Baby Scully

Santa!

2011-12-04T15:25:00.000-05:00

'The Big Guy'

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Christmas Walk

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STRETCH!

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On Jack, on James!

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This one, Mom!

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Light the Lights!

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Success!

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Scully Eye Close

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Oops

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Almost

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Pre-K Halloween Songs

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Pre-K Halloween Songs

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Pre-K Halloween Songs

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The Old Mares

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And they're OFF!

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Pink Pony Julia takes an early lead but Boy in Blue Pinto would pass everyone at the end to defend his stick pony championship.

Fast Start!

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Hickory, in the yellow, takes the lead in the flats!

Blue Ribbon

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You can almost smell

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The delicious (fill in the blank) coming from this kitchen!

What do you mean?

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I can't tap dance on this?!

Kitchen Countertops

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Kitchen Cabinets

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Moving right along, but it sure feels nice to see it come together!

Build the house, around this sink!

2011-09-18T20:18:00.000-04:00

Those were one of our first requests. Finally- its in! Of course, the finisher told us that he may never put another apron sink in again after this one....

Northeast Corner

2011-09-18T20:17:00.000-04:00

The fridge will sit to the right of the panel. Recessed light above the corner cabinet.

Sweet Doors

2011-09-18T20:16:00.000-04:00

This is the 3 panel, pantry door. The sliding closet and all interior doors match.

Already?

2011-09-14T06:27:00.000-04:00

With a wave and a smile, the boys headed off to school.

School Boys

2011-09-14T06:25:00.001-04:00

Hittin the road for the first day of school!

Painted Walls

2011-09-14T06:25:00.000-04:00

Frank 'The Painter' is movin right along. We'll see how he does on the 22 foot high foyer.

Tile Floor

2011-09-14T06:24:00.000-04:00

On the left: Kitchen Pantry and coat closet. On the right: 1/2 bath and laundry room.
Looking WEST

Fun Runners

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Peach Festival Buddies

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Front Porch

2011-09-14T06:22:00.000-04:00

Sorry, its been awhile! The front porch is done! Just a second coat of paint on the posts and some house numbers to go!

Front Porch Posts

2011-09-01T21:58:00.000-04:00

No more 2x4's propping up the porch! These are made with some really heavy duty plastic, that look like wood. Lightweight, strong and they WON'T ROT!

The railing goes early next week

Kitchen Wall

2011-09-01T21:56:00.000-04:00

Next stop: Cupboards!

Finishing Front Porch

2011-09-01T21:54:00.000-04:00

'So, Jeff, what the heck did you do all day?'
Then we looked up. This looks awesome!

Paint! On the WALLS!

2011-09-01T21:52:00.000-04:00

Frank 'The Painter' has been in. The ceilings are almost entirely painted and the Ivore has been put on the Western walls.

Whoa! A Lunker!

2011-08-27T20:36:00.000-04:00

James could almost fit in the mouth of this largemouth bass! Not bad for a plastic worm in a pond!

Last story hour together

2011-08-27T20:34:00.000-04:00

With Jack going to Pre-K in a few weeks, this is the last time he'll be able to sit in on story hour. Thanks, Mrs. Leardini!

Marineland is the place to go

2011-08-27T20:33:00.000-04:00

Damn that commercial!
The belugas were very interested in the crowds

Tentacle Riders

2011-08-27T20:32:00.000-04:00

After an in depth discussion in the waiting line whether the creature in the middle was an octopus or a squid (between two 4

year olds), Jack and Jackson mounted up and took to the skies

Huck Finn

2011-08-15T22:16:00.001-04:00

A stick and a worm is all James needs to haul in the lunkers

Fishin' Hole

2011-08-15T22:16:00.000-04:00

If you need us, Mom, we're fishin'

Biker babies...

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Fishing Boys

2011-08-14T09:27:00.000-04:00

When in Rome, do as the Romans...

With the new house located right near an irrigation "lake", the boys took advantage to learn to fish. As you can imagine, Mom just watched from the sidelines and took pictures. After several discussions with Jack to not be disappointed if he didn't catch any, wouldn't you know the kid was the first one to catch a sunfish. Later, with a little help from Brian, James was able to reel in a bigger sunfish using a... grape! Who would have guessed they like fruit!

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Jack's Tricks

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Back of the house view

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Jack's bedroom

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James' Bedroom

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Kitchen to Family Room View

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Guest Bedroom

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Master bedroom

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Master closet

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Fried cheese curds and corn

2011-07-24T22:19:00.000-04:00

Day 20

We left Chamberlain a little later than anticipated, but by 830. We headed out of town to wave good bye to the Missouri River and also notice the extreme flooding that has covered quite a bit of the riverside Chamberlain parks. Still. Ungodly amounts of water we have seen on this trip.

We headed down the 90 till we arrived in Mitchell, SD, home of the infamous Corn Palace. As this was my third time seeing the building thoroughly decorated from corn, I must admit, I'm done! The boys found it absolutely enthralling and wanted to pull corn chunks to take home. No thank you, we have enough garbage in the car already!

The remainder of the morning and the afternoon was spent racing over prairie lands that then changed into farmlands, from South Dakota, to Minnesota, to Wisconsin. As Brian made terrific time, I enjoyed reading, The Jumping Off Point, a Newbery winner from around 1930, based in the homesteading times of SD. I enjoyed the book immensely.

Our goal was to make it to the Dells this evening, and we did. How to explain this place to someone who has never been. Miles upon miles of roads stretch through this lake district of Wisconsin, each hotel promoting a bigger and more expansive water park than the next. We knew that the boys have officially fallen in love with water slides, so what more perfect place to stop then the Mecca of all water worlds. The boys were ecstatic, I was not.

We got a great deal on a hotel that had multiple pools inside and out. While the boys madly put on their bathing suits to run out the door, I steeled up my courage and resolve to go into these public pools. It's not the putting on of the swimsuit that I worry, rather the disgusting factor of shared public waters. Just think of the number of children and adults who have passed through that water alone today. Think of the bacteria, the germs, the dirt, Ugh!!! Any normal human bring would know that the hotels juice up the chlorine to the level that removes all color from your bathing suit but is just one step down from burning your retinas, I still think of the grossness factor.

After a quick slide down with Jack, he assured me he was fine to go down on his own. Who was I to argue with? Thank god, I could just sit on the side of the pool. After a quick dinner at Taco Bell (I am so ready for home food) the boys were back to the water again. Here's to hoping they will sleep in late tomorrow morning!

With James asleep, Jack and I tucked in our night eating fried cheese curds in our king size bed. Ahhh, now thats the life in Wisconsin! NOt sure after that treat if I will want to put on my swimsuit tomorrow!

Tomorrow hope for some sunshine as we will stay at the waterpark most of the morning. In the afternoon we a going to head to see Milwaukee Dawn and Joe. Can't wait to see them!

90 East

2011-07-23T22:38:00.000-04:00

Day 19

This afternoon might be the first time that I decided I was ready to be home from vacation. We are all a little hot, exhausted, and sick of driving. As a precautionary tale, when you have driven too long and are way past kids schedules, throw the towel in and don't eat dinner at a restaurant.

We started our day driving down to Mt. Rushmore to see the "faces". The boys wanted to know why they were soooo big. From there we caught onto 16A, otherwise known as the Iron Mountain drive. Both Brian and I remember the winding roadways with views of Mt. Rushmore peeking through selected tunnels along the way when we traveled this road 6 years ago. Sadly, there were no sign of bison anywhere.

After the drive through the woods we tagged back onto Interstate 90, and headed east to Wall, S.D. The ever popular Wall Drugs resides in that town, and the boys enjoyed their free glass of cold water and a yummy donut...they are certainly sweet! Since last being here, they have moved the outside dinosaur and in it's place is a little fun area for the kids. The hitch, most of it requires a quarter here, a quarter there... It all adds up! So we passed

We caught the loop drive 240 to take us into the South Dakota Badlands. Whether you see them first from the east, or at the end of the trip coming from the west, they are no less spectacular. One of my absolute favorite national parks. Out of the prairie grass rise these castle like sand structures in pinks and tans, grays and yellows. Coming later in the summer afforded us the views of the wild sunflowers throughout the park. If you think it sounds amazing, it was! We decided to allow the boys one last gift from the trip, Jack picked a small stuffed pony named Dakota, and James got a stuffed prairie dog, aptly named, prairie daw. (Miss Tammy, we are desperately working on those ending sounds!!).

