Day 5

To say it rained last night would be a huge understatement. I'm not sure how but in all our travels we have never been to Oklahoma, but this state is definitely not my friend right now. We knew there would be rain. We knew there would be some thunder, but we didnt anticipate the severity of the storm. Coupled with sandy ground for securing our tent and you end up with collapsing tent walls and rain coming in the tents.

It started about midnight, so I grabbed my laptop and started to edit pictures and write. The rough part of the storm seemed to last about 15 minutes and then soften. About 30 minutes later another heavy band of rain would come through. I decided to try to go to sleep or I would be pretty grumpy by 7pm that night. What I actually ended up doing for about an hour is stare at the top of the tent watching it sway in the wind while being blinded temporarily by each lightning strike. That's about when the tent walls started threatening to cave in on me and Dave so I popped up to watch the other tent.

After our division into two smaller tents last year I realized my children are growing so we upgraded to a little bit bigger tent to accommodate the three of them. With Grammie here only two are actually sleeping in it each night. Within about 5 minutes the "closet" storage section pulled free from the stakes and caved in on them. The majority of the top of that section is screen for ventilation but tonight it was actually beginning the flood in their tent.

Knowing they would be more worried and scared than me, I hopped out into the middle of the storm and moved to their tent while Dave held down our tent. Their little eyes were as big a saucers as they held onto the walls to try to stay dry. I held onto the storage area for a little bit to see if the storm was settling but each time it seemed to calm down it would come back with a furry.

I ran the kids over to Grammie's RV, got them inside and flattened their tent. We'd just have to deal with the insides the next day. Meanwhile, the poles on our tent had popped inside out due to the winds so after righting it I moved all the mostly dry bags and sleep mats to the inside of my car. I grabbed some dry clothes and towels then Dave and I lowered our tent. Once again I found myself dripping in the RV bathroom peeling off soaked clothes. This is the point in past trips where I would cram everything into the car and head to a hotel for the night. Or three. Thank goodness Grammie is along with us. Reason # 421. After we all settled in and warmed up we slept sound, barely hearing the same rain that had been pounding on our tent.

Dave and I got up the next morning and worked for about an hour drying everything. We didn't have any neighbors so it was nice to be able to hang our sleeping bags, sleep mats, clothes, etc on all the cables that divided the sites. As expected the kid tent was the worst, but both were still functional and we were all safe so we're good.

Grammie made us breakfast for the car and we got on the road pretty quick. We had yet another long drive ahead of us. This was our view for what seemed like the next umpteen hours. I thought we'd never get out of Oklahoma!

We made it to New Mexico!

The skies were taunting us with rain the entire trip. That makes for a grumpy Clarke family. We're ready to sleep in our tents!!

After a Walmart stop we turned into the Capulin Volcano National Monument excited to see what it was like. We were also very excited to see the bathrooms as we all ran to pee. I bought our National Parks Annual pass for our admission for the rest of the trip and we stocked up on some post cards (get ready friends!).

We made the terrifying, twisty drive to the top and were excited to see the view from the top!  We were even more excited we could walk down into the crater vent. Our Florida family all had to don sweatshirts as we were now at an altitude of more than 8,000 feet. The lava rocks were significantly larger than the ones we'd seen at Sunset Lake Crater Volcano.

After exploring for a little while we got back in the car for our final trek to our next site. Shortly after we started we made it to the sign we'd all been waiting for.....Colorado!!

After another hour drive we arrived to a beautiful ridge where our campground was perched. The temperature was chilly so we all added pants to our wardrobe for the day. While I got our wet stuff in the dryer Dave checked the weather for the night. He was admittedly very gunshy after the night before so once he saw a prediction for rain we humbly asked if we could hang out with Grammie again for the night.








We had yet another delicious dinner of shrimp and crab gumbo to warm us up on this chilly rainy night. The kids asked to paint with some of the art supplies Grammie had given them so I cleaned up and watched the artists at work while I updated the blog. We realized after awhile the reason we were all getting so tired. We were now in the Mountain Time Zone! Put that together with being up for a few hours in the middle of the night and we all fell asleep even without a crazy bedtime story!  I couldn't wait to wake up in the morning and see our campsite view!

