On June 5th of last year, we as a family set out on a great adventure only few get to experience. Setting out with a 5th wheel and a dream, we visited thirteen of our country’s National Parks, venturing as far west as Yosemite and ending in our backyard at Shenandoah National Park. It is something we will never forget and we talk about regularly.
This morning we had a sad realization. Our American The Beautiful Pass expires tomorrow May 31st. So we thought, why not one more adventure on the pass that brought us so much excitement?!? So off we went on one more hurrah!
With one more year under their belt, the boys are much faster hikers, yet still haven’t gotten the groaning under control. But there is much more pep in their step. And I did notice my elbow didn’t hurt as it used to. In the past it felt as if I was hyperextending it dragging Weston along.
White Oak Canyon Falls was are adventure of choice, just across from the southern entrance to Skyland Campground between milepost 42 & 43.
Fortunately the weather held and we enjoyed an amazing hike through the forest. I absolutely love the smell, the coolness of the woods, and the sound of the waters. More importantly, I love seeing the boys experience it as well. I hope they choose the mountains over the tv or Xbox.
I am reminded how brief their childhood is and how fast they grow up. I want to capture every moment I can. Look at what a difference a year makes!
Today we rolled into KOA in Fredericksburg. What in the world is up with this humidity!!!! Thought for a second to turn around a drive to dryer air, but held back. It has been an absolutely amazing trip. I want to thank you all for following along, enjoying the adventure with us, praying for us, and living vicariously! But it isn’t over. Stay tuned. Hopefully in the next day or so I’m going to share a ton of what we experienced, learned, and even give Jennifer and the boys some room to comment on what their favorites were.
Sometimes things don’t turn out like you imagined. We thought we’d leave Colorado early and roll into Fredericksburg today. However, every campground is booked over the weekend. So we find ourselves in Luray for the next few nights. Our lease on our apartment doesn’t start until Monday. At least we have a home on 4 wheels.
Time: Left 8:15AM ET, Arrived 1:45AM ET – 5Hrs45Mins
Friday – July 17
Day 43
If you are stuck next to national park, go visit. Why not make it 13 national parks in 42 days? We ventured up into Big Meadows and got the boys books stamped and devoured some blackberry ice cream. The campground we are staying at is amazing. It is only 5 years old and sits on the Shenandoah River. After 42 days of camping and fishing, we finally caught 3 small mouth bass. Nothing like a little patience.
Itinerary: Shenendoah National Park, Big Meadows, Shenandoah River
The Fiery Furnace isn’t so fiery. Jennifer says its because God loves me. That being it was in the low 70’s while we did the Fiery Furnace in Arches. The ranger said it usually is in the 100’s by the time he starts the hike at 9AM. If it’s because God loves me, then I’ll take it! I was so proud of the boys. The Fiery Furnace is a 2 mile, 3 hour guided tour, with rock scrambles, cliffs, narrows, and fun hiking challenges. They did amazing. And the hike was well worth it. One of our favorites so far.
The boys did so well on the hike, we thought they deserved another swim break. If we lived here we’d be at the Moab Aquatics center every day. Great place!
Itinerary: Fiery Furnace – Arches National Park
Saturday – July 11
Day 37
Heading East starts to bring about the feelings of finality – that this trip is almost over. But until then, we’ll milk it for all its worth. We had a great time driving through Vail, Hot Sulpher Springs, and along the Colorado River.
Lastly, nothing can beat hot chocolate…. except hot chocolate with a roasted marshmallow in it.
