Days #34-38: Friends & Family at Coeur d'Alene Lake in Idaho

On Day #34 we headed north ... even entering Washington for a brief couple of hours before returning to Idaho.  We hooted and hollered when we saw the "Entering Washington" sign.  After 5 weeks away, it felt good to be back in our home state.  While we LOVE traveling ... and we LOVE exploring other states ... we do truly LOVE Washington State.  It's a GREAT place to live.

But ... before actually going home ... we were BLESSED to be able to spend a few days with friends and family at a little cabin on the lake.  Yippee!!!

The reason for going to WA for a bit, before heading out to the lake, was to drop off our trailer at our friends' house (because there is no room for it at the cabin).  And, in order to have enough room in the driveway at the lake, we left a car or two in town, as well.  Lindsey drove the 385 miles across the state, on Monday morning, in order to meet up with us at Josh' house.  Then, we left Josh' car in town, and Lindsey, Josh, and Ben took Lindsey's car out to the lake.

On Tuesday morning, Papa and Hannah got up at 5:00 am to drive the 425 miles over to the lake.  Josh was so cute, as he was anxiously awaiting Hannah's arrival (and sending them so many text messages that they stopped responding).  I had to remind him that it had only been a week since he had seen Hannah, while it had been 3 weeks since I had seen Papa.  In relating the story to Papa later, Josh said, "Mom had more self-control than I did."  Young love.  So cute!

On Wednesday morning, Josh had to return to The City to go to work ... so he drove Hannah's car.  Then, Wednesday afternoon, Lindsey went into The City to attend a 3 day conference.  So, we had Big Kids coming and going all week ... but it was WONDERFUL to be with some of my Big Kids, and to be with our SWEET friends, George & Shirley, who are in their 80's.

It was a GREAT way to finish off our Road Trip ... a time to REST and RELAX, before coming home to the daily stresses of life.

Big Families Are Easy?

I read a great little article today on ...

Why Big Families Might Be Easier

You might want to give it a read ...

It should put a smile on your face,

(whether you have a larger family, or not).

Day #33: Driving Through the Salt Flats of Utah

While there are major interstates that connect Salt Lake City, UT to Boise, ID, Mama and the kids have long ago given up taking the "easy way".  Oh no!  We had to add 100 miles to our trip today.  We just HAD to.  Why?  Because the Big D. Family had never traveled to Nevada before.  How could we possibly miss the opportunity to visit our 41st state?

Yes ... we have now visited 41 of the great states that make up this most wonderful county of ours.



In 2004 ... we spent 3 weeks, with 9 of our children,
                  visiting 22 states, covering 8,000 miles.


In 2006 ... we spent 5 weeks, with 8 of our children,
                  visiting 27 states, covering 8,500 miles.


In 2009 ... Mama and the 6 youngest children spent 4 weeks
                 visiting 12 states, covering 7,333 miles.


In 2010 ... Mama and the 6 youngest spent 5 1/2 weeks
                 (with Papa joining us for the first 2 weeks)
                 visiting 17 states, covering 9,005 miles.


We have now visited every state except:  Hawaii (not accessible by Road Trip), Alaska, Wisconsin, and the 6 New England States.  Wow!


Anyway ... we were so glad that we didn't just take the interstate freeway north to Idaho.  No.  We were glad to have been able to see the Salt Flats of Northwestern Utah.  I'd never really even heard of them before, except on a movie that we watched years ago (that the kids had to remind me of).

Did you know that the Morton Salt in your kitchen cupboards,

may have come from the Great Salt Lake?

Here is the 

Morton Salt Processing Plant.

Yes ...

snowplows in the salt ...

reminded us of the snowplows at 

White Sands Nat'l Monument.

We used to think that snowplows were just made for snow.

Looks like snow, to me.

What do you think?

Miles and miles of Salt Flats,

as we drove towards Nevada.

At we were cruising down the highway, Elijah asked,

"Mama, can you pull over so that I can touch it?"

Mama pulled over.

We were so glad that we took the "detour" to Nevada,

so that we didn't miss out on this most interesting part of Utah.

How Much Did It Cost?

I'd love to hear your thoughts ...

How much do you think it cost for us to take 

a 5 1/2 week, 9,000 mile, Road Trip with 7 people?

How much did we spend on gas?

How much did we spend on food?

(Remember, Papa was with us for 2 weeks,

  and Kati was with us for 3 weeks.)

How much did we spend on lodging?

(Most K.O.A. campgrounds charge per person.)

Most people envision such a Road Trip costing a LOT,

but I want to encourage families that it can be done

in less costly ways.

I keep VERY detailed records of EVERY penny spent.

So, I am very curious what YOU think.

How much did we budget?

How much did we spend?

