Diary of a Move... Day 41

Day 41

Another day of driving is best met with a swim in the lake to start the day!  ;)

Today we leaving Big Cedar Lodge and driving to Tennesee to stay with friends we made in Germany.  COL BBQ and Christi were very generous to invite all five us us to stay with them.

We arrived in the afternoon and enjoyed a tour of their beautiful home.  It was great to see our old friend Fatty and his new little sister EmmaLee.  COL BBQ and Christi outdid themselves with a fabulous dinner... We haven't had a home cooked meal since Utah, so this was quite a treat!

We ate, we drank, we talked... M&M cuddled up on the couch with Fatty to watch old cartoons... A COL BBQ favorite.  Strong thunderstorms passed over us... We all enjoyed the show, but keep lanterns nearby... Just in case.

Day 42

In the morning, we watched turtles in their lake and played with eh dogs before hitting the road.  Cave City, KY... We're coming for you!

Diary of a Move... Day 40

Day 39

We started the day by visiting the Oklahoma City Memorial.  It was beautiful and moving.  The bombing was hard to explain to the girls... They are older now than when we took them to the concentration camps in Poland, and they asked probing and insightful questions that defy explanation.  At the heart of each one... Why?  We were too early in the day to visit the museum, but we were lucky to meet a National Park Ranger who spoke eloquently and honestly about the Memorial and what it meant to the City of Oklahoma.  The themes of healing and remembrance resonated with both M&M, and the ranger encouraged them to leave a chalk message in the plaza.

The remainder of the morning and part of the afternoon was spent driving to Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, MO.  We have been billing this big to the girls, so they were every excited to arrive.  Our cabin is small (we are staying at their Fish Camp Cabins - the only part of the property that allows dogs), but it has a beautiful view of Table Rock Lake!  We went to two different swimming pools, and then enjoyed a BBQ dinner on our deck.  

On the agenda for tomorrow... horseback riding, and more swimming!

Day 40

We started the day with horseback riding (for M&M), and a long hike for Bill, Kodiak, and I.  The girls really enjoyed their ride and are hoping to do more in PA.  The hike through Dogwood Canyon was beautiful... And, it was nice to have some time for conversation with just Bill!

After lunch in our cabin, we hit the pools!  Big Cedar Lodge has several, but we returned to the two we had visited the day before... M&M loved the waterfalls and the lazy river... And, I did too!  ;)  After some pool time, we headed to the lake!  Martha and Bill took out a canoe, Mary and I took out a paddle boat.  It was soooo hot, I was ready to head back to the pools!

We ate dinner in one of the hotel restaurants... Walked around the lodge and shop, and roasted s'mores with some of the other guests.  We ended the evening by changing our plans to visit Asheville... Kentucky, here we come (after our visit to Tennessee first!)

Diary of a Move... Day 38

As today was a driving day, we had to start it off right:

These gourmet donuts from Owl's Donuts in Santa Fe kept us happy for quite awhile!  ;)

We were bound for Oklahoma City (as a stopping point on our way to 2 nights in Missouri), and we traveled interstates that let us swing on and off to check out some old Route 66 towns.  

We traveled through three states, and let M&M swim for an extra long time in the hotel pool as a reward for being sooo good in the car!  They really have been troopers... I just hope they are having fun!!

Diary of a Move... Day 37

Sensational Santa Fe!  We did so much today... I think I will let the pictures tell our story!!

Diary of a Move... Day 36

Day 34

It's hard for me to remember that our cross country trip isn't primarily a trip... It's a move we tried to turn into a trip.  Trying to keep this fact in mind, I still can't believe that we went all the way to Arizona and only spent one day at this wonder of the natural world.  I hope this will be our first trip of many!

While searching for "Grand Canyon dog friendly accommodations", I came across The Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel.  The hotel has it's own pet kennel... Dog friendly at a whole new level!  ;)  With Kodiak  taken care of, we were free to take the day for the train ride and south rim exploring.

The train was fun... There were snacks and music and beautiful views.  Upon arrival at the Canyon, we went straight to the edge to take in the view... Amazing!  As soon as we saw it, we started talking about how we had to come back and spend more than just a few hours!

Day 35

Today promised to be a long, hot day of driving!  Even though it wasn't on the way at all, we decided to visit Four Corners.  It was crazy hot, but I'm so glad we went!