Ever so wisely we decided to do just one hike so we took the Notch Trail. With 2 kids. 2 very young kids. 2 very active kids. People looked at us like we were nuts. Why you ask? The notch trail scales up the side of one of the badlands hills using a hanging ladder. Once at the top you hike out to a precipice to see the valley below. Most of the upper hike is hanging on the cliff. Yup. We did. We really took the kids. Who could stop them scampering up the ladder. Really truly scampering up a ladder that trips up people decades older than they. I must admit, their climbing skills are a little advanced..too bad the decision making has yet to catch up! In the past we have hiked the badlands in the morning, I now remember why. The afternoon heat was brutal scorching down on us. Thank goodness it wasn't too long of a hike.

With the hike completed, the boys rehydrated, and my picture taking exhausted, we closed up the book on the Western Trip, Summer 2011, National Parks version. We are still 3 days from home and look forward to seeing Milwaukee Dawn come Monday. Truthfully though, we are bordering on exhausted tonight and ready for our own bed. But I guess that is what makes for a great vacation. You turn over every rock, climb every mountain, dig toes in the dirt and splash lake water at each other. You look high up into the sky, outstretch your arms at every top, pull hard at every stroke, trek over snow and rocks, and catch your breath at every sight to see. These memories just can't be matched.

Stay tuned, we will continue the travel blog (of course with less exciting details) until our heels are cooling at 1855 Ridge.

No- DACK!

2011-07-22T22:48:00.000-04:00

Day 18

We left Malta Montana this morning to continue our eastern migration. After traveling on highway 2 for awhile we turned south on highway 13 in Wolf Creek Montana. We stopped at the Albertsons for some donuts as they are always quite delicious from this grocery store chain (we remembered this from our Wyoming days).

We continued over the back country sideroads of blowing prairie grass and rolling hillsides. Here the sky is just massive and truly defines that "big sky" terminology. The clouds just sit suspended up in the air helping the sky to seem even larger to the eye. Every 40 miles there was a little "town", each one smaller than Ransomville. I often say that I would enjoy living out here, but I think eastern Montana may be a little remote for even me. As we drove past Lindsay Montana, just about 30 miles north of Glendive, we later learned one of the largest Mammoths ever discovered was found in this little burb. The area is absolutely teeming with fossils.

About 2 weeks before we left for our trip out west Jack asked me to read from one of Uncle Marky's dinosaur books. As he pulled out this 1970s black and white book, it explained about the dinosaurs of the Hells Creek Formation. Quite fascinated we read through a little bit of the book before bedtime. Once Jack was asleep, I found myself doing a web quest of the topic trying to see if it would fit into our trip.

Until we reached Makoshika (Montana) today, I was searching for Hells Creek, thinking that it alone was a place to find dinosaur fossils. While it is an area in eastern Montana, today I learned that it actually is the Hells creek formation, a layer of sedimentation or stratification from the K-T period (cretaceous) rich with dinosaur fossils. The layer above is a black line of coal, often attributed to Iridium, from a possible meteor that may have struck earth and caused the changes in environment that killed the dinos.

All of this information was discovered at the Makoshika State Park visitors center. Hundreds to thousands of fossils have been found in this area, both from the cretaceous time period and from more recently. After exploring this little area we ate lunch outside. We continued on to the Makoshika Dinosaur Museum (both listed on the Montana Dino trail and in the AAA booklet). Well, the first real disappointment of the trip. Rather... A nothingness and the woman nearly went into appaplexy if the kids got close to any of the "precious" plastic dinosaur exhibits. Ahh well... Only 9 dollars lost.

From Makoshika we headed east over the border into NoDak and into the Teddy Roosevelt National Park. By the way, funny side story. On our way over the border Jack and James were playing a game with their dogs. When James doesn't want Jack to touch his toys he yells at the top of his lungs, "NO DACK". We think he secretly loves this state!

Back to the National Park, better known to folks as the North Dakota Badlands. We took the boys on the circle drive around the park where they excitedly watched the Prairie dogs run between their holes. Jack decided today that he wants to be a prairie dog for Halloween (this was after yesterday he wanted to be a cowboy). Sighhhh.... Not sure how that costume will look. While we got to see the wild ponies running over the prairie grasses, we were only able to see the parks herd of 300 bison from a distance, not up close much to our chagrin.

After a yummy dinner at an ol'time playground in Medora and a bit of shopping for me, we packed up and hit 85 south over the hinterlands of North Dakota and South Dakota. We both remembered this drive from 6 years ago, but sadly, the road has changed as it has become quite trafficked (although still no more buildings on it). We miss the long stretches of quiet nothingness.

Tomorrow we continue our eastward journey by heading through Rapid City, Custer National forest for some bison, Mt. Rushmore and the South Dakota Badlands. My favorite state is awaiting for my arrival home...

Current mileage total: 4960

The evening meltdown from Jack was not really joyous. On the humorous note, James was trying to show his brother to calmly take deep breaths in and out. We all had a good front row smirk over the behavior

Family time

2011-07-22T00:32:00.000-04:00

Day 17

After cleaning out the truck, repacking all our stuff, wrapping up souvenirs, and shoving dirty clothes into plastic bags, we headed out of Glacier. For miles and miles down the road you hug the east side of the park making you feel as though you will not ever let go of the mountains. Then, after Browning, you turn your back to the mountains and head out into the prairie. So long to the mountains, so long to Glacier, so long to cool mountain air. (To all our friends and family at home, we were thinking of you as we put on our fleeces this morning to pack the truck in high 40s...)

The prairies stretched before us as we laid down the pedal and geared forward to Havre (Hav-er) Montana. Over the prairies we sailed past fields of grain and grass. Long stretches we would go on route 2 before we saw civilization, just my kind of drive!

We pulled into Havre at 1pm. Why Havre you ask? Auntie Karen had just flown to Havre to spend a bit of the summer with her fiancé Phil and we wanted to visit with them. Karen met us at 1 and let us into Phil's. We happily unloaded a few of those nasty bags of dirty laundry into a free washing and drying setup. Last load until home! Then we took Karen and headed down the hill to play in a playground for an hour. It was so nice for the boys to get a little time with her as they chased her around the play yard pretending to lock each other up.

We returned back to Phil's in order for me to log on to the internet for my classes through NU. The boys enjoyed watching a Thomas story on Netflix, Brian took my truck to get washed, and Karen and Phil went to precana classes. When they arrived home we all set out for dinner at a wonderful Mexican restaurant. James put us all to shame with his eating abilities. The day ended with a trip over to the Great Northern Fair, here in Havre. Just about double the size of the Peach Festival, we enjoyed strolling around and watching the boys on the rides. With a hug goodbye and sticky kisses delivered from the boys, we packed up and waved out the window, leaving Karen and Phil in Montana.

So here we are now, almost 9pm driving across highway 2 to get a bit further east. Tomorrow, the montana Dino trail and the North Dakota Badlands. We can't wait! This vacation will not end until the last parks been visited!

PictureTime Out

2011-07-21T18:16:00.002-04:00

For those that aren't Facebook connected (do those people still exist?) We're taking a quick pause from daily postings to put a slideshow up of things so far. Sorry if they're not in order or with descriptions but with bootlegged internet, DON'T COMPLAIN!

A red Jammer birthday

2011-07-20T22:25:00.000-04:00

Day 16

Jack's birthday!!

