Abigail's Pictures

Here's a link to my pictures. When you get there you can click "see all 470 pictures". You should be able to right click and save them. I'm not sure if it will download picture at the highest resolution, so if you want to print one bigger than 8x10, let me know, and I'll email you the picture.

http://freedommiddleyellowstonetrip2009.shutterfly.com/

Link to Grooms' photos...

Here is a link to the Walgreen's photo site where I have posted 982 (!) of my photos. (Believe it or not, I culled out that many more!) You can go here and order any you want for yourself. These were uploaded the fastest way, not with the highest resolution, so if there is something you would like to enlarge bigger than 8 x 10, email me and I'll upload it with the higher resolution.

They are in order by day, except for day 10, which put itself behind Day 1. The photos taken on my phone, some panoramic, are at the end, regardless of day. I haven't time to move them around just yet. Also, I have hopes of going back and adding captions so that each scene is identifiable (like the one that is just a big splash - I can tell you who that is.)

http://photo1.walgreens.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=783557001/a=26401183_26401183/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=walgreens/
Carole Grooms

Parents - a request for your posts after the trip...

As the adults on this trip were talking about the manner in which the kids were reflecting on their experience as they answered our "12 Questions", one suggested that it would interesting to hear from the parents of the students, in a few days, about what they perceive as being the influence this trip had on their child, based on comments made and stories told once home. Great idea!

So, after a day or two of rest and the inevitable story-telling and picture-sharing that will take place, parents - please come back to this blog and post your thoughts on what your child got out of this trip based on what you've heard now that we are home.

We are coming into Franklin from the west side of Nashville at this very moment. The vans have been cleaned out. We're getting hungry. We're tired. We're glad to be home, but it's bittersweet. What a terrific trip this has been!

12 Questions - the adults...

Here are the answers to same 12 questions asked of the students in the previous post, but from the adults on this trip:

Patty Littlejohn
1. Most interesting or educational of the sites we visited: the mammoth site because even in our day and time, we’re finding that history is being revealed constantly, and at a new pace.
2. Least interesting site we visited: Evan’s Plunge – and my reason – I find it hard to believe that there is really 5000 gallons a minute coming into that.
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget – listening to the students in awe as they could see all the animals and sites.
4. Everyday I looked forward to: the upcoming sites and scenes that the kids had never seen before.
5. I got tired of: the possibility of rain, so often.
6. It was a “bummer” when – I would see the orange signs that said “road construction ahead”….
7. A “pleasant surprise” was being prepared for the rain at one point – and it didn’t rain!
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? Old Faithful, because it still amazes me that we have such hydrothermal activity underground.
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all? My swimsuit.
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? A warmer jacket.
11. What about this trip would you change? Maybe not to pack so much activity into a day.
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? The possibility of going out west and for the kids to be able to see a whole new world that they’ve never seen in Franklin.

Kristi Jefferson
1. Most interesting of the sites we visited: I thought it was at the Fishing Bridge Lodge at Yellowstone Lake, where the ranger gave us an explanation about Yellowstone Lake, and the geysers, and the formation of the area. He explained about the Continental Divide and many other things.
2. Least interesting site we visited – Cabella’s – it didn’t have a historical or real-life value to add.
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget: How everybody worked together – mosquitoes! – the beauty that exists in our country.
4. Everyday I looked forward to: seeing how all the students would react to something they had never seen before and how they grew as individuals on the trip.
5. I got tired of: mosquitoes, mosquitoes, mosquitoes.
6. It was a “bummer” when the kids weren’t able to go horseback riding when they were anticipating it – two times.
7. A “pleasant surprise” was getting to meet the gentleman who had worked on Mt. Rushmore, and also when Mary, Jeff, and Brant Littlejohn came to visit.
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? It’s a toss up for me between all the sites in Yellowstone and Custer State Park – we couldn’t do one without the other!
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all ? Poncho – never touched it.
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? More long-sleeved shirts and pants for the cold.
11. What about this trip would you change? Not a thing – it is a wonderful educational opportunity and we are blessed to have Patty arrange it, organize it, and lead it for each of the past 21 summers.
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? It should remain a camping trip and one where the children are involved in all the everyday activities in addition to the sites. I think the technology addition should continue too.

Cas Jefferson
1. Most interesting or educational of the sites we visited: The Fishing Bridge – where we learned how the lake was formed and all the information related to that.
2. Least interesting site we visited: - Wall Drugs – it was alright, but it was more touristy – but the kids liked it.
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget: The scenery is breath-taking, every turn you don’t know what you’re going to see next, the historical information about things we saw, and the kids – how they interacted with each other – it was good thing all the way around.
4. Everyday I looked forward to what we were going to do next!
5. I got tired of the mosquitoes!
6. It was a “bummer” when – I really didn’t have much disappointment on this trip!
7. A “pleasant surprise” was when Patty’s family surprised her, and the interaction between all the kids with little Brant – both the girls and the boys.
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? It would be a toss up between Yellowstone and Custer – Custer because of the remoteness and being able to see the stars, and Yellowstone because it is such a large area with so much more to explore –we need more time to see everything!
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all? the poncho
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? Maybe more warm clothes, maybe some stronger bug spray.
11. What about this trip would you change? And 12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? First, I wouldn’t change anything on this trip because the kids need to do the chores and all the interactions that help them mature.
The other part of that is – this is the Northwest – don’t ever lose the Southwest trip either, because both trips are totally different. Both trips are awesome, awe-inspiring. It is a great experience for the kids and for the adults who come. What I’ve heard from adults who have done this for a number of years is that each time there is a different experience even if it changes a bit. If you have the opportunity, a company that you work for that will let you have 16 days off, to make this trip, I would recommend it to anyone. This is a camping experience, a four-seasons, not-getting-waited-on type of deal, but the rewards are immeasurable.


Abigail Reynolds:
1. Most interesting: Devils Tower - It’s unlike anything else.
2. Least interesting: Cabela’s - I’m not big on hunting/fishing, but I know some of the kids really like it—and this trip is for them. :-)
3. I’ll never forget: The hike to Inspiration Point. It’s my favorite part of the trip! Also going to the brink of Yellowstone’s upper falls – we had never done that before on this trip.
4. I looked forward to: Seeing the students’ faces when they saw something new.
5. I got tired of: Listening to the X-Men movies—they’re hard to follow based on dialogue alone.
6. It was a “bummer” when: The mosquitoes attacked!
7. A “pleasant surprise” was: Jeff telling me that he wanted to surprise his mom—and the fact that we pulled it off.
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? Grand Tetons—they’re just amazingly beautiful
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all – should’a left at home? Nothing—after 8 times, I’m pretty good at packing for this trip.
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? Aloe
11. What about this trip would you change (considering only realistic, reasonable changes)? Maybe add one more day in Yellowstone, but there’s nothing I’d want to cut to make that possible.
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? That it exists. The kids (and adults) get so much out of it. I would hate to see it end.

Carole Grooms
1. Most interesting: I thought the Grand Tetons and Hayden Valley in Yellowstone were the most beautiful places. The mammoth site was the most fascinating because it was the “real deal” – no facsimile here! Devil’s Tower was the most amazing geological thing to me – how that formed, the formations in the rocks, and the sheer size of it. And Yellowstone – how it is still such an active thermal area, living and breathing and changing right before our eyes.
2. Least interesting site we visited was Wall Drug – just Tourist City to me – nothing to learn, only money to spend on junk.
3. I’ll never forget: the wildflowers all throughout the Rockies – the flowers that we work so hard to make grow in our gardens at home grow wild everywhere and the colors were just amazing – and the cold weather that we were not expecting!
4. Everyday I looked forward to the next new site - and laying down at night, going to sleep. I slept really well every night because we were so tired.
5. I got tired of the competitive arguing and bickering that went on in our van on a regular basis.
6. It was a “bummer” when I forgot I had been cutting up jalapeno peppers then took out my contact lenses (then dealt with three days of uncomfortable contacts), when I broke my big toenail in half the second day of the trip, and how hard I hit the ground when I fell off the horse. And, everyday we were at Flagg, I kept hoping for an opportunity to walk down to the Snake River and just sit, put my feet in, watch for wildlife, but we never had time.
7. A “pleasant surprise” was not having to pack up camp and move for the last night at Flagg Ranch as expected, finding a great pair of shoes at Cabella’s for about 75% off. A really special moment was at Jackson Hole, when Patty’s family was leaving us. Brant was laying on his stomach, playing in the grass, when someone said “kids, come say by to Brant” to our students. Our kids, boys first, all raced over to Brant, and joined him on the grass, on their stomachs, chins supported by fists, all in a little circle studying whatever bug Brant was looking at too. It was a really sweet moment.
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? The Grand Tetons – amazing views, beautiful mountains, and Yellowstone – which is like four parks in one. I would love my sisters and I to come back and hike some long trails.
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all ? Too many summer clothes, my knitting project, even as small as it was, I just didn’t have time to fool with it. And – other lenses for my camera and a backup battery, already charged and ready to go.
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? My Tilley hat. More socks. Binoculors.
11. What about this trip would you? I would love more time to just sit – time to watch for animals. Also, would love more hiking, like the hike to Inspiration Point – I wish we had a hike like that on five or six days of the trip, maybe even longer ones.
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? The kids doing most of the work – they gain soooo much independence on this trip having to take care of all of their equipment and the camp equipment in general, doing the cooking, prep work, clean-up, etc.


Rita Oakley
1. Most interesting or educational of the sites we visited: The visitor’s center at Yellowstone Lake – where we got the scoop from the ranger on the Yellowstone caldera, the continuous changing of paths through the mudpots area, the windstorms, the catching of invasive lake trout, etc.
2. Least interesting site we visited: Cabella’s was interesting because of the 32 point deer displayed, so I’ll say Corn Palace - because it wasn’t a buffalo 
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget: being so close and buffalo sneaking up on me one morning, and the incident on the horse trail ride (in all seriousness). The scenery and all is beyond belief, but it is the kids which gives this trip its special touch and memories – the kids, the leaders, and dynamics of each group are unique. Also – the kindness of strangers on the trip, like the man who sold us gas in South Dakota when we were too far from a gas station.
4. Everyday I looked forward to everything that was coming up! All the possibilities – seeing the things I might not have seen on the trips previously.
5. I got tired of telling kids to wash their hands before you cook, touch food or eat!
6. It was a “bummer” that the trip is so short! There is so much to do in so little time!
7. A “pleasant surprise” was – how well these kids got along. They all had moments, but there were no blowups. They all tried to behave well.
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? Custer State Park (South Dakota) because we saw the buffalo in the mornings coming in, we could see the trees where they rubbed against them to shed their fur, where they left spots on the ground where they had been laying. The fishing was wonderful there too – we ate fresh trout!
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all? My bandanas for sweating (because the trip was cool).
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? A smaller tote for my souvenirs.
11. What about this trip would you change? I would extend it – more days.
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? It should never be turned into a “motel trip” – it should remain a camping, kids-do-the-work trip, where kids are able to experience all of these things and responsibilities.

Debbie Alcorn
1. Most interesting or educational of the sites we visited: Mt. Rushmore – because we had the opportunity to meet one of the men that actually worked on Jefferson’s and Lincoln’s head.
2. Least interesting site we visited: Evan’s Plunge – I expected the water to be warmer, a little hotter, than it was.
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget: the memories it brought for me for when I took this trip with my parents and my siblings.
4. Everyday I looked forward to seeing my children experience something I experienced when I was their age.
5. I got tired of re-tying fish hooks!
6. It was a “bummer” when Sean’s five-pound trout got away.
7. A “pleasant surprise” was when the grizzly bear was so close to our car.
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? Yellowstone park because there are so many things to do within the park itself.
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all ? Two fanny packs.
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? My husband.
11. What about this trip would you change? I honestly can’t think of anything!
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? The number of diverse sites and activities that are included in the trip.

12 Questions

We asked everyone on this trip to answer twelve questions about the experience. The different answers really show how each person learns and grows in their own unique way from this trip! See individual answers following. The twelve questions were:

1. What was the most interesting or educational of the sites we visited and why?
2. What was the least interesting site we visited and why?
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget is:
4. Everyday I looked forward to:
5. I got tired of:
6. It was a “bummer” when:
7. A “pleasant surprise” was:
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why?
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all – should’a left at home?
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had?
11. What about this trip would you change (considering only realistic, reasonable changes)?
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change?

Ben P.
1. Most interesting: The Needles Highway - We got to climb on the fun rocks.
2. Least interesting: Corn Palace -It wasn’t very informational or fun
3. I’ll never forget: having fun with all my friends all across the country.
4. Everyday I looked forward to all the fun activities of that day.
5. I got tired of washing the dishes.
6. It was a “bummer” when all the mosquitoes attacked us.
7. A “pleasant surprise” was when Ms. Littlejohn’s relatives joined us for part of the trip.
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? Definitely Yellowstone because it was so big and there were many fun things to do there.
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all?
My rain poncho because every time it rained we got in the vans or under a shelter.
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? Maybe a little extra cash.
11. What about this trip would you change? I think we should have had a campfire every night.
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? Having the kids cook their own meals.

Claire C.
1. Most interesting was the Mammoth site because you could see the stuff in the ground and it had the posters and stuff to show it all. It showed the sinkhole and all.
2. Least interesting site we visited was the Crazy Horse monument because it wasn’t complete and it was boring. The movie was boring. Also Corn Palace because I thought it was ALL going to be made out of corn and it wasn’t. It was just walking around and it wasn’t anything really interesting – just some corn on a wall.
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget was meeting people I didn’t even know went to our school, and seeing things I didn’t even know existed – like half the things on our itinerary – Devil’s Tower, Grand Tetons, Crazy Horse, Corn Palace, Wall Drugs, and The Badlands I had never heard of before.
4. Everyday I looked forward to seeing something new and not being stuck in the tent.
5. I got tired of setting up the tent and putting it down and riding in the van SO much.
6. It was a “bummer” when we kept having to go in the vans the first night when it stormed because we had been riding in them all day. And when we went horseback riding and it got rained out.
7. A “pleasant surprise” was making s’mores – and meeting Brant Littlejohn.
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? Evan’s Plunge because it was amazing!
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all ? A poncho because we weren’t even outside in the rain – we were under a pavilion or in the van.
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? I wish I had had a second pair of shoes because mine got soaked. And, I wish I had had a fan and a heater.
11. What about this trip would you change? Some time to just sit around and not do anything, and not go to Crazy Horse because you can see it from afar.
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? Having it! And Ms. Littlejohn leading it.