Finding a place to stay was a challenge, but Bill rose to the occasion and booked us a room in Farmington, NM.  We weren't expecting much from Farmington, but the hotel was next to a walking path along the Animas River, 3 Rivers Brewing was a great brew pub / restaurant find, and I was even able to find a pretty decent iced coffee in the morning at Durango Joe's.

I don't ever see this being a destination for us, but I would definitely look forward stopping here again, if needed!

Day 36

Santa Fe, NM isn't too far from Farmington, so we had to make the drive longer!  ;)

We set out for Taos for some nice New Mexico scenery...

This was the view for our picnic lunch... After all the rainy day picnics in Canada and Montana, we earned this one!  It was sunny and breezy, we had to pull out our sweatshirts!!

After lunch, we made the descent to Taos... And it was hot! hot! hot! once again.  We enjoyed walking around town, but hope to visit some day in the winter for skiing.

On the way to our hotel in Santa Fe, we drove by Blue Heron Brewing and couldn't resist stopping for a growler.  The locals were very friendly!  ;)

After arriving in Santa Fe, we found The Pantry for dinner.  The menu was awesome... Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and "New Mexican" cuisine were all options... Yum!

After dinner was a quick stop at Santa Fe Brewing... Yup, another growler!  Then... laundry and swimming time.  We've been terrible about getting M&M to bed at a reasonable hour, and tonight was no different.  No matter, sight seeing starts early tomorrow!  :)

Diary of a Move... Day 33

Day 30

After a quick morning swim, a photo op next to the falls, and a stop at the Idaho Potato Museum, we were on our way to Aunt L and Uncle J's in Salt Lake City!

The outskirts of SLC showed us our first traffic of the trip... After all the open space of Canada and Montana, the cars buildings of SLC were overwhelming!

After arriving and getting a tour of L&J's beautiful home, we went for a quick lunch of burritos, tacos, and quesadillas at an awesome restaurant that was once featured in Sunset magazine... They had the article hanging on the wall.  ;)

Post lunch, was a behind the scenes tour at J's office.  We got to see equipment being strength tested and made... Very cool!  After checking out the company store, we went home and for a walk around the neighborhood.

L&J made us an excellent dinner starting with mix master J's margaritas!  ;)

The fun continued after dinner as we drive to Snowbird to watch The Sandlot. After the heat of the day, it was cool and clear on the mountain.  We all stayed cozy in fleece and blankets and really enjoyed the movie!  (I had never seen it... And, M&M were so thrilled to watch a movie outside!)

Day 31

We started our day with a stop at Publick for coffee and tea and trip to the SLC Farmers Market for breakfast.  We found bagels and croissants for M&M, and then sat down to biscuits made by a friend of L&J's... Yummy!  

After breakfast, we were given a tour of downtown SLC including the state house and Temple Square.  (I managed a quick run into Gymboree and took advantage of the $5 rack... Mary needed new clothes after playing in the fountain!)

Home for a quick snack/lunch, and then we were off to Snowbird for an afternoon of outdoor fun... Bungee trampoline... Mountain Coaster... Alpine slide... Ropes course... Tram ride... So fun!  After the miserable weather in Banff and Montana, it was so nice to enjoy a warm, sunny afternoon outside... Even if it did mean a bit of sunburn and an emergency aloe purchase.  ;)

Dinner was at a great Czech brewery called Bohemia!  After dinner, we stopped at Nielsen's (recently voted Utah's best custard!) for dessert... Although M&M were hesitant at first (they are huge FroYo fans and weren't sure about this custard thing), we all enjoyed the treat!!

L&J planned an amazing day... Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Day 32

We started today with homemade pancakes and a trip to the Museum of Natural History.  The pancakes were amazing, and J promised to share the recipe.  The museum was recently renovated and has fabulous exhibits on Utah geology and dinosaurs!

On the way home from the museum, we stopped for Italian sandwiches to go... Another yum!

There was time for a quick afternoon swim before heading out for a scenic drive through Big Cottonwood Canyon and on to Park City and then Sundance for dinner.  The drive was beautiful and we again enjoyed cooler temps at elevation.  Park City looked like fun (next visit!) and Sundance was beautiful... I can see why Robert Redford fell in love with the area!  

I can't believe all the things we did this weekend, yet I know there is still more to be done!  We're hoping to make a winter visit to SLC to see how Utah does winter!  Thanks, L&J!