In honor of his special day we decided to do a special hike in to see 2 waterfalls down by the St Marys river. Of course, after last night's storm that went through it was about 38 degrees this morning, very cloudy, and extremely windy. Great hiking weather! We started up and over the going to the sun road and found the trailhead about 12 miles in. The boys suited up with their camel baks and off we headed down the trail. Usually, in good weather, the trail is far more traveled. Today, extremely quiet. Of course, with all the bear postings and knowing that we were hiking right through the forest, I was a bit nervous. Jack of course asked to see a bear on his birthday. Therefore, I can't count the number of times I sang the happy birthday song in order to scare the bears on the trails! We hiked about a mile in and found 2 gorgeous, rushing waterfalls. At both places , my little mountain goats wanted to climb up on the rocks to get a "better view". According to Jack when we found a perfect spot, "mom, this is it, do you see the view from here. Wow. That's just fantastic!". The boys were troopers and hiked both in and out from the waterfalls.

After, we continued the overcast, cloudy, windy going to the sun road. At Logan pass the clouds would race up and over one mountain peak and then barrel down the other side filling up the valleys below. At one point we could barely see 10 feet in front of ourselves. It was some ride! We rolled down the other side and headed for lunch in west glacier.

We decided to take the boys to a little diner. Jack wanted for lunch..... The hot turkey sandwich with a side of cranberry dressing. Seriously? That was NOT on the kids menu!! Jack was wearing his birthday shirt that I made him, so everyone asked him and he enjoyed telling them that today was his special day. I ran out to the gift shop to buy a red jammer ornament and our waitress tracked me down to see if it was okay for the dessert to have a candle in it. Yes please! When dessert arrived, a monster brownie sundae, stuck in the middle was a candle. Jack looked up at me and asked if he got to blow it out. After making his wish, he blew out his candle and the tables nearby clapped. What a perfect moment.

We had promised Jack that he could pick out a toy on his birthday at the gift shop. He has been obsessing over the red jammer buses throughout the
Park and I was able to track down a place to buy them. Of course, in the meantime Jack found this junky helicopter. I told him to keep looking... And low and behold... They found the red jammer buses. Jack squealed in excitement, jumping up and down in the store saying it was his best birthday. He then stopped and looked at me and said, "Jamesy needs to have a red jammer too for my birthday. Let's get him one too. I want him to have one.". I love these two!!

From that glorious moment who could imagine the day getting any better. It did. We continued down highway 2 to Hunting Horse where we found the "the Huckleberry Patch" restaurant, bake shop and chocolate house . Yum. Huckleberry pie with a side of huckleberry ice-cream. Deliciousness on a plate. According to the lady working the counter, huckleberries are so expensive since it takes over 8 hours to pick enough for one pie. Yikes! I am never going to complain about picking again! They have a similar taste to blueberries and have many of the same healthy qualities. Yum. I wish we could grow them in our backyard.

From there, back up and over the going to the sun highway for the last time. We arrived back at the KOA to play on the playground and have a little dinner.

Tomorrow we pack up and for the first time in 2 weeks, we officially begin our turn to the east to head home. Good thing we will be stopping in Havre tomorrow to see Auntie Karen and soon to be Uncle Phil.

Happy Hikers

2011-07-20T19:49:00.000-04:00

Day 15

Ahhh.. A much better night of sleep. Hiking may be the only thing that actually exhausts my children. Hope that holds true for tonight. As for hiking... We certainly had a lot of it today.

We decided to take our time this morning and after a pancake breakfast at the KOA we headed up the route for Many Glaciers. While certainly a part of the Glacier nat'l park, it is north of St.Mary on the eastern side and can also only be reached by one road in and out. As we drove in we picked out a nice gentle hike around Swiftcurrent Lake. We parked at the Many Glaciers Lodge which is only running at half capacity due to improvements being made. Our hike started out around the lake and within moments, the trail sign was reminding of us of the importance in knowing how to deal with bears and how to protect yourself. It suggested bear spray, we had bear bells. The hike which was to be around the lake is almost totally in the woods. I will be honest, I got a little spooked out. Unlike trails in the main center of the park, Many Glaciers is pretty quiet... even greater concern for bears.

While we made about half the trail, we turned around as we wanted to keep the boys in good spirits, and not have to carry them. Upon returning back to the hotel area, we stopped to chat with a lady who was fishing. She told us that the day before there had been a grizzly on the trail and that a different mother grizzly and cubs had been up on the main road that we just traveled on. Big sigh of relief for not finding a bear.... Phew!

The boys were very interested in watching the cruise boat on the lake. While we were not too interested in spending our money that way, I was able to twist Brian 's arm enough to rent a row boat. Donning our orange life vests and and a hunk of banana bread to sustain the boys, I found my old crew skills quite useful as I rowed us out into the lake. In fact, at one point I think we may have passed the cruise boat! We found a little rocky beach to land the boat on and throw stones from. On the way back to the dock, we all had a good laugh when a bunch of guys in a row boat asked for a little bit of help since they couldn't get their boat to move quite as well! Brian was leaning back in our boat with his hands over his hand, quite the life! He joking replied to the men that he just needed to have a wife that had crewed division 1 in college. Haha Brian... It was only novice.

With our return back to shore we decided to head to the next trailhead and eat our lunch before heading out. We arrived to hike Apikuni Falls in Many Glaciers and sat down for our yogurt lunch. The boys again downed 2 containers of yogurt each. I pity our future in about 12 years, I will be TOPS Tony Diminos best customer. The boys suited up with Camel Bak so we could hit the trail. Within the first 50 feet the trail sign was gleaming red. The trail was closed due to high bear activity (and what we later learned to be a carcass on the trail causing the bears to collect). Sad we missed the falls, glad to miss the bears.

The boys were downhearted to not see and feel a waterfall so we picked another hike over in East Glacier Rising Sun area and drove that way. On the way over I fell asleep but the boys met up with an animal jam that was caused by a bear. We hiked down into Baring Falls and then enjoyed some scrambling up hillsides to wear out little boys. Surprisingly we made it back up the trail before they completely passed out in exhaustion. Again, happiness on the trail guaranteed by a stick, rocks, dirt and some spray from a waterfall. These boys are getting predictable!!

With the ominous look of clouds to our west we headed back to the KOA for a quick swim. On the way we were slowed by a ranger who was awaiting backup since a bear cub was in a tree... Right BESIDE us! This park is certainly teeming with bears. Quick science lesson, did you know that bears are 90% herbivores? Interesting tidbit. I don't want to be that 10% though!

Dinner was enjoyed at the same cafe, where the slogan is ...

Pie for strength.

What is this, Aunt Jeanette's war cry?? I think we would all agree

Boys are asleep and we are all excitedly planning some fun for Jack's birthday tomorrow. Can't believe he will be 4, already.

Glorious Glacier!

2011-07-19T00:03:00.000-04:00

Day 14

We reached Glacier today and enjoyed everything from bright, hot sunshine and 85 degree weather to... Snow over 30 feet deep. What a contrast! After a restless night of sleep we gave in around 615 to getting up. We were heading out the door a little after an hour later and at the gate 10 min. after. The visitors center in st. Mary was just opening so maybe that is why they were a bit discombobulated.

From there we jumped on the going to the sun road and headed up into the sky. On the east side of the park they appear to have been struck with a fire in the recent past so their is great burn damage. We drove beside st. Mary lake for quite a while and noticed a few hikes to waterfalls that we may have to try out this week. Sooner than later we started driving up towards the snow covered mountain peaks. The east side does not seem to have had as much damage from the weather this season, so there is far less work being done by construction companies. While you continue to climb, you are hugging the sides of a great big mountain with small waterfalls that stream over the edges of cliffs high above your head. We were very happy to have a moonroof to look up at it all.

As we reached Logan Pass, the snow greatly increased. By greatly, I mean that you are able to see where the bulldozer pulled through cutting into 30 feet of snow. Tractor marks remain and gobs of snow everywhere fill up the sides of the road. We pulled into the Logan Pass visitor center fully aware that they had no working toilets, we had no idea to expect that much snow. The entire restroom area is covered in snow...only the upper visitors center is exposed. The hiking trail we had wanted to take was not available, but a different one was open to snow hiking and skiing. Truthfully! We headed out on the snow plain and continued to slip and slide around until we found a black rubber inner tube the park rangers were using to surround a snow stick.

So, we borrowed it, just for a bit.

We hiked up a little farther with 2 kids and an inner tube in tow. When we reached a point high enough up, we all went sledding! Who would have figured in the middle of July we would be sledding down a hill with tshirts on.

