Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming-Grizzly RV Park

August 28-September 4, 2016

I am not sure where to even begin with this one. I LOVED this park! I really had no idea such a place existed! Having already visited an active volcano (Newberry in Bend, OR) and learned a bit more about them, added to the mesmerizing experience of this place. It was just so cool to see firsthand geyser eruptions, fumaroles forcefully expelling steam, hot springs and pools all the while knowing that you are doing so WHILE IN THE CALDERA OF AN ACTIVE VOLCANO!!  The information says that the caldera is about 44 miles across at its' widest but driving through and around really helps you to understand how massively big this volcano is! And in case you are wondering, the last eruption was 640,000 years ago.

As you know, the kids complete the Junior Ranger Program at nearly all of the National Parks that we visit. It is really a great way for the kids to relate to what the park is all about. The Jr. Ranger Program booklet at this park was probably the best we have ever seen. The kids completed it quickly and even did more than they were required to. And I have to admit that I love the kids to complete the program not only for what they get out of it but also for what I get out of it. It is a fantastic and quick way to launch your learning about the park. I have never earned a badge but it is available for adults as well.

Enough talking, now I will just show you some pictures of SOME of my favorites:

The Elk herd (the bull even bugled for us)

Sapphire Pool (also Jordan's favorite)

Emerald Pool

Sunset Lake

Morning Glory Pool

Old Faithful

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Dragon's Mouth

Mammoth Hot Springs (I had to enlarge this one because this place was just really cool)

Lone Star Geyser

Mystic Falls

Our last day was spent doing something the kids really wanted to do. Our campground was right next to a ropes course and they had been eyeing it all week. The kids did amazingly well! Jordan shed a few tears of fear her first time to the top but she made it and went back for another round. As scary as it is for me, the kids have it even tougher. Once you are tall enough, you can reach the overhead wire that your harnesses clip too but for little ones, they only have their harness straps to grasp and those are not stationary. They were so brave!

We are already planning how we can come back to this awesome place. There is so much more to explore here by getting off the beaten path but we ran out of time even with 5 ½ days in the park. And we have yet to see a grizzly bear!! In fact, we didn't see any bears here! Can you believe it?! I bet the wintertime is just as magical and so we need to do that as well.

The good news is that as we head towards Colorado, we have to drive through Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons one last time!

Colorado Springs, Colorado-Garden of the Gods RV Resort

September 17-24, 2016

Whew! Colorado Springs kept us busy!! We had to be selective and pick the top few to fill our days.

First thing after parking the RV, we headed up Pike's Peak. We drove all the way to the top at 14,114 feet!  The altitude really makes you feel out of shape!

And it is no wonder that Katharine Bates was inspired to write America The Beautiful after visiting here.

The next day, we visited the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park. It was beautiful and the kids really enjoyed themselves. We took the gondola across the gorge then walked the bridge back across. The bridge was built in 1929 and is 956 ft above the Arkansas river.

Jacob thought this was hilarious.

I tried to get a view from the bridge down to show just how far down that would be.

A fire destroyed all but one building and the bridge in 2013 so everything looks really new. They had a Playland area with a carousel and slides and towers.

But the kids favorite was the climbing wall. And since there was no one else wanting to climb when we went, they did it forever!

They also have a zipline across the gorge which looked REALLY awesome and a sky swing where they harness you in, pull you back and then you swing out over the gorge at 50 mph. Jordan and Greg were all set to do it but then we found out that Jordan is too skinny for the harness. Maybe in a couple years.

Up next was the Garden of the Gods. It was beautiful and very cool. The rocks are very narrow in some places and just stick straight up into the sky!

Then we checked out the Cliff Dwellings. The kids really enjoyed this. They were able to climb through some of the rooms and up a few ladders. I can't believe how tiny their one-room homes were! I couldn't even lay down straight in there, but of course, they were not as tall.

The kids and I did the rest of the activities on our own...

About 40 minutes away was the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Not a real big place but we learned about what types of fossils have been found in the different rock layers.

And I also learned that smooth edged leafs and saw-tooth edged leafs are found in different climates. So when they find leaf fossils that gives them one clue about the temperature environment at that time!

They have some REALLY big petrified tree stumps still preserved. When the Guffrey Volcano erupted, lahars flowed down into Florissant Valley and surrounded the trees to about the height of a small house. Over time, the tops of the rotted away. Minerals seeped into the stumps and petrified them. Here are a couple that are left today.

There was also a little homestead that we did a quick window peeking tour of.

Then we went to the Airforce Academy. We watched a video and toured a small visitor center about the life of a cadet. After watching the video which mainly focused on first year cadets, I asked Jacob if he wanted to be in the Airforce one day and it was a definite “No Way!”.

A nice surprise came shortly before lunch. We were able to watch all of the cadets line up in their squadrons while the band played and they proceeded in formation to the mess hall.

After that, we went to the Western Museum of Mining and Industry. I wasn't sure how I would like this but turns out it was quite good. They offer tours twice a day and so I made sure we made it in time for one. I don't think I would have really enjoyed it too much had we not. The tour guide did a great job and she included a lot of information about the roles of young boys (called nippers) in the mines which made it much more interesting for the kids. The young boys did some very “interesting” jobs like carrying the honeypot, carrying lanterns into tunnels where they were questioning whether the air was safe or not, preparing the dynamite fuse which was also explosive and hand-spreading the mercury over the the rocks for the amalgamation process!! All that fun for $1 a day!

Many of the engines and mining equipment pieces were still functional so she was able to turn them on so that we could see them in action and hear just how LOUD they were!

