we made it to the West Coast :)

Where to begin??? We arrived in San Francisco on Friday afternoon, just as scheduled!Jonathon is a terrific traveller, my Dad's car has been a dream to drive and we have had no serious setbacks! We saw amazing stars in Nevada at Great Basin National Park, baby badgers in Illinois at Starved Rock State Park and had to decamp at 11:40 pm our second night in Nebraska's Lake Minitare State Park because of a non-stop wind that suddenly began to blow (25-35 mph winds with gusts up to 50....) We spent the rest of the night in the car in a wide open parking lot and the next day's temps were 50 degrees lower than the 104 degrees of the previous day. Turns out that wind can just BLOW in these western states, luckily it had blown itself out by the time we reached Park City, but a guy there told us that it had just stopped that day after blowing for 5 consecutive days. These are the types of winds that would only precede a serious Tstorm in South Bend,so a bit unnerving to us since we kept expecting clouds and lightning to roll in but it stayed clear. We camped 5 of the 6 nights planned, our west Wyoming camping at Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area was way too windy for tent camping so we found a nice hotel in Green River, WY which is the town where the spikes that joined the transcontinental railroad (thus ending the 5month migration west in covered wagons since the train could take you from St. Louis to San Francisco in 4 days. And we thought that the internet changed lives ---- no comparison to nearly instant communication by telegraph whose wires were laid/raised within a few years of the completion of the railroad, telegraph first then railroad.) We've only eaten in locally owned restaurants, or camped our own meals, and we've enjoyed meeting many restaurant owners including the 82 year old proprietoress of Wilton's Candy Shop (serves lunch, make their own ice creams and syrups...) in Wilton, Iowa. Her hubby George wasn't in yet, he is 94! And Maggie in Des Moines with her lovely vegan wrap restaurant and passionate sourcing from local farmers. Laramie, Wyoming has the most delicious Sunday Italian brunch I've ever had, and the first restaurant bill that ever shocked me because it was so inexpensive ----$12 per adult and $7 per child, even my 5' plus 10 year old. I am still trying to figure out how to get a few of the photos on this iPad into this blog, but can't keep trying tonight ---- we went to a trampoline place with my sister Emily and it is amazing how sore my entire body is after hiking the hills all day and throwing an hour of jumping into the mix ! Tomorrow we are off to Muir Woods for the day, thank you for checking in, there is more to come :) hugs!

Heading East to Yellowstone: July 8 - 13

Sunday, July 8th
252 miles
We'll leave Eugene heading straight east along Hwy 126 which is supposed to be a beautiful drive in the mountains.  We'll pass over the Crest of the Pacific Cascade Mountains and go through the Three Sisters Wilderness Area.  These three peaks have 15 named glaciers among them and are volcanic peaks which are part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc in the Cascade Range.

North Sister 10,085 ft (aka Faith)
Middle Sister 10,047 ft (aka Hope)
South Sister 10,358 ft (aka Charity)

It is estimated that this was an explosively active volcanic center with eruptions from 700,000-170,000 years ago.


courtesy of Wikipedia

Our ultimate destination is Clyde Holliday State Park in central Oregon where we'll spend the night in a real TEPEE!  It sleeps 8 so if any of you are in the area, please do join us, it will probably help us to keep warm :)


Monday, July 9th
265 miles
Into Idaho and Three Island Crossing State Park for camping in our own tent once again.  This was one of the most famous river crossings on the historic trail and there is an Oregon Trail History & Education Center.    Pioneer travelers used the three-island crossing until 1869, when Gus Glenn constructed a ferry about 2 miles upstream.  Lo and behold, on the map of Idaho the nearest town is named Glenns Ferry :)  So sensible.

Tuesday, July 10th
326 miles
Continue through Idaho, a tish into Montana and into the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park!  Where the first thing on our list is to buy Bear Spray.  Becky doesn't carry this at Just Goods, although I did buy a lot of her natural Mosquito Repellant and a great hiking hat!


We may stop in Blackfoot at the Idaho Potato Museum & Gift shop, hopefully they are still giving hash browns to Out-of-Staters like us!

"We give taters to Out-Of-Staters" With each paid adult admission, you will receive a box of yummy hash browns to take home with you!

We are camping three nights in Yellowstone at the Madison Campground which is along the Madison River, 14 miles inside the West entrance of the park.  No showers at this campground, but it was the smallest one that took reservations and has trail heads from the campground so we don't have to actually drive to find a place to hike.

Yellowstone contains approximately one-half of the world’s hydrothermal features. There are over 10,000 hydrothermal features, including over 300 geysers, in the park.
Old Faithful is the most consistent geyser, but there are larger and more dramatic geysers if you happen to see them :)


Amazing canyons, waterfalls and wildlife.  I'm hoping that we spend little time in the car, but we'll see.  My parents are staying just north of Yellowstone in Montana and if we all have cell service we should be able to meet up.  I'm planning to have at least one meal at one of the beautiful lodges in the park, we'll definitely have to drive to one of those!
Old Faithful Lodge has a Bakery.  In case anyone was wondering.  And therefore you can sit in the lobby and watch Old Faithful erupt, while eating a fresh baked muffin!

Audrey will turn 3 on July 7th

All of the "girls" in my family have their birthday on 7s.  I'm April 7, then Elaine is December 7, Emily is January 7 (also my Dad's birthday, so he is a 7) and then Audrey was born almost 3 years ago on July 7th.  Mom is June 2nd (today!) which sounds like 7 and looks like a 7 when I don't have my glasses on :)

Here is a glimpse of Audrey.  She dresses like most people in Oregon, in layers, and for comfort & therefore happiness!

And here is her big brother Owen at our pool last August.  He turned 7 on February 25th so he and Jonathon are almost exactly 3.5 years apart.

These are the two Most Compelling reasons for our big road trip :)  Aunt Emily is a very close third.  And everyone else is just icing on the cake (which means we love you dearly but you aren't changing all that much with the passage of time, so we don't find you quite as Fascinating).