We're Home!

Just wanted you to know that we are all home safely. Please tune in again for follow up, but know that the camper is in it's footprint in our driveway, and all four of us are looking forward to crawling into our own home beds tonight. Thanks to God. More later, Love, Mynn for all

Fish Tales

On The Way Home

We are enroute to home, due in Wednesday. We've had some little adventures along the route, including more fishing. Photos about that event will follow tonight, but suffice to say that Spencer caught a REALLY BIG catfish (27 inches), and Philip caught an even BIGGER and UGLIER one, but it bit through the line and got away with a huge hook in it's lip. Spencer's catch was just too beastly-looking to eat, so he heaved the bugger back into Lake Duffilfield. This lake is full of other fish like bass, but the boys didn't catch any big enough to eat. Great fun was had, however!

Tonight's photos will also include a few from frying up the mess of walleye and perch we caught back in MN! Now that was delicious and delectable, melt-in-your-mouth eating! Today, we are back into Eastern Standard Time (Daylight version)! Haven't been keeping time with most of you for quite a while.

Will fill in more tonight; goodbye for now.

Spirit Lake Campground to Cass Lake, Minnesota

Well, our stay at the Spirit Lake Campground (and casino) was enjoyable - we slept well that night. We got up leisurely next morning, and got on the road sometime around 10:00. That day was pretty cool, because on our way past Grand Forks Air Force Base, we observed a Predator UAV drone landing on an airstrip to our left. It was a very cool sight; unfortunately, however, we did NOT get any pictures of the drone. That night, and for several more, we camped at Stony Point Resort and RV Park, at Cass Lake, Minnesota. We pulled in around 2:00, and managed to set up quickly enough that we were able to take advantage of a delicious offer - buy one ice cream cone and get one free (only from 2 pm to 4 pm). Obviously, since we were camping there, we slept late that night.

The next day, we slept in, and hung around most of the day. Philip and I went swimming, played pool, and rented a paddleboat ($2 for a half-hour - amazing), while Dad relaxed and Mom did laundry. Mom also went with us to reserve a guided fishing trip for the next day, from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm. Around 4:00, Philip and I washed the camper, and managed to get off a whole lot of bugs. After that, we ate supper, watched a movie, and went to sleep - Mom, Philip, and I had a long day ahead of us.

Early in the morning, say, six-o'clock, we got up to get ready for our fishing trip. We gathered our gear, headed over to the dock, and awaited the arrival of our guide, Steve. Steve arrived shortly, pulling up to the dock on his skiff. Of course, he brought up whether or not we had fishing licenses. Mom was startled as she realized that she had not purchased a fishing license for Minnesota before the fishing trip. Therefore, she ran back to get the truck, and drove away to a nearby gas station. By the time we all actually left, it was about 7:30. For the next five and a half hours, we sat out on Cass Lake, catching fish as if we were simply picking up sticks from the ground. By the end of our trip, we had caught a total of about 18 perch and walleye, including the biggest perch I've ever seen (Mom caught this one - 13 inches). Over the whole trip, we had a whole bunch of fun, and were extremely satisfied with the fruits of our efforts, considering the fact that before this occasion, we had caught no fish whatsoever. After pulling back up the canal, we all hoofed it over to the fish cleaning house, where Steve sliced off enough fillets to feed an army for two months. Before we ate them, however, Philip and I had to continue our job from the day before by washing the truck and shining its wheels. After that, we breaded and floured the fish, and had a delicious fish fry. We must have fried about 12 full fillets, but we ate every last bite, incredibly. We slept well that night, dog tired, and with full stomachs.

Next morning, we got up around 9:00, and Philip and I waxed the truck from top to bottom. Our job complete, we had each earned 40 dollars from cleaning the whole setup. Anyway, we followed that up with a pontoon boat rental from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm. After getting a crash course on driving the boat from the guy at the dock, Mom carefully maneuvered the boat through the canal, and out onto the water. For the next five hours, our whole family (minus Scout, unfortunately) lounged about on the big pontoon boat, catching a fish or two, or swimming in the cold lakewater. Our only regret was that Scout wasn't with us. Maybe next time... After our jaunt on the water, we headed back in, and ate a simple supper. After watching a movie, we went to sleep, and awaited morning, when we would break camp and head away from a very fun stay at a great campground.

