Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Our Final Words on our Family Vacation: "God Creation Tour 2009"
Our family was blessed by God to be able to have enjoyed traveling from Penfield, New York, to as far West as Yellowstone National Park, to as far South as the Grand Canyon. We had traveled on Route 66, seen many national parks: Badlands, Mesa Verde, Grand Teton, seen some great cities (St. Louis, Kansas City, Nashville, Salt Lake City) as well as small towns (Pipestone MN, Cody WY, Virgin UT, Williams AZ, Cortez CO, Dodge City KA, Rising Sun IN) all the time viewing God's beautiful creation.
Thank you to all of you for traveling with us by following our blog! We are very thankful to have awesome family and friends to share our life with and who have been looking out for us. A great Thank You to Pat and Diane for looking after our house while we were away. Most of all, all our thanks and praise go to our God, who aligned everything in our lives (work, home, money, etc.) so we could take this wonderful trip. He kept us safe while we were viewing and enjoying His creation, while all the time we were giving Him all the glory for what He has done. We are so humbly blessed! Praise God!!!
Thank you to all of you for traveling with us by following our blog! We are very thankful to have awesome family and friends to share our life with and who have been looking out for us. A great Thank You to Pat and Diane for looking after our house while we were away. Most of all, all our thanks and praise go to our God, who aligned everything in our lives (work, home, money, etc.) so we could take this wonderful trip. He kept us safe while we were viewing and enjoying His creation, while all the time we were giving Him all the glory for what He has done. We are so humbly blessed! Praise God!!!
Day 26 & 27 - Erie PA to Penfield NY
On Day 26, we traveled from Indiana to Erie, PA, where we stayed at the Erie KOA. This was the most traditional camping we had done all trip, as we were able to just slow down, not visit any sights, but have fun at the campgrounds. We swam for a while, having a great time creating a fast whirl pool in the small childrens 12' circular pool. We had dinner and a campfire. Peter and Jordan gave us another glow stick show at the campfire, twirling them very fast looking like a light circle, or throwing them up looking like fireworks. They did great.
We got on the road for the last 3 hours of driving of our trip at 10 AM, and arrived home at about 12:30 PM.
Our total mileage was 6,800 miles. We did one oil change on the road, replaced our camper tires (10 years old), and have to replace the cover of the camper awning (also 10 years old). God was watching over us the entire time and kept us safe. We are very thankful!
We got on the road for the last 3 hours of driving of our trip at 10 AM, and arrived home at about 12:30 PM.
Our total mileage was 6,800 miles. We did one oil change on the road, replaced our camper tires (10 years old), and have to replace the cover of the camper awning (also 10 years old). God was watching over us the entire time and kept us safe. We are very thankful!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Day 24 & 25 - Creation Museum, Rising Sun Indiana
We traveled from Nashville to Rising Sun Indiana on Sunday. Donna drove while Tim did a bible study with the children in the car. We arrived at about 5 PM, due to a 1 hour time change, traffic, road work and a bridge being out over the Ohio River. We're staying at a campsite called Little Farm on the River, located on the Ohio River. It's fine, but the staff leaves at 5 PM every day. They had already closed, but at least provided us with the site number and told us to pay in the morning. No store or help after 5 PM. Peter, Jordan and EmmaLee went fishing, but caught nothing. We had a great campfire that evening with s'mores, and Peter and Jordan put on a show with glow sticks.
Today we went to the Creation Museum in Kentucky, very close to the Indiana and Ohio borders. It was all based upon the first 11 books of Genesis. It is fantastic the thought, creativity and the truth and accuracy of the word of God placed into this museum. It went through the Seven C's: Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, Consummation. It worked totally through the Gospel message. There were explanations on the world creation by God, how and when dinosaurs fit in, the flood, carbon dating, and many others. They had many great areas of the museum, as well as a petting zoo outside, and botanical gardens.
We came back to our campsite, had dinner, played a round of mini-golf, took showers, played in the game room, and went to bed.
Tomorrow, we're headed to Erie, PA, to stay at the Erie KOA for a night, then coming home.
Today we went to the Creation Museum in Kentucky, very close to the Indiana and Ohio borders. It was all based upon the first 11 books of Genesis. It is fantastic the thought, creativity and the truth and accuracy of the word of God placed into this museum. It went through the Seven C's: Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, Consummation. It worked totally through the Gospel message. There were explanations on the world creation by God, how and when dinosaurs fit in, the flood, carbon dating, and many others. They had many great areas of the museum, as well as a petting zoo outside, and botanical gardens.
