Family Journal
44th Anniversary Trip 2009
Mom Dad Jamie Shane Mercedes Portia
Wednesday, May 27th
Jamie – This was a great first day to
the start of the trip. No fights, great farts, and strange games of
password. It was awesome, got to see a reallllllly cool windmill farm. Granted, have seen it before, but, it only gets better every time. I am not sure if our tent was put together
right, but it was up and looked cool and funny; trying to watch everyone try to
put it up was funny lol (laughing out loud.) We truly
had a amazing camp
site. Trying to put up our tent wow…
that was crazy. Seeing
the moose, even when grandma was not so sure about taking the Laramie Road.
We saw a ton of moose
Portia- Today was really fun during
the car ride, and our campsite is absolutely gorgeous.
Mercedes- Today was a very
interesting day. I had started out the day by being 45 minutes away from
Wichita for a thespian retreat. I had come to the school and my Aunt Jamie and uncle Shane had picked me up from there and headed directly
to go get Portia from my house, then straight to my grandparents
house to leave. My mother came and we all said our goodbyes and left in the
tightly packed van. The road was VERY long. The drive had consisted of fear,
excitement, anger, and pure craziness.
Playing cards was a blast having the games being, Oh
Hell and BS. Oh Hell, getting whipped by
the first time player, Uncle Shane, was insane and fun. Playing BS, also, getting
whipped by the first time player Uncle Shane, who is now called the ultimate
card player, to me. The fear of grandpa’s and Jamie’s driving going off
the road. Jamie having her first driving experience in the van, as well as well
as mine, was very terrifying. It was
hard trying to keep the van straight and not hitting the two houses that I had
to pass, plus the hard fast wind. Finally, getting into the mountains and
finding our beautiful camp grounds and trying to figure out how to put up the
three bedroom tent with a screened room.
Wow, was that tough and rough. There was a river about 25-30 feet away
from our tent and the sound of rushing water was perfect to putting me to
sleep. The toilet facility was kind a scary.
There were no lights and the toilet had no bottom. It was weird.
For dinner, we ate yummy cereal and the rest of the subway we had gotten
at lunch time. It was absolutely scrumptious.
Shane - Left Wichita and heading
east. It was fun watching Jamie driving her 100 miles in the van. I enjoyed my
100 miles on the interstate. Learned to play Oh Hell (won by the way). We played some
interesting password rounds. The girls taught me B.S. and of course Mercedes
was the best B.S.er. The drive into the river gorge was beautiful and our
campsite was amazing. I had an adventure getting our new tent set up. Jamie
took all the blankets. Looking forward to tomorrow.
John
Once more Linda and I HAVE EMBARKED
on an anniversary adventure. This year, our 44th, we have Jamie,
Shane, Portia, and Mercedes with us. This year we are so very much aware that we
are alive. After my bypass and Linda’s
Christmas, today seems unreal. We are so thankful for each other and this
time. It was a good day and a long
drive. We let Shane win at cards and Sadie drove well!
Grandma-Wednesday – This was a really
great start to a trip. Everyone took
their turn at driving the van. Sadie sat
with white knuckles but did a good job when she had to pass a modular home or
two. I sat listening to them play cards and password. We found a pretty place to stay for the night
and we had our tent up in less than ten minutes and then got to watch Jamie,
Shane and the girls put up their new and very big tent. It was a good night for listening to the
river. The girls were a little bummed
out with the potties at the camp, but they were clean. This is a good start for a 44th
anniversary trip.
Thursday – May 28
John- We left a beautiful camp site
on the Poudre River and drove to the Tetons where we were able to get a
wonderful campsite at Jenny lake for the next 3
nights. As we drove out of the Poudre I took a detour on the Laramie river road where Shane saw his first moose and everyone saw
a ton of moose. We took a lot of pictures but I began to worry about the
condition of the van. It was all in all a very nice day and we ended the day with
a drive around Jenny Lake at sunset!
