Boise to Home

final mileage

After giving the kids time to sleep in, eat breakfast, and swim one last time, we headed off towards home.  We made pretty good time, considering the bathroom and food stops the kids needed until we got close to Snoqualmie Pass.  There was an accident 11 miles in front of us and we spent 1 hour 50 minutes to get to the accident and up to speed again.  A lot of that time was spent sitting in the turned off car just waiting.  Miriam was done with the drive, done with the trip and said, "I don't like this vacation!  I'm tired of being in the car every day!"  We all felt and heard her pain. 

You don't want the freeway to look like this at the end of a 6,000 mile drive!

Miriam was not happy with the delay

We had a suprise guest join us for the last 30 miles when Dode showed up at the Park & Ride where I was dropping off my mom.  Jacob said, "Is he driving home with us?  I've been waiting a week to sit in the front seat again".  Sorry Jacob.  We pulled into the driveway just as the trip odometer read 6,100.8 miles.  Dode offered to let me drive around the block again so I could finish off that last mile.  I think the kids would have started screaming.  Once we stopped in the driveway, passing the finish line Dode drew for us, the kids burst from the car and went their separate ways at top speed.  Miriam ran to the trampoline.  Elizabeth took a ride down the zip line.  Jacob went up and rolled on his carpet.  Anastaya ran around looking at how tall the flowers had grown while we'd been gone. William walked in circles watching everyone else go crazy.  As for Isaac, he decided to sit in the car and finish his movie!

I made it!

a welcome sight at the end of the trip

Salt Lake City to Boise

Heading towards home, todays mileage: 350

Isaac, Anastaya and I got up early and headed back to Temple Square to do baptisms. At 7:30 in the morning, the temple was a very quiet place. I wasn’t sure where I’d find parking so when I got off the freeway and started getting close, I pulled into the first parking lot I found. Mistake! We walked by lot after lot, some cheaper than where I’d parked. Anastaya ended up with a blister. Then, when we went to Deseret Book after the temple, they offered to validate for our parking. We could have parked right across the street!

The temple was absolutely beautiful, down to the door knobs! It was a great way to begin our long driving day.

After driving around Midvale for a while, looking for a Redbox, we were on the road. Being a newbee at Utah, I couldn’t believe how far North the Great Salt Lake stretches. We encountered several construction slowdowns. We ate lunch at a rest stop and changed out our movies in Twin Falls.

We stayed at the Best Western Northwest Inn. It was a nice place, with a spacious family suite for us. We ate at Idaho Pizza Company for dinner, less than a mile from the hotel.

Then, Boma and I went to the VanHeusen Outlet store and got some cute new clothes. After wearing the same two pairs of shorts and four shirts for almost a month, I’m really looking forward to putting something different on!
The hotel pool was the smallest of any we’ve encountered but the kids didn’t care.

Just 550 miles to go to home!

heading North to Salt Lake City

We’d planned to spend another day at Bryce Park, hiking into the canyon. But, the troops rebelled against the heat and bugs so after picking up their last junior ranger badges of the trip from Kodachrome State Park, we headed to Salt Lake City.

We stopped for lunch at Fort Cove. This fort was built by the church in the 1860’s and is the only fort built by the church that is still standing. It served as a telegraph station and way station for the stage coaches traveling the “Mormon Corridor” and was never needed for protection against the Indians. Today, it stands as the western end of I-70.   It was built by President Gordon B. Hinkley’s grandfather. He lived there with his family for 20 years.

inside the fort

front of the fort

It’s amazing what a little water will do in the desert. Look at this green grass!




We checked into a hotel in Salt Lake City thanks to Boma and road the light rail down to temple square. We ate at a restaurant near the hotel where you could order breakfast up to 5 pm.  Miriam ordered a pancake that was as big as her plate, and ate 95% of it!

Elizabeth was SO excited to see the Salt Lake Temple. When she got her first glimpse on the train, she pumped her arm in the air and exclaimed, “Yes!“  A member of the Tabernacle Choir was standing near us and you could see that he was enjoying her enthusiasm.  When we got off the train, she literally ran up the street to get to the gate and go in to temple square. I told her we’d come back in two years when she’s old enough to go inside. I was excited too. I haven’t been to temple square since I was 12 years old, before I was a member of the church. It was emotionally moving to see the Salt Lake Temple and think back on the Nauvoo Temple that we saw a few weeks ago, almost like bookends. The temple the saints left and the temple they built at the end of their journey. So much faith and sacrifice. I’m glad the kids have some of that pioneer blood running through their veins. From me they get Slavic stubbornness and from Dode pioneer perseverance.  It's got to be a good mix for people who want to get things done!
I must be allergic to temple square though because I remember getting chastised by a missionary the last time I was here for not being reverent enough and this time it was Miriam who got in trouble for running around.  I guess we do better far away in Washington.

The kids were able to get a quick swim in before bed. Can you believe it? A day without ice cream!

Our Day in Bryce Canyon

Today we explored Bryce Canyon.

We used the shuttle bus and it’s really slick.

They go to the stops every 10 minutes and it’s free. The kids were able to earn their junior ranger badges. After the park, we stopped for ice cream (of course!).