Day 4

We woke up today expecting to quickly pack up and avoid the morning showers, but when I checked my phone as I woke up there was nothing. We were able to take our time packing up instead of shoving things all over the place which can seriously drive me crazy. It's hard enough for all of us to fit in my car much less with piles of stuff out of their places!

Once we ate breakfast we packed up and headed to the trail for Natural Falls, the namesake of this park. We tried to convince the kids it was a five mile one-way walk down to the falls but they just happened to be standing near enough at check in the day before to hear the ranger tell us it was only 47 steps down. Laney was super excited to learn this waterfall was featured in the movie "Where the Red Fern Grows" which she read last year.

We walked all around the trail surrounding the falls to learn more about the plants and animals in the area as well as to see the waterfall from different angles. Grammie even spotted a chipmunk who wasn't scared of us at all as he ate his mid-morning snack. Grammie must have been smelling really good this morning because a moth tried to adopt her on the way to our cars. No matter how many times we touched him to encourage him to leave he would simply fly around to the other shoulder. She ended up having to climb in next to the rose bushes to entice him to leave!

We got on the road and headed to our next stop in Oklahoma City. While we have just completed learning about modern history, it didn't cover as far up as the 1990s so Dave and I had the task of explaining the Oklahoma City Bombing to the kids in our car. I remember feeling so shocked and sad, but so much time has passed that there were so many details I didn't remember.

We had our first experience exploring a bigger city with Grammie in her RV! Of course, Grammie scored the front row parking spot as she always does. Once she had Lola secured in the RV with the air on, we went to explore the memorial.  We were welcomed to the memorial with the words, "We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever.  May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope, and serenity."

The first area we got to was the wall where people could leave things. The kids were very anxious, trying to figure out something they could also leave. They saw a few pictures of the children that were killed in the bombing too.

Next we walked through into the memorial plaza and were instantly
in awe of the concept of the memorial. We spent a few minutes talking to the park ranger about the meaning behind many of the objects in the area. There were the enormous walls with a reflecting pool between them. Each had a times carved into it: 9:01 for the last minute of innocence then 9:03 for the first minute of healing.

There were 168 chairs with names strategically placed on what floor and area of the building the victims worked or were visiting at the time of the bombing. There were some of the original walls still in place with names of the survivors from  buildings in the immediate area.

The part of the memorial I liked most was the Survivor Tree. This tree was surrounded by burning cars after the bombing and still survives today. It would imagine is a symbol of hope and strength for so many people. And it's absolutely beautiful!

The view from the tree over the plaza was breathtaking.

After walking around a little bit more we decided to go by the children's area. For months after the bombing Oklahoma City received tiles from children from all over the country and they are part of the display. The kids also added their marks on the chalkboard tiles on the ground.


On the way out the kids had the idea to leave a few Pensacola Rocks for the children that were taken that day.

A few hours later we drove into our spot in Little Sahara State Park. It was blazing hot and we were all starving so we set up in record time to eat. Of course we'd heard there was rain coming so we prepared by making sure the rain fly was secure. After dinner Brayden decided to read so the girls played My Ship Sails with me and Dave. We hadn't played since our summer trip 3 years ago. After a raucous game we decided to head to bed. I brought it my laptop and things to work on should the storm keep me up.

Day 3

The three adults started this day by bringing our laptops out while the children slept. Dave began working early so he would be able to go on a hike with us to the waterfall later that morning. We all devoured a breakfast of potatoes, fruit, bagels, and eggs then mostly packed up and showered.

We picked the 2 mile waterfall trail thinking it would take us about an hour to go down and back. We would be able to get on the road and Dave would be able to finish his work day as we drove. As we walked out to the trail head we were greeted with this beautiful view!

 And that was the last time that lens worked with the camera. It was a favorite lens of ours and had been just about everywhere with us for the past 11 years. Thankfully, Dave had thought to bring an extra lens along so we'll be able to use that one, but it is definitely a little more difficult to work with.