From there we continued down the west side towards Avalanche and Apgar. The boys squealed in excitement as we passed under the weeping wall and water sprayed through our open windows. Too bad it didn't wash down the car.

With everyone exhausting and getting a wee bit miserable, we stopped for lunch in West glacier. We decided we wanted to do the trail of cedars hike which connects to the Avalanche lake trail so we headed 30 min. Back up the road. Just enough time for a brief power nap. A good thing too! The boys ended up hiking half the Avalanche trail until we decided it was just too much for the little boys to continue. So we turned around and home they walked. What made the hiking so delightful you ask? Sticks, puddles, a river and camel baks to drink from. Two extremely happy boys this afternoon.

With the great hike finished, we headed back up and over the going to the sun road and returned to st. Mary. We found a great little dive with veggie/organic foods and delicious pies for Brian to close out the day.

Boys are nearly asleep, tomorrow some kayaking on the river and a hike at Many Glaciers.

Ride 'em, Cowboy!

2011-07-18T23:56:00.000-04:00

Day 13

So we left the Canadian Rockies behind today, such a sad moment. After a wonderful bagel breakfast in Canmore followed by a fill up of groceries we hit the road down highway 1.

After driving for almost 2 hours through the backroads of highway 40 we connected up with highway 22, better known as the cowboy trail. (It shouldn't have taken this long but we had two roadside time outs to deal with from jack.) Southwestern Alberta's past is steeped in the cowboy culture. Rolling prairie lands are found on the east side of highway 22 with the Rockies jutting up on the west side. Let me tell you, those ranchers who came out west must have made it to the Rockies and figured they were too high to get over and continue so they settled in some of the most beautiful land in the world. We stopped by the National historical site of the Bar U Ranch and visited some lovely, albeit a wee bit contrived, historic ranching facilities.

After getting back on the cowboy trail, we continued to the south and then took a few backroads over to Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump. The road should have been called Car Smashed In...as the roads were all gravel and dirt. Although I am not catholic, I do believe I was saying every prayer in the world that my truck would come out unscathed. Fingers crossed...we can't tell with all the dirt and grime.

After the bumpy drive and boys who were ready to tear around, we decided to not go in the interpretive center. Instead, we took the boys on a trail beside the buffalo jump. A buffalo jump was used by the indigenous people to gather large quantities of food. They would move the herds of buffalo on the prairie to these jumps which are actually outcroppings of rock. The buffalo, somewhat confused that the prairie didn't just continue would run right off the edge attempting to escape the oncoming horse and rider. Then, as the buffalo went off the edge of the rock outcropping their bodies would be collected and used for food and clothing from their skins. It is rather amazing to see in person after having read stories and learned lessons from Tuscarora's culture teacher.

From the buffalo jump we headed south on highway 6 to Waterton Peace Park which is actually connected to montana's glacier national park. We found some glorious, very European, looking pictures and then headed out to hike in a nearby canyon. The red rock canyon although having a pleasant hike, is far more interesting for little boys as you can climb around and play in the stream /river coming through the canyon. Boy was that water cold.

After a truck side dinner, thank goodness from the grocery store earlier on today, we packed up for the U.s. Border and Glacier National Park. Can't wait till tomorrow... Going to the Sun Road!

Some Yogurt please?

2011-07-16T23:15:00.001-04:00

Day 12

As not to be outdone yesterday, we had a beautiful day of sightseeing. We opened our morning heading back up the hill to Moraine Lake. The boys were far more compliant this time around. The sun was just breaking over the mountain ridge and beginning to light the sparkle to Moraine Lake. We climbed up the Rockpile in order to get that picture perfect shot. Boy, did we get it, a thousand times over. Even Brian who is often less willing to vocalize his thoughts of splendor, stood speechless and then agreed it was the most beautiful place we had ever visited. The color blue shines more brilliant with every angle you look. It is a different blue than Lake Louise due to the amount of "rock flour" in the water. That's why Lake Louise looks greenish blue. The smell of pine is omnipresent and the sun was shining down warming our backs on this brisk morning. Like I said, this could be my zen. I wonder if I could retire here, tomorrow?

After the glorious moments on top of the rock pile, we all scampered down and decided to start a hike to Consolation Lake. While it was not mandatory, the parks Canada recommends hiking in tight groups of 4, with bear bells since this is grizzly territory. (Trust me, one sign on another trail went as far as to say it was the law and that bear spray was mandatory!!!!). While we did not get very far, the boys enjoyed picking up sticks and digging at moss. James particularly likes to dig like a dog, or gopher, he may have a bit of an identity crisis! We enjoyed a bit of the hike bouldering and learned that James is a natural when he lightly steps through some of these treacherous rock beds.

After we returned back to the car we headed back to Lake Louise. I wanted one last look and a possible short hike. The boys had a slightly different plan. As we arrived the hunger strikes kicked in! So we took 4 cups of yogurt to the lake side and sat down to eat them. The boys were so hungry they ate theirs and ours. Really, we wonder at times if perhaps they have tapeworms in their belly! A park ranger that was working and setting up a demonstration (today was national park day in Canada) provided us with some insight on a few hikes. While I desperately wanted to climb up to the tea house, we decided that sometimes having children meant not doing all the hikes.

So we bid Lake Louise a fond farewell and headed over to the Gondola at the L.L. Ski center. While we were a little unsure if this would be worth the money, we were thankful that the boys were free on the ride up the mountainside. Going up we took the actual enclosed gondola. Jack learned that a gondola not only is a car on a train, but also can take people on a wire up the hill. The boys were estactic to be heading up the hill. This land is prime territory again for grizzlies, but sadly we didn't see any. At the top we enjoyed phenomenal aerial views. The boys listened into a ranger talk about different wild animals while I explored the displays. On the way down the hill we opted out of the gondola, preferring the open air ski bench instead. Glorious views, clean fresh air, and boys giggling in delight. Perfect!

We ended our day in Banff after a hike in Johnston's Canyon along the Bow River. Today is National Parks day, which meant free entrance into the park so it was a complete and utter zoo in and around Banff. The town of Banff is a perfectly magical mountain town with fabulous boutiques. A never ending pocketbook and a girls weekend would provide for lots of fun here. We opted out of lots of the shopping although I found a wonderful pair of cowboy boots that fit, and were too pricey for the trip : ( . Another time I guess. Dinner was at a local burger joint with... BISON meat burgers, and elk burgers as well. We happen to love buffalo meat so we both had our burgers that way. The kids, who had not napped all day were winding down, so we asked for the bill. The girl came back to inform us that the credit card machine had temporarily stopped working and we could pay in cash. We looked at her and replied we didn't have any. (yes we could go to an ATM... But it's not our fault it wasn't working!). She asked to give her a few minutes to reset and figure out the problem. After 10 the kids were miserable so I headed outside and looked at Brian and shrugged my shoulders and rather cavalierly said, "well it really isn't our fault it's not working.". Brian stayed to see if the credit card machine was working yet. It wasn't, so the restaurant comp'd our dinner. Thank you Banff!!

Tomorrow we leave the Canadian Rockies and drive south to Waterton and then back into the U.S. We will then have phones. Yahoo!

2011-07-15T23:05:00.000-04:00

A study in the Greek tragedy

2011-07-15T23:03:00.000-04:00

Day 11

I remember as a child finding the summer long and often boring. I am sure that one too many times each summer I may have said to my mom, "I'm bored" in that horrific whine. I think tonight if I were to sum up my day it might be something like "tirrrrredddddddd". We had a beautiful day of exploring and hiking, but I think we may have tried to add one too many things in. Why then will James not go to sleep? Go figure.

We started the morning with an early morning wakeup call from the boys, that's after a hideously late evening. It was very cold out...like single digits Celsius. Very cold. After a 30 min drive from Hinton KOA back into Jasper, we decided to have a breakfast at a little coffee house, The Bear Paw. It is very similar to Orange Cat with a much greater selection of baked goods. Brian and I enjoyed these out of this world raspberry white chocolate scones. Amazing!!! The boys each downed a muffin. After a hot coffee and some cheese bakes bread for the road, we were set!

