Greetings from Arizona! I know it's been a long time, and I'm almost embarrassed to update my blog, since I've been so bad at it. We are staying in Southern Arizona for the winter. We did make it back to IN for 2 1/2 weeks over Christmas, with a stop in Chouteou OK to see my grandparents and some other family. Was great to see everyone again!
Jay and I both have a job at the campground we are staying at and we committed to stay till April. I only work in early mornings, so it doesn't interfere with homeschooling. Jay works every day but Sun. and Mon. It's a pretty easy job compared to an RV factory! We've made some good friends here, and have met people from all over the country and Canada.
What I want to do in this post is list all the major places we've been to on our RV road trip, from beginning to end. For those who don't know, we began our journey at the end of May, 2013. If I counted right we've been in 32 states, plus Mexico. As you'll see, we went to a lot of National Parks, Monuments, ect. The children did a lot Jr. Ranger programs at these, and have a whole lot of Badges to show for it. Its been an amazing adventure, and the worst thing we had happen was a few flat tires, which we noticed before any real damage was done. We are so thankful to God for His protection and guidance!
Well, here is where we've been so far:
OHIO ~ Hicksville with family
PENNSYLVANIA ~ Hershey Chocolate Factory, Gettysburg Nat'l Military Park
WEST VIRGINIA ~ Harpers Ferry Nat'l Historical Park
MARYLAND ~ Antietam Nat'l Battlefield
WASHINGTON DC ~ Museums, Memorials, White House, ect.
VIRGINIA ~ Colonial Nat'l History Park in Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg, Sarah Constance Beach, Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Chincoteague Island
DELAWARE ~ drove through
NEW JERSEY ~ camped 1 night
CONNECTICUT ~ drove through
MASSACHUSETTS ~ Salisbury Beach St. Park
MAINE ~ Acadia Nat'l Park
NEW HAMPSHIRE ~ camped 1 night
VERMONT ~ Quechee Gorge St. Park
NEW YORK ~ Ft. Stanwix Nat'l Monument, Adirondack Mountains, Four Mile Creek St. Park, Fort Niagara St. Park, Niagara Falls
INDIANA ~ went back to Middlebury for 2 wks. for camp and to take care of business
ILLINOIS ~ drove through
WISCONSIN ~ camped 1 night
MINNESOTA ~ Walnut Grove, Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum, Lake Shetek St. Park, Pipestone Nat'l Monument
SOUTH DAKOTA ~ Corn Palace, Badlands Nat'l Park, Black Hills NF, Mt. Rushmore Nat'l Memorial, Jewel Cave Nat'l Monument, Custer St. Park
WYOMING ~ Devils Tower Nat'l Monument, Yellowstone Nat'l Park
MONTANA ~ Little Bighorn Nat'l Battlefield, Grant-Kohrs Nat'l Historical Park, Glacier Nat'l Park, Flathead NF, Lolo NF
IDAHO ~ camped for a week in Island Park
WASHINGTON ~ Sequim (at my sister's place), Olypmic Nat'l Park, Dungeness N.W.R., LaPush (west coast), Mt. St. Helens Nat'l Volcanic Monument
OREGON ~ Lewis and Clark Nat'l Historical Park, Along Hwy 101- Cape Perpetua, Jessie M Honeymoon St. Park, Bullards Beach St. Park, Harris Beach St. Park
CALIFORNIA ~ Jedediah Smith St. Park, Klammath, Redwoods Nat'l Park, Yosemite Nat'l Park, Sequoia Nat'l Park, Kaweah River Rec. Area, Death Valley Nat'l Park
NEVADA ~ drove through, but didn't stop in Las Vegas
UTAH ~ Zion Nat'l Park, Quail Creek St. Park, Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park, Red Canyon NF, Arches Nat'l Park, Canyonlands Nat'l Park
COLORADO ~ Mack (Jerry Eichers) Co. Nat'l Monument, James Robb/Co River St. Park, Grand Mesa NF, Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park, Focus on the Family/Whit's End, Garden of the Gods, US Olympic Training Center, Mesa Verde Nat'l Park, Durango, San Juan NF
NEW MEXICO ~ Chaco Culture Nat'l Historical Park, Valley of Fire NRA, Three Rivers Petroglyph NRA, White Sands Nat'l Monument, Lincoln NF, Oliver Lee Memorial St. Park, New Mexico Museum of Space History, Pistachio Tour at Heart of The Desert
ARIZONA ~ Saguaro Nat'l Park, Mt. Lemon, Tombstone, Coronado Nat'l Monument, Organ Pipe Nat'l Monument, Ft Huachuca Museum, Patagonia Lake St. Park
OKLAHOMA ~ Chouteou, to visit family, the on to IN
MISSOURI ~ Springfield, on the way back from IN
MEXICO ~ Puerto Penasco with I6EIGHT missions
Monday, February 10, 2014
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Western RV Trip Update
Greetings from Sequim WA,
I know this post is long over-due. I haven't been doing too well with the blog on the western trip, in part because of poor or no internet connection. I'll try to cover where I left off on my last update. After we left the Black Hills we went To WY and stayed at Dan Gingerichs sister Rose and Ken for a night. Dans had given us their info and encouraged us to stop in. The girls were happy to have a girl to play with (Ken's granddaughter) Jay and James got to help with hay. I thought it was good for them to do some real work again. :-)
We also visited Devils Tower in WY. We then headed for Montana! Our first stop was Little Bighorn Nat'l Battlefield. We the went to a campground a few mi. outside of Yellowstone and stayed there for a week. I think we saw pretty much all the main attractions in Yellowstone. It's a huge park and lot's of driving, but so many neat places to visit. My favorite was the hot springs and geysers. So many of them and they are all different! It's a little crazy seeing water bubbling furiously in a hole in the ground, or steam rolling and water shooting out of the ground. Really makes you wonder what's going on inside the earth.