Mom will continue blogging next, so this is Spencer, signing off. Stay tuned for just a little longer!

Route 2 Across MT, ND and MN

Jasper and Whistlers Mtn - Part 2

From Our Departure of Jasper to Devil's Lake, North Dakota

Hey guys! It's Spencer, blogging from Devil's Lake, North Dakota, about our long days of driving since we left Jasper National Park.

We were all sad to leave Jasper, as we had seen so many awesome things around there, such as Whistlers Mountain, Mt. Robson, the Jasper Park Lodge, and other things as well. However, all things must come to an end at some point. Anyway, we slept late on the day we left the Jasper Park Lodge, and took our time readying the camper. We got out around noon, but we still had a big drive ahead of us. Driving back through the Columbia Icefields on route 93, we encountered scenery we had previously viewed, but it was beautiful nonetheless. That night, we camped very close to our previous campsite in Banff National Park. We kept the truck hitched to the camper (as we would do for the rest of the nights between then and now), so we could shorten up the morning breakdown as much as possible. That night, we slept in the shadow of true mountains for the last time (presumably) on the trip.

Next morning, we broke down very quickly, and very early, and managed to exit the campground at approximately 8:20. Our last glimpse of the mountains stayed in Canada, and in our minds. That day, we crossed the border of Canada and returned to the state of Montana (when we crossed the border, we weren't even 100 miles from our previous stay near Glacier National Park). However, we couldn't celebrate JUST yet, as we still had a bunch of driving left to do. We finally reached our campground in Havre, Montana just as the light was beginning to dim. However, the light was very close to being gone by the time we were done with setting up, as we were in a terrible spot at first, and had to get a new one. We had driven 400 miles that day, and the stress caused by it showed. Nevertheless, once we were all set up, we settled down, and slept comfortably for the next day's drive.

Yesterday morning, we got up around 8:00 or so, and worked at a normal pace as we closed up shop around the camper. We had 300 miles to drive, but it was all on empty rural road with a high speed limit. Therefore, we didn't have as much need to hurry as the day before. Once on the road, we rolled through miles and miles of empty plainsland and Indian Reservation. It seemed as if the scenery's playback was skipping. "Hayfield, hayfield, plains, plains, plains, *REWIND*... hayfield, hayfield, plains, plains, plains." Yeah, the scenery wasn't too exciting, but it certainly is characteristic of the American Midwest, so we appreciated it anyway. We pulled into our campsite in Williston, North Dakota around six-ish, and set up as quickly as we could in the blazing, dry heat of the Great Plains, then got inside the camper to eat, watch a movie, and get to sleep. None of us wanted to be out in the unmerciful sun any longer than we needed to.

This morning, we got up at 9:00, and broke camp just as quickly as we had set up - the sun had risen and had already begun to heat up the air. We've encountered very similar scenery to what we had encountered yesterday and afternoon on the day before, so it's gone by fairly fast. I'm currently sitting in the truck, in the parking lot of a Walmart, watching my mom and brother returning with a shopping cart chock full of stuff to put away in the camper. We are less than five miles from the campsite, so I'm going to publish and sign off now, as I'll have to set up camp once we get there. Thanks for your attention, guys. Cheerio!

Jasper, Alberta -- Part 3

Jasper Photos - Part 2 - Delayed

We are having trouble with Part 2, so we will move on to Part 3 of the Banff - Jasper photos. Spencer's summit of Whistlers Mountain will have to be anticipated a little bit longer!

Banff and Jasper Follow-up

Well, it has been a busy week! Spencer has commented on the scenery, which is extraordinary. Even the photos don't do this area of Canada justice. However, they might entice you to visit. To fill in a few holes in the story, I'll add some details.

About the truck: Took a couple of days back and forth to Calgary to visit Big Dog Performance. Those wonderful gearheads in that shop completely took care of our exhaust brake, restoring our confidence in driving up and down mountains. Thanks much to Chris and the boys!

In Banff, we also enjoyed a visit from our Calgary friends, who we met in Denmark. Their two boys and our two boys were toddlers/babies together. Now teenagers, they reconnected over a good game of Texas Hold'em and juicy Alberta steaks! Thanks for a fabulous visit!

