Day 14: Start slow and end with a flat

Good Day Sunshine!

When I awoke this morning, I saw the sun! The rain had finished and it was beautiful outside. I was hopeful that the sun would dry out the tent so we wouldn’t have to put it away wet.

We let the children sleep, and Steve went to shower while I ran to the store to get groceries for making breakfast. Steve, the chef, started cooking bacon while the children tried to sleep as long as possible. Finally, we had everything made (bacon, sausage, pancakes, fruit) and so the children could sleep no more. It finally felt like we were really camping! You know, the leisurely kind!

Anyway, after breakfast we started the cleanup. Not only did we have to clean up the pots and pans, but we decided to break camp as well. Everything was nice and dry, and the forecast was for storms overnight. So we decided that we’d pack everything up, spend our day doing what we had planned, and then drive towards home as far as we could getting a hotel somewhere when we could go no further. It would definitely give us a shorter drive tomorrow.

So, everything was packed up and everyone was ready to go finally by noon and we were on our way! We headed to Wind Cave National Park and got the 2:20 tour of the cave. We had a quick lunch at the car while we waited for our tour to begin (it had taken us so long to break camp that we were already hungry again!). This cave was amazing! It is the fourth largest cave in the world, and they think they’ve only discovered 5-10% of the cave so far. And they have already discovered 132 miles of cave, all compacted in 1 square surface mile! It’s quite a maze. And because it is so large, it breathes. When the air pressure is greater outside than the cave, then the entrance to the cave blows out (sometimes with winds up to 70mph!). When the air pressure is less outside than the cave, the entrance to the cave blows in towards the cave. It is always trying to balance out the air pressure. Hence it’s name: Wind cave.

Andy and Emily checking out the wind coming from the original discovered hole

Our tour took us on well lit areas where we could walk. No crawling or twisting through tight spots for us! It is a dry cave, so you don’t see stalagtites and stalagmites like in most caves. It does contain 95% of the world’s boxwood formations. They explained boxwood to us like so: This cave was once a sea floor of limestone. The water wore away the limestone but left the calcium deposits creating the boxwood formations (they look like misshapen honeycombs). To simplify the explanation she had us envision brick and mortar. The water dissolves the brick (limestone) but leaves the mortar (calcium) behind. The formations are really beautiful!

So after the Wind Cave, we hopped in the car and headed to Mt. Rushmore. The entrance to Mt. Rushmore said “To Mt. Rushmore Concessions.” That confused Steve, and he drove past wondering if there was a Mt. Rushmore entrance. Once we realized it was just a confusing sign, we were past it, and heading back down the hill. He went to make a U-turn and went off the shoulder, hitting the shoulder pretty hard (it was a hard drop off the shoulder). More about that later.

We made it into Mt. Rushmore and had a wonderful time. After many photo ops at the entrance, we went to the dining area and had dinner (they were open! Yay!). While it was expensive, it wasn’t half bad. After eating, it started to rain (ha! I was right!) and so we went into the theater where we watched a movie abut the making of the sculpture. By the time we got out, it had sopped raining and so we took the walking tour. This path takes you to the base of the mountain with stops along the way that focus on each head: facts about the president and quotes from him and about him.

Recreating Mt. Rushmore - Bumba Style

After the walking tour, Steve and the kids got ice cream and I got settled in a seat in the amphitheater. We were told that the closing ceremony would be amazing, so we had planned to stay and see it. We waited for about an hour, eating ice cream, and kids taking turns running to the gift shop to look around. Finally, at 9 the program began. It was really nice with a movie explaining the accomplishments of each president and why they were chosen for the mountain. Then while America the Beautiful played, the sculpture slowly lit up. It was quite moving.

After the movie, she had all the veterans of current and past wars come up onto the stage and say their name. Everyone cheered and it was over. We all headed for one last bathroom stop before we were to leave and start driving towards home.