There is an assumption being from the east that a national park will have a gateway town next to it. Think Culpeper, Gatlinburg, or Pigeon Forge. Lots of shops. Lots of entertainment. Grocery stores. Restaurants. Civilization. Not so with Yosemite. And thus, for the past week, I have had ZERO cell service. Nada. Nunca. Niente. So I have a bit to tell everyone. I did keep up with my notes and everything will read, though, as if it is the end of the day. I don’t want to spoil anything. Let’s start with…
Monday – June 15
How hard to realize that every camp of men or beast has this glorious starry firmament for a roof! In such places standing alone on the mountain-top it is easy to realize that whatever special nests we make – leaves and moss like the marmots and birds, or tents or piled stone – we all dwell in a house of one room – the world with the firmament for its roof – and are sailing the celestial spaces without leaving any track. – John Muir
Day 11:
Don’t try to pack egg salad sandwiches for lunch. You know that last day you see in Yellowstone? The one fishing and taking in Old Faithful one last time. It didn’t end very well. Everyone else was fine. Not so me. Only thing I can think of is that we packed an egg salad sandwich for me. Never again. I spent the better part of Monday sleeping off my queasiness. I missed walking around the very quaint and bustling downtown of Jackson. But being a contributing member of society was more important.
The Grand Tetons are Grand for a reason. We took a route through Yellowstone park and out of the South entrance. The fun thing about the Tetons is that you pull off really quick to get the only shot you believe you’ll get of the mountains. Um… not the case. Every time we topped a new hill, or turned a corner, the Tetons (out our right window) got bigger and bigger. Every angle we viewed them from, was grander than the last. Imagine flat prairie, then straight up mountains. They were stunning.
I’m a sucker for good ‘ol Western music.After sleeping off my queasiness, we headed out to the Bar J Ranch in Jackson Hole. Food, fun, laughs, and a great change of pace. And yes I did eat a steak. I’m also a sucker for a good ‘ol ribeye. I was feeling much better. If you are ever in Jackson, this is a must for you. Everyone was over the top polite. The kids loved it. The music was outstanding. The people who checked you in were the people who served you were the people who sang were the people who… well they did about everything. Some of the best Western music I’ve ever heard.
Final thoughts on Yellowstone… Unique. I found Yellowstone to really cater to crowds. You went somewhere, parked, walked a boardwalk, and saw what you wanted to see. Only thing we didn’t get to do was hike any off beaten trails. But with a 6 and soon to be 8 year old in tow, that is a tough order. Yellowstone was accessible. It was easy in and easy out. You did have to drive a bit to get to some of the other regions of the park. The visitor centers are almost brand new and have great displays. I wasn’t thrilled about Mammoth Springs. The geysers, fumerols, and thermal springs were quite a show. But the show stopper, per se, was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It was by far my favorite even over Old Faithful. Yellowstone also has TONS of wildlife. We saw Elk galore, bison galore, a black bear, a grizzly from a distance, and some fox pups. I finally saw my moose in Jackson. Only thing I wanted to see, but missed, were big horn sheep.
Route: West Yellowstone, MT through Yellowstone NP, through South Entrance. Through Grand Teton NP to Jackson, WY
Campground: The Virginian RV Park By far our least favorite RV park and the most expensive yet. However, it is right in the middle of Jackson.
Time: Left 8:00 AM CT. Arrived 1:30 PM CT. 5.5 Hrs with a stop in Grand Teton.
Tuesday – June 16
Day 12:
I’m not a fan of Nevada. If I said a couple of days ago that Wyoming is where you want to disappear, Nevada has won that title. Not only is Nevada vast, it is barren. We climbed over the south ridge of the Tetons, into Idaho (Yes they do grow lots of Potatoes) and then down into Nevada. I’m not a fan of Nevada. The gambling culture permeates the state and it just turns me off.
New isn’t always the best. We stayed at the New Frontier RV Park in Winnemucca. (Apparently Johnny Cash, in going ‘Everywhere’ was in Winnemucca too). The RV park was so new, that hardly anyone was staying there. Nice bathhouses. But when you are in there all alone it can be a bit creepy.
Sometimes I do like Wal-mart. When looking for groceries before heading to Yosemite, sometimes its nice to see something you recognize. West Yellowstone had NOTHING for a grocery store. We were left to digging grub worms out from under rocks for sustenance. Actually my parents grabbed food in Idaho before meeting us. We learned our lesson there and decided to get groceries when we had the chance. Walmart was a site for sore eyes.
