Vacation Chronicle: Parts 4, 5, & 6

Hey people! I know most of you aren't going to read all of this, but it's a very detailed (well, as detailed as it's going to get!) description of our trips, except for our long stops which weren't documented as indepth (simply because I was too busy to pull out a pad and pencil). This part of our country is so amazing, I hope you guys enjoy hearing about our little excursions.

Today's date: 22 July 2011

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(Vacation Chronicle: Part 4)

Dear Diary,                                12 July 2011

We’re at Devil’s Tower! It is massive. And so ancient looking. Looking at it, it just seems so timeless and unchanging. It was the first national monument. After seeing “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” Jacob and I appreciated it a lot more. If we had had more time we would have gotten closer, maybe even go up it some ways, but we had to make it through Wyoming to Montana that day and had to hurry.

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Bighorn, Wyoming was the prettiest, most picturesque thing I’ve ever seen, even more so than Colorado Springs. We spotted moose, and had the “what is plural for moose” debate. On the way up into the mountains, Jacob was so worried that Daddy was going to run us off the road. Honestly, he can be such a worry wart sometimes – he’s just like Grandma in that even though he makes fun of her cautiosness all the time.

For lunch we ate at a tiny family place called Legends Grill in Daymon or something like that before Big Horn. Our goal was Yellowstone bit it’s been about 4 hours since I thought we were close. Haha, funny. Seriously though, Bighorn mountain range was so incredible we didn’t mind the long drive. We could turn a bend and there would be a magnificent valley and then a couple of moose grazing around the other. Mommy pointed out a few emu as well. We got some great pictures of a couple elk right by the road, not to mention the Shell Creek waterfalls. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any bears. I really wanted to…I told Jacob that there was 1 bear out there for me, somewhere. And I will find it.

It was freeing! At the highest point (about 8168 feet) we were hugging our coats and I pulled on some gloves when we got out. Jacob and I ran out of the car to a patch of snow. The fool was barefoot so in the picture that Mommy took from the passenger window, he was standing on my foot. Climbing (in the car of course) up Bighorn, we were actually in the clouds!! It was so neat! Course, I thing Daddy and I were the ones who enjoyed it most since both Jacob and Mommy were moaning and gripping the seats til their knuckles were white. It was a bit nerve-wracking since the clouds were like very thick fog, but Daddy’s a careful driver and I wasn’t worried.

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Finally in Yellowstone, we are at 8510 feet! There are mountains with melting snowy mountains everywhere, making waterfalls right there beside the road. It was so cool!

(Vacation Chronicle: Part 5)

Dear Diary,                              13 July 2011

We didn’t get to our hotel until 2 AM last night! Yes, we did see Old Faithful, but it was at night by the light of a full moon and if you ask me, we were the faithful ones. After 3 hours driving in Yellowstone Park it didn’t even spray for us. I was so tired I hardly cared At least we got to see it. There were geysers everywhere releasing hot steam that reflected in the moonlight, which looked pretty neat. Mommy kept calling it “geyser juice”.

The road went around this huge lake. Around one turn, suddenly there was this giant animal in the road! At first we thought it was a bear, but it turned out to be a bison. He was just walking along, chilling in the slow lane. It was an unexpected, but awesome, experience. Ever since the “Bison are dangerous” signs back in the Black Hills, Mommy had been wanting to see one. We were all pretty jovial there for a while – a little stray cloud floated above one of the hills. Mommy said, “Look, a little puff of cloud.” From then on we remembered him as “Little POC”…our cloud friend.

Mommy’s pretty tired. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to rest up at the Norcini’s. Idaho is where we’re headed to today. You would not believe the trouble it took to get some postcards here in Montana. It sure is pretty. I would love to see some wild horses.

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Almost to Clinton, Montana, the rain is really pouring down. Mommy is literally on the edge of her seat, eyes glued to the windshield as Daddy navigates through the downpour. It got so bad that we had to pull over for a few minutes. Even now, Daddy can’t see more than 20 meters ahead. He and I are the calm drivers in this group – Jacob and Mommy both are really nervous.

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We’re almost to the Norcini’s now. We just went over Lake Hayden. It was so beautiful!! To my right was the lake, set off in a wave of reddish colors from the sunset. To my left the purple/pink colors of dusk lit up the sky along with a full moon. SO PRETTY I CAN HARDLY STAND IT!!

