Days 9 & 10. We decided to combine these two days since they can pretty much be described as driving, driving and more driving. Yesterday we spent about 13 hours en route - covered the rest of Montana and pretty much all of North Dakota. What can I say about Eastern Montana and all of North Dakota? Well, without insulting anyone too much, I'd say booooring. Although North Dakota did occassionally surprise us with a Badlands-like landscape. We would be driving through rolling hills and then all of a sudden a massive canyon of multi-colored sandstone formations would pop out of nowhere, and then disappear almost as quickly.
Kids have still been awesome in the car. We are happy to have excellent child and dog car riders. We did have to bring a "just-in-case" vomit bucket into the car yesterday when one child (to remain anonymous) and Thorkey had a bit of tummy trouble. We made it through safely.
The remainder of Montana yielded two additional blog-worthy names: Woopup, MT and an exit for Bad Route Road. Makes you wonder what's down there - a horror movie just waiting to happen. North Dakota definitely rivals Montana for the funky names. We passed through: Beach, Home on the Range, Camel Hump Lake, South Heart, Kathryn and my favorite, Gackle, ND. We did find an interesting Ranch (see photos or Facebook) that made us pull over and stop for a picture...
We got to our hotel in ND pretty early and gave the kids a chance to swim. On the road today we've gone through all of Minnesota and half of Wisconsin - only about 45 minutes from dropping the kids off for their second week of vacation. Thorkey is a never-ending source of amusement for us as her throne (aka pile of pillows on top of the cooler, backpacks, etc.) keeps falling over and she is slowing sinking into Sydney's lap and wedging herself against the hatchback.
And finally, for those of you who are curious about the name of today's blog... in an effort to entertain ourselves, we play word games and make up stories. Today, the word of the day that can crack everyone up is Wenis - which happens to be the rough patch of skin on your elbow. I know, I looked it up.
Until the next Monkeyhouse journey, we thank you for following our blog this past week - we hope you were entertained!
Signing out,
Monkeyhouse
Damon, Donna, Sydney, Tyler, Lauren & Thorkey
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
On the Road Again
Day 8. What a sad day today – our last day officially on vacation :( I did most of the driving so I had a lot of time to ponder today’s blog post. Starting with the basics – Damon and I woke up bright and early to try to get in one final hike before heading back to the flatlands. That gave the kids a chance to sleep in again. We headed to a place called Jewel Basin somewhere around Bigfork. The days are getting nicer and nicer, so we started out with a balmy upper 60’s, lower 70’s which quickly gave way to 80’s and a clear sky.
The hike up (and I do mean up) was beautiful. Montana has a type of flower called Beargrass (see photos) that is a white cone-shaped flower that blooms everywhere on the mountain side – it was spectacular – people up there said they had never seen so much in any given year. In addition to the Beargrass, there were wildflowers all over the place – bright reds, purples and yellows. We got to the first peak and were rewarded with a mama and baby mountain goat – I got a few pictures before they took off up to the highest peak – we chased them about halfway up and then decided to head back so we had time to pack. All in all, about a 4.5 miler and about 1,300 foot elevation gain. My calves and quads had enough for one day!
Got back to the house and spent the rest of the afternoon packing and cleaning. I hung out in the kitchen trying to clean up the gargantuan pans of Ghiradelli triple chocolate fudge brownies. And when I say “clean”, I think we all can guess where those brownies ended up. Finally said our goodbyes and got out around 4:30 –on our way to pick up Thorkey.
Thorkey was thrilled to see us – although it sounded like she had a pretty awesome time at the dog place – she only got out on one hike, but the dog people said she was awesome and ran off leash through the woods all day – she had a particular affinity for mud puddles (no surprise to us) and they said she loved lying in the mud, eating the mud and rolling in it. I believe it was a good choice on our part to spring for a bath pre-pickup! She was asleep on her car throne, face on a pillow within minutes of getting into the car – I think she had a great time but really wanted to be with the pack again.
We continued on to our overnight spot in Bozeman and since I was driving and not sleeping, I had a lot of time to think about our trip. So here are some thoughts about Montana… everyone should come here at least once – the scenery is awesome and it is a whole different way of life out here – it is very much “old west” and there is room to breathe – space everywhere (don’t worry, I’m never leaving Chicago, but this is a great place to visit). I’m not sure why this next fact sticks with me – maybe because it is so obvious everywhere… in Montana, when someone dies presumably in a car accident, there are small white crosses on the side of the road. Damon and I lost count as to how many of these crosses we passed – they are everywhere. Makes you realize how fragile life is. The scenery is fantastic wherever you look – mountains, rolling hills, winding rivers all over the place, and sunsets that rival those you would see on a tropical island. There are animals everywhere here – you can’t go 2 miles without seeing something. Our wildlife tally in just a few days includes cows, horses, pigs, goats, llamas, buffalo, mountain goats, big horn sheep, prairie dogs, ground squirrels, marmots and too many more to list. There is something about seeing animals roaming in their natural habitat that is really nice. The town names here are… interesting. Some that I noticed yesterday include “Phosphate, Anaconda, Opportunity and Trident”. Of course my all time favorite has to be Butte (I like big Buttes and I cannot lie…”). So, as the mountains slowly turn into rolling hills that will slowly turn into the flat fields of the Midwest, I’m coming to terms with the fact that our awesome cross-country road trip is quickly coming to an end :(
Until tomorrow…
p.s. We finally figured out how to let you comment on the blog without having to log on - so for those of you who have been following - please let us know who you are - we're dying to know how has been reading this!
Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/donnaweinberg/AdventuresOfMonkeyHouse?authkey=Gv1sRgCNjf7I3an8-DNg
The hike up (and I do mean up) was beautiful. Montana has a type of flower called Beargrass (see photos) that is a white cone-shaped flower that blooms everywhere on the mountain side – it was spectacular – people up there said they had never seen so much in any given year. In addition to the Beargrass, there were wildflowers all over the place – bright reds, purples and yellows. We got to the first peak and were rewarded with a mama and baby mountain goat – I got a few pictures before they took off up to the highest peak – we chased them about halfway up and then decided to head back so we had time to pack. All in all, about a 4.5 miler and about 1,300 foot elevation gain. My calves and quads had enough for one day!
Got back to the house and spent the rest of the afternoon packing and cleaning. I hung out in the kitchen trying to clean up the gargantuan pans of Ghiradelli triple chocolate fudge brownies. And when I say “clean”, I think we all can guess where those brownies ended up. Finally said our goodbyes and got out around 4:30 –on our way to pick up Thorkey.
Thorkey was thrilled to see us – although it sounded like she had a pretty awesome time at the dog place – she only got out on one hike, but the dog people said she was awesome and ran off leash through the woods all day – she had a particular affinity for mud puddles (no surprise to us) and they said she loved lying in the mud, eating the mud and rolling in it. I believe it was a good choice on our part to spring for a bath pre-pickup! She was asleep on her car throne, face on a pillow within minutes of getting into the car – I think she had a great time but really wanted to be with the pack again.
We continued on to our overnight spot in Bozeman and since I was driving and not sleeping, I had a lot of time to think about our trip. So here are some thoughts about Montana… everyone should come here at least once – the scenery is awesome and it is a whole different way of life out here – it is very much “old west” and there is room to breathe – space everywhere (don’t worry, I’m never leaving Chicago, but this is a great place to visit). I’m not sure why this next fact sticks with me – maybe because it is so obvious everywhere… in Montana, when someone dies presumably in a car accident, there are small white crosses on the side of the road. Damon and I lost count as to how many of these crosses we passed – they are everywhere. Makes you realize how fragile life is. The scenery is fantastic wherever you look – mountains, rolling hills, winding rivers all over the place, and sunsets that rival those you would see on a tropical island. There are animals everywhere here – you can’t go 2 miles without seeing something. Our wildlife tally in just a few days includes cows, horses, pigs, goats, llamas, buffalo, mountain goats, big horn sheep, prairie dogs, ground squirrels, marmots and too many more to list. There is something about seeing animals roaming in their natural habitat that is really nice. The town names here are… interesting. Some that I noticed yesterday include “Phosphate, Anaconda, Opportunity and Trident”. Of course my all time favorite has to be Butte (I like big Buttes and I cannot lie…”). So, as the mountains slowly turn into rolling hills that will slowly turn into the flat fields of the Midwest, I’m coming to terms with the fact that our awesome cross-country road trip is quickly coming to an end :(
Until tomorrow…
p.s. We finally figured out how to let you comment on the blog without having to log on - so for those of you who have been following - please let us know who you are - we're dying to know how has been reading this!
Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/donnaweinberg/AdventuresOfMonkeyHouse?authkey=Gv1sRgCNjf7I3an8-DNg
Friday, July 17, 2009
In search of pretty rocks
Day 7. We are one group of weary travelers. Decided against going to Glacier again today – the drive out to the hike we wanted to do was 3 ½ hours each way and we just didn’t have it in us to get in that car again before our drive home tomorrow L
We all slept in late and decided to go geocaching in the morning, meet up with the rest of the group at an old saloon for lunch, and then go geocaching again in the afternoon. Damon spent the morning searching for caches nearby and found a bunch. The five of us set out and found the first and second ones pretty quickly. For the third cache, we only knew that we were looking for something under a rock. We searched high and low in the area, climbing on a little hill and into a bunch of trees when Damon shouted that he had found the cache. We all ran to him and Damon told me to dig under the rock to get the cache. Don’t worry, this long story has a point! I pulled out an old mayonnaise jar with a bunch of paper in it. I unscrewed the top of the jar and pulled out a fabric bag. Inside the fabric bag was a little box. I was looking at the box about to open it when I noticed Damon on one knee… Let’s just say that right about that time, I found my pretty rock! Damon and his brother had concocted a fake geocache for a surprise engagement! The kids knew the whole time and those little buggers didn’t say a word!
