Tag: RVTrip

Driven by our last name

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Saturday, September 12, 2015

After getting to Boise, Idaho late in the night and finding our parking spot at the local WalMart, we work up early as the employees for the nearby Burger King were arriving for work.  We really need to have more appreciation for a Croissan’wich as they get there quite early!  We hit the road with our destination being Portland, Oregon for the day.  As you’ll see as we entered Oregon, the RV was at max speed (about 68 miles per hour).

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As the kids were all still sleeping Rachael and I were able to enjoy the sunrise over the distant hills.  Then as we climbed out of the valley and went over a large pass we had a 6 mile 6% decline.   We discussed if anyone ever has to use the “run away” truck ramps and if they apply to RV’s as well.  I told Rachael my plan was that if the brakes went out we were just going to ride the bumper of the semi in front of us all the way down, however that would have proved to be a bad plan.  Shortly after that we could see his brakes were starting to fail as blue smoke was starting to come out from under his truck.  The semi was able to stop and pull over to the side so it did not go completely out of control but did make me think that steep inclines need to be taken seriously!  This brought us down to drive along the Columbia River which we were able to enjoy for a few hours.  The pictures below will not do it justice.  It was truly beautiful!

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When we got to Portland the kids were starving so we decided to try out a Burgerville.  We heard they were known for their milkshakes but after being there we are still fans of Culvers.

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After leaving Burgerville and feeling that the kids were content we opted for a “mom” activity and went to the Portland Saturday Market.  It was a very cool market that happens every Saturday and Sunday;  March – Christmas Eve.   There was a booth for every interest from shirts to wood carved utensils, pottery and many types of artwork so unique I have no clue what it was.

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After the market we wanted to go to Washington to get a picture by the state sign. Unfortunately where you cross from Portland  into Washington it has multiple lanes of traffic on a bridge so it seemed it might be too dangerous for our family to climb the bridge and use our selfie stick to take the photo.  We only have the one below.

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For the few hours we had to spend in Washington State we had to choose what to do.  Some of the places we discussed were Mt. Rainer, the Space Needle, Pungent Sound, Mt. Saint Helens or visit the only rainforest in the continental US on the Olympic Peninsula.  BUT, we unanimously decided (or maybe just me) we should drive 5 hours round trip visit McCleary, Washington!  We have pictures of our adventure below.  The hospitality at the local diner was amazing once they were awe struck with meeting “real” McCleary’s.  After being a celebrity for an hour, meeting the mayor and signing the guestbook we left the BEST named small town in America and the kids and I slept while Rachael drove us back to the RV park.

Trucker in training,  Ryan

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Wyoming

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Grace has put together this blog and written the last posts.  I think she’s done a great job!  She’ll be back as well as the rest of the kids taking their turn. For now, you get the musings from mom.

Today, as I sat listening to Burka read to me I could hear Grace and Greta at the table quizzing each other for their science test they take tomorrow. Hannah and Ryan discussing her Economics class in the front of the RV. All this was happening while were watching breathtaking views of Wyoming out our windows. I could not help but think I am one lucky mom.   Really, I’m not sure that it gets better than this unless my two college kiddos were with us. I love learning more about the hearts of my kids while we experience our beautiful county first hand.

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We woke up in Gillette this morning. We traveled up through the Bighorn Mountains and back down through them as well. I watched as my kids looked out the windows of our RV down to the valleys and up to the peaks. They noticed houses built way up high in the mountains and day dreamed about what kids would do if they lived there.   We talked about how getting groceries would be different if you lived in the mountains versus living in Alexandria MN.

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I packed our efit boards so Hannah and I got to get out and do a little stretching and working out in the Big Horn Mountains.  It sure did feel good to get out and move a bit on our long stretch of driving.

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Each of us has things that we think are great about our day as well as things that were not so great.  Things happen – like when Hannah lost a paper she wrote for her college class due to the Internet going down. It’s all part of the adventure.

In the afternoon we made our way to Yellowstone. The geysers and sulfur pools are really amazing. A bit stinky for some in our group, but really it blows my mind to think about these boiling pools of water.

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Buche is usually our comic relief and he’s not failed us on this trip. Our first stop in Yellowstone was “Mud Volcano”. We stopped in the bathroom before heading down the trail. After checking out the toilet (that did not flush) he said with a fearful look on his face… “DON’T fall in mom!”

The girls talked about memories we made on our trip with our friends the Thomas’ that we traveled to Yellowstone with some years ago. Those memories make me thankful for friends. Thankful for times spent together.

We watched the sun go down over Yellowstone tonight.  We walked a path until darkness had set.  It was beautiful.  It was quiet.  It was peaceful.  This place is a mystery to me.

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It is an adventure. It is good. And, I am so very thankful.

Day one

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The first day was very fun, but very overwhelming as well. We started in North Dakota, where we went to the Enchanted Highway and we saw the worlds largest holstein, Salem Sue.  Next was South Dakota where we stopped and ate lunch at a park. It was good to get some fresh air. Then we where headed to Devils Tower in Wyoming.  Although, we did get lost on the way.  It was a 60 mile gravel road “shortcut” that we had no intentions of taking.  We crossed Montana somewhere along that “shortcut” and had to stop for a picture. We will hopefully be visiting Montana more tomorrow! Here our the pictures by the signs. I guess selfie sticks actually are kind of helpful.

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We managed the first day! The one good thing about being in a RV is that it makes you get school done out of boredom. My favorite part of the day was climbing on the rocks at Devil’s Tower. My least favorite part of the day was waking up early in the morning to everything bouncing around as we where going on the road. I guess I’m just going to have to get used to that.

Love, Grace

First day of school

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Everybody is posting their back to school pictures, so here is ours.

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Our first day of school was not like yours. We headed out on our 48 state adventure. We are now in North Dakota and we’re planning on going to the badlands today. We have not been able so see much yet because when we started driving last night it was already dark.

This morning we took the time to organize our school so we can work on the road. All of our clothes and most of our stuff is under the RV so we will have to stop when we need anything. Last night we slept in a Walmart parking lot in Jamestown, North Dakota. That will most likely be where we sleep a lot of the nights.

We will be missing my brother and sister to start out with, but we are looking forward for them to join us along the way! We are excited to share with you guys!

Love, The McClearys