In Jasper, we took the Jasper Tramway (gondola) up to Whistler's Summit, offering a 360 degree view of the Canadian Rockies...that is...if you continued on foot up a significant mountain trail. Spencer went to the trail's end, while Philip and I saw the value of viewing Spencer's photos after making it partway up. (these photos will be coming soon).

We also drove further north to Maligne Lake. Folks, a body is really in the wilderness up here. Even a "recovering" tenter like me, who used to seek the most primitive sites possible, finds it quite scary to think about setting up camp in these woods. On this day trip, we saw a bear, more big horned sheep and elk. We looked and looked for the elusive caribou and moose, but no luck. Viewing the scenery, however, we knew it was just the wrong day...they are definitely here.

For Mark's birthday, we took a break from our beloved camper and stayed at a lodge for two nights. We enjoyed the meals served to us (!!!) and the beds made up for us...ha-ha! The boys took a kayak out for a spin, during which they saw a loon dive down and "do the breast stroke" through the crystal clear water. We could hear the loons in the evening...really great.

Leaving Jasper, we re-traveled the Icefields Parkway back south (Rt 93), taking a last look at these monolithic mountains. If we know nothing else, we know they will be here long after our last trip up here to see them again!

I am writing from Williston, ND, tonight. We plan to spend a few days in Minnesota lake country, hoping to actually catch some fish. Spencer will pick up from where I am leaving you off. However, I do hope to post some additional photos from the Canada trip very soon.

By the way, thanks to all of you who are leaving comments. We look forward to reading them and thank you for your encouragement and enthusiasm. It has all added to our momentous adventure!

Banff and Jasper, Alberta, Canada -- Part I

Of Banff, a Beautiful Drive, and Jasper... Part One

Well, seeing as my job as the administrator for the blog includes actually WRITING the blog, I should probably spare you guys the agony of waiting for the next post and tell you what has happened over the last week or so. Well, Mom hasn't posted any pictures yet, but when she does, you'll understand why Dad and I think our campsite in Banff National Park was among the top five of all the sites we've been to. We had a great time cruising around the town and the park, to places like Lake Louise and the Banff Rock & Gem Shop. We also had a bunch of "lazy days," where we either hung around and enjoyed the massive mountain that rose straight up, a mere mile in front of our site at Tunnel Mountain RV Park (no, the mountain I mentioned is NOT Tunnel Mountain, as I originally thought; it's called Mount Rundle), or walked around on the trails that laced the mountain road upon which our campground was next to. Bottom line, we had one of the best times we've had camping at Banff's Tunnel Mountain RV Park. Thanks, guys!

Anyway, after we left Banff for the town of Jasper, we travelled north on one of the most beautiful and scenic routes we've ever travelled. For nearly the entire 180-mile drive, we experienced wonderful alpine scenery, laced with milky-grey rivers and creeks. You'll understand what I'm talking about when Mom posts the pictures on Picasa tomorrow.

Our campsite at the Whistlers Campground is very nice. We've got a lot of space, nice neighbors, and awesome scenery (the scenery, of course, being elk which literally walk straight through our site, not ten feet from the camper - awesome picture opportunities). To save some material for later, I'm going to do the second half of my post tomorrow. Stay tuned, and don't be mad at me for delaying. This is Spencer, signing off.

A Followup On "Lightning and Fallen Limbs"

As you can see by the picture related to this post, something bad happened to a tree. In case you aren't aware exactly what tree that IS, it's a very large oak tree that is outside the kitchen of our North Carolina home. We were informed yesterday by our friends, the Nolans, that the tree had apparently been struck by lightning in a storm the day before yesterday. The limb bent down and is now resting in Mom's wonderful backyard garden, which she had worked so hard on. Fortunately, the tree is not currently in a position to destroy my bedroom, which happens to be directly across from the oak tree. Rather, if it fell, it would likely fall AWAY from the house, towards the pond. We just thought including this would be an entertaining little variation from the usual posts. We also want to give a big thank-you to the Nolans, for spotting the tree. Stay tuned - there's more to come on our vacation. This is Spencer, signing off.

