(working on the Junior Ranger book)
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Day 14: Utah
Left Colorado today. Didn't get outside much in the Boulder area... the days were either 95 to 100 degrees and/or threatening thunderstorms. I really think it worked out though to "rest" (quotes because all four humans in the house fell behind in sleep while there) and not run around and/or drive all over town.
It's travel every day from here on out. Not really a good plan... but here we are.
So there's not very much in western Colorado and/or eastern Utah (except fires). It smells like smoke here, and the sun was red in the evening. The fire that was closest to here was put out though, so we aren't going to be evacuated anytime soon.
The drive west from Denver was pretty cool. We left a very hot (but dry) day down near Boulder, then when we next got out of the car a few thousand feet higher up, it was raining and the two of us were surprised by how chilly it felt. Normally interstates are not scenic drives, but 70 West goes right through Glenwood Canyon, which is awesome.
Bryce Canyon tomorrow.
It's travel every day from here on out. Not really a good plan... but here we are.
So there's not very much in western Colorado and/or eastern Utah (except fires). It smells like smoke here, and the sun was red in the evening. The fire that was closest to here was put out though, so we aren't going to be evacuated anytime soon.
The drive west from Denver was pretty cool. We left a very hot (but dry) day down near Boulder, then when we next got out of the car a few thousand feet higher up, it was raining and the two of us were surprised by how chilly it felt. Normally interstates are not scenic drives, but 70 West goes right through Glenwood Canyon, which is awesome.
Bryce Canyon tomorrow.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Days 10-12: Boulder
For the record, I have spent too much time wondering if our first day (driving from home to Lancaster) should be Day 0 or Day 1. I settled on Day 1, but clearly I am not resting easy in this decision.
On Day 10 we drove from the corner of Nebraska we had stayed in to just outside Boulder. We drove through Wyoming, which had a stretch that might be among the emptiest 75 mile stretches of highway you can find in America. When you leave Torrington, Wyoming (a town of ~6500), you pass a sign that says something like "no services next 76 miles". And sure enough, there's nothing until you get to Cheyenne. On the way out of town I passed an anti-abortion sign, and given my observations of the heartland so far, I expected there to be more. So I made a game up: number of gas stations vs number of pro-life signs. I passed something that was at least in the right shape of a solitary pump, but even if it was, it certainly wasn't a "gas station". I also passed a billboard advertising that one could take the next road to a gas station, but going by a strict definition, the final score was Anti-Abortion 1, Gas Stations 0. Not sure if this helps illustrate the desolation, but it's what I have for you.
We got into Lafayette in mid-afternoon. There are some people here I think the world of, so I'm pretty happy here. Not going to be a lot to post about here, because this page is usually about seeing new things and meeting new people, and I think we're going to be laying low a lot. Resting up is nice, and the 100 degree days really take your motivation for adventures away.
We all played Rock Band the first night. Kiddo sang - she's getting better on the songs she somewhat knows. She did "Portions for Foxes" and "Pretend We're Dead" pretty well. I got to sit behind the drums, and because I'm a video game masochist, I took a shot at "Won't Get Fooled Again". We were on no-fail mode for the kiddo, but it was an ugly scene anyway. I can hold down the fort, but I will never be Keith Moon (I also am not into destroying toilets and dying young, so this is not necessarily a bad thing).
Kiddo is now addicted to Boom Blox Bash Party, a game for the Wii.
Anyway, it'll probably be pretty hard to leave on Thursday. I'm really happy here.
But there's so much awesome stuff left to do!
On Day 10 we drove from the corner of Nebraska we had stayed in to just outside Boulder. We drove through Wyoming, which had a stretch that might be among the emptiest 75 mile stretches of highway you can find in America. When you leave Torrington, Wyoming (a town of ~6500), you pass a sign that says something like "no services next 76 miles". And sure enough, there's nothing until you get to Cheyenne. On the way out of town I passed an anti-abortion sign, and given my observations of the heartland so far, I expected there to be more. So I made a game up: number of gas stations vs number of pro-life signs. I passed something that was at least in the right shape of a solitary pump, but even if it was, it certainly wasn't a "gas station". I also passed a billboard advertising that one could take the next road to a gas station, but going by a strict definition, the final score was Anti-Abortion 1, Gas Stations 0. Not sure if this helps illustrate the desolation, but it's what I have for you.
We got into Lafayette in mid-afternoon. There are some people here I think the world of, so I'm pretty happy here. Not going to be a lot to post about here, because this page is usually about seeing new things and meeting new people, and I think we're going to be laying low a lot. Resting up is nice, and the 100 degree days really take your motivation for adventures away.
We all played Rock Band the first night. Kiddo sang - she's getting better on the songs she somewhat knows. She did "Portions for Foxes" and "Pretend We're Dead" pretty well. I got to sit behind the drums, and because I'm a video game masochist, I took a shot at "Won't Get Fooled Again". We were on no-fail mode for the kiddo, but it was an ugly scene anyway. I can hold down the fort, but I will never be Keith Moon (I also am not into destroying toilets and dying young, so this is not necessarily a bad thing).
Kiddo is now addicted to Boom Blox Bash Party, a game for the Wii.
Anyway, it'll probably be pretty hard to leave on Thursday. I'm really happy here.
But there's so much awesome stuff left to do!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Day 9: Scottsbluff, Nebraska (and Mount Rushmore)
We left the Badlands on Saturday morning. I noticed that our planned exit for heading south was the same exit as Mount Rushmore. Not too long ago I had a discussion with one of my friends... how far out of my way would I go to see Mount Rushmore? I decided then no more than an hour at the time... and looking at the map, it didn't even seem that far out of the way. But mostly it was that Kiddo loved the Junior Ranger program we already did, and we left our campsite so early... so why not?
So when we stopped for gas I picked up a free map that helped point me in the right direction (I hadn't even bothered to get directions before the trip), and we were on our way. I tried to get us there by 10:30 in case they had a kids program that started at the same time as the Badlands one (I sort of did, except we had to wait in line to pay to park, then put on sunscreen, so we would have missed it). Turns out the smaller parks and monuments usually don't have guided programs for kids, just the booklet to do to become a Junior Ranger.
