Sunday, August 29, 2010

I did not drop off the face of the earth...but almost!

To my fellow blog-buddies. I apologize for leaving absolutely no explanation for my extended blogging hiatus. While some of you might have believed that we were devoured by bears on our camping trip, I can assure you...we are alive and well. And I will address the bear issue in a later post. I am not sure I am emotionally ready to put that experience into words. (yes..I am being slightly dramatic..as per usual).

So, what have we been doing these past few or 4 weeks, you ask?
We have been indubitably sucking the marrow out of these last days of summer. Some of us have been sucking a bit harder then others...I'm not going to mention any names....D-man. He has been set on squeezing in as many adventures as time (and his wife) will permit!

This could possibly be because he is mourning the fact that, for the first time, three of our children will be in school! Two of them will be in school all day. Yes..we have decided to send C-boy to 4th grade and J-boy will be in 1st grade so the change will be palpable around here. And our little mini excursions. Well, let's just say those will come to a screeching halt. No more yanking kids out of school for a week long Arizona adventure. No more 4 day weekend camping trips. As far as D-man is concerned, life as we once knew it is over! At least for this year!

As far as I am concerned...I'm busy planning all of the things that I will be doing now that I am no longer homeschooling. The sky is the limit!

Oh wait, I momentarily forgot that I have a 20 month old son who has no ability to entertain himself thanks to his 3 older siblings!


In the past 4 weeks, after 2 full weeks of camping and a few lake days thrown in for good measure, one would think that the family from the Peanut Gallery was "adventured out".  However, this past week, inspite of being inflicted with an obnoxious head cold, I agreed to take the New Horizon out for one last Hoorah! Remember this? D-man thought a "little" trip to Glacier Nat'l Park would be the icing on the "summer" cake. And...being that it is only "four and a half" hours away, it would just be a two day, lickity split trip.

Seven...yes SEVEN hours later, we arrived at Glacier Nat'l Park.
Apparently Map Quest's estimation was off a bit. (that and possibly D-man's power of positive thinking)
Map Quest...you are no friend of mine. 
glacier park


Take a good close look at this picture. It is difficult to get a perspective but it just so happens to be taken from the R.V's side window.

Helllooooo down there........
luke cutie (1 of 17)

Today's installment of pictures will be documenting our journey to the sun, so to speak, on the Going To The Sun Road. I affectionately named it "Death trap" road. Another strong contender was "Make a wrong move and your dead" road. And finally, "What the heck were we thinking" road!  I'm sure the park will be thankful for my contribution and glowing recommendation of this gorgeous and yet terrifying trip.
luke cutie (2 of 17)
Let's all sing together now....
I'm on top of the world looking down on creation
And the only explanation I can find......
Have I mentioned I love Karen Carpenter.
luke cutie (4 of 17)
Every so often there are little "bump-outs" on the road.  I'm sure these are built for people who want to snap a few photos.  And for those "cautious" drivers, who don't want to go mock one with their hair on fire.  We pulled over on these regularly to let the cars that were "riding our hiney" move on past.
luke cutie (3 of 17)
You can imagine, that in the motor-home, moving along this road creates an indubitably precarious situation.

There are vehicle size limits on this road.  Much to D-man's excitement we "just barely" met those requirements!


luke cutie (8 of 17)

luke cutie (6 of 17)
In spite of the danger, I was even able to snap some photos of the surrounding beauty. My pictures turned out less then desirable because there was a smokey haze that hung throughout the mountains.  But..you get what you can in these situations.
luke cutie (5 of 17)

luke cutie (7 of 17)
As you can see, when you are young, you don't have a care in the world.  You are unable to grasp the gravity of the situation...the fact that with one wrong turn, or blown out tire you could plummet to your death.
And so you hang your leg out the window and suck on a tootsie pop.




Logan Pass Sign
We finally made our destination.  Can't say this was ever one of my goals, but who doesn't want to stand on the Continental Divide?



luke cutie (12 of 17)


luke cutie (14 of 17)
And inspite of the haze...I must admit, the view was spectacular.

However, all the joy and jubilation of standing on the Continental Divide, quickly disappeared as we made our way back down the "Death Trap" Going to the Sun Road.
luke cutie (15 of 17)
I know...it is difficult to believe that this is INDEED a two lane highway!


luke cutie (17 of 17)
Thankfully they built that very sturdy looking rock wall should some poor motorist lose control of his vehicle.


luke cutie (16 of 17)
Well... with the exception of this part of the road.  I think you'd be pretty much out of luck here!

