Day 17: “Flagstaff or Bust!”

We’re still in Utah. We’re heading to Flagstaff today. It would be 8 hours to get home, so we’ve deceided to make it one more day. Otherwise, Mom might have a nervous breakdown.

We’ve driven through some strange towns along the way. Anyone want to stay in a quaint little B & B next to the junkyard? We aren’t sure how some of these people sustain themselves so far out in the middle of nowhere.

Eventually, we see it: the Welcome to Arizona sign. We hoot and holler- Hooray! We pass Lake Powell, cross the Glen Canyon Bridge and Dam and stop off at Page. We dock at the park and walk to “R.D.’s Drive In” for burgers and onion rings. I figure this is the last hurrah, so I order a fresh banana shake. Good choice. Afterwards, we go back to the park and play on the teeter totter. When it is my turn, Tatum asks if I’ll fit in the seat? Guess I should have skipped the shake? She claims its because of my legs being too long, yeah, right. I give the rest of my shake to the kids...it doesn't taste so great now.

Carter climbs up the steps and gets a ride down the slide. Big smiles. Jack climbs on Daddy and then the girls have a hanging contest on the pole. First Hannah, who hangs gallantly. Then Tate breaks her record. Then a rematch. I gaze across the grassy park at the nice group of gentlemen having their lunch together. One stands up, mid conversation with the group and pees just to the side of the table. Gross, gross, gross! Time to go- Tatum has set a record of hanging for 3 minutes and 4 seconds and I fear what these nice “gentlemen” will do next. Let's hit the road, Jack!

We pull out of Page with our sites set on Flagstaff. So far, the generator has been able to run for a full hour. Hopefully we will arrive home tomorrow with the AC whipping in our hair. Or dripping with sweat. We’re slowly re-acclimating to the dryer weather. I’ve used about a tube of chapstick and poor Carter, his legs are molting. We’re surrounded by a desert of mesas. It’s hard to believe we are north of Flag.

We end up in Flag at a KOA with an awesome playground. It doesn't take much to impress us anymore. It has an old broken down merry go round, but there is a chain link fence around it and we can watch the kids walk there. Jack thinks he's all that when he gets to walk by himself.

I call Cindy and check in on Chelsea, our dog. They've been awesome to take care of her. They've saved us hundreds of dollars and poor Chelsea the misery of lock up. We have such great friends. Cindy informs me that the high should be about 108 tomorrow when we roll in. We're hot in Flagstaff. Maybe about 5 more days out wouldn't be so bad?

Carter shuffles around the campsite while I make dinner. By the time dinner is served, Carter is unrecongnizable. This filthy little animal joins us for dinner from the portals of his stroller.

I make a big pan of fried onions and potatoes (my Arkansas roots- Mom, you'd be proud), pan fried (of course) pork chops, applesauce and steamed snap peas. Then somehow, a water fight ensues. Dave, as always, is the ringleader. Hannah, dripping with water, pretends to be horrified, but she is ringleader number 2. Next thing I know, they're all on the roof of the motorhome. I call out that I do not approve, and return to sipping my glass of vino.

I’ve learned a lot about myself, my guy and my kids. We keep seeing a lot of stickers on motorhomes that say “Roughing it, Smoothly”. That’s so true. It has been a fun trip. It’s time to return to reality. I haven’t exercised in over 2 weeks and I’m hoping all the bills got paid online. Regardless…I think we take life a bit too seriously. We’ll have to vacation real soon to remember that! Hee-hee!

Day 16: “Man, there’s a lot of Utah”

I look at Carter and his red welts and wonder if I should change his nickname to “Skeeter”. The girls argue that “Stink” is still the best. That’s short for Stinker, since he likes to grab and pull hair when you least expect it. He’s grown up a lot on this trip. A bit of his ornery side is starting to come out. Probably from such close observation of his big brother.

