Day 1

I was up with the sun this morning trying to use the things Dave wouldn't eat left the fridge. I threw together a zucchini bread for an easy breakfast and crab dip for an easy lunch or dinner. Things were going a little to well and getting done a little too easy for load up day however.

Grammie's RV had been in & out of the service place for the past 2 weeks for various electrical issues that just popped up - thankfully not while we were on the road! Sunday she woke up to a flat tire so she went to get a couple new tires first thing in the morning (thing #1!).  That's when thing #2 happened - a sprinkler turned into a fountain after being run over. Being the awesome dad he is, Dave headed to Maynard's to get us some donuts for a fun breakfast. That's when  thing #3 happened - the entry gate was stuck in the closed position. Not to worry as we have a temporary opening for big construction trucks about 20 feet away.  I moved the pump to the next sprinkler zone and fixed the gate. And I was done with my three things for today!

Once Dave got back we had donuts together and he headed to work. It was going to take awhile for the RV tires so we got on the road toward our first stop with this year's co-pilot, Stitch The kids were excited to see what was in their travel bags and to listen to all the music they'd downloaded. Their DS's were a big hit too since they hadn't played on them since our summer trip last year!

Our first stop was a quirky little museum in Abita Springs, LA. It was about halfway to our campground so I though it would be a fun place to stretch and have fun. This plaee was small but had the most weird and entertaining collection of stuff we've ever seen! I was like a museum of things you find in those I SPY books - collections of watches, strange little toys, buttons, bottle caps. In fact we played I SPY at one little window of things.













This my friends is one of those marble maze things made entirely out of Popsicle sticks.  My maker Ryan's eyes lit up and I could tell I'd be buying the 1,000 size box once we got home!

The second best part was the video games. Ryan played an actual old school clunky pinball  machine and I was able to introduce them to games of my childhood and they were amazed at the horrible graphics of Donkey Kong, Ms Pac-Man, Frogger, and Dig Dug.

And the kids would say the best part was the adorable cat that not only walked with us as we toured the place but actually jumped from a banister onto Brayden's shoulder for a cuddle and ride. It was then the girls decided they would like to buy him.






After a quick visit to the gift shop we got back on the road for a couple more hours to our destination. Without the cat. The kids were still completely amused with their stuff so I cranked up my music and enjoyed the drive. Well, until I noticed the storm ahead. We were about 30 minutes from our spot. It was kind of a tradition to have rain on day 1. Not a welcome one though.  This year I was brave enough to try out some new bags for my cargo carrier that are touted as being waterproof. That is where we keep our clothing bags so I was super nervous yet hopeful they would pull through. It looked like a quick afternoon thunderstorm so it would be a good test.

We stopped for some gas and finished just in time for the downpour to start. I got an evil look from Ryan because she'd just cleaned the windshield - a favorite kid job! We drove the last bit in the rain and arrived at the park 12 minutes before they were to close. The staff was surprised we were braving camping in a tent tonight and I'm suspecting it's not because of the rain!

Once the rain stopped we picked the least mud & wet area of our site and set up. Usually a kid is sleeping with Grammie but with us leaving without her we renegotiated the slumber parties with a rock-paper-scissors match. Tonight we would all suffer in the tents!

We explored the area a little bit then the kids wanted to play with legos so I took some time to rearrange some things we'd thrown in the car at the last minute.  Once Grammie arrived we helped her set up and were thrilled to munch on a quick dinner she'd prepped before we left (yay for no cooking!) and sit in some air conditioning. There were belly laughs and even tears from me & Laney as we all played a hilarious card game after dinner.

We were tempted to throw in some laundry at the campground laundromat simply because it was free at this park - first time I've ever seen that! I usually spend between $5-10 each time we have run out of clothes so an extra day of clean clothes for free is like gold. Instead we opted for bedtime in our tents. And that was when I knew for sure what the check-in lady was talking about. Trying to sleep in a 91 degree hot night was going to be painful.

