Southwest Day 10

Arrived at Comfort Inn in Colorado Springs at midnight last night. Had a great sleep and good breakfast before departing at 8:30. Making great time with a few stops. Stopped at Steak and Shake in Columbia, MO for supper. Garmin estimates ETA as 7:00 am.

Trip stats:
4563 miles
75:13 driving
23.9 mi/gallon

Southwest Day 9

Drove to Canyonlands to Grand View Overlook for overview of canyon. Then to Upheaval Dome to see where a meteroite may have hit the earth (0.5 mile hike). Then to Mesa Arch (0.5 mile walk) for awesome view of mountain through arch. This was our favorite spot in Canyonlands. It all seemed very barren, inhospitable and HOT.

Drove to Four Corners (B's choice). Took some pictures and B ran around the 4 states a couple of times. He said it was the best day of his life. :) There's nothing around it for miles and miles.

Drove to Mesa Verde National Park to see the ruins of the cliff dwellers (800 - 1200 AD) at Spruce Tree House. Long, windy road up the mountain to get there. Short hike to see it - pretty interesting.

Left park and stopped at Subway for supper. Ate in the car because we have a hotel reserved in Colorado Springs and our Garmin ETA is almost midnight.

Drove through beautiful southern Colorado and the San Juan mountains before it got dark. Gorgeous! Loved town of Pagosa Springs. Got dark before we hit the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, which was disappointing. But, the drive was beautiful through the mountains, by streams, horse pastures. We even saw a rainbow. It's nice to see grass and trees again.

Southwest Day 8

Packed up camp and drove to Capitol Reef National Park. Took one short walk to overlook, but then continued driving through. Tons of Badlands areas, but also very beautiful areas. East of Capitol Reef is very desolate. Stopped at BK for lunch.

Drove to Arches National Park. Arrived around 2pm. Saw Windows arches and double arch (short hike from car) and did 3.5 mile round-trip hike to see Delicate Arch, the most famous of the arches. Hikes were HOT! Car registered temps up to 104 degrees. When we got back from Delicate Arch it was 97. J and I were not happy, but the view delicate arch was pretty cool. Worth it? Probably, but a tough hike in the heat.

Got to Comfort Suites in Moab and took showers. Ordered pizza from the Domino's next door and ate in the room - it was already past 9:00.

Southwest Day 7

Left Zion and headed 2 hours to Bryce Canyon. Hiked Queen's Garden/Navaho Loop (3 miles). Hot. Cool hoodoos. Best part was Wall Street where you're hiking through cool, shaded narrow rock formations.

Had lunch at Bryce Canyon Lodge (taco bar - yum!), then went to Ruby's Inn Campground to pick out a campsite. Got a great one next to the bathrooms and pool.

Went back into park and took a guided trail ride into the canyon. M & I rode hroses and the kids rode mules. Fun, but hot and we were all thirsty. The kids assigned awards to all of us.

M & Blue Ribbon: most behaved horse.
Me & Lucky Strike: most auto-pilot horse
J & Jewells: hungriest mule
B & Crazy Alice: the orneriest and gassiest mule

B's mule did not want to go - he broke a stick on her and the guide finally gave him a whip! After horseback riding, we went back to campground and set up camp. Kids swam in pool while we did it. (Can see pool right across small grassy lawn.) Made mac & cheese for supper, then walked across the street for ice cream and souvenir shopping. Kids & M played soccer on the lawn and swam again after dark.

Southwest Day 6

Woke up early, much to my & J's dismay, to hike Angel's Landing Trail. Took the 6:45 shuttle to the trailhead. Quiet, beautiful and cool in the park. Hiked up to Scout's Landing (tons of switchbacks!), then we decided we would all make the scary treak to Angel's Landing.  800-1100 ft drops off sheer cliffs. Scary for mom to watch! Chains assist in scary spots, which is almost all of it. Made it to the top and back! Everyone was impressed by the kids.

Went back to hotel and had lunch at the Burger Shack next door. Took a little break in the room, then went back into park in our bathing suits to hike The Narrows. Water was pretty warm. We all wore water shoes and had walking sticks. Walked upstream for about 50 minutes, then back down. Took shuttle to Zion Lodge where we ate supper and ran into someone from our church working there. Enjoyed eating outside. Headed back to hotel.

Southwest Day 5

Woke up early and broke camp. Quick cereal breakfast. Van battery was dead, so had to get jumped. Drove to Mather Point to be certified as Jr. Rangers and buy a few souvenir books.

Drove out of park, stopped at a couple of overlooks. Had lunch at BK in Page, AZ and stopped at Glen Canyon Dam, which dams Colorado River to make Lake Powell.

Drove to Zion National Park - saw bighorn sheep and rocks M said "begged to be climbed." Drove into park and through to other side to check in to hotel. Quality Inn with campground right behind it, surrounded by mountains. Checked out Visitors Center and took shuttle to Emerald Pools. J and I headed back after Lower Pool, M & B continued to Middle Pool. Went back out of park and had a great supper at Wildcat Willie's. (Decorated cowboy theme with Wile E. Coyotes.) Went back to hotel for bed and showers. Completed Jr. Ranger, too.

