Day 1 we headed to the Denver area. I was ready to pack up and move to the mountains just west of Denver; it was beautiful!
Enjoying some scenery and leg stretching in Colorado.
The midwest is home to many wind turbines, of course. We passed some of the turbines in route and were amazed at how large they were. They always had vehicles in front and behind them with flags. The fins themselves are incredibly long.
I think this is part of a turbine base. It was really fun to see these on trucks up close!
On Day 2, we were forty-five minutes from our destination in western Kansas when we blew a tire.
We blew it good. It ripped the tread off of my running board and bent the van body right behind the tire.
You can tell that emotions were a little tense for many of the passengers. It was nearly 100 degrees. The girls were terrified that there were rattlesnakes all around and wouldn't let the boys out to run around. We were all too hot anyway.
Here's my journaling from that day: So blessed to be alert for the drive. Many crying spells but they didn't last too long. Electronics are a blessing. So was finding a port-a-potty and playground in Cope, Colorado. The kids got a taste of farming town, USA. Hooray for healthy munchies. Tyler's blueberries were fantastic! Tire blew out badly but it was in a good location and we were kept safe. Waited in the heat, about 100 degrees, for help for an hour. Several helpful and kind people stopped to make sure we were hydrated and getting assistance. Nice people ran the tire shop - I felt like they were honest, good people.
Did I mention we were out in the middle of nowhere? Oberlin, Kansas was just a couple miles down the road, but this is what it looked like where we were. AAA had a really difficult time locating us even though I gave them road names.
Finding humor in the little things:
Being the lone driver meant 10 minute naps were a must. 1-2pm brings on great drowsiness for me! I would pull over, tell the kids to set a timer and take care of themselves, close my eyes and tune out.
Only later did I discover some of the fun they had while I was sleeping.
Our Costco-sized bag of Swedish Fish got us most of the way across the country. Great for enticing people to buckle up, great to give the driver a sugar rush, and apparently great entertainment while Mom is napping, too.
Bless our little doll's heart - she succumbed to a daily nap even in our noisy car, sitting up in her car seat. Bless the little man riding next to her - he needed very little entertainment for the most part. Both were A-1 road trippers!
Here is the one exception for Camden. I tried potty training the stubborn guy before we left. It was a miserable experience. Taking advice from others I decided to go ahead and use pull-ups. Miraculously, that seemed to do the trick for him - he wouldn't keep underwear clean, but had much better success with the pull-ups. So, we would be driving out in the middle of nowhere (or maybe in a lot of traffic but with no rest stops in sight) and Camden would scream "I need to go pee! I need to go pee!" I would calmly explain how proud I was that he wanted to keep his pull-up dry, but if he had to, that he could use it to go pee. He would proceed to scream for up to 30 minutes until we could find a bathroom for him. He never did take me up on the offer to use his pull-up. Thank goodness for eternal cornfields in Kansas.
By the time we were driving west again, Camden didn't scream quite as persistently when he felt the need to use the bathroom. (For the record, after we returned home we switched from pull-ups to underwear and he has done great!)
Eating lunch in Kansas City. We got our order for Wendy's down pat on this trip.
We brought Dr. A along with us and were sure that with all of our cool destinations Callie was bound to win a prize. Wouldn't you know that this was the only picture we took with him the entire trip?!?!? And we forgot to post it on his facebook page. Oops.
Memoirs to Tyler after Day 3:
I am learning in a new way that I can do hard things. I did not expect that from this trip and it is neat to learn that about myself.
This is my dream trip. I love talking about the sites we see, explaining things like water towers, pointing out oil drills, wheat fields, quaint barns, wind turbine pieces on semi- trucks, even poor drivers who stop up the two lanes for miles going 10 mph under the speed limit. It's fun to sing songs together, have the kids share stories about recent experiences because something triggered a memory, and share jolly ranchers. I feel very unknowledgeable about what we discuss but I share what I do know and hopefully the children will have increased awareness and a thirst for learning more.
Sleeping just west of St. Louis in St. Peter's...huge room with 2 queen beds and room for another and the girls are across the hall. I hope we sleep. Nights have been rough but it is amazing what 10 minutes of closing my eyes can do while parked at a gas station. The Lord has been so mindful of us.
I love the change of pace this has been. I love road trips! Time seeing the country, time with my family. It's great! I am glad that you supported my wild hair and let me drive off, and I am really glad you get to come join us. Camden said tonight as he was falling asleep next to me "I wish Daddy were here."
Humidity was great for my two curly girls. Callie and Emmie had the cutest hair the entire trip! Pictured below: in St. Louis, Missouri Emmie woke up with killer hair - how you can get this kind of lift and curl without a hairband is beyond me.
Driving by the Gateway Arch. I was so sorry to just drive by. I meant to at least stop and take pictures, but took a wrong turn, crossed the river, and decided to forge ahead - we had a 9 hour drive ahead of us. Sorry kids! It is an awesome sight.
This trip taught me that my two big girls have diverse talents and abilities. We had no GPS and Callie proved to be an excellent co-pilot, navigator, and stewardess, passing out all the snacks and electronics. Hannah works wonders keeping the little ones happy and entertained. The few times I tried to spell the girls and they traded roles, things just did not run as smoothly. As pictured below when Callie was on kid-duty:
Tell us how you really feel:)! It was long hours and hard work, but thanks to both Hannah and Callie - the trip couldn't have happened without the wonderful things that you did! It took us four consecutive days of driving to get to Cincinnati but we made it!!!