Lightning and Fallen Limbs

 

Vertical Mountain Drive to Kamloops, BC

Footnotes to the Vertical Venture through the Mountains

Before I post these photos of the British Columbia mountains we saw. keep in mind several things. Many pictures were taken from the window, because there was no way we were stopping to photograph the spectacular scenery. Also, the mountain scenes may be somewhat out of order, as we had two and sometimes three cameras flicking away at one time. The key fact is that we did drive up and down most of them!

When we left Vancouver to head north toward Whistler, we marvelled at the great road. Funny thing, the quality quit just after Whistler. Thinking back, all that 2010 Olympics tourist traffic turned around at Whistler after viewing the skiing events and returned to Vancouver. We did not do that, of course. We continued on.

Just before we headed up the first STEEP grade, a two foot tall black bear cub scampered across the road, not 30 feet in front of us! It was so cute to see how it moved. We never saw it's mother, but we should have seen the omen for what it was...it was getting wild ahead.

To make the trip more exciting, we lost our exhaust brake (jake brake) that morning. We still haven't had a chance to have it looked at, and we have not been able to fix it ourselves. So, we have been braking with gears and camper brakes, as well as the truck brakes. Fun.

Today, we arrived in Banff National Park. We will try to catch up the blog during the next 6 days that we stay here. Everyone is ready for a break (...a brake, too...ha-ha).

Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island, BC

Vancouver, BC

Of Vancouver, Victoria, and a Very Vertical Venture through the Mountains

Hello, again, everyone! Since I haven't posted for a while, a lot of work has piled up for me. You might want to get comfortable. This post will be a little bit longer than some of the others. On Tuesday of this past week, we crossed the border, and pulled into BCRV (British Columbia Recreational Vehicle) Park, in the town of Burnaby. Vancouver, a short distance away by public transit, was first on our list of visitations. Leaving at noon the day after we arrived in the park, Mom, Philip, and I walked to Vancouver's automated transport system, known as the "SkyTrain." From the station nearest to the campground, roughly fifteen minutes away on foot, we travelled to Waterfront Station in Vancouver. Once we reached the station, we stopped to eat an extremely nice (although somewhat expensive) restaurant that was adjacent to the station. We all got very different and very delicious lunches. Mom had halibut tacos, Philip had a chicken sandwich, and I had some exquisite Korean short ribs, with cucumbers and kim chi (a sort of spicy cabbage, which adds a great deal of flavor to the ribs). After consuming our respective meals, we walked across the street to the Harbour Centre, the site of the Vancouver Lookout. The Vancouver Lookout is another one of those observation towers, just like Seattle's Space Needle, or Toronto's CN Tower, except for the fact that it is not a lone structure; it is positioned on top of a building. Anyway, we got some great pictures from up at the top. After our trip to the top, we walked to Canada Place, home of Vancouver's World Trade Center, and a LOT of cruise ships - you can see some of them in our pictures from the Vancouver Lookout. We walked around the piers for a little while, then we went back to SkyTrain's Waterfront Station, and headed back for our campground.

The next day, we got up nice and early for our trip to Butchart Gardens ("Butchart" is pronounced like "Boo Shart," not "Butt Chart") on Victoria Island. Our driving was accompanied by a three-hour round trip ferry ride, so we got some great stretching and picture-taking opportunities. Butchart Gardens is amazing. It used to be some rich guy's private estate, but he converted the better part of his property into an expansive set of Gardens. Unlike many gardens, this one is divided into several different themes. There's the Sunken garden, which was created from an old quarry, the Italian Garden, the Japanese Garden, the Rose Garden, and the Mediterranean Garden. After arriving back at camp, we got to sleep pretty soon, as we had a long drive the next day.

We got up bright and early to disconnect and move out. We got out of our tight spot without damaging the camper. What we weren't prepared for, however, was the terrain of the drive. Before long, we were driving up and down a myriad of mountains. Although the scenery was beautiful, it was also tough to drive on. At one point we even ended up stopping because our brakes were smoking. We stopped around 6:40 pm at a very nice RV camp. Today isn't nearly as bad as yesterday (the driving), and the scenery is very nice. Thanks for staying with me on this post, if you read this far; stay tuned! This is Spencer, signing off.

