Lorie and I are sitting out on our balcony enjoying the fresh morning air in Custer, South Dakota. It smells like the woods, which isn't surprising since we are in the Black Hills. We are trying to plan our next three days. There is just too much to see and do. We wish we had a year!
Today we are going to be exploring the Black Hills, ending up at Mount Rushmore this evening for the evening lighting ceremony.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
We're All Alone Out Here
Our highlight of today was driving in Eastern Wyoming and into South Dakota without seeing another car for over an hour. We saw more deer than people. It was fun, but it felt a little strange. We drove through one town and the town sign at the start said "Population 1".
So my Aunt is away and I (Elizabeth) have decided to take over this blog for a paragraph or two. We saw LOTS of dead things today, or was it yesterday? I don't know all I do know is that I am not a fan of Wyoming. I much prefer South Dakota, I really don't know why, there is just a different feel in the air. I figured that while I have this moment to type my thoughts away to all of you I'd share a moment of the trip that I love/loved.
Last Night we were driving through Wyoming and it was SUPER dark, so dark that the sky was shining with stars. They shone down on us brilliantly from the sky. I love stars, I always have and I always will, but in CA one doesn't see too many stars. So imagine for a moment the calm humming of the car, "Defying Gravity" by Wicked blasting on the stereo and just gazing up at the magnificent sky. I whipped out my dad's camera to try and capture this rare moment of perfection but apparently the sky is a "subject that is too DARK". Whatever. That moment of amazingness will be burned into my memory forever. I loved it, that was the best part of Wyoming.
Now my wonderful audience I have decided that I do not like blogging. I'll leave that up to Auntie to do. A line from "Live Free Die Hard" pops into my head:
Matthew "Did you just see that?"
McClain "See it? I DID it!"
That's what I feel like, I saw it I did it, why blog it? But it is nice to come back later and re-read everything. My mom is keeping a trip book and whoever rides shotgun has to be the writer of this book. Mom's good at it, Auntie's good at it, me? Not so much. I'd rather just look at it later then write it.
So with those words being said/typed I find that this little time that I have taken over is coming to an end. I really have nothing more to say, and we all can agree that this little time we've had together has been random. So I'm out for now and will return the blog back to Auntie. Eli is out!
Thanks, Eli, for contributing. I asked Lorie if she wanted to write something, but she is exhausted and just wanted to go to bed.
We had a little adventure finding our hotel this evening. Garmen took us to the old Custer Courthouse, which, while we do want to take the museum tour, we don't think it would be a good place to stay. We looked at the web printout and it gave the address we had. We looked at our AAA book and it just said it was on Highway 16 - which we were on. We thought we could call the hotel, but we had no service. So we drove a little ways up Highway 16 - no luck. We came back down and went the exact opposite way Garmen had said to go and - guess what! There it was. When we told the manager who checked us in, he said that ninety percent of the people who come in have the same problem. He said he did not know why the GPS has you turn right instead of left off of SD-89. Oh well, we have a lovely room, with a balcony and a great view of the hills.
This hotel is made to look like a lodge. There is even a waterfall out back which we are going to explore tomorrow.
And, yes, there are other people here. We don't know how they got here, because they were not driving down the same roads we were, but the hotel is full! :)
We are having a great time - driving and stopping whenever we want to. The only drawback right now is that we have every intermittent cell phone reception, so, if you are reading this, and you are used to having us call or text you, just remember that we love you and we will resume contact when we can!
Also, the lack of pictures is due to the fact that the Internet is so slow. I will upload some pictures later on.
So my Aunt is away and I (Elizabeth) have decided to take over this blog for a paragraph or two. We saw LOTS of dead things today, or was it yesterday? I don't know all I do know is that I am not a fan of Wyoming. I much prefer South Dakota, I really don't know why, there is just a different feel in the air. I figured that while I have this moment to type my thoughts away to all of you I'd share a moment of the trip that I love/loved.
Last Night we were driving through Wyoming and it was SUPER dark, so dark that the sky was shining with stars. They shone down on us brilliantly from the sky. I love stars, I always have and I always will, but in CA one doesn't see too many stars. So imagine for a moment the calm humming of the car, "Defying Gravity" by Wicked blasting on the stereo and just gazing up at the magnificent sky. I whipped out my dad's camera to try and capture this rare moment of perfection but apparently the sky is a "subject that is too DARK". Whatever. That moment of amazingness will be burned into my memory forever. I loved it, that was the best part of Wyoming.
Now my wonderful audience I have decided that I do not like blogging. I'll leave that up to Auntie to do. A line from "Live Free Die Hard" pops into my head:
Matthew "Did you just see that?"
