Day 08-Grand Canyon

(Kristen)

About five years ago we went to the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona. The bad thing was that the canyon was filled with smoke. They had a lot of forest fires that year, so our visit was no fun. We could see nothing but a few feet into the canyon. This year we had to come back to see what we could see this time.

Today when we walked the Bright Angel Trail on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, we could see EVERYTHING. The canyon is very beautiful; the rocks were pretty and a really deep red at times. There were also tan rocks with white lines throughout. When we were walking, there was a rock wall on one side and nothing on the other. When we looked down the path, it was scary because we had no clue how high we were. When we got to the end of the trail, we could see the depth of the canyon. It was amazing at how far down it went and how big it was. When we got to the end of the trail, James and I climbed a rock formation. It was a lot of fun and amazing because it felt like we were on top of the world. Then we had to go back up the trail because the way out was all downhill (fun - right?). The Grand Canyon was wonderful and I am so happy there was no smoke this time.

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Day 07-Mesa Verde

(Kristen)

Today we got to see Mesa Verde near Cortez, Colorado. Mesa Verde in English actually means Green Table. We walked the Spruce Tree House Trail. On that trail we got to see cliff dwellings. It was amazing to see them still in such great shape. It made me wonder how hard they were to build. Teri, James and I got to go down a hole into a kiva that the Native people used. It was small; the ranger said that you could fit 56 people down there, but it would be extremely crowded.

After our hike, we took the Mesa Top Loop drive. On the drive we saw some more cliff dwellings. We saw a dwelling called Cliff Palace from a distance. The Cliff Palace had many rooms. We saw people on the tour climbing ladders into it. It makes you wonder how they made it. This was my favorite cliff dwelling that I saw today.

On top of a cliff was the Sun Temple; there we got to walk right next to the walls of temple. We got to look inside of the temple, which had many halls and windows.

Another thing that we wanted to see was the Four Corners. This place is the only place where four states touch in the U.S. Sadly we could not see it because it was closed.

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Day 06-Southern Colorado Sites

(James)

We went to the Royal Gorge, which is a river at the bottom of a canyon. The rocks and the river were very pretty. The part that looked like fun was the cable car that goes from one side of the Royal Gorge to the other side. We also saw the bridge at Royal Gorge that you could walk across and look at the river.

We tried to eat at a picnic table above the gorge. I said we tried, because we got attacked by gnats. Dad looked like a dog shaking his head. It got very annoying very fast, so we decided to eat in the car.

We drove to the Great Sand Dunes National Park which was tons and tons of fun. The funniest part is that it seemed like it took forever to walk to the dunes. The most fun was going down the hills. The most exhausting part about the dunes is going up the hills. We went up and down a few hills and then left.

On the way to the campsite, we saw Chimney Rock. I thought it was pretty wicked. That night in the campsite we slept in a tepee. In the tepee, there were two cots. I thought the tepee cots were comfortable because I slept on one of them. The only bad part about the tepee is that there a hole in the top where they put sticks in a bundle to hold it up. I think tepees are easier than a tent.

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Day 05-The Betz Family

(James)

The Betz Family is very cool. There is Jeremiah of course, Linus, Juliette, Christian and Megan. I think Megan is a wonderful cook. Linus liked me as soon I walked into door. At first he asked me to play Frisbee with him outside. Then we came inside and there was my favorite toy track, THOMAS THE TRAIN! I haven’t played with it forever but I was pretty impressed with the track I made. After playing on the track with the toys, we had to eat dinner. Megan cooked spaghetti and bread; I really liked it. I played with Linus for a little while with his toys.

The one thing I liked the most was going to the Air Force Academy were Jeremiah works. He showed us around and we saw the chapel. We couldn’t go inside because the chapel was closed when we were there. I thought the funniest thing is that the freshmen have to run around the academy. While we were there, Jeremiah showed us his office and did some experiments for us. He put hydrogen and oxygen in a coke bottle, which made a pretty loud POP as it combined to form water. He also did an experiment called Whoosh where he put methanol in a really big water container. When he lit it, there was some fire, a loud “Whoosh!” and then the fire went out. Jeremiah asked me, “Why did the fire got out”, and I said “There’s no air,” and he said, “Excellent!” After that, he poured the methanol on the counter and lit it. He got his hand wet and then put his hand in it. He let his hand flame for a while and then blew it out. The cool part is when he touched it, the fire changed color.

We went back to Jeremiah’s house, talked until 11:00 and had some peach cobbler. I think Jeremiah has really good humor and he does really good expressions. The next morning, we woke up and had some pancakes and eggs. I built Linus a really cool Lego spaceship. Then we went off on the road again, I just can’t wait to get on the road again. Oh sorry - that song has been stuck in my head the whole entire trip.

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Day 04-The Stevens Family

(Kristen)

Today we got to spend time with the Stevens family. We went to Helen Hunt Falls, went up Mount Evans, and saw where Buffalo Bill is buried.

In the Stevens family there are four kids: Sarah, Sasha, Spencer, and Scott. Sarah is 14, Sasha is 11, Spencer is 8, and Scott is 5. The parents are Sean and Sherri. The kids were so much fun and I wished that we could spend more time with them.