While it was lightly sprinkling with lots of clouds in the sky, we decided to double back a bit and head out to Maligne Lake. This is said to be the largest lake in the Canadian Rockies. In the middle is spirit island, but can only be viewed by a boat ride... Not a possibility for us. When we arrived we enjoyed seeing the beautiful blue/green though not quite as vivd as other lakes to be visited today. We wanted to hike a bit, but the sleet falling and the blustery winds and still no kids jackets changed our minds.

From there we cruised the 2.5 hours down the Icefields Parkway back into Lake Louise. We stopped for our lunch walked around the little gift area and then decided that while we wanted to do Moraine, the wind and temperatures were just too much for the day. Instead we hopped on highway 1 and jumped over the mountains going west to Yoho. The major claim to fame for this
Park being Emerald Lake and the burgess shale. Yes, the burgess shale. Brian the science dweeb got all geeked out at the visitor station and on a hike. Although the burgess shale dig area is only open to private hikes, we were able to see and learn a lot about this geological phenomenon.

Here's your science lesson for the day... Prior to the early 1900s, it was believed that life was unable to be sustained on planet earth until a later time period. With the discovery of the burgess shale, geologist and paleos were able to find out that the earth was in fact able to sustain life in the form of trilobites (and other soft shelled organisms) and so forth during the Precambrian time period. This blew science theories out of the water and new hypotheses had to be formed. So why here did they discover it? Mainly this area has such great uplifting of land forms (just see the pictures that we took of the different layers of rock) that rock from back at the Precambrian time period is now visible. Since 1980, more of this type of shale have been found, but only one place in China has as vast a finding.

So back to views... We then went to Emerald Lake in Yoho... Considered by some the most picturesque. While I agree it is beautiful, a later lake will take the cake for me. At Emerald Lake we hiked around half the lake with the boys. They enjoyed throwing rocks and picking up sticks to whack down weeds. Brian and I enjoyed seeing the avalanche plain that has sculpted the side of the mountain straight down to the lake.

After a brief visit in the little town of Field for a pricey (but I am sure less than what dinner would have cost in Lake Louise) dinner, we then headed back to Lake Louise where our hotel was.

And here folks... The somewhat fatal error of overdoing it. Many of you that know me realize that this is my tragic flaw. If a Greek tragedy was written of me, overdoing would lead to my downfall. Once again, it strikes. As we were coming back over the mountains the sun was beginning to shine through for the first time today. I looked pleadingly at Brian and asked him to take me up to Moraine Lake. We would come back tomorrow to hike, but I just wanted a great pic with the sun out. The boys seemed fine, at that point, why not I thought. It was only 8 measly kms away.

Oops...a little off, it was 16kms away... And the speed limit is 50 km. Oh and yes, it is complete mountain driving up high into the mountains. Yes, there was a slow car in front of us. Then the boys turned a bit ... Tired with the day. The cacophony inside the car was turning Brian a wee bit... Stressed.

But then we arrived.

Crystal blue. A blue different than any other lake in Banff or Jasper. Brilliant blue the color which cannot even be described and sadly no
Picture of mine could do justice. Breathtaking. Awe inspiring. Grandeur. Mountains jutting up on all sides. I just stood and took it all in. The air is clear and crisp, smelling slightly of pines. There were only a handful of people so you could hear the water lapping up at the sides. Pristine perfection.

And then I returned back to the car.

Tomorrow we will return as Brian has yet to see it or find the same zen that I did at that moment. In fact he may have needed a little... Poor guy! He got stuck waiting in the car with the 2 children weary of the days travels. As always, I try not to, but somehow I always overdo it.

Sun still up and so are the kids

2011-07-14T23:56:00.001-04:00

Day 10

I am typing this as we drive around town trying to put kids to bed. It is 930 at night and looks like 6pm our time. The sun is ridiculously high in the sky and the wind is blowing, temps about 14 celsius. It's a tad bit chilly.....

Why are we driving the kids around to sleep you ask? Well, when they finally have a spontaneous nap at 3 in the afternoon after a busy day of hiking and exploring, we all pay the price at night. I long for having a house back that has 2 separate bedrooms for kids.

This morning we left Calgary around 7am. We wanted to get out of town before the rest of the folks. We drove west on highway 1 past the Olympic village. Both Brian and I can recall this as the first Olympics that we were interested in (go Kristi yamaguchi!). About 10 min. out of the city, the land is completely desolate and back to farming. Then, out of nowhere rise the Rockies. What a breath taking experience. After so many days on the road in the prairies, the mountains were such a gorgeous relief. With the morning sun they were a deep shade of blue and the clouds seem to just cling to the tops despite the windy conditions. Luckily there was quite a bit of sunshine.

Highway 1 delivered us deep into the middle of the Canadian Rockies. I have been to yellowstone, bear tooth, Colorado Rockies, but they just don't seem to compare with the feelings that you get here. Rather than driving along the top or witnessing from a far distance, here you are nestled in the valley with cathedral walls jutting up on both side. Initially we didnt see much snow on top, but that quickly changed.

We reached Banff and then continued north to Lake Louise. Because the sun was shining we decided to stop at Lake Louise to take pictures. Out we hopped at the Fairmont Chateau (what a sight) and then had a lovely walk along the lake. While my pictures I feel are gorgeous, they just do not do justice to the grandeur and scale of the mountains. The blues of the water nearly mimic the color of the dresses the girls wore in my wedding nearly 8 years ago. The red canoes that lay still on the lake are the perfect shade against the water. Truly, inspiring. If I were a writer, I would want to make my summer residence here. Now... As for the hotel, absolutely wonderful, but bordering on the bit stuffy side. Let's be honest, it is not the place for 2 kids under 4.

From there we started up the Icefields Parkway. Each precipice held an even greater sight. The snow on the tops of the mountains was thick and you could see the glaciers creeping down the sides. The water rushing through the rivers was again that brilliant blue helped I believe from the glacial silt swirling in the water.

We made a short hike into mistaya canyon where a lovely German couple took a fantastic family picture. From there we continued onto the border between Banff and Jasper where we attempted a strenuous hike up to Parker Ridge. While we never made it to the top, it might be for the best. James was extremely grumpy, but that could be due to the sleet coming down from the sky and the nearly freezing temps. Oh, and we left the kids rain jackets at home in Lewiston. Oops! Sadly we turned around but I guess that is just the reality of hiking with 2 children now. Tomorrow will always hold other opportunities.

We then continued on to the Columbia Icefields, and then specifically to the Athabasca glacier. Woah! To see the amount that it has receded in 50 years should make everyone reconsider Al Gore's documentary An Inconvienient Truth. The hike up the hillside is at about a 60 degree slant and the wind was howling down. The boys were cold! We watched the Brewsters climb the ice far off in the distance to take people out onto the ice. Neat! Those huge snow coaches are the way to go. At the top, the wind was screeching past us and the misty rain started (that would end in 10 min) so we snapped a few pictures and off we went.

We continued our ride up to Jasper which has a bit of feel similar to the city right outside of Rocky mountain national park. Ate a great, and cheap dinner at the North face pizza company and then continued on to Hinton where we are spending the night at a KOA with no working Internet.

Which brings us back to us still driving kids around in the car. We seemed to have found a bit of service outside the Tara Vista Inn... Seedy little joint.

That's about all for now. Tomorrow back down the ice fields Parkway and then hiking in Lake Louise. Views are just glorious from here and we are freezing off our ... Tail ends!!!!

Cowboys Ride On

2011-07-13T22:13:00.001-04:00

Day 9

Today we continued our stay in Calgary. We woke up to a rather dreary looking morning. After a "good start" breakfast at the hotel of chocolate muffins, sugared cereals, and jellied pastries with no fruit in sight, we decided to head over for a bit more fun at the Stampede.

Today's adventure began with a train ride on the light rail system instead of driving into town. Far more relaxing! In fact, the kids were so excited and enthralled to pick up more passengers at every station, I think it was the most relaxed Brian and I have been on the whole trip! We got to have a scenic look through the city and see all the flapjack breakfasts that are hosted during the Stampede.

