What a trip it was! We arrived in Maryland late Saturday night. The eight hour drive from the beach was filled with excitement as we traveled along the familiar interstate, 95 North and approached the all too familiar sights of Washington, DC, Laurel, Columbia, and finally, Catonsville. Upon our arrival home we were greeted by a HUGE welcome home sign in the dinning room/living room archway and Hurley was in his travel crate below the sign. It was so cute and we were so glad to see him we forgot to take a picture of it! My parents created the sign and was really neat because they printed our a few of the pictures and put on the sign. So creative! We had the time of our lives but as Mark Vinje emailed us, "there is not place like home" and sleeping in our own bed last night was amazing!
We spent most of the day unpacking, cleaning up the camping supplies, and getting ready for school tomorrow! Yes it is right back to reality tomorrow as school starts!
As I reflect back to the trip, it is hard to choose one favorite spot or one favorite moment, but here are my top three memories:
1. The Badlands
2. Hiking in the Grand Canyon
3. Whitewater Rafting.
The places I want to return and or what I would change for the next trip:
1. The Badlands and I would want to camp and hike in that area
2. Yellowstone but stay in the western Montana area, and focus on one area of the park each day instead of driving all over the park!
3. The Grand Canyon and I want to hike down to the Phantom Ranch, stay there, and hike back up the next day. I also have a strong desire to hike Rim to Rim!
4. In and around the Grand Canyon are other National Parks we skipped over such as Arches and Bryce Canyon and I would like to take more time to head back to that area and explore!
5. Hopefully, in my lifetime I will be able to go back and see the completion of Crazy Horse.
All in all it was amazing and I cannot wait to make the trip again!
Here is Dan's reflections (yes I am forcing him to write it)
What do I have to write? A reflection? What, is this for a grad class or something? Just kidding, I would love to write a little something for all of our fans in blogtopia : )
Since our trip was so long it is hard to pin down ONE favorite location or activity. I do agree with Laura, there were several things that were amazing.
1. Hiking in the Badlands
2. Horseback Riding/White water rafting in Montana
3. Grand Canyon Hiking
4. Margaritaville
5. Wall Drug (just kidding)
On our next trip I would like to spend more time in just about ALL of our locations.
1. Badlands- It would be cool to do the 4 mile hike and camp in the badlands for a night.
2. Black Hills- We missed out on the Lantern tour of Jewel Cave. I still think it would be cool.
3. Yellowstone- Laura said it all. Next time we will be nomadic and move around the park. Yellowstone is HUGE.
4. Grand Canyon- I want to see the river. Laura and I did talk about a rim to rim hike. We could hike down from the north rim and up the south rim. We would only need someone to drop us off. Any takers? If not we could always simply hike down to the river, camp, and then hike back up. Any takers on that trip?
All in all, the trip was great. I was happy to see the Maryland welcome sign last night as we drove around Washington, DC. It was also great to see Hurley last night. I don't think he has left our side all day. I guess all three of us were happy to see each other.
I know I speak for Dan when I say I loved writing this blog and I hope you all enjoyed it. If anyone wants to take the trip out west, (I am certain that my Mom and Tyler will be making the drive next summer...Dad is going to fly out and meet them!) please chat with us. This trip was the "highlight tour" of the US and we look forward to more depth exploration of our great nation. As our National Anthem states, we live in the "Land of the free and the home of the brave" and what a great place we live!
Love to all and thanks for reading~
Laura, Dan, and Hurley :)
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
We made it to the East Coast!
Good Afternoon,
As I write this I am sitting pool side at the resort in Myrtle Beach. We have enjoyed two extremely lazy, realaxing days in South Carolina, soaking up the sun, drinking some adult beverages, watching the Olympics, and playing games! What a pleasant time it has been!
Courtney and Kris met us here on Sunday and we have enjoyed their company. Dan and I joked about being reintroduced to people again because it has been the two of us for so many days! Anywho, we hit the Broadway on the Beach scene last night and were prepared to wait the 1 and a half hour to two hours for dinner at Margaritaville. There is a bit of a story about how we got our table...just imagine Courtney and I standing in line for 35 minutes before we could even get the pager, while the boys drank beer at the bar! It was a bit of a show, I was annoyed to learn our pager was already given away! WHAT? Well that misgiven pager allowed us to skip ahead of the wait and we got a table right away! So it was all in all a lucky night!