Jamie – well today was an interesting
day, between seeing 12 moose, antelopes, elk and really cool birds, some very
scary roads and very scary campsites and a really cool graveyard. We saw the grave site of a really cool Native
American women, I know her name but can’t spell it. The best part of the trip is having a long
talk with the girls about sex. The best
part of the whole night is when we laid down for bed and Sadie yells,” Portia masturbates.,” even Portia laughed. Line of the day ---dad says, “ moose, moose, moose, o wait, it’s just a cow,” and still
no ice today! Wonderful campsite at Jenny Lake, my favorite
place in the world. Scared crapless when dad fell and so thankful he was ok. The point
to this was to make sure we are always taking care of our parents and family no
matter what people say.
Shane -Got up bright and early and
took down out tents and loaded up and left. Will miss hearing
the river. Next, we went on a
short scenic drive upon John’s suggestion. Luckily someone spotted a moose. The
high point was sneaking up really close to the moose to take pictures. Then we
enjoyed a lengthy ride to the next stop. Jamie took a nap for most of the day.
Portia had some gas. We set up our tent the right way and it looks much better.
Saw some river otters and buffalo and tons of elk. Then heard an elk
bugle/squeal very late into the night, it sounded scary anyway.
Mercedes-woke up to the sound of
grandpa yelling at Portia to get up and get dressed or else he’ll come in and
tickle her in her pajamas and then Portia yelling you better not! What a
wonderful start to the new day, right? We took down the tent and it took about
10 min but we finally got it down and loaded up the car with really cold weather.
Changing in the sleeping bags was difficult and cold! The day was mostly
driving and taking pictures of moose.
Grandma was the first one to spot the animal so she was the one to win
the 5 dollars..again. I
believe it is because she sits in the front and us
girls sit in the way back. If I was
sitting in the front I would win the moolah every
day. It pisses me off!! Urgg. This is for Mercedes: Even if I were sitting in the back seat of
the van I would have spotted the animals first because I am that good. But anyway we saw 12 moose and I
got up to 10-15 feet up to one of them. We saw (it had to be) 1 million elk and
45 buffalo. They were everywhere! We saw an otter also! It was cute J. We were gonna stop it a
little camp ground but everyone decided that that place was creepy and we
didn’t want to stay there, so we went on to the Tetons and found a beautiful
camping site. We put our tent up in much less time than yesterday. We relaxed
and had a very interesting talk about sex and masturbation. We all decided that
Portia is the main masturbator so her nickname is gastebator.
Since Jamie loves chuck Norris we call her chucktibator.
I can’t remember what grandpa and Shane are but I will remember soon
enough. Jamie, again, took one of my
pillows to sleep with, so, I only had 2 to sleep with L.
But I’ll get over it and find her a different one.
Portia-I got to see a ton of moose
and it was awesome. We moved onto a
beautiful park that had tons of elk and other things. I am really looking forward to seeing a
bear. Our tent experience was really
interesting. Right when we were all just
getting quiet Mercedes said, “Portia masturbates”. I don’t know why, but there is something
wrong with my intestines because I had the worst gas of my life! So now I am known as the gasterbater! HOW HORRIBLE!!!!!!
Gma-Everyone got up in a great mood
wanting to look for animals. I asked
everyone how they slept after the long day of driving. Everyone, but Portia liked the sound of the river
rushing past at night. She thought that
it sounded like a jet plane engine all night long. John decided to take the Laramie River Road,
although I wasn’t too sure we should take because we have heard a few strange
noises coming from the front wheels. It sounds like brakes except for the
strange clunking sound when we turn the wheel or even put on brakes. We found almost 12 moose (John was right on
about the Laramie River Road,) and lots of antelope as
we drove Zachary Land. We drove out to
see the grave of Sacajawea and it is one of the more beautiful cemeteries that
I have ever seen. There is lots of color
to brighten up each site. A great piece
of history but the road isn’t marked very well.
We stopped to look at a campground called Sinks Canyon and decided not
to stay. We made it to Jenny Lake and found a good camp site. It is always beautiful at Jenny Lake; it is
not like some of the other terrain that we went through. We call that barren area Zachary land because
he thought it was one of the worst most desolate places to drive through. We found out that the camp host had to be
flown to Salt Lake City because he had a heart problem. We meet his son and his son remembered that
his father told him about a couple who had to leave their tent and air bed
because of congestive heart failure the year before. Of course, that was John. The sky was clear
and the stars were out for only a short while and it started to get chilly. Lots of clouds came in late to cover up the
sky.
