September with Grandma and Grandpa - Andi

Sep. 21, 2017

Yesterday we picked up Grandma and Grandpa. We picked up the camper and drove to Great Sand Dunes. Then we went to bed. I am so glad we are with Grandma and Grandpa.

Flying my kite - it was VERY windy

Sand sledding

Sep. 22, 2017

Yesterday we rented sand sleds and sand boards. Then we went to the Great Sand Dunes. We found nice sand slopes to sled and sand board down. We got sand blasted cause of all the wind. Then we went home and had lunch. Then we flew our kites in the dunes because of the wind. Then we went to the Visitor Center. It was cool. Then we went home, had dinner, and opened presents. Then we went to an astronomy program. We saw Saturn and its rings. Then we went to bed.

Sunset at Mesa Verde

Climbing the ladder for the
Balcony House tour at Mesa Verde

Sep. 23, 2017
Yesterday we got going early and drove to Mesa Verde. Mesa Verde is Spanish for “Green Table”. Then we saw Mesa Verde Visitor Center. It was okay. We got maps and went out for dinner. Then we had ice cream. Then we watched the sunset on our way home.

Just hangin' out in four states at once

Sep. 26, 2017

Two days ago we left Mesa Verde. We went to Four Corners. Four Corners is where four states with square corners meet in the same spot. Grandma got me a ring and got Nick an arrowhead. Then we drove to Mt. Carmel Junction. Then we played two games of Cover Your A$$ets and went to bed.

Bryce Canyon

Yesterday we went to Bryce Canyon. We saw really cool rock formations. We saw lots of Hoodoos. Hoodoos are walls that erode into spires that have erosion resistant tops. We saw mossy cave and Bryce Point. Then we went home and had dinner and went to bed.

Having so much fun with Grandma and Grandpa at Bryce Canyon!

Sep. 27, 2017

Grand Canyon with Grandma

Yesterday we drove to the laundry mat. Then we drove to the next campground and lodge. Then we went to the Visitor Center and did the geology talk. It was okay. We learned that the very bottom rocks are missing and old. Then we went on a short hike. We could see the south rim. Then we saw the big ditch where the Colorado River was but did not see the Colorado River. Then on the way home we saw lots of mule deer. Then we had dinner.

Sep. 28, 2017

Yesterday we had breakfast at the lodge. Then we went to all kinds of lookouts. Some of them you could see the Colorado River. Others you could see a river bed. And all of them you could see a canyon. We hiked in a canyon and went trailing. Then we had dinner at a restaurant. We also had dessert at the camper and went to bed really late.

We made Grandpa especially
nervous with our rock climbing

Grand Canyon hike

Sep. 30, 2017

Two days ago we dropped our camper off at a shop. Then we dropped our bags off at the hotel. Then we went to the Hoover Dam. We drove, walked and ran over it. Then we went back to the hotel and watched the Packer game and swam. Then we had pizza and swam again.

Yesterday we dropped Grandma and Grandpa off at the airport. Then we swam for a while. Then we had lunch. I didn’t like it. Then we went to the Valley of Fire Visitor Center. We watched two videos that were interesting. One video had a gecko doing yoga! Then we picked up the camper and parked in a pull off and went to bed.

September with Grandma and Grandpa - Nick

9/21/17

Yesterday we started driving in the morning after breakfast. We drove for about 1:30 minutes, and dropped our camper in a parking lot. We went to Walmart and got some stuff for the truck called DEF. then we drove to the airport and picked up my Mom, Grandma and Grandpa. It was really good to see them and I’m excited to spend time with them. I missed them a lot. Next we drove back to the camper and hooked up. We drove for a while and stopped for dinner. We stopped at Applebee’s. I got fish and chips. After dinner we drove till 11:00 at night. We dropped Grandma and Grandpa off at their hotel. Then we got a campsite really close to their hotel.

9/22/17

Sandboarding at the Great Sand Dunes

Yesterday we ate breakfast and then picked up my Grandma and Grandpa. We went sledding down the Great Sand Dunes. I actually went sandboarding. It was really fun. You went really fast. If you wanted to go extra fast you had to wax the bottom of your board. There was a big valley we found where the grownups could sit out of the wind and the hills were nice and steep for sledding and sandboarding. We did that until lunch time and came home and had lunch.

This kite requires two hands to fly.
It was so windy that Dad had to hold
Nick so the kite didn't pull him across the sand!

Swimming at the hotel pool.
Dad isn't a very good swimmer...