Now...I would love to invite you to stay tuned for more "Sucking the marrow out of the last days of Summer" adventures in which I will discuss many different topics.  I'm not going to divulge too much information, but some of the topics are as follows:

A bear, his thirst,  and our Capri sun.
The one where a hoary marmot indubitably makes a nest in my hair...or something like that.
And the hike where I almost cut my head off and left it in the woods. 
And if that doesn't keep you coming back...I don't know what will!!


P.S...
Just in case you didn't know what a hoary marmot looks like.
Your welcome!
Hoary Marmot
picture by tomyris 95 on flickr


For more really cool uses of the word "indubitably" go check out Word Up Yo!!
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33 comments:

Bethany said...

I'm so glad your back! I missed your beautiful pictures!

Those views are amazing!

I just started homeschooling last week, and oh, my. Tough, ain't it? (I'm teaching them hillbilly grammar.)

OK, I'm ready for more of your posts now.

S.I.F. said...

Oh I CANNOT do roads like that! Just looking at the pictures has me hyperventilating!!

When I was a kid, we used to go to a cabin up north every summer. There was a road like that on the way, and at least once every summer someone would go over. One year we were actually held up in traffic for a few hours after this happened.

As I got older, I would threaten to get out and walk this road rather than be in a car that could go over at any minute. I hated that road with a deep deep passion!

Katherine Schultz said...

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!

I love all those views, they are wonderful :)

Hope you had a wonderful time.

K xx

Love Letters To China said...

So glad your back! Sounds like your summer was BUSY. Look forward to hearing all the gory details of all the fun you guys had.

Good luck with the coming school year. Don't you just love it when your little ones demand every ounce of your attention? My daughter was that way (still is) even though she wasn't used to an older sibling playing with her all the time. Funny... my little guy used to be able to play with his toys forever without any problem, now since his sister is constantly playing with him, he now needs someone to play with all the time too. ;-)

Heidi said...

Now I dont feel so bad for neglecting my blog for nearly a month!

You always manage to make me laugh--that rock wall looked sturdy alright! He-He, Im afraid of heights and those narrow and windy roads, good thing my DH isnt a camping kinda guy! So glad you all made it home safely :) LOVE all the pics, those kids cant get any cuter! Thanks for stopping by and saying hello. Enjoy those last few days!
Heidi & Jack.

A said...

Yay!!! so happy you're back! I love your adventures. You could, sadly, have the opposite of D-man. See my husband's idea of a 'vacation' is to get a bunch of movies, go in the stinky basement, close all the heavy duty curtains and sit in complete darkness. all. day. long. only coming out for food. Yay vacation! NOT!

Luckily the habit is changing a bit now that Owen is here.... :) If I get a slight improvement each year, I'll be satisfied. LOL

Tracy said...

Awwwhhh, soooo glad to see you back!!! It looks like an amazing trip, but as a woman terrified of heights I commend you for making that summit!!!! YIKES!!!!!!!!!! Ok, one more.... YIKES!!!!!!!!!!

Katharine said...

Welcome back...what a great adventure!~ and lovely photos!

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you're back! And didn't leave your head in the woods!
Your D-man is my kind of people(person) all this milking the summer for all that it's worth. I'm all about it. School is rough! Too many demands, no open road!
Can't wait to hear about the bear! And the strange rodent that made a nest in your hair. I think you and I could be finalists in a "Weird Off!" lol
I hope you find a million ways to entertain that sweet 20 month old of yours! Wish I had a little one home to entertain. *sniff sniff*

liz said...

YAY for the return of julie!!! i love it!

um, i feared you guys falling off the cliffs just be seeing those photos.

good luck with the entertainment! i feared that with maddie, but now she ended up starting a little program of her own.

Kelli said...

I did just check over here a few days ago to see if you had posted or maybe deleted your blog. Glad to see you're enjoying your summer, sucking up every moment. Your pictures are great!

Carrie said...

I am amazed by God's creation ... those pics are gorgeous!!!!

Glad to have you back!! & Can't wait to hear about the bear!! ;)

jan ~ tomatobaby said...

Funny ... I was just
wondering about you
last night ... wondering
why my peanut-friend
hadn't posted for an
awfully long time!

But here you are!

Fabulous pictures ...
I've been on a few of
those roads in my life
time ... singing along
with the Carpenters
{saw them live for my
12th birthday!}

Best of luck on your
new schooling routine!
New found freedom ...
of sorts with another
little one romping by
your feet.

Keep us current and
no more excuses about
not posting! We know
you can juggle more
than three-balls at
once! {grin/jab/poke} ~j.

Courtney said...

Been checking in every now and then and figured you were just enjoying your summer. And good for you! The pics are gorgeous - as always. Hope you have a great week!

Sherri said...

So glad you're back!! Awesome pictures...except for that odd marmont thing. