Spontaneous Road Trips

Thursday morning, June 19th, we were talking about what we should do that day. I suggested the zoo and Jenna wanted to go to the mining museum. Then, Kevin said, "We could go up to the Florissant Fossil Beds and then drive to Salida and spend the night at a hotel with a pool." He had the kids at "pool." And after my initial desire to breathe into a paper bag a few times (spontaneous trips send my head spinning a little - the quick preparation! - but it is easier now that we're out of the baby/diaper/equipment stage), I thought it would be fun, too. So, we quickly packed up and were soon having lunch in Woodland Park.

Florissant is about an hour away and the Florissant Fossil Beds is a National Monument. In the Eocene period 34 million years ago, a volcano erupted and covered the ground with mud and volcanic debris. The parts of the trees in the mud became petrified. They have also discovered over 50, 000 fossil specimens of insects and plants in this area.

Giant petrified sequoia stumps

More petrified stumps and Kellen's favorite silly pose

We hiked around the grounds completing tasks for Jenna and Kellen to become Junior Rangers. We saw this petrified stump and Jenna spotted a Stellar's Jay that was really pretty.

Taking the Junior Ranger pledge and getting their badges. The Junior Rangers program is provided by the National Park Service at over 200 of the National Parks/Monuments. The kids get a booklet of educational activities related to the specific park, they complete the activities, and then get a certificate and badge. It's so cool!

After the fossil beds, we drove another two hours to Salida, checked into our hotel and then ate at a yummy restaurant on the Arkansas River. After dinner, we walked up and down main street and stopped for ice cream. Jenna was happy to find blueberry flavor and got a lot on her face!

Another crazy pose! We went swimming when we got back to the hotel - the highlight of the trip for the kids.

The next morning, we ate breakfast and then went swimming again before time to check out. Then we walked along the river walk. Throwing rocks in the water was a must!

Kellen was throwing right handed. We had a fabulous pizza at a local pizza place for lunch and then headed home.

When we got home on Friday afternoon, there was an email from Papa saying he had some hotel points that needed to be used if we wanted to go somewhere. Hmmm. Our initial thought was that we had just arrived home after a trip. But, then we thought, why not?

Next spontaneous trip destination: Rapid City, South Dakota and Mt. Rushmore.

We left Sunday morning, June 22nd. This time, we had a little more notice before leaving, so we packed picnic lunch items to eat along the way. Our first picnic lunch was in Chugwater, Wyoming. The kids were great travelers during the 7 hour drive. Kellen asked a few times, "When are we getting to Mountain Rushmore?" I finished reading "Little House in the Big Woods" to them (we had started it during the Florissant/Salida trip) and we started "Little House on the Prairie."

We checked into the hotel mid-afternoon 3pm-ish, and realized the kids needed to expend some pent up energy. So, we went to the Rushmore Mall in Rapid City to "run" them around and have dinner. There was a Fuddruckers in the mall which was yummy!

There is a lighting ceremony at Mt. Rushmore every night starting at 9pm. So, we decided to go to that Sunday night. Kellen brought one of his favorite outfits to wear - this specific shirt with this specific clip on tie. This is the only shirt he'll wear this tie with.

The Presidents! In addition to "Mountain Rushmore," the kids kept referring to this place as "The Presidents." Kellen was very confused this night and thought that they died in the mountain aka were turned to stone there, I think. Never could quite figure out what he was thinking.

There is an avenue of flags from every state, province, and territory. During the lighting ceremony, they showed a 20 minute film about the Presidents and the mountain. Then there was a patriotic singing of the National Anthem as Mt Rushmore was lit. They called all active and former military to the stage, recognized them, and then ceremonially lowered the flag and folded it.

The next morning, we decided to check out the Crazy Horse Memorial that is 17 miles away from Mt. Rushmore. This was a really cool bridge that we had passed under the night before.

The Black Hills are really pretty and similar to Colorado.

In the foreground is what the memorial will look like when completed. They have only completed his face so far and have a long way to go.

Some of the dimensions. The video we watched showed that Mt. Rushmore would fit in the area of his hair.

