It’s crazy to think that we’ve been on the road for 3 entire weeks, as of today. So far we’ve travelled about 9,000 km and by the time we make it home we should be close to 10,000 km.
We left the Pendleton KOA just after 9am and we were headed for Grand Mound, Washington. We planned to wrap up our trip with a night at the Great Wolf Lodge.
As we left Pendleton, we had crazy headwinds and lots of clouds but as we carried on towards Portland, the clouds burned off but the wind intensified
We drove along the Columbia River and noticed the incredible rock formations along the river; Jon and I pointed them out to the boys as looking fascinating and wondering what they were.
Jude pipes up from the back seat and nonchalantly says, “Oh that’s basalt.”
What??? So I google and sure enough the Columbia River Basalt Group is what we were looking at. Basalt is a dark, fine-grained volcanic rock that sometimes displays a columnar structure. (According to Wikipedia)
How did Jude know that?
Gaming.
Apparently, Basalt is a type of rock found in more than one game that he plays. It’s been incredible to have this time together. There is so much that both boys have shared that I had no idea that they knew and lots of the information is stuff that I didn’t even know.
Click to see the whole photo
One of the sights I have loved seeing is the graffiti on the different train cars. We saw a surprising number of trains on our travels. I took these two photos yesterday but these are not even remotely the most complicated nor the most colourful tags we saw. There are some incredibly talented artists out there playing with shapes and colours in stunning ways.
We made it to the Great Wolf Lodge around 3:30pm and were able to check in a little early as our room was ready. The boys were thrilled to have a real bed, decent wifi and to go crashing in the wave pool. I only got 2 photos of our time in water park. We were just too busy having fun.
Jon and Siah went on a water slide that free fall dropped them down a chute; and they said it was AWESOME!
This was a great ending to a fabulous trip. We have one more day of driving to get home. It’s exciting and sad that our trip is over. I kind of love the duality of life. That we can hold space for conflicting emotions and that it’s okay to be both happy and sad in regard to the same event.
We left Sand Dune arch and walked towards Broken Arch.
It was quite a bit further than any of the walks we’d done up till now and if Siah wasn’t hobbling, it wouldn’t have been an issue at all.
It wasn’t a difficult walk. Mostly sandy pathways. Sometimes there was hard rock or loose shale.
There were times when you had to climb up the jagged rocks or down over smoothed out formations but nothing terribly difficult.
I was wearing my Birkenstock sandals and had no issues navigating anywhere I wanted to go.
There were all these little holes in the ground. I’m guessing some kind of prairie dog or gopher.
The guys were pretty pumped that there was a campground in the park and if it weren’t close to 6pm at this point, we may have gone and investigated.
It took about 10-15 minutes of meandering to get to Broken Arch. Jon took this panoramic shot from a bluff just above the small canyon that sits below the Arch. Fantastic, isn’t it?
The boys were in heaven. Climbing and taking photos. Chattering at each other and finding new, interesting things to show each other and us.
It was a bit of a climb up to Broken Arch and I didn’t feel like making it so I hung out in the little canyon while Jon and the boys explored.
The way the water and wind has worn down parts of the earth is fascinating and gorgeous.
You could spend days here and keep finding new things to be in awe of. I’m SO glad it worked out that we were able to visit.
Through the arch there is a loop that leads to another arch but it was getting later, boys were tired, Siah’s leg hurt, there was an impending bathroom break and we decided to head back the way we came.
The sensory aspect of the sand was just too fabulous and so our walk back took longer than expected.
The colors and shapes of the plants always captures my attention This trip has been absolutely filled with beautiful plants and wildflowers.
We got back to our vehicle and drove through the rest of the park.
I have so many more photos that I haven’t shared but will definitely be in a photo book that we will treasure forever. One of my favourite moments was when Jude said, “This is going to be a cherished memory when we get back to Canada. It’s definitely a core memory.”
I love it when he shares his thoughts and feelings with us. We slowly drove out of the park and back into the city of Moab. We stopped at a grocery store to grab a few things and then we headed back to our campsite.
I put the groceries away and made some dinner while the boys went swimming and Jon did a load of laundry. It was a nice relaxing end to an incredible day.
Even when just driving from station to station within the Park the views are incredible.
We pulled into the parking lot and we’re greeted by this stunning view.
To gain some perspective, Jon got this picture of Siah standing at the base of this giant.