(Vacation Chronicle: Part 6)

Dear Diary,                                         15 July 2011

I got to drive a 4-wheeler today!! It was so awesome. It was like driving a wave-runner on land, only I was by myself. Heather and Janessa loved riding with me. Once, Heather said, “I love riding this with no grown-ups, no offense, Emily.” She and I get along really well, we’re like buddies. Janessa too, but not as much since she pretty much likes to do her own thing most of the time, even if it doesn’t include me. Liandra is the same way.

I also decided I’m going to take horseback riding lessons again. This decision was prompted by the feeling of the trail ride we took today at Heather and Janessa’s riding stable…and the fact that Dan (Pastor Dan) bought me some real boots. All I did was mention that I didn’t have any and he said “Well, let’s stop by the store and pick you up some, my treat.” I was like gasping, “Uh…you, er, you don’t have to do that.” But he really wanted to and I got excited about it. Now I have a slight saddle sore, but it just felt so good to be riding again – I was itching to lope, however that was not convenient to our riding formation.

After we got home this afternoon, we played outside in the front. Heather and I started out on Scooters by ourselves, then after we had graduated to breaking out the Ripstick, Jacob, Janessa, Liandra, and then the adults trickled on out. Dan and Jacob piled into the truck and went to fill up the ATV gas tank. I actually was able to help Heather out a little on the Ripstick. Every chance I get, I practice on Jana’s. By the end of the day, I wanted my own Ripstick. The two of us had fun, encouraging and laughing at and with one another. J Daddy and Mommy even tried out the Ripstick. They weren’t crazy about it (and Mommy didn’t even do it by herself, Daddy was holding her hands) but at least they did it. Mommy loves the Scooter. She Scootered all over the driveway, avoiding Liandra who would periodically jump in front of people and set down these red cones which meant “Stop!”.  Unfortunately Mommy wasn’t aware of all the Scooter precautions like “don’t get the wheels parallel to the cracks in the concrete”. She did learn them, thought. The hard way. Joleen said she wasn’t sure if she was laughing or crying, but what we were all sure of was that Mommy had just flung onto the ground and was then lying in the fetal position. “I know what I’m doing, I’m OK,” she kept reassuring us. “I just have to do this to keep from getting dizzy.”

It was a fun and full day. Right now I am playing DS with Heather and Janessa and they are beating me badly. I win now and then, but if I get too far ahead they both gang up on me. L Haha, it’s fun though. I’m learning how to play Blackjack and Poker! Hee hee.

Dear Diary,                                                    17 July 2011

These past three days have gone so quickly. We did so much with the Norcinis…Heather and I did Ripstick a lot, and got pretty good. Jana will be so proud of me!! J Daddy actually did it better than Jacob could…he could only go about 8 inches. What he did like, A LOT, was driving the ATV. He got that “I’m-so-proud-of-myself” look on his face. Once, while Heather and I were walking Buddy, he came up beside us and said, “What’s new?” “That proud look on your face,” I told him. He grinned, “That’s not new.” And then he was off.

The girls love to bug Jacob. Of course he loves to do the same to them, so it usually works our alright. There is an occasional argument, but overall they have a working dysfunctional relationship. “Why do people like to mess with me so much?” he often asks us. The three of us always have the same answer. “Because you like messing with everyone else.”

Last night we went to a place like Mountasia, the place I went with Elizabeth Berger for her birthday. It was called Triple Play. Heather was so excited about going there and we all enjoyed it immensely. Mommy and Daddy were later glad that they decided to come along with us. Laser tag was a lot of fun! Although I did lose all my points at one point from getting shot by this turret thing on the ceiling, at least my score was higher than Jacob’s. :P Janessa rode with me on Go Karts. We were second place, only we both concurred that it was strictly because there were two of us rather than one as with Jacob’s place, and because the boys in front of us would not let us pass. I used tickets earned from arcade games to get a few toys for the kids. It’s funny how much I miss those kids, and the Gilmores, too. The little ones drive me crazy sometimes, but I keep seeing things and thinking “Would Gabriel like that?” or “Joy would love that.” As for Jana…well, it’s kind of hard not to get everything I see that she would like, and most things I like she would also appreciate. Not to mention all my other friends, and family members. We often say things like “I wish so and so were here”. After this very successful trip, we’re all getting excited about planning a trip to the east coast next year. J