While not much else other than driving and getting home happened today, it was nice to spend the day with my favorite boys.
This trip was really, really fantastic. While there were some trying moments when I wanted to become a childless person again, I got over it and in hindsight, had a really wonderful time.
I was really scared about driving all that way by myself (ok, only one way completely by myself), with the kids, for three weeks. But everything worked out wonderfully.
Now we are back in Austin, have our new house and school starts on Monday (Today is Sunday, Aug 23rd). We have already made new friends on our block and the kids are super excited about school.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
July 17
While we had three days to get back to Austin, we decided that everyone was tired of being in the car and there wasn't that much to see on the way back, so we put it in gear and (Ryan) drove like hell to get home.
We did manage to see a very cool Volcano in northern New Mexico. Capulin Volcano. You drive all way up to the top and then you can walk down into the cinder cone. Very cool, except for some crazy swarm of bugs which apparently really like white shirts. I found them for the next 2 days in the car!
We stopped in Lubbock and stayed at the only hotel with a room. Apparently there was a softball championship going on, so everything was booked. We got in pretty late and just beat a thunderstorm before crashing for the night.
July 16
We swapped co-pilots today.
First thing in the morning we drove Mom to the a
irport and dropped her off for a flight back to Calgary and we picked Ryan up.
The rest of the day we drove around Denver and visited old favorite spots.
We headed to the zoo for a quick visit (including Tropical Discovery, the kids' favorite).
Next downtown for lunch and a quick visit of the Judge's chambers where Ryan worked.
We got to see Nic Heinke outside the other courthouse where he works for a quick visit.
A trip to the new pool in Stapleton.
Then finally dinner with Diane at La Cueva.
So much fun to see everyone. I love Denver.
First thing in the morning we drove Mom to the a
irport and dropped her off for a flight back to Calgary and we picked Ryan up.The rest of the day we drove around Denver and visited old favorite spots.
We headed to the zoo for a quick visit (including Tropical Discovery, the kids' favorite).Next downtown for lunch and a quick visit of the Judge's chambers where Ryan worked.
We got to see Nic Heinke outside the other courthouse where he works for a quick visit.
A trip to the new pool in Stapleton.
Then finally dinner with Diane at La Cueva.
So much fun to see everyone. I love Denver.
July 15
Today was mostly spent in the car. Wyoming is very boring between the beautiful mountains and the Colorado border.
On the plus side, we closed on the house today! Ryan had to sign everything 4 times (Ryan Bates and Ryan Bates for Susan Bates, attorney in fact), but now we own a house! Woo Hoo!
We finished the day in Denver and drove around the old stomping grounds of Stapleton. It was nice to see the old place again, although Pete was very sad to have missed his friend George (who was at Disney that week).
July 14
Yellowstone Day!
It was very nice to know that our only goal on this day was to see Yellowstone and get ourselves to Jackson, WY.
We rented a GPS device in Gardiner which was pre-loaded with a narrative about the things you could see in the park. It was really great as there were so many different routes you could go through the park to see everything.
We stopped in Mammoth first and enjoyed the amazing waterfalls (and bought a new sweatshirt). We spent the rest of the day going around the loops looking for animals and enjoying the Thermal Water Features.
The kids had a great time too and got really excited at seeing the mommy and baby bears. We had a nice lunch at the Lake Lodge and then headed over to Old Faithful about 3pm. After finding a parking spot (illegal) we sprinted to the geyser (because everyone else was) just in time to see it erupt! Great timing! We walked around a little and got some ice cream a the Old Faithful Lodge.
About 10 minutes after we got going again it started to rain, so we felt like we had been lucky with the timing for the whole day (although we never saw a moose!).
On to Jackson, WY.
It was very nice to know that our only goal on this day was to see Yellowstone and get ourselves to Jackson, WY.
We rented a GPS device in Gardiner which was pre-loaded with a narrative about the things you could see in the park. It was really great as there were so many different routes you could go through the park to see everything.
We stopped in Mammoth first and enjoyed the amazing waterfalls (and bought a new sweatshirt). We spent the rest of the day going around the loops looking for animals and enjoying the Thermal Water Features.