Before I left for the trip, I purchased an annual pass for $80 that gets me into any National Park/Monument/etc for a year. However, that doesn't help you at Mount Rushmore. Entry is "free", but you pay $11 to park (so if you want to see it for free, you can either just drive by the entrance and settle for that quick view... or hike up the mountain (probably 5 miles, although I have no idea where you'd even park for that). Whatever. And hey, the parking pass is valid for the rest of the year... but they put your state and car make on it so that you can't transfer it. I'm so listing it on ebay to see if anyone from PA with a Hyundai wants to pay me $2 to circumvent the system, because the system pissed me off.
So Mount Rushmore is stupid. I already knew it would be, but I can confirm from personal experience now. Is the sculpting/engineering impressive? Yes. But they took a cool rock, made it into something manmade, and then used it as a monument to nationalism. No thanks.
The place was just crawling with people. I wonder if anyone else was using the occasion to undermine American 'values' with their kid. I didn't push it too strong, but I told her about Native Americans and how when white people first got here they were mean and took the land.
The Junior Ranger book was kinda hard. Most of the books have her doing activities for 5 to 8 year olds, so even though she can read she's still a little young for some of the activities. This one wanted her to be able to name the presidents on the monument... Kiddo didn't even know what a president is. Whatever, we got it done. Well not exactly. We skipped a few things here and there, like a part about soldiers protecting America and what it stands for. One of the things she was supposed to do was take a picture, so here's her picture:
The video they show is just awful (the opening sequence was honestly something to the point of "when plans for Mount Rushmore were announced, it was controversial, because people thought you shouldn't change nature to try to improve it, but we did it anyway, and because it's so awesome nobody disagrees anymore"). It went way over the top with the 'symbol of freedom' and all that. So after it was over we talked about how they should have just left the rock alone, it looked cooler beforehand.
Mostly for this trip I just gave Google the starting point and the destination, made sure the directions weren't really weird, and printed. I didn't have time to look at maps and tweak routes to my liking. But here I was at Rushmore, needing to link up with my existing directions, and I just had some touristy maps to work with. A ranger recommended a scenic route up a mountain - he said I would have to double back to avoid driving through a state park and paying an entrance fee, but I found a road on the map that looked it would skip that (and it wasn't even that remote, it was paved!).
So we ended up driving up Iron Mountain in the Black Hills National Forest. The drive was just gorgeous. I didn't want to slow us down by stopping at overlooks (this was not a particularly fast route to take, although I didn't regret the choice), so the only picture I have is of a tunnel. The road also went through three single lane tunnels (which helped sell me on taking it, Kiddo loves when we drive through tunnels). I never did find the road I had planned to turn on, but the ranger's declaration of when you have to pay the state park was wrong. So it worked out!
From there it was highways through southwestern South Dakota and into the corner of Nebraska. There wasn't much to look at, although at one point the road slowed a bit for the tiny town of Ardmore... and nearly everything was boarded up. A later wikipedia search does identify it as a modern ghost town.
Our destination was a house about 30 minutes west of Scottsbluff, but I decided to take the detour to the National Monument. Kiddo was really worn out and ready to just get to the house, so she didn't want to go, even though it meant another Junior Ranger badge. I told her that I really wanted to see the Bluff itself, and that I'd pick up a Junior Ranger book and she could decide if she wanted to do it then or do it later and mail it in. It was over 100 degrees in Nebraska, so we did not linger long outside. Sure enough. she wanted to do the book right away.
The park building and the booklet really focus on the Oregon Trail / western expansion aspect of the area. I've realized that, outside of how I enjoy the actual Oregon Trail game for nostalgia reasons, I don't care. It's just too hard to view it through the default American view right now... I just see colonialism and the removal of indigenous people. I've never been in the plains area of the country before, and I think seeing so much land that's beautiful and (relatively) empty of modern civilization is really making me think about American colonialism and how things should not have happened like they did (it's not that I didn't already know that, but it's more prominent in my consciousness than it's ever been before).
Her Junior Ranger book was aimed at 3 to 7 year olds, so I thought it would be easier than it was, but there were definitely some things in there that were way over a 5 year old's head. There were very few people there, so I knew the ranger would remember us from a few minutes before... so we just did the fun stuff and a few of the historical type questions, and I figured if he really needed us to do the harder stuff, we could. He saw how worn down the kid looked (although she was also covered in marker and looked a tiny bit zombie-ish), and he went ahead and swore her in. Two surprise Junior Ranger programs in one day!
We didn't drive up to the top of the Bluff. I'm sure the view is incredible, but I didn't want to keep slowing us down... and I didn't especially want to get out of the car again either. Did I mention yet how I'm so glad we were able to take the car with air conditioning in it?
Our host lived almost on the Nebraska / Wyoming border. I really liked her house. It really felt like an oasis in all that heat and sparseness of Nebraska. She told me she thinks she's the only liberal for miles (she has an Obama sticker on her ATV, which I found amusing), so I suppose it was an oasis of ideas as well. When we pulled up, she had run to the store but she left music playing outside, drinks on ice, and a note telling us to come in and wander around. It was pretty awesome. She was taking care of a few kittens for a neighbor (apparently rural Nebraska is lousy with sickly feral cats, by the way), so it was a lot of fun for us to have three adorable kittens walking around all weekend. Eventually I got the kid to bed and then caught up on internet things (hence the catching up on this blog). When we stay with people who are not night people, it's weird how I never really get to sit down and talk with them without the little one around.
The video they show is just awful (the opening sequence was honestly something to the point of "when plans for Mount Rushmore were announced, it was controversial, because people thought you shouldn't change nature to try to improve it, but we did it anyway, and because it's so awesome nobody disagrees anymore"). It went way over the top with the 'symbol of freedom' and all that. So after it was over we talked about how they should have just left the rock alone, it looked cooler beforehand.
Mostly for this trip I just gave Google the starting point and the destination, made sure the directions weren't really weird, and printed. I didn't have time to look at maps and tweak routes to my liking. But here I was at Rushmore, needing to link up with my existing directions, and I just had some touristy maps to work with. A ranger recommended a scenic route up a mountain - he said I would have to double back to avoid driving through a state park and paying an entrance fee, but I found a road on the map that looked it would skip that (and it wasn't even that remote, it was paved!).