Then, we went to Kodachrome State Park to camp. It was the most beautiful campground I've ever stayed in.  It's tucked back against cliffs with beautiful colorings and interspersed with rock spires.  It was in the high 90’s and there were tons of biting gnats. Everyone was miserable.  In order to escape the heat and the bugs, we tried to get to Grosvenor Arch, a famous double arch.  There was a dirt road to the arch and after a few miles, we encountered a deep puddle on the road the preventd us from getting farther.  We ended up exploring the state park and saw Chimney Rock and Shakespere Arch.  When we got back to the campground, the sun had set and it had cooled off with no more bugs.

trying to climb Chimney Rock

part of Kodachrome State Park

Grand Canyon

Everyone must be getting tired because the kids all slept in today. Then, we made our way up to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The road was very windy and Elizabeth got car sick. We enjoyed our time at the canyon, seeing the view, rubbing the nose of the bronze statue of the donkey Brighty for good luck (from the book Brighty of the Grand Canyon).

Jacob was the entire reason we came to the Grand Canyon.

Do you see how excited he is?

Then, we went to a ranger program about birds in the area and after that the children were able to earn their junior ranger badges.

We got ice cream at Three Bears Creamery before heading over to the Junction Drive-In for dinner.  For dinner, we stopped at the Junction Drive-In for two reasons. #1: they had free wi-fi that would allow me to post photos unlike the library wi-fi. #2: they had a good review in Road Food. They had frozen lemonade which was refreshing on a hot day like today but was a total brain freezer.

Thumbelina's Tiny Treat

Little Miss Muffet Sunday

(bread pudding, strawberries, vanilla ice cream with whipped cream)

We got good news today that Dode passed his CFED test. Hooray! He is now one of about 400 surveyors in the entire United States who are officially certified to survey on Indian land. He's been preparing for this test for six months and has spent hundreds of hours studying. He was really concerned about passing because there is not a very good pass rate, the tribe had paid for the test and would want their money back if he failed, and most importantly his boss had put a lot of trust in him when she chose to hire him over another surveyor the board wanted. I always knew she made the best choice!

We may not have internet for the next few days as we tour Bryce Canyon.

Colorado-Arizona-Utah

Trip odometer: 4564
Miles traveled: 306

Our 1st stop for the day was the 4 Corners Monument. Unfortunately, we struck out.  The momument was closed for construction.

Our next stop of the day was a bathroom/gas stop in Kayenta, AZ. Unfortunately, once again we struck out. The entire town was out of electricity. This was our beautiful bathroom stop. Fortunately, the road isn’t very busy and the sagebrush makes a pretty good barrier.

We had a picnic lunch and ice cream in Page, Az.

Then, we headed around the Vermillion Cliffs Monument, stopping at Navaho Bridge for a look down into Glen Canyon and the Colorado River at the bottom. The emerald green water was very inviting on a day where the temperature was 98 degrees in the shade.

William on the Navajo Bridge

looking down while standing on the bridge

We kept going up and down over Mesas. We’d be at 4,000 feet, then go up to 8,000 and then back down. So, the goal was to keep the van from overheating on the way up and the brakes from overheating on the way down. We succeeded!

We camped for the night in Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park near Kanab, UT. The camp site was very nice, with trees for climbing and providing privacy.

The kids were so excited to play on the dunes, even Jacob. They started off at a run, going down and up the small dunes with the largest dune in the area their final goal. They enjoyed rolling down the dunes, crawling up them, making sand angles, and then learned that if they jumped down the dune, they could make a “farting” sound in the sand. Everyone competed to see who could make the biggest sound. Jacob thought the dunes were so appealing, he went back in the dark for a run.

Mesa Verde National Park

After the unwelcome alarm clock of 8 motorcycles who were camped next to us revving their engines for what seemed like forever, we got up and began our day.  As we ate our breakfast, we were entertained by a  sage trasher who was in a tree near our camp. It would go through a large variety of bird songs and even included the shrill and pattern of a car alarm and the croaking of frogs. Apparently there are 7 different species of birds in Colorado that mimic noises they hear. They are typically quite dull looking but their vocalizations are quite elaborate.

We set off for Mesa Verde National Park.  They are doing road construction on probably 50% of the road up to the visitor's center so the drive took a while.  We decided to tour Cliff Palace, which is the cliff dwelling with the most number of rooms in Mesa Verde National Park.  We had a few hours until  our tour so we first went to the Museum where the kids worked on their junior ranger booklets and we walked down to the Spruce Tree house cliff dwelling.  It's one of two ruins you can see without a ticket.  I'd planned on just eating snacks from the car for lunch but there was a mutiny and the kids used their spending money to buy pizza slices at the cafe near the museum.  Boma and I shared a salad.   We arrived at Cliff Palace early so Isaac and I walked the parking lot and found 24 different states represented. 

Cliff Palace view from above, see the circle of people in the center for a size reference

Elizabeth got to be the ranger's special helper by leading the way down the trail. 

nearing the cliff dwellings

There are narrow and uneven steps cut into the rocks and several ladders to climb.  We'd brought two full bottles of water with us and they were both gone before our tour was half way over. 

among the ruins

When we got back to the camp, the four younger children worked on their flying skills in the pool.

William has really gotten over his fear of water!

Meanwhile, back at the campsite, the boys were busy with the ipad and itouch.