Would we do it again?

ABSOLUTELY!

We had a great time, the camper worked out no complaints except I wish it had a bigger kitchen.

Rick did an amazing job planning the trip and we went to every place we had planned, that being said we probably crammed too much in and looking back we would have thrown out a few places but we didn't know.

Lessons learned:

If we ever go back to Yellowstone we would stay in different locations every couple days (South, middle & North).

Go to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon - not the North Rim, not enough railings.

Pepsi is made in Wyoming - hard to find diet coke.

You see a lot of bears early in the morning.

Showering in the little camper shower isn't really an option, research camp showers better next time.

It was a lot harder being without internet/phone access than I imagined.  Nice but we felt very isolated. 

Wrap up

Wed, Aug 8th, my cousin Jeff drove us up to Pike's Peak.  Grant got car sick along the way, if you've never driven up there it was insane!  Criss crossing across the mountain, we all got a little woozy.  Great views at the top and some hot donuts!  They were having the Pike's Peak car race this weekend so on Wed they were having test runs.  The cars start about halfway up but it's nuts there are blind turns and we could see some of the crashed cars being brought down.  No thank you!

That afternoon we went back to my cousins houses and got to see the animals and cactus.  The kids could have stayed there for days playing with everyone, but alas we went to my aunt and uncles house for a big family dinner.  Very nice to relax and catch up with everyone.  Showed off our pictures and kids played outside.  Great evening!

Thursday, Aug 9th, drove home across Kansas - so windy!  Rick fought the wind the whole way home but we made it in good time.  Then started the long process of removing everything from the camper and doing 15 loads of laundry.  Yuck

Tuesday, August 7th

Right there in Breckenridge is the Country Boy Gold Mine.  We took a tour of the cold, wet and dark mine, and realized that we wouldn’t have made it as a miner.  Then we did some gold panning.  No luck but the kids had fun trying.  Apparently there is still $50 million of gold on the claim behind the existing mine but to bring the mine up to current code and the equipment needed would cost $75 million – crazy!

On to Colorado Springs to where my Aunt & Uncle, Dottie & Duane, live and their four sons (my cousins) and their families.  My parents are also here they flew in to stay with my mom’s brother, and their sister, Sylvia flew in from OKC.  So we are having a little family reunion here.  We are parked at my cousin David and his wife Amber’s house, he actually lives next door to his brother, Stephen.  Very impressed, David’s house is a two story log cabin that he built himself!  They have some geese and a couple goats, and David’s also raises and trains falcons.  Next door Stephen and his wife Meredith have a few animals but she is focusing on an impressive garden this year.  They each have four kids and my kids were having a great time running around.  It was just nice to sit down relax and have a home cooked meal and adult conversation!

Tomorrow off to Pike’s Peak!

Monday, August 6th

After a slow start of getting out of Moab we headed to Breckenridge, Co.  Up and down some mountains we went with the giant RV hoping it would make it a few times on those climbs.  We made it to Breckenridge but it was pouring and cold.  Looked for a place to eat but there wasn’t any place to park the RV and it was raining so hard by then I was like let’s just go to the campground.

Oh my goodness, it was the nicest campground we had no idea there was anything like this.  It was an owner place where the lots were private lots and also log cabins around the outside.  You had a card key to get in!  The really deluxe RV sites around the outside of the park had sheds and patios for the campers which they were all these giant A class RV’s.  Those are the ones that are like a tour bus.  These weren’t like any A class RV’s we’d seen in the other campgrounds, these were tricked out and insanely nice.  There were a few fifth wheel campers, huge ones of course but we were the only C class camper there – I felt like we were in a hoopdee.  There was a clubhouse with a really nice indoor pool and hot tubs.  A similar lot to the one we were on was selling for $62,500!  For a concrete pad!  But I guess it’s because it was in Breckenridge but still!  We enjoyed our stint at a ‘luxury’ RV site.

Since it was pouring we went to the pool and ended up making microwave s’mores!   And I taught the kids how to play gin rummy.

Sunday August 5th, Moab, Utah

LAZY day – we don’t really have to be anywhere but plan on going to Arches National Park and skipping Canyonlands park.  We had scheduled two full days here but it is hot and we are going to go to Breckenridge instead.  The nice RV park here didn’t charge us for the third night and we found a beautiful place in Breckenridge that is more of a resort that allows RV’s to stay.

Since we finally have strong internet access I updated the blog this morning being a week and a half behind and added some pictures, they take a while to load so that is the frustrating part.

The kids played in the playground for a couple hours building this river with water from some hose, they had fun but they were pretty dirty so we got a late start to the Arches park.

