Day Nine...Burnsville, MN...Como Zoo

Today was another laid back day. We all slept in and spent plenty of time in our jammies. Once we all got around and Angie got home from work, we headed over to the Como Zoo. It is a great little zoo with quite a few animals.
They also have a little carnival area. Samuel was thrilled about the rides and being the suckers we are he got to ride a few. He had to ride all these on his own and was so excited. They were all a bit more intense then the rides at the Mall of America and he loved it.

Race cars

The initial drop scared Samuel a bit but once that was over he loved it.
Lots and lots of laughing!

Aunt Angie and Samuel on the train

Samuel loved driving the fire truck. They could also ride on the back and squirt water but he wanted to drive both times he rode it.

This was the most exciting ride. I was hesitant to let him go thinking he would freak out but he loved it. I can't wait to take him to Cedar Point next summer!

Liam was no thrilled to have to sit and watch all the action. I think he would have been on the rides if we would have let him.

When we were finished we headed back to the house to pick up Daddy and Uncle Caleb for dinner. We all enjoyed a great dinner at Olive Garden. After getting the boys in bed we all were able to enjoy the movie Vantage Point before finishing our evening with the Olympics.

Tomorrow will be our last day here. We head out Friday morning for a night in Iowa before visiting our friends, the Dinkins, in St. Louis.

Day Eight...Burnsville, MN...Mall of America

Well, we will be in MN for the next several days. Lots of laundry, cleaning out the van, reorganizing packed materials, resting and gearing up for a few more days in the car. While we are herewe will get to play some. Tonight we all headed over to the Mall of America.

I had never been there and wanted to check it out. I also had a great coupon for Gymboree and Samuel needed some back to school clothes. We wanted to limit our time so we headed over after dinner.

Samuel thought it was great. He rode a few rides with Daddy. Here they are on some of the favorites.

The train ride

Deigo's bus

After going to two select stores the boys played in the Lego store before we all made a pit stop at Cold Stone. By then we had all had enough. I can't imagine that I will ever care to go again. It was crazy busy and way to many stores to take in all at once.

Day Seven...Burnsville, MN

Pretty laid back day of driving. When we got up we checked out the weather and realized that it was suppose to rain near the Badlands all day. Instead of driving back 20 minutes to rain we decided to forge ahead and try to get into MN tonight instead of tomorrow.

The boys did great. They seem to really be getting use to being in the car. Liam slept and Samuel watched The Incredibles yet again. We made a stop for lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. We then rode for a few more hours before making a quick pit stop for a potty break. We had dinner at KFC (not recommended) then pulled into Angie and Caleb's around 9. Overall it was a pretty uneventful day.

R.I.P. Lance

Well, I (Mike) had intended on making a series of posts titled "The Lance Chronicles"...but alas that won't be happening. I know, you're probably all wondering who "Lance" is. Lance was a dear friend, a member of our family, he meant much to us over the years...Lance, was our fish.

Before we left Seattle, we tried with all our might to give away Lance, we even considered releasing him into the wild (Green Lake that is). Then I had an idea. What if we just brought him with us? So, Lance traveled with us from Seattle to Minneapolis, where he now is "swimming with the fishes."

So this post is written in memoriam of dearest Lance. Here are a few photos from his final days with us. May he rest in peace.

Lance in Eastern Washington's 100 degree heat.

Lance at Flathead Lake, MT.

Lance in Glacier National Park.

R.I.P.
Lance Armstrong Clark
circa September 2006 - August 11, 2008

Day Six...Kadoka, WY

Although the boys were both up early and Mike and I were exhausted after driving until 3:15am, today was a great day of travel. We had a very slow start, not checking out until about 11:00am. We started driving with the hope of going about an hour and a half to two hours before stopping for lunch. Both boys rode well and we made a pit stop around 1:00.

After lunch at McDonald's and play time in the kids area Mike and I saw a very comforting, extremely desired sign. It was like a beacon in the night. We were pulled in it's direction and before we knew it we were ordering with huge smiles on our faces. Ahhh....Starbucks...