The weather forecast for tomorrow is calling for rain so we may hit up a movie or something!
Hope all you teachers are enjoying the last few days of freedom before the dreaded Monday!
Have a great evening!
love you all
Laura, Dan, Courtney, and Kris~
Saturday, August 9, 2008
East Coast Here We Come
Not much to say about today. We drove from Memphis to Atlanta with little to report. In Atlanta, we drove past the Olympic Torch and the stadium. It was pretty cool to see!
We are excited for the last 6 hour drive into Myrtle Beach, SC where we will relax and refresh for the week before it is time to head home and end a memorable wild west adventure. But do not worry we will continue the Blog at the beach! I am sure we have lots of fun things to report about...Margaritaville should create a good anecdote or two! haha~ I am sure we will not spend as much money as we did in Orlando with Cathi and Randy McNees! haha~
Night to all
Love
Laura and Dan :)
We are excited for the last 6 hour drive into Myrtle Beach, SC where we will relax and refresh for the week before it is time to head home and end a memorable wild west adventure. But do not worry we will continue the Blog at the beach! I am sure we have lots of fun things to report about...Margaritaville should create a good anecdote or two! haha~ I am sure we will not spend as much money as we did in Orlando with Cathi and Randy McNees! haha~
Night to all
Love
Laura and Dan :)
Friday, August 8, 2008
Oklahoma City Memorial Site
Good Evening,
As I write this the USA Olympic Team just march into the Beijing Olympic Stadium. I LOVE the Olympics and I am thrilled to watch it on a money 42" HD television! Our Hyatt in hotel room in Memphis, Tenn is the nicest place we have been on this trip! It is so nice that I took a few picts for you all to enjoy as well! Check out is at 12:00 and we will be staying tomorrow until the bitter end! haha! Our days of driving back East are coming to a close and we are getting very excited to get to the beach again. Exciting news...tomorrow we will cross over back into the East Coast time zone! yeah!
Anyway, this morning was a pretty emotional beginning, as we visited the outdoor portion of the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial Site. We took a few pictures and posted them onto the web site, and you can view them by clicking the online pictures link on the right hand side. We were both moved and thought this was a wonderfully created memorial site. I was only 15 when the bombing occurred and I did not remember much about it! As I read though the history at the hotel before we left, I was moved to realize it was an American to cause this terror on our soil! It is amazing that a person's view can be so slanted and narrow minded to kill 168 people, including children, and injury many more. It is an point of view I hope to never understand! Anyway...it was a reflective sort of day!
The drive was uneventful...we finished our fourth and final book on CD. I really liked the story Dedication, but Dan thought it was too much of a chick book! We did have a nice discussion about the story over dinner though..haha.
Well I bid you all good night! The Chineese Olympic team is entering the stadium! Go Yao Ming, carrying the flag! How cute is Lin Hao, the earthquake survivor!
Love to you all.
Laura and Dan
As I write this the USA Olympic Team just march into the Beijing Olympic Stadium. I LOVE the Olympics and I am thrilled to watch it on a money 42" HD television! Our Hyatt in hotel room in Memphis, Tenn is the nicest place we have been on this trip! It is so nice that I took a few picts for you all to enjoy as well! Check out is at 12:00 and we will be staying tomorrow until the bitter end! haha! Our days of driving back East are coming to a close and we are getting very excited to get to the beach again. Exciting news...tomorrow we will cross over back into the East Coast time zone! yeah!
Anyway, this morning was a pretty emotional beginning, as we visited the outdoor portion of the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial Site. We took a few pictures and posted them onto the web site, and you can view them by clicking the online pictures link on the right hand side. We were both moved and thought this was a wonderfully created memorial site. I was only 15 when the bombing occurred and I did not remember much about it! As I read though the history at the hotel before we left, I was moved to realize it was an American to cause this terror on our soil! It is amazing that a person's view can be so slanted and narrow minded to kill 168 people, including children, and injury many more. It is an point of view I hope to never understand! Anyway...it was a reflective sort of day!
The drive was uneventful...we finished our fourth and final book on CD. I really liked the story Dedication, but Dan thought it was too much of a chick book! We did have a nice discussion about the story over dinner though..haha.
Well I bid you all good night! The Chineese Olympic team is entering the stadium! Go Yao Ming, carrying the flag! How cute is Lin Hao, the earthquake survivor!