Daniel S:
1. Most interesting of the sites we visited was Mt. Rushmore because one- the movie was really cool, and two- I thought it was very interesting that they have that big hall of flags. It was just really cool.
2. Least interesting site we visited was Wall Drug – we didn’t get much time to look around, and even though I did buy a souvenir for my brother there, it just wasn’t that interesting.
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget is going to the mammoth site because seeing those giant mammoth bones and other prehistoric animals was really cool for me cause I’ve loved paleontology since I was four.
4. Everyday I looked forward to doing something new and exciting.
5. I got tired of certain members of our group being annoying.
6. It was a “bummer” when we didn’t get to go horseback riding the first two times and when I got eaten up by mosquitoes. And, when Claire’s horse kept “cutting the cheese” on mine.
7. A “pleasant surprise” was Ms. Littlejohn’s son, daughter-in-law, and grandson came to see us.
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? Evan’s Plunge because I know that every member of my family, especially my siblings, would love to go there because it was so much fun.
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all? My rain poncho- once it rained I was usually under a pavilion or not out in the rain.
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? More socks, and a fan.
11. What about this trip would you change? Go to some more new places like Wind Cave and Jewel Cave.
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? Going to Yellowstone.

Doug O:
1. Most interesting of the sites we visited was the Mammoth site because there were so many interesting facts that I learned, like how the mammoths got there from a sinkhole and why they were all males.
2. Least interesting site we visited was Crazy Horse because we didn’t get close to it and after 61 years they have only carved the head – it’s not even finished.
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget was meeting new friends and seeing all the attractions again. (I’ve done this trip before.)
4. Everyday I looked forward to seeing something exciting and not riding in the van all day!
5. I got tired of riding in the van all day and all the mosquitoes at Flagg Ranch after how many pounds of bug spray. And I got tired of washing dishes and setting up the tent and taking it down.
6. It was a “bummer” when we were gonna go horseback riding but got rained out, and then we were gonna go again but we got winded out, and then when I thought we were going to the St. Louis arch, but we didn’t.
7. A “pleasant surprise” was having s’mores and having a really good horse named Tank. Also, meeting Jeff, Mary, and Brant Littlejohn.
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? Mt. Rushmore because it was interesting and Evan’s Plunge because it was really fun – and I didn’t go down the big slide at the beginning and then the girls forced me to and I loved it!
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all ? A poncho, a toboggan cap.
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? A heater
11. What about this trip would you change? More time to watch for wildlife and go somewhere besides Flagg Ranch because of the mosquitoes there.
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? Having Ms. Littlejohn plan and lead this trip for so many years.


Eduarda L:
1. Most interesting: Mt. Rushmore, because I’ll never forget the presidents’ heads on the rocks.
2. Least interesting site we visited: Crazy Horse - Because it took so long to build and wasn’t finished, and the nose was all crooked.
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget is Rachel going “Woooooo, It’s Devil’s Tower!”
4. Everyday I looked forward to what we were going to do or see.
5. I got tired of loading and unloading the cargo van every day or so and getting kicked off the air mattress.
6. It was a “bummer” when we didn’t get to go horseback riding the first times and when it rained so much.
7. A “pleasant surprise” was meeting Brant Littlejohn.
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? Evan’s Plunge because it was REALLY fun!
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all? My Northface – I used my hoodie instead.
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? A fan and a heater.
11. What about this trip would you? Not go to Crazy Horse.
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? The adults – I like having them along.

Eric D:
1. Most interesting of the sites we visited: Mt. Rushmore. It was very interesting how they carved the faces and how much they look like the real person. Also I learned a lot about the monument in the little museum.
2. Least interesting site we visited: Crazy Horse Monument - Because it is just a copy of Mt. Rushmore but for Indians.
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget: Seeing two moose.
4. Everyday I looked forward to: Getting my passport book stamped and learning about the monuments.
5. I got tired of seeing so many deer.
6. It was a “bummer” when I fell off my horse while horseback riding.
7. A “pleasant surprise” was when Ms. Littlejohn’s son, daughter-in-law, and grandson came and met us on our way to Badlands National Park.
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? Yellowstone National Park because it is so beautiful and there are so many landmarks and wildlife.
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all? My reading book.
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? Nothing.
11. What about this trip would you change? Stop going to Cabela’s because it wasn’t necessary.
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? Swimming in Evans Plunge and going to Mt. Rushmore.

Emily G:
1. Most interesting of the sites we visited was Mt. Rushmore because it was pretty amazing and it was a good experience.
2. Least interesting site we visited was Crazy Horse because I don’t think there was really a point to it – I didn’t really get it.
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget was all the people that I met.
4. Everyday I looked forward to food!
5. I got tired of not being able to go horseback riding and putting up the tent.
6. It was a “bummer” when we didn’t get to make ice cream ever!
7. A “pleasant surprise” was meeting Brant Littlejohn.
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? Evan’s Plunge because my mom would scream and my dad would do a cannonball!
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all? Nothing, cause I pretty much used everything.
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? More money, a flashlight, and a heater and a fan – and a swimsuit!
11. What about this trip would you change? Skip going to Crazy Horse, wish we would have gone swimming more.
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? One, that Ms. Littlejohn leads it, another, that we get to do most of the work because we’re independent, so we can learn for the future.

Rachel D:
1. Most interesting or educational of the sites we visited was the mammoth site because they told us a lot of facts and I was very interested.
2. Least interesting site we visited was Crazy Horse because I wasn’t impressed with the progress.
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget was Devil’s Tower because it was great! It was very large.
4. Everyday I looked forward to sleeping.
5. I got tired of waking up in the mornings, setting up my tent.
6. It was a “bummer” when it rained every day.
7. A “pleasant surprise” was meeting Brant Littlejohn.
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? It would be Evan’s Plunge because my whole entire family would enjoy it. Even my parents.
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all ? A rain poncho.
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? More clothes, a fan, and a heater.
11. What about this trip would you? Stay only at a place that has showers, and not a pot hole toilet.
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? Having Ms. Littlejohn run this trip and doing the trip yearly.

Rashaad D:
1. Most interesting or educational of the sites we visited was probably Old Faithful because I’d never seen one (a geyser) before and I got to find out how they worked.
2. Least interesting site we visited was probably the Mammoth Site because I was kind of bored there – I wasn’t really interested in that. We got to do a lot of better stuff.
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget was probably the horse back riding because it was a first for me and I did well.
4. Everyday I looked forward to was going to sleep at night because I was tired!
5. I got tired of putting up the tents and taking them back down.
6. It was a “bummer” when the first two horseback rides got cancelled, when my sleeping bag got wet.
7. A “pleasant surprise” was Evan’s Plunge (where Steven and I did better than others on the rings.)
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? The horseback riding because I want them to experience it with me! It was the prettiest ride.
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all ? My poncho and I only got my fan out twice.
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? More money!
11. What about this trip would you change? Not go to the mammoth site.
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? The camping!

