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!