The kids had a great time too and got really excited at seeing the mommy and baby bears. We had a nice lunch at the Lake Lodge and then headed over to Old Faithful about 3pm. After finding a parking spot (illegal) we sprinted to the geyser (because everyone else was) just in time to see it erupt! Great timing! We walked around a little and got some ice cream a the Old Faithful Lodge.
About 10 minutes after we got going again it started to rain, so we felt like we had been lucky with the timing for the whole day (although we never saw a moose!).On to Jackson, WY.
July 13
Tragedy! The hotel we stayed in decided to clean their pool just the morning we were going to go swimming before heading out to Gardiner, WY! Damn you pool guy!
So, instead we stopped at Chico Hot Springs. Chico is a natural hot springs where they have two large pools, a hotel, restaurant, and a tee pee!
The pool was really wonderful and quite hot. You could see how this hotel would be very popular in the winter as half of the pool was covered and it would be great to swim in when it's cold and snowing!
Onto Gardiner, WY, the northern entrance to Yellowstone. We stayed at a motel which looked a little dicey until we went out onto the patio of the room. It overlooked the river and was fun to watch white water rafters go by.
We had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant and then got some information about animal spotting from the visitor center next to the Roosevelt Arch.
So, instead we stopped at Chico Hot Springs. Chico is a natural hot springs where they have two large pools, a hotel, restaurant, and a tee pee!The pool was really wonderful and quite hot. You could see how this hotel would be very popular in the winter as half of the pool was covered and it would be great to swim in when it's cold and snowing!
Onto Gardiner, WY, the northern entrance to Yellowstone. We stayed at a motel which looked a little dicey until we went out onto the patio of the room. It overlooked the river and was fun to watch white water rafters go by.We had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant and then got some information about animal spotting from the visitor center next to the Roosevelt Arch.
July 12
Today we began the trip back to Austin. It was a wonderful week in cool Canada and we were sorry to leave (ok, Joe wasn't sorry to leave, there was my "homesickness" from him).
Mom came with us to share the driving and enjoy a trip though Yellowstone.
Our first stop was an aircraft museum in Nanton, Alberta. It's on
the side of the road and Joe got very excited when he saw the military aircraft. In the spirit of "let's stop and see stuff" we went in.
Joe loved all the aircraft and Pete thought it was very cool too. It was similar to the aircraft museum in Lowry, CO, but as Joe pointed out, "There's no X-wing" (they had a wooden life sized one in Lowry). We enjoyed it regardless of it's lack of Star Warsness.
Next was Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump in southern Alberta. It is a cliff in the prairie where the native americans would heard the buffalo over a cliff in order to have a large kill for food and skins. The building is built into the cliff and you start at the top and go down. It was interesting to learn about the preparations, see a movie about how it happened and then learn about the over hunting.
Onward into the US and a night in Great Falls, MT.
Mom came with us to share the driving and enjoy a trip though Yellowstone.
Our first stop was an aircraft museum in Nanton, Alberta. It's on
the side of the road and Joe got very excited when he saw the military aircraft. In the spirit of "let's stop and see stuff" we went in.Joe loved all the aircraft and Pete thought it was very cool too. It was similar to the aircraft museum in Lowry, CO, but as Joe pointed out, "There's no X-wing" (they had a wooden life sized one in Lowry). We enjoyed it regardless of it's lack of Star Warsness.
Next was Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump in southern Alberta. It is a cliff in the prairie where the native americans would heard the buffalo over a cliff in order to have a large kill for food and skins. The building is built into the cliff and you start at the top and go down. It was interesting to learn about the preparations, see a movie about how it happened and then learn about the over hunting.Onward into the US and a night in Great Falls, MT.
July 10
The kids went fishing with Dad today at Lake Minnewanka.
Meanwhile... Mom and I went into Canmore and had a relaxing day going to get a massage and a little drink on the patio of The Wood. Very calm. It was nice to have a few hours with no boys.
They came back totally exhausted and had a great time. They brought back two fish which Mom and Dad could eat later and seems to be very happy with the day.
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