So we ended up driving up Iron Mountain in the Black Hills National Forest. The drive was just gorgeous. I didn't want to slow us down by stopping at overlooks (this was not a particularly fast route to take, although I didn't regret the choice), so the only picture I have is of a tunnel. The road also went through three single lane tunnels (which helped sell me on taking it, Kiddo loves when we drive through tunnels). I never did find the road I had planned to turn on, but the ranger's declaration of when you have to pay the state park was wrong. So it worked out!
From there it was highways through southwestern South Dakota and into the corner of Nebraska. There wasn't much to look at, although at one point the road slowed a bit for the tiny town of Ardmore... and nearly everything was boarded up. A later wikipedia search does identify it as a modern ghost town.
Our destination was a house about 30 minutes west of Scottsbluff, but I decided to take the detour to the National Monument. Kiddo was really worn out and ready to just get to the house, so she didn't want to go, even though it meant another Junior Ranger badge. I told her that I really wanted to see the Bluff itself, and that I'd pick up a Junior Ranger book and she could decide if she wanted to do it then or do it later and mail it in. It was over 100 degrees in Nebraska, so we did not linger long outside. Sure enough. she wanted to do the book right away.
The park building and the booklet really focus on the Oregon Trail / western expansion aspect of the area. I've realized that, outside of how I enjoy the actual Oregon Trail game for nostalgia reasons, I don't care. It's just too hard to view it through the default American view right now... I just see colonialism and the removal of indigenous people. I've never been in the plains area of the country before, and I think seeing so much land that's beautiful and (relatively) empty of modern civilization is really making me think about American colonialism and how things should not have happened like they did (it's not that I didn't already know that, but it's more prominent in my consciousness than it's ever been before).
Her Junior Ranger book was aimed at 3 to 7 year olds, so I thought it would be easier than it was, but there were definitely some things in there that were way over a 5 year old's head. There were very few people there, so I knew the ranger would remember us from a few minutes before... so we just did the fun stuff and a few of the historical type questions, and I figured if he really needed us to do the harder stuff, we could. He saw how worn down the kid looked (although she was also covered in marker and looked a tiny bit zombie-ish), and he went ahead and swore her in. Two surprise Junior Ranger programs in one day!
We didn't drive up to the top of the Bluff. I'm sure the view is incredible, but I didn't want to keep slowing us down... and I didn't especially want to get out of the car again either. Did I mention yet how I'm so glad we were able to take the car with air conditioning in it?
Our host lived almost on the Nebraska / Wyoming border. I really liked her house. It really felt like an oasis in all that heat and sparseness of Nebraska. She told me she thinks she's the only liberal for miles (she has an Obama sticker on her ATV, which I found amusing), so I suppose it was an oasis of ideas as well. When we pulled up, she had run to the store but she left music playing outside, drinks on ice, and a note telling us to come in and wander around. It was pretty awesome. She was taking care of a few kittens for a neighbor (apparently rural Nebraska is lousy with sickly feral cats, by the way), so it was a lot of fun for us to have three adorable kittens walking around all weekend. Eventually I got the kid to bed and then caught up on internet things (hence the catching up on this blog). When we stay with people who are not night people, it's weird how I never really get to sit down and talk with them without the little one around.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Day 8: Badlands National Park
Part 1:
One of two stops for more than one night. I forgot how hard it is to sleep in while camping. Hello, sun; hello, morning.
I did a bit of reorganizing of the total nightmare that is the car right now. We managed to leave early enough for the Junior Ranger program. It starts at 10:30, but it took us over an hour to get to the Visitors Center from our remote campground. The main road through the park winds through some ridiculous views - we never stopped, but I did a fair amount of gawking and driving - I was in no hurry to get through this road. There were sheep on the side of one of the cliffs!
The Junior Ranger program was ok. He asked for some volunteers to pick stuffed animals out of a bag. Those kinds of things favor the more assertive child. By the time I coached Little up on proper volunteering technique, she just got unlucky in catching his gaze for the last few chances. She was despondent.
He asked us to design our own creature and gave us 10 minutes to do so and/or climb on the rocky hill we were standing by. Unfortunately creature design is an activity in the booklet, so we had already done it. Kiddo went straight after climbing the hill, and she got a bit in over her head. I suppose I enable this by bailing her out and helping her go farther. So we found ourselves on a steep slope. I had stuff in my other hand because I wasn't prepared for the climb. Further up the slope looked dicey - so I foolishly led us sideways to try to get to a flat area. We started to slide - fairly quickly I pulled her up on me as we slid down a few feet. She had a few minor scrapes and was wailing. My leg got bloody in quite a few places, and a few fingers got a little ripped up too.
Back down the hill, the ranger started to give Kiddo her badge and patch early, but she wanted to stay. I think asking her to take a picture of my bloody knee helped her calm down, actually. Because we stayed she got to take the pledge, which was so cute (she was much happier the following picture... it's just tough to get her to pose, especially when the wind is blowing her hair in her face).
Back at the visitors center we got some band-aids and I tried to clean up my leg. Quite a few strangers offered to help - a nice European man got a disinfecting spray from his car for me. The spray bottle was labeled in German.
We watched a movie (Kiddo was bored as shit at all the non-animal parts) then ventured back out for a short hike. She was right back at wanting to climb big rocks! For better or worse, she seems less safety conscious than she used to be.
I could tell the lack of a full night's sleep was wearing on her. We refilled our water bottles at the visitors center so we'd have enough for tonight, then headed back out to camp. She might or might not have fallen asleep if I hadn't stopped a few times. I couldn't help it - might be the last time we drive through the park, and those views are amazing.
Very few tents left at camp, although one large group eventually showed up. Not sure if Friday campers show up late, or if tonight's just going to be less folks. Kiddo and I settled into the tent, had a great "you're exhausted and bored and I'm out of patience" fight, then napped through the lingering heat of the late afternoon. It's now 6ish local time. She's still asleep. I'm not sure if we'll go for the night program at the visitors center (we logged 75 miles and 2 hours in the car already today) or just climb a "mountain" around here again. Hopefully whatever we choose, we do in happiness!
Tomorrow - Scottsbluff Nebraska (actually we're staying at a tiny town west of it on the Wyoming border). Sunday - Boulder!
---------
Part 2:
The two nights at the Badlands were very different. Last night we decided to skip the night program because some clouds were moving in - rain looked imminent, and an hour drive just to find out it was canceled (and an hour back to camp!) - not worth it.