Day 33

When we planed the trip, over 500 miles of driving semed a small price to pay for a long weekend off the road... But, by Monday afternoon, we were all pretty done with the car!  The scenery was beautiful, but we were all a little tuckered out and grumpy.  

I had more than a few problems with the navigation apps on my phone... Connectivity is hard to come by in rural Utah and Arizona... Despite the issues, we arrived at our destination at about 5:30pm (thanks to the fact that AZ doesn't observe Daylight Savings Time).  Dinner was take out pizza in the room, and then a quick walk to town for (we think) M&M's first trip to DQ!  A grape slushie, a chocolate shake, and a health bar blizzard right all sorts of wrongs!  ;)

Tomorrow we'll see what we came for... The Grand Canyon!

Diary of a Move... Day 29

Today was just a driving day... But we made an adventure of it!  ;)

We left our cabin and drove through Kalispell, Montana.  I wanted to visit Camas Creek Yarns... M&M and I wandered around for fifteen minutes getting ideas for our next knitting projects.  After Bill herded us out, we stopped at Montana Coffee Traders, and then we really started the driving for the day.

After crossing into Idaho, we started looking for gas stations.  We passed one, but were sure we would come across another... We did, but had only a few miles left to empty!  That was a stressful time in the car!!

After filling up on gas, we continued on to Idaho Falls for dinner at Scotty's a Drive In.  Great burgers, fries, and amazing shakes!

Finally, we headed to our hotel for a pre bedtime dip in the pool for M&M.

Tomorrow, Salt Lake City!

Diary of a Move... Day 28

I cannot believe how the weather has tried to thwart my awesome adventure plans!  All I have to say is:

Road closure?  Pouring rain?  Fog?  Snow?  What else you got, Mother Nature?  ;)

Here we are at the end of our quick 1 mile hike through the Trail of Cedars.  After dumping all our soaked gear in the trunk, we jumped back in the car for yet another car picnic.  Here is the view of McDonald Creek and the snow that we enjoyed during lunch:

Right now, we are cozied up in the Lake  McDonald Lodge enjoying the warmth from the fire and a cup of tea (me) and window shopping (Bill and the girls).

We will end up spending less time in the park than planned, but we are all excited to enjoy a fire and more games tonight back at the cabin.

Diary of a Move... Day 27

We headed out of Banff this morning bound for Radium Hot Springs.  It was drier today, and we enjoyed the ride through Kootenay National Park.  RHS were less crowded than both Miette and Banff and well worth the stop!

As we drove south towards the US border, we could see rain in the distance.  Sure enough, shortly after crossing the border, it started to rain... Again!  ;)

We stopped in Whitefish and walked up and down the main street... Looked like a fun town!

Pretty wet, we hopped back in the car and headed for our cabin.  We filled the gas tank and stopped at Safeway to load up on groceries.  M&M were pretty excited to see Raven's Brew coffee and Alaskan Brewing beer, but Bill and I decided to go local purchasing Montana Coffee Traders coffee and GreatNorthern  Brewing's Going to the Sun IPA.

We arrived at our cabin, unloaded, and made dinner.  The proprietor stopped by to say hello, and told us we could explore the other cabin if we wanted... Of course, we wanted!  We had fun wandering around in the rain with the cows, deer, and Kodak the dog (resident dog).  Kodiak even said hello to the cows!  We ended the night playing Uno by the fire.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is wretched (40's and rain), but we are packing our rain pants and heading out to Glacier National Park!

Diary of a Move... Day 26

The "typical" Juneau rain seems to be following us.  I told Bill today that I hadn't given much thought to the weather during our trip before leaving Juneau, because I assumed it would be better.  It's been a rainy Canadian weekend, but we've still had a good time!

Today we left Jasper (an hour later than planned) to drive the famed Icefields Parkway... Even in the rain, it was beautiful!

Believe it or not, we even saw snowflakes at Bow Pass (the highest point on the parkway)... The low temp we saw today was 38 degrees!

Despite the cold and rain, we enjoyed the sights, a little bit of Banff shopping, dinner at the Bear Street Tavern (Canmore Brewing beers [a fave stop in 2011] on special!), ice cream at Moos, and a visit to our second hot spring in two days.  

The girls are enjoying the hot springs so much, that they didn't even ask to swim in the hotel pool tonight.  ;)

Tomorrow, we are trying for a trifecta... Three hot springs in three days!  And, we head back into the US!!