Inside of this landform is Sand Dune Arch. It was my favourite experience of the park. We walked towards this landform on a gravel path.
You see a narrow space in between the columns and with no idea what you’re walking into, you head inside.
The pathway in, is squishy and awkward. The ground is slightly sloped and there’s sand on top of hardened rock and you really should use both hands to steady yourself as you slip through the opening into the magical world inside.
The temperature drops a few degrees and the wind is cool and blows steady against you. The pathway opens up into this quiet space that feels sacred. It’s awe inspiring.
The sand is cool and powdery soft. It’s a sensory delight. You kind of want to lay down and just soak it all in. I know that sounds weird but it was amazing.
The first space widens into an open sky chamber and you can hear your voice echo slightly as you call out to each other. I had the most incredible urge to sing. To join my voice with sounds and beings that have gone before and are here now, in gratitude for this incredible wonder.
As the walls narrow to lead you into the next chamber , the strength of the wind blowing through and against you, increases. It reminded me of the times when life seems narrow and restricted and the things coming at you seem to intensify. If you can press on and press through, you just don’t know what will open up for you; or what wonders you are about to step in to.
The space opened up and revealed wonders that aren’t visible from the outside. It’s only when you press in, that you get to see the beauty that’s here and available, if you’re willing.
There were other visitors in the area with us and although everyone was quiet and respectful; I wished I could have had a moment alone in this place. To just sit down and be quiet and BE in this place.
As you carry on passed the arch, the crevasse gets smaller and smaller.
Siah squished in as far as he could go. Silly boy. It’s amazing to see how happy the boys were; no screens, no devices, just nature.
We stayed for a while longer but then headed out to go and see Broken Arch.
I’m gonna break this up into one more post. We got a lot of pictures from our hike towards Broken Arch; and it’s easier than creating a super long extended post.
We drove into the park and up and up and up. When we entered the park, we were given a map. It’s a huge park. HUGE! You could easy spend days here and not be disappointed or bored.
Our first stop was at the La Sal Mountains Viewpoint. We pulled off to the viewing area and parked.
There are so many pictures that we took and I honestly don’t even know how to narrow them down.
This is just the first viewpoint that we stopped at and there is so much more.
We got back in the car and carried on until we came to this formation called “The Organ”
The photo doesn’t do this justice. We took a video and it’s incredible and even then, still doesn’t translate.
We drove past The Great Wall and the Petrified Dunes and headed to Balanced Rock because the boys were desperate to get out of the vehicle and walk around.
There was a short easy walk around the base of Balanced Rock and we started with that.
It started out on a cement path and progressed to more of a trampled pathway through the the sand and brush.
It doesn’t matter which way you turn or what you look at; the colors, the shapes, the textures – everything is so incredibly gorgeous!
Even dead trees are gorgeous.
Look, it’s true! I really was here!
Siah twisted his ankle while monkeying around Balanced Rock. He probably should have quit at that point but he kept going. We packed back into the truck and headed to the Lower and Upper Delicate Arch Viewpoints. I believed that the hike to the actual Delicate Arch would be too much for Siah’s ankle.
Quartz on a rock on the pathway up
The Lower Viewpoint was nothing and both boys swore they could make the Upper Viewpoint, although they seemed quite happy to stop about 3/4’s of the way up the path. It’s a decent incline on a sandy, rocky path.
Delicate Arch from the Upper Viewpoint
After we made it back down the path and to our truck; we headed to the Fiery Furnace Viewpoint to use the toilets and from there we headed to see the Sand Dune Arch and planned to do the circuit of Broken Arch and Tapestry Arch.
I’m going to split this into another part because otherwise it’s going to be just too long……to be continued!
One of our propane tanks ran out in the night and it was really cold last night. Jon got up this morning and switched tanks and the heater came back on and all was right in our world. We made coffee, ate breakfast, packed up the Trailer for travel and hit the road right on schedule at 10am.
We left Farmington, New Mexico and headed towards Colorado. It was a beautiful sunny day but not warm.
It was a short trip through the bottom corner of Colorado and into Utah.
The closer we got to Moab the more incredible the landscape got.
Mesa’s, plateaus, faults, arches…..so many incredible sights to see and we weren’t even at Moab or in the Arches National Park.
It’s awe inspiring, surreal and a little bit overwhelming – to be honest.