Scott B:
1. Most interesting or educational of the sites we visited: Mammoth site because somebody actually explained stuff to us
2. Least interesting site we visited: Crazy horse because it was only a head
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget: Mount Rushmore
4. Everyday I looked forward to seeing new things
5. I got tired of Eric and Ben singing
6. It was a “bummer” when Steve McNair died.
7. A “pleasant surprise” was when I found my phone after I lost it.
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? Yellowstone because it was awesome
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all ? Sunscreen
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? Better camera
11. What about this trip would you change? The amount of people (less) and items (people brought too much stuff)
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? Yellowstone

Sean A:
1. Most interesting or educational of the sites we visited: The Badlands. No question. Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monument show a lot of pictures about the place before you get there, but you could see the Badlands in hundreds of pictures before you get there, and still be amazed at the site. It is the only place so amazing that I forgot to breath. It was amazing. The Badlands of South Dakota are truly amazing. Truly awesome. Truly a site to see.
2. Least interesting site we visited was….. Probably Crazy Horse, because it was a little monotonous – the museum was amazing, but the actual monument was a little boring because you see what it is going to be but when you get down to it you only see the head and some marks where the horse is going to be. I think it is going to be really cool when it is finished, but my least favorite.
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget – this whole trip, because everything here is completely new and I’ve met a lot of new people, never gone camping for this long. I have never gone this far north, never dreamed of seeing Mt. Rushmore, didn’t know Crazy Horse existed. Seeing the mammoth site was cool and Evan’s Plunge was really cool too.
4. Everyday I looked forward to whatever we were going to do that day – I was excited by anything and everything we did on this trip.
5. I got tired of sitting in the car with Steven and Rashaad and listening to Daniel’s complaining.
6. It was a “bummer” when didn’t get to go horseback riding the first time and when Uncle Tom’s trail was closed.
7. A “pleasant surprise” was meeting Jeff and Mary Littlejohn and Brant.
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? The mammoth site and Evan’s Plunge. Evan’s Plunge was unlike anything I’d ever seen before and had never thought of a rock bottom. It was amazing to see all the mammoths.
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all? All the winter clothes.
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? A travel chess set.
11. What about this trip would you change? I would not go to that really bad campsite – Wilson State Park – because the tall grass itched and there were all sorts of spiders, and the bathrooms had more cockroaches in the toilet than there were in the trees.
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? Seeing the sites and going to Custer State Park – the best campsite we went to.

Steven F:
1. Most interesting site we visited was the Mammoth Site because you got to learn how they got there and why they were all male.
2. Least interesting site we visited was Crazy Horse because it wasn’t finished.
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget is the places we went.
4. Everyday I looked forward to seeing something new.
5. I got tired of the car rides, the temperature (hot and cold), unloading and loading the van, and cleaning.
6. It was a “bummer” when it was always raining and the road construction.
7. A “pleasant surprise” was seeing some of the wild animals
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? Mt. Rushmore because my family’s never been there before and it was neat.
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all? An extra jacket – I had two.
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? A pillow and a fan.
11. What about this trip would you? How short it is – it should be longer so we could see even more places.
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? All the places we went

Will G:
1. Most interesting or educational of the sites we visited: The geysers because there were so many so close together
2. Least interesting site we visited: Corn palace, I just thought it was boring
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget was my Switchblade Comb (souvenir)
4. Everyday I looked forward to: Going to the next place, seeing stuff
5. I got tired of: Setting up the tent, Putting it up, setting stuff up in general
6. It was a “bummer” when: We had to leave places so fast and didn’t get time to stay, and not climbing more of the Badlands
7. A “pleasant surprise” was: Getting to climb more at the needles after not doing tons at the Badlands
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? The Needles, because the climbing was so fun, some of the views were amazing, and there was so much and it was awesome. Might not be what people expect as one of my favorite places, but it was awesome
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all ?
Poncho, 2 swim trunks(not just 1), extra clothes
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had?
More to entertain for the car, Sharpies, stuff like that
11. What about this trip would you change? More time at stops like Wall Drug and Badlands and Needles, etc…
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change?
The places we go to.

Will W:
1. Most interesting or educational of the sites we visited: Devil’s Tower. It was interesting to read all the theories behind how it was formed.
2. Least interesting site we visited: The Badlands. The view was awesome, but when we started to climb around, it started storming, so we had to leave early.
3. The thing about this trip I’ll never forget: Seeing a Grizzly Bear ten feet away.
4. Everyday I looked forward to: Whatever we had planned for that day.
5. I got tired of: 10 Hour Car rides.
6. It was a “bummer” when: Our Horseback riding got cancelled twice.
7. A “pleasant surprise” was: Catching a lot of fish.
8. If you could go back to a site on this trip THIS summer and show it to your family, where would it be and why? Yellowstone, because they so many different things.
9. What did you pack or bring that you did not need at all ?A poncho
10. What did you NOT bring, but wish you had? A laser pointer
11. What about this trip would you change? Stay at campsites that all had nice restrooms.
12. What part of this trip should NEVER change? The sites we visit.

On the road again...

We are on the way home - just past Kansas City, Missouri at the moment, headed to camp in Illinois, just past St. Louis. Last night we camped in Nebraska on Wilson Lake. It was really hot compared to what we've been used to in the mountains, so we slept outside on the ground under a picnic pavilion. Yesterday when we stopped at a rest stop in Nebraska, some other people stopped there came over to have their picture made with our bear, Sammy. That has happened several times on this trip!

Right now we are playing the song game on our CB radios - Wes and Rita give us a word and each car has to take a turn singing at least eight words of a song that contains that word and then name the song - and it has to be one that somebody else knows. You get a point if your car can't think of one, and low score wins. Right now it is tied up!

It's your turn!

Now it's your turn, Blog Followers!

What questions about our trip would you like to ask our students? Post your questions here and we'll have the kids answer on the blog as well as we can with given electricity and cell phone service on these last two days of driving home.

A list of "Firsts"

A List of “Firsts”

We asked the people in each vehicle to make a list while we drove this morning of all the things they could think of that they saw or experienced for the first time on this trip. Seeing each of the national parks, monuments, and the different towns and states was a “first” for many of the people on the trip, so those aren't listed separately below. But, everyone seems to have found some thing or experience that was uniquely new to them on this journey

This was my first time….