Love to you all.
Laura and Dan
Thursday, August 7, 2008
LONG DAY!
Good Evening!
Well we are heading back towards the East Coast! HURRAY~ Today was the dreaded 12 hour day, including a loss of an hour, traveling from Mountain Time Zone to Central Time Zone. In total it was 13 hours in the car~UG! It was great, we listened to an entire book on CD and are halfway through a second one. That was pretty much the entertainment of the day. There was not much communication between us as we were too tired to talk! haha
We checked into the Best Western in Oklahoma City and are very impressed with the hotel! One of the better ones we have stayed in! So tomorrow we will have a leisure morning (hopefully I will sleep in later than 7:00 am) and head to Memphis, a short 7 hour drive! HURRAY.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures from Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde! Check tomorrow for a post about the pros and cons of Yellowstone National Park and Grand Canyon National Park. We want to write down our ideas to remember for the next trip!
Talk to you all soon~
Love to you all
Laura and Dan
Well we are heading back towards the East Coast! HURRAY~ Today was the dreaded 12 hour day, including a loss of an hour, traveling from Mountain Time Zone to Central Time Zone. In total it was 13 hours in the car~UG! It was great, we listened to an entire book on CD and are halfway through a second one. That was pretty much the entertainment of the day. There was not much communication between us as we were too tired to talk! haha
We checked into the Best Western in Oklahoma City and are very impressed with the hotel! One of the better ones we have stayed in! So tomorrow we will have a leisure morning (hopefully I will sleep in later than 7:00 am) and head to Memphis, a short 7 hour drive! HURRAY.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures from Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde! Check tomorrow for a post about the pros and cons of Yellowstone National Park and Grand Canyon National Park. We want to write down our ideas to remember for the next trip!
Talk to you all soon~
Love to you all
Laura and Dan
Grand Adventure at Grand Canyon
Greetings from Cortez Colorado!
Yet again, Laura and I have survived the wild and re-entered society (sort of). We have left the tent for the comforts of modern day living. From here on out it is nothing but the best...hotels that we can afford that is.
We spent the past couple of days camping at Grand Canyon. First of all, the campground was wonderful and the showers were excellent. Not only were the showers clean and warm, but for $2 we got 8 whole minutes of water. This was much better than Yellowstone which was $2 for only 6 minutes. Needless to say, Laura was thrilled! In the Grand Canyon we went on two different hikes. The first hike was a 3 mile round trip down the South Kaibab trail. It was a tough little hike with an excellent spot for lunch (check out the pictures). That night, after the hike, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the El Tovaur Hotel on the south rim of the Grand Canyon.
On Tuesday we went for a second hike down into the canyon. This time we took the Bright Angel Trail. This time we hiked 6 miles round trip and enjoyed eating lunch at the 3 mile rest stop on the trail. After the hike we were able to finally see a sunset at the Grand Canyon. It was the first partly clear day while we were at the Grand Canyon.
Today we headed East for the first time in 2 weeks. After a short stop at Four Corners, we were able to tour the Balcony House and Cliff Palace at Mesa Verda national park. Laura liked the dwellings and thought they were amazing. Tomorrow we start the long drive eastward.
See you all soon.
Laura and Dan
Yet again, Laura and I have survived the wild and re-entered society (sort of). We have left the tent for the comforts of modern day living. From here on out it is nothing but the best...hotels that we can afford that is.
We spent the past couple of days camping at Grand Canyon. First of all, the campground was wonderful and the showers were excellent. Not only were the showers clean and warm, but for $2 we got 8 whole minutes of water. This was much better than Yellowstone which was $2 for only 6 minutes. Needless to say, Laura was thrilled! In the Grand Canyon we went on two different hikes. The first hike was a 3 mile round trip down the South Kaibab trail. It was a tough little hike with an excellent spot for lunch (check out the pictures). That night, after the hike, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the El Tovaur Hotel on the south rim of the Grand Canyon.
On Tuesday we went for a second hike down into the canyon. This time we took the Bright Angel Trail. This time we hiked 6 miles round trip and enjoyed eating lunch at the 3 mile rest stop on the trail. After the hike we were able to finally see a sunset at the Grand Canyon. It was the first partly clear day while we were at the Grand Canyon.