We pulled into a rest area and the boys jumped out to explore a little. It was so fun to see them so excited about this part of our adventure.
The colors are gorgeous. The oranges, greens, browns and all the shades in between; contrasted with the blue sky, yellow and purple wildflowers. It’s amazing.
We pulled into the Moab KOA around 1:30pm. It was just after 2pm when we got set up in our designated spot.
We were about half an hour away from Arches National Park and our timed reservation entry was for 3pm. We headed out to grab some lunch before we hit the park.
There was a Mobile Drive-Thru Taco Time on the way so we stopped there. I have never seen one of those before; but the food was as expected.
We drove through the city of Moab on our way to the park and it is SO cute. It kind of feels like the old west, the 70’s and Whistler had a baby. Kinda old, kinda yuppie and just a whole lotta cute!
We pulled up to the park and there was a short line up but we moved through it pretty quickly and soon we were headed into the Park.
We woke up this morning expecting a thunderstorm to blow through during the day and sure enough, the sky was grey and cloudy.
We moved a lot slower in the morning than I had expected. Siah really enjoyed the spicy Jimmy Dean sausage that we had at Xani’s and we had bought some more. Jon made eggs and sausage for us, for breakfast.
Siah was pretty happy and really, it was pretty delicious.
We tidied up and headed into New Orleans and down to the French Quarter. It’s just about an hour away from Bay St. Louis.
We drove across Lake Ponchartrain and planned to come back over the Ponchartrain Causeway. It was pretty grey and definitely felt like it was gonna rain although it was holding off.
The Ponchartrain
Driving into New Orleans was fun as Jon shared memories of where they lived when Pastor Charles Green brought them back from Indonesia and pointed out where the church was.
Driving down into the French Quarter was amazing. The trees hanging way out over the roads and the colourful houses with their offsetting colourful window shutters. The wrought iron balconies are gorgeous too. There is stunning graffiti art all over and it’s just a riot of color and creativity.
We found a parking spot right on Decatur Street about a block away from the Cafe Du Monde.
The boys were a little overwhelmed with the smells and sounds and the sheer number of people around; but it sounded and felt like excitement and anticipation and creativity to me. Smelled like weed and BO!
We found the line up for the sit down part of the Cafe and it wasn’t very long at all. So we queued up.
Jude is happier then he looks, I promise. It’s hard to catch a smiling picture of him. He pointed out this artist sitting on the bench beside us. Look at the saturation of color on his pages. It’s incredible.
While we waited a few light drops of rain started to fall and Jon ran back to the truck to grab an umbrella. He came back just before they seated us.
There was an incredible busker serenading the line up with his Karoke machine. He was joined by a gentleman dancing along. The dancer definitely looked down on his luck but he had the kindest smile and eyes!
We were seated in the cafe and our waiter came over to get our order.
We ordered 3 orders of Beignets, 2 Cafe au Lait and 2 Sprites. As soon as we ordered, the heavens opened up and the floods came.
The Thunderstorm that we had been expecting arrived with a bang. A lot of bangs. There was thunder and lightening and SO MUCH RAIN. It was awesome!
You can see the sheets of rain in the above video. And even though it’s pouring and storming, it’s warm. When the rain started all the people that had been in the streets and parks moved into the covered sidewalks and it got even more crowded, loud and pungent. The beignets and cafe au lait was delicious and the boys would have ordered another 3 orders if we said yes.
We stopped in a few of the stores along the way back to the truck. We had planned to walk through the Market but when we got back to our truck, the boys were done and just wanted to head back to the trailer.
Our boys do so well travelling but we must adjust our wants to accommodate their needs and that often means cutting our plans short. So we hold plans loosely so as not to be disappointed and even then, it can be frustrating and disappointing to want to see or do something and not get to but going to an emotional breaking point is not worth any “attempt” to “make a memory”.
We headed back to Bay St Louis and seeing as both boys were on the edge of meltdowns we didn’t go over the Ponchartrain Causeway as it added an extra hour to the trip. We also did not communicate that well enough and the lack of communication did trigger a meltdown. That’s hard. It’s really hard. It was just the last straw that an “already at his breaking point” kid reached!
Part of the stress was mounting internal pressure of undone schoolwork, so we found a McDonalds with wifi and the boys did some school while I shopped at Walmart for a few groceries for the trailer.
The battery in Siah’s computer died and the Walmart McDonald’s didn’t have plugs available for customers. He wasn’t quite finished so I finished shopping quickly and we headed to a different McDonald’s that did have outlets.