Day 38

I got up before the sun this morning to keep editing pictures. With Dave back to work I'm the driver so my writing and editing is done super late or super early. We got out of the campground pretty early as we had a long drive with a couple stops that would pretty much take us all day. Before we got out of the park we were stopped by a herd of bison walking in the road. They weren't worried about us at all.

The kids are getting pretty good at helping with the windshields each time we get gas. I remember enjoying this when I was younger for some reason as well. Helping on the RV is a whole other challenge!





Our first fun stop today was suggested by the museum guy back in Sundance, WY. Once the kids heard the words archaeology dig and mammoths there was no way we couldn't stop. Unfortunately Dave was working so he didn't get to enjoy it, but we made sure to tell him all about it once we got back.

In the movie we learned about 30 years ago a developer bought the land to make a new subdivision and as the bulldozer was clearing a hill on the land he discovered some bones. They stopped development, he sold the land to the newly-created Mammoth Site organization at cost and they began uncovering the mystery of the site.

We were taken to the dig area after the movie to view the progress of the last 30 years. After core samples were completed down, they determined there were bones and tusks at least 45 feet down. So far they have pulled out skeletons from wooly mammoths, Columbia mammoths, small-faced bear, and a few other animals only 22 feet down. They have many many more years left to go!

Once we went down we discovered there wasn't anyone working in the lab in the basement, but they had a great display set up of bones of all kinds of animals as well as the smallest of snail and reptile shells that had been found as well. This was the femur bone of a Columbian Mammoth!

We'd never heard of the now extinct small-faced bear before and we were all amazed by his statistics. He was almost 6 feet tall at the shoulders so he could look an average sized man in the face. Standing he was more than 15 feet tall so he would be able to peek into a second story window. And his claws, oh wow.

While we liked to see bears we were all thankful we'd never seen that one. We got back into the car and Dave was barely able to contain his excitement. After we passed into Nebraska we would be very close to his next stop!















We all were anticipating being able to see it from miles away with the flat landscape, but it was tucked away around a curve that we could only spot about a mile away. Dave had visited Stonehenge as a high school kid so he was more familiar with the set up of the stones, but we were all pretty impressed.

This summer had actually been the 30th anniversary of the structure. There had been other art sculptures added over the years, but other than replacing a few foreign cars with American made cars, Carhenge had basically remained just as we were seeing it today. The kids enjoyed spinning the tires and trying to open the doors. As we walked up the trail to other cars we saw a large buried car people could sign so I ran back to the car to grab a Sharpie. We hoped that if we ever stopped back by that we could find our notes one day.











The history and the idea behind the project was interesting too! We stopped into the gift shop and asked about the eclipse as Dave found out this was also a totality spot. She said there were 4,000 people there! I'm sure that was a very unique experience! We bought a few things with stickers and postcards and got back on the road to our next spot.

We found our next campground after driving over the dam next to it a few times. They were letting out water from the dam and the smell was overwhelming. I was really hoping it wouldn't be a part of our camping experience this night as I could barely hold in the snack I'd eaten a few hours ago. Luckily Brayden pointed out the smell in the campground was just campfires so I resumed breathing again.

Our little spot on the lake was calm and beautiful. After a quick dinner of pizza bagels, the kids and I played cowboys and indians until we could barely see them anymore. We've gotten into a routine of going to bed with the sun as our days are pretty full of long drives to get back home.

Day 15

With all of the major history stops accomplished we decided to head to the Boston Children's Museum this day. We'd been there two years ago for a short time on our way to Cape Cod but we had the whole morning this day. We decided to take the later train and meet for breakfast at a Stars on Hingham Harbor near our park and it was delicious!

We made it into Boston just in time as the rain started that we expected all morning. Being inside all morning was definitely a good choice!  Our first stop of course was the climing structure! I do believe Brayden might be getting a bit too big for it, but he enjoyed it.

In fact, he is probably aging out of children's museums in general unfortunately. There are many attractions that he enjoys still, but so many that are too young. I suppose we'll have to move on to only science museums soon. Sad day.