The guys' favorite was the wildlife. So many elk and buffalo! Also saw black bear, a few wolves, bald eagle, prong horn & deer. We did quite a lot of hiking too. I was a little scared at first to hike in grizzly country. We carried bear spray with us (yes there is such a thing).
After Yellowstone we went to Glacier Nat'l Park, which I can only describe as beautiful! The Going To The Sun road is amazing and the hikes at the top from Logans Pass are the best! You walk among flowers, mountain goats, water falls, snow, and amazing views. The weather is a little crazy though, warm and sunny one moment, windy and rainy the next. We didn't see a lot of wildlife in Glacier till the last day there we went to Many Glacier on the east side of the park. There we saw our first Grizzlies and first bull moose. Also saw a black bear. Was a good ending to our stay at Glacier.
From Glacier we made our way toward Sequim, WA where my sister Mary Ann lives. The children were super excited to see some people they knew. They live in beautiful country with mountains on one side and water on the other. Some of the children learned to water ski while here, and no I did not try it. Janeva especially loves it. We also visited Olympic Nat'l Park and the west coast at LaPush while here.
We've had the best food here! My sis. is an amazing cook, and has made a lot of foods that we rarely eat. They use almost all organic and fresh foods so we've been eating quite healthy. Fresh tuna and salmon is the best!
We are planning to leave today, after being here a wk. and a half. The girls don't think it's been long enough. It will be hard to leave since we very likely won't see any family for a long time! We are traveling south now, with a stop at Mt St. Helens, then along the Oregon coast.
I will try to do better at keeping up my blog. We miss you all! God Bless! Love Ruth and family
YELLOWSTONE PICS
GLACIER PICS
I know this post is long over-due. I haven't been doing too well with the blog on the western trip, in part because of poor or no internet connection. I'll try to cover where I left off on my last update. After we left the Black Hills we went To WY and stayed at Dan Gingerichs sister Rose and Ken for a night. Dans had given us their info and encouraged us to stop in. The girls were happy to have a girl to play with (Ken's granddaughter) Jay and James got to help with hay. I thought it was good for them to do some real work again. :-)
We also visited Devils Tower in WY. We then headed for Montana! Our first stop was Little Bighorn Nat'l Battlefield. We the went to a campground a few mi. outside of Yellowstone and stayed there for a week. I think we saw pretty much all the main attractions in Yellowstone. It's a huge park and lot's of driving, but so many neat places to visit. My favorite was the hot springs and geysers. So many of them and they are all different! It's a little crazy seeing water bubbling furiously in a hole in the ground, or steam rolling and water shooting out of the ground. Really makes you wonder what's going on inside the earth.
The guys' favorite was the wildlife. So many elk and buffalo! Also saw black bear, a few wolves, bald eagle, prong horn & deer. We did quite a lot of hiking too. I was a little scared at first to hike in grizzly country. We carried bear spray with us (yes there is such a thing).
After Yellowstone we went to Glacier Nat'l Park, which I can only describe as beautiful! The Going To The Sun road is amazing and the hikes at the top from Logans Pass are the best! You walk among flowers, mountain goats, water falls, snow, and amazing views. The weather is a little crazy though, warm and sunny one moment, windy and rainy the next. We didn't see a lot of wildlife in Glacier till the last day there we went to Many Glacier on the east side of the park. There we saw our first Grizzlies and first bull moose. Also saw a black bear. Was a good ending to our stay at Glacier.