McClain "See it? I DID it!"
That's what I feel like, I saw it I did it, why blog it? But it is nice to come back later and re-read everything. My mom is keeping a trip book and whoever rides shotgun has to be the writer of this book. Mom's good at it, Auntie's good at it, me? Not so much. I'd rather just look at it later then write it.
So with those words being said/typed I find that this little time that I have taken over is coming to an end. I really have nothing more to say, and we all can agree that this little time we've had together has been random. So I'm out for now and will return the blog back to Auntie. Eli is out!
Thanks, Eli, for contributing. I asked Lorie if she wanted to write something, but she is exhausted and just wanted to go to bed.
We had a little adventure finding our hotel this evening. Garmen took us to the old Custer Courthouse, which, while we do want to take the museum tour, we don't think it would be a good place to stay. We looked at the web printout and it gave the address we had. We looked at our AAA book and it just said it was on Highway 16 - which we were on. We thought we could call the hotel, but we had no service. So we drove a little ways up Highway 16 - no luck. We came back down and went the exact opposite way Garmen had said to go and - guess what! There it was. When we told the manager who checked us in, he said that ninety percent of the people who come in have the same problem. He said he did not know why the GPS has you turn right instead of left off of SD-89. Oh well, we have a lovely room, with a balcony and a great view of the hills.
This hotel is made to look like a lodge. There is even a waterfall out back which we are going to explore tomorrow.
And, yes, there are other people here. We don't know how they got here, because they were not driving down the same roads we were, but the hotel is full! :)
We are having a great time - driving and stopping whenever we want to. The only drawback right now is that we have every intermittent cell phone reception, so, if you are reading this, and you are used to having us call or text you, just remember that we love you and we will resume contact when we can!
Also, the lack of pictures is due to the fact that the Internet is so slow. I will upload some pictures later on.
Day Three, continued
In the afternoon, we stopped at Bridal Veil Falls. Lorie and I remember stopping here when we were little girls, traveling to or from Nebraska with our parents. It was always a highlight of our trip and we wished we could actually go to the falls.
Well, there was an avalanche a few years ago at Bridal Veil Falls. It took out the gift store, ice cream shop, ariel tram and part of the road. We think the falls were also diverted a little. However, good comes out of bad. A walking trail was created from a parking lot to the falls so people can walk down to the falls and in 2005 a bridge from the old road was built over the Provo River so people can park on the old road side and walk over to the falls. This is what we did. We walked across the bridge and waded in the pool at the bottom of the falls. There were several people there. Some were wading and some were actually climbing the falls. We want to go back with the whole family sometime when we have planned for it and play and hike together. Lorie knows that Randy would love to hike up the falls and in the surrounding area.
We spent so much time playing today that we had to drive into the night to make it to Rawlins where we had a reservation. We had fun driving in the dark and Elizabeth could not believe how many stars were in the sky. She tried to describe them, but words failed her. This is not a common situation for Elizabeth, so Lorie and I were tickled by it. When she tried to describe them she said, "Look at the sky. No, don't look! You are driving. I'll try to describe it. They look like....like....little stars!" We were happy to hear that the star in Wyoming still looked like stars.
We drive to Mt. Rushmore tomorrow.
Well, there was an avalanche a few years ago at Bridal Veil Falls. It took out the gift store, ice cream shop, ariel tram and part of the road. We think the falls were also diverted a little. However, good comes out of bad. A walking trail was created from a parking lot to the falls so people can walk down to the falls and in 2005 a bridge from the old road was built over the Provo River so people can park on the old road side and walk over to the falls. This is what we did. We walked across the bridge and waded in the pool at the bottom of the falls. There were several people there. Some were wading and some were actually climbing the falls. We want to go back with the whole family sometime when we have planned for it and play and hike together. Lorie knows that Randy would love to hike up the falls and in the surrounding area.
We spent so much time playing today that we had to drive into the night to make it to Rawlins where we had a reservation. We had fun driving in the dark and Elizabeth could not believe how many stars were in the sky. She tried to describe them, but words failed her. This is not a common situation for Elizabeth, so Lorie and I were tickled by it. When she tried to describe them she said, "Look at the sky. No, don't look! You are driving. I'll try to describe it. They look like....like....little stars!" We were happy to hear that the star in Wyoming still looked like stars.
We drive to Mt. Rushmore tomorrow.
Day Three - Cheese and Forts and Water, Oh My!