We came back to our campsite, had dinner, played a round of mini-golf, took showers, played in the game room, and went to bed.
Tomorrow, we're headed to Erie, PA, to stay at the Erie KOA for a night, then coming home.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Day 22 & 23 - Nashville, TN
We traveled from St. Louis to Nashville on Friday, pulling into the Nashville KOA at about 4:00 PM. We had a relaxing rest of the day, playing catch baseball, football, and a few other things. Peter met another boy his age from next door, and they all played together for the rest of the night. We had dinner and went swimming until about 9:30, then went to bed.
The next day, we went into the music city area of Nashville, seeing many sights. We took a tour of the Ryman Auditorium, which was the original Grand Ole Opry location for many years (1943-1974). It's known as the Mother Church of Country Music. It originally was a church, created in 1889 by Captain Thomas Ryman, for Southern Evangelist Samuel Porter Jones to preach in. It lay vacant from 1974 to 1994, when it was renovated, and hosts the Grand Ole Opry in the Winter time. We seen many other city sights.
At night, we went to a place called "A Cowboy Town", which was an outdoor dinner theater, which had 4 different skits of gunfights & comedies, hayrides, a great dinner, campfire, with great hosts. We came back to our camper at about 8:30 PM, and watched part of a video of Yellowstone national park, to remind us of our early adventures on our trip.
The next day, we went into the music city area of Nashville, seeing many sights. We took a tour of the Ryman Auditorium, which was the original Grand Ole Opry location for many years (1943-1974). It's known as the Mother Church of Country Music. It originally was a church, created in 1889 by Captain Thomas Ryman, for Southern Evangelist Samuel Porter Jones to preach in. It lay vacant from 1974 to 1994, when it was renovated, and hosts the Grand Ole Opry in the Winter time. We seen many other city sights.
At night, we went to a place called "A Cowboy Town", which was an outdoor dinner theater, which had 4 different skits of gunfights & comedies, hayrides, a great dinner, campfire, with great hosts. We came back to our camper at about 8:30 PM, and watched part of a video of Yellowstone national park, to remind us of our early adventures on our trip.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Day 20 & 21 - St. Louis, Missouri
We left KC at 9:30 AM, and got on the road. Tim was able to find and reserve a Yogi Bear Jelly Stone campsite just outside of St. Louis in Eureka, MO. We got there about 3 PM, and had a casual evening of shuffle board, swimming, and mini golf. The camp ground also had an ice cream social, so we each had an ice cream sundae. At the rec hall where we were eating ice cream, they also had the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Houston baseball game on. Houston pulled it out in the bottom of the ninth, after being down by one run.
The next day, we headed out to see the Arch of St. Louis. There was a museum at the bottom of the arch, and before we went up it, we learned that it is even taller than the Washington Monument, Statue of Liberty, and Mount Rushmore. It was incredible, as it was originally conceived in the late 1920s, but only completed in the 1950s. We took a tram up to the top of the monument, and seen a great view of the city. We also watched the movie there called "Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West". We didn't know this before, but St. Louis was called the Gateway to the West. So, Louis and Clark were big around here. We also learned that the group who went on this exploration of the Louisiana Purchase were what today would be considered Special Operations Forces - a select group from the Army who would go on a 2 year expedition to map out this new territory.
Our next event was going on a riverboat on the Mississippi River, for an hour cruise. We were able to have a small lunch on board, and enjoy the cruise.
After the Gateway Arch area of St. Louis, we traveled to what is called Forest Park, which had the Zoo, a golf course, and an interesting smaller park which contained 3 very large concrete turtles, and 5 smaller turtles (see pictures). We ate out at a Chinese restaurant. We came back to the campsite and had some Dad-Peter-Jordan-Emmie fun time goofing around in the camper. The campsite was then holding an event that evening called candy bar bingo, so we played.
It was another blessed day from the Lord, much family fun, and a great sunny day in the 80's! So far, 5794 miles and counting.
The next day, we headed out to see the Arch of St. Louis. There was a museum at the bottom of the arch, and before we went up it, we learned that it is even taller than the Washington Monument, Statue of Liberty, and Mount Rushmore. It was incredible, as it was originally conceived in the late 1920s, but only completed in the 1950s. We took a tram up to the top of the monument, and seen a great view of the city. We also watched the movie there called "Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West". We didn't know this before, but St. Louis was called the Gateway to the West. So, Louis and Clark were big around here. We also learned that the group who went on this exploration of the Louisiana Purchase were what today would be considered Special Operations Forces - a select group from the Army who would go on a 2 year expedition to map out this new territory.