We started down the trail and were then greeted with a very large red sign warning us of the strenuous, rocky trail ahead. Over the years we'd finished all sorts of rocky and strenuous trails so we weren't deterred in the least, but I quickly realized it wouldn't be something we could do in an hour.

Our fearless, furry leader took the job of navigating us through the rocks taking frequent detours thanks to her keen sense of smell. We kept trying to teach her to look for the trail markers on the trees but she just wasn't getting it. She kept lookout while the kids climbed all around off the trail too.









We made it down to the waterfall and were all in awe of the rock wall surrounding us. It was a 100-ft rock wall whose middle had just collapsed leaving a waterfall and pool full of boulders. And where there are boulders, there will be children climbing them!

Here is Cedar Falls:

It doesn't look all that impressive until you add the kids in the picture for perpective! Shortly after this the girls got soaked when Grammie kept telling them to move to the left!

And Lola just waited every so patiently as they played.

Normally on our hikes we don't have much of a schedule so the kids are used to being able to freely climb around and explore. With Dave on a work schedule we had to get back so the kids had to pick only one spot on the way back to climb around. They chose to go through the rocks and water instead of going across the bridge with my warning, "You need to keep up or catch up". Only to find out they beat us to the other side!

The walk up was especially difficult for all of us, but we made it! The kids talked about going to the pool while we packed up but knowing we would be finished within about 30 minutes decided to just get sprayed by Grammie's hose and get on the road. They even drank from the hose like real-life 70s kids!

Brayden was especially excited to get to ride with Grammie today, to pick out his own snacks from her stash, and do many of the activities in his bag she'd put together for him. I was excited to have two girls in the card with us and no fighting!!

After a few hours we were nearing the state line but there was NO SIGN!! There was a sign welcoming us to Cherokee Nation, but nothing for Oklahoma. So the kids took a picture at our state park once we got there.

Reason #344 why we love Gramme coming with us - she brings fish and shrimp for dinner! We feasted like kings and queens on Joe Patti's shrimp and fish grilled, quinoa and rice, salad, and baked beans. And if that wasn't enough some famous white chocolate chip cookies that were simply awesome. With all that I was ready for a long nap.

But with this big, beautiful field right by our campsite we just had to initiate Grammie to camp ball! Laney had a plan already for teams. Since Dave was more like a kid than an adult, Grammie and I would be team captains. Grammie picked first by taking Brayden, then I took Dave. She looked at me like I was cheating, then grabbed Ryan for her team and Laney went with us to go bat.

With Grammie's softball pitching expertise I knew it would only take her a few minutes to get used to our homemade balls. She only hit Laney a few times before giving her a few she could hit. At least they were pretty soft! My team ended up scoreless that inning and our rivals scored four before we got them out. The remaining innings were scoreless and with the old people no longer being able to see the pitches so we called it a game. Grammie/Brayden/Ryan 4, Jen/Dave/Laney 0.

We don't have many good pictures because this is what happens when you give the kids the camera.

Shortly after the end of the game we quickly planned the next day since there was supposed to be more rain coming early in the morning. We hoped to be packed up and on the road early with a long drive ahead of us. We tucked into our respective sleeping areas for the night and I wrote and edited pictures until my eyelids were heavy. Late night computer time is the best sleep medicine!

Day 2

We all slept remarkably well for having 6 people in a 10 foot radius! We made up all the beds pretty quickly and had a delicious breakfast of cereal and homemade muffins. One of the many reasons the kids love the summer trip is because of the amount of breakfast cereal they get to consume. As a general rule we try to stay away from processed sugary food, but the rules get a little looser on the trip!

As we were packing up the kids played in the water a little bit looking longingly at the huge waterslide we missed out on because of the thunderstorms. It wasn't set to open up again until noon and we had a long drive ahead of us so we dragged them away with promises of a pool at our next stop.

Once we packed up our sleeping bags we were ready to leave and were asking Grammie what was taking her so long! It was supposed to be quite a long drive this day so we were going to break it up with a stop at Hot Springs National Park. But first we had a surprise drive through the glorious
potholes of Louisiana!  I was giggling as Dave's laptop bounced with every bump and he accidentally hit all kinds of keys along the way.  If the kids hadn't been in the car I do believe a few choice words would have been said!