May 29th-John
We got up and drove to Jackson where
I found two mechanics to look at the van. It was apparent the van was in
trouble. Both front wheels were so loose they could have come off at any time
and the brake pads were metal on metal. After an exhausting day of mostly
waiting and $450 plus dollars the van was repaired enough to drive for the rest
of the trip or so we hoped! we took the free bus and
rode to downtown and had very good hamburgers during the day. As stressful as the day was, I think we all
did what we could to make it enjoyable. That night -at the campfire- I stumbled
over a huge rock and my glasses went flying and I was dazed momentarily. the whole world acted as though I needed to be hospitalized.
I did not! Sadie and I had a nice quiet night time walk near the campsite!
Jamie – Friday May 29th Well, not so sure what to think about today.
Not a very good day but at the same time it was a good day. I am very thankful that we got the van looked
at. We all heard the noise!!!!! The lord was with us. Today we walked a lot and rode a city bus.
Now that is amazing!!!! The city bus was cool because I had not seen the town
before like this and saw a lot of things that would I would like to go back and
do. I really liked the walk to the store
while we were waiting for the van. I
thought that was a nice walk. We ended
up having no fights and having a good day.
I woke up early today, it was nice to be able to get up by myself and
just look at the mountains. What a wonderful place to pray and think and just
breathe.
Shane-Friday: Went into Jackson to
have the van looked at. Jackson is an interesting town to say the least. Definitely a tourist trap.
Luckily found a mechanic to do the work on the van for reasonable price. Had my first ride on public transportation. It was a nice
bus and it was even free. The view from the Tetons campsite is amazing.
Gma- We drove into Jackson to see if we
could find a place to put on brake pads.
Carquest gave us the name of an automotive
shop and we went to see what we could get done and how much it was going to
cost. Steve (owner of the shop) had his
young man jack the van up and the minute that the van was off the ground the
tires turned in at an angle that even I knew was not good. The tie rod ends were bad; one side worse
than the other. Steve called NAPA to get
parts which nobody in town seemed to have. He told us the parts would be there
around 1:30 so we should go explore the town.
Jackson has a free bus system so off we went. Went into some of the shops and then found a
place called Billy’s burgers to have lunch.
They were great big ˝ pound burgers with waffle fries for $6.95. This is probably one of the better buys in Jackson. We went back to Steve’s only to find the
parts were left off the truck. It took
him looks of calls and a drive over the mountain for one of his guys to get the
parts, but he did it. We were finally
free to go exploring the Tetons.
May 30th- John
We had great steaks and we had a nice
day of looking around the Tetons. We saw a beaver behind Oxbow and it showed
off for everyone. Mersades, Portia, Shane and I went
on about a 1-1 1/2 mile walk that remains one of my highlights of the trip.
Jamie -Saturday May 30 Wow, what a
nice night here at Jenny
Lake. We had great steaks
and wonderful corn. Got to see a really cool beaver today.
So love the beaver!!!! I remembered that
spot from when I was little and every time I have gone there. I could stay in
the Tetons forever. It is so magical and
special. We saw more moose, elk, sheep,
and other animals. The views are
wonderful!! It’s fun being able to see this fresh with Shane; it’s all new and
different. We had great hamburgers at
this little place in Jackson Hole, well worth it. I remember the antlers, but I
don’t remember the shopping quiet like it was. It was fun any way. The girls are a hoot. Between farting all
day, biting, anti -Sadie, and grabbing parts, Wow they are amazing. Glad for the opportunity to
see them in a different environment.
Finally, learned how to play cards. I will get the hang of it!!! One day I will
beat them all…..Mark my word on it.
Shane Saturday: After spending the
day in Jackson waiting for the van yesterday it was nice to get out and do some
sightseeing and looking for animals. The van is definitely much safer now with
the repairs and we don’t have to all hold our breath. Saw a beaver and got some good pictures. I
really like the Oxbow area.