We leave Provo and drive and drive through Utah. There seems to be a lot of Utah. It’s sort of a drive through the book of Mormon, with towns like Nephi and Moroni.. I make tuna sandwiches as we drive down the road. By now I’m a pro- though I notice the Miracle Whip is front and center in the fridge and I have to dig around for the Mayo. I’m covered in bruises from bumping around in the motorhome while it is in motion. I try to keep everything in the fridge as we bump along the road. Alas, I find it. We make it to Bryce Canyon. As we drive in, we’re behind a truck with a strange looking hitch of sorts. Dave comments, “I wonder what that guy steals for a living?” Eventually, we realize it is a headstone in his truck bed. Now that’s a little ominous.

It is really beautiful. Lots of red rock. This place is hopping. We stop at Sunrise point and overhear a plethora of languages. The guys walking behind us have an Aussie accent. A gentleman from China asks if these are all my children? He holds up 4 fingers, just to confirm. I laugh and say yes…we’re crazy. On the way back up the trail, a group of chipper Germans singing a marching song gallop along. Hannah leans in and asks why everyone here is so old. At least she whispers it!

We go down the trail, which is steep without fences on the side. Jack stays true to form and throws a temper tantrum at yet another National Park. He’s screaming and it is echoing off the hoodoos (the rock formations in Bryce). A family hikes down as the father holding the hand of his 3 year old laughes and says, “That sounds familiar”.

Bryce Canyon is the perfect lazy person’s park. You get wonderful vistas right from the turnout. It works out well, since the kids could care less. Carter has finally fallen asleep. The girls come out for the the natural bridge. After our tour, we head off in search of a campground. We find one outside of the main area, which works out well. We can have a fire here. We walk to dinner and have a strange, but filling meal at the nearby .restaurant. The kids eat everything on their plate, in promise of homemade pies. We order peach a la mode and the banana strawberry creme pie. Good choices, I must say!

Later, we sit by the fire and have more smores. Hannah slips Carter bits of marshmallow and he gives her looks of intense devotion. Tatum catalogs her new collection of rocks- each one named after a family member. Jack is in the motorhome playing trucks. We head to bed. I look at how grubby my little boys are, but Dave reminds me that they showered this morning. Ok…

Day 15: “Big Wheels keep on Rollin…”

We wake up and it is snowing. Quite a lot. Jackson is expecting 3-4 inches of snow. It’s time to roll up the carpets and head south. Dave is putting away some toys when suddenly he moans, bends over and lies on the floor. He has pulled something in his lower back. Jack goes up to him and says, “Daddy, your eyes went like this..” and rolls his eyes around. He does ice and takes some IB. He supervises while Hannah dumps the sewer stuff. He isn’t moving very fast. I fear that I may have to drive this beast.

After a few Motrin, a heat pack and some Chinese food, Dave is road ready and I breathe a sigh of relief. He isn’t cured, bu is functioning. I’d step it up in any other arena, but the last time I tried driving a big rig in Palm Springs, and got blown all over the road.

We drive through miles of beautiful countryside. The kids don’t care anymore, so we stop calling them out of the back. They only care how much farther to the next campsite. We see some more snow, then rain and then blue skies. We decide that Provo will be the stopping place. It really is beautiful here- with snow capped mountains in the backdrop, yet we step outside and it is warm and beautiful! We’re thrilled to be done with wet and cold. It was a treat for awhile, but we’re Zonies after all.

Our campsite is nestled into a lake, with cottonwoods all around. These aren’t the cottonless kind..so it actually looks like it is snowing as the wind blows. But it is warm. What we don’t realize is that this lazy lakeside locale is actually located next to a stagnant body of water. It isn’t until the next morning when we look at the fresh pulsating mosquito bites on the boys’ heads that we realize this. Oblivious, I pan fry catfish- I’ve learned to cook just about anything with a 14” skillet, as we didn’t want to buy a grill and there’s no oven on board.

I’m grumpy, so it is good to go to the laundry and do 4 loads of laundry. As I fold all of the jeans and long sleeves, I think…I won’t be seeing these for awhile!

Day 14: “Jackson meets Jackson Hole”

It rains all night. We awaken to the excitement of all the motorhomes migrating on to their next destination. We have a front row seat after all. We chuckle and pack up camp.