As for the rest of the day… we visited an agate shop in Kalispell and bought a bunch of souvenirs and then had lunch at an old saloon. After lunch, we came back to the house and played dominos for awhile while the kids played in the lake. Some of the cousins threatened to “welcome me into the family” with a fully clothed toss in the lake, so Damon and I took the proverbial plunge on our terms and we ran and jumped in the lake ourselves. Our last night here went fast and we are getting ready to pack up for the big drive home tomorrow.
Oh, and Lauren got to ride on the back of a Harley!
Quote of the Day (Damon): Donna Lee Weinberg, will you marry me? (BTW, I said yes)
We all slept in late and decided to go geocaching in the morning, meet up with the rest of the group at an old saloon for lunch, and then go geocaching again in the afternoon. Damon spent the morning searching for caches nearby and found a bunch. The five of us set out and found the first and second ones pretty quickly. For the third cache, we only knew that we were looking for something under a rock. We searched high and low in the area, climbing on a little hill and into a bunch of trees when Damon shouted that he had found the cache. We all ran to him and Damon told me to dig under the rock to get the cache. Don’t worry, this long story has a point! I pulled out an old mayonnaise jar with a bunch of paper in it. I unscrewed the top of the jar and pulled out a fabric bag. Inside the fabric bag was a little box. I was looking at the box about to open it when I noticed Damon on one knee… Let’s just say that right about that time, I found my pretty rock! Damon and his brother had concocted a fake geocache for a surprise engagement! The kids knew the whole time and those little buggers didn’t say a word!
As for the rest of the day… we visited an agate shop in Kalispell and bought a bunch of souvenirs and then had lunch at an old saloon. After lunch, we came back to the house and played dominos for awhile while the kids played in the lake. Some of the cousins threatened to “welcome me into the family” with a fully clothed toss in the lake, so Damon and I took the proverbial plunge on our terms and we ran and jumped in the lake ourselves. Our last night here went fast and we are getting ready to pack up for the big drive home tomorrow.
Oh, and Lauren got to ride on the back of a Harley!
Quote of the Day (Damon): Donna Lee Weinberg, will you marry me? (BTW, I said yes)
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Horny, Hoary and Goats
Day 6. Dragged the kids out of bed at 7:00am for our trek to Glacier National Park. We had an extra person with us (Alisha) - Damon's cousin once removed (we think) - just trying to spread the fun around! It took us an hour to get to the infamous "Going to the Sun Road", which cuts across the park. The weather was in the mid 50's and the sun went away, so we decided to drive across the park and see some sights from the car. The clouds were so low that we drove through them, rolled down the window and tried to touch them - didn't work - just felt like air. Who knew.
We got about 2/3 of the way through the park and stopped at a place called Logan Pass where we picked up a trailhead and headed out for a 5.5 mile hike. The park is gorgeous - mountains surround everything and there are waterfalls from melting snow everywhere you look. The valleys are lush and green and somwhere at the bottom of the valley there is a river that cuts through the whole park. Of course, our luck continued and the skies cleared and the temperature got into the upper 70's. The trail we hiked was called the Highline Trail and it followed the Going to the Sun Road, only higher up. The path was about 3' wide the entire way and for some of it, the park service strung a giant garden hose (with a thick wire underneath) for people to hang onto if they got nervous.
After about 2 miles, we started hearing people talk about spotting big horn sheep on the trail about a mile away - we picked up the pace until we could see them in the distance. Unfortunately, the flock of sheep were walking on the trail away from us. We practically ran the last half mile and finally caught up to the last few stragglers and got some awesome pictures of them. They say if the wildlife notices your presence, you are too close. Oops. I think we were too close (see pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/donnaweinberg/AdventuresOfMonkeyHouse?authkey=Gv1sRgCNjf7I3an8-DNg#)
We turned around to head back after the sheep adventure and saw something sitting on a rock that looked like a beaver without a tail - turns out it was a hoary marmot (I don't think they like to be called that, but whatever). Took a few pictures of one that approached us on the trail - of course we were too close again. We were about 5 minutes from the end of the trail when Sydney (who was leading the pack) had a mini freak (see quote of the day). We happened upon a giant mountain goat just hanging out on the trail. So far we haven't seen any bears. Given how close these animals get to us, I'm thinking that is a good thing.
After the hike, we drove to a Glacier look out - looked like a giant patch of snow to me - but the sign said it was a Glacier, so I guess it was a glacier. We really wanted to hike out to a Glacier, but the kids are standing firm - no more hiking! We'll see about that.
Took us a few hours to get home again, we met up with the rest of the family, had another awesome dinner, another awesome sunset over the lake, a little more swimming and kayaking and canoeing for the kids, and now it is off to bed. Still not sure what tomorrow holds for us - I know that we are all tired!