Gma – We drove around the Tetons today
and as always it is beautiful. John,
Shane, Sadie and Portia took one of the trails and walked out to see what there
was to see. Jamie and I stayed and
looked out over the little cliff area.
We drove out to Oxbow Bend and went to the back where we just happened
upon a beaver. Everyone loved watching
that animal and took lots and lots of picture which is exactly what you should
do in the Tetons. A strange personality
started to appear – The Anti-Sadie. What
a hoot, especially when the Anti-Grandpa took out his teeth and acted like
her. Very funny!!! We had some great ribeye steaks and corn on the cob for dinner. Shane was the cook and everyone ate
everything. Great
meal.
Portia -We had a long days drive and
it was soooo boring, but it finally ended. I
saw a ton of antelope, or as Sadie and the others now call them as
cantaloupe. In a way they almost look like greyhounds with horns and a
paint job.
Mercedes- Today we drove to Yellowstone. It was about an hour
and a half to two hour drive. When we arrived at Yellowstone, we made our way
to our camp site and then we drove around. It was beautiful.
May 31-John
We got up early took pictures and
drove to Yellowstone. I made an "executive" decision to get us a
cabin at Canyon where we had stayed the previous year. The shower alone was worth
the price which all in all was a very reasonable $315 for the three
nights. Another good day! During the
drive over the mountain I discovered the left front tire had tread showing and
went to had it replaced with the spare and found out the cost was $65 to have
the spare installed - but - if we waited until the next morning it would only
be $35 so guess what -we waited!
Jamie Sunday May 31 Today mom and dad surprised us by getting a
cabin in Yellowstone. It was well worth it. There is nothing like a shower and
a bed that is not made of rocks and dirt.
They left the cutest soap in a little bear shaped that we all fought
over!! I’m older, I win. It was fun listening to the exciting sounds of
everyone including me looking at everything around us coming into Yellowstone.
Not knowing and knowing what you might face never seemed the same every time we
drove by something. I kept saying very
cool or Oh look Sadie, look Shane, look Portia.
It was like it was my first time going. Loved going to the valleys, it’s
surprising how cold and yet muggy it was. Weather was strange. I know I did not like the roads up there, but
dad did wonderful especially in the van. It was an experience no one will ever
forget.
Shane Sunday- Well,
got up this morning and took down our tents at the Tetons. There was some fog
down by the mountains and really looked cool. We made the drive to Yellowstone.
It was a bit of a long drive. Zack-land
was definitely worth taking a nap through. Sadie got her wish and we made it to
Yellowstone. It was interesting seeing where the fire had gone through. I had
no idea that Yellowstone was as big as it was. Tried to find a campsite but it
was closed so we got to stay in a Primitive Cabin. It had a shower and a real
bed. Believe me after 4 days a shower felt great.
Gma -Today is Sunday and we are off to
Yellowstone. The weather started out a
little foggy but it seemed to clear up pretty well. Sadie has been asking when we were going to
get to Yellowstone since we started, so, today was the day. We drove in and everyone seemed to be
impressed with what they were seeing. We
headed up to Canyonlands camp grounds only to find that they did not open until
June 5th. This was a surprise
and somewhat of a disappointment but John and I talked it over and decided to
check and see if one of the primitive cabins might be available. It was, so we took it for 3 nights. Off we went to see Yellowstone while the room
was being cleaned. We made the figure 8
around Yellowstone so people could see just how big it was. We saw lots of buffalo, geysers and great
scenery as we drove around the mountains.
We went out to the Lamar Valley over the Tower road. This is always a scary road because of the
drop offs but well worth the ride. We have been learning to play a card game
called “Swap” and it is a hoot to play.
Watching and listening to the banter that goes on is so funny. Everyone got a chance to take a shower,
except for Portia. The water seemed to
go cold when it was her turn so she gets to be the first in the morning. While
John and I showered I hit the water knob and turned the cold on to us. Boy, was
that chilling. We showered while Sadie
drove everyone to the Lodges gift stores and deli to look around. We went looking for animals after we had rested
for a short time. It was a nice day.