We got to the car and sat for a few moments while the kids got situation and Steve took out his contacts. It was 10pm. Quite late to be starting, but at least we didn’t have to break camp in the morning! We could stop whenever we wanted tonight. As we were commenting on how clever we had been, we heard someone knocking on our window. We rolled down the window and he said “Do you know you have a flat tire?”

When Steve had gone off the road, he must have hit the rear tire so hard that it was punctured. As we looked at it, it wasn’t totally flat, but was definitely losing air. I went to ask a Park Ranger for help. I didn’t want to put on the spare and try to get all the way home. I was hoping to get some air and at least get to the next town so that we could get help there in the morning.

While the Park Ranger didn’t have an air compressor, she thought the maintenance guy would, so she sent for him. While we were waiting for him, a couple came up to us and asked if we had a product called “Fix a Flat.” Apparently, this product goes into your tire, partially fills it, and then as you drive, it fills in wherever there are leaks. We thanked them for sharing it with us and asked them if we could repay them, but they said No, that just helping us was payment enough. People are so nice!

We decided to hang onto the product and see if we could first get air into the tires since the maintenance guy was on his way anyway. First he brought a compressor, but realized it was electric and not gas. So he went back to get an extension cord. After we got it plugged in, he realized that he didn’t have the right end on the air compressor to attach to the tire. And that point we thanked him for his help and told him that we thought we’d try this “Fix a Flat” product instead.

Steve emptied it into the wheel, and it did fill up a bit. It was enough to get us to the next town and a gas station with an air pump. By this time it was 11pm. At the gas station, we ran into the people who had shared the Fix a Flat with us and told them we were trying it and it seemed to be working! They were from Anchorage, Alaska and said that they never travel without it; especially on these long trips.

So, after getting it filled up with air, we headed out. We tried to stop a couple of times about 2 and 3 hours into the trip, but every place was full.

So now it is 9am, and we have 6 hours to go before we are home. We are all pretty tired, but the kids did have a nice block of sleep in the late night hours. Steve had been doing the lion’s share of the driving and I think it’ll be my turn again soon.

So I guess this is my last blog for this trip. I know how exhausted you are just reading it. Think how tired we feel! It will be nice to sleep in our own bed tonight…and not on the floor! Thanks for staying with us during this trip. We had a blast. I hope you did too.

Jen

Day 13: Pack up and head to the Hills!

So we were pretty lazy this morning. We had a campsite to break down, and a wet tent and dining canopy to deal with. After Emily , Pete and I took showers (and might I say what a very nice facility they had), we headed back to the campsite to help break everything down. It took us quite awhile, but we finally made it out of there by 10. After a quick stop for pastries and drinks, we were on our way.

But not very quickly on our way as we were about to pass through “Buffalo Central” in Yelowstone. The valley we passed through had more Buffalo per square mile than any where else we had been. They were everywhere! And what a funny noise they made. We did get some video, but I’m not sure how to add it to this blog. If I figure it out, I’ll put it up. We kept having to stop for Buffalo in the road. What a funny reason to have to stop!

Anyway, after a very slow go through Yellowstone, we finally made it out of the park and we were on our way to the Black Hills. We stopped in Cody, Wy for gas and a quick break. This looks like a fun town and a place I’d like to come back to sometime. After that, we headed across Wyoming. I worked on the past few days blogs, and I checked on the weather for Custer State Park. Storms. Great.

We found ourselves slowly making our way across the Bighorn mountains. There is nothing to slow you down like mountain roads. Finally, we made our way through and got onto the interstate! YAY! The kids watched movies, and Steve drove while I published the last few blogs.

As we got closer to Custer State Park, I realized that we would be arriving close to 8pm which is the time of the Crazy Horse Memorial light show.

We also checked on the weather for tomorrow and saw that it is going to be a HIGH of 62 (isn’t this the BAD lands, as in HOT lands?!?) and more rain will be moving in during the evening. The middle of the day is at least supposed to be nice. Then, on Wednesday when we’re supposed to be leaving, the HIGH for the day is supposed to be 54!!! This is really crazy. We may have to alter our plans.