Our next event was going on a riverboat on the Mississippi River, for an hour cruise. We were able to have a small lunch on board, and enjoy the cruise.
After the Gateway Arch area of St. Louis, we traveled to what is called Forest Park, which had the Zoo, a golf course, and an interesting smaller park which contained 3 very large concrete turtles, and 5 smaller turtles (see pictures). We ate out at a Chinese restaurant. We came back to the campsite and had some Dad-Peter-Jordan-Emmie fun time goofing around in the camper. The campsite was then holding an event that evening called candy bar bingo, so we played.
It was another blessed day from the Lord, much family fun, and a great sunny day in the 80's! So far, 5794 miles and counting.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Day 18 & 19 - Get out of Dodge! and Kansas City
We traveled from Cortez, CO to Dodge City, Kansas on Monday, and stayed at a campsite called Gunsmoke RV Resort. We had a problem with the zipper on our awning, which forced us to take it off the camper, and travel with it inside. We'll need to get a new one upon our return. We had a long drive today, and got into Dodge City at about 5PM, but 6PM with the time change. We ate dinner out at Applebees, and went to the campsite to setup and get a little swimming in before the pool closed. We were very fortunate as there were severe thunderstorm warnings going on all around us, but we were not affected at all - praise God!
The next day, we drove to Kansas City, MO, to stay overnight. With the time change, we forgot to set our clocks, and ended up getting a later start then expected. We were going to the Kansas City Royals vs the LA Angels game. The night before, with all the severe lightening storms, the game was canceled. It was rescheduled for tonight at 4:15, so we actually had tickets now for a double header! We arrived at the campsite at about 4, and got to the game a little after 5 PM. We all got free Royals T-shirts as we entered the stadium! We watched a part of the first game, had dinner, then went to a new area for children, where they could hit baseballs in a mini baseball park, pitch, race against Royals players times running a distance from Home Plate to first base. Peter did great, as he beat out the Royals player twice by .1 second. We then went to watch the second game. It was a great night, as the rain held off. LAA won both games. We stayed until after the 7th inning, where LA was leading 10-2. Tomorrow we head to St. Louis.
The next day, we drove to Kansas City, MO, to stay overnight. With the time change, we forgot to set our clocks, and ended up getting a later start then expected. We were going to the Kansas City Royals vs the LA Angels game. The night before, with all the severe lightening storms, the game was canceled. It was rescheduled for tonight at 4:15, so we actually had tickets now for a double header! We arrived at the campsite at about 4, and got to the game a little after 5 PM. We all got free Royals T-shirts as we entered the stadium! We watched a part of the first game, had dinner, then went to a new area for children, where they could hit baseballs in a mini baseball park, pitch, race against Royals players times running a distance from Home Plate to first base. Peter did great, as he beat out the Royals player twice by .1 second. We then went to watch the second game. It was a great night, as the rain held off. LAA won both games. We stayed until after the 7th inning, where LA was leading 10-2. Tomorrow we head to St. Louis.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Day 16 & 17 - Four Corners, Cortez Co and Mesa Verde National Park
We left Williams AZ early Saturday morning, heading for Cortez, Colorado. Our first stop along the way was to the 4 Corners, where Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico all come together at one point. Peter really wanted to go there. When we arrived, the temperature was 101 degrees. We got some pictures of Peter, Jordan and Emmie touching each state at the same time, so they were in 4 states at the same time!
Then,instead of going back South to take Route 40 across through Oklahoma, Texas, etc. as we originally planned it, we went up North a bit, changed our route, and are taking Route 160 to Route 70 across East. We met up with the Bowes family in Cortez, Colorado. They had reserved a campsite for us right next to their own. We had a great view of the mountains from our own site - a view of Mesa Verde National Park. We enjoyed 1/2 day together at the Cortez KOA, swimming, dinner then s'mores around the campfire.
The next morning, we left Cortez and visited Mesa Verde National Park. It had many cliff dwellings from around the 11-13th century built into the sides of a mountain. We did several 1 mile hikes there. Again, the children did great, some whining, but we had fun nonetheless. We got back on the road at about 3PM.
We ended up staying in a town called Pagosa Springs, arriving just after 5 PM. We had a spaghetti dinner, then Tim, Peter, Jordan and Emmie all went to rent paddle boats on their small pond. It was fun. We came back, and since it was getting late, and we wanted to get an early start in the morning for our 8+ hour drive, we decided to forgo the campfire, and have a shorter video. We had a DVD of a Newsboys concert which we watched part of, then went to bed.