Arriving at Stampede Park around 9 in a mist, a substantial line had already formed outside of the Rodeo Grandstand for the Kids Day Pancake Breakfast. We all decided that waiting in line for a 'while supplies last' pancake breakfast might not be a good way to start off the day. So, we headed into the agri center to watch the miniature horse showings. No sooner had we planted our butts on the bleachers than the skies opened up. Torrential downpour for about 90 minutes. Scullys:1 Pancake line:0

This gave us a chance to see the agriculture and animal displays (and get some more souvenirs....) indoors. James was able to score his stick pony that he will be able to use at the Genesee Valley Hunt in October. We now have a stick pony from Wyoming and one from Alberta. Let me tell you, they have some good blood lines!!!!

As usual, according to locals, the storm blew over and the sun came out for some more fun. Jack entered a tractor pulling contest for 4-10 year olds. With a pedal powered John Deere, the trailer increases in weight as the driver goes further. Jack hauled 100 pounds to make it through the 1st round, and 150 for 20 feet (of the 25 foot course) before he had to stop all to the beat of Friends with Tractors. (I must find the song on YouTube.) We were all very proud of the nearly 40 pound, almost 4 year old. Jack beamed from ear to ear and got a picture and a ribbon from the Oregon cowboy running the show.

By the way, talking about souvenirs... We will attempt to load a few pics to fb tonight to show off our new accessories, the white cowboy hats. The boys were so impressed by them that we spent the day juggling who wore the hat the best. As attractive as they are, they are a BEAST to get packed into the truck. With a laundry bag ready to overflow, the truck is feeling a wee bit cramped.

After seeing a man shot out of a cannon, going on a Helicopter and Monster Truck fair ride (which thank GOD James was tall enough to go on by himself!) and eating our last freshly fried donut, we have put our Stamp on the Calgary Stampede. Yahoo!

Tomorrow will be an early morning as we head northwest to Jasper National Park.

2011-07-12T22:46:00.000-04:00

Ya-Hooooooo!

2011-07-12T22:23:00.000-04:00

Day 8

Do you know how to spell exhaustion?

Well, it starts with Jack and ends with James. In the middle... A whole lotta Stampedin'

That brings us to a bit of a recap for today. In honor of my enjoyment of reading poetry to kids... Here is a different genre to enjoy today's blog posting. An acrostic (with details to follow)

S-sunny day with some clouds. We lucked out, heard yesterday was awful!
T-tremendous number of cowboy hats, denim, sparkles, and chiffon
A-absolutely a county fair on steroids
M-manic bucking bulls, cow roping, chuck wagon races and cowboys...
P-plenty of cowboy hats, white, red, black, pink, straw, leather, etc.
E-extreme amounts of fried fair food, but we did enjoy the donuts!
D-drastically overpriced wrangler cowboy shirts, but they were cute...
E-enjoyed half the park... Which led to full exhaustion of the entire family

All in all, a very interesting experience. We arrived in the park around 11am to the sounds of good ol' cowboy music. Every worker from the ticket sellers, to sanitation people, to carnies are wearing their white stetsons. They are nice looking and I am feeling a purchase coming on for tomorrow. Heck the way I look at it, wear it tomorrow and then save it for this fall. It would help to make a great cowgirl outfit for Halloween.

After looking through the BMO centre which houses about a million vendors, we moved to the outside. Each corner is sectioned off with a different feel. The general midway is huge ... And does NOT include the kids rides(whole other section). The agri center focuses on Alberta's ranching past and the recent activities with canola. The kids enjoyed playing in a box of canola seeds with tractors. We skipped the saddle dome area as we will unfortunately not be seeing NKOTB in person tomorrow evening. Darn! We never quite made it to Indian Village but that will be a goal for tomorrow.

We were able to obtain our standing room only tickets for the rodeo at 130. While we would have loved to sit down and watch, it was very pricey and we were sure we wouldn't stay the whole time with kids (we were right!) At first Jack was a little unsure if this was going to be anywhere near as interesting as trying out the rides on the midway. By the time the announcer started, the fireworks blew off, and the girls galloped around the stadium on horses waving flags, we had him. The bucking broncos and bulls... Well jack was spellbound. He never took his eyes off, except to question what was happening. James.... Was more like tying up the calf with a lasso... Not as easy. In fact, I wish I had that lasso to help me!

We had a great time, exhausted the boys, and hey, we are going back for more tomorrow. It is the world's greatest outdoor show after all.

Dinos, hoodoos, and badlands, oh my!

2011-07-12T00:01:00.000-04:00

Day 7

Best. Day. Yet.

There happens to be a story told and retold over a certain kitchen table about two children that when riding out to South Dakota with their parents, arrived at the Badlands, the door of the red and white Ford Bronco burst open, and the youngsters took off for the hills, at top speed. The travel weary parents were left behind staring at the cloud of dust as these two climbed up the hills and ladders. This story has been told ever since 1988 in the Mirabelli family household. Those two youngsters - Mark and Liz.

Cruise forward 20+ years to the summer of 2011, and somehow history repeated itself today. We left Brooks, Alberta early this morning as the sun was up early as well. In fact, the sun never really went to bed until after 10 last night and was up by 530. Lots o'light! Either way, we drove the quick 30 min. Up the road to Dinosaur provincial park and started in for a wonderful morning of hiking and hoodoos and dinos. As we arrived, our first trail was a 1.4 km hike through the Badlands. We opened the doors to the truck, keened up, crossed the road and...zwoop. Just like the roadrunner, the boys were off to the hills, scampering up the multicolored hillsides cut from prairies land. Like two mountain goats, it was as if they had hiked their whole life. Scary. (Training for kilimanjaro and everest will commence soon!). We enjoyed seeing some old fossil quarries and learning that this UNESCO site is home to the largest finding of dinosaurs in the entire world. Breathtaking vistas were captured from the tops of the hills looking across prairie lands and watching clouds roll in. After 3 additional hikes, a picnic lunch and an attack from a bunch of hungry gnats, and Liz sitting in bird poop, we ended our time at DPP.

From there, we drove north through the flat coutry side of canola and wheat fields (finally) and then west on a very small road that turned into gravel (oh horrors!). When that gravel road regained some asphalt it became highway 10 which is known as the hoodoo trail. Along the drive was a hoodoo recreational park, which was just begging us to climb. So, we of course obliged. This site was complete with stairs, but Jack was unhappy because he couldn't touch the grass. He wanted to go "higher". Off the stairs, off the walkway, clinging to rock outcroppings we pulled ourselves up higher and higher. James, not to be outdone, kept up. I finally stopped the group when I decided it was too dangerous without ropes and with little ones. Of course, going down is far harder than up. After a bit of sliding and some dirt brushes on the legs, we made it down in one piece.

From here, we had a short 10 min. hop over to Drumheller. Located in what I would say is the middle of nowhere, Drumheller considers itself the dinosaur capital of the world. The downtown is filled with knickknack, gimcrackery crap to be purchased (think Wall, SD with more dinosaurs). In the middle of town is the world's largest dinosaur to climb, all 84 feet up (of course we climbed it!). After this craziness we moved on to the west side of the town to the Royal Tyrell Museum.

Ahhh... Just saying those words will warm my child's heart, the Royal Tyrell Museum. The best museum ever, EVER. Devoted to the dinosaurs collected in Canada, more specifically the great finds of Alberta, the museum is fabulous. There are over 100 FULL dinosaur skeletons displayed with far more to explore, touch, question and watch. Jack enjoyed chatting with a paleo today as he dug through sandstone searching for a bone. We saw at least 3 complete TRex dinosaurs and a multitude of other cretaceous dinosaurs. Brian nearly went into cardiac arrest as we were able to explore the cretaceous garden. The museum has 2 rooms for special events and then the rest is maintained to walk the viewer through the different eras and epochs. Both Brian and I commented how we wished we could bring school childen here.

As we finished up, the boys were exhausted, to be expected. We grabbed dinner at the grocery store and went to look for a hotel. After being laughed out of 3, the final place told us no but explained there was nothing available during the summer. (If you go, book a hotel room 2 months in advance.). Well, lesson learned. With the Stampede happening down the road in Calgary, we were a bit concerned we'd be spending the night in the truck. Thankfully, we found a room east of Calgary, but south of Drumheller in Strathmore. Best news for the boys? It has a waterslide!