Route: Jackson, WY to Winnemucca, NV via Idaho Falls, I15, I86, Hwy 93, and I80
Time: Left 7:30 AM CT. Arrived 5:00 PM PT. 10 Hrs 30 Mins
Wednesday – June 17
Day 13
Going to the mountains is going home. – John Muir
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. – Gen 1:1
Big hills can sneak up on you. When you route a trip like this, you pay attention to the mountains. Big mountains take some planning. You want to get fuel before hand. You want to rest after. You want to make sure your truck is in good working order. However, when driving in Nevada, there are hills everywhere. And they sneak up on you. You’ll start climbing, and realize you are still climbing a minute later. Then you hear your truck’s fan kick in and start cooling everything down. Climb, climb, climb. It happened several times. I would realize we were doing it until my speed dropped. Otherwise I’d have given it more fuel.
If I thought Wyoming was desolate, I was wrong – its Nevada. Want to lose a dead body? Look at Nevada first. We took a hwy 95 through Fallon, NV from I80. You’d drive miles without seeing a soul. Solitude of that sort makes you uneasy. There were no shoulders, no cellular service, and nothing to look at. I breathed easier when we got to Lee Vining.
California doesn’t believe in guardrails. One of the things I was looking forward to was the Tioga Pass. It is beautiful. However, it doesn’t have guardrails. It was a pretty harry drive. Fortunately I was ascending instead of descending. Thinking about descending that portion makes me faint-headed. I wish I got a picture of the ascent, but I was white-knuckled holding the wheel, and Jennifer, I think, had her eyes closed. Wyatt did happen to snap a fuzzy picture last second with his 100 year old iPod. I posted a stock photo just so you could see.
So far, from what I can tell, California doesn’t believe in mobile service either. I haven’t had a signal for hours. There is, of course, no signal in Yosemite. There is no signal outside of Yosemite. And the RV park has horrible wifi. It is going to be a long week.
Yosemite is freakn’ amazing. I can already tell this is going to be an amazing park. I saw things on the drive in I’ve never seen before. It is like driving in the Alpines. There are huge granite monoliths with pine meadows and lakes underneath. It really is amazing! I cannot wait to begin exploring.
Route: Winnemucca, NV to Buck Meadows, CA via I80, Hwy 95, Lee Vining, through Tioga Pass
Time: Left 7:45 AM PT Arrived 5:30 PM PT. Had quite a delay in Fallon, NV at a pharmacy.
Thursday – June 18
Day 14
One day’s exposure to mountains is better than a cartload of books. – John Muir
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. – Gen 1:31
Yosemite is more than freakn’ amazing. Driving into the valley really takes your breath away. You just about break your neck looking up at all of the granite walls. Standing right under El Capitan, you think if he decides to sneeze you are dead meat. Everything you look at begs to have its picture taken!
My boys are tough. We started our Yosemite adventure in style hiking the Mist Trail to Vernal Falls. 1000ft elevation gain. Strenuous. And over 600 granite steps, many of which were doused in waterfall spray. It is hot here and the waterfall mist was a welcomed respite. Wyatt adventured with me to the top of the falls. Absolutely amazing. What is even more amazing is they didn’t complain once. We had a beautiful picnic under some amazing trees at lunch.
Itinerary: Vernal Falls via Mist Trail. Lower Yosemite Falls.
Friday – June 19
Day 15:
I never saw a discontented tree. – John Muir
How clearly the sky reveals God’s glory! How plainly it shows what he has done! – Ps 19:1
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. When I walked out this morning I could smell wood smoke immediately. The wildfires of California are close at the southern boundary of the park. The smoke actually drifted into the valley obscuring the valley at Tunnel View. Everywhere you drive you see remnants of the Rim Fire of 2013. In fact, our RV park is right off of Hwy 120 where the fire originated.
