Day Five | A Real Glacier, Workout, New Captain and More Fireworks

Day five was another day in Glacier. Our second goal while visiting Glacier was to see ... well, a glacier! This is not the best time to see Glaciers in the park as they had 150% snow coverage this past winter. All the glaciers are currently covered with snow - which is a good thing to help preserve them longer, but doesn't allow the Vandeputte family to see one up close. Of the 150 glaciers that existed in the mid-19th century, only 24 exist in the park today, and they estimate they will all be gone by 2030. So I wanted the girls to see a glacier on this trip. You can typically hike to Grinnell glacier, but not today - or maybe not even this season due to the large amount of snow. But we all saw two snow-covered glaciers today and have photos to capture the moment ...

We started our day in St. Mary park just north of East Glacier. We boarded a boat which took us for a ride on Lake Mary allowing us to see Sexton Glacier as well as a couple islands on the lake up close. We docked near Barring Falls and joined another Ranger Led hike through two falls; Barring Falls and St. Mary's Falls. We were told another mile up the path was a third water fall that couldn't be missed, Virginia Falls. So we ditched the group and headed onward to a site that was just spectacular. Scott and the girls hiked close and got soaked as I shot some photos ...

We settled down for a picnic at the base of the falls and enjoyed the view.

Since we had ditched the Ranger Led group earlier, we were on our own to catch the boat for the return  trip. We noticed it was 1:25 and although had originally planned to catch the 3:00 boat back, the girls wanted to try and make it to the 2:00 boat so we could gain an extra hour in our day (I just love those two!). So we started running ... and kept running ... and running. Everyone we past along the way just starred at us like, "Aren't we suppose to be enjoying this hike through nature, not speed through it?". One couple yelled "Overachievers!". When we got near the boat dock, and Scott yelled, "It is 1:50, we can make it," the girls kicked it into third gear and left Scott and I in the dust. We arrived sweaty but excited that we would gain another hour in our day just to find out that a boat wasn't scheduled to return at 2:00! No kidding ... we ran all that way to sit for an hour waiting for the 3:00 boat!!

After catching a little siesta on the boat dock we boarded the Joy II with Captain Pete and headed back toward St. Mary's Visitor Center. Scott, Paradis and I sat in the back of the boat, which was outside. Annelies went up front to visit with Captain Pete - we all said simultaneously, "God help him!" Minutes later I saw Captain Pete standing in the aisle, not at the controls. My heart started beating a million miles an hour when I couldn't find Annelies anywhere. As my eyes quickly scanned the crowd I finally caught her in this position ... driving the boat! Oh how I love that girl!!!!

After eating at Johnson's Diner in St. Mary (as suggested by Captain Pete), we drove back to our Cozy Cabin, took our required showers, downed a little Ibuprofen (as a couple of us were a little sore from the run!), lit a few fireworks (only those that wouldn't shoot in the air!) and went to bed. It was yet another great day in Glacier.

[After reading the draft of this entry to my traveling team, Scott was surprised to find out I hadn't included the fact that Captain Pete was hot. OK ... so he was! Just another wonderful view to enjoy while traveling in Glacier Park.]

Day five: 50 miles (1,286 total); $68.88 on gas ($230.08 total); $49.23 on souvenirs ($65.15 total); $69 tourist traps ($79 total); One state (Three total); 0 fights (0 total); 1 injury (1 total).

Day Four | Going to the Top, Huckleberry Pie, Brownies and Fireworks

Immediately upon arriving at Glacier we spent time browsing Trail Maps discussing where we wanted to hike. We knew five days in Glacier was not nearly enough time to see this park, and we would have to focus on some agreed upon goals. Annelies summed up our goal in one sentence, "I want to go to the top!". So Day Four started in Medicine Lake (East Glacier) hiking Scenic Point; a fairly short hike (6.2 miles) but with the steepest climb (2,350 feet). We figured .. if we are going to do this, let's do it right!