Tomorrow should be a slow morning.... Then off to the Calgary Stampede for cowboy fun!

There's Dinosaurs in them there hills!

2011-07-10T21:30:00.000-04:00

Day 6

The start of Dino Days!

We left Moose Jaw early and drove the three hours to the west on highway 1 and then dropped down to the ONLY paved road in south Sask. The country side on the western side of Sask. is hilly with prairie grass blowing in the blustery wind. To quote Jack, "Mom, why is it so breezy here in the prairie?". While there are still fields of canola and wheat, there are also HUGE pastures for beef cattle that are roaming. Let me tell you, if I knew for sure my meat was coming from here, I might more excitedly eat meat!

As we got closer to Eastend, Sask. we found ourselves in an area that resembled the North Dakota badlands, but with more grass on top. A VERY small town with the hills surrounding it is home to the TRex Discovery Center. This area gained notoriety back in 1991, when a school teacher was working with a group of paleos. in a local dig. He began to unearth what seemed to be a TRex tooth...then lo and behold, a jaw... In fact, a whole complete head. Named "Scotty", the TRex would later be completely dug out over the course of 10+ years and would be considered a fully intact skeleton of a TRex. An extremely rare and exciting find.

As we pulled into the discovery center, the boys squealed with excitement that we were finally in Dinosaur World. The center was completed in the early 2000s and we must admit, is absolutely fabulous. No corners cut here! Several skulls of TRex reside in the museum including a full mosasaurus skeleton. We enjoyed a documentary of the dig, then looked around. Most everything can be picked up and explored, thank god! The paleo work station is walled by glass so you can see them working, categorizing, and logging. In fact, many of Scotty's bones are still sitting on the shelves as they have yet to be cast. The place was amazing.

We then worked ourselves back to the TransCanada highway by way of several country roads. The highest elevation in Sask. Is located in the southern part so we were granted some beautiful views from hilltops of rolling grasslands and floating clouds. Once on the highway we made our way to the Alberta border. With a brief break at the playground (in order to wake up sleeping boys), we then plotted our course to Brooks Alberta.

Here we will spend the night until tomorrow when I am sure we will be up early to explore Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta Badlands, and on to Drumheller. The west is fantastic... Such discoveries right under our feet and beautiful views to look out at.

Day 5 - prairie lands

2011-07-09T23:40:00.001-04:00

Day 5

Not too much to report today. I got up early in Brandon Manitoba to head down to the Assiniboine river to take some pictures. Later this evening I was reading in the local paper that the Souris River that caused all the havoc in Minot, ND was cresting in Manitoba. One little town was spared total devastation by... 1 meter. That's it. Their sand walls and levees and diversion streams had all worked together so that the water came within 1 meter of spilling over. Unbelievable. On our down time I enjoy reading some of the "agri" sections of the newspaper. (So different than home.) The reports indicated "serious" devastation to crops across southern Manitoba and parts of Saskatchewan. The area had record rainfalls this year that helped lead to this flooding.

We continued down the TransCanada Highway 1 today. Along the way we still saw glorious fields of canola and some fields of wheat. I expected more wheat, but maybe these fields were also affected by the floods. Then again, maybe they just weren't to the stage of that glorious tannish—brown.

We arrived after 4 hours in Regina Saskatchewan. Brian of course could not contain the jokes as the name of the city rhymes with a certain female body part. All day long these jokes continued... Sigh. The humor of a middle school teacher.

In Regina, we went to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. It had a limited display of dinosaurs, but enough to allow the boys to get excited. We also got to see spectacular displays of different Saskatchewan climates/zones and the animals associated. After, we strolled through the large park area adjacent and down to the water (lake). There was a wake boarding competition going on that the boys enjoyed watching.

We rounded out our day with a short drive down highway 1 to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. They literally have a 20 foot moose statue at the visitors center. Moose jaw was made famous as the Northern "Chicago"during the time of prohibition. Bootlegging and alcohol were certainly a mainstay in this town. It actually seems like quite a prosperous little town with several boutiques. I would have loved going in but, boy, have times changed. We were on the lookout to feed two starving children. (Interesting side note, while I can't stand McDonalds, the Mickey Ds here in Moose Jaw is amazing. It is built like a red barn with a silo attached. Too cool!)

After a fun swim in the indoor pool with major water slides, we are not attempting to put the boys to bed. With all the activity, one would think they would just pass out. Not so much. Ah well, at least the parents are tired.

Tomorrow... T-Rex discovery center!!!!

Everything's bigger in...

2011-07-08T21:47:00.000-04:00

Day 4

The saying I believe is everything's bigger in Texas. Today's adventures will bust that myth. Everything is bigger in Manitoba... Or at least Canada.

The reasons?

1. Well the country is massive of course, and while the province is not that wide it certainly is expansive, north to south.

2. The gas prices are astronomical, should be a bit pricey with gas mileage, might need to keep our speed down as not to "piss the gas out of the tank". In fact I think we are at 1.15per liter.

3. On the subject of gas prices... Let's just discuss the speed limit. Generally, it's pretty high, but for gracious sakes, unless you are driving 85 you will get run over. This seems to then negate the previous statement about gas out of a tank! I had a great time exercising the gas pedal on the truck.

Reminds me back when I was just ending 10th grade and had my learners permit. Mom had broken her ankle that summer and I had a dance competition in Elmira. My mom figured I would benefit from the experience and she let let me drive the Ford Bronco to Elmira with her gimpy leg propped up next us on the bench front seat. I could barely sleep the night before due to nerves. That day when we hit the 390 south, I nearly went into shock as the gas pedal pushed the ol' Bronco to 65. I couldn't believe we were driving so fast. Well... Fast forward to today, 65 was an absolute snails pace here in Manitoba. My how things change...

4. And with that, another reason things are bigger in Canada... Road construction, everywhere. But unlike the States that drop the speed to 45... God no. Not in Manitoba. Construction and all, the speed limit drops to 65, no lie. Interestingly, they chose to oil and gravel the main highway coming up from North Dakota. Why? People are driving 85 miles per hour so gravel goes flying everywhere. Those who are reading will probably chuckle knowing my distain for dings on vehicles. I was panic stricken... But the car remains unscathed. Phew!

5. Food prices. Yikes! These are much higher in Manitoba, and I don't mean quantity. We will be sticking to buying a lot of yogurt and pbj. Thank goodness for perennial favorites.

6. The yellow fields of canola. Everywhere across southern Manitoba, glorious, brilliant flowered Canola. It's breath-taking to see the endless, magnificent fields. In fact, we wanted to get pictures. There seemed to be a perfect place to jump out and get the picture. But as we were hopping out of the car we happened to notice that our access lane was right beside a bunch of wooden boxes. Not that concerning you say? Then we heard the buzzing. These were honey bees and their hives were inside the boxes. Thousands upon thousands of bees. As not to get stung, we slowly backed away and jumped a creek 20ft up to get my pictures. Those will be posted soon. No camera could do justice to these beautiful sights. You have not lived until you stood in the middle of a canola field of dashing yellow and white grain towers in the distance.

And last but not least...

7. Water. Good heavens. The flooding along the Assiniboine River and Red River is just devastating. We have never seen such flood waters (which are finally receding) than here in Manitoba. Miles and miles of fields have been devastated. Farm crops ruined, spoiled, dragged away. I can't imagine how any farmer could come through this devastation. In the middle of Winnipeg the Red River is so high it has flooded up and over parks. In Brandon, we saw the dirt bagging to keep the commerce section of town safe. The water is almost meeting those bags...even now as the water recedes. Whole parks are under water and little visitor kiosks...completely submerged. Plows are finally getting to some fields but the stagnant water keeps part from being turned over. Sadly saw one farm bull-dozing acres upon acres of wasted plants. We have no idea how bad the flooding can be when it affects an area. It's more than watching the news and seeing houses afloat. Thousands and thousands of acres gone.

