This trip was sure a great experience for the entire family. Here's what each of us thought...
Dad: Cross Country Caboodle! Cross Country Caboodle...I'm not even sure I knew what that meant before the trip but now I have a whole new appreciation for our country, traveling across it in a car, and most importantly the "caboodle" defined as a "collection of items" namely the six members of the Olson family! Prior to embarking on the journey my thoughts were consumed with where we might go, what we might see, what it would cost, what to pack and other very mechanical concepts. What I experienced was far beyond the mechanical! I saw my kids developing closer friendships with each other, learning about history and simply enjoying life wherever they were. We grew closer as a family and at times laughed so hard we had to pull over to the side of the road. Many years from now when this family reminisces about that "crazy summer road trip of 2010," I'm sure we will look past the mechanical, past the big cities, past the attractions, and remember the priceless moments that we shared as a ...caboodle.
Lori: "From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam. God Bless America, our home sweet home!" Those words have much more meaning to our whole family now. God has truly blessed us. Thanks to the prayers of so many, we were protected from the seen and unseen dangers on this trip, with not even ONE to report...that is a blessing! I have an amazing husband who loves to dream big, and if it weren't for him, this trip would not have come together. I'm blessed with 4 great kids who were amazing "troopers" during our 10,000 mile journey. Of course, we all had our moments of irritability, but for the most part everyone got along, never complained and grew much closer along the way. We saw so much of the country on our journey that it is hard to pick a favorite destination. (although Niagra Falls, Cape Cod, and the Carolina's were some of the highlights for me)...I truly enjoyed every minute of the trip! The moments I will never forget are the little "inside" jokes that developed, the laughter, the "oohs and ahhs," the hugs from the girls and the times when the boys would walk up beside me and slide their hands into mine. On our wall at home we have the sayings "We do not remember the days, we remember the moments" and "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." As the years pass and we recall the memories of our 2010 road trip, we won't remember the 45 days, I'm sure we will remember the moments...the ones that took our breath away!
Me: This trip was a fantastic experience for us all. It was great to see New York, DC, Florida and those major places but the trip was too long in my opinion. I did have fun though. My favorite place that we went was Nashville, Tennessee. That was my town(: My least favorite place was probably New York, as crazy as it sounds. It was a great place to see but the hustle and bustle of the city was something I didn't enjoy as much. I would love to go visit some of those places and maybe even live in some in the future. The trip gave me a lot of insight on places i could go to college. Overall, I enjoyed this trip, but its good to be home(:
Alise: This trip has been the adventure of a lifetime, the time of my life...awesome! It really makes me think about how valuable family really is and all you really need is family along with the Lord's blessing. God has been amazing! I don't regret anything about this trip. Every inch of it was filled with fun and was a new experience. Chicago and Tennessee were complete opposites but both favorites of mine. I could see myself living in Chicago someday. I only wish we could have driven through Flippin, Arkansas! :)
Connor: Out of all of the things we did I think I liked Tennessee the most because there was a lot of music and instruments. We also got to see the Grand Ole Opry with Diamond Rio, Eric Church, Little Jimmy Dickens, Carrie Underwood and more. They were all really good. I love music. I also liked seeing the White House and the sculpture gardens in Washington D.C.
Evan: The trip was incredibly fun! We all got a break from chores and we saw a lot of the country. I wish we could do more of Disney World. I had a lot of fun at Legoland Chigaco, Hershey World in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and at the Coke Museum in Atlanta, Georgia. The concerts were cool and we saw, I say, too much history! :) I would want to do this whole trip all over again.
Thanks for traveling along with us on our Summer Road Trip 2010! Thanks for praying for our safety, protection and for lifetime memories to be made. God answered our prayers!
Jerrol, Lori, Karissa, Alise, Connor and Evan Olson
Friday, August 13, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Yellowstone Camping
We woke up quite early and drove about 11 hours to our campground in West Yellowstone. The Grand Tetons of Wyoming were very impressive. We set up our tent, Alise and I cleaned out our spots in the car in an effort to create more room and the rest went to the camp store to buy some very expensive hot dogs for dinner. We started a fire and cooked our hot dogs. Somehow they always taste better cooked over a campfire(: It's no secret that mom is not the biggest fan of camping so part of our nightly ritual included blowing up air mattresses for mom and dad.
