In Montana

Today (July 26 Thursday)
We hung out and got ready for the next leg of the trip today. We leave tomorrow morning for our longest continuous stretch of driving (1600 miles until we get to my Grandma Nagel's house). It was good to have a down day for everyone. I got to upload pics to the blog, we mailed off more stuff to ourselves to have more room in the car, and Isaac and Elyse got to play with Jen. We made another trip to the playground this afternoon (same as Tuesday). They were both holding court this evening and making all of us laugh and laugh. Isaac is suddenly blurting out different words and sounds, even coming up with things on his own, like ear and bee without hearing us say it first or being prompted. Elyse wore her princess gear to the park... :).

July 25 Wednesday
We are taking a couple of days off from driving (well, from making progress toward New York anyway). We visited Yellowstone today and still logged about 200 miles. We got to see many of the famous sites – bison, elk, Old Faithful, waterfalls, boiling mud, and geysers. It started really raining toward the end of the day, so that made it hard to get the kids out and get them exercise, but they did OK. He headed back to Big Sky for the evening, where Jen had made dinner for us – yum!

July 24 Tuesday
We weren’t up quite as early today, but still did not sleep well. Arrived at Jen and Polo’s around 11:00. Jen is one of my oldest friends and though we've never lived in the same place for very long, we've always stayed in touch. Both Jen and Polo had the day off, so we got to go together to have a little hike to the Ouzel waterfall, just outside of Big Sky. They took as to a covered picnic area with – you guessed it – a playground (#4)! Polo cooked up dinner and the kids played until the rain started coming down so hard that they couldn’t anymore. Once the rain tapered off, they were right back out there, cleaning up the slides with their clothes as they slid.

July 23 Monday
The sun rises here around 5:00 am and the birds start chirping. Elyse woke me up to tell me about it. As much as I tried to quiet her, she eventually woke Isaac and then there was no hope of more sleep. So, we were out of the campground and on the road by 7:00. Our goal is Big Sky, MT probably early tomorrow. We had probably our highest mileage day – 440 miles, because the roads are so straight and open and you can go fast. We stopped at a rest area and the kids ran through sprinklers and chased seagulls. We had lunch at Lookout Pass, on the border of Idaho and Montana. It was hot and sunny there, so we didn’t run around too much. Tonight we are again at an RV park, but one that has a playground and a pool, so we felt it would be a nice treat after the kids did so well in the car today. I guess we didn't get a picture, but this was playground #3 for those that are keeping track.

July 22 Sunday
We decided to stay at Mike and Sonja’s until after lunch. We had a leisurely breakfast, packed the car (this is really all we do – pack and unpack the car) and then found a little playground. This was our second in the "Playgrounds Across America" tour. Elyse, Isaac and Jordan enjoyed running around and getting some play time in. Isaac chased the crows more than he played on the playground. As we started to head east, Mike and Sonja stayed with us for a while and we had lunch together at another brewpub. Again, we ate outside and took turns chasing the boys. We made good time, 250 miles for the day even though we didn’t start until 1:00 or so. Had to suck it up and stay at an RV park for the night because there was nothing else around. This was our first time camping where it got dark, so we were a little nervous to get everything done on time and to be able to find the things we needed. Kids were a little freaked out when it got dark, but otherwise we were OK. It was almost 11:00 before Elyse fell asleep because she didn’t like the noises, she was scared of the dark, etc. whew!

July 21 Saturday
We left Suzi’s around 10:00. Drove to Portland. It took a little longer than we had thought, but we made it to Mike and Sonja’s around 1:30. Mike and Sonja were roomates of ours in Fairbanks way back in '95. They have a little guy close to Isaac’s age, so Isaac had plenty of fun toys to play with, and an older daughter, who’s room Elyse did not want to leave. We went out to a local brewfest with beers to taste and live music, plus space for the kids to run around. Elyse got a pair of butterfly wings made from balloons. We once again had a good visit and wonderful hospitality.

July 20 Friday
We arrived in Bellingham at 7AM (now we are on Pacific Time, so 8:00). We only went as far as Seattle today. We stayed with Ron’s cousin, Susan, for a night. She had to work, which gave us a chance to do laundry, repack the car with HOT weather in mind and eat a lot of local produce (cherries are local – local fruit! WOW! We never get that in Alaska!) What wonderful hospitality at Susan’s. We grilled steaks when she got home and enjoyed her company. She and Ron got to swap childhood stories and catch up on the goings-on of people they had forgotten about.

July 19 Thursday
No stops today! On the boat all day. Lots of chances to see wildlife and to play Frogger with the cruise ships. Nice to make progress and have a consistent place for the kids, it won’t be like that too much. They actually got their normal amount of sleep! Ron knows everyone on the ship, and fills me in on their stories. Not sure how he manages to talk to so many different people. They play movies, so Elyse got to watch Finding Nemo. There are some other small kids and they can all play together in the little play area. Ah, if only we could travel like this all the way to New York!

July 18 Wednesday
We passed through Petersburg and Wrangell in the middle of the night. We stirred a little as they made the announcements, but no one bothered to get out of bed. We docked in Ketchikan and 10:00 and didn’t leave port again until 5:00, so we did have time to get in to town and look around. We grabbed a taxi and headed for the visitor’s center. The weather in Ketchikan today was hot and sunny! We walked around with a few thousand cruise ship tourists. Not quite as many jewelry stores here, but still quite touristy right by the docks. We walked though historic Creek Street, where all of the houses were built on stilts surrounding a creek where salmon still run. Apparently, it was once the red light district, and there is one house that is still profiting from it’s notorious reputation by selling tours and pictures. The sign on the door read "Dolly’s house – where men and salmon come upstream to spawn"! We found some eats and then went in to the Discovery Center where they have a number of exhibits set up to showcase the different Alaska ecosystems. Elyse had a scavenger hunt trying to find various animals and plants. We still had lots of time to kill before the ferry left, and cranky kids that needed a break. So we decided to walk the two miles back to the ferry terminal (our car was checked in to Bellingham, so we couldn’t get it off here). We passed one fish cannery after another on our way. This was really it, the last time we will set foot in Alaska for a while! The kids didn’t really sleep on the walk, so we ate some dinner and got them to bed pretty early. Which meant Ron and I had time to wander around on our own. We found the bar and listened to some music for a while, and enjoyed a little down time.

July 17 Tuesday
We were able to take a leisurely morning today, as we didn’t have to meet the ferry until 11:00. We had breakfast in our room while the kids watched cartoons and Ron and I packed the car. Quick stop at a grocery store, as we don’t know if we will have access for a few days while we travel to Bellingham. Arrived early for the ferry, checked on departure time and then found a state park area on the beach that marked the original town site for Sitka. We got close to a couple of ravens (picture) and found some tiny crabs that Ron picked up and showed the kids. Then we boarded the ferry. This time we are on the Columbia and we have our own room. Our room has four bunks and enough room in between them for Isaac’s bed (though it is tight when it is set up). There are a number of lounges with windows and an outdoor covered deck where people set up sleeping bags and camp out. We found the little play area and the video games (once again). Ron has spent a lot of time out on the back deck which is pretty close to our room. Elyse is very excited to sleep on a boat, and on a top bunk at that! We have Isaac’s little leash to keep him safe and away from the edge. So far, his is content to climb stairs and pretend to drive on the video games. There have been numerous whale, porpoise and bear sightings.