2010 Trip Out West

Canyon with beautiful river and Lower Falls peaking out at the top of the view

Joseph has challenged me to blog about each place we visited on our trip. The only problem is that my time feels so full, so it might take me a while to get to all of it. I do just need to say that I'm so grateful we could go. My family is so wonderful and supportive and I'm so glad we were able to be there with you all!!

On the way home, we asked each person to say what their favorite part of the trip was (divided into three categories: people, place, wildlife). I'm taking the time now to post picture of my favorite place: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

The river water is turquoise from all the silt. Breathtaking!

Close-up of some of the beautiful colors that can be seen. Some walls of the canyon are smooth, others are fantastically rugged. I would have loved to spend a whole day there.

We were driving along and came across this bison leading a line of cars. We laughed as we wondered if the people in the end of the line even knew what the hold up was about.

I Want to Go to Tuscany

I've got my vacation house all picked out. Well, I've narrowed it down anyway. Click here and here to see them. I also spent the last little while reading an article online from a travel magazine site, which has helped me to know what to go and see while I'm there. You can see that here. Plus, you can't be so close to Rome and not see the Eternal City. I'm going to research the topic "Rome in a day" and see what I can come up with. My vacation plans are inspired by two flicks, "Enchanted April" (I'm just finishing off this book and it is wonderful; the movie and book are neck-in-neck) and "Roman Holiday."

I need to be prepared for the time two decades away when I can maybe pull this vacation off! Plus, I had to stay up until my kids were all asleep. G'night.

What's your dream vacation?

P.S. I might want to cruise over to the Greek Isles while I'm in the area of the Mediterranean. Have you seen pictures of the cities that climb up the coastal mountains on those islands? Breathtaking!

A World Apart

Hands down, my favorite part of our upper peninsula vacation were the two spots we visited on Lake Superior with rock outcroppings. Presque Isle Park, Marquette AND Hunter's Point, Copper Harbor.

We picked up some take-out Tex-Mex one night (best taco salads we've ever eaten) and headed to Presque Isle Park. I had read that there were very old rocks exposed at this park, but didn't know what to expect. After we had eaten, we began to explore. We immediately came upon an inlet of water with a pebble beach, crystal clear water, and wildly red and green colored rocks. I had a feeling of instant happiness and any feelings that I might want to move away from Michigan to be near the ocean and marine biology evaporated completely. I'm pretty sure I never want to leave here. The feeling of happiness/joy was that strong for me.

Copper Harbor's outcroppings of rock were also dated back to possibly Pre-Cambrian times (the bedrock of basalt is exposed). We didn't know what we were seeing at the time and have since identified some fossils and types of rocks that we saw there.

These were both places I could never have dreamt up. Just incredible. I can't wait to go back!

Click here to see more pictures.

Back From a Whirlwind Tour of the U.P.

I spent the day unpacking, doing laundry and RE-vacuuming my van, which I loathe, and not blogging, which I love. But, I just had to log on to say that we had a super time and we saw some incredible things. For all of you hooked on my ongoing Michigan saga, stay tuned...

(U.P. stands for Upper Peninsula for those of you not from Michigan.)

Everything Else

Of course we spent hours and hours on the beach (You already know what we look like on the beach). We always went once during the day and tried to walk over to the little county beach (about a quarter mile from the cottage) to see the sun set.




We saw the lighthouses in the area.

Lighthouse Park

Port Austin

We read books. We blew bubbles. We roasted marshmallows.


We watched Looney Tunes. We went on nature walks.


We played at parks. We walked down the breakwaters.




In general, our main occupations were relaxation and play. We all had a very good time!


Good-bye little house!

Petroglyphs

On our first full day of vacation, we decided to visit the Petroglyphs in Sanilac State Forest. Carved into very soft sandstone by people 300-1000 years ago, they were discovered in the late 1800s after a forest fire uncovered them. Now they are covered by a large shelter. (I can see why this is necessary because as we hiked through the woods later, that same sandstone was in our pathway. There were large divets carved out by drips of rainwater.)





In some ways they were disappointing since there were few of the carvings that were really defined. Also, no one has deciphered the meaning of the carvings (though May said one of the characters looked like a man shooting an arrow). The state park employee stationed there was less than helpful, giving us one word answers to our questions.

But, it was cool to think about how these rock writings were discovered and to wonder what other wonders might be covered by forest elsewhere.

After we looked at the petroglyphs, we went on a little hike. Here's a picture to show how Sariah felt about that:



There was a low part of the pathway that was full of mud. I had just put my hand into stinging nettle when Sariah had her flip-flops (yes, you read that right; we were not prepared for a hike) sucked off by the mud and started wailing. I was less than patient with that. I tried to make up for it on the rest of the hike by saying how beautiful it was and how glad I was that we had come etc. My dad had to carry Brigham's stroller through large parts of the hike. What a sight we must have been!

There were lots of colorful mushrooms in the forest and as we went across the final bridge, my dad spied some crayfish. I think the kids would have stayed there for hours to watch the crayfish!



As a bonus, we drove through Bad Axe, MI on our way back to the cottage. Isn't that a great name?

Living the Good Life in America

There is a good feeling in the Thumb region of Michigan. I'm not sure if this is always the case with farm land and I've missed it in the past, or if the Thumb is really unique. Route 25 ribbons around the perimeter, with forest on either side. The land in the middle of the Thumb is, from what I could see, mostly farm land. As we were driving through it, I felt almost euphoric. There was a moment when we were driving past a field of young plants. I think I've seen it before, either in a documentary, a commercial, or perhaps one of my other lives. Whizzing by row after row with rich brown earth in between the rows. (I tried to take a video, but my battery was too low, so the picture below will have to do. I turned to my dad and said, "When I see a scene like that, I feel like I'm living the good life in America!" And boy, did I mean it!