It was beautiful!  So different than any other landscapes we’d seen, like the canyons but smooth and weird.  It was nice since you could walk in them and around and no serious cliffs to fall down.  Though Grant did climb a little higher than we liked and he was trying to do ‘parkour’ on the rocks – really and made me record him doing it.  This crazy French guy climbed in this crack to get a picture and I thought he was going to die so I was recording him to, and then I wanted to kill him myself because Grant was trying to follow him. 

There were a lot of tourists there suddenly and motorcyclists and it was really hot so we bowed out after a couple hours, Rick and I were tired of carrying the backpack with all the waters and cameras while trying to keep Blair in her flip flops from following Grant up walls.

We got back made dinner, kids went swimming and then tried playing some games, UNO and Jenga but whoever lost was resolved to tears and it quickly became a brawl. 

Saturday, August 4th

Today was our rafting trip down the Colorado River starting from the base of the Glen Canyon Dam.  Behind the dam is Lake Powell. 

The rafting trip is 16 miles, gentle waters, it was the only one we could find that would take 4 year olds.  Anyhow it was nice except we started at 7:30!  You drive through a 2 mile tunnel dug into the sandstone to the base of the dam and start there.  It was cold in the morning but got hot later.  We stopped and got off the raft at a little sand bar that is actually a National Park spot with Rangers and bathrooms. We viewed the Indian petroglyphs, got to say they were a letdown, Lauren said the Indian’s drew with crayons on the wall?  I had to leave then or laugh.  The kids chased lizards and they all stepped in the water – 47 degrees.  Rick said his feet hurt after a minute.  Some crazy Europeans in the group had their swimsuits and jumped in – briefly.

Back on the river the cliffs and wildlife were very impressive, we saw wild ponies, lots of birds and a fox that moved like a mountain goat on the cliffs – which is essentially the Grand Canyon walls.  We stopped at Lee’s Ferry which is right were the Grand Canyon officially starts, and rapids do too.  There was a group getting ready to start a trip and the only trips through the Grand Canyon are minimum 3 days because there is no way out except by helicopter!  They were going for 14 but some were leaving after 6 days.  Normal rapids are on a scale of 1-5, at the GC they are on a 1-10 scale they are so rough.  Crazy! 

Back at the dam we took a tour and it was very neat.  The Hoover dam is taller but this one is bigger.  Our guide was a Navajo Indian, and very knowledgeable.  There is also a coal plant nearby on the Navajo reservation and he said there is a giant coal mine on the reservation, who knew.  Grant and Rick loved it, so did I and the girls did pretty well.  We could have spent hours there but we needed to get going to Moab, Utah a 5 hour drive.

The five hour drive we broke down and let them watch movies, the ride is too bouncy to play games or read very long. Oh yeah and we let them have McDonald’s for breakfast. 

Aug 3rd, Friday, Grand Canyon, North Rim

So the Jacob Lake campground has showers – coin operated showers, 5 minutes for $2.25.  I have never showered so fast in my life, as adding additional quarters didn’t give you additional minutes.

Off to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which is not the popular site usually visited by tourists.  Let me tell you why – there isn’t a big viewing area, you can’t really see the river (which we didn’t care about) but the trails were cliffs.  They had said not for the faint of heart but I assumed they meant the view not the walk.  I had a panic attack with four kids and a four year old that likes to run.  I decided to turn back with the girls and Cate turns around to talk to me and is walking backwards.  I lost it and drug them all up the path somehow.  Rick and Grant stayed and I think Rick clung to the mountain side while Grant skipped down the path with his eyes closed.  The girls and I went to the Grand Canyon Lodge where there was a more stable viewing area to wait for them.  I did walk out on a narrow path with Grant to an overhang with a little rickety railing around it and holes in the wire where a small child could easily slip through.  At that point we both wished we’d gone to the South rim and paid the $30 a person to walk out on the Indian owned glass overhang ledge, anything would have felt more secure.

That is Grant in the picture below and the area that I freaked out on - didn't like it when people passed.

Needless to say our trip there was short and we decided to head on to Page, Arizona where we are doing the river rafting tomorrow.  Got there in time to visit the dam visitor center and secure our tour tickets for the dam the next day.

On to the campground which is HUGE.  We are right next to an incredible playground and the kids had a blast until Grant wandered off with this boy to see his camper and we freaked out when we couldn’t find him for a few minutes.  Big trouble, so he had to go do laundry with me, and he was mortified and wanted to go to the pool with his sisters.  It was the only place in the campgrounds I got good wifi so I could check email and news on my phone but it was spotty.  I relented and went to the pool with him for a bit then we had to go get our laundry which he had to carry.  Windy night but we are excited for tomorrow.