From Glacier we made our way toward Sequim, WA where my sister Mary Ann lives. The children were super excited to see some people they knew. They live in beautiful country with mountains on one side and water on the other. Some of the children learned to water ski while here, and no I did not try it. Janeva especially loves it. We also visited Olympic Nat'l Park and the west coast at LaPush while here.
We've had the best food here! My sis. is an amazing cook, and has made a lot of foods that we rarely eat. They use almost all organic and fresh foods so we've been eating quite healthy. Fresh tuna and salmon is the best!
We are planning to leave today, after being here a wk. and a half. The girls don't think it's been long enough. It will be hard to leave since we very likely won't see any family for a long time! We are traveling south now, with a stop at Mt St. Helens, then along the Oregon coast.
I will try to do better at keeping up my blog. We miss you all! God Bless! Love Ruth and family
YELLOWSTONE PICS
Friday, July 19, 2013
Western Journey
Hello from the Black Hills of SD,
A week ago today we left Middlebury to begin our Western Journey. It was a little more emotional to leave this time since we knew we very likely won't see our friends and family again for months.
We started our trip in Walnut Grove MN. We happened to be there on 1 of the 3 wk-ends in the year that they have an outdoor Ingalls Drama. The show began at dusk and lasted 2 hrs. It was very good! The next day we visited the Wilder Museum. The girls especially loved it.
On Monday we left our campground and started for SD. We made a few short stops along the way. In MN we stopped at Pipestone Nat'l Monument, which was really quite interesting. In Mitchell SD we made a stop at the Corn Palace. It was very unique. We then drove to just east of the Badlands and dry camped for the nt. The next day we drove the scenic loop in the Badlands. It's an amazing place-beautiful in its own way. The children loved the climbing they could do there.
After the Badlands we drove an hr. and dry camped at Cabelas in Rapid City. It was a great place to shop for Jays Birthday which was the next day. :) Wed. morning we went to a campground in Hermosa SD near the Black Hills, where we are staying till Monday. We visited Mt Rushmore on Wednesday afternoon/eve. Very neat place and was interesting to learn how it came to be. We've discovered that we learn so much at every National Monument/Memorial/ Historical Site. With the videos, visitors centers, and Jr. Ranger programs they are quite educational!
On Thursday we went to Jewel Cave Nat'l Monument. We did the Lantern tour which is quite an adventure! The children thought it was one of the greatest things ever. Its the third longest cave in the world by the way. We had a very interesting tour guide who gave us loads of info about the cave.
Today we want to spend time in Custer State Park in the Black Hills and take some of the scenic roads there. We have already seen lot's of wildlife in the area. LOTS of deer and turkeys, and a few mt. goats and bison. (James is keeping count) And we haven't even taken the Wildlife Loop Rd. yet, which has really been bothering James.
I hope it cools off for you Hoosiers soon. I've heard a few comments about the heat. Makes me rather glad I'm here and not there :-)
God Bless! Until next time, Ruth and Family
A picture with Cornelius
Badlands Nat'l Park
Yes that's Janeva way on top
Yellow Mounds in the Badlands
The Black Hills
Mt. Rushmore! Was so exciting to actually be here!
Couldn't really get any pics of the cave
our only light was lanterns.
Receiving their Jr. Ranger Badges
A week ago today we left Middlebury to begin our Western Journey. It was a little more emotional to leave this time since we knew we very likely won't see our friends and family again for months.
We started our trip in Walnut Grove MN. We happened to be there on 1 of the 3 wk-ends in the year that they have an outdoor Ingalls Drama. The show began at dusk and lasted 2 hrs. It was very good! The next day we visited the Wilder Museum. The girls especially loved it.
On Monday we left our campground and started for SD. We made a few short stops along the way. In MN we stopped at Pipestone Nat'l Monument, which was really quite interesting. In Mitchell SD we made a stop at the Corn Palace. It was very unique. We then drove to just east of the Badlands and dry camped for the nt. The next day we drove the scenic loop in the Badlands. It's an amazing place-beautiful in its own way. The children loved the climbing they could do there.
After the Badlands we drove an hr. and dry camped at Cabelas in Rapid City. It was a great place to shop for Jays Birthday which was the next day. :) Wed. morning we went to a campground in Hermosa SD near the Black Hills, where we are staying till Monday. We visited Mt Rushmore on Wednesday afternoon/eve. Very neat place and was interesting to learn how it came to be. We've discovered that we learn so much at every National Monument/Memorial/ Historical Site. With the videos, visitors centers, and Jr. Ranger programs they are quite educational!
On Thursday we went to Jewel Cave Nat'l Monument. We did the Lantern tour which is quite an adventure! The children thought it was one of the greatest things ever. Its the third longest cave in the world by the way. We had a very interesting tour guide who gave us loads of info about the cave.