Southwest Day 4

Got up very early (5:45 am) to head out to trailhead. Met up with a ranger tour at 7 am at Yaki Point to hike the South Kaibab Trail. There were about 25 people in the group, led by Ranger Mike. He took us down to Ooh Aah Point and Cedar Ridge. He said only 5% of canyon visitors go below the rim. We hiked through "ocean," "desert," and "inland lake" levels of canyon. Very interesting. Hike was many switchbacks, but not too difficult. 3 miles roundtrip, 1100 foot elevation gain.

Met the Hughes family on the hike: Mom, Dad and two boys ages 10 and 8. Talking with them helped pass the time. We had snacks with them at Cedar Ridge and took eachother's pictures. Beautiful views. Hiked back up and the kids were troopers. J & the 10-year-old took off ahead and beat us to the top by a lot. We never saw them above us on the switchbacks. The rest of us took about 50 minutes to go back up.

Headed to Mather Ranger Station to get Jr. Ranger stuff, then back to camp for lunch and rest during the heat of the day. Very HOT! Kids cooled off by spraying water at eachother from their water bottles.

Then we went on the Rim Trail to Hermit's Rest via shuttle. We got out and hiked Powell to Mohave. M lost his Tetons hat in the extreme wind. (There were storms all around, but the rain missed us.) Kids were concerned about their hats and B was concerned about himself. "You'd be scared, too, if you only weighed 58 pounds!"

Took shuttle back to camp and had quick sandwich supper in order to catch at least part of the 7:00 campfire porgram, where the kids planned to meet up with their new friends. After campfire we had early bedtime.

Southwest Day 3

Drove to Petrified Forest National Park. Hot! Ate pb & j in the car while driving the 28 mile scenic road. Saw painted desert, petroglyphs and petrified wood. J wove a bookmark as part of a Jr. Ranger program. Both kids earned their Jr. Ranger badges.

Continued driving toward Grand Canyon. Amazing changes in scenery at Flagstaff, AZ - went from desert to woodlands. Droveon Route 66 through Flagstaff. Arrived at Mather Campground (full - glad we had reservations). Set up camp and made hot dogs for supper. Saw canyon at Mather Point and Yavapai Observation Station.

Southwest Day 2

Stopped at Gateway Arch in St. Louis around 2am, but park was closed. Kids did great sleeping the car - much better than usual. Stopped at an oasis for breakfast. I stayed in the car and slept. M keeps driving and hasn't slept yet.

Made it all the way to Albuquerque! Arrived around 6pm. Kids went swimming (It's HOT here!) Then we went to Applebee's for supper and came back for an early bedtime.

Southwest Day 1

Left Rockford at 7:30 pm. Drove through thunderstorm in Northern Illinois.

South Manitou Day 3

Packed up camp after breakfast (pancakes & eggs) and headed to the ferry. We had to be there at 11:00, but boat didn't leave until 4:00 so we had lots of time to kill. Around 3:15 we finally got our turn for a lighthouse tour (very cool) and then we had to high tail it to the dock to make the ferry. Another long ferry ride back to Leland (1 1/12 hours), then headed back home for comfy beds and showers!

South Manitou Day 2

Had a good breakfast of scrambled eggs then took off on a hike. The dads carried backpacks so the kids didn't have to carry anything. We hiked to the village, toward Weather Station Campground, then to the dunes. Gorgeous wildflowers growing on the dunes. Finally made it to Lake Michigan. Had lunch on top of the dune, then kids and dads ran down. All the kids except B "became one with the dune." Water was very cold at the bottom. Climbed back up, then continued. Saw cedars (not that impressive) and shipwreck (very impressive) where M, J & B waded in their undies.

Hiked back to camp via Schoolhouse. Figured we went around 10 miles. Had early supper of hamburgers (thanks to my bro) and hot dogs. We were all very hungry! Went to bay to wade - all the kids and my brother dunked themselves under.

Went back to camp and had lots of treats - hot chocolate, jiffy pop and smores.

South Manitou Island Day 1

Did this trip with my brother and his two boys, ages 11 and 9.

Met at our house at 5:30 am and drove up to Leland, MI to board the ferry to South Manitou Island. Ferry ride was long because we stopped at North Manitou first. Whole trip took around 2.5 hours.

Arrived on island and backpacked approx. 1/2 mile to campsite (G2) in Bay Campground. We were proud that we got everything in one trip. There was a water spigot about 1/2 way between village and campground and an outhouse a few campsites away. Nice large site designed to hold several tents, plus we had our own large fire ring and nice benches.

Ate a quick lunch and spent the afternoon setting up camp. Had hot dogs for supper and campfire snacks/smores. Kids turned in early and adults enjoyed the campfire. Rained hard in the middle of the night, but we all stayed dry.