May 31
Today we drove to a city which I don’t remember the name of
and had some burgers that were huge and very costly. We saw a big horned sheep,
and many buffalo. The whole day was mostly driving.
June 1-John
We drove around Yellowstone and just
toured. we stopped at Old Faithful but none of the
group was impressed. Linda and I walked the half mile loop. I was impressed she
could do it! We saw a wonderful Bighorn Ram and he was in the prime of his life
and beautiful.
Jamie – Monday June 1 Wow! All I can say is bears, sheep (not a
dog) eagle, wolves, coyotes, elk, moose and baby moose. That was part one of the day, part two of the
day was seeing the geysers and hot springs. Wow! How pretty. Saw Old Faithfull today. It was ok, not like I remember, but it was
cool when it started to blow straight toward us with its smell and mist. The
look on the kids and Shane’s face was priceless. The waterfalls were pretty neat, too. To
think something can be so pure and forceful makes you want to be like a
waterfall! Think about it, you go where
you want, when you want how you want and with all the force you want; the
waterfall must have been a women. J Watching Shane go everywhere with
the kids was cool. They were fearless and that in its self was exciting to
watch Shane. I had more fun watching him and the kids sometime then I did the
environment.
Shane Monday- Yellowstone definitely
has a variety of wildlife, and scenery. Got to see Old Faithful, it was not as
grand as I thought it would be, but it was still cool to see. We saw other
geysers and hot springs, but to Sadie’s disappointment none of them spewed
lava. Taught John and Linda to play swap
and they seem to like it.
Gma – We woke up ready to go to see Old
Faithful and some of the other sites in the Park. We had to give Portia time to take a shower
because the water was cold last night and all she got to do was wash he feet
off to help make her feel clean enough to go to sleep. We have been having muffins for
breakfast. They are big, tasty and they
stay fresh for several days which helps when you are
out camping. We, also, have sandwich
makings for lunch, etc. John and I went
for about a ˝ mile walk around Old Faithful while the rest of the group went
through the gift shops. Sadie bought a
necklace and earrings which are pretty.
We found everybody after the geyser went up and headed inside to the ice
cream parlor, where everyone got either a cone or a cup with some kind of
sprinkles. It sure hit the spot. Shane and the girls went looking at a lot of
the geysers and it was nice to see them having so much fun. I felt bad for Sadie because she thought that
the steam for the geysers was made by magma and not water. They all like certain geyser and we will
probably return to visit them again. We
went into Gardener which is the original entrance to Yellowstone. This town is geared to tourists. They make their money in a 4 month span and
they make no bones about it. We went to
the Lamar Valley which is one of my favorite places to see bear, wolf, bison,
elk and many other different kinds of birds. We, also, met another kind of
animal, Ranger Shawn. Very nice to look
at, at least Sadie thought so. Portia
though the other Ranger, Ranger Dodd, was pretty neat looking. His incisors’ looked like they had been
sharpened, kind of like a vampire. Also, very cute. We
looked through their spotting scope at a black bear.
June 1, 2009
Portia -We got to the new camp site that is really pretty. I can't wait
to see some different animals like something other than the average rabbit in
my backyard. Man the bathrooms are sooo smelly
and disgusting. I mean they could at least have flush toilets or some
type of plumbing system. There was an elk on the side of the rode and we
almost hit it while going back to the campsite. When we were pulling in
we hit a big boulder and then when I went to the bathroom Grand pa fell and hit his nose.
June 1-Mercedes
Today we went sight seeing. It was
very cool. We went to all the geysers and through the main road seeing
everything. Later on in the night, we went to the Hayden valley and saw a unforgettable scene. We were looking at a bear on one side
of the road and we went to the other side and saw 2 coyotes and 2 wolves
chasing after each other. It was remarkable.
June 2-Mercedes-Today we went back to all the geysers that we
wanted to see and Old Faithful. I was really disappointed in Old Faithful. I thought
the jewel geyser was better. But I did think something very stupid, everyone
keeps telling me. I thought that the geysers shot out lava instead of water.