Morning folks we are not, so our goal of hitting the trail by 9am didn't get met. But it worked out perfectly, as we stumbled upon a Ranger Led Hike when we got to the Trailhead at 10:30am. Pat Hagan was our guide and I absolutely fell in love with him. No, he wasn't hot, but he was entertaining. At times my girls get a little bored while hiking, "Are we there yet?", "How much further?", "My legs are killing me." Pat's entertaining stories about bears in Glacier, information about other wildlife and just about the Park in general made the hike go so much quicker. I loved him so much I stressed over the question  ... is it appropriate to tip a National Park Ranger? Since it didn't feel right, I instead went to the local diner, where we bought a piece of local Huckleberry Pie (yummy), and a copy of his book Seasonal Disorder: Ranger Tales from Glacier National Park. Looks like a great read.

But I digress  ... we were told this hike had 'great payoffs' within minutes. They weren't kidding. The best way I can describe the views was that I felt like I was living inside a postcard the whole way to the top. Amazing. Just amazing. I took 200 pictures on the way up and that was while saying to myself the whole climb, "Don't take too many pictures ... don't take too many pictures."

When we got home, Paradis made dinner while we all took showers (yes, we did sweat a little). We walked to the local diner (Luna's Cafe) and had Huckleberry Pie and a Brownie Sundae. Y-U-M-M-Y. Our first injury of the trip occurred when Paradis banged her head on the spiral staircase that leads to our Cozy Cabin loft. Ouch ... that hurt! Hopefully our only injury for the trip!

We came back to our Cozy Cabin and the girls sorted out the 'Independence Special' box that included millions of fireworks we had bought the day prior. Since fireworks aren't legal in Minnesota our girls were pumped about setting some off. We were having a grand old time just outside our cabin, which happens to be next to a road, until one of the fireworks started twirling into the air across the road just as a car started driving by. Scott and I just kept saying, "This isn't good ... this isn't good ... this isn't good " Once that sucker landed just feet from the passing car Scott and I said, "Time to wrap it up for the night!" and went inside with the hopes the owners of the car didn't dial 911 on their way past our little Cozy Cabin! We will do some more tomorrow night. In an open parking lot.

Day four: 35 miles (1,236 total); $0 on gas ($161.20 total); $0 on souvenirs (15.92 total); $10 tourist traps ($10 total); One state (Three total); 0 fights (0 total); 1 injury (1 total).

Day Three | A little more driving, a new knitting project and ahhhh ... Glacier!

Day three was the shortest driving day, but felt the longest. We were ready to settle in one place.

We took 'the road less traveled' between Great Falls and Browning where we discovered a very scenic drive, but very few places to stop and use the bathroom. Annelies just couldn't wait, so we stopped at a 'variety store' of sorts. I was excited to find a large section of the store was dedicated to YARN! Yes, yummy hand-spun and hand-dyed yarn! Annelies bought some yarn to start a scarf and balled it while we drove.

We made it to East Glacier and discovered our 'Cozy Cabin' was just what we needed. It was cozy, but clean and had all the essentials we would need for the next few days. We unpacked the van and immediately headed into Two Medicine Lake of Glacier Park. It was amazing. While preparing for this trip everyone would tell us, "The views are absolutely amazing", "You won't be disappointed." We weren't.

We ended the evening having a light dinner at Two Medicine Grill and got some great advice from Aaron, our waitstaff, on hiking trails and things to see. A great first day in Glacier Park.

Day Two | An Anniversary, License Plate, Flood, Theodore Roosevelt Park and Lots of Miles

Day two was another success! We started on the road from Fargo, ND and ended in Lewistown, MT. Scott and I were married on this day, 16 years ago in beautiful Venice Italy - Happy Anniversary Sweetheart. On that day we vowed to see the world together and although many changes (and additions!) have occurred since, we continue to pursue our dreams.

Our first stop was Gille's Auto Salvage Yard in Valley City, ND where we scored North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota and Washington license plates. If you are new to following our blog we collect a license plate from every state with the goal of using the plates to create a License Plate Map. This is usually one of the highlights of our day ... crazy, but true.

We caught a small glimpse of the North Dakota flooding on I94; the road was down to one lane where the water was being held back by sand bags.

We stopped at Theodore Roosevelt National Park on the West side of North Dakota. It reminded us of the South Dakota Badlands. Beautiful. The girls stamped their National Park passport books and Annelies became a Junior Ranger.