So after a long drive, we finally made it to Custer, South Dakota around 7:30pm.. We rushed to the Crazy Horse memorial because we thought the light show was at 8, and because we thought we could get dinner there. Well, the light show was at 9:15, and the dinner place had just closed! So, we saw the introductory movie, walked around and saw the exhibit, Looked outside at the memorial and left before the light show.

Sadly, the only thing open in Custer on a Monday night at 9pm is Dairy Queen, so that’s where we went! It wasn’t too bad. Besides hamburgers, they did have salads. It was late, we were tired, the sky had looked threatening when we could see it before, and so we quickly found our campsite and jumped into action.
While the tent was damp from the night before, it wasn’t dripping wet, which was good. We were, however, setting up in the dark. The people across the way from us turned on their spot light to help us see which was really nice of them.

We got the tent set up, and the dining canopy (to keep the picnic table dry if it rained), we visited the bathroom one last time, got our clothes for tomorrow and got into the tent. As I stepped in and closed the door I heard it. I told everyone else to be quiet and listen….rain! We had made it into the tent JUST IN TIME!! I am so glad we didn’t stay for the light show. Setting up a tent in the rain would have been awful. It was tough enough to have set it up in the dark!

And so, we fell asleep to the sounds of rain on the tent. I sure hope we don’t wake to those same sounds!

Day 12: Yellowstone, swimming and a cookout

Arise and Shine!!

Today dawned bright and sunny. We quickly changed, enjoyed the fact that we didn’t have to break camp, and were on our way. We stopped at Canyon Lodge again and had breakfast (again, the best way to camp!), did some shopping and got ice, then we were on our way!

We first drove just a couple of minutes south to Lower Falls trail. This is the trail that takes you to the lower falls of the Yellowstone River as it dumps into the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. On this trail you can also see the upper falls in the distance. Bonus! It was a 600 ft. descent down, and, of course, you then had to come back up. After many photos, and many breaks on the way back up, we were on our way to the north end of the park.

We drove along stopping occasionally to take pictures and marvel at the beauty that is Yellowstone. If you’ve never been, you’re really missing something. They call it America’s Serengeti for all the different wildlife and majestic beauty the park has to offer. We passed a lot of trails to hike, but on a two day trip (one day of which was cut short), you really do need to pick and choose just a few highlights. We must come back again someday and do more.

We made our way past Roosevelt Corral where we would be back for our cowboy cookout later in the day, and headed for Mammoth Springs. On our drive, the skies got really dark and it rained so hard it hailed. I was hoping it would be over by cookout time, but that was at least four hours away, so I was sure it’d be fine. They say there are cloudbursts all the time, and then it clears, so I had hope.

We made it to Mammoth Springs and walked around a bit. Sometimes the springs are really flowing, and sometimes they aren’t. Unfortunately, this time they really weren’t. There were a few springs flowing, but the ones that give it it’s “mammoth” name were not. So we took a few pictures and were on our way.

We headed a little further north to an area called “Boiling River.” It is a hot spring that runs like a creek into the Galien River. Right at the point where the hot springs meet the cold river, people enjoy swimming. After a quick bite, we put on our bathing suits and gave it a try! It’s really wild. The hot springs are so hot, and the river water is so cold, that you feel both temperatures swirling around you as you dip yourself in. The kids loved it. The bottom of the river was very rocky, and so it was hard to stand, but it was a great experience! Steve opted out of swimming, but he took photos so we could remember this experience for a long time.

After an interesting few minutes dressing discreetly back at the car, we were on our way to the Roosevelt Corral. As we were checking in, the clouds were getting thicker again, and big drops were starting to fall. I had booked Steve, Andy and Emily in for the horseback/cookout, and Pete and I for the wagon ride/cookout. Unfortunately, she said that the horseback rides had been cancelled due to the muddy conditions, so we all ended up taking the wagon ride. I know the kids and Steve were disappointed, but I’ll just have to find another opportunity sometime to get them all on a horse! I think it was for the best because after we were all on the wagons, the skies really opened up and it POURED. Even though the wagons were covered, we still got a bit wet.