June 2- John-The highlight of this
day for me was seeing Jamie enjoy the "painted bison" in West
Yellowstone. It is seldom you get to be pleasantly surprised by your children
or anyone for that matter and hearing her spontaneous laughter was a special
highlight for me! I love Yellowstone and it was wonderful just to be back
there!
Portia -Yellowstone is fabulous!
There is soooooo much wildlife. Grandpa is
going crazy over a big horned sheep and all I can think of it is that it is
pretty, but extremely boring. There is a ton of elk here. Our cabin
is really cool especially since Grandma found elk tracks in the back side of
it.
Jamie Tuesday June 2 Well, what to say about today. Today was the
best day because we went and did things we wanted to redo and re-see. I decided
to walk more of the paths just so I would not miss anything. So loved the Sapphire
Springs. I could have stayed
there all day long just standing in the hot miss and looking deep into the
water. It was so blue and pure it made you think; how did God come up with
something that beautiful. He must have
been an artist in his spare time.
Seeing the geyser right next to it and sharing that with mom and dad was
cool, it rose high and you could see the other geysers go off, so you knew when
this one went off. The sound of the
bubbling and the hissing you just knew it was powerful. It was kind of a stress reliever. Wish I could blow my heat and water like
that. Everyone including dad drank his
real water today and so I was very happy for that.
Shane Tuesday-Got to go back through
the park after seeing the whole thing. I
could never have imagined that Yellowstone was so immense. I always thought it
was a fraction of the size it really is.
I got to see some wolves and coyotes. The wolf even crossed the road and
ran right down the middle of the road. Got to see a big horn sheep up close. What an encounter of a
life time. I felt truly blessed to have seen that.
Gma - We went looking at the places that everyone wanted to
revisit. Everyone seemed to like the
geysers, more than Old Faithful which they chose not to go back and see. The weather was a little rainy but that did
not stop people from enjoying everything.
For lunch we went to West Yellowstone for some McDonalds. Wow was that expensive, but everyone agreed
that a McDonald’s never tasted so good.
We parked so Jamie could get out and see the life size painted buffalos.
It was so nice to see the beautiful smile on her face as they look at each of
the paintings. We saw the eagle’s nest
and got to watch the eagles for awhile. We are having a good time finding and looking
for animals. The Hayden Valley seems to
have good sightings on bears (1/2 mile away, of course) but we did see a couple
of coyotes. Some people thought they
were wolves but they weren’t. The wolves
were on the other side of the road getting ready to cross just as we were
driving down the road. Great sighting to
see a wolf that close up, normally you only see them long distance. The grizzly bear and the brown bear could only
be seen well through a spotting scope.
Jamie Wednesday June 3 Ha-ha!! Today we left Yellowstone and this
was kind of sad, but kind of exciting, too. We knew it meant it was time to go
home. Not really looking forward to
that, such a peaceful place here. We
convinced mom and dad to stay at the other campsite (Gros
Vent). Can’t spell it,
not even going to try. We pull in
and see three moose right there in our site. WOWOWOWOWOOW
that has to be the coolest thing.
We could not get the fire going today and ended up running into town and
got Billy Bob’s hamburgers again. Yummm. We found a great deal at one of the only shops: 5 t-shirts
and a hat. I know dad wanted to get me
something more, but I liked my hat and that was my goal to get a hat on this
trip and it was pink…. I picked it out with dad. J
Had a really good day today and had fun playing cards again. It’s fun to watch dad play swap. Lol he’s so funny …
mom plays dirty. Lol,
but that’s the fun part about it.
Shane Wednesday- Had to pack up to
leave Yellowstone. The cabin was such a relief. Went back through and saw some
of the geysers and hot springs, saw the Dragon’s
Mouth, Sapphire Pool and the Jewel geyser again. Found out that the big horn sheep had a
family not too far from where he was. I have to say Yellowstone was a once in a
lifetime opportunity. I got to see 8 bear, grizzly and black, tons of elk and
buffalo, bighorn sheep, wolves, and eagles. Drove back towards the Tetons, but
didn’t stay at the same place, stayed at Gros Vonte? Campsite this time, and wouldn’t you know, there
were three moose in our campsite. Tried to start a fire for the steaks but the
wood we got from the camp office just downright sucked, it wouldn’t burn for
anything.