We all got a panning lesson as well and were able to keep what we found.

One last interesting thing was that the kids got to step inside one of the NASA designed spare escape pods that were used to rescue the 33 Chilean miners in 2010.

Then there was the Space Foundation Discovery Center. It was a fairly small museum but nice. They had scavenger hunts printed up and ready to help the kids explore. And right after we arrived they started a sphere presentation on the planets. It was pretty cool. The presenter gave some great information but the sphere itself was pretty interesting. It did not move, but the four projectors around the room made it appear that it was. Each planet could spin or even tilted to give different views. While not available to us on this day, it looks like they have some fantastic learning labs available to kids.

And lastly, we visited the Olympic Training Center and took a tour.   It was interesting to see the different training areas and hear about some of the every day life of the athletes.

Next up is Durango.

Aurora/Denver, Colorado (State #42)-Cherry Creek State Park

September 5-17, 2016

We spent nearly two weeks in Denver although Greg spent one of those weeks in Austin for work. Since it is more of a city environment we didn't do too much hiking and exploring but we had a fabulous time visiting with family. Greg's cousins Cherie and Sandy and his Aunt LaDonna live there with their families. Jacob and Jordan met them once right before we headed out the first year on our RV trip. They were 7 and 4 then and don't remember them much but they immediately warmed up to them and had a great time playing with their dogs Bailey and Pongo.

Together we all went to Casa Bonita, a buffet Mexican restaurant known for it's many themed dining rooms, cliff divers, puppet shows, gun fights, and gorillas! You can dine in the jungle, a mine, a theater, or a cave. The food was mediocre but it was all about the experience!

And other than many dinners together and game night, we also got to go to the school where Sandy teaches and surprise her and her class with birthday cupcakes. It was so fun.

One night, Jacob made a pineapple upside down cake to take for dessert (Jordan was his measuring assistant). Other than being short two pineapples, it turned out great. He did a fantastic job!

Greg, the kids and I drove to Mt. Evans. The summit road was closed but we were able to make it to more than 12,000 feet.

The Denver Museum of Nature and Science was a great museum. We actually went twice since we only had a couple hours on our first visit and we barely put a dent in the exhibits they had.

Jordan's birthday was many months ago but she still had a gift coming. She wanted to skydive at iFly and this turned out to be the best location. She enjoyed it but did find it a little scary. I could not stop laughing. She had to wear googles that were on so tight and smashed her face so she just looked distorted everytime she tried to smile!

On another day, we drove to Idaho Springs to TommyKnocker's Brewery and Restaurant. The food was great and the kids got to enjoy some delicious draft rootbeer.

The Hammond's Candy Factory was another stop. Their candies are still handmade using much of the same equipment they used when the company opened 90 years ago. We took a tour of the factory and saw them hand-twisting lollipops and making ribbon candy. We got free candy cane samples and purchased a few other treats to test out, including the Mitchell Sweet which they are most known for and takes 3 days to make.

And later we visited 4-mile Historic Park. It is a small farm/tavern that dates back to the 1860s. The original home is still there with many very old furnishings. We took a guided tour of the home which was very interesting then toured the rest of the property which included a one-room school house, several barns, a root cellar, chicken coop and a fur trapper and miner's cabin.

Lastly, I must mention DartWarz. Jacob has been waiting for weeks to make it here to be able to go to DartWarz again. This indoor Nerf Battlefield has become a new favorite activity for Jacob.

We enjoyed our visit tremendously and being able to spend it with family made it great. Our next stop is Colorado Springs!

Boise, Idaho (State #40)-Boise Riverside RV Park

August 7-14, 2016

Our stop this week was in Boise, Idaho. We needed a place to stay before reaching our next desired spot in Southeast Idaho and this seemed like a good place to stay. And it worked out well because Greg needed to fly back to Austin and we would be close to the airport.

Well we had a fun time but I have no plans to move to Boise in the future. It was very arid and just another big city that has been paved over for a million restaurants and shopping centers.

So we pretty much just did city type things but I did find one fun field trip. We toured the Ada County Sherriffs Office. It was quite interesting! First we visited with a sheriff and he talked to us about body cameras, accident investigation and the roles of a sheriff. And Jordan even got to punch the Sheriff!! He was demonstrating how his camera worked and told her to punch him and then showed us the footage.

Then we checked out the dispatching area and were able to ask all of the questions we wanted to about 911 calls. Everyone there was so eager to meet us and tell us about their job.

The next really fun thing we did was go to Dart Warz which is an indoor battlefield with Nerf guns. Jacob had a blast and so did I. Jordan liked it but found it difficult to understand all of the rules in each game and of course didn't like when she got shot in the cheek at close range.

It was so much fun that when Greg flew back into town, we took him. He too was surprised by how much he enjoyed it.

Jordan went to a tumbling camp at the gymnastics center.

And she went ice skating. I love how she can make a friend as soon as she gets out there.

On Friday night, we headed out to Bruneau Dunes State Park for a program at the observatory. First, we checked out the sand dunes. The kids tried to slide down them on a disc they found there and on cardboard but were only successful in sliding about 2 feet. Disappointing, but they had just as much fun rolling down the dunes.

The astronomy program was pretty interesting. We watched some videos first and then they had some large telescopes set up outside to view Saturn, the moon and some clusters. Then we sat on the lawn hoping to see some meteors from the shower. We saw about three or four.

On our last day, we took the kids to the Discovery Center of Idaho (free with our museum pass). We all enjoyed checking it out for a couple of hours.

So like I said, we found some fun opportunities and enjoyed our stay but were ready to move on.

Next stop is Massacre Rocks State Park.