North Cascades National Park

Goodbye to Washington

We are all amazed at the sights in the western part of this lush state. The three parks we visitied are quite different, which was a surprise to us. Spencer hinted at it. At Mt. Rainier, there were such huge Douglas Firs (we think), they reminded us of small redwoods. The roads in the park were built around the big ones. No pictures; we were intent on staying safely on the road.

In the Cascades, the road seemed to remain in the valleys, following the Skagit River. We found it hard to get up high enough to see many of the snow-capped peaks and glaciers that we know are there. The steepness of the mountains continues to be astonishing. The movie about the area in the Visitor Center even mentioned it. Early loggers left many of the trees standing, because the nearly vertical terrain was simply impossible to log.

Throughout this time, we have had gorgeous sunny weather and no bugs at all...even in the deep, green, shadowed forests. It seems impossible, but the "Off" has not come out of the camper. In this typically rainy corner of the world, we were blessed with the best -- wonderful weather and a very good friend's visit.

Yesterday, we headed to Vancouver after dropping Tommy at the airport. The Canadian Customs official was very thorough...questioned if we were carrying firearms. When I responded that we weren't, he asked me "Why not?" I sort of choked out a reply, "We aren't hunting." I guess that was an acceptable answer, as we got through without being searched.

We are in the tightest space in an RV Park we have ever been in. A special tractor with an arm that grabs the hitch pivoted us into our spot for the next two days. It's very nice here, once the camper got settled. We'll let you know what happens next...

Mt. Rainier National Park

At the End of our Stay in Seattle

Hey, everyone. It's Monday, and we've visited three national parks in Washington so far, all of them the same distance from our campground near Seattle. We've seen the snow-capped splendor of Mount Rainier, the beautiful river valleys of the North Cascades, and the lush forests of the Olympic Mountains. Overall, it's been a wonderful stay here in Washington, and the five-day visit of one of my dad's closest (and funniest) friends, Tommy, only made it better. Four days ago, he arrived in SEATAC airport from Anchorage, Alaska at 10:50 p.m. The next day, even though he was slightly jet-lagged, we drove to Mt. Rainier, the highest landmass in the state of Washington. The top of the mountain was completely COVERED in snow and ice. It's so interesting to see snow in the middle of July, when you consider North Carolina's 100-degree summers. Anyway, we all really enjoyed that day, although we were somewhat hindered by the traffic jams on the freeway back to the campground. The next day, a Saturday, was a lazy day for all of us. We hung around, got groceries, and watched the movie "Invictus." It's very good - I recommend it to all of you. Finally, yesterday we went to North Cascades National Park. Despite the fact that we never really made it all the way to the higher peaks of the Cascade Mountain Range, we all enjoyed ourselves. However, since we had a truck with five seats (and every one occcupied by somebody), we were a little bit tired of the dog, Scout, stealing our seats and squirming around looking for a more comfortable place to settle. Anyway, today is our last day, and since we've seen all the parks around here, we're taking the day off as another lazy day. I hope you guys are all following attentively - we have a lot more adventures to come on the way back! This is Spencer Paige, signing off.

Lazy Days, and Incredible Views

Hey, guys. Sorry I haven't been posting as much as last year. I've been a little busy, regardless of how ridiculous that sounds. We're on a huge vacation, on the opposite side of the country from where I WOULD have work, and somehow, I'm busy... sounds a little fishy, doesn't it? Well, believe it. Two days ago, Philip earned $20 by giving Mom a pedicure and a foot massage (Philip says he just did it for the money), while I worked on shining the truck's chrome details (such as the bumper - as of now, one can clearly see their face in it) and taking the dog on walks. Yesterday, after about three hours of driving, we arrived at the Olympic Peninsula, home of - you guessed it - Olympic National Park. Lack of creativity aside, Olympic is astoundingly beautiful. From the snow-capped peaks to its lush, teeming rainforests, Olympic seemed to have a bit of everything. It had snow, so Philip and I could paste each other with snowballs. It had great picture potential, which we took advantage of. It even had deer who, having pretty much never been threatened by the presence of humans, strolled up within mere feet of the oohing and ahhing tourists, who had their cameras in hand and in action (I do not regret being one of said tourists, as the deer provided some of the best shots). Today, we hung around, did a small amount of work, and mainly just enjoyed each other, and the fact that, for once, the sun decided to shine in Seattle (not just this day, but EVERY day so far - unbelievable). I hope we're keeping you interested! This is Spencer, signing off. Stay tuned!!