The wagon ride goes through some beautiful valleys (which is hard to appreciate when the side flaps are down and you can’t actually see out). We sat in the back and listened our cowboy ‘host’ share some fun stories and history of Yellowstone while trying to avoid the rain coming in. As we got to the site where we would be having dinner, the rain let up which enabled us to get a few photos with the horses.

The dinner consisted of steak, cornbread, cole slaw, potato salad, beans, corn and an apple cobbler. It was really quite good! I also tried the cowboy coffee. That’ll cure what ail’s you! Not sure how well I’m going to sleep tonight.

A cowboy cooking "cowboy coffee"

There was a retired rancher from Texas who played his guitar and sang, which was nice, except that he was out near the fire, and we were all under the shelter because it had begun to rain again. I sure wish the weather had let up for the evening. Oh well, I can’t control everything!


After dinner, the rain had let up for good, and we were able to put the side flaps up on the wagon for the ride back to the corral. The valley really was pretty. We got to sit near the front, and they put Peter in the front seat, and even had him “drive” the horses for a few moments! He was in heaven. What a cutie.

Back at the corral, we thanked everyone for their hospitality and headed back for the tent. Once back at the campsite, we saw that while it had rained, everything in the tent seemed to be dry. We had also put up the dining canopy over the picnic table, so the table was dry as well. Of course, the top of the tent and the dining canopy were wet, but we’ll deal with that in the morning.

Steve took a shower, and then we all sat at the table and played a round of Yahtzee before heading into the tent. Once in the tent, I got Pete settled and then we played a few rounds of hearts. Sure it’s late, and we’ll probably be starting late tomorrow with all we have to do (especially with that wet tent), but today was a lot of fun and that’s all that matters!

A perfect end to a sunny & wet day...

Day 11: Recoup, recover and then try to salvage the day

So, Steve and I were up before the kids (surprise) and I decided to take the laundry and get it done while he got the children going. It took me about 1 ½ hours to get it all done, and by the time I got back to the hotel, everyone had showered and was almost dressed (Pete was naked, but everyone else was ready to go!)

We packed up the car and headed out. The kids wanted breakfast. The only problem with that plan was that it was almost noon! We had needed the morning to catch up on the basic necessities of life (laundry, showering and sleep), but now we were really behind if we were going to see anything today!

After trying to eat in downtown Jackson (it was wall to wall people), we left the center of town and found a place near the outskirts. They had a “late for breakfast” special, and we all had our very late breakfast. We then headed north towards Grand Tetons National Park and Yellowstone. The first thing we passed was the Elk Refuge, and I’m sad to say I saw no Elk. I’ve really wanted to see Elk on this trip, but it sadly hasn’t happened yet.


Anyway, the views along the Tetons were just gorgeous. My biggest problem will be deciding which photos to include with this blog as every photo was picture perfect. They really are grand!

We made it!

After gawking at the Tetons as we drove (and stopping occasionally to get out and take a photo), we made it up into Yellowstone. All the guide books and internet sites had warned me of the bumper to bumper traffic in Yellowstone, and as it was a Saturday, I was prepared. But I must tell you, it wasn’t too bad! The areas where there was construction was worse than the popular sites like Old Faithful. And speaking of Old Faithful, we decided that we would stop there first.

We parked and walked to the Visitors Center to find out when the next eruption was predicted (they had a sign up that said “Remember, we don’t schedule the eruptions, we only predict them!”) The prediction said 4:42 and it was 3:50, so we decided to look around the lodge, take a potty break, and get some ice cream. We took the ice cream outside and noticed that people were starting to gather on the benches, so we sat down and waited.