Then we came back to the dunes to fly our kites because it was really windy. We flew kites for a while and then went to the Visitor’s Center to look around. Then we came back to the camper and put our swim suits on. We went swimming for a little while in Grandma and Grandpa’s pool in the hotel. After that we came back to the camper and ate dinner. Next we opened birthday presents. Even though it was closest to Andi’s birthday, I got a few presents early because it is hard to get presents to us. The things I got were two books. One was about a dog who saves a human and the other was a Nat Geo. I also got a math game called 24 that they play at Addison in fifth grade that looked really fun. Those were all from Nana and Granddad. I got a monocular that came with a case. It was really nice. You could adjust the focus and the amount it magnifies. It will be really nice for looking at animals. That was from Grandma and Grandpa. The last thing was a big motor that goes on your bike that practically turns it into a motorcycle. Since it was expensive it was from Uncle Ryan and Chelsea and Aunt Lisa. Finally after presents, we went to an astronomy program. We got to look at Saturn through a telescope and we saw a big presentation.

9/23/17

Yesterday we started driving to our next campsite in Mesa Verde. It was a four hour drive. We stopped at lunch time at a gas station for lunch. Then we kept driving. When we got to our campsite we set up the camper and then went to the Mesa Verde Visitor Center. Mesa Verde is a huge area where Indian people lived a long time ago. We looked around at the Visitor’s Center for a while. Then we dropped Grandma and Grandpa off at their hotel to put all their stuff away. Then we all went to a restaurant and got dinner.

Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde
Where the Anasazi people lived

Today we got Grandma and Grandpa and went to a breakfast place for breakfast. It was really bad. Next we went on a tour called the Cliff Palace Tour. It was a tour of a big bunch of buildings built by Indians. They built them under the cliff to protect them from weather. We saw a lot of houses and kivas. Kivas were deep pits dug into the ground with a stone roof. There was a fire pit in the middle of all of them, and they were used as gathering rooms in the winter because they stayed warm. After that tour, we dropped Grandma and Grandpa off at a museum while we did a tour that was really hard. It had small tunnels and ladders. Stuff like that. That tour went right through a big group of buildings. They were really cool. There were a lot of kivas. The buildings were kind of the same as on the other tour, but we were really close to them on this tour. We got to climb a 36 foot vertical ladder and crawl through an 18 inch wide tunnel. After the tour we did a drive (with Grandma and Grandpa) where you could see more old buildings from a distance. Next we came back to the camper, ate dinner, watched a movie, and then dropped Grandma and Grandpa off at their hotel.

9/26/17

Grandma and Grandpa at Four Corners

Two days ago we left our campsite in Mesa Verde. It was a 5 hour drive to our next site. On the way we stopped at Four Corners, which is a place where four square corners of four states meet and you can be in four states at once. We finished our drive after that. When we got to our campsite we set up camp. Then we dropped Grandma and Grandpa off at their cabin to put their bags away. Next we all came back to the camper and had dinner. We also watched some football and Dad and I played football. After that Andi and I slept over at Grandma and Grandpa’s cabin. It was really fun.

Yesterday we woke up at Grandma and Grandpa’s hotel. We came back to the camper and got going. We were going to Bryce Canyon. Bryce Canyon is an area with really cool rock formations. We went to a few lookouts with really pretty views. There were some really cool rock formations. Tall skinny spires of rock with huge boulders teetering on top of them, all sorts of stuff like that. We also did a short hike to a cave called Mossy Cave. On that hike we also saw a water fall. Next we came home and had dinner and I played football with Dad.

Bryce Canyon with hoodoos (rock formations)

9/27/17

Nick was a model for the Ranger's talk

Yesterday we picked my grandparents up from their cabin and started driving to our next site. It was only an hour and a half drive. When we got to our site we made lunch. Then we went to a Ranger program about the Grand Canyon. (We are in the Grand Canyon.) The Ranger program was all right. Next we went to a lookout point. It looked over the Grand Canyon. It was really pretty. We are on the North Rim so we were looking at the South Rim. The rock was a really pretty shade of red. We couldn’t quite see the Colorado River. We came home, had dinner and hung out for a while.

Grand Canyon - North Rim view

9/28/17

Yesterday we ate breakfast at the lodge café. I got pancakes. They were really good. Next we went to a bunch of lookout points. We could see the Colorado River from a lot of them. It was really pretty. We were a mile above the river. To get to one of the lookout points you had to walk across a natural bridge. From that lookout you had almost a 360 degree view of the canyon and river. All the rock was really red. It was a dark shade of red. There was also a strip of orange. After all the lookout points, we did a short hike into one of the side canyons. We were actually in the canyon. We put our handprints on the canyon wall by putting our hands in mud and then on the wall. We went back to the car and as soon as we shut the last door, it started hailing. We came back to the camper and Andi, Grandma, Grandpa and I played Bean Boozeled. Next we ate out for dinner. Then we said good bye to Grandma and Grandpa and went to bed.