This was our longest driving day. We choose to drive about 500 miles today so we would have more time and get into South Dakota, Mt. Rushmore earlier on day four. However, we also added several sightseeing stops to the day, so while we started driving at 8 am, we did not get to our hotel in Rawlins, WY until midnight.
We began the day with a visit to the Squeaky Cheese Factory in Beaver, Utah. We all ate curds for the first time - not too impressed. But we did find out what curds are. They are the first products in the cheese-making process. And, when you eat them, they squeak in your mouth! It truly does make a squeaking sound as you bite down. Truly weird--you should have seen Lorie's face! It is also very salty.
After leaving the cheese factory, we continued down the road. We saw the sign about stopping about Fort Cove, the first fort in Utah. We pulled over and had a tour of the fort that was built in 1867. The tour was probably designed to be about 30 minutes, but we had a lot of questions and a very talkative guide, so our tout lasted about 90 minutes. The fort was built and is operated by the Morman church. It was very interesting to learn all about how the fort operated during the 20 years it was there. While it was built to protect the settlers from the Indians, there was never any fighting at the fort.
This is just the beginning of our third day, but we need to get on the road now, so I will finish day three this evening!
We began the day with a visit to the Squeaky Cheese Factory in Beaver, Utah. We all ate curds for the first time - not too impressed. But we did find out what curds are. They are the first products in the cheese-making process. And, when you eat them, they squeak in your mouth! It truly does make a squeaking sound as you bite down. Truly weird--you should have seen Lorie's face! It is also very salty.
After leaving the cheese factory, we continued down the road. We saw the sign about stopping about Fort Cove, the first fort in Utah. We pulled over and had a tour of the fort that was built in 1867. The tour was probably designed to be about 30 minutes, but we had a lot of questions and a very talkative guide, so our tout lasted about 90 minutes. The fort was built and is operated by the Morman church. It was very interesting to learn all about how the fort operated during the 20 years it was there. While it was built to protect the settlers from the Indians, there was never any fighting at the fort.
This is just the beginning of our third day, but we need to get on the road now, so I will finish day three this evening!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Day Two - The Journey Continues
We started out from Barstow, California at around 8 am. It was already 85 degrees and hot! We drove down the road and stopped at Baker for some diet coke. Elizabeth was having fun taking pictures with her daddy's camera that he graciously let her borrow for the trip. We learned that the man who discovered the North Pole was the grandson of the man who founded the city of Baker, California. One of the restaurants has a statue of him outside in the parking lot. It looks a little incongruent to see a statue of a man in Artic gear in the middle of an extremely hot spot!
We continued down the road towards Las Vegas. We were amazed to see how much the area at the California/Nevada border had grown. As we headed into Vegas, we exited at Blue Diamond Road and went into the Casino Lodge with the Bill Bass Pro shop. We spent about two hours there. We wandered around the store - amazed at the animal displays. We decided that the Bill Bass Pro Shop is rather like Disneyland with their attention to detail. Even the parking lot was themed. Rather than stripes to designate where cars were to park, there were lines of fish.
The only thing that disappointed us was that this Bill Bass did not have its own restaurant. We decided that was because the store is attached to the casino and they want all the money to go there. We went into the casino area and ate at Johnny Rockets.
We then drove to Mesquite where we stopped for...what else....diet coke!
Elizabeth enjoyed traveling through the Virgin River Gorge. She does not remember it from her other trips through there. She took many pictures.
After passing through St. George, we pulled off at the historic town of Silver Reef. We drove back into the hills to see the old Wells Fargo Bank and other town ruins. It was amazing to see how that area had grown up also. Christie remembers it being fairly isolated. Now, there are several very large houses back there. It was a lovely drive and we enjoyed it. The museum was closed by the time we got there (around 5:00 pm), but we still were able to see the building and the surrounding area.
We drove into Beaver. The temperature had been 106 degrees in St. George, but it dropped to 82 degress by the time we reached Beaver around 7:00 pm. There was a lot of construction on the I-15 between Silver Reef and Beaver. At one point, the traffic came to a stand still. But, overall, it wasn't too bad.
We thought that we wanted to stay at the Butch Cassidy Great Western Hotel in Beaver. The advertisements said it was recently redone and it offers a full hot breakfast. However, when we drove to it, it was very small and old. So, we decided to go to the Comfort Inn. It is very nice. We went to dinner at the Timber Line Restaurent across the road. It was very good and we continued our two day tradition of sharing a dessert with their Oreo Cheesecake. It was very good (see other dessert post for more details).
It was a great day and we are looking forward to tomorrow.