The Tetons peek in and out of a gray cloud cover. We see a herd of elk from a distance, but too far for pictures. We slow down for Jackson Dam, but don’t dare take his picture. Jack is going through a no pictures, please phase. He yelps in anger- as I’m sure you can see from most of the pictures. We skip a lot of the visitor centers here. We were spoiled in South Dakota. The centers there had great exhibits and information. Here, you get a ranger and a map.

We continue south seeing the occasional elk. Up ahead, we see a bunch of people pulled off to the side of the road. It’s the critter alert. We slow down and it’s a moose! We park and bring out the cameras. What a beautiful animal. He seems so serene, munching on the grass along a creek with 50 tourists snapping his picture.

At the end of the Teton park (or the beginning if you were heading north) is a huge new visitor center. Apparently they spent all their money on one, because this one is impressive. Architecturally, it is log cabin meets modern. There’s stuffed bears near monitors on the floor playing wildlife scenes. We learn about people who have climbed the Tetons and thus, the search and rescue teams as well. As we load up, we see two “Cruise America” RV’s who have bee traveling together along the same path we have. They are all wearing yellow coats and speaking French, so they are easy to spot.

From there, we find ourselves in the cute little town of Jackson Hole, WY. We pass the town square, where each corner has and arch of antlers. We’re ready for some retail therapy and this is the place! We check into the Virginian campground and then catch the bus downtown. You can’t exactly park the RV in downtown Jackson. The city bus has a free downtown shuttle, which is easier than calling a cab for 6 people- besides; the kids have only ridden the shuttles at the airport.

Downtown, we find a lunch place, but have to wait a bit while they seat a group of folks in yellow coats. Oh, how funny…our traveling companions from before. We’re all a bit grumpy from low blood sugar and appetizers help a lot. The kids order “rabbit food” and dig into a plate of carrots and celery. Dave and I have pita brushetta that has huge kalamata olives, roasted garlic and tomatoes. It puts us right back into our happy place. Dave orders the corn chowder with buttery croutons and cheddar broiled on top. More happy place. We enjoy our entrees, which we are way too full by now to eat. Our poor waitress has been struggling to communicate with our French companions. We look over and see that one of the men has pulled her on to his lap while his friends take photographs. She’s about 5 shades of pink. We gently tease her about it when she comes back and she reaches her 6th shade of pink. I’m sure she sees all types.

The kids want to do one of those vintage style photos where you dress up like cowboys and fancy ladies. This seems like the perfect place. We have fun picking out our costumes. Carter is the cutest little gambler you’ve ever seen. Dave walks out in his bow tie and hat…I tell the girls that their dad is hot. They both roll their eyes as I delight in their embarrassment. The photographer hands Jack a rifle- frightening. We end up with a great shot, though Hannah is mad that I picked the one without her glasses on. Tate is such the lady with her fan and hat.

We spend a fortune on cowboy get-ups for the kids. Jack gets what every almost 4 year old needs…chaps. Tate ends up with pink boots, pink leather vest and pink hat. She’s a total Barbie girl in a Barbie world! Hannah can’t find her size boots and all that pink is a no-go with her. We’ll look tomorrow. After investing in the local economy, we head to an Italian restaurant and have a huge delicious dinner. We ride the bus home. Tate and Jack, both decked out in cowpoke gear grab two seats next to each other, as though the rest of us aren’t even there. The European girls sitting across from them can’t stop giggling at how cute they are.

Carter is peeking over my shoulder, batting his big baby blues at the Spanish speaking gal behind us. You can almost hear him saying, “Hola, mi amore!” I think he misses Alma. I know I do!

Special Features

Special Features
by Hannah Skogebo

Hello. I’m writing to tell you about the “Special Features” that you won’t see in the day-by-day blog. Caution: They will be funny. These posts will not be in any order, so you will have to search for them in the blogs.


Post One:
Jack has found the dust buster and thinks it will “power” all of the bad guys. He usually says, “Tatum! You be the bad guy and I “power” you with my “gum.” OK Tatum?” He also wanted to put on Mommy’s eyeliner. Mom said, little boys don’t wear eyeliner. And you know what Jack says? I not a little boy, Mommy! I a big boy. So he thought, Oh so I can wear it! Mom says Jack, Daddy doesn’t wear eyeliner. Oh, says Jack, Ok Mommy, and leaves the room. We have figured out that he also dreads getting his picture taken.