To camp
To see a grizzly bear, prairie dog, elk, moose, marmot, buffalo, antelope, mule deer, pika, longhorn steer
To fish
To catch a fish
To climb rocks (at Badlands and the “Needles”)
To be “bear aware”
To smell a mudpot
To write in a blog
To watch the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”
To cook on an outdoor stove
To sleep outdoors under a shelter
To have a National Parks Passport book and have it stamped
To dunk my feet in Yellowstone Lake – 56 degrees
To ride a horse
To be in a campground that doesn’t have a shower or sink
To eat buffalo meat
To be away from both parents for 16 days
To cook stir fry
To use a “bear box”
To use a compost latrine restroom
To lose my wallet
To play in the snow, wearing flip flops, throwing snowballs, in July
To do laundry in a public, coin-operated laudromat
To do my own laundry
To wash dishes by heating water on a camp stove
To learn about other’s fears
To talk to people on this trip that I did not know before or even know that they went to school at Freedom
To go 16 days without TV or computer
To swim in a hot-springs-fed pool
To fall from a horse
To ride in a car for four days straight, stopping only for gas/restroom/to eat
To go to as many as 9 states in 16 days
To eat Frito-chili pie, bacon-cheese sandwiches, different flavors of fudge
To be in 32 degree weather in the summer
To step in buffalo poop
To see an active archeological dig
To see cornfields as big as the ones in Iowa and Kansas
To see “pigtail” bridge turns in the road where the turn is so tight a switchback would not work
To see a tall pole marker beside a fire hydrant so it could be found when the snow covers it up
To see an interstate exit/entrance ramp made of gravel
To see a geyser
To see a road being completely resurfaced, all at one time, by a series of machines that ground up the old road, recycled the waste into new surfacing, then laid it back down
To go through a tunnel as small as the ones on the Needles Highway
To pump gas into the car
To start a fire
To see a two-story tall piece of farm machinery
To see a crop duster in action
To see a crossing arm, like at a railroad track, installed to close roads in winter
To see snow drift barricades alongside the interstate
To see a coal strip mine with its own rail station
To peel garlic and slice onions
To see energy-generating windmills
To cross the Continental Divide
To see a Sinclair dinosaur at an actual Sinclair gas station
To see dried raccoon “privates” for sale
To be on Mountain time
To see a place, like the lake or Devil's Tower, that was actually in a movie
To do a hike, like to Inspiration Point
To see a "dirt devil" in a Kansas field
To see so much snow on the mountains in summer
To get some bison fur
To get so close to, and so scared by, bison
To eat fresh mountain trout right after it was caught
To see up close where the bison rubs against the trees to rid their winter coats
To see where a bison had bedded down in the grass
To see the other side of Yellowstone's upper falls


We'll continue to add more "firsts" and more come to mind...

more photos...

Grand Teton National Park:

There was a two mile trail to the trailhead to Inspiration Point, or you could go by boat, as we did, across Lake Jenny. Next, a view as we rode across the lake and a close up view of the top of Mt. Moran, behind Inspiration Point, many feet above our destination. There is still an unusual amount of snow in the mountains for this time of year because of the wet and cool spring and summer so far.

Hidden Falls is a refreshing stop midway through the hike to Inspiration Point. We saw a marmot in the woods while stopped there. These pictures don't give you an idea of how many people were on these trails with us - the boat driver told us that they bring 1500 - 1800 over each day during this time of year!

The last bit of the rocky hike approaching Inspiration Point gets quite steep and narrow, hugging the side of the mountain like a goat track.

A panoramic view of Jenny Lake from Inspiration Point.

The view from our destination was spectacular, but it is hard to grasp the elevation and wide vista from these photos.

In Jackson Hole, each corner of the town square has a huge arch made of antlers .
Back in Yellowstone touring the Mudpots:

Stin-keeeeee!!!

Earth's cauldron...a boiling geyser in a stinking mud pool, and a steaming spring pouring out of a cave in the hillside.

Pictures from the horseback ride, taken from my camera phone - the view of the Tetons in the distance was breath-taking! Top photo - the back of Will W., and Rashaad D.. Bottom photo, after rounding this corner we emerged on the top of a rise to the view in the photo above.

We have started home!

We are on our journey home. I can't believe it is time to start back to Franklin. The students have seen so much and it has been so much fun. The mountain ranges, hot springs, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, hikes, bear, elk, buffalo, moose, and mule deer have been outstanding. I hear almost everyday someone say that they can't wait to bring their families out west. That is one of my hopes and goals.

We have had a long day. Yesterday the students were going to ride horses at Canyon Village in Yellowstone. The wind was gusting, so the riding company cancelled our reservations due to the danger of dead trees falling across the path. I called a stable outside of the park and we arrived at 9:00 am this morning to ride. It took about 30 minutes to get all of the students on their horses. Then, the students rode for an hour. It always amazes me how much the students enjoy this activity. They will be talking about it for many days to come.

If you want to find road construction, follow us. Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons are under major road construction. Thinking we had left it all behind us, we traveled through Wyoming today and found road construction across the state.

We arrived about 8:30 at Loveland RV Resort. Kristi and Cas went and bought us fast-food for supper. It hit the spot and we did not have to cook and wash dishes. I love the fact that the students love to cook. They volunteer for each others spot as the cook because they enjoy it so much.

Tomorrow we start driving toward Kansas.

See you Sunday, Patty Littlejohn

pictures from yesterday....

The second part of our morning sightseeing yesterday was of Yellowstone Falls, where the Yellowstone Lake narrows back into the Yellowstone River. First photo - the last bit of the lake in the area called Hayden Valley, where it begins to narrow back into a wide, gentle river. Next photo, the upper falls, where all that gentle watere is compressed into a raging river. Then, the lower falls, which is a much bigger waterfall, flowing into the area called the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone - the part that gives the area its name. Our view was a loooong way from the falls - only a good panoramic photo could give you any idea of how vast this gorge was!


Last, but not least - the buck elk we saw on the way back to camp around dusk - just starting to rain and he had settled in the grass to rest right by the road near the Canyon Lodge. And - yes, these kids can do some laundry! It was late washing for us last night, as we had a very full day!

Right now we are coming into the north Denver area to our campground in Loveland, still have to stop to buy shrimp for supper, then the kids will be mashing potatoes to go along with that. We got our horseback trailride in this morning on the way out of the Grand Teton/Yellowstone area, near Dubois, WY. What great views we got from the backs of the horses, away from tourists and all sounds other than nature. The ride wasn't without some excitement - three of us returned to the stable on foot after Steven's saddle slid off, causing his horse to bolt, then mine and Eric's to get spooked, do a U-turn and follow suit. We all three hit the ground! Steven only got a scratch or two, Eric actually found his glasses that flew off (!) and we all might be a bit sore, but no real damage other than my sunglasses which are long gone. A great story to tell for sure!

It's been driving, driving, driving ever since. Road construction is way behind in this part of the country due to all the rainy weather, and we have been stopped for one long 30-minute delay after another as flagmen signal long lines of cars to alternate turns on a single open lane of road. Supper and sleeping bags in just a minute now!

This morning's activities -

Here are some excerpts of the conversation and descriptions in my van this morning after the kids saw the Mudpots area and Yellowstone Falls. Abi was driving while I transcribed the conversation with the boys in our van - Will G., Will W., Scott B., Eric D., and Ben P.

First stop was the Mudpots - an area where the thermo-dynamic activity underground creates muddy, bubbling pools, some of which erupt like thick geysers, and all of which contain dangerously acidic water and smell of sulpher...