We were determined to get a better 'Welcome to North Dakota' sign, so on our way out of the state we pulled over on the side of I94, took a picture of the Montana sign, walked (briskly) across both highways and took a picture of the North Dakota sign! SUCCESS!

We got back on the road and spent the rest of the day driving through Montana, the most desolate area of the United States I have ever seen; Highway 200 just west of Glendive. We would go 60 miles without seeing anyone or any homes; and no internet service via my treasured air card. I had to resort to knitting a scarf (finished it) and talk endlessly to Scott. He is hoping I will have internet service Friday!

We stayed at a Bed & Breakfast in the heart of Limekiln Canyon (Duvall Inn), just north of Lewistown. We discovered an absolutely breathtaking view outside our door upon awakening. The girls were elated to find horses roaming freely in the yard. We went on a short hike, had breakfast, and got back on the road towards Glacier. The weather is perfect.

Day two: 663 miles (935 total); $105.60 on gas ($161.20 total); $15.92 on souvenirs (15.920 total); $10 tourist traps ($10 total); Two states (Three total); 0 fights (0 total); 0 injuries (0 total).

Day One | Shortened Drive, Our Hero Redbox and is the Super 8 Really Great?

Day one is complete. We were planning to drive to Bismarck, but when we arrived in Fargo, North Dakota I started calling around for hotels to discover the entire area was filled with flooding victims. The hotel clerk instructed me to "Turn around right now and stay in Fargo, you won't find any open rooms until Montana." This natural disaster is sure putting a wrench in our plans! So we opted for a Super 8, which met our needs but a hotel we wouldn't label as 'great'. The girls had 45 minutes to swim and then back to our rooms for a shower and to bed by midnight.

This is the best we could do for our North Dakota photo. A tie-dyed buffalo! We are hoping for a real sign when we hit the Montana/North Dakota border.

We want to take time to send a special thank you to Redbox for all that you do for us on our road trips. We visit your kiosks often. It is times like this that Scott and I agree that not allowing your kids to watch too much TV is a good thing. Because both girls have spent nearly the whole trip 'plugged into' movies. Some would say, "But aren't they missing the trip?" Scott and I would disagree ... we 'wake them up' every couple hours to turn their heads and catch the scenery of lovely North Dakota!

Day one: 272 miles (272 total); $0 on gas ($0 total); $0 on souvenirs ($0 total); $0 tourist traps ($0 total); Two states (Two total); 0 fights (0 total); 0 injuries (0 total). 

Back on the Road | Trip out West

We are back on the road ... we will spend twelve (12) days traveling West through North Dakota, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Canada. Our original plan was to take the Amtrak train to East Glacier, drive to Seattle and fly out of Victoria, Canada. But due to flooding in North Dakota, the train track is under water, so we rented a sweet mini-van (Sunburst Orange Dodge Grand Caravan) to get us there instead. We will fly back from Canada.

The van is decked out with everything we need:

• Satellite Radio for Scott with an iPhone jack
• Power Inverter (normal outlet) for Rae Ann so she can blog on her PC
• Separate rows and plenty of space for Paradis and Annelies - along with four power outlets for their DVD players and misc. electronic devices

Life is good on the road ... welcome back as we continue Drivin' the Dream!

Day one: 212 miles thus far (212 total); $0 on gas ($0 total); $ on souvenirs ($0 total); $0 tourist traps ($0 total); One state (one total); 0 fights (0 total); 0 injuries (0 total). 

Day Eleven | Where are the Iowa signs? and The End ...

Day eleven (Sunday, April 3) started, once again, from a Walmart parking lot. We hit the road at a record breaking 7:22am. Our number one goal for the day was to take our picture in front of an Iowa state sign. We had attempted a couple times coming down, but had no luck finding a sign. We stopped at a couple rest areas, but there was never any sign indicating it was located in Iowa (maybe they don't want  you to know where you are?). Weird. So we gave up and compromised ... we spelled out IOWA with our body parts in front of an Iowa sign at a Iowa rest stop!