We weren't able to get everyone in this picture as it was on the side of a busy interstate with no access. And after about 40 minutes we rolled up on this one!

Within about 30 seconds from taking this picture we were driving in the kind of downpour that you just stare at the white line on the side of the road to make sure you're still on it.

After dropping Dave off at Starbucks to get more work done, we drove through the very small town of Hot Springs and were in the park almost immediately. We found two lucky parking spots on the main road and walked toward the Visitors Center.

Back in the 1920s, this town served the area and tourists by providing bath houses from the 37 local springs. After the kids stamped their passports, they went to watch the movie and I sent Grammie in to enjoy it with them. Lola and I walked down Bathhouse Row and learned about this history of the area. The buildings were so very different and beautiful.

And this one even still operates as a bathhouse! Sorry, that's only half of the building. My furry tour guide was anxious to get back!

While everyone else was exploring, Lola and I relaxed on the front porch....tough life this furry girl has!



Learning from my kids is especially difficult. The lesson I usually get from them is disjointed and half of the story. Thankfully Grammie was there and could fill in all the extra parts.  This is the gymnasium in one of the bathhouses and some of the clothes the ladies wore after their treatment.



Lola and I took them behind the Visitors Center next where we were able to feel the 114 degree water straight from the spring. The water looked deceptively cool and refreshing, what a surprise!  But with the 85 degree weather not one of us was interested in a bath.  We walked back through the park to our cars and to pick up Dave.

Another bonus of having Dave along is having a second driver! He'd already finished work for the day so I was able to take a break and relax for the 90-minute drive to our park. Although I couldn't really relax as the county "roads" we were driving on, which just happened to be called Narrow Rd, was exactly that with some added S-curves.

The adults were all pretty exhausted by the time we got set up at camp. Brayden has been itching to play some camp ball so he was having some batting practice and the girls were exploring the park on their scooters.















We had a quick dinner and went for a walk by the lake to catch some of the sunset. I am also lucky to have a personal photographer along on the trip!

After a few minutes of RV time, we all headed to bed. I do believe I was asleep before my sleeping bag was zipped.

Day 1

Our day started bright and early packing up all the last minute clothes, coolers, and food we were on the road again. We met Grammie at her house and began to follow the RV down to our first stop.

Dave gave me the dreaded bad news of the weather we would be facing the night before. At this point though after five years I really should expect some rain along the way on the first part of our trip. It's just not my favorite way to spend the first day for sure!

The drive was an adjustment with Dave along trying to get some work done as we drove. While the first day has become a favorite of mine with the kids plugged into all their new music and playing DS games, this year was a bust. The night before we left, I stayed up until 1am to try to get the ipod I use for my music and our audiobooks working. It seems to have taken a dive. I was left with NPR and music from Dave's laptop for the first hour while I pouted. We'll definitely have to figure something out.

We arrived at our first site tucked up on the bend of a lake just after noon. We had been watching the weather all day to see how the rest of our day would go. When we pulled in Dave and I decided to hold off putting up the tents until the bulk of the rain was supposed to pass around 7. We explored the campground and the lake a little bit then headed off to the nature trail.

Lola led the way as we slipped and sloshed through mud and water up and around the lake. After about 20 minutes, we came upon a few buildings in a small clearing and I instantly had Blairwitch flash backs. We figured out they were actually archery targets after some super stealth sneaking around though!

We found another trail and after hiking in about 5 minutes we decided to turn around in an attempt to beat the rain. We were very unsuccessful with a downpour starting about 1/4 mile from our site. But not before finding two bags of trash and four painted rocks! Ryan is our eagle-eye rock-finder of the day!






Our resident chef Grammie cooked us up a delicious dinner! We were all very hungry and all ate until we were almost miserably full.

After about an hour in the RV, Dave and I decided to make a run to the car to prepare for the night should we decide to stay in the RV instead of braving the rain in the tents. When we make the decision the trees were dripping rain but by the time we actually made it out the door to the car it was pouring again and we got drenched. Then Grammie decided to inform me that she had two umbrellas after I peeled off my soaked shirt in favor of one of her dry sweatshirts!