Like I said, it seems that everything is bigger here in Manitoba.

Drive Day

2011-07-07T23:06:00.001-04:00

Day 3

I think this posting may get a bit dull for those of you looking for excitement. Today was a driving day. We left Charles city, Iowa by 8 am. Again, I can't express my love enough of driving through rolling corn fields. Miles and miles of corn. Where does it all go?

As we entered into Minnesota, not too many changes. The boys were fantastic in the car playing with their tractors and making faces. As we approached Minneapolis we made a quick snack stop. After returning back to the car, Brian wanted to switch drivers. Really? I am the one who reads maps....and does not do city driving. Despite my lead foot and some poor direction giving by my copilot we navigated some relatively busy highways. Who would have guessed the number of tractor trailers on the road. Woah!

Ah well, merging into traffic driving 75 miles per hour from my 20 miles per hour equaled Jack squealing in excitement that I was like Lightning McQueen! Needless to say I made some pretty good time till we arrived for lunch north of St. Cloud.

We found a wonderful playground with a group of Montessori kids playing. After enjoying their lunch and burning out some energy, we jumped in the car for the last leg of our day... Fargo, North Dakota.

A pleasant drive in with the rolling hills flattening out to the vast stretches of soy. As many have heard about the flooding in Minot, we did not expect to see the Red River to be as swollen as it was. Trees seems swallowed and parks are actually gone. No wonder their flood walls are so high. We can't imagine what the next few days will be like along the red river, the assiniboine, and the souris. Could be interesting.

Sorry for nothing much else, we will blog tomorrow night from Winnipeg. If you are trying to get ahold of us, we will not be taking phone calls for the next 10 days. Face books and email only!

By the way, we have found gas as low as 3.40. So far we have put on 1400 miles.... The kids are great, only one time out! Yippee!

Green and Yellow

2011-07-06T22:55:00.001-04:00

Day 2

So today brought us heading across most of Illinois to get to Moline. Morning at the KOA was quite pleasant. We literally had to get boys up at 720. Hello, why does this NEVER happen at home? After a short breakfast on our picnic table we packed up and headed out of South Bend. Across 80 we went, traffic got thick near Chicago but pulled back after Joliet. The boys were superb on the 4 hour drive to Moline. We enjoyed rolling the clocks back one hour and pulled in to the John Deere Pavilion at 11am. (We would have been there at 1045, but the exit we needed to take was unbeknownst to us closed down...so we had to drive up and over the Mighty Mississippi twice.)

Let me tell you....those John Deere people know how to do it right. The pavilion is a newly built area on the Moline/rock island riverside area. Located inside this expansive farm style building they have brought in both antique and brand new 500,000 dollar tractors. Additionally they have displays that talk about the need for agriculture in the future. After an hour of playing on, looking in and touching every last tractor we walked next door to the John Deere Store. The boys were wonderful about finding one thing to take home.

On recommendation from one of the men working in the pavilion we drove down Riverside Dr. to have our picnic lunch right on the banks of the Mississippi river. Just a wonderful sight.... Of course the Mississippi is as brown and brackish as ever!

While we thought we were finished, alas we were not...the John Deere world headquarters is five miles down the road. According to the nice people at the pavilion who may have noticed my childrens' obssession with tractors, the headquarters also has a visitors center....with a brand new COMBINE!!! So, off we went.

As we arrived we kept noticing media signs and quite a bit of hustle and bustle. In fact as we arrived at their very large visitors building there were quite a few tents set up. Ever the curious ones we stopped to chat with the personnel.

Nope, the Scullys never roll into town on a boring day.

Tomorrow kicks off the TPC John Deere Classic and quite a few golf legends were in town to play (for all you golf fans, Brian wants to remind you that this tournament has been won in the past by Vijay Singh and was made famous by John daly's meltdown... ). Today was practice day and Silvis was hopping with CBS and ESPN. We never just do small....

Needless to say, we made it into the visitors center and lo and behold, a combine... and a monster tractor like we see from Milleville's, and plenty of other machinery and even a skid steer. Heaven was in Moline Illinois today for two little boys.

From there we closed out the day heading up 380 to 218. After a great dinner from Olive garden (thanks school kiddos for gift cards) we drove on to Charles City Iowa, and are resting up for a driving day tomorrow.

Having a blast... Who knew tractors could be this much fun?!?! By the way, one last note. As we drove through the Quad city where all John Deere is located, it certainly makes you consider buying items made by Americans. If you buy a John Deere... You are helping this little city stay alive...without that business, it might just become a causality ,Iike Niagara falls. Just a thought.

Day 1

2011-07-05T21:19:00.002-04:00

Day 1

We left at around 430 in the morning from Lewiston. Of course, the wide eyed owl Jack had no interest in sleeping in the car. James slept for about an hour and then was up. We made a pit stop just east of London ON in order to get some caffeine from Tim Hortons.... Bri and I were exhausted.

Soon after hitting the road again, James had to go potty, so again... Another stop. We hit the Blue Water bridge about 4 hours from pulling out of Lewiston. Michigan seemed like a never ending wretch to drive through. We mainly drove rt. 69 and then connected with 94. As always... Michigan is in need of road work. By 11:30 boys were bordering on grouchy so we stopped on the roadside for a lunch break. They never had really eaten breakfast, so they seemed famished. Yet, not so interested to eat with so many other cool things to look at.

From there we continued down through Michigan city Indiana, Ick! Then, on to indiana dunes ntional lakeshore. Terrible signage for a national park. We were looking for West Beach, but due to no signs, agreed to a more centrally located beach. It was probably 90 degrees with nota cloud in the sky. The boys enjoyed digging in the sand while we relaxed and watched them. Both Brian and I got tanned... Surprise no sunburn!

By 3:30, we headed out to find visitors center for a little education. Gentle reminder to all readers... My kids have YET to sleep !!! Alas, they instantaneously fall asleep on the way to the visitor's center for the lakeshore....located 5 miles IN from the shore.... Poor planning. (It seems that national parks in the eastern side of US can not seem to get their act together.)

After a short visit to the center we drove back to the KOA in south bend indiana. What a gross dive is the western side of the state. And my gracious, the west side of south bend is nothing to write home about either! We enjoyed seeing Notre Dame and the touchdown Jesus. We even saw the gold tiled roofing of what I think is the basilica. For a big school, with big football fans, some with deep pockets.... South Bend was just not what I expected. It sure ain't the good ol' OSU!

So here we are in our cozy cabin with wifi. Gotta love technology. Took forever to get boys to sleep... Expected them to be more exhausted, darn 3:30 nap took off the edge. Tomorrow... Moline Illinois and John Deere!

Start of Recessed Lighting

2011-06-29T21:52:00.000-04:00

The Fireplace

2011-06-29T21:50:00.000-04:00

2011-06-29T21:49:00.000-04:00

So... I miss cleaning a house. I do. I admit. Therefore, I have decided to help clean up in the house

A garage door.... farm style!

2011-06-29T21:48:00.000-04:00

2011-06-29T21:46:00.001-04:00

2011-06-29T21:46:00.000-04:00

Playground Fun

2011-06-29T21:45:00.000-04:00

Cousins

2011-06-29T21:44:00.000-04:00

It's electric!

2011-06-27T17:58:00.000-04:00

While you may want to break out the electric slide, we hope that you dance in honor of the electrical lines being strung through the house. Not a cosmetic or visually interesting item, but essential nonetheless. Coming up this week, a garage door, electrical finished, measurements by drywaller, finishing the HVAC and possibly plumbing.

Sadly, no siding will be added to the house before we leave for the West. We may all have to wait and be surprised at the end of July.

2011-06-27T17:54:00.000-04:00

4th Birthday Present

2011-06-27T17:51:00.001-04:00

With our family vacation quickly approaching, Jack got his birthday gift a tad bit early. A NEW BIKE!! With James taking over the little one, it was time for Jack to get a new, bigger bike... but of course, still in blue.

Biker Boyz

2011-06-27T17:49:00.000-04:00

James happened upon his brother's bicycle this week. Lo and behold, he can ride it... quite well!

2011-06-27T17:48:00.000-04:00