This will be my last blog entry as we are 'getting back to reality' this afternoon. We just left Albert Lea, where we filled our propane tank and emptied our dirty tanks. We have about two hours until we get home. Tonight we have tickets to see Stomp at the Ordway, so we will return the RV Monday night.

I'll be honest in saying I'm kinda sad to see our trip come to an end. It was fun. We had a great time exploring the 'middle of America'. We would love to do it again. Thanks for following us during our adventure.

Final statistics: 3,471 miles, $1,631.25 spent on gas, $99.91 on souvenirs and $550.55 on tourist traps. We visited nine states, had no fights* and only one injury.

* I don't want to imply we didn't have any spats along the way, but overall it was very peaceful. The girls did very well driving the 3,471 miles.

Day Ten | 650 feet underground, a shower, Amelia Earharts birthplace and Nebraska

Day ten (Saturday, April 2) started from another Walmart parking lot. We drove to the Kansas Underground Salt Mine Museum. Cool. Very cool. We rode a hoist 650 feet underground to a working salt mine. It was another cool stop (did I say that already?). I would suggest it to anyone in the area. We could have stayed another couple hours, but had to get on the road. Lots of miles yet to get home ...

The 'canisters' on the girls' hips are breathing apparatus' that we were trained to use in case of a collapse. Nice, huh? I almost turned back after two minutes into the safety video. We got back in the RV and headed to a local campground for a free shower. We continued through Kansas and stopped in Atchison to the home of Amelia Earhert - it was closed, but a nice stop. We did a couple cool geocaches near her house and headed back on the road to Nebraska.

Here we are in front of Amelia's home acting as if we are airplanes (Paradis didn't think it was funny). We filled up with gas and proceeded north to Nebraska. Filling up is a thirty minute ordeal - it takes a lot of time to fill an eighty gallon tank! Annelies plays on top, Scott fills the tank (he has to hold the nozzle the whole time as it shuts off) and Paradis cleans the windows. We are getting about 6.5 miles per gallon.

What am I doing when they are filling up the gas tank, you ask? I've given myself the label of 'Navigator' on this trip. The description for my role would probably fill ten pages if one took the time to type it up (OK, maybe I'm exagerating a bit) but here are a few things I'm responsible for (or at least have control over):

• Navigating the GPS and paper atlas we just bought in Arkansas so Scott can simply drive.
• Looking ahead to tourist traps we can enjoy along the way. This includes looking for RV dump stations, gas and state welcome signs.
• Calculating our trip costs, along with gas mileage statistics (Scott's obsession).
• Updating this blog on a daily basis. May seem simple, but it is hard work!
• Organize, clean and organize some more. If you know me, you know I like an organized space. Every couple hours I 'tidy up' the RV to make sure we all have room to move and I don't go crazy.
• Keep the peace in a 36 foot RV. That means make sure the kids have plenty to do and our driver is happy.
• Prepare/cook most (if not all) of the meals. The girls are pretty self-sufficient in our rig, but if I left it up to Annelies she would only eat snacks the whole 3,000 miles!
• Maintain our 'What we learned' journal for the trip. This includes items to pack, what to do in advance of the trip, tips on traveling, etc. We will use that for future trips. 
• Basically everything ... but driving. [Scott told me to include that, and added that I'm a great co-pilot.]

Notice I didn't include knitting in my job description. I had one knitting goal during this trip - to complete a blanket I'm making for a friend. A small project really, one I thought would be easy to complete. I haven't even knit 1/3 of it as I write during the last 300 miles of our trip. Oh well, I've enjoyed being Navigator!

On the road again ... It was dark and we were making our way to the last of the nine states on our trip; Nebraska. Scott didn't want to pull over on the side of the road and run back to the sign we just passed, at dark, next to a busy highway, to take our classic photo of the state sign as he was worried about the kids getting ran over. "Oh come on," I said, "What is more important? Kids that are alive or a photo of the state sign?" I guess he voted for safety because we drove around looking for a Nebraska sign in the town of Nebraska City.  Here is what we found ...

We set up our tripod and snapped a shot of the illuminated sign. The girls thought it was hilarious! I'm sure everyone driving by did as well.We stayed parked outside the Sheriff's station and had a little dinner before heading home toward Iowa.