When the rain slowed a little again , I went back out (with an umbrella!) and grabbed computers, a few movies, and the kid's pillows. We'd had trouble finding a local tv station and no way DirecTV wasn't going to work in the storm! Unfortunately, the DVD player was not interested in accepting a movie. That's Ok, Dave offered up his laptop to let the kids watch. Until he realized like most new laptops, it doesn't have a DVD player. I knew mine didn't either and Grammie confirmed hers was the same.

The kids were definitely losing their patience with us! We grabbed the umbrellas again and pulled the portable DVD players out of the bottom my jenga-packed car. As we came back to the RV for the third time dripping wet, Brayden looked at me like, "Why didn't you do this in the beginning?", but realized he shouldn't say a word when he saw the look on my face!

Within a couple minutes the kids were snuggled together watching a movie and the adults were able to chat and relax. We laughed at ourselves and talked about plans for the next day. Once the movie was over, we made up all the beds and tried to figure out how in the world this RV was really supposed to sleep 6 people. Dave and Laney ended up squished on the bed where the table once was, Grammie and Ryan were squeezed into the couch bed, and Brayden and I were tucked up together on the loft bed above them all.

Laney told us all a very bizzare bedtime story and the RV was completely quiet within a few minutes. As I was drifting off, I couldn't help but think how differently this day would have gone had I been by myself with the kids like the past 5 years. The downpour was definitely the same as the beginning of each trip, but today was made infinitely easier and absolutely more full with Grammie and Dave with us!

Quote of the Day:  Brayden walking next to me trying to explain why his knee brace ruined every picture, "Because there is all this good stuff...", as he motioned from  his head toward his knees, "and then you get here." No ego there.

Summer Trip v6.0

It's already year six. Hard to believe my kids were so little that first year and they're so grown up now!

About 5 months ago I had an epiphany. Why in the world were we leaving Dave every summer when we could just take him with us?! I carefully planned out a proposal similar to what I'd crafted when we made the switch to homeschooling. And in much the same way to that conversation, he said yes before I even finished. So he's going with us for all 45 days! I'll have something to say about this decision in my "Lessons" post I'm sure.

And if that isn't enough, Grammie is retiring this year. And she's purchased an RV. And will be joining us for the entire trip. As well as her lovable chocolate "Lola" dog. As if we didn't already get enough crazy looks with mom and 3 kids traveling the country!

In all honesty though, it's going to be a fantastic trip! I'm usually completely exhausted one week in, now I will have help the entire trip. My kids usually have to race to hold one of my two hands, each child will now have an adult. I'm usually sorely outnumbered being the only adult, but now the scales will be balanced!  A few weeks in I'm usually holding deep conversations with the librarian or grocery store clerks, now I will have adult conversation anytime. It will be an adjustment for sure, but everything is more fun when it's shared!

So on to our plans. I believe it was during our trip last year that Grammie asked me if we were interested in going to see the 2017 solar eclipse. Well, of course we are! So that's where we're headed first.

Then we're heading to this breathtaking place among many others. We'll be leaving quite a bit later than normal this year in just a few months, but I'll be updating here as usual.  Come join us on the road!

Lessons

So yeah, this year's lessons are a little late. We seriously hit the ground running when we got home and have barely stopped to breathe! I miss being on the road exploring all the little towns and big towns. I miss learning something each and every day, sometimes every few minutes! I miss connecting with my kids and laughing so hard with them that my belly hurt.

I don't miss fighting kids. I don't miss the long miles on the road. I don't miss packing up camp. I don't miss hours in laundromats.  And I definitely don't miss days on end with only part of our family together.  And now on to the lessons....