Quote of the Day (Sydney) "DOOOOONNNNNNNAAAAAA - THERE IS SOMETHING UP HERE - IT IS ONE OF THOSE BIG MOLTING THINGS"
We got about 2/3 of the way through the park and stopped at a place called Logan Pass where we picked up a trailhead and headed out for a 5.5 mile hike. The park is gorgeous - mountains surround everything and there are waterfalls from melting snow everywhere you look. The valleys are lush and green and somwhere at the bottom of the valley there is a river that cuts through the whole park. Of course, our luck continued and the skies cleared and the temperature got into the upper 70's. The trail we hiked was called the Highline Trail and it followed the Going to the Sun Road, only higher up. The path was about 3' wide the entire way and for some of it, the park service strung a giant garden hose (with a thick wire underneath) for people to hang onto if they got nervous.
After about 2 miles, we started hearing people talk about spotting big horn sheep on the trail about a mile away - we picked up the pace until we could see them in the distance. Unfortunately, the flock of sheep were walking on the trail away from us. We practically ran the last half mile and finally caught up to the last few stragglers and got some awesome pictures of them. They say if the wildlife notices your presence, you are too close. Oops. I think we were too close (see pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/donnaweinberg/AdventuresOfMonkeyHouse?authkey=Gv1sRgCNjf7I3an8-DNg#)
We turned around to head back after the sheep adventure and saw something sitting on a rock that looked like a beaver without a tail - turns out it was a hoary marmot (I don't think they like to be called that, but whatever). Took a few pictures of one that approached us on the trail - of course we were too close again. We were about 5 minutes from the end of the trail when Sydney (who was leading the pack) had a mini freak (see quote of the day). We happened upon a giant mountain goat just hanging out on the trail. So far we haven't seen any bears. Given how close these animals get to us, I'm thinking that is a good thing.
After the hike, we drove to a Glacier look out - looked like a giant patch of snow to me - but the sign said it was a Glacier, so I guess it was a glacier. We really wanted to hike out to a Glacier, but the kids are standing firm - no more hiking! We'll see about that.
Took us a few hours to get home again, we met up with the rest of the family, had another awesome dinner, another awesome sunset over the lake, a little more swimming and kayaking and canoeing for the kids, and now it is off to bed. Still not sure what tomorrow holds for us - I know that we are all tired!
Quote of the Day (Sydney) "DOOOOONNNNNNNAAAAAA - THERE IS SOMETHING UP HERE - IT IS ONE OF THOSE BIG MOLTING THINGS"
River Running
Day 5. Slept in LATE today - what a well needed rest. Lounged around all morning hoping and praying that the cold and rainy whether would go away since we had our big rafting adventure planned! 17 of us left for West Glacier to raft the middle fork of the Flathead River - class 2-4 rapids. Kid stuff - but we had a bunch of beginners :)
Got to rafting place and it was still FREEZING and raining outside. Not good. Luckily the rafting place gave everyone wet suits (very sexy), booties, fleece and jackets (yes we have pictures of that, but since they are all on the old fashioned water-proof 35mm, we have to wait to get them developed). Given our amazing luck this trip, I was positive it would be sunny by the time we got on the rafts. As we entered the river, the clouds parted, and we had yet another terrific day! In between rapids, the raft guides let us jump in the water - since I bailed on last night's polar adventure, I felt obligated to redeem myself and jumped into the 53-degree water. My heart literally stopped and I couldn't breathe it was so cold. I think I shoved Lauren out of the way trying to get back in the boat! She's young. She'll bounce back. Everyone had an awesome time and the kids, who started out very nervous about the ride, were truly upset when we had to get out.
Got back to the house around 7:00pm and the weather just kept getting better - clear sky and warm weather - broke out the scupper for the kids to paddle around the dock before eating delicious BBQ and watching an unbelievable sunset over Flathead Lake (see pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/donnaweinberg/AdventuresOfMonkeyHouse?authkey=Gv1sRgCNjf7I3an8-DNg#).
Thought the night was winding down, but I was wrong. Guys built a fire by the water and we roasted marshmallows and had s'mores. Some of us may have had s'more than others. Ha ha ha. Finally winding down at 11:45 and getting ready for our first trek into Glacier National Park tomorrow for some hiking.
Quote of the day (Damon's cousin Doug): How do we get these things off? Do you have an a$$-horn(referring to how he was going to get his wetsuit off).
Got to rafting place and it was still FREEZING and raining outside. Not good. Luckily the rafting place gave everyone wet suits (very sexy), booties, fleece and jackets (yes we have pictures of that, but since they are all on the old fashioned water-proof 35mm, we have to wait to get them developed). Given our amazing luck this trip, I was positive it would be sunny by the time we got on the rafts. As we entered the river, the clouds parted, and we had yet another terrific day! In between rapids, the raft guides let us jump in the water - since I bailed on last night's polar adventure, I felt obligated to redeem myself and jumped into the 53-degree water. My heart literally stopped and I couldn't breathe it was so cold. I think I shoved Lauren out of the way trying to get back in the boat! She's young. She'll bounce back. Everyone had an awesome time and the kids, who started out very nervous about the ride, were truly upset when we had to get out.