Sometimes words just don’t cut it. These trees are beyond description. We saw the Grizzy Giant today. It is taller than the Statue of Liberty and taller than a 747 Jet. It grows enough new wood each year to make up a 60 foot tree of typical proportions. It just looks gnarly. But every tree I see is big. Even the trees that aren’t Sequoias are taller than I’m accustomed to. You are always looking up. When you arrive at Mariposa, you barely even make it onto the trail because of looking at a massive Sequoia sitting right there in front of you! They are tremendous creatures, if I can call them that. They make me think of Ents from Lord of the Rings. I can imagine them all having discussions when we leave. The big pine cone isn’t from a Sequoia, rather its a Sugar Pine.
Itinerary: Mariposa Grove, Tunnel View.
Saturday – June 20
Day 16:
It is impossible to overestimate the value of wild mountains and mountain temples as places for people to grow in, recreation grounds for soul and body. They are the greatest of our natural resources, God’s best gifts, but none, however high and holy, is beyond reach of the spoiler. – John Muir
Hetch Hetchy feels somewhat like a graveyard. The National Parks story is very interesting and very complicated. For instance, Yosemite wasn’t a National Park at first. It first was set aside as parkland by President Lincoln and given to the State of California. Exploration was the parks enemy. And misuse of the land above the park began to show its effects. The land set aside was then enlarged to incorporate the High Sierras and Tuolumne Meadows. But as the country grew, and as the National Park system began to take shape, certain battles were waged to help define what kind of protection a National Park actually had. Many politicians in the early 1900’s wanted Hetch Hetchy Valley as a resoivoir for San Francisco. It was argued it was too remote and no one would care. John Muir cared. Hetch Hetchy was his favorite over Yosemite Valley because of its seclusion. He fought hard to protect it. But the earthquake of 1906 was too much of a persuasion, and Muir lost the fight. Coincidently he died a year later. The Tuolumne River was dammed and Hetch Hetchy was flooded. I knew the story before driving there today and it seemed a bit ominous. If you want seclusion and no park crowds, this is the place to be. It is a bit sad too. I can only think there had to be a better solution.
If you want to drive curvy roads, go to California. You see that road? 8 miles of that curvy stuff. At least it had a guard rail. There is nothing outside of Yosemite. It takes all of that driving to get to the nearest town of Sonora.
The drought is sad. The ground is crunchy. The rivers are weak. The streams are dry. And the trees look tired. Pray for rain.
God is watching out for me. We went into Sonora to get some circuit breakers and have a nice meal out. I installed a 2nd A/C unit before I left and we realized it wouldn’t run when we were passing through Nevada. Something about high 90’s makes you catch on real quick to air troubles. The simplest thing I could think of was a bad breaker. I was praying and praying it wasn’t a compressor or run capacitor. When I walked back to the truck at Lowe’s, Jennifer mentioned she smelled diesel. Sure enough, I had a diesel leak in my fuel filter housing. I called around and wouldn’t you know I talked to a guy at an Auto Zone who had just done the same fix on his Chevy last week. He knew the part I needed and pointed me to the directions on how to fix it. Looks like I’ll be spending my Father’s Day in Sonora working on the truck. Oh, and the breaker was bad. I pulled it out and the wire wasn’t holding. The set screw was stripped. Thank you Jesus!
Itinerary: Hetch Hetchy Valley
Sunday – June 21
Day 17:
God made me special. I know that’s an old Veggietales quote, but it suffices. I have always been mechanical and like to know how things work. At 8 I was taking apart my Fisher Price tape player and putting it back together. I am thankful God has wired me that way. It pays off in moments like these. That there is a housing for my fuel filter. A $25 rebuild kit, new O-rings, and an hour and a half later I’m back in business. I did all of the work in the back of my truck in the parking lot. Special thanks to Mr. Willie Rowe for giving me the confidence!
Final thoughts on Yosemite: I can’t get enough of Yosemite. It is by far the most beautiful place on the planet. I didn’t want to leave. Yellowstone I cut a day short. Yosemite I wish I had 5 days more. There are so many trails to explore, granite faces to look up, valleys to look down, trees to meet, rivers to wade, glaciers to scale, and images to burn into my mind. I will be back here again. It is too majestic to only experience once.