We decided to walk up a long ridge. We got beat to the path by three riders on horses. Kiddo was pretty amused to watch them go by (they used the ridge as a long way to get to the more cliff-like hill that we climbed the day before). At the top of the hill we braved a phone call (reception in the camp... not so good).When I told my partner I love her and started to hang up, Kiddo made lots of whiny noises. We ended up calling back so Kiddo could say it too.
The storm started to come in while we were on the hill. The first thunder sent us off the hilltop, talking about lightning safety on the way down. She ate some more while I tried to get everything not essential to that night out of the tent in case it got wet. The lightning increased, the wind picked up, and the rain sent us to our tent. We tried reading Frog and Toad, but it's hard to read when the sides of your tent are bulging in from the wind and getting in between your face and the book.
We eventually changed the direction of our sleeping bags (of course the wind somewhat changed direction after that). I reassured kiddo while she reassured her stuffed animals, and eventually we slept, but it wasn't really all that easy. Wondering if the tent really is going to collapse under freakishly high winds is not really a good way to get a good night's sleep. The tent poles would invert and the tent wall would get pushed down on my legs, and/or half the tent space would essentially be gone. But it held! I was glad I put the tent stakes in so thoroughly (even if there were annoying to get out the next morning).
We woke up early again. I wrote some in the morning when I was the only one awake, then we packed up and headed out. Twice on the way out of camp we passed by buffalo that were right next to the road.
One of two stops for more than one night. I forgot how hard it is to sleep in while camping. Hello, sun; hello, morning.
I did a bit of reorganizing of the total nightmare that is the car right now. We managed to leave early enough for the Junior Ranger program. It starts at 10:30, but it took us over an hour to get to the Visitors Center from our remote campground. The main road through the park winds through some ridiculous views - we never stopped, but I did a fair amount of gawking and driving - I was in no hurry to get through this road. There were sheep on the side of one of the cliffs!
The Junior Ranger program was ok. He asked for some volunteers to pick stuffed animals out of a bag. Those kinds of things favor the more assertive child. By the time I coached Little up on proper volunteering technique, she just got unlucky in catching his gaze for the last few chances. She was despondent.
He asked us to design our own creature and gave us 10 minutes to do so and/or climb on the rocky hill we were standing by. Unfortunately creature design is an activity in the booklet, so we had already done it. Kiddo went straight after climbing the hill, and she got a bit in over her head. I suppose I enable this by bailing her out and helping her go farther. So we found ourselves on a steep slope. I had stuff in my other hand because I wasn't prepared for the climb. Further up the slope looked dicey - so I foolishly led us sideways to try to get to a flat area. We started to slide - fairly quickly I pulled her up on me as we slid down a few feet. She had a few minor scrapes and was wailing. My leg got bloody in quite a few places, and a few fingers got a little ripped up too.
Back at the visitors center we got some band-aids and I tried to clean up my leg. Quite a few strangers offered to help - a nice European man got a disinfecting spray from his car for me. The spray bottle was labeled in German.
We watched a movie (Kiddo was bored as shit at all the non-animal parts) then ventured back out for a short hike. She was right back at wanting to climb big rocks! For better or worse, she seems less safety conscious than she used to be.
I could tell the lack of a full night's sleep was wearing on her. We refilled our water bottles at the visitors center so we'd have enough for tonight, then headed back out to camp. She might or might not have fallen asleep if I hadn't stopped a few times. I couldn't help it - might be the last time we drive through the park, and those views are amazing.
Very few tents left at camp, although one large group eventually showed up. Not sure if Friday campers show up late, or if tonight's just going to be less folks. Kiddo and I settled into the tent, had a great "you're exhausted and bored and I'm out of patience" fight, then napped through the lingering heat of the late afternoon. It's now 6ish local time. She's still asleep. I'm not sure if we'll go for the night program at the visitors center (we logged 75 miles and 2 hours in the car already today) or just climb a "mountain" around here again. Hopefully whatever we choose, we do in happiness!
Tomorrow - Scottsbluff Nebraska (actually we're staying at a tiny town west of it on the Wyoming border). Sunday - Boulder!
---------
Part 2:
The two nights at the Badlands were very different. Last night we decided to skip the night program because some clouds were moving in - rain looked imminent, and an hour drive just to find out it was canceled (and an hour back to camp!) - not worth it.
We decided to walk up a long ridge. We got beat to the path by three riders on horses. Kiddo was pretty amused to watch them go by (they used the ridge as a long way to get to the more cliff-like hill that we climbed the day before). At the top of the hill we braved a phone call (reception in the camp... not so good).When I told my partner I love her and started to hang up, Kiddo made lots of whiny noises. We ended up calling back so Kiddo could say it too.
The storm started to come in while we were on the hill. The first thunder sent us off the hilltop, talking about lightning safety on the way down. She ate some more while I tried to get everything not essential to that night out of the tent in case it got wet. The lightning increased, the wind picked up, and the rain sent us to our tent. We tried reading Frog and Toad, but it's hard to read when the sides of your tent are bulging in from the wind and getting in between your face and the book.
We eventually changed the direction of our sleeping bags (of course the wind somewhat changed direction after that). I reassured kiddo while she reassured her stuffed animals, and eventually we slept, but it wasn't really all that easy. Wondering if the tent really is going to collapse under freakishly high winds is not really a good way to get a good night's sleep. The tent poles would invert and the tent wall would get pushed down on my legs, and/or half the tent space would essentially be gone. But it held! I was glad I put the tent stakes in so thoroughly (even if there were annoying to get out the next morning).
We woke up early again. I wrote some in the morning when I was the only one awake, then we packed up and headed out. Twice on the way out of camp we passed by buffalo that were right next to the road.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Day 7: Badlands National Park
We woke up today in Sioux Falls. Kiddo wanted to go to the Falls again. I said ok, but she made leaving so difficult that eventually (while getting ice from a liquor store, actually) a full on fight broke out, and we abandoned the Falls plan.
South Dakota is pretty funny. There's not all that much stuff here, but there's just as many billboards on the interstate, so they're all for the same stuff. A handful of tourist traps just keep advertising over hundreds of miles.
One of them kept giving me the giggles - the Corn Palace ("World's Only Corn Palace!"). So finally I decided we'd take the plunge, especially when other ads would refer to it like it's a reasonable landmark ("only 2 miles north of the Corn Palace!"). And it said it was free, so why not?