Today we headed East for the first time in 2 weeks. After a short stop at Four Corners, we were able to tour the Balcony House and Cliff Palace at Mesa Verda national park. Laura liked the dwellings and thought they were amazing. Tomorrow we start the long drive eastward.
See you all soon.
Laura and Dan
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Yellowstone National Park!
We just spent an exciting three days in and around Yellowstone National Park! Definitely check out the images by linking onto the online album link on the bottom right hand side! We saw some fantastic views my favorite was the Lower Yellowstone Falls with the rainbow, many elks, buffalo, and of course Old Faithful and the geysers and hot springs around the park! I am getting ahead of myself. Let me give you a recap of the three days in the park, including the best day of the trip so far!
So after our near death experience through the mountains to get to Cody Wyoming we enjoyed the Cody Cowboy Village and got up mid-morning to head into the National Park. We really entered the park through beautiful views and "stormed" the park. The wind on Wednesday was blowing hard and evidently blew down a powerline, starting a wildfire in the park. Fortunately we were not affected by the fire, but yesterday (Friday) we saw the smoke on the horizon and took some pictures. It was pretty cool. Anyway, on Wednesday, we found our camp site, an hour and a half drive from the East Entrance. We set up camp and headed to see Old Faithful! Another half an hour later we arrived. Dan had seen the geyser erupt previously and knew what to expect, but I had never seen anything like it in my life! It was amazing and the pictures do not do it justice! After the eruption we headed down the paths to view the hot springs around Old Faithful. The hot springs are amazing, such lovely colors and a delightful scent! If you have never experienced a hot spring before, it kinda smells like rotten eggs and sulfur. It was quite the combination. As the day drew to a close we headed back to the campsite to enjoy dinner cooked over the fire, and a relaxing evening at camp. It was great to chill out.
Day two of Yellowstone actually had us leaving the park and heading north into Montana for a Paddle and Saddle excursion. We wanted to do a white water rafting trip during this adventure and found a company that did a rafting trip and a horseback riding trip. So we drove another two hours into the northern area of the park and another half hour to the Slip and Slide Ranch, the place we were told to report to for lunch and the first part of the day. When we arrived, a little girl dressed in a pink cowboy boots and hat asked us if we where here for the afternoon ride. We replied yes and she said follow me. We thought we were heading to check in at an office but instead were greeted by a women in a backyard grilling up fresh hamburgers. On the table was a full spread of home made food. We were extremely taken back by the hospitality. When lunch was over we headed back to the parking lot and meet the women's husband, Brian who get us onto the horses. Dan and I did not know what to expect on this ride, but on the two and a half hour journey we rode the horses up to the top of the mountain and back down. The views were incredible and although our butts were a little sore we had a blast! The second half of the day we joined up with a guide named Derek from the Montana Whitewater company and along with a family of six we rode through nine miles of rapids. It was one of the best things I have done in my life! The family was from Michigan and we quickly became friendly, so it was nice and we all got to change positions in the boat. The best place was in the front, hitting the rapids head on! I cant wait to check out some places in MD to raft again soon. I may have a new hobby! We do have a few pictures we bought from the place but I forgot to download. You can see it next time! As the day closed we drove another two and a half hours back to our campsite and made dinner in the darkness of the night! It was a memorable day and one of the best of the trip!
Day three in Yellowstone we decided to drive to the other areas, see some of the views, and hike a bit. Well we definitely saw the park! We drove the entire area of the park with the top down, stopping along the way when we say something interesting. Dan and I both agreed we cannot comprehend the vastness of the park and the variety of nature. We saw the geysers, waterfalls, prairie land, canyons, and wild animals! The only disappointment was the Mammoth Hot Springs were all dried up. Dan saw it when he came as a kid and thought it was amazing. We took some pictures and we imaged what it would look like! There is one great picture of me at Mammoth. Can you tell it had been a LONG day? haha
So it is Saturday..well almost Sunday, we arrived in the GORGEOUS Salt Lake City, Utah this afternoon. We really took advantage of the hotel by doing laundry, working out, and refilling our coolers with ice! We drove into Salt Lake City and saw the Morman Temple. We forgot the camera though so no pictures of it! The sunset was beautiful over the Rocky Mountains ( I think that is the mountain range) and we enjoyed a tasty dinner at Red Iguana, a mexican place.