Itinerary:Tuolumne Meadows, Tunnel View
Monday – June 22
Day 18:
No synonym for God is so perfect as Beauty. Whether as seen carving the lines of the mountains with glaciers, or gathering matter into stars, or planning the movements of water, or gardening – still all is Beauty! – John Muir
Holy Cow does California have curvy roads!!!!!!! That 8 mile trek I posted about earlier? I had to do that for the better part of 2 hours! Up. Down. Around. Up. Down. Around. It was ridiculous. This is the first time I felt sorry for my truck. Do they not have highways around here?
Animal Style is the way to go! How can I go to California and not go to In-N-Out and order an Animal Style Cheeseburger? Did you know at the bottom of every In-N-Out soda cup is printed John 3:16? Now you know… and knowing is half the battle.
Memories are made each day. I look back through the pictures over the past two weeks and it is hard to believe that those experiences are over and have transitioned to memories. They seem so long ago. And the experiences I have tomorrow are destined to the same fate. It makes me think I need to slow down and soak in each day.
Route: Buck Meadows, CA to Three Rivers, CA via HWY 49 (NEVER AGAIN!!)
Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike. – John Muir
What I learned, day 5.
Sometimes things don’t go as planned. Where do I start? First, I was planning on doing Iron mountain highway because it has several amazing tunnels that frame up the faces of Mount Rushmore. But they closed part of the road and cut off 2 of the 3 tunnels. At least we got the first one in. Then, we were going to do the needles highway on the way back. Road construction prevented us from following our schedule and made us push it to the evening. We did the Wildlife Loop. Most of the wildlife was on a coffee break. The biggest unforeseen was, well read on.
Mount Rushmore really is remarkable. However, we felt it was ‘take a picture and go.’ We did watch a 15 minute film on how it was made. But that was just to beat the heat. It was so hot today! We got our pictures and got back into the A/C.
Pictures are deceiving. We may look like we are having fun. But I think at this point we were all spent. Too much in one day. The ATV seemed like a good idea. But after about 15 minutes, 20% of your hearing gone, and your face windburned, you realize you’d rather be in the air conditioned truck. Great picture though.
5% chance of rain means that there could be rain, not there’s a 95% chance it won’t rain. After driving in the ATV through the Wildlife Loop, we headed into Custer to top off the tank and get a blizzard from the DQ. I just happened to look out the window as I was throwing away some trash and said “We got’s to go now!” There were dark clouds on the horizon. Keep in mind, we have no windshield. We have no doors. We have no windows. We only have a fabric roof. And we are about 10 minutes from our campground. About half way back it started hailing – little pea size hail. Not that bad if you were looking out the window. But not too pleasant if it is hitting you while you are doing 30 mph. Ouch! At least the kids had helmets. The wind kicked up. The rain started. And I am sure the temp dropped from 85 to 65 in a hurry. It was cold! We could not stop laughing the entire way back. Soaked to the bone we turned the heat on and let the kids eat dinner in their underwear. Of course, none of this was in my spreadsheet.
Needles highway is a must see. I’m so glad we made ourselves go back out and see it. The rock formations are unreal. I have just too many pictures to post! At one point I thought I was Matthew Mcconaugheyn a Lincoln commercial because we had a buffalo staring us down.
You can’t take a picture of smell. Pine. Mist. Streams. Wildflowers. Clean. When we went through needles it had just rained. It smelled amazing. Too bad I can’t share that with you.
Route/Itinerary: Custer State Park – Iron Mountain Hwy to Mt. Rushmore. Wildlife Loop. Needles Highway.
Sleeping in isn’t what it used to be. Last night I was tired. Jennifer was tired. The boys were tired. We hosed them down, put them to bed, and set no alarms. I mean, come on! Just the other morning we couldn’t get them up! Surely they’ll sleep in? Nope. 6:30 rolled around and you could feel the camper moving. Its like a jungle gym to them. Another thing I learned is the tooth fairy visits you no matter where you are. We’ve told Weston there isn’t such a person, but he doesn’t care. He still pretends.