At about 4:35 Old Faithful started sputtering and spurting, and then all of a sudden, SHE BLEW! It was very fun to watch. It lasted for about 1 ½ minutes and then was done. After that, we took a walk among the other georthermal pots and pools. It was really amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it. They say that Yellowstone has over 2/3 of the world’s geothermal activity, and I believe them!

After we made that hike, it was 5:30 and storm clouds were moving in, so we headed back to the car. We got stopped by some construction, and twice by some roadside Bison (we had to pass right next to them so I got some pretty decent photos!). It was now about 6:30 and we were passing the “Artist’s Paintpots” area and I told Steve to stop. I could hear him wimper as he thought of setting up a tent in the rain, but I knew it would be worth it! So, we stopped and took the ¼ mile trek around the mudpots, fumaroles and springs. This is really an otherworldly place!

After that, we headed over to our campsite. The small drops of rain had subsided, and soon we had our campsite, which was nestled nicely in the trees. So nestled, in fact, that the ground was still dry! We set up the tent, and then headed over to Canyon Lodge for dinner.

Now this is the way to camp!

Save $$ on lodging, but eat well. Steve and Em had Rockfish rolled in Indian spices, and Andy had the prime rib (which I made him share with me). At around 9:30 we headed back to our tent. A quick brush of teeth and a change and we were in our sleeping bags ready for a nice night’s sleep.

Day 10: Drive and drive again

Well, since last night ended so late, I didn’t have the heart to set an alarm. So, we all slept in and enjoyed the extra rest. What ended up waking us up was a screaming child nearby (isn’t that always the way with campgrounds?) and no yurt walls could stop that sound from penetrating.

So, we packed up and headed out. A quick stop at McDonalds for breakfast (ugh), and we were on our way. While Oregon is quite nice on the west side, the east side is very barren. I believe they call it the high desert. It took us quite awhile to cross Oregon. There are no interstates on the southern half of the state, so our roads were two lane highways. It definitely was not 75mph like North Dakota had been!

And yes, we kept opening up the sunroof to make sure the rooftop carrier was closed. I have a feeling we’ll be doing that for the rest of the trip!

We got on the interstate near Boise, and then made a bit more time across Idaho. Andy thought we’d get through Idaho quickly as we had on the way out, but that was the north end of Idaho which is skinny. We ended up getting off the interstate half way across Idaho so that we could make it to the Craters of the Moon. It was late in the afternoon, but I just didn’t want to miss the opportunity to see this barren, volcanic land.




We drove through the park, but did end up stopping at the lava caves (caves that were made when lava flowed…the top cooled, but the interior continued to flow until it flowed out leaving openings). We took our flashlights, thinking we’d spelunk a bit, but we really weren’t prepared. We didn’t have the proper shoes, or water, and we really didn’t have the time! We got part way into a few of the caves which were really rocky (flip flops not recommended!) and we walked down in the big cave, but that was about it. We were watching the sun set knowing we still had 4 hours to go in the car!

We made it!!

After Craters of the Moon, we stopped in Arco at a little drive up food place. Steve said it would probably either be fantastic or horrible food. Andy and Steve got burgers, I got a chicken teriyaki wrap with onions, mushrooms and rice and Emily got a philly beef. She also ordered a huckleberry spritzer. It was really really good! We ordered on the one side of the building, and then drove around to the other to pick it up. They made everything to order so it was fresh. What a fun place to find in the middle of nowhere!

After that, we drove through more flat land, seeing mountains and hills in the distance. We passed odd looking buildings in the middle of the desert and Steve said it looked like government buildings. We discovered it was the Idaho Research Laboratory. We were definitely in the midst of top secret government work!

Once the sun set, we couldn’t see the landscape anymore. We made one last stop in Idaho Falls, where I got Pete into PJs and then it was the last two hour push to get to Jackson, Wy. We kept a lookout for elk or deer which might cross in the road,, but fortunately came across no wildlife. Em and I marveled at all the stars we could see out the window. I love being away from the cities!