WG: That was some big brown mud, and it smells really bad - pits of mud that comes up from underground with sulfur gas – the lake looked really colorful
CG: Did anyone notice how each area smelled slightly different from each other?
SB: The more steamy they were they smellier they were.
BP: It’s the earth’s core! Pushing gas up to form bubbles
WG: It super-heats the water and mud and it explodes and then makes a hole which fills and smells bad
BP: The sulpher had made it all yellow
WG: The fumaroles are the ones that have dried up and just blow steam
SB: It smelled like sulpher and I didn’t expect it to look like a lake
WG The bubbling was so big in that one lake
WW: They were awesome! And they didn’t smell as bad as I thought they would. I learned that one of the mud pits used to erupt and shoot mud 10 – 20 feet into the air.
WG: the path was rickety!
ED: They were really cool but they smelled pretty bad, and I learned that animals, like bison like to get near them, but at the risk of falling in. The mud volcano was cool because it used to erupt – there is a lake in the middle of all of it.
CG: What amazes me is that all this activity is going on underground, yet we are climbing up the side of a hill – seems like it ought to be at the bottom of a basin or valley – there is a living volcano underground and we are just outside of it – that ranger at the first day visitor center told us how you didn’t dare step off the boardwalks because the ground is so unstable and you can’t tell where you might just sink in or get swallowed up.
AR: They have to change the walkways all the time because they have to find where the ground is most steady – they haven’t been the same any of the times I’ve come
WG: I’m surprised there haven’t been more collapses like that hole in the parking lot we saw. (The ranger had told us about it eating a hole in the asphalt, from the bottom up, in a parking lot, and we saw that spot as we were leaving.)
WG: In the parking lot I saw where there was steam coming up out of one of the gutter grates for drainage – Rashaad put his coat over it and I told him it was going to make it smell bad.
CG: I think this place is neat because it is the most visible evidence we have of the activity going on underground in this whole park.

Next stop: Yellowstone Falls. We were expecting to make the steep hike down Uncle Tom's trail which would take us a close-up view of the lower falls, but it ws closed for construction. We had a good look at the upper falls from the top, but were left with some extra time, so we were able to drive around to the other side, to another observation area right at the brink of the upper falls.

ED: I wanted to go on Uncle Tom’s trail cause it looked really cool to go down by the water fall – the lower falls was really, really nice – the upper falls wasn’t that special, just like a regular fall really. The rocks were really different colors, red, orange and such.
BP: I wanted to go on Uncle Tom’s trail to be refreshed from the spray off the waterfall.
WG: They were both huge! And they were really cool – the water was moving so fast and there was lots of spray – we got close to the upper one.
WW: The water was like cool because it just fell over the edge, not just dropping, but flying. I wish we had gotten to go on Uncle Toms Trail because the lower falls looked really cool and I wanted to see it up close.
SB: The water got foamy when it was close to the waterfall and the waterfall was awesome!
CG: I was impressed by the amount of power the force of the water had – too bad they aren’t generating from that – TVA would be jealous! The noise at the upper fall overlook was deafening.

The kids also sasid they noticed many people from other countries – heard Indian, German, French, Spanish, something like Russian or Czech – lots of Japanese and Korean.Also saw a ranger leading an art class –
SB: they were watercoloring and finger painting, trying to paint the surrounding. ED: I saw some people with animal horns and the kids were putting them up to their heads like they were elk or something.

After sack lunches in the parking lot, our next stop was to be for horseback riding, but Mother Nature intervened again. The wind had picked up to 30mph or more and just as we were ready to ride, they cancelled rides for the afternoon because of danger of trees falling in the area of the trails. It must be a sign that we weren't meant to ride! We've spent the last hour in the Canyon Village visitor area, shopping, eating ice cream (again!)and generally goofing off a bit. We're going to drive up to Mt. Washburn right now - the highest point in the park - but there is a storm looming in the distance. In the morning, there is a possibility that we will be able to make the horseback ride at 9:00 - we'll see.

frustrated attempt to load pictures..

If I get anything loaded tonight with uncooperative cell signal, it will be a miracle! They are loading from bottom to top, so captions here are in reverse of picture order - Here is THE bear. No. 2 up - Old Faithful - as high as it got this time. No. 3 - Look Barbers! A picture of Scott! Don't he and Will look thrilled to be posing for me - LOL. This is by Chromatic Pool in the geyser basin around Old Faithful.
Top - Castle Geyser

Mountains, Lakes, Bears, and Mosquitos

Hello all - we are driving South through Grand Teton National Park, just about to reach Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We're getting ready to spend the rest of the evening poking around the town - maybe we'll get to have supper here and not go back to our camp and cook! We just got back in the cars after pulling over to the side of the road for the second time to try to get a look at a moose somewhere off the side of the road. It is a people circus for sure - dozens of people pulling over, running across the road to make people herds, cameras in hand. (Reminds me alot of the tourists in downtown Nashville when they think they've spotted a country star...)Even with this crowd though, we've managed to see a few animals - mule deer, elk, moose, antelope, and a bear.

We've been in this park most of the day and earlier hiked up to Inspiration Point overlooking Jenny Lake. Elevation 7200 feet where we stopped. It was about 1.5 mile of trail up and fairly steep at the end, but the kids did great - this is one tough bunch of hikers, no whiners! The view at the top as incredible - worth every breath.

Comments from the boys in my van (Wes is driving - I'm riding shotgun...): started the day with pancakes and bacon, clear skies, and chilly weather (low 40's), went to Colter Bay visitor center on Jackson Lake, then to the Jenny Lake lodge where we had sack lunches in the parking area. We took a boat across the lake to get to the start of the trailhead - very cool!

Biggest news - we saw a grizzly last night! Night before last, a ranger stopped by our campsite to tell us that an adolescent grizzly was about a mile north of Flagg Ranch, our campsite, doing "bear stuff". She made sure we knew how to secure our food and remove any trace of people smells before bedtime. No doubt they are following this bear closely to make sure it doesn't get a taste of human food - they knew right where he was and what he was doing. Once a bear tastes people food, they have to be killed, so basically, if we feed it, even by accident, we have led it to its death. Some of the kids got a little spooked by the news of the visitor lurking nearby, but got over it pretty quickly. (I feel pretty comfortable that a bear is not going to sneak up on us in a campground after seeing how closely they are following its movements.) Then, yesterday, on the way back to camp from Old Faithful, we (and lots of others) found it right along the side of the road, not a quarter mile north of our camp. A ranger was not far behind, trying to shoo the cars on down the road, but not before we could get lots of great pictures!

Yesterday we spent most of the day at the geyser fields around and including Old Faithful. The Yellowstone Inn is there and we got a great look at that piece of magnificent lodge-pole pine architecture (and a big taste of their ice cream when we came in from our hike!) We waited, along with about 500 other people, about a half hour to see Old Faithful erupt, then walked the trails all around it seeing all sorts of different hot springs, bubbling puddles, rock formations spewing hot steam - no two of them are the same. We had a really great talk from a ranger at the Yellowstone visitor center the afternoon previous where we learned quite a bit about how the Yellowstone caldera was formed - how a volcanic eruption shaped the earth in this area and created the geysers. Did you know that there are more geysers in one place right here than in anywhere else in the world? Speaking of elsewhere in the world, it is really neat to see how many folks from foreign countries are in these parts. Every where we go, we hear many different languages being spoken all around us.