The National Parks system is such a gem. Jennifer wondered allowed if people drive by what we are seeing everyday without thinking about it. I’m sure they do because we do the same. But if you have a chance, get to a National Park. Go visit a memorial in DC. Go to Shenandoah. Go somewhere! There is a National Park or Monument close to you. I’m sure of it. And they are there for you to enjoy! I think that is why I love Teddy Roosevelt so much.
The Badlands aren’t so bad. It was really remarkable to be driving in such flat country, and to top a horizon with these formations in your view. I truly felt I was riding through an attraction created by Disney, but so much better. You could spend a day in there letting your kids climb everything in site.
Rattlesnakes are shy. I was hoping to snap a picture of a rattlesnake, but they resisted. I did get a prairie dog. They were running around everywhere!
Everywhere is God’s country. I used to say Tennessee was God’s country because it is so beautiful. Everywhere I have driven has been just as beautiful. The Badlands? Their own unique beauty. Then drive into the Black Hills. They are simply breathtaking. Tomorrow is Mount Rushmore, Iron Mountain Highway, Needles Highway, and Wildlife Loop.
Chevy makes a mean truck. Everyone thinks my truck is new. “Is that a 2013?” “Nice truck! Is it new?” Um…. No. Its not new. I bought it with 113,000 miles on it and it’s a 2008 Silverado 2500HD with a Duramax Diesel and Allison transmission. I put on some airbags myself for added support, brake controller, and the fifth wheel hitch. Today we crossed the 1700 mile mark for our trip and we did some serious climbing. Up, down, around, up again, turn the corner, transmission brake going down. The truck just kept taking it. My transmission got hotter than I’ve seen it at 195. But according Allison I have till 270 to get worried.
Boys will look at anything you ask them to and then some if you give them a pair of binoculars. They look at the hills. They turn around and look at the truck. The turn and look at each other. You want to keep your kids entertained, give them some binoculars.
Route: Kennebec, SD to Custer, SD via Badlands Loop Road
You can get ready in a hurry. We woke up around 6AM, looked at the weather, and saw a line of storms headed our way. It was a mad dash to hookup and get out before getting drenched.
Us easterners don’t see too many windmill farms. We went crazy! There were windmills everywhere! And as far as the eye could see. We rolled down the windows and took at least 50 pictures. To the left. To the right. In front of you. Across the horizon. Minnesota loves its windmills. And that was just the first farm we saw. You could tell we were from out of town.
Minnesota may love their windmills, but they hate their roads. At first it was pleasant, then it got hellish. I’d have to rank them down in the pits with Ohio. I would have loved to pay a toll to clean that mess up.
There is some beautiful country out there. First, Wisconsin. If you imagine Wisconsin as the stereotypical rolling green hills with red barns, well you are right. I told Jennifer that I hate the fact that a few years from now my mind will forget what I’m looking at. Then we were into Minnesota. More beauty. Especially when you cross the Mississippi River and climb up out onto its plains. More rolling hills and country. South Dakota was a surprise. Yes it’s flat. But nothing I’ve seen is just straight flat. Everything has a little bit of up and down to it. But after you cross the Missouri River it completely changes. You would think you were in Ireland with all of this short stumpy hills surrounding you, green with grass.
Its not a good thing when your GPS alerts you to tornado warnings. Tornado? The sky is blue? What in the world could it be talking about. But one look at our weather app and we knew we were in for some rough stuff. We tried to outrun it, but to no avail. Ended up pulling over for a bit. Then pushed through to Mitchell, SD. Which brings me to the next thing I learned.
We miss Culver’s! In Texas, Jennifer and I learned about this Wisconsin restaurant called Culver’s. It is the home of the ButterBurger. Yes, of course it is completely healthy. And they have AMAZING custard – maybe my favorite.