While it was supposed to be a fabulous view approaching Jackson, it was lost on us as we finally made it in at midnight. We checked in and got to bed as quickly as possible. Too bad we won’t be heading out early again tomorrow. There is so much to see in Yellowstone. I know we won’t get to do as much as we’d like. Oh yeah, and there is all this laundry to do!! Ugh.

Day 9: Crater Lake, up, down, and all around plus a surprise

Well, at about 5:30 this morning, I heard a sound which I thought was Andy’s alarm. Turned out it was a crow outside! Steve went to the bathroom, and I tried to go back to sleep, but I just couldn’t. By the time he was back, I was changed and ready to start preparing for the day.

We got Andy and Emily up as quickly as we could and started packing up everything possible. We let Pete sleep as long as we possibly could, but finally, I had to wake him up. The poor guy. By the time he was awakened, everything, and I mean EVERYTHING was out of the tent but him and his sleeping bag! I’m glad he didn’t wake up on his own and think we had abandoned him!

We broke camp by 7:30. Steve and I were impressed that the kids got moving so quickly. We made it up to the camp store, got coffee, and headed up to the rim to make it to the check in point for our boat trip by 9. As we drove past the first turnout on Rim drive, we got our first look at Crater Lake. It is SO BEAUTIFUL!! The blue colors of the lake are stunning. They say it is the deepest lake in the US, and it is the most pure water in all of the world. Nothing but snowfall runoff goes into it, so it stays pure. Scientists have been able to see almost 600ft down which is a world record for clarity.

Anyway, we stopped and took a photo, and then headed over to the boat check in. We got our tickets, and then made the 700 ft. descent down to the boat dock. You literally walk from the rim, all the way down to the lake. Of course, going down to the boat was the easy part. We got down there with about 15 minutes to spare, so we stood around and just marveled at the water. We could see where the edges dropped off, and if you looked long enough, you could see fish in the water.

Sunscreen application is not Pete's favorite thing.

We all got on the boat and took off by 10am. It was a lovely ride with a Park Ranger giving us information about the crater and the original mountain (Mt. Mazama was 12,000 ft. high before it blew it’s top about 7,500 years ago and collapsed to what it is today). After the mountain collapsed, the magma continued to bubble up and created a small island within the lake called Wizard Island. The boat took us around to that island and dropped us off. It was about 10:30 and they said they’d be back around 1:30. So, we, along with about 20 other people, began to hike up to the top of the cone.

It was quite a trek going 600 ft up to the top, with plenty of rests for poor Peter who was still exhausted from his partial night of sleep! It was also very narrow, with an angled drop straight down. Having Pete walking with us frazzled my nerves, but the views were amazing! We finally made it to the top of the cone, found a shady spot and had our lunch. What a view for lunch! After that, we walked around the cone and then came back down the way we had come up. Not surprisingly, going down was a lot easier than going up.













Going up...yikes!

We made it to the top!!

Going back down. Yikes again!

Once we made it to the bottom, we went down to the dock and put our sad, tired feet in the water. It was a cool 60 degrees and felt GREAT! Some of the people in our group actually swam, but I was not interested in doing that. Emily thought about it for a moment, but just couldn’t bring herself to do it. If I’d had a wetsuit I might have. It would be amazing to swim and be able to see so far down, but I’m a chicken when it comes to cold water.


The boat picked us up around 1:45, and we finished the tour of the lake. They drove us around the entire circumference, explaining different natural features and answering questions about the lake. The sun, the rumble of the motor and the drone of the Ranger was too much for my boys. They were gone for awhile, which was a good thing. We were going to need our energy to hike back up those 700 ft to the parking lot when we got back!


We docked and I carried Pete off the boat. He awoke, but was quite groggy. I wondered how we were ever going to get him all the way up to the top. Between promises of ice cream, and a few times when Steve put him on his shoulders to carry him, he made it up. It was quite a trek. We stopped at Rim Village for the promised ice cream plus a few T-shirts before we headed towards Bend and our Yurt!

