again real soon.

Dave had another stop for us on the list today - Ted Drewes. We arrived there around 11:30 and smiled as there was quite a line for their famous custard.  This store had been open since the 1930s and was a popular stop along the historic Route 66. We'd all never had custard before and were very pleased with our decision to stop here!



Once we were all satisfied with a little sugar we headed to the place the kids had been waiting for - Magic House. We'd been 5 years earlier and spent so much time there but only experienced about 75% of the museum in 4 hours! I knew this time the kids would be too old for some of the exhibits so we would be able to see the whole museum. There also wasn't a traveling exhibit right now which was where we'd spent our first 2 hours then playing in the Magic Treehouse books.

It was fun to see the looks on their faces when they saw very familiar exhibits. It was also interesting to see the same exhibits updated with technology in the last 5 years. Those of you that know how my children love the grocery stories with working registers also know the top museum on their list in that category had actual register tape. Well, this one went even further knocking that one into second place with touch-screen registers and credit card machines!

 The kids ran around this area of the museum remembering all the places they'd spend so much time the last time. They played a little bit in each place but moved on quickly to keep exploring.

 We did spend quite awhile in the art area of the museum which I'm pretty sure we didn't even get to during our last visit.  My favorite was the interactive exhibit where the kids could draw a vehicle or building, scan it in, the instantly see it driving or built in the town on the giant screens in the room. It was such a cool and creative idea!






















We spent a little bit longer in another art area but I could tell Ryan was fading and needed real food soon.  She wanted to keep going but tempers were flaring so we kept kids separated and went downstairs to the America exhibit. The kids sat in the oval office, made a speech in front of congress and decided a case in court before it was very obvious we needed to head back.

Ryan had been asking for quesadillas for days so I made them as quickly as possible and they were devoured practically before I sat down! I made 3 more for the hungry monsters and we enjoyed talking about our very full day. While I wrote for a little while Dave made a fire and we roasted some cinnamon rolls for dessert - gooey and delicious!

I popped our last load of laundry on the road to keep us clothed on the way home and we enjoyed the quiet of the campground. There were only a few campers left since it was a school night! I stayed up tending to the laundry and writing as I'd be driving the last few days while Dave worked. We were leaving the next day for a couple of quick overnight stops then we'd be home.