Wind is a drag. Literally. I learned over spring break from my Step-dad that by slowing from 70 to 65, I will cut down on drag and gain some fuel mileage. That tip got me from 9.5 mpg to 11.5. Not too shabby. I also didn’t force myself to keep speed going up hills and let the truck do what it needed to. So far I’ve been pulling 11.5ish mpg’s. Today, not so much. A 15 mile per hour headwind was the equivalent of going 80 all day. At one point while trying to outrun the storm, I looked down at had 8.8. BLAH! Can’t wait to see the number when I’m heading back east! I felt all day that we would top the hill and see the birthplace of all wind.
You can watch Lifepoint anywhere! We caught our Sunday service this morning somewhere around the Illinois and Minnesota border!
I think how I will approach each day is simply a random list of what I learned.
Starting off at the top of the heap, I would like to congratulate Pennsylvania on actually doing something with the tolls they collected from me. Their road wins the prize, if there was ever one to give out. Dead last, at the bottom of the barrel, equivalent to driving on the surface of the moon, would be Ohio. I really feel like asking for my money back because that was rough. Indiana was pretty bad as well. But nothing, I mean nothing, can compete with the bone-jarring status of the Ohio Turnpike. It just hurt.
You know those windmills that are supposed to generate power that you hear about on the news. Well they are big… like huge. They look other-wordly in their size.
Pennsylvania is mountainous. I would have to say I felt like I was in the perpetual state of climbing today. And I never felt rewarded with enough descents. Just up, up, up, and up some more. I did learn that the Allegheny Mountain tunnel is a wormhole. When you enter, life is all bright and sunny. When you exit out the other side, you literally have entered a new climate.
I hate toll roads. And I think service plazas are a racket. But at about the 2nd stop I was beginning to like the fact that I didn’t have to fuel up, find food, and find my beloved Starbucks at different spots. Nope. All right there for the taking.
Chicago is big. And Chicago has a lot of people. Most of which are very inconsiderate drivers, taking into account that driving this rig isn’t like stopping a Yaris. I could only imagine myself, if I happened to rear-end someone, not letting off the gas just for spite. Then I realize I can’t just be Jesus to people in Fredericksburg. I have to be Jesus to people everywhere. They are fortunate. Another thing about Chicago is that driving up to, through, and out of is just plain – not sure how to phrase this – ugly. I’ve been in Chicago and love the downtown area. But outside, it looks like a scene from ‘I Am Legend.’
The boys are great travelers. You just have to have snacks, license plate bingo, books, more snacks, an endless supply of wet wipes and patience, movies, a good play list, and more snacks. They enjoy seeing all of the new sites. I am reminded that practically everything they see is new to them. That alone is worth the trip.
All of the trip today it has snowed. We couldn’t figure it out until the host here at the campground said it from cottonwood trees. I have heard of cottonwood trees and read about them in my Roosevelt biographies. But the white cotton coating the grass is something to behold.
Sabbatical. It does roll off the tongue a bit funny. Though it is a funny word, it means a lot to me. At Lifepoint Church, even though we work very hard, we play very hard, and we talk a lot about Sabbath rest among the staff and even through volunteer ranks. We want that for our people. We strive for it. We may not be perfect in achieving Sabbath rest. But it is built into the need of every human body as God designed it, and we choose to obey him, and ask for forgiveness when we slip. As I have told people about what I am about to embark upon, I have had many different responses. Many are bug-eyed at the idea, most likely horrified at the thought of traveling so long. Many are perplexed that I would have a job that would allow such nonsensical rest. And many are excited. My guess is it is something they either did as a child, or have always dreamed of doing. My reaction has been one of gratitude. I am grateful for a Pastor that would invest in me in such a way. I am grateful for a church that loves its leaders. I am grateful for amazing staff and volunteers that even make the idea possible. And I’m grateful for a wife that would even agree to such a crazy idea. Many have asked if I am excited. I say, “as excited as I would be jumping out of a perfectly good airplane with a parachute.” That simply means, yes I’m a mix of excited and scared. I would say the excitement was more in the planning than in the days leading up to today. But leading into