Friday, June 30, 2006

On Friday, the family woke up in the middle of Yellowstone and headed out to see Old Faithful. What an amazing sight. As we drove up to the area, the geyser was erupting, so we parked the RV and made lunch while waiting for the next "show." This is where the rooftop air conditioner paid for itself! We then headed out with full tummies and witnessed a rare thing of beauty.

Dear World,
Today was awesome! We finally got to Yellowstone and we were driving to our campsite which took and hour and a half and while we were driving, we passed a restaurant where elk where laying right by the people! One scary thing was the bison – first we saw some sleeping in a field, but then while we were driving, we had to stop because a bison had come right up to us on the road and almost put his head through the window.
Bye for now,
Kelsey
Just passing time

(From Kira)
Dear World,
Hello out there, is there life out there? Sorry, I think I went weird because these people locked me in an RV for 11 hours! Hey look, now were in Butt, Montana, ha ha! I mean Butte. We drove for so long. Hey, you try going to the bathroom in a moving RV! When we first got in our RV we had to stop in 10 minutes, I guess Megan was hungry or somthin’. A few more hours until we get to Yellowstone! Yay! First we got out of Washington, into Idaho. And now were in Butte, Montana. In Idaho we saw sand twisters in a huge field of SAND! Isn’t that exciting. Lilly, our yellow Labrador, is with us. Yay! Well, yesterday my dad went to Wal-Mart and without telling Kelsey, Megan & Graham (and of course Lilly), he bought a DVD player! Cause the RV didn’t have a TV. Well, it was hard to hear because everything was moving in the RV. There was beautiful scenery and in-between states there’s nothing but empty land. Well, that’s pretty much all that’s going on around here! Bye 4 now! I hope to write soon!
Bye World,
Kira
(From Kelsey)
Dear World,
Today (Wednesday) was painful!!! We stayed in the Rolling Terd (RV) for more than 11 hours and you know me, I can’t sit still for more than one minute, but my Dad got us a DVD player in Spokane, which made our journey better. Even worse, I am still suffering from my sore throat, so I’m taking Advil every 3 hours, which I can’t wait to take more because they taste like candy! We are now traveling through Butte, Montana; four more hours until we get to Yellowstone! I wish you could’ve been here to entertain me and help me ignore Graham’s obnoxious snoring! At least there’s air conditioning!
Some beautiful sights I saw in Montana as that you could see the mountains and the sunset, sand tornados, and even cooler the city was built on a mountainside. Some bad things about our Rolling Terd is that if you lean back, you bump your head on the counter which really hurts! Also, the bathroom seems like its only 2 feet big, and I keep banging into things. Well, at least I’m the only one who got to sit in the front where there’s a lot of air conditioning and you get control of the music.
I love to look out the window here! There’s beautiful scenery with the trees lined so perfectly, but it’s so quiet around here – it seems like tumbleweeds roll around here! Other than that, we are really close to Yellowstone and I can’t wait to get there!
See you later,
Kelsey
(From Megan)
Dear friends,
I really miss you. I am bored because we have been in this RV for eleven hours! In the RV when I looked out the window when we were in Montana, I saw a mountain! There is four more hours until I get to Yellowstone! Yellowstone is a place in Wyoming. We are also going to Colorado where our cousins live. I am writing this note to you because I am so bored! This city is on a mountain! (Butte, Montana). We saw ducks and geese swimming in a pond at our campground. There were tumbleweeds in the fields rolling all around. I saw sand twisters in the fields. Our dog Lilly is with us!
Love,
Megan
(From Graham)
On the first night, we found 18 ducks and 3 swans at the campground in the morning – I wasn’t awake when we arrived. One of the swans hissed every time I went close to it. The ducks were hungry. We are now in Montana. We are going to Yellowstone National Park. We found lots of horses. Kelsey keeps on asking to put on Soak Up The Sun (Sheryl Crow).
Signed,
Graham
p.s.: the city (Butte) is very big. There is a big ‘M’ on a big hill.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
On the road!

Hello everyone!
Day one (Wednesday, June 28th) was a long day. We started out much later than planned and finally got going just after noon. We drove until 1am to make up time.
Its early afternoon and we are just a few hours from Yellowsone!
I am sending this update from my cellphone, so will provide more details later.
Bye!
jeff
Thursday, June 15, 2006

Well, we got the RV reserved, the KOA reservations set, saw the movie 'RV,' and still managed to convinced the family that living in a 'rolling terd' for 12 days is a good thing!
Our goal for this mission is to create precious memories for our children and not forget one of them at a scenic overlook.
Our planned itinerary:
- Wednesday, June 28th: Depart Seattle and drive I-90 as far as the caffiene lasts - hopefully within a couple hours of Yellowstone.
- Thursday, June 29th: Play in Yellowstone.
- Friday, June 30th: Go back and get Graham from the last stop; see the Grand Tetons.
- Saturday, July 1: White-water rafting on the Snake River near Jackson Hole.
- Sunday, July 2: All-day drive to the Denver area, arrive at the home of Jeff's 'little' sister.
- Monday, July 3 through Wednesday, July 5: Reconnect with the extended family.
- Thursday, July 6: Head to the Mountains, visit Grand Junction.
- Friday, July 7th: Dig for Dinosaurs in Dinosaur, Colorado.
- Saturday and Sunday: Drive all weekend back to Seattle.
- Monday, July 10: Recover from over-stimulation, too-much family bonding, and our backaches from sleeping in an RV for two weeks.
Bye!