Got back to the house around 7:00pm and the weather just kept getting better - clear sky and warm weather - broke out the scupper for the kids to paddle around the dock before eating delicious BBQ and watching an unbelievable sunset over Flathead Lake (see pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/donnaweinberg/AdventuresOfMonkeyHouse?authkey=Gv1sRgCNjf7I3an8-DNg#).
Thought the night was winding down, but I was wrong. Guys built a fire by the water and we roasted marshmallows and had s'mores. Some of us may have had s'more than others. Ha ha ha. Finally winding down at 11:45 and getting ready for our first trek into Glacier National Park tomorrow for some hiking.
Quote of the day (Damon's cousin Doug): How do we get these things off? Do you have an a$$-horn(referring to how he was going to get his wetsuit off).
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Cold and wet
Day 4. Started out with our usual 8:00am wake-up, had the famous Belgian waffles again and then headed out - shaved 8 minutes off our best record for getting on the road. It was a sad morning as we had to drop off our beloved Thorkey. Her vacation spot looked pretty nice and we're certain she will have a blast - we paid extra for peanut butter filled kongs nightly and up to two hikes in the woods (guilty parents). I'm not sure she will want to come home with us!
We drove to our "cabin" on Flathead Lake in Bigfork, MT. I use the term "cabin" loosely since when we got here, we were surprised with an unbelievable new house right on the lake. There are 18-20 people here (Damon's extended family) - I haven't been able to count b/c the house is big and people are always moving. We had a fantastic dinner and chilled out most of the day. Lauren and I made a quadruple batch of our famous white chocolate, oatmeal, craisin cookies which people devoured before we could even get them on the cooling rack. Sleeping arrangements here are interesting - lots of beds and bedrooms, but I think Lauren & Tyler's room takes the cake. They have a bunk bed in a bathroom closet. Seriously. It is a nice, dark little cave.
The weather was pretty gross all day - cold and non-stop drizzle. One might think that would put a damper on things, but the people here are either oblivious to the cold, or had imbibed enough so it did not make a difference. The polar bear club made its first appearance around 8pm when everyone (except me) put on suits and jumped in the FREEZING lake - keep in mind the outside temp couldn't have been more than the 50's. And they kept jumping in. Those pictures will be posted soon. Luckily, the house has a hot tub and everyone brought their body temperature back up to normal pretty quickly.
The last few days had taken a tired toll on everyone, so we all turned in at a reasonable time and caught up on sleep. We are very excited for our white water rafting trip on Day 5. More to come.
Quote of the day (Damon): My god, that's a lot of wood.
We drove to our "cabin" on Flathead Lake in Bigfork, MT. I use the term "cabin" loosely since when we got here, we were surprised with an unbelievable new house right on the lake. There are 18-20 people here (Damon's extended family) - I haven't been able to count b/c the house is big and people are always moving. We had a fantastic dinner and chilled out most of the day. Lauren and I made a quadruple batch of our famous white chocolate, oatmeal, craisin cookies which people devoured before we could even get them on the cooling rack. Sleeping arrangements here are interesting - lots of beds and bedrooms, but I think Lauren & Tyler's room takes the cake. They have a bunk bed in a bathroom closet. Seriously. It is a nice, dark little cave.
The weather was pretty gross all day - cold and non-stop drizzle. One might think that would put a damper on things, but the people here are either oblivious to the cold, or had imbibed enough so it did not make a difference. The polar bear club made its first appearance around 8pm when everyone (except me) put on suits and jumped in the FREEZING lake - keep in mind the outside temp couldn't have been more than the 50's. And they kept jumping in. Those pictures will be posted soon. Luckily, the house has a hot tub and everyone brought their body temperature back up to normal pretty quickly.
The last few days had taken a tired toll on everyone, so we all turned in at a reasonable time and caught up on sleep. We are very excited for our white water rafting trip on Day 5. More to come.
Quote of the day (Damon): My god, that's a lot of wood.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Steaming Gurgling Stuff
Day 3. 8:34 pm. In the car driving from dinner at The Country Kitchen in Belgrade, MT on our way to Missoula. We’re actually going to make it to our hotel BEFORE midnight tonight, which excites us to no end! Another spectacularly awesome day.
The entire day today was devoted to a power exploration of Yellowstone National Park. We started with a very difficult 8:00am group wake up following our 2am bedtime last night, but the kids were rewarded with La Quinta’s “world famous make-your-own malted Belgian waffles”. Damon and I have become vacation slave drivers much to the chagrin of the kids, but at the end of the (very long day) it is always worth it. We were showered, packed and ready to go by 9:38 (a new record).
Our single goal at Yellowstone was to make it to Old Faithful and see whatever else we could on the way. We stopped at other geysers, hot springs, craters, cauldrons, mud pots, kettles, etc.– basically a bunch of hot, steaming bubbling gunk in all different shapes, sizes and colors (see all vacation pictures on Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/donnaweinberg/AdventuresOfMonkeyHouse?authkey=Gv1sRgCNjf7I3an8-DNg# ) . Given our time constraints, we worried about all of the construction delays within the park, and missing Old Faithful and having to wait 90 minutes for the “show”. Luck was on our side and we breezed through all construction hold-ups and only had to wait 30 minutes for the geyser.