9/30/17

Two days ago we drove into Las Vegas. It was a really long drive. When we got there Dad noticed something funny about the way the trailer was driving so we took it into a shop and sure enough something was wrong with it. Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, Andi and I all got lunch at Arby’s while Dad talked to the guy at the shop. After lunch we picked Dad up at the shop and decided to get another room in Grandma and Grandpa’s hotel. After we dropped our bags off at the hotel we went to Hoover Dam, but everything was closed so all we got to do was walk across it, but it was still fun. We came back to the hotel and Andi and I went swimming with Grandma in the pool. We had a great time. When we got back to the room we ordered pizza and watched the Packer game. They beat the Bears 35-14. Finally we all went to bed.

Yesterday in the morning, Andi, Mom, and I went swimming in the pool in the morning. We had a lot of fun. We had to push Mom into the pool because she wanted to stay in the hot tub. Then Grandma and Grandpa came down to the pool and we said good bye. Their flight was leaving. We had a great time with them and I am going to miss them a lot. Dad drove them to the airport and we kept swimming. When Dad got back we went out for lunch and then drove to Valley of Fire State Park. It was a long drive. We looked at the Visitor’s Center for a little while but then we had to go pick up the camper. After we got the camper we found a site and spent the night there.

Yellowstone - Nick and Andi

Old Faithful erupting on schedule

Enjoying Yellowstone

9/12/17

Andi really liked Opal Pool because she loves Opals!

Andi: Over the past 2 days we got up early and moved campsites. We went to Yellowstone and saw Old Faithful erupt. We saw the geyser basins. Geysers are heated from the magma 2-8 miles below Yellowstone that erupt every so often or once a few years. In 2 days we saw Grand Geyser, Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Springs, Morning Glory Pool, Beehive Geyser, Castle Geyser and many more. Some of the springs had red, orange, yellow, green, blue and probably many colors we can’t see. Some geysers were just pools that shot water and some were like towers. Some geysers bubbled and some shot water. They had different colors that represent the temperature of it. It happens because the bacteria can grow in temperatures that are hot. If I got to see one erupt it would be Grand Geyser.

Riverside Geyser erupting with a rainbow in the spray

Nick: Over the past two days we drove to Yellowstone National Park and spent a lot of time in the geyser areas around Old Faithful. We saw a ton of geysers, pools, and springs. Some of my favorites were Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Spring, Grand Geyser, Morning Glory Pool, and Riverside Geyser. Old Faithful is a 150 foot tall geyser that was very predictable. It went off about every 1 and a half hours. Old Faithful was my number 1 favorite. Grand Prismatic Spring was a huge multicolored pool of boiling water. The outside was red, then there was a ring of dark orange, a ring of yellow, a ring of green, and the middle was dark blue. It was really pretty. Grand Geyser was a three hundred foot tall geyser that erupted about every 6 and a half hours. The eruption lasted about 10 minutes. It was the highest geyser we saw. Morning Glory Pool was a multi colored pool that was kind of like Grand Prismatic but smaller, but you could see down more than 40 feet. The last thing on my list of favorites was Riverside Geyser. It was a big geyser on the side of a river. It erupted in an arc 75 feet high over the river. While we were watching it there was a rainbow in the mist. We also saw a bison while we were watching. It was my second favorite out of everything. The reason a lot of the springs were multicolored was there are tiny microorganisms that live in the super hot water. The reason that the water was hot is that under Yellowstone there is a huge volcano that could destroy all of the continent. The pools all smelled really bad also because of sulfur-dioxide.

Yellowstone is almost otherworldly with the steam everywhere

The beautiful Grand Prismatic spring
It was a bit of a hike to get this picture!

Sometimes we had to wait for a geyser to erupt

9/14/17

Andi: Yesterday we went to Norris Geyser Basin. We saw a couple more springs and geysers. I was the tour guide and mapper. Then we walked around the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Most of the trails were closed but we did get to see a waterfall from two angles. Then we moved our camper to a campsite with lots of elk. Then we went to Mammoth Hot Springs. Everything was huge. It started raining so we went to Boiling River. In Boiling River, you could move an inch and your tummy would be hot and your back would be cold. Then we went home and went to bed. The hot water was coming from a hot spring that was actually the Boiling River dumping into the Gardener River where we were swimming.