We continued down the road towards Las Vegas. We were amazed to see how much the area at the California/Nevada border had grown. As we headed into Vegas, we exited at Blue Diamond Road and went into the Casino Lodge with the Bill Bass Pro shop. We spent about two hours there. We wandered around the store - amazed at the animal displays. We decided that the Bill Bass Pro Shop is rather like Disneyland with their attention to detail. Even the parking lot was themed. Rather than stripes to designate where cars were to park, there were lines of fish.
The only thing that disappointed us was that this Bill Bass did not have its own restaurant. We decided that was because the store is attached to the casino and they want all the money to go there. We went into the casino area and ate at Johnny Rockets.
We then drove to Mesquite where we stopped for...what else....diet coke!
Elizabeth enjoyed traveling through the Virgin River Gorge. She does not remember it from her other trips through there. She took many pictures.
After passing through St. George, we pulled off at the historic town of Silver Reef. We drove back into the hills to see the old Wells Fargo Bank and other town ruins. It was amazing to see how that area had grown up also. Christie remembers it being fairly isolated. Now, there are several very large houses back there. It was a lovely drive and we enjoyed it. The museum was closed by the time we got there (around 5:00 pm), but we still were able to see the building and the surrounding area.
We drove into Beaver. The temperature had been 106 degrees in St. George, but it dropped to 82 degress by the time we reached Beaver around 7:00 pm. There was a lot of construction on the I-15 between Silver Reef and Beaver. At one point, the traffic came to a stand still. But, overall, it wasn't too bad.
We thought that we wanted to stay at the Butch Cassidy Great Western Hotel in Beaver. The advertisements said it was recently redone and it offers a full hot breakfast. However, when we drove to it, it was very small and old. So, we decided to go to the Comfort Inn. It is very nice. We went to dinner at the Timber Line Restaurent across the road. It was very good and we continued our two day tradition of sharing a dessert with their Oreo Cheesecake. It was very good (see other dessert post for more details).
It was a great day and we are looking forward to tomorrow.
Desserts
We have developed a vacation tradition - at least it is a two day tradition - we'll see if it continues. This tradition is to try a dessert that we have not had. We just get one and we share it. Here is the Red Velvet Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory at The Grove in Los Angeles.
This is the dessert from day two. It is an Oreo Cheesecake from The Timber Inn in Beaver, Utah. It was very good. Elizabeth says it is the best so far. Lorie and I are still voting for the Red Velvet Cheesecake as the winner.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Elizabeth and the American Girl Place
Here is Elizabeth standing out in front of the American Girl Place at The Grove in Los Angeles, California. She is holding Addie, her first American Girl doll. It was a gift from the entire family (Nana, Bub, Grandma and Papa Nichols, Auntie, Mom and Dad).
The Journey Begins
We began today with an exciting visit to Subway near Lorie and Elizabeth's home. We walked in and the sandwich maker was on the phone in the back of the store. A woman was standing a the counter and she looked like she had alreay been waiting for some time. As we looked at the menu, a policeman came in and went right to the back of the store. A second policeman pulled up and began walking the perimeter of the strip mall. We looked at each other and decided that it would be wise to chose another Subway for our morning meal. We speculated on what we happening, but we still don't know what was really going on.
Lorie standing by the See's Candies sign.We went down the street to another Subway and enjoyed a quick breakfast. Then it was onto the 405 freeway for a drive to the American Girl Place in Los Angeles. We exited the freeway on La Cienega and were driving down the road when Lorie exclaimed, "Look!" There was a large white building with the words "Home of See's Candies". We turned around and went in. This is one of two Sees Candies factories - the other is in San Francisco. They did not have a factory tour, but they had a large store, several different types of candies for sale that are being tested and we were given four samples each. (I had five samples...I guess they liked me best - Elizabeth) That is enough to make anyone have a good day.
We continued down the street to The Grove - a beautiful shopping center in Beverly Hills. It was gorgeous with fountains, a trolley, brick lanes, and a large variety of stores. We were there to visit the American Girl Place so we went right to that store. It was amazing - 2 stories of dramatically displayed dolls, clothes, and accessories. Each doll is displayed in an area that highlights her time era and the events that were happening in the United States at that time. I called it the "museum" because it felt like museum dioramas. Every time you turned around, you felt like you saw something new.
We met a fantastic store employee, Miss Marie, and she just added to our enjoyment. She explained to us about the differences in the dolls depending on when they were made and changes that had been made over time. We learned so much and she was so nice. She introduced us to anther employee and we had a great time discussing doll collecting.