We made it first to the native american exhibit of the different cultures that are in the area. We learned about Wampanoag, Passamaquoddy, Mashpee Wampanoag, Penobscot, Aqinnah Wampanoag, and Naragannsett. The kids had shifted from learning mode to play mode so they did some of the activities and moved on, but I stayed for awhile and read about all of them. I find their cultures, traditions, struggles, and modern day lives fascinating.

              

Of course everyone had to have a turn in the grocery store. No coveted register receipts at this one and it was only dominican food as the exhibit was "Boston Black" with all the different cultures represented, but the kids had a blast.  Brayden played the tin drum and a couple of computer games while Laney and Ryan worked in the salon.

   

I'm not sure how we'd missed this last time, but while we were waiting for the train earlier that morning a super nice lady with a puppy that had to see the kids mentioned there was an actual Japanese house inside the museum with tours so we made sure to make it there as soon as possible.  The house was more than 100 years old and had been given to the museum quite a few years ago. It had been reassembled in the traditional way without nails and set up as it might have been in Japan. The kitchen had been converted to a somewhat modern kitchen, but there were photographs of the original kitchen to compare.

The kids enjoyed looking at the bathroom and bedrooms the most. Our guide took a few moments to explain how the houses were built and how they could withstand the elements without nails. There were also many Japanese items on display the kids enjoyed comparing to their lives.

Next we let the kids loose playing basketball, powering things on bikes, examining bones, using microscopes, testing physics theories, playing with bubbles, using tools, and more. We watched a video about a full-time middle/high school in the area where kids were able to just create - so inspiring! So many of Ryan's days are spent this way and I hope she continues down that path making the crazy things she imagines.

After surveying the cafeteria at capacity, we decided to find another place close by. We ended up at Bee's Knees - a lovely eclectic mix of a grocery/cafe/smoothie/grill business that wanted us to feel like it was Florida with temps inside hovering above 85.

Once outside we finally had to deal with some real rain. I have been so surprised, yet too superstitious to mention anything about how we haven't really had to deal with rain issues as in years past. This wasn't terrible, just annoying as we were hoping for some sunshine as we headed to our next event - a whale watching tour.  We learned a lot about the whales on the way out through books on board and wonderful questions the kids came up with to ask one of the guides.

Once they found the whales we were treated to quite a show! There were two humpback whales breaching and slapping their pectoral fins for a solid 30 minutes as we all ooh-ed and aah-ed.

   

One of the naturalists would talk about the individual whale's characteristics and personality, their migration patterns and lives, as well as the threats they are facing. Before too long two other whales joined them exhibiting much of the same behavior while I snapped away. The kids enjoyed going back and forth to each side of the boat spying each one.

  

Little did I know, this behavior as well as the number of whales present was abnormal and had only been happening for about a week. It was absolutely the favorite part of my day seeing whales in the natural environment for the first time and to have such a wonderful display!

By the time we'd made it back to the dock, Ryan was getting grumpy-hungry so we walked to the Northside amid all the Italian Restaurants and picked one. The kids reluctantly tried fettucini and loved it while Grammie and I shared a shrimp dish that was divine.

Earlier the day before when we'd been walking through this area we'd noticed 75% of the people walking around with Mike's Pastries boxes. Once we walked by the store there was a line of at least 40 people out the store, packed seating inside, and people spilling over into the streets sitting on the sidewalk. We figured out the attraction as the kids spied a family eating a couple different kinds of cannoli. I ordered a one for us to share so they could taste it too. They liked it but definitely would have liked the chocolate covered and fruit-filled versions they'd seen earlier a lot better.

We caught the 8:00 train back to our little city talking about our day as we watched the lights of the city fade behind us. These days with Grammie are exhausting!

Day 4

I climbed to the top of the car this morning to dig through the cold weather bag for sweatshirts for everyone as it was quite chilly!  The girls watched over my fire as I cooked breakfast and Brayden slept in.