Chesapeake Bay Day 8

Got up and had breakfast at hotel. Packed up. Jordan said good-bye to ponies on the hotel property (hotel gave us horse treats at check-in that she's been feeding them). Drove north.

Drove to Philadelphia, PA. Saw outside of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Heavy traffic leaving Philly. Stopped at McD's for lunch around 3:45 (kids hungry!).

Went to Hershey's Chocolate World (Hershey, PA) and took Hershey's Great American Chocolate Tour. Pretty good for a freebie. Got a free sample of Reese's Clusters. Yum. Last scheduled stop. Heading home. ETA: 3:36 am.

Chesapeake Bay Day 7

Kids and M swam in lazy river one last time.Saw an aircraft carrier in the ocean from our porch. Drove north - took Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel.

Drove to Chincoteague. Hiked Woodland Trail on Assateague Island. Saw three horses very close and others further away. Drove to shores and relaxed on beach. Saw more ponies on the way out. Went back to hotel (Refuge Inn) and checked in. Went swimming. Ate supper at Don's Seafood Restaurant and kids (especially J) discovered that they like fried shrimp. (I shared.) Walked to "Misty" statue. Went back to hotel for more swimming and bedtime.

Chesapeake Bay Day 6

Kids swam in lazy river, then we drove to Norfolk, VA to tour the Naval Base. Guided bus tour - very interesting. Saw many ships, helicopters, planes. Saw historic state homes from 1907 World's Fair. Got a feel for what life on a base would be like. Drove to the USS Wisconsin for self-guided tour. Spoke to a vet that served on the ship in the early 1950's, and another that served on aircraft carriers.

Came back to hotel and walked on boardwalk down to Neptune sculpture and did some souvenir shopping. Kids had their first saltwater taffy. Ate supper in our room (pizza) after kids went swimming.

Chesapeake Bay Day 5

Drove Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.

Stopped at Monticello - didn't have time to wait for tour.

Drove to Virginia Beach - Holiday Inn Sunspree. Kids jumped in lazy river. Drove around looking for a place for supper and ended up at Applebee's. Came back to our nice big room (king bed and pull-out couch/ocean view) for pillow fight and bed time.

Chesapeake Bay Day 4

Took metro to Smithsonian. Toured Museum of Natural History. Because it was raining, museums were crazy busy. Kids liked the mammals and ocean life exhibits. Dinosaurs were cool, too, but wall-to-wall people. Left at lunchtime and ate our "picnic" under a refreshment stand overhand while it sprinkled.

Headed over to Museum of American History. Saw presidents' exhibit and a house that had been lived in for 200 years. Didn't wait in line to see major attractions. Kids were done with museums, so we decided to head back to our car in Crystal City and take off for Shenandoah.
Arrived in Front Royal, VA at 5:00. Had supper at Wendy's. Went back to hotel and watched North Carolina beat Michigan State in the NCAA finals.

Chesapeake Bay Day 3

Woke in the morning to a call from my mom that my grandma had passed away. :(

Took metro into DC. Saw White House (front and back).

Walked to WWII Memorial (again), Vietnam Memorial. Had picnic lunch by Lincoln Memorial (pb&j, chips, fruit). Went into Lincoln, then walked to Korean War Memorial. Walked around entire Tidal Basin, including FDR & Jefferson Memorials.

Kids were pooped and cranky. Took subway to Arlington Cemetary. Took TourMobile up to Tomb of the Unknowns and watched changing of the guard, and saw Arlington House (house was closed) and the grounds. Waited awhile for another bus to take us back down. Went back to hotel and ate supper at Chili's across the street.

Chesapeake Bay Day 2

Kids woke up early (of course) around 7:30. We got up around 8:00 and ate breakfast in the room (donut holes, pb&j, cereal). Walked to metro (very close) and headed toward zoo. Realized that Ford's Theater was on the way so we stopped there. HUGE line to get in! We chose to admire it from the street and hop back on the metro to go to the Zoo. Not too busy when we first arrived. Saw pandas (yay!) and everything else. J loved the cheetahs. We all enjoyed the antics of the sea lions. B got to see lemurs. The "Amazonia" exhibit was impressive. Lunch at the Mane Restaurant by the big cats.

Finished the zoo by around 2:30 and took metro to Washington Monument. Super windy! Crazy! Kids enjoyed running around on the hill. Could see the White House, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Capitol. Walked down to WWII Memorial. Very cool - pool with fountains surrounded by pillars for each state.

Headed back to metro station, but it was so full you couldn't even get in! Throngs of people were backed up onto the street! We kept walking to L'Enfant Station and squeezed onto a very full train, which gradually emptied as it headed out of town.

Went back to hotel and relaxed until supper. Ate in Alexandria at Generous George's Pizza. Long wait, but good pizza.

Chesapeake Bay Day 1

Left home at 11:59 am. Smooth sailing all the way to Arlington, VA. Arrived at the Radisson-Crystal City at 10:30pm.