Olympic NP

After clouds in Montana, we have been blessed with exceptionally clear and warm weather in Seattle, expected for the entire next week! Although the ground is saturated, the air is perfectly comfortable. Wish we could bottle it up and send it to all of you broiling on the East coast! Spencer will tell you about the last couple of days later. For now, we are getting ready for our friend, Tommy, to arrive this evening.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes, everyone! We broke our pattern of preparing dinner at our camper, and we ate at a wonderful little Italian restaurant in Coeur d'Alene, ID. It was a great end to a fantastic birthday.

Olympic National Park, WA

Glacier National Park and Flathead Lake

July 4th at Glacier NP

It's a beautiful, sunny morning here in Kalispell...on the day we must leave! We have had rainy days with bookends of sun. Yesterday, we finally took the "Road to the Sun," the windy, narrow 28 mile road with "dead drop offs" as the boys called them. We got up very early and drove halfway up the mountain, left the truck, and took the park shuttle the rest of the way. The temperature dropped from 52 to 28 degrees at the top. It just snowed three feet up there on June 17th! I closed my eyes and prayed for part of the ride up. Ten foot snow drifts greeted us there, fog drifted around and obscured the views of the peaks. People were cross-country skiing.

The mountains are stunning and so steep! Water is running everywhere from the melting snow and ongoing rain. Glacier NP is a bit like the Smoky Mountains, a large land area bisected by only one road that gets REALLY crowded! It's a place for hiking, not driving. We were thankful to leave the park as the crowds loomed at the entrance.

The other incredible feature of this area is Flathead Lake, the largest natural lake in the west, according to the local literature. Glacier gets all the attention, but this lake is gorgeous, with islands and fishing galore. We didn't fish, however, because a boat is required and we didn't plan that far ahead. However, it's been a relaxed visit here, and we got quite a bit of "housekeeping" done during the rain. Sadly, cleaning and shopping must occur on vacation, too.

When we returned yesterday, there was a note on the door, instructing us to visit the campground office. Since we left Scout in the camper for the day, we assumed that he was barking, creating a disturbance. I walked up there, grumbling to myself that I was going to have to listen to the office matron chew me out for leaving the dog. Imagine my surprise when she beamed as I gave her my name and turned around to hand me a platter of pastries! My sister, Gail, had them delivered for my birthday breakfast! Thanks, Gail!!! We are enjoying them this morning.

Photos will be forthcoming. Off to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, today, and then to the Seattle area for eight days. We are looking forward to seeing Tommy H., Mark's friend from Alaska, who will fly down to visit us. Best wishes to all of you on our country's birthday...God bless America!

Of Glaciers and Goodies

Well, seeing as we're in the midst of another long stay, this time at Glacier National Park, we can also have some down time as well. Yesterday, we visited Glacier, but not to truly "see" it. We actually went to get some information on tours, fishing, and hiking. Of course, the myriad of high-priced tourist traps attracted Philip to buy a crow call and both of us to get five-dollar ice creams (ridiculous!). Besides that, Mom and I went to do some shopping. Naturally, since a full-fledged teenager was with her, I had to do a little arm-twisting to my own ends, such as to get a twelve-pack of Coca-Cola, some chips, some gum. You know, the typical teenage "necessities." After we got back with our spoils, we watched the final two episodes of season one of 24. After THAT, Dad (fully addicted by now) requested that we watch the first episode of season two. You know how that turned out, I'll bet. We watched the first episode, of course, but it didn't end there. We watched the first TWO episodes, instead. We're like couch potatoes! And Mom and Dad are just as bad as Philip and I! Anyway, from Glacier NP, this is Spencer Paige, signing off. Stay tuned!