The next morning we woke up and took our time getting into Yellowstone Park. Our breakfast wasn't much and we drove into town around noon. We first stopped at a grocery store to get some supplies for breakfast, lunch and dinner the next couple of days. We drove into Arby's and grabbed a quick lunch then headed off to the Yellowstone Park. We drove around just looking at the wild life and amazing natural wonders of the national park. We saw some elk bedding down on a small island in the middle of the creek and got some good pictures.
We stopped at the Canyon Visitors Center so Evan could pick up a "Young Scientist" packet. This is a program that allows children to explore the park more in depth. It asks questions, has you draw pictures, measure temperature, etc.
We explored the small museum in that visitors center for a while and then headed to another side of the shop and had a quick snack of Chili Nachos and then some ice cream, YUM!(:
Then we went to see the Falls and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. They were absolutely incedible! A magnificent sight to see. The hike we took down to see the Canyon was about 2 miles there and 2 miles back. Going down was easy, coming back up... not so much, but you can bet we all had fun. Alise and I decided to take a "short cut" and go up the side of the hill. When we got to the top we discovered a sign that said "Prevent erosion, stay on trail". Whoops! We had a good laugh over it though(: We headed back to the visitors center so Evan could turn in his packet and get a patch for his hard work. Alise, Connor and I stayed in the car and got quite the surprise. While we were sitting there a huge Buffalo walked through the parking lot, not 5 feet from our car. We were all too in awe to do anything and by the time we got our phones out to take a picture of this magnificent animal, it was behind us. Still an amazing sight to see(:
We then drove through the park again, saw some more wild life and headed back to camp. We had a nice dinner of hamburgers... in the dark. Cooking dinner in the dark requires A LOT of flashlights. We managed and it tasted oh so good after such a long day(:
Our night ended and began again too soon. We woke up the next morning to have french toast and sausage for breakfast. Our day began a bit earlier and we drove in to see Old Faithful. Evan again picked up a "Young Scientist". This one for the geysers. They gave him a backpack with materials in it to measure temperature and other things. Dad sat down and read the booklet on how to use the materials. One of the materials was a thermal thermometer. Direction #1 was "do not point at people or animals". We didn't read the directions first so what do you think was the first thing we did when we got the thermometer out? We measured how hot everyone in our family... (and occasionally other families)... were. Oops!
We walked around on a 4 miles pathway called geyser hill and watched Old Faithful erupt from there. The water and steam shot high in the sky and inspired on lookers with awe. We walked around the geysers, looking at the colors and wonders of the geysers. We finished there and headed into the gift shop for some last souvenirs. We then drove back into camp and took some time relaxing in the pool and hot tub there.
We made dinners that night that the boys call "hobo dinners". Something they learned from their Royal Ranger camp outs. We put together beef, hash browns, and corn. Then we wrap it up in tin-foil and stick it in the fire to cook. They were VERY good(: We ended that night again with s'mores and a family game of Mad Gab.
We woke up and had a leisurely morning with another french toast breakfast. We got ready and 5 of us played a game of mini-golf while dad packed up the tent and our things.
Mom wasn't too upset about leaving camping behind although the rest of us could have stayed another night.
We headed into the park one more time and had a little picnis near Mammoth Falls and then exited through the north entrance. We had about a 5 hour drive to our hotel in Butte, MT and then relaxed at their pool. There was a water slide that was a lot of fun!
We finished there and headed to change and then go to Mackenzie River Pizza down the road. The warm dinner and cold dessert felt nice.
We woke up this morning, had breakfast and headed out. We stopped at an old ghost town and in Philipsburg. A small, quaint town in Montana. We are heading to the 50,000 Silver Dollar Bar, a traditional Montana stop(:
the drive will be about 5 hours long. ALMOST HOME!! 45 days and almost 10,000 miles!
"Home sweet Home!"
Soon to come: Family reviews(:
The next morning we woke up and took our time getting into Yellowstone Park. Our breakfast wasn't much and we drove into town around noon. We first stopped at a grocery store to get some supplies for breakfast, lunch and dinner the next couple of days. We drove into Arby's and grabbed a quick lunch then headed off to the Yellowstone Park. We drove around just looking at the wild life and amazing natural wonders of the national park. We saw some elk bedding down on a small island in the middle of the creek and got some good pictures.