Back on the road, both boys fell asleep within about fifteen minutes. Yes! Our hope was to make it to Wall, SD where we would take a dinner break and do all the touristy thing there. We were then only going about another hour to Kadoka, SD for the night. Yes, we already had a hotel room reserved (we learned). Our hope was to drive through the Badlands National Park on the way also.

The boys slept the entire three hour drive! We did hit some pretty crappy weather and ended up driving most of the time in rain. For a bit of fun Mike and I decided to count the number of Wall Drug signs we saw on the last 43 miles of the trip. We ended up seeing a shocking 70! We did have dinner at Wall Drug and did walk around. Samuel was a bit creeped out by the "people" sitting on the benches and was very hesitant to get close. He did love the outdoor animals but hated the big T-Rex, especially when it roared. We ended up resting there for about two hours.

We then decided to head straight for the hotel since the weather was still pretty bad and it would be getting dark soon. Since we are a day ahead of ourselves we will be going back to the Badlands to do a drive through before attempting to make it to Souix Falls tonight then my sister's tomorrow.

As far as health...Mike and Liam seem to be much better. Samuel went all day yesterday without a fever but did get one right before bed. He has also been refusing to eat much because he says it hurts his mouth. We are guessing it really is hurting his throat. We will have to see how today goes. I have continued to avoid it all.

Day Five...Sheridan, WY

Yes, you read it correctly...we are in Wyoming. Not necessarily by choice but here none the less.

Yesterday morning we decided that instead of camping for another night at Glacier that we would spend the morning driving through the park then get on the road heading toward Aunt Angie's. No one slept well camping, the boys both felt pretty cruddy and Mike and I did not want to spend two days in the car driving 8+ hours. We figured by leaving the day earlier we could take the hours to Minneapolis and split them into four days instead of three. So we headed out.

We made it though the park in great time. We stopped and had lunch at a little cafe in St. Mary's. The Park Cafe was recommended by Tucker and is said to have the best pie. Since it was nap time the boys were a bit done so we had a quick lunch and took our pie to go. Once on the road we discovered why we were told to stop. In that moment we wished we would have bought an entire pie.

Life was good, both boys were asleep and we were getting ahead our our planned route. Then we hit this.

It started as rain and quickly moved to the worst hail storm I have ever witnessed. It was hitting the car so loudly that we thought we would surly end up with dents. Mike and I couldn't even hear one another over the pounding. We figured we were doomed and the boys would be screaming any minute. Amazingly they slept through the entire thing. Thank God for training with sound machines.

After the rain and hail stopped we ended up with a beautiful countryside to drive through. We decided at that point that we would make it to Lewistown, MT and evaluate how the kids were doing.

We hit Great Falls, MT and stopped for dinner. We then put the boys in their jammies and figured we would make it a few more hours. We hit Lewistown around 9:30pm. Both boys were asleep so we figured the two hours to Billings, MT would not be a problem. We sleepily pulled into Billings at 12:15pm. The first hotel stop had a sign saying they didn't have any rooms so we headed to the next one. I took a deep breath realizing a bed was only a few moments away...or so I thought.

So apparently every hotel in Billings was completely booked. We called around for about a half hour before realizing that this was true and that we were without a place to sleep. To say the least we were frustrated, tired, and ready to give up. So our options...sleep in the van, find a place to camp, or drive to the next city. Since the first two were not options we called Sheridan and found a room at the Best Western.

Two more hours in the car. We pulled into the hotel at 3:15am. Both boys woke up and figured it was time to play. We quickly got in our room and hit the pillows pretty hard. 3 hours later after sleeping for 9 hours Liam was up...so were we!

So to say the least we are tired today. We are planning to head to Wall, SD to have lunch then explore the Badlands. We may then up in a hotel pretty close to there so we can all get a good night's sleep tonight.

Day Four...Glacier National Park

Wow, it is beautiful here. This morning we woke up and headed up to Glacier National Park. We found a great campsite at Apgar and set up camp. After lunch and a frustrating attempt at naps, we decided to head out and drive about halfway through the park to a place called Logan Pass.

