The Trip Out

After zooming his way cross country and back for many years, my dad decided that he would like to see a few things along the way. So he studies maps and plans his trips around parks, sites and friends and relatives that he would like to visit. This year we joined him, my mom, my brother and his son on our trip out to the Reeve reunion. And it was quite a trip. We travelled for six days and visited 2 friends homes, one relatives home and four national parks before we ended up in Utah. To paraphrase my dad, "we saw some things."

First up was a short hop to the neighboring state of North Carolina to visit my dad's friends the Iveys. They have built themselves a beautiful resort house on a lake and we enjoyed some time swimming in their pool and the lake, putting on their green and the kids watched movies in their grandkids suite. I didn't take any pictures there but trust me, we were treated to some luxurious accommodations.

From there we drove through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We were treated to some picturesque views, some beautiful flora and a little fauna. When we stopped at Clingmans Dome we were lucky enough to see first hand why they are called the Great Smoky Mountains. We were enjoying the view seeing the mountains fade into a blue haze then watched a thick fog roll in and start to creep down the mountain toward us. Deciding we would rather be off the mountain when the rain started we headed back to the car. Williams favorite part was the snake he spotted. I loved the wildflowers and the amazing number of butterflies.

Our entry to the Great Smoky Mountains

Lunch by the Oconaluftee River on the Cherokee Indian Reservation

William thought this rock looked like a big shoe.

View from Clingmans Dome with the foggy rain rolling in.

The girls loved traveling with the Grandparents.

James and James David, always entertaining.

Mammoth Caves were our first stop on day three. We took the New Entrance tour which started with over two hundred stairs that dropped us deep below the ground. Every once in a while we had to remember to stop and look up so that we could be impressed by the actual depth of the big hole we were climbing into. We walked through some narrow slits and some huge passageways that were created by water eroding away limestone. We were told that there are 325 miles of passageways. We only had three hours so covered very little of that. Amazing what some water and time can do. The most impressive part was coming back out of the cave. I walked through the door from a cool, dry atmosphere to hot steam. It was like a sauna, my glasses clouded over and I couldn't see until I got them warmed up. The kids were excited about all the butterflies but I couldn't see them at first. We had hundred of Red-spotted Blues flitting around us. It was better than the butterfly festival at the Wild Animal Park. They were landing on anyone who sat still long enough. Rachel really wanted one to land on her but she does not fall under the category of still.

A Red-spotted Blue

After touring the cave we were off to Berryville, AR to see Uncle Jack and his family. It was so much fun to visit with Jack and Eva and get to know them. We spent the morning with a quick swim in the pool, where Geral got extremely brave on a float, and a hay ride around the farm. I told Eva that we were definitely going to have to visit again and I would bring Ralph next time so that he can pick up Arkansas on his list of states he's visited. She said if we stayed long enough we could go horseback riding in the Ozarks. I think I would like to see more of the Ozarks. It was a beautiful part of the country that I hadn't seen before. I am looking forward to an opportunity to visit them again.

Geral bravely lying down on the float

Onalee and Eva

Steve, Onalee, Jack, Eva, James

And we were off to Denver for lunch with another couple Dad knew as missionaries in New York. While the adults were visiting and setting up lunch James and I took the kids to the park across the street. Every ball field was full of little league teams and James kept us laughing with his constant stream of insults directed at number nine. I certainly hope for James David's sake that he is never issued a number nine jersey. The boys had a great competition looking for stray baseballs and the little girls were overjoyed to find swings and slides after four and a half days in the car.

After lunch we were on our way up the mountain to visit Rocky Mountain National Park. I thought this was a fascinating park. The drive through the park climbs through pine forests and you come out above the timber line and keep climbing. At the top of the mountain you are in arctic tundra. I was really surprised by all the flowers that were blooming up there. They were very low to the ground and tiny but they were pretty. We observed marmots and saw a glacial lake near the lava cliffs. The kids complained that they were cold but after all the heat and humidity we had been driving through, I thought the 63 degree summit was refreshing. Coming back off the summit we once again drove through the pine forest on narrow roads with lots of switchbacks. It is probably the Easterner in me but I really like the roads lined by the trees. You may not be able to see as much but the trees are beautiful and if for some reason you lose control of your car on the switchback, they just may keep you from careening down the cliff. I love trees.

We are pretty high up and no where near the top yet.

A chubby marmot. William liked these creatures.

The whole gang in front of the lava cliffs.

If you look carefully, you can see the glacial lake at the bottom of the hill.

Once we were off the mountain we needed to find a place to stay for the night. We stopped at a small hotel in Sulphur Springs, CO and asked if they had a room. They were booked except for a room they call "the apartment." For nine people, the manager thought we might be interested. The entrance to the apartment was off an alley that ran behind the hotel. He had us park our cars back there so that we could easily unload. This "alley" was a dirt track that didn't look like it had seen much recent use. My favorite quote of the trip was uttered by James at that moment, "I've seen a lot of movies that begin like this; none ended well." Fortunately for us, our lives are not a B horror flick. We got out of there with no harm done.

Dinosaur National Monument was the last stop before we ended phase one of our summer trek. Unfortunately, it was a disappointment. The visitors center was closed for renovation. The quarry was closed and they closed the fossil trail at noon because of high heat. We arrived at 11:55 am. That left pretty much nothing to see. We had lunch by the river but it was too deep and moving too swiftly at that spot to allow wading. Everything should be open next summer so we will have to put it on our list of spots to visit on another trip.

A few hours later we ended up at Brian and Jodi's home where they provided a yummy meal, cousins to play with and some beds. We were ready for some rest to get ready for the reunion which would start the next day.