We headed back to the trailer and the storm had settled some.
Siah wanted to go back in the water. Jude wanted to try fishing again and I wanted to tidy the trailer and take a shower if possible.
So Siah went in the water. It was quite a bit colder than the previous day, thanks to the storm so that didn’t last long and he was actually the first to try out the shower!
Jon took Jude to a pier down the road to try and catch a fish one last time. They had no luck but it’s still fun though.
They came back to the trailer and Jon and I both made it through the shower although it’s more of a bird bath situation and less of a luxurious relaxing experience but clean hair and parts are worth it.
After showers, we made hot chocolate for the boys and I had a tea.
There are times when things feel more peaceful and normal and other times when it just feels more chaotic than anything. I really love peace and calm.
The boys chattered and played together before bed and Jon chilled and it was such a nice evening. We are up bright and early tomorrow headed to Texas to see family and friends. It gonna be another great day of travel and I’m so thankful that we had this special time to see where Jon grew up and to see first hand things, places and people that he’s talked about for years.
I dropped off this sweet boy at preschool this afternoon.
He’s been so excited since we started talking about it back in November. He was thrilled to be going…….all the way up to the moment that we turned around, after putting on his inside shoes and hanging up his coat and backpack.
The next step was circle time on the carpet with all the other kids……..and he was all of the sudden not so sure about the whole situation.
But, he was desperate to play with a magnifying glass that he saw in a box and I told him he couldn’t, unless he did circle time first.
PHEW!
I’m positive that he will do fine and I know that he will LOVE the 2+ hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He loves going to “class” at church and this will be just as fun, if not even more.
I skiffed outta there and now I’m sitting in Starbucks waiting to go and pick him up.
I pick him up in just a little bit, but he’s with his cousin and the two of them should stir up some fabulous excitement for the teachers. They can be quite the monkeys, if they want to…..or maybe I should say seagulls???? Ha Ha!
It’s a bit weird. Dropping him off. It’s been such a crazy few years and I don’t really feel like I’ve had too many moments to catch my breath, but hopefully, this New Year and this New Season will have a few of those moments in them.
It’s nice when the quiet moments are available and it’s not that you have to force them into being.
Is there anything new happening for you in this new year or is there a new season starting in your life? I’d love to hear about it.
Wasn’t planning on it, but it just turned out that way. Life has been so busy and it doesn’t really show signs of slowing down any time soon.
Today was our first day back at school for all 4 of the bigger kids. Geli’s in Grade 10. Xani’s in Grade 9. Jeremy started Grade 7 and Josiah started Kindergarten. Judah doesn’t want to get left out of anything and so….well, he just joined right in with us. (Forgot to get the girls pics….will have to do it when they get home today….oooops!)
Siah wasn’t exactly thrilled to have his “first day of Kindergarten” picture taken. Just keeping it real, people. Just keeping it real!
Once I let him go back inside and get his DSi…..which is what he wanted. I was able to grab this shot where at least, he is looking in the general direction of the camera and sort of smiling.
As far as first day’s go…..I think today was a pretty good one.
Jeremy did a great job reviewing some of his last years stuff and we ploughed through a ton of stuff with Josiah. I can’t wait for a few months to be able to see how far he’s come. We’ve got a fairly hefty reward incentive thingy with stickers and a goody box and all that jazz going on……in an effort to convince him to “stay focused on the actual activity at hand”, and I’m really hoping that soon we will be able to phase that out or mostly out.
Not surprisingly, Jeremy is quite nervous about what he may or may not remember and so I’m planning on doing a bit of review this week to “prove to him” that he is actually as smart and competent as I say he is.
We did manage to get out for a “Recess” and took a walk along the trails by our house. We picked a(nother) full tray of blackberries to freeze. (Jeremy will eat frozen berries like they are candy and so I’m saving up as many as I can get my hands on.)
We made it to lunch time, made it through lunch and now that the baby is sleeping, we are about to start a section of Arts and Crafts…..I think we are gonna do some leaf rubbings. Jeremy picked some up on our walk……We’ll talk about seasons and the leaves changing colors and falling….and it will all tie into Josiah’s Science Lesson for the day.
I am hoping that I’ll be able to carve out a little more time for myself now that we are back into a “routine”. I am really throwing that word around lightly here, but I’m confident that we will get there…..right? Positive thoughts! Positive thoughts!