Tomorrow we are off on a NINE hour drive to the Grand Canyon to camp for another three days. We will catch ya all up in Cortez, Colorado on Wednesday night. That will be a sad post because it marks the beginning of the trek back east :(
It was very exciting to check the blog today and see the comments from everyone! We are so happy you all are reading this and enjoying it as much as we love writing it!
Love to all,
Laura and Dan :)
So after our near death experience through the mountains to get to Cody Wyoming we enjoyed the Cody Cowboy Village and got up mid-morning to head into the National Park. We really entered the park through beautiful views and "stormed" the park. The wind on Wednesday was blowing hard and evidently blew down a powerline, starting a wildfire in the park. Fortunately we were not affected by the fire, but yesterday (Friday) we saw the smoke on the horizon and took some pictures. It was pretty cool. Anyway, on Wednesday, we found our camp site, an hour and a half drive from the East Entrance. We set up camp and headed to see Old Faithful! Another half an hour later we arrived. Dan had seen the geyser erupt previously and knew what to expect, but I had never seen anything like it in my life! It was amazing and the pictures do not do it justice! After the eruption we headed down the paths to view the hot springs around Old Faithful. The hot springs are amazing, such lovely colors and a delightful scent! If you have never experienced a hot spring before, it kinda smells like rotten eggs and sulfur. It was quite the combination. As the day drew to a close we headed back to the campsite to enjoy dinner cooked over the fire, and a relaxing evening at camp. It was great to chill out.
Day two of Yellowstone actually had us leaving the park and heading north into Montana for a Paddle and Saddle excursion. We wanted to do a white water rafting trip during this adventure and found a company that did a rafting trip and a horseback riding trip. So we drove another two hours into the northern area of the park and another half hour to the Slip and Slide Ranch, the place we were told to report to for lunch and the first part of the day. When we arrived, a little girl dressed in a pink cowboy boots and hat asked us if we where here for the afternoon ride. We replied yes and she said follow me. We thought we were heading to check in at an office but instead were greeted by a women in a backyard grilling up fresh hamburgers. On the table was a full spread of home made food. We were extremely taken back by the hospitality. When lunch was over we headed back to the parking lot and meet the women's husband, Brian who get us onto the horses. Dan and I did not know what to expect on this ride, but on the two and a half hour journey we rode the horses up to the top of the mountain and back down. The views were incredible and although our butts were a little sore we had a blast! The second half of the day we joined up with a guide named Derek from the Montana Whitewater company and along with a family of six we rode through nine miles of rapids. It was one of the best things I have done in my life! The family was from Michigan and we quickly became friendly, so it was nice and we all got to change positions in the boat. The best place was in the front, hitting the rapids head on! I cant wait to check out some places in MD to raft again soon. I may have a new hobby! We do have a few pictures we bought from the place but I forgot to download. You can see it next time! As the day closed we drove another two and a half hours back to our campsite and made dinner in the darkness of the night! It was a memorable day and one of the best of the trip!
Day three in Yellowstone we decided to drive to the other areas, see some of the views, and hike a bit. Well we definitely saw the park! We drove the entire area of the park with the top down, stopping along the way when we say something interesting. Dan and I both agreed we cannot comprehend the vastness of the park and the variety of nature. We saw the geysers, waterfalls, prairie land, canyons, and wild animals! The only disappointment was the Mammoth Hot Springs were all dried up. Dan saw it when he came as a kid and thought it was amazing. We took some pictures and we imaged what it would look like! There is one great picture of me at Mammoth. Can you tell it had been a LONG day? haha
So it is Saturday..well almost Sunday, we arrived in the GORGEOUS Salt Lake City, Utah this afternoon. We really took advantage of the hotel by doing laundry, working out, and refilling our coolers with ice! We drove into Salt Lake City and saw the Morman Temple. We forgot the camera though so no pictures of it! The sunset was beautiful over the Rocky Mountains ( I think that is the mountain range) and we enjoyed a tasty dinner at Red Iguana, a mexican place.
Tomorrow we are off on a NINE hour drive to the Grand Canyon to camp for another three days. We will catch ya all up in Cortez, Colorado on Wednesday night. That will be a sad post because it marks the beginning of the trek back east :(
It was very exciting to check the blog today and see the comments from everyone! We are so happy you all are reading this and enjoying it as much as we love writing it!
Love to all,
Laura and Dan :)
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