So, the Corn Palace was just weird. I was hoping it was 100% made of corn, but it's not. Instead, it's a giant sturdy building with corn decorations (changed yearly). We went inside and the main part of it has auditorium seating and a gift shop on a basketball court. Apparently both the local college and high school play games there. There's a second level with an additional court - basketball practice was going on.
They show a 15 minute video about the history of the Corn Palace in a side room. Apparently the locals were worried that their town would get ignored, especially given that the closest town had a Grain Palace. And I guess they decided that corn > other grains, or something. "If the Corn Palace stands for anything, it is a good time".
We did not stop at Wall Drug, the tourist trap that started advertising as far east as Minnesota ("only 335 miles to Wall Drug!"). Kiddo really struggled with the drive today. We had our rough start, then she got into the Legos again, and all was well, but she really started losing it.
So we rolled into the park, and within 5 minutes of the gates we had a kickass view, so we pulled over to look. Snapped a pic or two - I was really happy that Kiddo thought it looked awesome - she often doesn't care about just looking at stuff (especially out of car windows). I guess this was just so different from her normal world.
We saw a ton of prairie dogs in one area, and some buffalo far off. Kiddo got antsy again driving to the campground - the free one is pretty remote.
Putting up the tent was a bit scary - I didn't remember my lesson that well, and it was windy. But I did alright. As long as 1) it's light out 2) it's not raining, and 3) all pieces are there, I can cope.
We ate some food, did the Junior Ranger book, then went for a walk. Little said she wanted to "climb a mountain" (the tall hills surrounding the campground) and she really surprised me by making it all the way. On the way down we saw a solitary buffalo meander on the road to the campground. Apparently yesterday dozens of them went right through the campground circle and all the tents.
We made some friends with some 20-something travelers, some of whom are also driving cross-country. Then we went for another hike, this one at sunset. We were warned to watch out for rattlesnakes. Thankfully, no incidents to report there.
She got antsy after climbing this hill because she wanted to set the telescope up. When we got back, it wasn't dark yet, but the sun was down and the moon was about to set too. It was a narrow crescent and very cool.
Kiddo pretty much put herself to bed, getting in the tent while I was putting something back in the car. I talked with the aforementioned travelers until the stars were all out. And holy crap, so many. And the cloudy star dust of the rest of the Milky Way... very happy me. One girl came with me to where the telescope was set up in the middle of the field. She used it a bit, but I just laid on the blanket on my back and stared straight up. We talked about random things in life. It's nice that even on the camping portion of our trip I'm meeting new random people.
We heard some crazy noises. Supposedly, it was coyotes fighting.
The two girls I met are hula hoopers, so one twirled fire on the gravel road. I shot some video, I'm glad I also shut it off to just watch the end. It's nice to document things, especially for people who aren't with you, but documenting can get in the way of experiencing.
Tomorrow - going through the main stretch of park early in order to hit the Junior Ranger program then probably back here for the afternoon. Possibly going back again for the night program and the park's telescope.
South Dakota is pretty funny. There's not all that much stuff here, but there's just as many billboards on the interstate, so they're all for the same stuff. A handful of tourist traps just keep advertising over hundreds of miles.
One of them kept giving me the giggles - the Corn Palace ("World's Only Corn Palace!"). So finally I decided we'd take the plunge, especially when other ads would refer to it like it's a reasonable landmark ("only 2 miles north of the Corn Palace!"). And it said it was free, so why not?
So, the Corn Palace was just weird. I was hoping it was 100% made of corn, but it's not. Instead, it's a giant sturdy building with corn decorations (changed yearly). We went inside and the main part of it has auditorium seating and a gift shop on a basketball court. Apparently both the local college and high school play games there. There's a second level with an additional court - basketball practice was going on.
They show a 15 minute video about the history of the Corn Palace in a side room. Apparently the locals were worried that their town would get ignored, especially given that the closest town had a Grain Palace. And I guess they decided that corn > other grains, or something. "If the Corn Palace stands for anything, it is a good time".
We did not stop at Wall Drug, the tourist trap that started advertising as far east as Minnesota ("only 335 miles to Wall Drug!"). Kiddo really struggled with the drive today. We had our rough start, then she got into the Legos again, and all was well, but she really started losing it.
So we rolled into the park, and within 5 minutes of the gates we had a kickass view, so we pulled over to look. Snapped a pic or two - I was really happy that Kiddo thought it looked awesome - she often doesn't care about just looking at stuff (especially out of car windows). I guess this was just so different from her normal world.
We saw a ton of prairie dogs in one area, and some buffalo far off. Kiddo got antsy again driving to the campground - the free one is pretty remote.
Putting up the tent was a bit scary - I didn't remember my lesson that well, and it was windy. But I did alright. As long as 1) it's light out 2) it's not raining, and 3) all pieces are there, I can cope.
We ate some food, did the Junior Ranger book, then went for a walk. Little said she wanted to "climb a mountain" (the tall hills surrounding the campground) and she really surprised me by making it all the way. On the way down we saw a solitary buffalo meander on the road to the campground. Apparently yesterday dozens of them went right through the campground circle and all the tents.
We made some friends with some 20-something travelers, some of whom are also driving cross-country. Then we went for another hike, this one at sunset. We were warned to watch out for rattlesnakes. Thankfully, no incidents to report there.
She got antsy after climbing this hill because she wanted to set the telescope up. When we got back, it wasn't dark yet, but the sun was down and the moon was about to set too. It was a narrow crescent and very cool.
Kiddo pretty much put herself to bed, getting in the tent while I was putting something back in the car. I talked with the aforementioned travelers until the stars were all out. And holy crap, so many. And the cloudy star dust of the rest of the Milky Way... very happy me. One girl came with me to where the telescope was set up in the middle of the field. She used it a bit, but I just laid on the blanket on my back and stared straight up. We talked about random things in life. It's nice that even on the camping portion of our trip I'm meeting new random people.
We heard some crazy noises. Supposedly, it was coyotes fighting.
The two girls I met are hula hoopers, so one twirled fire on the gravel road. I shot some video, I'm glad I also shut it off to just watch the end. It's nice to document things, especially for people who aren't with you, but documenting can get in the way of experiencing.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Day 6: Sioux Falls
Disjointed post! Go!