Nick: Yesterday we saw some more geysers in the morning. We also saw more pools and springs. I don’t remember the names of most of them except Puff ‘N Stuff Geyser. It was called that because it let off a ton of steam. We also saw a geyser erupt that very rarely erupts. It went about 20 feet high. Then we saw the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It can be 800 to 1200 feet deep. There was a big river flowing in the bottom of the canyon. We also saw a really pretty waterfall that fell over the side of the canyon. It was really cool. Then we swam in the Boiling River. The Boiling River is a very hot river that would burn you, but it mixes with the Gardener River which is really cold. There was an area where the water was like a bathtub. It was really nice. You could have your back freezing and your chest really hot in some places. It was really weird.

9/15/17

Andi: Yesterday we went on the Lamar Valley Drive. We saw lots of bison. Then we came to our next campsite and played on the playground. Then we came home and watched a movie.

Nick: Yesterday we woke up really early in the morning and did the Lamar Valley Drive. You were supposed to be able to see a lot of wildlife it you did it early in the morning. We saw a ton of bison herds. Some of the bison even crossed the road. We also saw a lot of pronghorn. We saw the pronghorn in herds too. We saw a few of them run and they were really fast. We also saw a few huge elk right in the road. After that we did a really long drive to our next campsite. When we got there Andi and I played at the park for a while. Then we had dinner and watched a movie.

We enjoyed the Junior Ranger program at Yellowstone.
We were able to use an infrared thermometer for some of the tasks.
Mom and Dad liked that part too!

The Grand Tetons - Nick and Andi

View of the Grand Tetons from our campsite
(this is how it looked the day we left)

9/9/17

Nick: Two days ago we got up early and did a one hour drive to our next campsite. It was in Grand Teton National Forest. It was supposed to be really pretty, but since half the country was on fire, we couldn’t see any of the cool mountains in Grand Teton. After we set up camp we went to the Visitor’s Center. We looked at the museum. It was a lot of stuff about animals. We also watched a movie about Grand Teton Mountains. 

Andi: Then we came home and had pizza and a movie (or for Mom and Dad, Game of Thrones).

Jenny Lake hike

Moose up close and personal

Nick: Yesterday we got up early and did a hike. It was called Jenny Lake hike it went around a really pretty lake called Jenny Lake. We also stopped at Moose Pond where you were supposed to be able to see moose. We saw two moose there. One was a bull and the other was too far away to tell. Then we kept hiking. About a mile later we saw three black bears, one mom and two cubs. They were really cool. We watched them for a while and then walked away. When we were done with our hike we went to the car and had lunch. We ended up hiking 9 miles. 

Then we did a ranger guided driving tour. We had a bunch of stops but my favorite stop was by a river where we saw three moose – one bull, one cow, and one calf. We were about 20-30 yards away. They were huge. We watched them for a really long time. They wouldn’t move off the trail so we had to do some off-roading to get to the car. Then we came home, had dinner and went to bed.

Pronghorn antelope

9/10/17

Nick: Yesterday we got up kind of early to do a bike ride. When we got the bikes in the car, we drove to the bike lane parking lot. In the beginning of the bike ride we went through a cool tunnel. Then we kept biking. After a while we saw a pronghorn antelope right on the side of the road. We were about 10 yards away from it. We watched it for a while until it walked away. I wanted to see it run because they run almost as fast as a cheetah. After we had gone about 9 miles we turned back. When we got back to the car we had gone 18 miles. When we got back to the camper we ate a huge lunch because it was 2:00. Then we drove into Yellowstone to choose which campsite we wanted. We got some great views of the Tetons. Then when we got back we made dinner, ate dinner, and went to bed. 

Interesting sunshine

Nick: I forgot to mention, driving back from Yellowstone we saw some really cool clouds with huge rays of sun coming out of them. One of the clouds was multicolored. It was neon orange, neon pink, neon green and a lot of other neon colors. It was really cool.

Andi: Then when we were going home we saw really cool clouds where the rays of sun came out. Then we had dinner and played. Some of the clouds were rainbow colors. You could even see it without polarized glasses.

Very muddy bike ride!

9/11/17

Nick: Yesterday we slept in and had a big breakfast. By the time we finished breakfast it was about 11:00. Then Mom, Andi, and I biked 14 miles into town to watch a Packer game. The ride was really fun. Dad met us at the pub. We ordered pizza and nachos. It was really fun. Andi and I also played in the game room. The Packers won 17-9. Then we came home and hung out for a while.