Too bad it was a cloudy day and that I was lazily taking photos from my moving vehicle. You just can't get the same feel of the place.

We might have missed the wind farm located between Pigeon and Elkton, if not for my dad. He has seen them in previous travels and said it would be worth seeing. It could be seen for miles! It was a highlight for Brigham who is still talking about it!




Isn't this a pretty farm? May thought the house looked just like the one in Anne of Green Gables.

States and Countries

My kids are always wanting me to list the states and countries I have been to, so here goes:

Countries:

1. Guatemala (as a missionary)
   
2. Mexico (to visit my dad's childhood home)
   
3. El Salvador (unauthorized excursion as a missionary)
   
4. Canada (for a professional conference)
   

States:

1. Hawai'i (construction work)
   
2. California (construction work, professional conference, job interview, vacation)
3. Nevada (scouts)
4. Arizona (vacation, professional conference)
5. New Mexico (driving through)
6. Utah (lived there)
7. Idaho (vacation)
8. Montana (vacation)
9. Wyoming (vacation, scouts)
10. Colorado (vacation)
11. Texas (professional conference, work, visit relatives)
12. Oklahoma (driving through)
13. Kansas (driving through)
14. Nebraska (vacation)
15. South Dakota (vacation)
16. Minnesota (consulting)
17. Iowa (work)
18. Louisiana (professional conference)
19. Tennessee (consulting, professional conference)
20. Kentucky (consulting, vacation)
21. Illinois (vacation, professional conference, work)
    
22. Indiana (vacation)
23. Ohio (vacation, job interview)
24. Wisconsin (consulting, professional conference)
25. Michigan (lived there)
26. New York (vacation)
27. Maine (vacation)
28. New Hampshire (vacation)
29. Massachusetts (vacation)
30. Rhode Island (vacation)
31. Connecticut (vacation)
32. Pennsylvania (vacation, professional conference)
33. Maryland (professional conference)
34. Delaware (professional conference)
35. Washington, DC (professional conference)
36. Virginia (professional conference)
37. North Carolina (work)
38. South Carolina (professional conference)
39. Georgia (professional conference, vacation)
40. Florida (professional conference, vacation)

What's missing?

1. Alaska
2. Washington
3. Oregon
4. Missouri
5. Arkansas
6. Mississippi
7. Alabama
8. North Dakota
9. West Virginia
10. Vermont
11. New Jersey
    

Vacation

To go with my poll that is running right now, I want to hear from you about vacation.

My friend Megan and I walk together. She loves to travel and travels at every opportunity. She's been to some really cool places. Last summer we talked about how people who like to travel give up other things and economize so that they can vacation. I'm intrigued by the idea. I'm interested in it for myself and for my kids. There are things you can learn from seeing the world that you can never learn in school. For instance, Nathan swam with a manatee in Florida. Can you imagine how much more he thinks about protecting manatee populations? Can you imagine how much more he must admire and respect nature? Can you imagine how this might increase his hunger to learn and see more? Another example. I've never seen a third world country. In my Geography class in college, I learned a great deal and my eyes were opened to things I had never considered, by an excellent professor. Still, imagine how much more I would feel and understand by actually seeing it!

Here's a list of the places I'd like to go. These have been on my list for a very long time. I never imagined being able to visit them, but now that I've seen some things that I never thought I would (Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Florida) I'm seeing myself going other places as well:

1) Monterey, CA. This will always be #1, I believe.
2) Guatemala
3) Italy
4) Israel

Within the U.S., I still want to take my kids to Southern Utah, to Washington D.C., to upper New York state, to Boston, Maine, and Cape Cod.

My vacations in the works:

1) Upper peninsula of Michigan (as a family)
2) Houston, Texas (Elijah and I)
3) Guatemala (Joseph and I)

A list of where I've been:

1) Eastern & Southern Utah
2) Southern California (Disneyland, Sea World, etc.)
3) Central California (Monterey--lived there, Yosemite, Sequoia Nat'l Park, Pinnacles)
4) Cape Cod, Plymouth (lived there), Martha's Vineyard, Boston, Maine
5) New York City
6) Washington D.C.
7) Bethlehem, PA
8) Central Ohio (Cuyahoga River Valley--beautiful!)
9) Upper New York State (Niagra Falls and Palmyra, NY)
10) Kirtland, OH
11) Nauvoo, IL
12) Chicago, IL
13) South Dakota (Rushmore and Badlands)
14) Wyoming (Yellowstone, Devil's Tower, and Martin's Cove)
15) Northern Utah (lived there)
16) Several locations in the lower peninsula of MI (live here)
17) Mackinac Island, MI
18) Kentucky (Mammoth Caves & Shaker Village)
19) Cincinnati & Columbus, OH


I'd like to hear where you've been (what's your favorite?), where you want to go (realistically), and where you'd love to visit but probably won't.

Ok, I'm going to try to stop talking about vacation now.

My State: Are You Jealous?

This post is for everyone except the person who voted, "I don't go on vacation," on my poll.

Check out the videos on this website (except the golf one, I don't golf).

If I've made you want to come visit, please do. You can stay at my house!

Do You Like to Watch the Waves and Hear the Sea?

Then, this is the post for you. First the beach at Pine Island and then the beach at Shell Key:





I'm even throwing in a sunset to sweeten the deal:

The Many Moods of Sky and Sea