On Old Faithful – I question a society where literally thousands of people line up on bleachers surrounding a huge mound of steaming dirt and wait for hours for water to shoot out of it. And let us not forget how far people come to see it! By this afternoon’s count, we have found license plates from 43 states and most of the Canadian Provinces! Don’t get me wrong – it was really cool and we were 6 (Thorkey was with us) of those thousands.
We also saw a bunch of wildlife – a few elk, another buffalo (yawn) and the typical deer and prairie dogs.
Driving out of the park on our way to Belgrade, we took an incredibly scenic driving following a river. It started pouring rain, but with the bad came the good – we were rewarded with the most unbelievable rainbow(s) I have ever seen! We started with a single full rainbow, which then doubled – so two rainbows on top of each other. Then a few minutes later, a third one appeared – three full rainbows one on top of the other – you don’t see that every day! We spent 7 hours digging at the end of the rainbow looking for a pot of gold, but alas were unable to find it. Kidding. As I write this, Sydney pointed out another partial double-rainbow out our window!
Thorkey has been a rock-star traveler. The kids have forsaken their space, their laps and their pillows all for the comfort of the dog. She rides like a princess either on someone’s lap or atop her throne of pillows in the back seat gazing out of the back windows. The trip would not be the same without her! We will miss her so much when we have to leave her in Missoula for the week L
Quote of the day (Sydney) - “Ewww, Lauren, where did you pull that out of”
Lauren would also like the world to know that she is very excited to have just gotten her first bloody nose in the car.
The entire day today was devoted to a power exploration of Yellowstone National Park. We started with a very difficult 8:00am group wake up following our 2am bedtime last night, but the kids were rewarded with La Quinta’s “world famous make-your-own malted Belgian waffles”. Damon and I have become vacation slave drivers much to the chagrin of the kids, but at the end of the (very long day) it is always worth it. We were showered, packed and ready to go by 9:38 (a new record).
Our single goal at Yellowstone was to make it to Old Faithful and see whatever else we could on the way. We stopped at other geysers, hot springs, craters, cauldrons, mud pots, kettles, etc.– basically a bunch of hot, steaming bubbling gunk in all different shapes, sizes and colors (see all vacation pictures on Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/donnaweinberg/AdventuresOfMonkeyHouse?authkey=Gv1sRgCNjf7I3an8-DNg# ) . Given our time constraints, we worried about all of the construction delays within the park, and missing Old Faithful and having to wait 90 minutes for the “show”. Luck was on our side and we breezed through all construction hold-ups and only had to wait 30 minutes for the geyser.
On Old Faithful – I question a society where literally thousands of people line up on bleachers surrounding a huge mound of steaming dirt and wait for hours for water to shoot out of it. And let us not forget how far people come to see it! By this afternoon’s count, we have found license plates from 43 states and most of the Canadian Provinces! Don’t get me wrong – it was really cool and we were 6 (Thorkey was with us) of those thousands.
We also saw a bunch of wildlife – a few elk, another buffalo (yawn) and the typical deer and prairie dogs.
Driving out of the park on our way to Belgrade, we took an incredibly scenic driving following a river. It started pouring rain, but with the bad came the good – we were rewarded with the most unbelievable rainbow(s) I have ever seen! We started with a single full rainbow, which then doubled – so two rainbows on top of each other. Then a few minutes later, a third one appeared – three full rainbows one on top of the other – you don’t see that every day! We spent 7 hours digging at the end of the rainbow looking for a pot of gold, but alas were unable to find it. Kidding. As I write this, Sydney pointed out another partial double-rainbow out our window!
Thorkey has been a rock-star traveler. The kids have forsaken their space, their laps and their pillows all for the comfort of the dog. She rides like a princess either on someone’s lap or atop her throne of pillows in the back seat gazing out of the back windows. The trip would not be the same without her! We will miss her so much when we have to leave her in Missoula for the week L
Quote of the day (Sydney) - “Ewww, Lauren, where did you pull that out of”
Lauren would also like the world to know that she is very excited to have just gotten her first bloody nose in the car.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Tatonka Road Trip
11:36pm MT on Day 2. Still in the car driving to our hotel – trying to stay away for the next 2-3 hours until we get there. So, how did we get to this point…
Woke up at 7am MT – ate breakfast, got the car packed, dropped of the dog at doggie day care and headed South for our first look at Mount Rushmore. We were a little worried because the cloud and fog cover was like pea soup, but as we got closer, the clouds literally parted and we had spectacular views of the Monument. By the time we got back to the parking lot, the fog was so thick, you could see it drifting in front of your face.