Other news of note - the mosquitos here are something to behold. They hover in great dark clouds right over the citronella candles which they seem to not even notice. Around dusk our campsite was just about unbearable our first night here! We are going to be experts in what "Off" formula works the best.

Everyone else is in the Jackson Hole visitor center - a cool looking building with a roof of live grass - and I'm out here in the car blogging. We are right on the edge of the National Elk Refuge and I'm sure the kids are in there getting information on that. (They herd them in here in the winter and keep them protected.) Pictures will follow at the next convenient minute to post some this evening. At least we are in a place that has great cell phone coverage (absolutely NONE at our campground) and wifi! If you want to call your kids, the next hour or so will be a great time to catch them!

sooooo many pictures!

We are filling up our memory cards at an alarming rate. We will try to get some more pictures up tonight--especially of the grizzly bear!

Today is my favorite day of the entire trip. The Grand Tetons are breathtaking. We hiked to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. We are on our way to Jackson Hole. On the way we've seen a couple of moose. The bull moose did not cooperate for our cameras. We could only see the antlers. Maybe we'll see another one before we leave.

Hello from Claire and Eduarda

Hi people,
This has been a fantastic trip. We have had SOOOO much fun! Yesterday, we saw a bear. I got a picture of it. Today we are going on a boat ride and hiking this mountain thing. Tomorrow we are going horse back riding.YAAY!! This has been an awesome trip.

Bye-bye
Claire and Eduarda

Daniel says hello

This has been my favorite overnight trip so far. I bought souvenirs for my brother and sister (Rachel and Andrew). I really have to come back to Evan’s Plunge. It’s the most awesome pool I’ve ever swam in. Yellowstone is also really cool, in fact yesterday we saw a teenage Grizzlie!!! I got some great pictures. Speaking of pictures I’m almost out of pictures so I’ll try to by another camera today. Tomorrow were gonna go horseback riding. I love to ride horses! Mom and Dad I miss you and wish you were here, but I’ll be home soon!



-Daniel

Geyser

We went to old Faithful today and had to wait for about 30 min., and it started raining too. A lot of times it showed that it was about to blow, but sadly, no giant pillar of scalding hot water. When it finally did blow, it was amazing. Definitely something I want to see again.
-Sean Alcorn

from Will G.

(This post written 24 hours ago, but just now with internet to post it.)

This trip is awesome! I thought the badlands were amazing. The rocks were huge, but it was pretty easy to climb. Evan’s Plunge was great. The slides were awesome, and so were the alligators. You could float on them and you could fit like 10 people on one. They could flip over too! On slide was really fast so when you came out the bottom you could slide on the water for like 15 feet.
Wall Drug was an amazing store. They had so many things and so much stuff. We bought fudge and some awesome combs. Mt. Rushmore was amazing also. It was huge. But then we saw crazy horse and it was way bigger.
The needles highway was amazing too. I climbed up a big rock that was at least a 50 foot drop straight down to the road on one side. It was an amazing view.
When we were driving to Cody, we saw some amazing rocks along the highway. They were huge and kind of like mountains! When we got there I made two rock stacks.

~Will G.

Devil's Tower and snow on July 4!

Some pictures from yesterday's visit to Devil's Tower:

This place is a must-see! Trying to give you some idea of the size of it through a few pictures is quite difficult. The first here was taken from the front seat of the van while we were still about five miles away - yes, five miles! It almost doesn't look real in these photos!

Our campground was at the bottom of the mountain leading up to Devil's Tower. Here, the kids have a "cargo chain" going to get the bags and equipment unloaded. We needed to make camp before we actually went up the mountain. You would be amazed at how quickly they can now unload, unpack, and set up our portable city!

Once at the monument, we were able to walk completely around it on a trail built right below the boulder line at the base, still quite a ways below what you see exposed at the very bottom in the above photos. The walk around took about an hour without dallying- at least 1.5 miles, I think. We took pictures all around it, and the view and shape changes as you circle. These next two photos were taken just as I ended the trail, about to return to the start at the visitor's center. To give you some perspective of size, the first one was taken from the trail below the boulders at the base. The second is at the same place, but zoomed in as far as my camera lense would go. Note the rock climber right above the top of the dead tree - still tiny as an ant in this picture! We saw climbers in two places. There were actually two where this one is pictured - an amazing thing to watch- thanks to Mr. Oakley for bringing his binoculers.

Abigail shot the last photo using our van as a tripod while the rest of us were watching the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It was after 10 pm and the sky was beautiful! I thought I remembered this movie from my teenage years when it was new, but seeing it again now, in the shadow of Devil's Tower and after just having toured it in person, was really a treat! You may remember that the climax of the movie involves the aliens coming to make earth contact at this very location. Seeing the exact places we had been all day in this film was really fun. Not sure what all the kids thought about it (those who could stay awake!) the sci-fi special effects are probably a little "quaint" compared to what they see nowadays. I heard some say they really liked it.

No doubt, your kids have many, many pictures from this little piece of our trip. This blog application will not let us post more than five photos at a time, so showing you as many as we'd like will have to wait till we get home.

Right now, we are a little past Cody, WY, at Buffalo Bill State Park, on a reservoire formed from the Shoshone River - it is just breath-taking scenery. Actually, this whole day was a rollercoaster of seasons and topography! The vistas before us were stunning all day long, but never the same for more than a few minutes. We've traveled about 2/3 of the way across Wyoming from East to West so far. When we left Devil's Tower this morning, we were in lush, rolling hills. As we moved along, the hills smoothed out just enough that you could see forever, and the green gave way to more brown, red rocks and red dirt hills in a sea of gray-green sagebrush. At times you could see no tree in any direction and it resembled a desert in the mountains.

We stopped for lunch in Buffalo, WY - a beautiful little town which was green and lush with summer trees and flowers but was pretty quiet for the afternoon of July 4. It was 77 degrees and sunny with a nice breeze. From there we immediately climbed into the Big Horn mountains. In 16 miles, we ascended about 6000 feet and temperature dropped from mid-70's to low 40's! The grasses and deciduous trees of the town below gave way to evergreen spruces and pines, aspen trees with their pretty white trunks and spring-green leaves for contrast. The sides of the road were like a purple carpet of wildflowers most of the way up - but, all of this in driving rain! So much for the sun that had been on us a few miles earlier.

Just as we neared the top, we came out of the clouds to beautiful sky and snow still in the shady spots and where it had been deepest and not yet melted. We have a great picture of the kids, freezing as they posed, at 9,600 feet. The views from the top of the peak, a few more feet above the altitude marker were unreal! Nobody lingered long, though - we had to have some snowballs from the bit of snow left.

Upon heading back down the other side of the pass, all of the scenery, weather, temperatures, and views played out like a movie viewed in reverse - gone were the evergreens and flowers and back was the rock, but this time with a raging creek (looked more like a river to me!) along the roadside and sheer cliffs of rock on either side of the rock gorge our road snaked through. All of this accompanied by the unmistakable odor of burning brakes from various folks managing the 6% grade that went on for over 15 miles. Wyoming posts roadside markers identifying the type of rock exposed at various points along the roadside along with the historical epoch - how many millions of years old it is - pretty neat to see these change every mile as we came down the mountain.