Portia- I took the trash from the
car to the dumpsters and I found a few groundhogs with a ton of holes, and they
are soooo cute. We went site seeing and we saw
a lot of geysers and hot springs that were really cool. I saw a few hot
springs though, that smelled like the inside of a hardboiled egg that went bad
and it looked like it too. GROSE!
June 3-Mercedes - Today was our last day in Yellowstone and
we went to everyplace we wanted to go see for the last time. We went to the
Dragon’s Mouth geyser and the Jewel geyser and a very scary road.
June 3-John - We
drove out of Yellowstone and got a campsite at Gross Ventre
and as we set up the tent we watched 3 moose almost in our very campsite - it
was really neat. We went into Jackson and got Billy Bob's hamburgers again and
Jamie and I went shopping and I bought tee shirts and a hat for all of us- on
sale 75% off the regular price. It was really fun! Another nice day of touring. We visited and walked at a couple
of gysers and Haydon Valley and played cards.
June 4-Mercedes- We woke up early and drove back to the Tetons.
Boring drive, but fun. My gparents
went back to Jackson while my sister, aunt, uncle, and I set up camp. We made
camp in this really cool place where we saw 3 moose crossing through the entire
camp when we pulled in. That night I was very disappointed. Me
and Uncle Shane tried to start a fire and it would not work. So we all jumped
in the van and headed to Jackson to eat a burger from Billy Bobs. They were yummy.
Jamie Thursday June 4
We got up and drove to the puder ?? river again. This is such a pretty place. We saw cows,
horses, three moose and two in the laramare road ??? I know this is something that we will definitely do
again. We had great steaks today!!!! Yummy corn. Dad got me Dr.Pepper
so that made it all better. Thankfully
everyone drank their water today!!! It was a long drive to our campsite but
playing cards and watching dad try to play swap is kind of funny. I only lost 3
fingers in the deal. The anti-Sadie and biting and pinching my boobs just made
our relationship even more special.
Shane Thursday-
Drove back across Zack-land to the Poudre River Gorge area.
It was a long drive, but well worth it to camp along the river
again. Got to see
quite a few kayakers. Those are some brave people going down those
rapids in the cold water. Linda picked up some Pepsi and lighter fluid. Finally some Pepsi! Set up camp at a campsite next to the one
from the first night, a fitting end to a wonderful trip. It started to rain a little bit but we got
the fired going and that dang rotten wood finally burned with the help of half
of the bottle of charcoal fluid. Ate steaks and corn and it was great. We were
pretty sure there was a UFO on the other side of the mountain behind us.
Gma – We left the Tetons today. We went past Oxbow one more time; it is my favorite place to see the beauty of
the mountains and lets me marvel at the wonders that God has created and has
given us to enjoy. The bend of the Oxbow
is where I would like to always be. The
drive across the barren terrain was broken up when we saw a couple groups of
wild horses. There are only a few wild
horse herds left and we got to see one.
This is not a sight you get to see very often. Lots of fun in the van as
we drove. We got to the Poudre
River Campsite in enough time to get a fire started. We grilled the last of our great steaks, corn
on the cob and for desert, marshmallows.
There isn’t anything better to set on fire than a marshmallow. It gets crisp and gooey and makes a mess,
but, oh, the taste. John and I laid in the tent listening to them as they settled down to
try and sleep. This has been one of the
funniest things and also one of the great joys of this trip. John and I wished each other Happy Anniversary
at midnight and drifted off to sleep.
Portia -I finally saw my moose with
antlers! They may have been only 4-5 inches long, but they were still
there none the less. I didn't get my bear encounter, but I had an awesome
wolf and coyote encounter
so that now it doesn't matter.
June 4
We drove back into Colorado and made camp in the same place
we had on the first night. It was the same except that we were one spot closer
to the bathrooms. We had an amazing dinner that night. We ate steaks, corn on
the cob, and roasted marshmallows. Yum! Grandma cooked them over the fire and
then everyone cooked their own marshmallows.