Another hour in the car got us to Wind Cave National Park where we (unfortunately) missed all of the cave tours and decided to go out buffalo hunting instead. The ranger told us that buffalo had been spotted a few miles away earlier in the day, so off we went – everyone’s eyes on the rolling hills in search of Tatonka. A few miles into the journey, Lauren & Sydney let out simultaneous shrieks that they had seen a buffalo butt. Or head. They weren’t sure. We rounded a corner and sure enough, I ginormous big daddy buffalo was sauntering by the side of the road. Like idiots, we pulled over, and I swear this thing was about 5 feet from the car (my window of course). We got amazing pictures in between freaking out about getting the car rammed by a buffalo. They are huge! We continued on the road and spotted another lone male and took a few more pictures, quite content with our buffalo spotting adventure. Just for giggles, we continued on the road and we were rewarded with a herd of HUNDREDS of buffalo – males, females, big small, babies, you name it. We took pictures and video and were truly amazed by them (check website for pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/donnaweinberg/AdventuresOfMonkeyHouse?authkey=Gv1sRgCNjf7I3an8-DNg#).
Finally pulled ourselves away from the buffalo and headed to our caving adventure at the Jewel Cave National Park. We went on a guided tour of the second largest cave in the world – we were about 379 feet below ground – it was pretty cool. I officially know the difference between a stalagtite and a stalagmite and we saw all sorts of crystal and rock formations. Very exciting. Kids seemed to love the cave and the “cool” 49 degrees for the whole tour.
We raced back to Rapid City to pick up Thorkey with about 9 minutes to spare, got back in the car for our six hour drive to Billings. It was such a gorgeous day that we decided to take a little detour and visit Devil’s Tower. Our 30 minute detour turned into about 2 hours as we hiked around the base of the Tower and watched climbers scale the sides – again, very cool. The scenery on the back roads around Devil’s Tower is amazing – rolling hills and red rock formations everywhere. Love those back country roads!
Finally started the journey again just in time to stop for dinner at about 9:30pm and we are now back in the car trying to stay awake. So, pardon the late posting, but there is NO cell reception in most of South Dakota and Wyoming.
Post-script – we pulled into our hotel at 1:30am – I was seeing double by then. But after a short but good night of sleep and the famous La Quinta malted Belgian waffles – we are all ready to roll again!
Notable quotes:
I don’t think we have any – people are still recovering from 18 hours on the road.
Woke up at 7am MT – ate breakfast, got the car packed, dropped of the dog at doggie day care and headed South for our first look at Mount Rushmore. We were a little worried because the cloud and fog cover was like pea soup, but as we got closer, the clouds literally parted and we had spectacular views of the Monument. By the time we got back to the parking lot, the fog was so thick, you could see it drifting in front of your face.
Another hour in the car got us to Wind Cave National Park where we (unfortunately) missed all of the cave tours and decided to go out buffalo hunting instead. The ranger told us that buffalo had been spotted a few miles away earlier in the day, so off we went – everyone’s eyes on the rolling hills in search of Tatonka. A few miles into the journey, Lauren & Sydney let out simultaneous shrieks that they had seen a buffalo butt. Or head. They weren’t sure. We rounded a corner and sure enough, I ginormous big daddy buffalo was sauntering by the side of the road. Like idiots, we pulled over, and I swear this thing was about 5 feet from the car (my window of course). We got amazing pictures in between freaking out about getting the car rammed by a buffalo. They are huge! We continued on the road and spotted another lone male and took a few more pictures, quite content with our buffalo spotting adventure. Just for giggles, we continued on the road and we were rewarded with a herd of HUNDREDS of buffalo – males, females, big small, babies, you name it. We took pictures and video and were truly amazed by them (check website for pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/donnaweinberg/AdventuresOfMonkeyHouse?authkey=Gv1sRgCNjf7I3an8-DNg#).
Finally pulled ourselves away from the buffalo and headed to our caving adventure at the Jewel Cave National Park. We went on a guided tour of the second largest cave in the world – we were about 379 feet below ground – it was pretty cool. I officially know the difference between a stalagtite and a stalagmite and we saw all sorts of crystal and rock formations. Very exciting. Kids seemed to love the cave and the “cool” 49 degrees for the whole tour.
We raced back to Rapid City to pick up Thorkey with about 9 minutes to spare, got back in the car for our six hour drive to Billings. It was such a gorgeous day that we decided to take a little detour and visit Devil’s Tower. Our 30 minute detour turned into about 2 hours as we hiked around the base of the Tower and watched climbers scale the sides – again, very cool. The scenery on the back roads around Devil’s Tower is amazing – rolling hills and red rock formations everywhere. Love those back country roads!
Finally started the journey again just in time to stop for dinner at about 9:30pm and we are now back in the car trying to stay awake. So, pardon the late posting, but there is NO cell reception in most of South Dakota and Wyoming.
Post-script – we pulled into our hotel at 1:30am – I was seeing double by then. But after a short but good night of sleep and the famous La Quinta malted Belgian waffles – we are all ready to roll again!
Notable quotes:
I don’t think we have any – people are still recovering from 18 hours on the road.