Coming into Cody, later in the afternoon, we ended up in heavy traffic - hundreds of folks lined up in the right hand lane to get into the Cody Stampede - a huge rodeo going on tonight. It didn't start til 8:00 although it was barely 5:00 when we passed through. The stands were already packed with people and no parking in sight, so needless to say, our tentative plans to go to the rodeo tonight changed. The kids have been running around playing ball with some other camping kids next to us, having a blast. We got our tents pitched right when we arrived, despite an hour or so of 30mph winds to complicate that task, so there was some welcome down time after the work was done. This is the first campsite we've been to that did not have showers or sinks. The toilets are latrines in a little concrete enclosure - two potties in one little room, no partition in between, no sink or anything else in the room except for pungent air (for the girls, anyway) so you can imagine the reaction to this! There is running water from a spigot though, which we can heat for washing. We're only here for one night, so we'll manage just fine and enjoy the showers all that much more when we get to Yellowstone tomorrow.

Did someone do a rain dance?

We are once again in the vans. This is my 8th trip, and we've NEVER seen this much rain. This morning around 5am a strong (but thankfully short) rain and wind storm came through. There wasn't any lightning, so we did not have to get in the vans. At one point I thought the tent was going to blow away with us in it!

Today we drove across most of WY. The landscape changed about every 15 minutes. We'll get pictures up soon.

We did hear the news about Steve McNair--shocking!

For the 4th we have decorations and some red, white, and blue cupcakes. Hopefully we will see some fireworks from our campsite.

The rain seems to have passed. Time to cook dinner--quesadillas!

Shop, Eat, and be Merry!

We went shopping today at Sam's for our 2nd big grocery purchase. We spent $874 on the first purchase and only $630 today. We eat better than I ever eat at home. All of our parents would be proud to see their own children cooking the most gourmet meals. We have a salad with at least 10 toppings every night and we are having grilled pork chops with roasted corn on the cob tomorrow night! The students have learned how to dice, cut, slice, saute, fry, grill, and boil. They eat heartily at lunch and would make you proud!



Our first laundry experience went off without a hitch. It was the fastest trip to the laundry we have ever had. The students had their clothes folded and packed back in their bags in record time.

The students are conserving their money for the final destination of Yellowstone. Thanks for trusting us with your children. I have the greatest group of adult helpers! We have Wes, Rita, Kristi, Cas, Abigail, Carole, and Debbie (along with my son Jeff and his wife Mary). By the way, Mary taught at Freedom until I introduced her to Jeff. See, there are a lot of benefits to teaching!!

Patty Littlejohn

Steven's Yellowstone Trip

This is the best school trip I have ever been on. Evan's Plunge was the best pool ever - it had three slides. The best part was the rings. You swing to get to the next. They where hard and made you tired. Today we went to a prairie dog field and got pictures.

Steven

Many Names, Many Theories, One Tower

After another day of driving, we arrived at the small town of Devil's Tower. It's right next to the first US national monument, Devil's Tower. We set up camp at Devil's Tower Campsite (notice a recurring theme here?) and set out for Devil's Tower. When we got there, the first thing we noticed was two climbers scaling the sheer walls of the rock formation. It was looking at those people in comparision to the tower that we got our first idea of the true size of the massive tower.
We went into the visitors center and learned some interesting things about the tower, like it is called either Devil's Tower, Tasi-o-e, or Rock Tree. Also, it showed wome theories on how it was formed. Some scientists believe that millions of years ago, there was a huge mountain were Devil's Tower is now. The tower would have been directly under the peak. Slowly, the mountain eroded untill only the Rock Tree was left. Another theory is that there was a large volcano, and Devil's Tower served as a cork inside the volcano. It would bottle up the magma untill there would be a huge eruption. Eventually, the volcano took itself out, bit by bit, eruption by eruption, untill only the Tower was left. The third theory comes the Native Americans. A boy had gotten bear medicine, and he turned into a gigantic bear. He killed everyone his tribe, except for his little sister. The girl ran and ran untill she came upon a herd of Bison, who she asked for help. The told her that they would hold of the bear for a little bit. The girl ran some more untill she came to a large flat rock, which told her to run around it four times. She did, and it began to grow up and up, untill it was out of the bear's reach. However, the bear kept clawing and calwing at the rock, leaving hug gouge marks into the Tower.
We then hiked around the base of Devil's Tower, then came back and visited Prarie Dog village, where hundreds of Prarie Dogs live. We came back to our campsite and started cooking dinner, which will be a choice between Chicken Stir fry, or Chicken Fajitas. At nine o' clock, we are going to go watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind with Devil's Tower in view! Tomorrow we will pack up and head to Cody!

Will Wesson
Devil's Tower Campsite
Wyoming

Notes from the star student of The Alcorn School of Fishing...

Hey Dad, I caught a two pound Rainbow Trout! And five trout all together!

I saw some Mule Deer, Antelope with two baby fawns, and a wild buffalo, and prairie dogs. And Oreo is still fatter than the little prairie dogs! I wanted to keep one of the prairie dogs, but I couldn't because they are too fast - darn those chubby prairie dogs!

Me, Twig (Will W.), Rashaad, and Sean and my mom caught 19 fish all together and we grilled them, really fried them, and we caught alot of suckers - small fish - that I had to throw back. I know I accidentally threw one on land and couldn't get to it, so it accidentally died!

We ran over a snake when we were pulling into our campsite the very first day. It's head was crushed and it had beetles inside of it - it was gross. Right now we're seeing Devil's Tower. And, we've seen Mt. Rushmore, The Badlands, Crazy Horse - which is supposed to be the biggest monument, bigger than Mt. Rushmore. I thought one person built Mt. Rushmore on his own, but I found out that about 50 - 60 people helped. We met one of the men that helped work on Lincoln and Jefferson, and he said that he was 88 years old.

We're having alot of fun here and we miss you!

Mom says to put "lots of love"

Trent

pictures: Mom and Will W. fishing on the banks of the pond at our campsite at Custer State Park.

Debbie and Trent / Big Fish!

new photos from yesterday -

A few pictures from yesterday's drive, before the rain forced us off our horseback ride and into Custer.

Driving Needle's Highway - can you believe we fit through this gap? The kids could reach out the window and touch the wall just inches away.


On the other side...this is where we could park and get out to explore the view.

Great rock climbing for the kids - they scampered up the rocks of The Needles like mountain goats.

One of many unique views of this picturesque part of the Black Hills.

Sylvan Lake, within Custer State Park - this park is like four rolled into one and nicer than many national parks!

We've just arrived at Devil's Tower, Wyoming. What a great big rock sticking up out of the ground! We are wishing for a dry night here at the KOA campground. If you've been following our blog, but haven't joined in order to leave a comment, please do! The kids love to see who has written us a note and who is seeing the posts and pictures we're sharing with you poor folks who didn't get to come with us. We've got wifi here tonight - maybe you'll hear from us and we'll hear from you! :)