Special Features
by Hannah Skogebo

Hello. Here is my 2nd post for “Special Features” things that you won’t see in the regular blog. Remember: These will not be in any order so you will have to search for them in the blogs.


Post Two:
We stopped at a scenic site (what else do you call it?) and took a couple of pictures. Jack, Dad, and I were in the motor home and Jack asked Dad, Daddy, are we leaving the girls here? Dad says, no, they’re gonna get back on. Jack said, but Daddy, I wanna drive with just Daddy. Jack, we have to pick them up. No Daddy. Yes. No. Yes. Oh Ok Dad. Tatum and Jack got cowboy clothes and now they play cowboy and cowgirl. Jack has a vest, cowboy hat, chaps, and a gun that shoots a little thing with a suction cup to stick to the mirror and make a mess, Tatum has a vest, cowgirl hat, and boots, all pink. I’m not surprised.

Day 13: “Old Faithful”

We figure we better head south before we get snowed in. But not without seeing Old Faithful first. We check out of the campground and head south. We stop at the lake, which we can now see and are rewarded with beautiful views of the snow capped mountains we traversed to get here. We also have a coyote cross in front of us on the road. They’re much prettier here than on the canals at home! In fact, we think it is a wolf at first, but it’s much too small. We also see a female elk.

Yellowstone is full of treasures. Every place you see a little wooden road sign and a parking lot, you will be rewarded with something amazing within walking distance. We stop at one called Kepplar rapids, which looks very unassuming. You walk out to a wooden platform, look down and there is a huge drop down to rapids that go on for miles. We’re maybe 30 feet from the motorhome.

We arrive to Old Faithful and see that we have 50 plus minutes to burn before the next eruption. This gives us a chance to walk around the path to see some other geysers. The Anenome Geyser looks just like it sounds. It bubbles up, sprays and empties before our eyes. We notice a group of people by the beehive geyser. It’s spraying a bit and kind of stinky, but they’re all staring at it. We look around a bit and decide to head back We walk back by the anemone and hear someone say, “Look, it’s going!” The beehive has erupted and is shooting up 20 feet in the air and goes on for a good 5 minutes. If we had stayed where we were, we would have been right in it. Dave looks at the group running for cover and says, Mom would have freaked out with her baby in that. Yep…I would have.

We’re a hungry, grumpy family by the time Old Faithful does go off. Even Carter is whining. Not to make it sound anticlimactic-it was very cool, it just seemed like barely escaping the beehive geyser was more exciting. And we’re hungry.

After a quick lunch, we head out of the park and on to the Grand Tetons! The Teton National Forest touches Yellowstone so it’s a fairly short drive today. Before we know it, we’re at our campground. We know they’re there, but can’t see the Tetons looming above us for the cloud cover. We have reservations, but apparently the guy who took our money 2 months ago failed to reserve a site for us. The camp is full, except for the first site at the entry. Dave grumbles enough to get us out of paying for the second night we have reserved and we decide to spend tomorrow night in Jackson Hole.

Which is good, because being the first site in the park means you enjoy all the traffic heading into the campground…and all the traffic heading out of the campground. It’s almost comical after awhile. We have a yummy dinner of shrimp scampi and pasta…counting the RV’s parading by. I’m singing “Rollin, rollin, rollin” and Jack’s singing “the wheels on the bus”.

We look across the dinner table and realize that Jack’s face is covered in hives and is swelling. Probably the tree bark he was rubbing on his face on our walk? We quickly give him a Benedryl strip and wait. The rash calms down, but he is wired. He throws on his knit toboggan hat and exclaims, “I’m a bumble bee!” while jumping on the bed. He buzzes about for an hour, then demands a milk and crawls into bed. His sweet little snores fill the galley tonight.
It is raining outside, probably would have been snow in Yellowstone. We decide it was a good idea to leave a day early. We’ve also been unable to connect to internet or use our cell phones, which is a strange experience. We feel completely disconnected. Ha- we may have to bring the girls back as teenagers! Of course, by then they’ll probably have Wifi in Yellowstone.