I could get behind living in a town named Black Earth, Wisconsin.
Better than Blue Earth, Minnesota, for whatever reason.
Southern Minnesota has a ton of wind mills.
Today had the second giant thunderstorm I drove into on the trip (in Indiana I think I saw lightning hit a cell/radio/something else tower). I was excited at first, then started wondering if Minnesota gets tornadoes... that would be not so much exciting.
I got pulled over going "low 80s" (I was spaced out looking at wind mills again and don't know how high I got, I was mostly shooting for 80ish) in a 70. It's weird driving on flat, straight interstates with few other cars around. But hey, warning only! Success. And definitely stuck to speed limit for the rest of the state.
Today was my first "holy crap I really am far from home" moment. I had just crossed into South Dakota for the first time in my life, there were signs that my exit was closed so I needed to detour, it was raining, and the detour route had signs that said "flash flood area".
Our couchsurfing hosts here really get into hosting; they do it a lot. One volunteered to take us to the waterfalls that Sioux Falls is named after. It was neat. For some reason this waterfall is really foamy, which Kiddo thought was funny. She loved running around on the red rocks next to the river.
Today is the first 'not hot as hell' day of the trip. Apparently the aforementioned storm knocked it down from 80s / 90s the last few days to high 60s. Relief is (maybe) coming, east coasters.
I'm hoping it's dry in the national park and not 90s. We'll see. Guess this is where I mention - tomorrow, Badlands National Park! Woo! No posts for awhile, though.
Day 5: Rochester, MN (and more about Day 4)
So in Madison the night before we did in fact play Dominion, and Kiddo wanted to play with a cursing attack. So we did (although I coaxed her into doing a different specific card), and at one point my cursing attack actually made her cry. Not in a bratty tantrum way, but in a really sad pathetic, turning away with tears in her eyes (the particular attack involves discarding the top card in your deck and then adding a curse to the top of the deck... that time she had to discard one of her best cards and put a curse there instead). That was kinda tough.
Anyway, Kiddo wanted to share the bed with me this time, and she's way too squirmy, so we built a wall in the middle out of spare pillows. Victory!
As a somewhat aside: bedtime goes way better when her bed is something like a fort or "little house". I need to try to figure out good little forts as often as possible for her.
I enjoyed the stay in Madison, which was with a Philly expatriate friend of ours. He's always nice to see. Definitely a stop I wish had been for more than one day.
We drove to Rochester and stopped in Viroqua on the way (see earlier post for details).
Our couchsurfing host in Rochester lives with her parents, and all three of them were really nice. I talked to her parents a lot more, because Kiddo kept wanting to go outside (neighbors had a swing set) and our host kept volunteering to go with. I trusted them, which was a nice feeling. I had two beers, one home brewed (so weird, right? I never drink beer... maybe traveling me is different me). I enjoyed the conversations, but I didn't click with any of them as completely as I clicked with my previous hosts on this trip.
So far across two trips I've had 5 couchsurfing stays... 3 of them I walked away feeling like the people could/would be my friends, at least if we lived close. The other 2 were positive but didn't click in like that (although honestly this time could have felt like that, we have a lot in common, we just didn't get enough time for conversation and/or find that groove).
Most of the time Kiddo seems a little less independent, a little more clingy on this trip than when we're at home. Which makes sense... it's interesting to watch her decide she trusts someone, letting loose and/or making a new friend. Then once she has a new friend, I'm not all that interesting anymore. That's ok, I like watching her make friends.
She's also getting a tad bit brattier each day. Hopefully she has fun camping this weekend.
Anyway, Kiddo wanted to share the bed with me this time, and she's way too squirmy, so we built a wall in the middle out of spare pillows. Victory!
As a somewhat aside: bedtime goes way better when her bed is something like a fort or "little house". I need to try to figure out good little forts as often as possible for her.
I enjoyed the stay in Madison, which was with a Philly expatriate friend of ours. He's always nice to see. Definitely a stop I wish had been for more than one day.
We drove to Rochester and stopped in Viroqua on the way (see earlier post for details).
Our couchsurfing host in Rochester lives with her parents, and all three of them were really nice. I talked to her parents a lot more, because Kiddo kept wanting to go outside (neighbors had a swing set) and our host kept volunteering to go with. I trusted them, which was a nice feeling. I had two beers, one home brewed (so weird, right? I never drink beer... maybe traveling me is different me). I enjoyed the conversations, but I didn't click with any of them as completely as I clicked with my previous hosts on this trip.
So far across two trips I've had 5 couchsurfing stays... 3 of them I walked away feeling like the people could/would be my friends, at least if we lived close. The other 2 were positive but didn't click in like that (although honestly this time could have felt like that, we have a lot in common, we just didn't get enough time for conversation and/or find that groove).
Most of the time Kiddo seems a little less independent, a little more clingy on this trip than when we're at home. Which makes sense... it's interesting to watch her decide she trusts someone, letting loose and/or making a new friend. Then once she has a new friend, I'm not all that interesting anymore. That's ok, I like watching her make friends.
She's also getting a tad bit brattier each day. Hopefully she has fun camping this weekend.
My Ancestral Homeland of Viroqua, Wisconsin
Note: while transferring these over to the new blog, I'm trying to leave this blog in its original state.
However, I screwed up and saved the new version of these first few paragraphs here... not a big change, but still.
On the way from Madison to Rochester, Minnesota, we took a detour to Viroqua, the small Wisconsin town that my dad's side of the family is from. I had been to Viroqua 3 times before: my family took a road trip that culminated there one summer; I flew there to visit my grandmother by myself for a week when I was 14, and I flew there in 2000 for her funeral.
Kiddo fell asleep in the car. I usually try to keep her from sleeping in the car, because it can mess up her sleep schedule, but she was up too late in Madison. This later proved to be the only car nap of the trip. About 10 miles away from Viroqua we passed a little town called Kickapoo. I did a double take at an intersection... I recognized a restaurant from eating there almost 17 years before.
We pulled into town and went to the cemetery first. I wanted to see my grandmother's grave. I drove around a bit on my own while kiddo was napping, and I found my great great great great grandfather's grave first. I got out and took a picture. The stopping and getting out woke up the kiddo, and so I just called my parents and got advice on finding the (more immediate) family plot. So I visited that for the first time since my grandmother's funeral.