Utah - Andi

Sep. 1, 2017

My pet moth at
Golden Spike

Yesterday we packed up camp and left. We drove for about 2 hours and got to the Visitor Center. We learned about the railroad that was built instead of the Oregon Trail. We walked along the railroad and tried to see who could stay on their rails the longest. Then we saw a train engine called Jupiter. I found a moth and he was my pet for maybe a half hour. Then we set up camp and ate dinner and read Harry Potter.

Sep. 4, 2017

Yesterday we went swimming in the Great Salt Lake. It was so salty that we could lay on our backs or tummies and roll over. It was really fun. Then we went to the Mormon Temple. It was cool and big. Then we saw the museum. We didn’t stay for long so I didn’t get to read much. Then we came home and had dinner. Then we did research and played.

Sep. 5, 2017

Yesterday we swam in the Great Salt Lake again. Then we took showers. Then we drove all day to our next campsite. We had dinner, played and went to bed.

Sep. 7, 2017

Two days ago we went on the Sound of Silence Trail. I was the tour guide. Then we drove to Dinosaur Visitor Center. Then we went to bed.

Yesterday we drove to Flaming Gorge Dam. It was really cool. Then we got to our campsite to go to bed. Our tour guide said that on one side of the dam it got to 400 feet deep. We also got to feed the fish. We saw the generators.

The Dam tour at Flaming Gorge

Utah - Nick

9/1/17

Train at Golden Spike in Promotory, Utah

Yesterday Mom and I went running in the morning. We ran about 1.5 miles. Then we started driving to our next campsite. We stopped on the way at the Golden Spike Visitor’s Center. The Golden Spike was the final railroad spike that was put in the transcontinental railroad. The transcontinental railroad was a huge deal because it connected the Western USA to the Eastern USA. The golden spike was taken out and put on display after the day it was put in. then we finished driving to our site. Then we had dinner and a little while later went to bed.

9/3/17

Two days ago Mom and I went running in the morning. We ran 3.5 miles. Then when we got back we had breakfast. Then we started driving to our next site. On the way we stopped to do some shopping. We also had lunch at Walmart. Then we finished driving to our next site. When we got there we explored in the car a little bit. Then when we got back we just kind of sat around until dinner time. I rode my bike. Then when I got back we had pizza and watched a movie.

Yesterday we stated at home all day because we were all kind of pooped for some reason and we wanted a down day. We had a big breakfast and then did nothing except sit around and lay around until about 1:00. Then we went to a laundry mat and did laundry. When we got back we had dinner. Then I rode my bike. When I got back Andi and I had a nerf war and then we went to bed.

9/4/17

Yesterday we did homework in the morning. Then we went to swim in the Great Salt Lake. We were going to do a 3 mile hike to the lake, but we found a way easier way to get there. The water that we swam in was pink because of bacteria. It was really cool. The lake was so salty that you could lay flat on your back in the water and stay afloat without trying. It was a lot like sitting in a recliner. The lake is super shallow so the water was super warm. After you got out of the water, the water evaporated off you and you were left with a hard layer of salt covering your body. When we got back to the camper we all took showers. Then we had dinner. We just hung out before bed.

Swimming (mainly floating) in the Great Salt Lake

Dried salt on our skin

9/5/17

Yesterday we swam in the Great Salt Lake again in the morning. It was really fun. We went out a little deeper than the day before. We also swam way longer. After that we did a four hour drive to our next site. We got in about 7:00 and had dinner. Then a little while later we went to bed.

The Quarry Wall at Dinosaur National Park

Today we got going early in the morning and did a hike. The hike was about 3 miles long. We saw a lot of lizards and rabbits. A lot of the hike was through a dry riverbed. Then we drove to the Visitor’s Center. Next we took a shuttle from the Visitor’s Center to Quarry Wall. Quarry Wall is a big wall with tons of dinosaur fossils in it. (We are in Dinosaur National Park). There were a lot of skulls and necks and tails. It was really cool. There was a full replica of a skeleton of a dinosaur. It looked like a T-Rex but I forgot its name. After that we came home, had dinner and went to bed.

9/7/17

Yesterday Mom and I went running in the morning. We ran about 2 ½ miles. Then we started our drive to our next campsite. We stopped at the Flaming Gorge Visitor’s Center and did a tour of the Flaming Gorge Dam. We got to see the room with the generators that turn the water into energy. It was really cool. When we were done with the tour we finished driving to our next site. When we got there I rode my bike for a while. Then we had dinner.