Elizabeth was having a hard time deciding what she wanted to purchase, so we left the store and went to eat some lunch. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory. We sat outside on a balcony overlooking the road below. It felt to us like we think eating in New Orleans would feel. The shopping center is so relaxed - you feel as if you are somewhere other than the middle of Los Angeles. We shared appetizers and piece of Red Velvet Cheescake. The cheesecake was almost as good as the red velvet cake at California Pizza Kitchen, but not quite. Our waitress was from back east and she shared that she and her mom had driven out here last year. She said, "I don't think I was quite as excited about my road trip as you are about yours."
After lunch, we went to Barnes and Noble. It was a three story store with the middle opening up right to the ceiling. It was lovely. We then walked around the center and the Farmers' Market that was next door.
We returned to the American Girl Place. Elizabeth made her decision and purchased a new doll, Lanie, with her graduation money from Nana and Bub. (I changed her name to Eleanor Joi Quimby, Eleanor after Eleanor Roosevelt, Joi after my Aunt Tiffanie and Quimby after Robin Lee Graham's daughter - Elizabeth) The doll is the American Girl doll of the year. It is a beautiful doll.
We got back in the care and drove down the road to Barstow. The trip took about 2.5 hours. There was some traffic in Los Angeles, but we were glad we were going out of town and not into town. The other side of the freeway looked like it was going to be still for hours.
We are staying by the Barstow outlets. It was 95 degrees here at 6:30 pm. Lorie and Elizabeth went swimming and Christie rested. We had a great first day!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Why Triple A?
Triple A Road Trip: American Girl, Animals, and Ancestors. My sister, her youngest daughter, and I are going on a three week road trip. Elizabeth, my niece, collects American Girl dolls, so we will be stopping at various American Girl doll stores along the way. Lorie, my sister, loves seeing zoos and I am going to be doing some family research along the way.
We are leaving tomorrow and starting at the American Girl doll store in Los Angeles. We then are driving to South Dakota (enjoying Utah and Wyoming along the way). In South Dakota, we are going to see Mt. Rushmore – we’ve seen it before, but you can’t not see it while you’re there. We are also going through Bear Country – the largest bear reserve in the US – you drive through it in your car (keeping the windows rolled up!). As we drive through South Dakota, we are going to stop at the Laura Ingalls Wilder spots.
We are also going into North Dakota and visit some of the Lewis and Clark and Teddy Roosevelt sites. Next, we are going to the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN for another American Girl doll store. We are also going to see some friends while we are there. Then, through Wisconsin to Chicago, IL for the third American Girl doll store. While there we are also going to Soldier Field and eat at Mike Ditka’s restaurant, see the Chicago zoo, and a variety of other things.
When we leave Chicago, we are going to drive home on Route 66. We will stop in Springfield, IL and see the Lincoln things. In Oklahoma I am going to do some family research and take Lorie and Elizabeth to an old cemetery where many of my grandmother’s relatives are. I am not sure if they really want to see it, but I told them that they have to (being the oldest sister has its privileges).
We are leaving tomorrow and starting at the American Girl doll store in Los Angeles. We then are driving to South Dakota (enjoying Utah and Wyoming along the way). In South Dakota, we are going to see Mt. Rushmore – we’ve seen it before, but you can’t not see it while you’re there. We are also going through Bear Country – the largest bear reserve in the US – you drive through it in your car (keeping the windows rolled up!). As we drive through South Dakota, we are going to stop at the Laura Ingalls Wilder spots.
We are also going into North Dakota and visit some of the Lewis and Clark and Teddy Roosevelt sites. Next, we are going to the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN for another American Girl doll store. We are also going to see some friends while we are there. Then, through Wisconsin to Chicago, IL for the third American Girl doll store. While there we are also going to Soldier Field and eat at Mike Ditka’s restaurant, see the Chicago zoo, and a variety of other things.
When we leave Chicago, we are going to drive home on Route 66. We will stop in Springfield, IL and see the Lincoln things. In Oklahoma I am going to do some family research and take Lorie and Elizabeth to an old cemetery where many of my grandmother’s relatives are. I am not sure if they really want to see it, but I told them that they have to (being the oldest sister has its privileges).
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Thursday Night - Preparing to Go
The road trip begins on Saturday.
Tonight I am packing, doing laundry, checking the weather (hailstorms predicted in South Dakota!), and gathering all the things I want to take with me. I always take too much---that's why I am thankful for traveling in a car!
Tonight I am packing, doing laundry, checking the weather (hailstorms predicted in South Dakota!), and gathering all the things I want to take with me. I always take too much---that's why I am thankful for traveling in a car!
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