How was YOUR summer? I’ll get to mine in the next few posts or so…
How has your September started off? Busy? Regular? Quiet? Slow?
How I wish mine was quiet and slow……how I wish!!!!
I’m laughing right now, because the other option is crying and well………I just need to laugh instead.
This is SO ridiculous. Like you wouldn’t even believe it…..I mean, maybe you might, but seriously….I almost can’t even believe it and I’m living it.
Judah had diarrhea for most of the day yesterday and yesterday evening, I went to change yet another diaper and……..found a worm.
No, I don’t mean one of those squishy, squirmy earthworms….I mean a PARASITE!
And it was still moving. *let me throw up a little in my mouth here*
So I freaked, I panicked and then I pulled out my Google medical degree and got to work because it was after hours…..of course it was after hours….you think this would actually happen WHILE my doctor was in the office…..no, of course not.
I don’t even know where to go from here – storywise, I mean….
I read. I read a MILLION articles. Determined that these little wrigglers living in my son’s gut and diaper were pinworms or threadworms…..same thing. and that they are extremely common……like 4 out of 10 kids have ’em. YUCK!!!!!
Changed another few diapers (I already mentioned diarrhea, eh?) and found a few more worms…….DOUBLE YUCK!!!!
Judah’s been sleeping really poorly the last few nights and waking up crying and saying ouch and squirming around fussing at his butt and more than a few of the articles talked about “your normally angelica child becoming irritable and fussy for no apparent reason” while I wouldn’t give him angelic, he’s definitely been WAY fussier in the last few days than normal. Coupled with the lack of sleeping, appetite that’s been off, and lets not forget about the ACTUAL WORMS!!!!!! TRIPLE YUCK! It’s pretty safe to say that he (and by extension, there is a good chance that at least the majority of the rest of us) has worms.
While I would have much rather talked with my Naturopath and gotten some natural parasite killer….would ou belive that her offices are closed on Wednesday….ya when did we find the worms….ya that’s right…on TUESDAY EVENING…after her offices were closed too. Unreal. So rather than waiting for a few more days…..Jon went to Shopper’s Drug Mart and talked to the pharmacist. She showed us this medicine – Combantrin
One dose will kill the worms currently living inside of you. And then you need to take another dose in two weeks to kill any more worms that grew from the eggs that you still had or that you picked up from within the house…
Apparently the home protocol is very similar to the home lice protocol and in fact, apparently, these little guys are WAY easier to eradicate than lice are. Which I guess, if I’m looking for silver linings….I guess that I’m glad we have pinworms and not lice…..if I can even wrap my head around such a statement.
And so, the de-worming has already begun…..meds have been taken and I am currently on a rampage against the little wormies…..that just sounded wrong. Almost cute and in my mind, this is anything but a cute situation.
Please reassure me that you or someone you know has gone through this and that I’m not the only one. Supposedly this is not an indication of poor hygiene, just like lice are not a reflection on poor hygiene. I can read that and know in my head that it supposed to be true, but BOY OH BOY…..am I ever struggling. …
I didn’t need this right now. Not that anyone ever needs this….but seriously…..this is not exactly reducing the stress load in my life.
So, what say you…….say something…please (yes, I’m begging)
Saturday morning, I was up bright and early after about 3 hours of sleep. Geli and I got ready and then took off for the school.
Putting Labels on the Night Before
We got there just after 8:30am and it was scheduled to start at 9:30am.
We found our table and got everything set up.
I was so nervous and ended up texting Jon that I felt like I was going to be sick. I know that it was ridiculous, but…..it is what it is.
The Craft Fair opened its doors and people started to come in.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but people came……some walked by and some stopped and bought and some didn’t……..and it’s all okay!
It was AMAZING to have a few of you come up and introduce yourselves. It was SO nice to put names to faces.
Probably my favorite moments of the day were when I had people come up and mention that they had problems with their skin and then they tried some of the Simple Beauty Products. To have them mention how amazing the products felt or how they didn’t hurt or burn their skin like some other creams and lotions have, and how they noticed that they felt “better” even after just a few minutes……that was my favorite part. It felt wonderful to be able to have these products that could help other people. I know how they have helped in our family; and to be able to share that…….AMAZING!
If you are interested in checking out what products there are, just click here on the link, and it will take you straight there.