Both families drove to Helen Hunt Falls, which were pretty. While we were going up to stand above the falls, we crossed this little bridge and Spencer went underneath the bridge. Sean told him to get out and we finished the path. We stood on a bridge about halfway up the falls. The view was really cool and amazing. When we went down, Spencer went back under the bridge and climbed down back to the base of the falls. All of the kids followed and it was a lot of fun.

After that we got eat at a picnic area. We all ate our lunch, and we got to see where Buffalo Bill is buried. He was buried on top of a mountain at his request. He wanted to be buried above the mountains and plains. The view was breathtaking up there.

Another thing that we got to do was drive up Mount Evans. When we started out it was about 75 degrees at the base of the mountain. As we were going up the mountain, we stopped at the bathrooms where we saw a herd of mountain goats. There were about ten mountain goats with two kids. We all took pictures and then we were on our way. As we continued going up, we got to see four more mountain goats which were really close to the road. We also got to feel some of the fur that fell off of the goats. When we got to the top of mountain, it was about 44 degrees and windy. The mountain is 14,264 feet above sea level. It was really nice up there and did I mention freezing cold? Did you know that Mount Evans is the tallest mountain you can drive in Colorado? On the way down, I got to drive a little while. It was a little scary, but not that bad. The turns were really tight with sheer drop-offs. Before long, we pulled off and dad took the wheel again. On the way down we also got to see female big horn sheep. There were about ten of them and were neat to see.

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Day 03-Flat Kansas

(Kristen)

Today we saw a statue of Buffalo Bill Cody in Oakley, Kansas. It had Buffalo Bill on a horse with a gun in his arms. He was pointing towards the buffalo that was on his left side. The statue was really big, 16 feet tall and twice life-size. Once, two men, William F. Cody and William Comstock, were both called Buffalo Bill. Both were buffalo hunters for the Army. They had a contest near Oakley, KS, to earn the sole title “Buffalo Bill”. William F. Cody won the challenge with 69 to 46 kills in one day. This event made a big impact on the world’s image of the West.

Also in Oakley, we got to see a statue of a Dough Boy. The name of this statue actually came from the outfit they wore. This statue represented World War I veterans from the area.

The Rock Monuments were very interesting to see. First, we had to drive down a dirt road for 7 miles. All saw was prairie. Then, all of a sudden, we saw the Rock Monuments. They were beautiful and big, sandy colored with brown lines in between. On the sides of the rocks, we saw tons of birds’ nests under overhangs.

When people think about Kansas, they think flat every which way. Kansas is actually hilly and not very flat at all. I think that Kansas is beautiful and neat. When you look out the window you see prairies, with some trees in areas and sunflowers. Did you know that the sunflower is the state flower of Kansas? You also see rolling hills in all directions. So when someone says that Kansas is flat, don’t believe them.

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Our Vacation

We're Ba-ack!

We returned from our vacation on Sunday. We've spent the week recovering and the kids invested some time in editing their journal entries for each day. We left on the afternoon of July 8, so there are no pictures from Day 1. The journal and pictures start up with Day 2.

Teri


Day 02-Arch in St. Louis, Missouri (James)

The Arch in St. Louis is made out of stainless steel on the outside, carbon steel on the inside and concrete in the middle. It was built between 1963 and 1965. The most amazing part is that it is 630 feet tall. It stands for a gateway to the west, and it is a monument to western expansion starting at St. Louis. The other part that was very cool was that you get to go all the way to the top of the monument. The views were amazing at the top of the arch.

The arch doesn’t have a regular elevator because there isn’t enough room for one, so instead they used a ram. Basically, a ram is a really small pod. The difference in the way a ram and an elevator go up and down is that the ram rocks back and forth because the arch isn’t straight. The weird part is that it takes four minutes to go up and three minutes to go down. I think I know why it takes one less minute to go down the arch because going down is faster than going up. I think it was way more fun going down than up.

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Official One Year Pictures

Hi all,

Just a quick post to show everyone the pictures we got done for Amelia's birthday. If there's a pose you'd like to have a print of, let me know which one (page number and position) and what size. I'll mail it to you (eventually).

Teri

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Happy Fourth (or Fifth)

I hope everyone enjoyed their Independence Day holiday. We passed out water at the parade in Enon on Saturday. Kristen marched with the band. Saturday night, Paul, Amelia, Riley and I watched the Enon fireworks from the van. Sunday was spent hemming and mending to get ready for our trip.

Monday, Kristen and I joined Cindra, her friend Taylor, Ken and Jennifer for a trail ride at Sugarcreek Metropark. We spent a nice hour or so walking under the trees before heading back to the barn to cool the horses with a well-deserved bath.

Meanwhile, Amelia and Paul built a castle with her Duplo blocks. Later, we caught Amelia using Riley as a footstool.

In the evening, Kristen treated her mom, Deb, to a ride on Shiloh. All in all, our fifth of July was a busy, happy day.

Enjoy the pictures,

Teri

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