The drive was stunning. We found most of our time spent in awe of how beautiful the mountains were. We made a few pit stops along the way to get out and look around. As evident from the picture above, Samuel is not feeling well today...the sickness continues.

Once we made it to the pass we got out and went on a small hike down a boardwalk. The scenery was breath taking. Here are a few of our favorite pictures.

Samuel was thrilled about all the snow but not so excited about getting cold or wet.

We also saw some of the mountain animals. No bears but both mountain goats and bighorn sheep where around. Some even crossing the road in front of us.

So the journey continues. The boys are both doing a lot better in the car but are both struggling with health right now. They both have had fevers on and off for a couple of days and seem to be pretty out of it at times. Mike is feeling back to par and so far I have been able to avoid the bug. Keep your fingers crossed!

Day Three…Bigfork, MT

It was so nice to wake up this morning and know that we got to stay put. Mike actually got up with the kids so I could sleep in. It was wonderful! It is amazing what a good nights sleep can do for you.

Today we are planning on hanging out around here. We headed into the village this afternoon and had lunch at a little café. We then walked around the little shops and stopped for ice cream before heading back for nap time. Tonight we may go down to the beach and take some evening pictures. We then have the newest expansion pack (Traders and Barbarians) to try tonight. Yeah!

The boys are both asleep right now and Mike is getting ready to go into town to find internet access to update all of you on our whereabouts. Although Mike is feeling a bit better overall, Liam now has a fever and is a bit cranky. Oh the joy of a stomach bug while traveling 3,000 miles.

Next stop…Glacier National Park

Day Two…Bigfork, MT

Overall our second day of travel went much better than the first. Our plan was to drive about four hours to Bigfork, MT where we would be staying with friends Jen, Tucker and Katelynn at their family’s lake house. The plan worked.

We left Post Falls at about 11:00am on Wednesday. Liam had just woken from a nap and within about a half hour Samuel was sound asleep. We drove about two hours and stopped at a little roadside diner to have lunch. After running around a bit we got back on the road for the remaining leg. Driving around Flathead Lake was beautiful. We made a pit stop for some pictures and then arrived in Bigfork about 6:00pm (time change to Mountain Time).

Mike is still not feeling up to par. His fever is gone and splitting headache has subsided but feels “like I swallow a box of nails” every time he eats. He is going to Google search for a diagnosis as soon as he gets internet connection.

We ended our evening with dinner with the FitzGeralds, three kids in the bathtub and a great game of Settlers. Good times. It is so nice to know that for the next several days we are not stuck in the car driving for hours.

Day One...Post Falls, ID

Well, we made it...barely. Through our first day of travel that is. After running our last minute errands, we finally departed Seattle this afternoon about 1:00pm. The plan was to drive about five and a half hours to Coeur D'Alene, ID and camp for the night. That was the plan...

So after having lunch and heading out Mike started to say he wasn't feeling well, flu like. I drove a bit, he slept, Samuel slept and Liam rode quietly. This lasted for about two hours. We decided to make a pit stop, stretch, and get some ice cream. Getting back into the car, we started up The Incredibles hoping for another few hours of peace. We made it about a half hour from the Idaho line when everything fell apart. Liam was hungry and tired, Samuel was mad about his movie, Mike was still feeling sick and now running a fever and I was exhausted.

We crossed over the Idaho state line and decided that camping was out of the question. We ate dinner at Denny's then grabbed a room at Sleep Inn in Post Falls. After wrestling everyone into the room we finally got both boys to sleep and Mike decided to also head to bed while I updated everyone on our day.

So, not the day we were hoping for. Not a very encouraging start for any of us. Hopefully tomorrow Mike is feeling better and we can get an earlier start. We only have about a four hour drive to Bigfork, MT where we will be staying with Jen, Tucker and Katelynn for a few nights. We will then spend a few nights camping in Glacier before heading out for three long days of driving. Wish us luck!