• A child listening to their new music smiles wide and sings loudly.
• Listening to a headphone-wearing child belt out wacky lyrics to songs is guaranteed to make me laugh.
• Seeing a sign for an area of town called "Butt's Corner" is guaranteed to make all of us laugh.
• New music can keep a child entertained for hours.
• River otters have coverings for their eyes, noses, and ears for swimming.
• River otters can hold their breath for 8 minutes.
• River otters are known to be lazy by targeting the slower fish, taking over beaver dens instead of building their own, and playing most of the day.
• River otters do not know how to swim when they are born.
• The only building that was locked on a mountain farm was the smokehouse, which contained a families most prized possessions and precious food.
• A 60 degree night is a welcome end to a 95 degree day!
• Sitting in the middle of a beautiful park with 50-ft trees, it's hard to believe this area was once clear cut for lumber with no habitats for native animals.
• The Oconoluftee River is exceptionally cold.
• The woosh of the river at night is a much better lullaby than the cicadas and frogs.
• The best gas prices I found were in Georgia - $1.74 - I almost filled up again just on principle!
• A mink can hold it's breath underwater for up to 16 minutes!
• Moths are relentless trying to dive bomb a tent when they see light inside.
• Crawfish aren't only in Louisiana!
• My kids are obsessed with camp ball.
• The wildflowers in West Virginia are just beautiful along the roadside.
• Sometimes the air of Pennsylvania country roads smells like there is a cow in my passenger seat.
• Don't let Brayden be in charge of cleaning up snacks on the ground of our campsite.
• When the kids can try anything on a pretzel, I will be surprised what the end up liking.
• In the 1830s, coffee pots did not have filters. Eggshells and codfish scales were used to settle the coffee grounds to the bottom of the pot.
• A porcupine has 30,000 quills.
• There are 28 hospitals in Boston.
• I was surprised several times by the amount of information my kids actually remembered from history stories we'd read together!
• Hollyhocks used to be planted to discreetly guide visitors to the outhouse.
• The mosquitoes in Rhode Island are as big as house flies!
• When you had a kid a camera for a few minutes, there's no telling what crazy pictures you'll find they've taken.
• Boston's subway system is so much easier to understand and find than New York's.
• There is an unreal number of Dunkin Donuts in Boston. Seriously, on a map you are never more than 2 blocks from one!
• We need to learn more about Teddy Roosevelt. Some of his quotes are so inspirational!
• The Liberty Bell weighs 2,080 pounds.
• The only person to sign both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution was Ben Franklin.
• I need to stop complaining about having to find $1 to go over the Pensacola Beach bridge as the Ben Franklin bridge into Pennsylvania costs $5!
• A ton of all kinds of math goes into animation.
• Amish children only go to school until 8th grade.
• Amish boys usually receive their own horse and buggy at 16 years old.
• A married Amish man starts growing a beard once he is married and does not trim or shave it.  He does not keep a mustache.
• You have to be born into the Amish culture. You cannot just choose to be Amish.
• The Washington Monument is 555 feet 5 inches tall.
• The Washington Monument sat unfinished for 20 years when the project ran out of money.
• The World War II Memorial has a few secret "Kilroy was here" cartoons on it.
• The Kennedys had another son that died when he was one.
• Abraham Lincoln is the only president to hold a patent.
• There are no direct living descendants of Abraham Lincoln.
• Robert Lincoln was eerily present at the assassinations of Presidents Garfield and McKinley.
• Americans throw away 300 million tons of plastic every year, much of it ending up in the oceans.
• An elephants height  at the shoulder is about twice the distance around its front footprint.
• We miss Michigan ice cream.
• There is quite possibly a Mattress Firm in every suburban city. And I thought there were a lot of Dollar Generals!
• While I miss communicating with my kids and listening to their audio books, there is something to be said for NPR undisturbed for hours.
• Every year as dusk comes and we see the first lightning bugs, we all point and run around like we've never seen them before. It's easy to forget about those little guys when we only see them a little each year.
• This year for some reason I was terrified of losing my keys so I used a lanyard. Best. Purchase. Ever. 
• Leaving the quiet woods for the city was startling each day.
• Rhode Island has the shortest stop lights on the planet.

While we learned SO much and enjoyed time in the cool museum buildings on our travels, I sincerely missed being in the woods this year. I think we only participated in a handful of programs and hikes which is usually the foundation of our trips.  

We will see you again here next year! Our plans are in the works....