Days #31-32: Salt Lake City and the Water Park

 

  

Day #30: The Wild Animals of Needles Highway, Custer State Park, and Wind Caves National Park

Before getting to the pics of the MANY Wild Animals that we saw on Day #30, I need to tell you a bit about the AMAZING Needles Highway.  Wow!  

I decided that it must be named "Needles", because it is so tricky to "thread" a large vehicle through the "eye of the needle".  

Yes ... we were warned.  

Yes ... I was a bit nervous to pull my trailer 

through this 8'4" tunnel through the hill.  

No ... we did not see ANY other trailers 

nor large motor homes on this highway.  

Don't tell me that "they were the smart ones".  

No ... I did not know the measurements of the trailer.  

This is how I made my calculations ... Papa is 6'2 ... Papa sleeps side-to-side (of the trailer) on the king size bed ... the bed is a few inches wider than Papa's height ... the trailer is a few inches wider than the bed ... add a few inches plus a few inches on either side of the trailer, and it should still be narrower than 8'4".  Pretty detailed calculations, huh?

This sign also tells a bit about the highway.

There were quite a few of these signs ...

like ... 

one. curve. after. another.

Now for the Wild Animals ...

Mountain Goats

Pronghorn 

Buffalo

No, we did not approach the buffalo.

We stayed in the safety of our van ...

most of the time.

Coyote

Prairie Dogs

No, these aren't wild animals.

They are really cute boys,

who went on search of 

"The Perfect Picture"

of the buffalo herd on the hill.

Yes, we saw all of those different animals

in just a few short hours.

It was another AMAZING opportunity

to see some of God's Creation.

Home At Last

After 38 days on the road ...

adding 9,005 miles to the odometer ...

adding 5 new states that we hadn't visited before ...

we arrived home last night.

It's good to be home.

It was good to sleep in my own bed last night.

However, I am NOT complaining about our tent trailer, as 

we have an amazingly comfortable king size bed in the trailer.

It was good to sleep in this morning,

and not worry about how many 

miles we needed to drive.

It was good to get back to my 20" iMac,

and to check all of my emails, and to be 

able to actually comment on friend's blogs

(which was difficult with slow internet connections).

However, I am NOT complaining about my little 

black & purple MacBook.  It's amazing to be able to 

check emails from the comfort of my tent trailer.

Oh how I wish that I could say, 

"It was good to get home to my sweet husband."

However, he is out on the island,

while the kids and I are at home on the mainland.

It's been a full year now, since we thought we 

would all be moving to the island.  Oh how we are 

praying for the Lord's wisdom and guidance, after 

living apart from Papa for much of the past 5 months.

I will definitely miss many things from being ...

On The Road.

I will miss the Daily Adventure,

and need to find ways to add adventure

to our daily lives at home.

I will miss the sense of living a Carefree & Flexible Life.

It is not easy to come home to the stress of 

not living full-time with my sweet husband, as he 

pastors on an island that we cannot afford to live on.

I will miss all of the Hands-On Educational Opportunities,

as we crack open the math books,

and pull out the "curriculum" for the year.

I will miss the hours upon hours of Chatting with My Children,

and need to make sure that that continues 

to be a priority now that we're home.

I will continue to post pics and stories from the Daily Journal 

of our 2010 Road Trip, so that you can all see where 

we have been the past couple of weeks.

I hope you have all enjoyed following along on 

The Big D. Family's Road Trippin' Journey of 2010.

Stay Tuned ...

Nope ... 


I haven't forgotten ... 


I still need to tell you about ...

The Roller Coaster Detour

in Missouri

Stranded ... at the Top of a Mountain

in Hot Springs, Arkansas

And ...

Here are a few more stories 

that are coming your way ...

Needles Highway

as ... 

in ...

can you thread your big van, 

pulling a trailer,

through the eye of this "needle"?

(this tunnel was 8'4" wide)

The Awe-Inspiring Wild Buffalo

(in Custer State Park, South Dakota)

Slip Slidin' FUN!!!

Oh Yes!  

We certainly enjoyed the amenities of the

Mt. Rushmore K.O.A. Campground!

The slide was FUN ...

but the unheated "pool" 

at the bottom was COLD.

At night, the temperature in these South Dakota 

mountains  was down in the low 40's.

Our trailer does not have heat, after last year's

tire explosion that ripped apart the underside 

of the trailer.  So, we were COLD at night, 

but things warmed up in the morning.

Day #30: The Mount Rushmore K.O.A. Campground

We've stayed at a LOT of KOA Campgrounds,

and the Mt. Rushmore Campground was a

WOW!!!

We would LOVE to come back here

and spend a whole week camping,

and exploring the area around here.

We spent 2 nights here so that we could have a 

PLAY DAY

in the middle of some long drive days.

Day #29: Mount Rushmore in Pics

Words Cannot Describe ...

This ranger took a very long time with the children,

making sure that they understood the significance of

this most awe-inspiring National Memorial?

Do you know the difference between a

National Monument and a National Memorial?