Henry's Lake and Red Rock RV Park, Idaho

Of Fish and Frustration

Hey guys! Sorry I didn't post for the last few days, but we've been trying desperately to snag one fish on either of our rods, but so far, they've proven to be very elusive... We're disappointed, but not defeated, not when we have six or seven weeks left in our transcontinental road-trip. Aside from that, we've been watching 24 on DVD every night; we're currently halfway through season one. I can tell that we've finally got Dad hooked on the show that Mom, Philip, and I have been addicted to for two seasons. Last night, we had a delicious dinner of barbecued chicken. With Dad's guidance, I grilled eight chicken thighs. Philip also helped; he applied the barbecue sauce, the most important ingredient in the recipe. It was finger-lickin' good by everyone's standards. Today's just going to be a relaxation day for everybody, a fact that I'm glad about, because we've been doing so much driving around Yellowstone. The fact that we can just sit and enjoy each other's company for one day makes me happy. This is Spencer Paige, signing off. Keep following, people!

Yellowstone National Park

Of Bison, and Their Tendency to Block Traffic

Yesterday, Philip and I visited Yellowstone National Park for the first time. We were astounded. Within half an hour of entering the park, we encountered both a small family of elk (which we gladly photographed), and a large herd of bison not fifty feet from the side of the road (which we also photographed). The bison herd was incredible. At least twenty-five adults were all grazing or galloping around, and about ten to fifteen baby bison were standing, walking, or running around like wind-up toys. It was so cool, because they came so close, and in such numbers. When we were coming home, we chanced across that same herd of bison, crossing the road. The babies were so funny, tottering around in front of the stopped cars, acting like they WANTED their picture taken. Anyway, before the day was through, we travelled more miles around Yellowstone than we did getting to Yellowstone from Jackson. Now that shows how into the park we were. We drove 125 miles around only HALF of the park. Today, Philip and I intend to fish to our heart's content, both catching and releasing, and catching and keeping. It's going to be a lot of fun, as we haven't even tried using our gear yet. We spent the better part of two hours in a Bass Pro Shop on the way home from our grandparents, and it's just been sitting and waiting for this occasion. Time to rise to said occasion. I'll write another post today, after we get some results out of our rods and reels. Keep following!

Outside Yellowstone, in Idaho

Here we are 20 miles outside the west entrance of Yellowstone, camped in the most beautiful spot I think I have ever occupied in our camper. Red Rock RV Campground in Idaho. We are in an almost deserted valley, ranches and lots of land all around. It's absolutely quiet and serene; it will be a perfect spot to use our telescope (no surrounding lights). We'll send photos tomorrow or the next day. No cell phone coverage, no cable. Just started watching the first episode of the first season of "24." Ha! All is well.

Grand Teton National Park 2010

Of Elk and Something Else That Begins With "E"...

Hi, everybody! Two days ago, we reached the town of Jackson, Wyoming. Much like Aspen, with lots of rich people flying into Jackson Hole Airport in their super-expensive private jets. Besides the fact that the actual town of Jackson is like a big, high-end country club, everything is, well, spectacular! The Tetons are incredible. You drive alongside the mountain range and the first thing you notice is not their height, or their snowy peaks. It's the fact that there are no foothills. They just jut straight up from the valley floor, providing a veritable wall of rock without any obstructions of the view. Yesterday, we toured the park by vehicle, stopping at points along the John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway to take photos, or looking through Dad's new spotting scope that we got at Cabela's for Father's Day. Today, Mom, Philip, and I all went on a six mile hike up Cascade Canyon, where we achieved some awesome photos. Leaving around 8:30, we were back by 2:00. Over there on the east coast, however, it was 10:30 and 4:00. Thank you, changes in time zones. Tomorrow we leave for Yellowstone, so get excited about some awesome pictures. Stay tuned, everyone!

To View the Pictures

When you see a photo in the posts, click on it to view the entire set of photos.

Of Storm-Chasers and Unintentional Child Abandonment

Hello again, everyone! Yesterday and today were... interesting. For one, we saw a homemade storm-chaser vehicle at one of the rest stops. Bristling with antennae and weather devices, and possessing a back end literally plastered with stickers, the vehicle contained a sleeping storm-chaser in the driver seat, and a mound of trash in the front passenger seat. It was very cool. Anyway, today's most interesting thing that has happened so far was when I was in gas station, looking for an elusive bottle of Vanilla Coke. Disappointed yet again in my search, I exited the gas station, just in time to see Mom and Dad driving out of the gas station minus one passenger. Of course, it took a moment for me realize what had happened: "Hey, they're driving away... HOLD ON, THEY'RE DRIVING AWAY!!!" Running quickly towards the camper and waving my hands like an out-of-control windmill, I yelled, "STOP!!!!!" Finally, after catching their attention, I hopped in the truck, glaring at the people who had almost driven away without me. They said their apologies, and we drove off, joking about the whole incident. We're currently travelling on I-80 towards Cheyenne, Wyoming. Keep tuned!