The aforementioned great great great great grandfather and his family came to America and settled in Wisconsin. I think several of his sons became rich... one of them stayed in Viroqua and had a large house built for himself in the late 19th century. It passed through the family for awhile, but eventually it became a bed and breakfast. We went to visit it... snapped a few pictures, then went inside. It's pretty cool in there. We looked around a tiny bit on the ground floor, but didn't see anybody, so we went back outside. The front door is amazingly loud (in a bad way), and I guess the owner heard us on the way out. On our way down the stairs she poked her head out and asked if she could help us. So we introduced ourselves and went back in for a few minutes.
She wanted to know all about the family tree, and she talked about wanting to have pictures of great great great grandfather and his family on the wall. She offered to put us up for free that night... I hesitated but said no because we already had a couchsurfing host lined up, plus it would mean a 6 hour drive to Sioux Falls instead of spacing the drive out across days. But I told her I will take her up on it someday, years from now or whatever.
My parents have been doing the genealogy thing recently, so I gave their number to her. The green love seat and matching chair (basically the old-looking furniture I have that desperately needs to be re-upholstered) is from that house. We've been talking about getting rid of the chair, so I wonder if I can somehow get it to her.
Then we played in a park also named for the great great great grandfather, who donated the land to the city.
However, I screwed up and saved the new version of these first few paragraphs here... not a big change, but still.
On the way from Madison to Rochester, Minnesota, we took a detour to Viroqua, the small Wisconsin town that my dad's side of the family is from. I had been to Viroqua 3 times before: my family took a road trip that culminated there one summer; I flew there to visit my grandmother by myself for a week when I was 14, and I flew there in 2000 for her funeral.
Kiddo fell asleep in the car. I usually try to keep her from sleeping in the car, because it can mess up her sleep schedule, but she was up too late in Madison. This later proved to be the only car nap of the trip. About 10 miles away from Viroqua we passed a little town called Kickapoo. I did a double take at an intersection... I recognized a restaurant from eating there almost 17 years before.
We pulled into town and went to the cemetery first. I wanted to see my grandmother's grave. I drove around a bit on my own while kiddo was napping, and I found my great great great great grandfather's grave first. I got out and took a picture. The stopping and getting out woke up the kiddo, and so I just called my parents and got advice on finding the (more immediate) family plot. So I visited that for the first time since my grandmother's funeral.
The aforementioned great great great great grandfather and his family came to America and settled in Wisconsin. I think several of his sons became rich... one of them stayed in Viroqua and had a large house built for himself in the late 19th century. It passed through the family for awhile, but eventually it became a bed and breakfast. We went to visit it... snapped a few pictures, then went inside. It's pretty cool in there. We looked around a tiny bit on the ground floor, but didn't see anybody, so we went back outside. The front door is amazingly loud (in a bad way), and I guess the owner heard us on the way out. On our way down the stairs she poked her head out and asked if she could help us. So we introduced ourselves and went back in for a few minutes.
She wanted to know all about the family tree, and she talked about wanting to have pictures of great great great grandfather and his family on the wall. She offered to put us up for free that night... I hesitated but said no because we already had a couchsurfing host lined up, plus it would mean a 6 hour drive to Sioux Falls instead of spacing the drive out across days. But I told her I will take her up on it someday, years from now or whatever.
My parents have been doing the genealogy thing recently, so I gave their number to her. The green love seat and matching chair (basically the old-looking furniture I have that desperately needs to be re-upholstered) is from that house. We've been talking about getting rid of the chair, so I wonder if I can somehow get it to her.
Then we played in a park also named for the great great great grandfather, who donated the land to the city.
Day 4: Madison
I'm writing this on paper in a park in Madison! (note: on 6/18)
I didn't write last night in South Bend. I was mostly talking to my couchsurfing friends. The little computer time I had was devoted to a relationship maintenance talk with Michelle (this is not code for an argument or anything, everything is great). Good chance I'll hang out with Karl late too, so I wanted to put some thoughts down when I had a chance.
Wisconsin should change their state motto to "windy as shit".
We made it to Madison in good time - especially helped by the crossover to Central time (it occurs to me now that on the way back east we may need to leave pretty early to avoid being crappy late-arriving guests on timezone change days - but that's something to worry about in July). Kiddo has done very well in the car each day, but I think I'm starting to see a cumulative effect of all the driving now - she's starting to get antsy earlier in the drive. Yet another reason I can't wait to get to Boulder - we're going to stay there a few days.
We'll probably play Dominion tonight. Kiddo is such a big kid. Random big kid story: I downloaded "There's a Zombie on Your Lawn", the song from the Plants vs Zombies end credits / music video. I thought it would be a fun surprise for her to have it on her ipod since she's always wanting to watch it on youtube and "have a dance party". I loaded it on her ipod in front of her without thinking, and she read the title and knew exactly what I was doing. So much for the surprise. Anyway, she might have listened to that song 50 times today.
But for now she's happily playing in the park, mostly with another little girl.
Below: at a rest stop, while I pumped gas, she enjoyed the crazy gusts of Wisconsin wind.
I didn't write last night in South Bend. I was mostly talking to my couchsurfing friends. The little computer time I had was devoted to a relationship maintenance talk with Michelle (this is not code for an argument or anything, everything is great). Good chance I'll hang out with Karl late too, so I wanted to put some thoughts down when I had a chance.
Wisconsin should change their state motto to "windy as shit".
We made it to Madison in good time - especially helped by the crossover to Central time (it occurs to me now that on the way back east we may need to leave pretty early to avoid being crappy late-arriving guests on timezone change days - but that's something to worry about in July). Kiddo has done very well in the car each day, but I think I'm starting to see a cumulative effect of all the driving now - she's starting to get antsy earlier in the drive. Yet another reason I can't wait to get to Boulder - we're going to stay there a few days.
We'll probably play Dominion tonight. Kiddo is such a big kid. Random big kid story: I downloaded "There's a Zombie on Your Lawn", the song from the Plants vs Zombies end credits / music video. I thought it would be a fun surprise for her to have it on her ipod since she's always wanting to watch it on youtube and "have a dance party". I loaded it on her ipod in front of her without thinking, and she read the title and knew exactly what I was doing. So much for the surprise. Anyway, she might have listened to that song 50 times today.