We ended up just outside Omaha Nebraska in a city called Council Bluffs at another Walmart. A quiet night in preparation for our last day on the road.

Day ten:  405 miles (3,082 total). $211.6 on gas ($1,541.25 total). $19.91 on souvenirs ($99.91 total). $36 tourist traps ($550.55 total). Four states (Nine total). No fights (0 total). No injuries (1 total).

Day Nine | Good-Bye mom and dad, Oklahoma City Bombing Museum and another Walmart

Day nine (Friday, April 1) started early for us. OK, we weren't on the road until 8:26am but that was early for us! We have learned that we are not early birds. We left mom and dad (and Sassy) and headed to Oklahoma City.

We entered Oklahoma (our seventh state for the trip) ...

And arrived at the Oklahoma City Bombing Museum. This was my favorite museum of the trip. Wow. It was amazing. It gave us so much information about the bombing from the beginning to the end and it was done in good taste - you will have to see it to understand what I mean.

One chair for each person killed in the bombing.

We drove into Kansas after dark. So we pulled the RV up to the sign and snapped a shot! Welcome state number eight! Annelies looks a little crabby in the photo, and she was. When we saw the signed I yelled, "Hey guys!" so loud it completely freaked her out (she was watching a movie in the back). Her heart was racing so fast, because she thought Scott had a heart attack (Why? I have no idea)!

We arrived in Hutchinson Kansas at another Walmart parking lot to sleep for the night. Scott and I agree this is our favorite overnight location. It feels safe and we are always welcomed (with a quick call ahead to the manager). We can arrive, open up the RV and be sleeping within minutes. And all for free ... we love it!

Day nine:  579 miles (2,677 total). $219.02 on gas ($1,329.57 total). $27.40 on souvenirs ($80 total). $60 tourist traps ($490.55 total). Four states (Eight total). No fights (0 total). No injuries (1 total).

Day Eight | A day of digging in the mine ... complete success

Day eight (Thursday, March 31) we started from my mom and dad's house. We drove about two hours toward Little Rock, Arkansas and went to a Quartz Mine in Jessieville. It was called Jim Coleman's Quartz Mine. We had a lot of fun. I completely got into digging for the quartz as did my mom and Paradis. Annelies found a friend, a two-year old girl, who she hung with the whole day. We had good luck and found lots of quartz - clear 'crystals' found in the earth.

I just realized I didn't take any pictures of the quartz, I will have to do that later. We are now on the road and they are in the 'basement' of our camper, underneath. They are basically clear crystals, almost like a diamond, but large. This was a very messy job. We came home and had to wash everything we brought along including our shoes, clothes, digging tools.

Day eight:  0 miles (2,098 total). $0 on gas ($832.42 total). $0 on souvenirs ($52.60 total). $20 tourist traps ($463.55 total). One state (Six total). No fights (0 total). No injuries (1 total).

Day Seven | Waffle House, the Travel Center, a junk yard, and a lot of miles

Day seven (Wednesday, March 30) started from a Walmart parking lot. Dad wanted to eat a hot breakfast, so we went to The Waffle House, just next door. What an experience!The floor was so slippery with grease, Paradis nearly fell over! But yummy food ... Annelies ate more in that one meal than she has ate on the entire trip!

We started on the road and stopped at a Welcome Center at XX to 'dump our load'. This may be hard to believe, but it was beautiful. There was a four-minute movie, and Annelies watched it four times! The girls had a blast. It is the simple things that entertain our girls ... crazy! We continued driving and stopped at a junk yard near Alexandria, Louisiana. Success! We got six more plates including Florida, which we needed!

From there we drove straight back to Hope. A good ride. I drove nearly the whole way (OK, only three hours - but it was enough!). We arrived at mom and dad's house and their dog Sassy could barely contain her excitement. This was only the second time they had left her and the dog sitter said she didn't eat the whole time. Can we say, "spoiled dog?"

Day seven:  365 miles (2,098 total). $0 on gas ($832.42 total). $0 on souvenirs ($52.60 total). $0 on tourist traps ($434.55 total). One state (Six total). No fights (0 total). No injuries (1 total).