Thank you for traveling with us!
Then,instead of going back South to take Route 40 across through Oklahoma, Texas, etc. as we originally planned it, we went up North a bit, changed our route, and are taking Route 160 to Route 70 across East. We met up with the Bowes family in Cortez, Colorado. They had reserved a campsite for us right next to their own. We had a great view of the mountains from our own site - a view of Mesa Verde National Park. We enjoyed 1/2 day together at the Cortez KOA, swimming, dinner then s'mores around the campfire.
The next morning, we left Cortez and visited Mesa Verde National Park. It had many cliff dwellings from around the 11-13th century built into the sides of a mountain. We did several 1 mile hikes there. Again, the children did great, some whining, but we had fun nonetheless. We got back on the road at about 3PM.
We ended up staying in a town called Pagosa Springs, arriving just after 5 PM. We had a spaghetti dinner, then Tim, Peter, Jordan and Emmie all went to rent paddle boats on their small pond. It was fun. We came back, and since it was getting late, and we wanted to get an early start in the morning for our 8+ hour drive, we decided to forgo the campfire, and have a shorter video. We had a DVD of a Newsboys concert which we watched part of, then went to bed.
Thank you for traveling with us!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Day 14 & 15 - Grand Canyon & Route 66
We left Zion area on Thursday, heading for the Grand Canyon. After driving through many mountainous roads with sharp curves but beautiful views, we made it to the Grand Canyon by about 2 PM. We had the kids keep their eyes closed until they got up right by the South Rim of the Canyon, so we could video their response when they first seen the awesome sight. And what an awesome sight it is. We took many pictures at the several stops along the South Rim of the Canyon. Jordan's words were - I want to leave, because this is just too big! It really is incredible and hard to take in, especially for the children. The overwhelming greatness of the Canyon God created is hard to actually put in words. Actually, Peter, Jordan and EmmaLee were somewhat getting tired of 'always looking at mountains', from all the mountainous sights and National Parks we've been to during our travels.
We ended up staying at a great KOA in Williams, AZ, called Circle Pines. Williams is right on Route 66, which brings us back to the Cars movie and the song about Route 66. It had a great indoor heated pool, miniature golf, a game room, campfires, bike kart rentals - all the essentials for traveling with small children. We had a great night which ended with a campfire and our first s'mores of our vacation.
The next day, we slept in a bit. The children played mini golf, while Tim worked on some actual work for Harris that needed to get done. We then had lunch, went swimming for a while, took showers, and headed back to the Grand Canyon at about 2 PM. It was about an hour ride to the canyon. We first stopped at the IMAX theater to see the movie on the Grand Canyon. We then went to several points at the Grand Canyon to take more pictures and be inspired by more of God's creation. We then had dinner at a Western steak house called "Yippee Ei Ya", which was Tim's delayed birthday dinner.
After dinner, we headed back to Williams, AZ, to see the small Route 66 town at night. It was just like the movie Cars! A lot of neon, many of the Route 66 signs, many old fashioned stores, restaurants, soda shops. It was great! We got home at about 9:30, a long day for all, but relaxing and full of family fun and enjoyment. Another blessed day for our family!
We ended up staying at a great KOA in Williams, AZ, called Circle Pines. Williams is right on Route 66, which brings us back to the Cars movie and the song about Route 66. It had a great indoor heated pool, miniature golf, a game room, campfires, bike kart rentals - all the essentials for traveling with small children. We had a great night which ended with a campfire and our first s'mores of our vacation.
The next day, we slept in a bit. The children played mini golf, while Tim worked on some actual work for Harris that needed to get done. We then had lunch, went swimming for a while, took showers, and headed back to the Grand Canyon at about 2 PM. It was about an hour ride to the canyon. We first stopped at the IMAX theater to see the movie on the Grand Canyon. We then went to several points at the Grand Canyon to take more pictures and be inspired by more of God's creation. We then had dinner at a Western steak house called "Yippee Ei Ya", which was Tim's delayed birthday dinner.
After dinner, we headed back to Williams, AZ, to see the small Route 66 town at night. It was just like the movie Cars! A lot of neon, many of the Route 66 signs, many old fashioned stores, restaurants, soda shops. It was great! We got home at about 9:30, a long day for all, but relaxing and full of family fun and enjoyment. Another blessed day for our family!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
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