We stopped at the Canyon Visitors Center so Evan could pick up a "Young Scientist" packet. This is a program that allows children to explore the park more in depth. It asks questions, has you draw pictures, measure temperature, etc.
We explored the small museum in that visitors center for a while and then headed to another side of the shop and had a quick snack of Chili Nachos and then some ice cream, YUM!(:
Then we went to see the Falls and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. They were absolutely incedible! A magnificent sight to see. The hike we took down to see the Canyon was about 2 miles there and 2 miles back. Going down was easy, coming back up... not so much, but you can bet we all had fun. Alise and I decided to take a "short cut" and go up the side of the hill. When we got to the top we discovered a sign that said "Prevent erosion, stay on trail". Whoops! We had a good laugh over it though(: We headed back to the visitors center so Evan could turn in his packet and get a patch for his hard work. Alise, Connor and I stayed in the car and got quite the surprise. While we were sitting there a huge Buffalo walked through the parking lot, not 5 feet from our car. We were all too in awe to do anything and by the time we got our phones out to take a picture of this magnificent animal, it was behind us. Still an amazing sight to see(:
We then drove through the park again, saw some more wild life and headed back to camp. We had a nice dinner of hamburgers... in the dark. Cooking dinner in the dark requires A LOT of flashlights. We managed and it tasted oh so good after such a long day(:
Our night ended and began again too soon. We woke up the next morning to have french toast and sausage for breakfast. Our day began a bit earlier and we drove in to see Old Faithful. Evan again picked up a "Young Scientist". This one for the geysers. They gave him a backpack with materials in it to measure temperature and other things. Dad sat down and read the booklet on how to use the materials. One of the materials was a thermal thermometer. Direction #1 was "do not point at people or animals". We didn't read the directions first so what do you think was the first thing we did when we got the thermometer out? We measured how hot everyone in our family... (and occasionally other families)... were. Oops!
We walked around on a 4 miles pathway called geyser hill and watched Old Faithful erupt from there. The water and steam shot high in the sky and inspired on lookers with awe. We walked around the geysers, looking at the colors and wonders of the geysers. We finished there and headed into the gift shop for some last souvenirs. We then drove back into camp and took some time relaxing in the pool and hot tub there.
We made dinners that night that the boys call "hobo dinners". Something they learned from their Royal Ranger camp outs. We put together beef, hash browns, and corn. Then we wrap it up in tin-foil and stick it in the fire to cook. They were VERY good(: We ended that night again with s'mores and a family game of Mad Gab.
We woke up and had a leisurely morning with another french toast breakfast. We got ready and 5 of us played a game of mini-golf while dad packed up the tent and our things.
Mom wasn't too upset about leaving camping behind although the rest of us could have stayed another night.
We headed into the park one more time and had a little picnis near Mammoth Falls and then exited through the north entrance. We had about a 5 hour drive to our hotel in Butte, MT and then relaxed at their pool. There was a water slide that was a lot of fun!
We finished there and headed to change and then go to Mackenzie River Pizza down the road. The warm dinner and cold dessert felt nice.
We woke up this morning, had breakfast and headed out. We stopped at an old ghost town and in Philipsburg. A small, quaint town in Montana. We are heading to the 50,000 Silver Dollar Bar, a traditional Montana stop(:
the drive will be about 5 hours long. ALMOST HOME!! 45 days and almost 10,000 miles!
"Home sweet Home!"
Soon to come: Family reviews(:
Monday, August 2, 2010
Beiber Fever to Colorado 8,098
The Justin Beiber concert was a blast! Just Alise, Mom and I went. We had a lot of fun with the opening acts (Jessica Jerrell, Sean Kingston, and Iyaz). There were 2 intermissions leading up to Justin. Before he performed there was a countdown with, of course THOUSANDS of screaming fans! Oh my goodness, I didn't realize that girls could scream that LOUD and HIGH PITCHED! They showed a slide show of baby pictures before this 16 year old took the stage. Alise definitely got excited for the show(: We found out that this kid is quite the little Romeo. He flew over the crowd in a heart shaped cage and said "You ladies are even more beautiful up close". Awwww. How cute! haha(: He told us all that he saw "the one" somewhere out in the crowd and brought a girl up on stage and sang to her. You can bet that tears were shed for this teen sensation. Alise was screaming and cheering as he again flew over the crowd in another hot air balloon shaped cage.