2010 - 6/15 to 6/19 NC to NE

A Warm Welcome and a Wild Evening

Hi all,

We pulled into the Newton, IA, KOA campground after a harrowing drive which Spencer described. Breathing a sigh of relief, we were warmly greeted by the campground staff with exclamations of "Oh good, here is the Mark Paige family," smiles all around. Slightly mystified as we registered, a yellow-shirt clad KOA staff person emerged from a closet bearing a basket of campfire supplies -- from marshmallows/chocolate/graham crackers to firewood wrapped in red, white and blue ribbon.

To sum, Mark's long time Novozymes coworker, Joni Dean, not only hails from Newton, IA, but worked at this campground when it was known as Beacon Campground and owned by her parents, the Bishops. She arranged with her sister, still a local resident, to deliver the surprises! Thank-you, Joni!!! You made our day.

That is, until the tornado warnings hit! We were square in the red zone of The Weather Channel's doppler map. Instead of eating dinner, we took refuge in the cinder block game room of the campground's office, keeping one eye on the weather radar and the other on the swirling, strange black clouds outside. After the threat passed, the clouded sky, tinged a weird yellow-pink, looked like an upside-down tuffeted pillow.

Instead of juicy hamburgers, we gratefully ate bowls of cereal and hit our own pillows!

Of Swine and Storms...

Well, a lot has actually happened since I published my last post about our recent days. For one, we got a hilarious picture of a pig in a livestock-carrying semitrailer rig. Ahh, Iowa - pig country at its best. The little porker was trying his best to push his head out of one of the holes in the side, just so he could get a mugshot by my camera. Later, we ran into some serious weather, the kind of stuff that can easily turn into a tornado out here. Anyway, we got an amazing picture of the stark contrast between the clouds and the fairly blue sky. We'll be uploading the pictures onto Picasa as soon as Mom falls back into her routine. It's great to have all you guys following us. I can't wait to start posting about the national parks! See you all soon!

Of Dogs, and Their Reactions to Bumpy Roads...

Hello again, everyone! A few days ago, Philip and I returned from our 50-mile backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail, which ended in Damascus, Virginia. Exhausted, though with great feelings of accomplishment, we traveled back to our camper in Bristol, Tennessee. Nothing really happened that day, except for us feeling happy. The next day was pretty similar, although Scout did go to town on having a bit of puppy puke. The road was pretty bumpy, and it soon had Scout pouring what looked like a beer smoothie all over his mat. It was absolutely disgusting, as I had to sit one foot away from him as he did the canine equivalent of worshipping the porcelain god. Anyway, nasty details aside, we made camp last night around 6:00, I think, and watched a movie during the evening. In the morning, we set a new record in leaving early. We made it out of the KOA by 6:30. That is very early for us. Anyway, we are currently on Interstate 74, travelling west to Iowa. Can't wait to keep posting!

Old Blog

Hey, everyone! I'm aware that most of you have probably read the old blog, but just for those who haven't, the address of the old one is "paigefamilyrvtrip.blogspot.com"

Thanks for following!

Hello Again!

Hey, everybody, it's me again! You know what it means if you're reading this post? That's right. You get to follow us on ANOTHER trip of a lifetime. Mom and Dad have told Philip and I that we're taking another huge RV trip, this time across northern USA and back across southern Canada, and as far west as Vancouver. We're going to visit some parks like Yellowstone and Grand Teton, and generally have another great time! I can't wait to truly begin posting, but that will come soon enough. For now, we can all be content with the fact that there will indeed BE another blog. The camper is almost completely prepared - it's been cleaned, waxed, the roof has been cleaned and treated, and all that remains is to clean the awning. I can't wait to keep you all posted on our adventure. See you soon!

-Spencer Paige, administrator of the original blog, "Paige Family 2009 RV Trip"