June 4- John-We drove
back home through the Poudre River valley and saw more moose, had great steaks,
and another wonderful campsite. We saw two herds of wild horses on the way. A very nice day so close to the end of the trip.
Jamie Friday June 5 Today we are driving home. I am ready for a
shower and my bed. Lol, but today may have been a
long day but wow no real fights and everyone helped to get things done this
morning. We even ended getting up early to make sure we got our tents down and
packed so we could help mom and dad out. Today is mom and dad’s anniversary and
we are all thankful we are able to share this with them. What a year, we are
very thankful that there was a 44 and I know the 45th will be even more
special. Lots of elk,
deer cows and horses. The wild horses were cool. Driving the van today was still scary. What a way to end the trip…. Ice cream… I
know where I get my love of ice cream now. J This was a wonderful adventure. I am
so thankful I got to share this with mom, dad, the girls and Shane. We saw things, said things and learned things
about everyone. I know Shane and I are closer because of it. I know Sadie and I
are closer and I know I learned a lot about Portia as well. I would not have changed a thing about this
trip because it will make for great memories of our family. I loved spending time with my parents,
realized that I won’t ever stop worrying about them and that’s what makes us us.
Shane Friday- all of us in our tent
got up bright and early today and started packing and taking down our tent so
John and Linda could sleep in on their 44th anniversary. It was
amazing, no one bickered or fought and we all worked together. I will really
miss the Poudre River Gorge and that camp area and the Laramie River road. I really hope to go back there sometime soon,
if at all possible, and take my brothers with me so they can experience it. We went to Ft. Collins and got breakfast from
McDonalds, their food has never tasted so good. We started the journey past
Denver and into Kansas. Me and Jamie switched off
driving first, and then it started getting hot as we got into Kansas. I got the
chance to drive again from Hays to Salina and it was so hot in that front seat,
but it was well worth it to have that experience with the family. Looking back, I wasn’t sure what to expect on
this trip, but thank god, everything worked out, we were all safe, except for
when Linda pushed John over that rock, just kidding, thank god John was
alright. I hope to have the chance to go
on a family vacation again in the future.
June 5 -Mercedes- Well we woke up early today and started on
our long 14 hour ride home. Today, we saw 2 packs of wild horses which were
really cool! We had McDonalds to eat which was refreshing after a week of
camping but not as good as last night’s dinner.L
Portia -We started heading
home today, well the really bad part of heading home any way. It took soooo long but I was just glad I didn't have a license so I
could relax the whole time and catch up on my sleep.
June 5-John
Our 44th anniversary
Well after the
Christmas of Linda and my 5 bypasses and major heart attack, I thought this
year might not come. I am very worried about making to 2010 as I have been
haunted by a dream I had when I was very young. I mostly wanted Jamie, Shane,
Mercedes and Portia to have a memory of their Gma and
Gpa
loving them and each other and I am thankful for the trip.
When we got back, Tim, no real surprise here, said the mechanics had overstated
how bad the van was. The implication was I had paniced
and did not need to lose the day and the money in car repairs. Of course this
was not true and I did a very immature thing and let him set me off. then he says. 'I
know what you need to hear me say,"- all he had to do was simply say thankyou. He wasn't there and did not experience the terror
I felt knowing the trip could end in a major injury filled disaster. too bad - all in all
it was a very nice trip.
Gma – This is our 44th Anniversary. It has been a hard year, but both of us are here to enjoy what God has given us, each other. The trip home is long but with everyone taking their turn to drive it makes it better. It was really hot in the van, especially for the driver. The air vents did not exactly work the way they were supposed to; the driver got lots of hot, hot air on their legs and other parts. There were a few jokes about fried balls from what I remember. There was lots of laughter on this trip, only a few moments of stress between people, and problems that were able to be solved. John’s fall could have been really bad but a skinned nose and some soreness was better than it could have been. This was a trip of a life time. Jamie and Shane will hopefully get to do things like this in the future for themselves; the girls will be growing up and moving on with their lives and family trips don’t get to happen very often as people grow up and create their one lives. I am very thankful that I had this time with John (my life’s love,) Jamie and Shane (daughter and son in law) Mercedes and Portia (granddaughters.)