After Crazy Horse, we found a pretty pond in the National Park to picnic by. But, it started raining as soon as we got out of the car, so we had a picnic in the back of the car. Jenna and Kellen loved that! Then we went back to Mt. Rushmore.

Jenna and Kellen became Mt. Rushmore Junior Rangers. I can't say enough good things about this program!

Glad we got a family picture.

George Washington's head is as tall as a six-story building. Dimensions: Forehead to chin - 60 feet, width of eye - 11 feet, length of nose - 20 feet, width of mouth - 18 feet.

We went on a 0.6 mile hike on the Presidential trail. It was really fun and we were able to get closer to the monument.

We found out that Thomas Jefferson is credited with being the first American to have a recipe for ice cream. They sell "his" ice cream there at the monument. So, we tried some of "Thomas Jefferson's Ice Cream." (We're not really sure if it was the real deal or not.)

It was pretty yummy! Jenna said it was pretty yellow for vanilla. We had fun swimming at the hotel when we got back and again the next morning before heading home.

On the way to South Dakota and throughout the trip, we kept track of different license plates. We saw: CO, TX, LA, WY, MT, MO, FL, AZ, TN, ME, UT, IN, ID, CA, OK, PA, NM, IL, WI, NV, WA, AR, SD, ND, NE, IA, OR, MI, GA, OR, NC, KS, VA, DE, MD, NY, MS, MA, NJ, KY, SC, CT, WV, AK, VT, as well as Saskatchewan, Quebec, and Manitoba. That's 45 states and 3 Canadian Provinces.

On the way home, a little north of Cheyenne, Wyoming, we got caught in a hail storm. Turns out this was the second one in two months. At the end of May, we got caught in one after school and had a little damage. We decided to get the first damage assessed just 2 weeks prior to this one and hadn't even cashed the check!

Lots of big dents 

 Some paint knocked off above the window

 Turns out the car is totaled, so we have some decisions to make.

So, what was a 7 hour trip to get to Rapid City turned out to be a 10 hour trip home. We started home later in the day, so we had an extra meal stop, an extra fuel stop, Kellen was extra cranky, and then the hail. We sure were glad to finally be home.

Kellen 3.5

Kellen is 3.5 today! He is 36 5/8 inches and weighs 29.6 lbs. He's grown almost an inch and a half and almost 2 lbs since turning 3. His favorite color alternates between blue and green. He still appears to be left handed although occasionally he'll throw a ball with his right. His favorite bedtime book is "Where the Wild Things Are." He's starting to eat more of a variety of foods including vegetables. His favorite is still "peter jelly." He always looks for the moon when we're out after dark and let's us know with a "I can't find the moon, Mommy!" if he can't spot it. (His Great-Grandma Ward would like that.) He's half as old as Jenna, and the age she was when he was born - pretty cool! He definitely has a mind of his own about many things which can be challenging. He is also still quite cuddly and loving. You can always count on a hug and kiss from him (he even asks to get them) and he is always quick with gratitude. And funny! We love him!

He is known around our house (and possibly around town too) for his interesting clothing choices! He definitely keeps us entertained and on our toes.

He wore this to breakfast at the Pantry on Saturday.

One day, he needed these bandaids because his "leg falled asleep."

Here's another example of interesting wardrobe and lots of bandaids.

After listening to this song over and over in the car, he asked if we could listen to it in the house. And he was inspired to DANCE! (See video 0051 in "Kellen 3 years old" folder.)

Kevin put a playing card in the spokes of his bike wheels so his bike could be a motorcycle this morning. (Jenna's bike got this treatment, too but, you can't hear it as well.) (See video 0185 in "Summer '14" folder.)

We celebrated today by taking him to the mall to eat at P.B. & Jellies. They have all kinds of different peanut butters and sandwich combinations.

Kellen got Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter and Grape Jelly. Jenna got Cookies and Cream Peanut Butter and Peach Jelly. We got a free Smore's PB dessert sandwich that was really good! Then we went to a movie. It was fun to celebrate our favorite boy today!