Today we want to spend time in Custer State Park in the Black Hills and take some of the scenic roads there. We have already seen lot's of wildlife in the area. LOTS of deer and turkeys, and a few mt. goats and bison. (James is keeping count) And we haven't even taken the Wildlife Loop Rd. yet, which has really been bothering James.
I hope it cools off for you Hoosiers soon. I've heard a few comments about the heat. Makes me rather glad I'm here and not there :-)
God Bless! Until next time, Ruth and Family
our only light was lanterns.
Wilder Museum
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Virginia to Maine
Hello from Maine! Yes we are in Maine- I can hardly believe it myself. We've put on a lot of miles since my last post but boy was it worth it! After we left Jamestown area we spent part of a day at a beach in VA, then we crossed the 20 mile Chesapeake Bay bridge, which was very cool. We stayed at a walmart that night, then visited Chincoteague/ Assateague Island. We were hoping to see large herds of wild ponies up close, but didn't get that lucky. We saw some at a distance though and they were very pretty. The beach at Chincoteague was beautiful! Stayed at a walmart again overnight. I'm yearning for a shower by now!!
We were planning to go to NYC next, but decided to skip that and head for Maine. We traveled most of the day then stopped at Salisbury beach campground in Massachusets and decided to stay for 2 nts cause it was cheap and the beach was great! The kids love the ocean and so do I but I'm still peeling from the sunburn I got at the first beach. What was I thinking, not wearing sunscreen?? On Monday morn we left for Acadia National Park in Maine and arrived at our campground around 1:00. We all fell in love with Acadia! It's a beautiful place and am so glad we came. We did a lot of hiking. We hiked a mile and a half all the way to the top of a mountain the first day. The veiws are amazing! We also visited all the neat places like Thunder Hole, Bubble Rock, Sand Beach and more. The weather has been super, no rain while we've been here. It gets cool in the nts though. We turned on the heat the last 2 mornings when we got up, as it was in the lower 60s in here.
This afternoon we are driving for a while then will very likely stop at- yes, walmart again. We're heading towards New Hamshire and Vermont, then New York, then to Middlebury IN! We want to be home by next Thur. or Fri. It'll be so good to go to Griner Church again!!!
A little taste of Acadia.
Bubble Rock
Chincoteague Island
We were planning to go to NYC next, but decided to skip that and head for Maine. We traveled most of the day then stopped at Salisbury beach campground in Massachusets and decided to stay for 2 nts cause it was cheap and the beach was great! The kids love the ocean and so do I but I'm still peeling from the sunburn I got at the first beach. What was I thinking, not wearing sunscreen?? On Monday morn we left for Acadia National Park in Maine and arrived at our campground around 1:00. We all fell in love with Acadia! It's a beautiful place and am so glad we came. We did a lot of hiking. We hiked a mile and a half all the way to the top of a mountain the first day. The veiws are amazing! We also visited all the neat places like Thunder Hole, Bubble Rock, Sand Beach and more. The weather has been super, no rain while we've been here. It gets cool in the nts though. We turned on the heat the last 2 mornings when we got up, as it was in the lower 60s in here.
This afternoon we are driving for a while then will very likely stop at- yes, walmart again. We're heading towards New Hamshire and Vermont, then New York, then to Middlebury IN! We want to be home by next Thur. or Fri. It'll be so good to go to Griner Church again!!!
A little taste of Acadia.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Eastern Journey So Far
Hello From Virginia!
I'm finally at a comfortable place where I can get wifi, so I'll start at the beginning of this journey. We left Middlebury around noon of Wed. June 5, and drove a few hours and had a flat on our RV. (highlight of our trip!). Got that taken care of and drove into the nt. till we were a few hrs from Hershey PA. We boon-docked at Walmart next to a few other campers. In the morning we met the one family and discovered they are full time rvers/roadschoolers also. They had three children- a girl Julianne's age. We are now
e-mailing back and forth.
We visited Hershey Chocolate World and Gettysburg on the 6th, then drove to Brunswick MD to a campground, where we stayed for 4 nts. While there we visited DC, Antietam Nat'l Battlefield, and Harpers Ferry, WV. On Monday morning we left Brunswick and headed to Williamsburg VA. We are staying at Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center for 3 nts. (a very nice and quiet campground) Today we visited Jamestown, which was very interesting! Tomorrow we want to Visit Yorktown and Colonial Williamsburg. I've taken a lot of pictures and will try to put some on here.
This new way of life is different, and I wont lie- I've shed a few tears cause I missed my home, but I feel like I'm finally getting comfortable with it, and the camper feels like home. As long as all goes well, and we have no more flats, I think I can handle this life. Pray for us! God Bless!
DC
Friday, June 7, 2013
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