Since we had time before the first program of the day, I cooked us some grits and toast as people packed up all around us.  We made our plan for the day jam packed with programs, a museum, and a little hiking. A little play would have to be squeezed in there with Brayden's new purchase.

On the way to the visitor's center we were treated to an up close view of a couple of elk.  You can always tell there is some kind of wildlife on the road when traffic slows down and bunches of cars are pulled over to the side.  Laney has gotten really good at spotting wildlife in the field as we drive by. Of course, these guys are pretty easy to spot!  She took this picture out her window.

The first batch of post cards have been mailed!! We walked out of the vistor's center to a beautiful view of the mountains.

The first program of the day was about the most adorable river otters. Our ranger gave a super interesting talk on their history in the park as well as their special talents and traits.  Did you know river otters have about 300,000 hairs on each square inch of their body? Or that river otter moms can extend the gestation period if there isn't enough food when their babies are to be born?  Fascinating!  The kids also did a quick experiment about what happens to the water when chemicals people might use camping are dumped or used in the river like dish soap or laundry detergent. Yuck!

                 

The kids were excited to get back to the campsite and play capture.  Ryan was the "white man" while Brayden and Laney were the "indians". Brayden was captured several times and even shot in the foot with an arrow once!






Then all 3 of them got out the journals Wreck-It journals they'd had since the beginning of the trip and worked on them for at least an hour. I'm not sure why now and why here, but they were having a blast smearing, ripping, and just otherwise being wild.  They couldn't believe they were allowed to do some of the things in the book!

                         

After some lunch they went back down to the river while I started getting things ready for us to leave in the morning.  So much of my time is spent unpacking, packing, and prepping! Once I was finished they were still playing, so I headed down to the nature trail to check it out.  It was a neat little area I knew the kids would really enjoy so I put it on my mental to do list before we left.

Next up was another program about the Oconaluftee River.  Our ranger was an obvious history buff so the kids learned so much about the history of the river and the park's relationship with the neighboring Cherokee reservation.


The rain started and stopped so once we reached the beach to turn around, the kids opted to stay while the rest of the group went back. The water had to be around 60 degrees so I could only manage to put my feet in.  Brayden ended up going completely in for about 1/3 of a second but kept dunking his head claiming it made him warm. The girls and I were not convinced.

Once we were back on the trail the rain started coming down pretty hard so we hurried back to the visitors center and headed into Cherokee to the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. The kids learned a lot about the traditions and culture of the Cherokee as well as the affect European settlers had on their lives. There was a brief section on the Trail of Tears, way too brief in my opinion, and more about how the Cherokee managed to keep large portions of their land through proclamations and treaties with many people.

                                                       

The weather was dry once we were finished so we headed back to the shops to get Laney a doll she had her eye on as well as a bow for Ryan.  I guess she has now become a native american in their capture game. We'd driven by a small dance show the day before so the kids wanted to stop this time at another one to check it out. The kids dancing hadn't been doing it very long, but were exceptionally good.

We made it back to our site just in time for the ranger program in our campground entitled "Charismatic Megafauna".  The program was about the history and changes of the mammals in the park so we piled on the blanket to listen. The ranger had obviously been working in this park for quite some time as he was very knowledgeable about the animals as well as the park's role in their lives.











We all learned a lot about bears, coyotes, fox, elk, and wolves.  He even had some skins for the kids to feel and check out the size of these antlers!  I can't imagine how they can make it through the woods without becoming tangled in everything!

                

We ended the night by going down to the nature trail and skipping rocks. I have always taught the kids to find the flattest rock they can possibly find for the best skipping, but Ryan surprised us all. She found a rock about the size of a baseball and threw it.  Our mouths all dropped as it skipped, and skipped, and skipped.  Seven times!  I think that might possibly be a Clarke record. Brayden's rocks were almost skiing across the river.  It must have looked fun because several families joined us as they were finishing up the nature trail.  We stayed until we couldn't see the rocks anymore and everyone was yawning.  We all hopped in the tent to read, then unzipped our windows hoping for another quiet, dry night.