this trip, in recent days, I have begin to think a lot about a lot of things. First, will I be able to turn off my mind. The church has done what it can to help me with that. I have a new phone number and I have a new email address. Will I call back and see how things are going. Yes. Lifepoint is in my blood. But the daily engrossment that I’m accustomed to, the running into people out in public, the late phone calls, the early mornings, the genuine concern for all things Lifepoint – what will it look like to lay that down for a time? Will I be able to? Will I go through withdrawals? Second, who will I be at the end of this venture? Six weeks is a long time. It is longer now than it seemed a year ago when I was planning. A one-month sabbatical with two weeks of vacation tacked on is the same length of time I was graded on in school. Six week grade periods. A lot can happen in six weeks. What will God teach me? What will I see? Will I think differently from what I experience? Third, all of the details are a little overwhelming. I am towing a fifth wheel. There is a lot of things in that camper to keep up with. The truck has to stay in good shape. The route is complicated. There are tons of things to do at each stop. But, I find solace in taking it one day at a time. There are a couple of things I have vowed to do. One is not get worked up over things. Things can go wrong. I can’t let that throw me or my family off. But I am happy to say I passed my first test. We had a bulge in one of our tires on the camper before I even left town. No big deal. Kept my cool and had it fixed in under an hour. Two, I want to soak it all in. I believe whole-heartedly that you don’t get a full view of God until you get a full view of His creation. We are his handy-work. But he also created this earth for us to live in and enjoy. And I plan on doing it. Third, connect with my family. Jennifer, Wyatt, Weston, and I are very close. We eat dinner together every night. We pray together every night. We love being together. I’m not naive enough to think those boys will always want to hang around me. But for the next six weeks they will! And they will get to do it without me looking at my phone or checking the internet. They get me uninterrupted. The Details So what in the world am I doing? Crazy stuff. Like driving 6800 miles across country with my wife and two boys, ages six and eight. I will either want to sell my camper when I get back or never get rid of it. I have learned some funny things about fifth-wheels. They first grab attention. I have so many people craning their heads watching it go by in town. Its a beast. One guy was giving me thumbs up in approval. They don’t maneuver well through parking lots. Curbs are the bane of fifth-wheels. They weigh a lot and thus require a lot of diesel. They take a bit of setting up and tearing down. They also have their own ‘wave.’ If harley riders acknowledge each other in passing, so do fifth-wheelers. Now to the order….
Badlands, SD. Just a drive-by. Going to hit the loop on the way to the Black Hills of SD.
Mount Rushmore. Not even a National Park, but going to be great. It is what Wyatt wants to see most.
Yellowstone. Weston is a little concerned this is a supervolcano.
Grand Tetons. Just a drive-by again. But I had to wave to the Tetons
Yosemite.
Sequoia/Kings Canyon. This was my one non-negotiable. I wanted to see the big trees. And I cannot wait.
Grand Canyon. Jennifer wants to make sure they don’t fall off the edge. We’ll also be riding a train on this stop.
Zion. For some crazy reason I was thinking we’d be hiking Angels Landing. Youtube that and see what you think about those possibilities.
Bryce Canyon. Going to ride some mules! Also has some amazing stargazing.
Moab. Here we’ll hit Arches and Canyonlands. The most exciting thing about this stop is a 4×4 trip we have planned.
Dinosaur, CO. Just a pit-stop on the way to the next destination.
Rocky Mount. Last stop till the long drive home.
Stop 1 – June 5, 2016 Made it to Bedford, PA and Friendship Village Campground. I am so glad I chose to go up 29 and 522 through Winchester. It was a beautiful drive. The short bit through West Virginia was gorgeous. Still, I hate the PA turnpike. Glad we won’t be on it long tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a bear. We will be driving between 8-10 hours (before stopping for fuel and food). Needless to say prayers would be great!
If you are stuck next to national park, go visit. Why not make it 13 national parks in 42 days? We ventured up into Big Meadows and got the boys books stamped and devoured some blackberry ice cream. The campground we are staying at is amazing. It is only 5 years old and sits on the Shenandoah River. After 42 days of camping and fishing, we finally caught 3 small mouth bass. Nothing like a little patience.
PICK 