But for now she's happily playing in the park, mostly with another little girl.
Below: at a rest stop, while I pumped gas, she enjoyed the crazy gusts of Wisconsin wind.
Day 3: South Bend
(Note: written on paper on Monday 6/18)
So far we're 2 for 2 on Couchsurfing hosts. The couple who hosted us in South Bend are awesome. They are both biologists at Notre Dame, so they took us to see their labs. We saw endangered butterflies and gene sequencers, and kiddo got to use a much fancier microscope than the one she has at home. She go to look at live daphnia, which are water fleas.
Kiddo is still hopelessly obsessed with Plants vs Zombies. She likes watching videos of it more than playing it though (the game itself is a little too hard for her). I guess she's used to a fair amount of computer time during the day, so she keeps asking to use the laptop while we're at new places. We're balancing ok though, I guess.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Quick Post
I'm in Rochester Minnesota.
I was actually on the computer for a few hours tonight.
I should have updated here.
I didn't.
I did write some notes on the trip with pen/paper the other day because I didn't want to fall too far behind. I will probably have to do that in the Badlands too.
But did I type those up? No.
I did transfer pictures.
Have some.
I was actually on the computer for a few hours tonight.
I should have updated here.
I didn't.
I did write some notes on the trip with pen/paper the other day because I didn't want to fall too far behind. I will probably have to do that in the Badlands too.
But did I type those up? No.
I did transfer pictures.
Have some.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Day 2: Akron, Ohio
First stay with a couchsurfer.
Had a couchsurfing host lined up in Youngstown, but she canceled last week. I sent out more requests and resigned myself to camping (although once I found a $12 campsite near Kent I was pretty content), but I got an invitation from a host. She's really nice!
Kiddo and I went to a random park in town so she could run around and get the energy out. It worked well! She went to sleep easy tonight.
Kiddo and I went to a random park in town so she could run around and get the energy out. It worked well! She went to sleep easy tonight.
Akron meant the drive was a bit longer - 6 hours. And that was before we got stuck for over an hour on I-80 today. And not just going slow... this was one of those "everybody gets out of the car and you wonder if it's going to be like the REM video" things. We walked around, picked a few flowers, played a little tag (bad idea! asphalt = scraped elbows), and generally just tried to stay out of the car. Talked to a few strangers. Rumor had it we were at a complete stop so that a helicopter could airlift someone from a crash up ahead to a hospital.
Years ago I was stopped on a Virginia interstate for a helicopter to land. That time we were one of the first in line, so we watched it land.
Years ago I was stopped on a Virginia interstate for a helicopter to land. That time we were one of the first in line, so we watched it land.
I took two pictures. One is of kiddo sitting on the trunk of the car at a dead stop. Unfortunately her eyes are closed and I didn't realize because the stupid camera screen is broken (mental note: taking pictures of people? Use old camera. Scenery? Sure, new camera).
The other is of the smoldering ruins of the tractor trailer cab as we drove by a little while later.
Going to post the wreck one, but small because it's kind of graphic (even if all you see is destroyed machinery, the human damage is implied).
Going to post the wreck one, but small because it's kind of graphic (even if all you see is destroyed machinery, the human damage is implied).
Friday, June 15, 2012
We're off to see the world
I write from Lancaster PA today, our first stop on the trip of a lifetime*.
29 nights, 24 states, 4 national parks, over 6000 miles.
We're staying with something like 8 to 10 hosts from Couchsurfing, a few old friends, and camping a few nights.
I have to repack the car tomorrow. Things are stuffed in there all crazy. When will I figure out if I forgot something? Don't know. Departure was delayed a couple minutes today while I looked for my wallet. You probably shouldn't try to drive 6000 miles without any money. Or your license on you.
Lancaster's not very far from home, but we have friends here who will take care of our cat for the month. They were fostering her a time we came over last summer, and we fell in love with her and adopted her.
She's hiding under the bathtub and doesn't want to come out yet. I hope she does well here. I know she'll be very well taken care of, but I'm just being nervous and overprotective.
Two weeks ago we went to the beach and I noticed that the better camera (they're both point and shoots, but this is a newer one) has a broken screen. You can't see what you're taking a picture of at all, but it will snap the shot. Tonight, however, I realized the flash is messed up too (well, there's a chance it's just a setting, but we'll never know because we can't use the menu because the screen is broken).
So... not really sure that we're going to maximize our picture taking capabilities here. But I'll try.
Originally this post had a crappy cell phone camera picture of a cute dog. Now it's got a better version from someone else's camera!
Tomorrow - a 6 hour drive to a couch surfing host in Akron, Ohio.
*For now. Cause we're gonna do it again. Maybe even bigger and better.
But most importantly we're going do it with my partner along too. "A family is everybody all together". That's not exactly true, but we're going to miss her so bad on this trip.
29 nights, 24 states, 4 national parks, over 6000 miles.
We're staying with something like 8 to 10 hosts from Couchsurfing, a few old friends, and camping a few nights.
I have to repack the car tomorrow. Things are stuffed in there all crazy. When will I figure out if I forgot something? Don't know. Departure was delayed a couple minutes today while I looked for my wallet. You probably shouldn't try to drive 6000 miles without any money. Or your license on you.
Lancaster's not very far from home, but we have friends here who will take care of our cat for the month. They were fostering her a time we came over last summer, and we fell in love with her and adopted her.
She's hiding under the bathtub and doesn't want to come out yet. I hope she does well here. I know she'll be very well taken care of, but I'm just being nervous and overprotective.
Two weeks ago we went to the beach and I noticed that the better camera (they're both point and shoots, but this is a newer one) has a broken screen. You can't see what you're taking a picture of at all, but it will snap the shot. Tonight, however, I realized the flash is messed up too (well, there's a chance it's just a setting, but we'll never know because we can't use the menu because the screen is broken).
So... not really sure that we're going to maximize our picture taking capabilities here. But I'll try.
Originally this post had a crappy cell phone camera picture of a cute dog. Now it's got a better version from someone else's camera!
Tomorrow - a 6 hour drive to a couch surfing host in Akron, Ohio.
*For now. Cause we're gonna do it again. Maybe even bigger and better.
But most importantly we're going do it with my partner along too. "A family is everybody all together". That's not exactly true, but we're going to miss her so bad on this trip.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)