He ended his show which of course was followed by an encore of his new single and the show went out with a bang. Of course getting out of the show took a while. There were many cars on the road outside the Verizon Theatre most of them honking and screaming "Bieber Fever".
We headed straight back to the hotel and fell asleep around 1am. The next morning we woke up at 6 and were on the road at 7, heading through the Ozarks and Oklahoma trying some fried peanuts along the way. You eat the shell and all, a surprisingly good snack , much better than the boiled peanuts of South Carolina. We ended up that night in Salina, Kansas. There's a whole lot of nothing in Kansas! Stayed there one night only again and another early morning started our trip to Colorado Springs where we saw the Cave of the Winds that were discovered in the late 1800's. We had a lot of fun exploring and learning about the caves and things in them.
We then headed into Denver, Colorado where we stayed for the night.
The next morning we had some breakfast and headed to the mall for some water and a water-proof camera for out rafting trip that would happen later in the day.
Our rafting trip was scheduled at 3:00pm. We arrived at about 2:30 and looked around the gift shop. We found that it had started raining and was cloudy and cold. It was about 61 degrees, the coldest day of our trip.
The time came for us to put on our gear and get ready for the ride down Clear Creek. I was nervous about the ride. I don't really enjoy the white water of a river. We got to the bus and loaded for the 5 minute drive to where we would put in to the creek. The ride took about 2 hours and was a total of 6 miles. Our guide, J.C. was a lot of fun. He would joke and splash along with all of us. About 1/3 of the way through, we saw some lightning, heard some thunder and felt some raindrops. Before we knew it, it was pouring! Just another factor that added to our adventure. The trip ended and I have to admit that it was pretty fun and the entire family enjoyed the adventure.
We all agreed to head to Panda Express on our way back to the hotel. The warm food tasted SO good. Then, we all jumped in the hot tub at the hotel and took some time to relax. This morning we got up around 5 and were on the road at 6; today is about an 11 hour drive. We are heading for Yellowstone and camping outside West Yellowstone. We are definitely going to take some time enjoying the end of our vacation. We have traveled 8,098 miles on this trip so far. There is only about 1000 miles more until we're home!
"On the Road Again"
He ended his show which of course was followed by an encore of his new single and the show went out with a bang. Of course getting out of the show took a while. There were many cars on the road outside the Verizon Theatre most of them honking and screaming "Bieber Fever".
We headed straight back to the hotel and fell asleep around 1am. The next morning we woke up at 6 and were on the road at 7, heading through the Ozarks and Oklahoma trying some fried peanuts along the way. You eat the shell and all, a surprisingly good snack , much better than the boiled peanuts of South Carolina. We ended up that night in Salina, Kansas. There's a whole lot of nothing in Kansas! Stayed there one night only again and another early morning started our trip to Colorado Springs where we saw the Cave of the Winds that were discovered in the late 1800's. We had a lot of fun exploring and learning about the caves and things in them.
We then headed into Denver, Colorado where we stayed for the night.
The next morning we had some breakfast and headed to the mall for some water and a water-proof camera for out rafting trip that would happen later in the day.
Our rafting trip was scheduled at 3:00pm. We arrived at about 2:30 and looked around the gift shop. We found that it had started raining and was cloudy and cold. It was about 61 degrees, the coldest day of our trip.
The time came for us to put on our gear and get ready for the ride down Clear Creek. I was nervous about the ride. I don't really enjoy the white water of a river. We got to the bus and loaded for the 5 minute drive to where we would put in to the creek. The ride took about 2 hours and was a total of 6 miles. Our guide, J.C. was a lot of fun. He would joke and splash along with all of us. About 1/3 of the way through, we saw some lightning, heard some thunder and felt some raindrops. Before we knew it, it was pouring! Just another factor that added to our adventure. The trip ended and I have to admit that it was pretty fun and the entire family enjoyed the adventure.
We all agreed to head to Panda Express on our way back to the hotel. The warm food tasted SO good. Then, we all jumped in the hot tub at the hotel and took some time to relax. This morning we got up around 5 and were on the road at 6; today is about an 11 hour drive. We are heading for Yellowstone and camping outside West Yellowstone. We are definitely going to take some time enjoying the end of our vacation. We have traveled 8,098 miles on this trip so far. There is only about 1000 miles more until we're home!
"On the Road Again"
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