Friday, July 10, 2009
The Adventure Begins
9:42 pm and we’re about an hour from our first night’s resting place. Yee ha!
The day started with a 6:00am wake-up call (we let the kids sleep until 6:30). Out the door by 7:30. Big shout out to Adam and Melissa for putting us all up and loving Thorkey despite her morning face licks! Sleepy cranky crowd until we hit our first major stop in Mitchell, SD – The Corn Palace.
For those of you who have never been to the Corn Palace – you are truly missing out. It is a building decorated with corn parts. I think we spent more time trying to get back on I-90 than we did in Mitchell. But we have pictures and that is all that matters.
We mis-timed lunch on the way out of Mitchell (or maybe it was our desire to put some distance between us and the Palace) and had a wonderful sandwich making assembly line in the car – yum! Kids got through two movies, a lot of music and a lot of napping. Thorkey (queen of the car) spent time moving from lap to lap until Sydney built her a throne out of pillows that she truly enjoyed.
The day started with a 6:00am wake-up call (we let the kids sleep until 6:30). Out the door by 7:30. Big shout out to Adam and Melissa for putting us all up and loving Thorkey despite her morning face licks! Sleepy cranky crowd until we hit our first major stop in Mitchell, SD – The Corn Palace.
For those of you who have never been to the Corn Palace – you are truly missing out. It is a building decorated with corn parts. I think we spent more time trying to get back on I-90 than we did in Mitchell. But we have pictures and that is all that matters.
We mis-timed lunch on the way out of Mitchell (or maybe it was our desire to put some distance between us and the Palace) and had a wonderful sandwich making assembly line in the car – yum! Kids got through two movies, a lot of music and a lot of napping. Thorkey (queen of the car) spent time moving from lap to lap until Sydney built her a throne out of pillows that she truly enjoyed.
Next major stop was the Badlands. Before entering the park, we pulled over to some Prairie Dog wonderland – I know that they are essentially rats, but when they are called “dogs” and you can feed them peanuts from your hand, well, they’re kind of cute.
As for the Badlands, in one word, awesome! We drove the 40 mile loop, got out at most of the scenic overlooks and let the kids climb everywhere allowable – definite energy release. Poor Thorkey was confined to the car, but just seemed happy spending the day with her pack. The Badlands loop ends in another “famous” South Dakota town – the town of Wall, population 818 – where we had dinner and visited the Wall Drug Store. What is the Wall Drug Store? Well, based on the 957 billboards we passed and the 30 minutes we spent inside, there is free ice water, $.05 coffee, and about every other thing you can imagine that might show up in a tourist attraction drug store.
Kids are doing fantastic and entertaining themselves well. Damon made me listen to some boring dude read The Time Machine for far too long, but I’m trying to be the good navigator and keep quiet! As I look up from typing, all I see is a horizon filled with unbelievable pink and orange skies. Just a minute, I’m going to take a picture. Breathtaking!
Less than an hour to Rapid City. 676 Miles under our belt. Looking forward to an awesome day of caving and carved rock faces tomorrow.
Day 1 photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/donnaweinberg/AdventuresOfMonkeyHouse?authkey=Gv1sRgCNjf7I3an8-DNg#
And a few notable quotes:
Lauren: Where are the buffalo?
Lauren: This place is FOC (full of crud) – referring to the Wall Drug Store.
Sydney: I didn’t get to feed a prairie dog because t hey wouldn’t come to me L
Sydney: Donna, I do NOT want to be in any pictures (only lasted for the early part of the morning).
Tyler: Cookies? (Don’t ask)
Tyler: Is that a fossil? I found a fossil. No, really, it is a fossil.
Damon: Day 1, no rattlesnakes. 7 days to go.
Donna: Stop hitting each other. Stop flicking each other. Anything that starts with “can I have” the answer is “NO”
And a few notable quotes:
Lauren: Where are the buffalo?
Lauren: This place is FOC (full of crud) – referring to the Wall Drug Store.
Sydney: I didn’t get to feed a prairie dog because t hey wouldn’t come to me L
Sydney: Donna, I do NOT want to be in any pictures (only lasted for the early part of the morning).
Tyler: Cookies? (Don’t ask)
Tyler: Is that a fossil? I found a fossil. No, really, it is a fossil.
Damon: Day 1, no rattlesnakes. 7 days to go.
Donna: Stop hitting each other. Stop flicking each other. Anything that starts with “can I have” the answer is “NO”
Monday, July 6, 2009
MonkeyHouse goes West
T minus 4 days and counting until the Card-Weinberg crew aka "The Griswald's" heads West to Glacier National Park. 2 adults, 3 kids, 1 dog and 5,000 miles (or should I say 3 laptops, 1 PSP, 3 iPods, 3 phones, 1 blackberry, 1 DVD player, 30+ illegally burnt DVDs and only one power outlet). Should be nothing but fun!
Please check back daily to see how our adventure unfolds.
Please check back daily to see how our adventure unfolds.
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