I had planned to leave Crater Lake earlier than we did (I didn’t know the boat ride would be quite so long), so we were headed for Bend about 1.5 hours later than I wanted to be. Bend was to be a place where we could regroup, shower, do laundry, buy more groceries, and have an early night since we were so dirty and tired. Well, about 30 minutes into our two hour drive Steve looks in the rear view mirror and says “There go our sleeping bags!”

We immediately pulled over and discovered that our Yakima rooftop carrier was wide open and we were missing a few things. I started running backwards down the highway. I could see two sleeping bags in the middle of the road still fully contained in their stuff sacks, plus one on the side which had exploded open. I was picking up the one on the side, when a pickup stopped in the middle of the road in front of one of the others and got out and picked it up. He drove up to me and told me he would circle back to get the one further down. I thanked him profusely and started back for the car.

By this time Steve had taken stock of what was missing. I was walking back toward the car with two bags, and the pickup man was driving up with the other bag he had retrieved, when a car pulled up in front of us with a mattress pad and Pete’s sleeping bag! They said that they had seen them fly out of our car just south of town (about 3 miles back). The woman said she had wondered what kind of jerry rigging we had on our Yakima until she got closer and thought “Oh, oops! That’s not supposed to be like that!” She also mentioned that she saw our tarp south of town, too, but we told her that was expendable.

(Sadly there are no photos of me running down the road to put in at this point!)

After everyone left, we took a final count of everything and realized that we were not only missing the tarp, but one mattress pad. We decided to double back and drive slowly starting on the south side of town to where we had stopped. Nothing. Steve said that it was probably gone, but I wanted to give it one more try. Perhaps it had flown out first, and so would be wherever the tarp was, and we hadn’t found the tarp yet. So we doubled back again but went further south than the first time. AND WE FOUND IT!!! I was so excited. Another 100 ft. forward and we found the tarp too. BONUS! We were so excited…and now so very very LATE.

We skipped seeing anything at Newberry National Volcanic Monument (sometimes you just have to let things go) and made our way slowly towards Bend (constantly checking on the closed Yakama through the sunroof!). We hit construction that apparently happens after 6pm, and it was 6:30. D’oh! Those thirty extra minutes cost us another 30 waiting to pass the construction. So, after all was said and done, we made it to our yurt at 7:30. We were dirty, hungry, tired but I still felt victorious over finding that last mattress pad.

We unloaded as much of the disheveled car as we could, and decided that it was late and we just needed to eat. I had found a place online called the Bend Brewing Company in downtown Bend, and it looked like just the place for us! The downtown area of Bend is quite a happening place (reminds me of the Lincoln Park area). We passed another option called the Pine Tavern, but it looked to fancy. Remember, we were still a dirty, dusty mess from our day on the lake. A Brewing Company seemed more appropriate than the upscale a Tavern.

We had a wonderful meal, and it was served quickly, which became even more important than the food at that point. After heading back to the yurt, it was showers and bed for everyone. I must say that the Yurt is a very nice way to go when you want to camp. You still need your sleeping bags (thank goodness we still had all five!), but they supply the mattresses and the structure. It was really nice not to have to set up the tent. We had to use the campground showers and bathrooms, but they were clean and close to the yurt.

What a day! Everyone is exhausted. Tomorrow we just drive all day to Wyoming, so I think we’ll recover quickly.

Note to Doric: I wanted to do this trip in three weeks, but the kids had to be back for Marching Band. Ugh! So, yes, we’ve been on quite the whirlwind tour, but there is just so much to see! I had warned the kids this was more like a sampling of the west and not a thorough exploration at any one place. This way they’ll know what they'd like to revisit and stay for a longer period of time. Go easy on Steve when he returns. He’s going to need a vacation after he gets back. ;-)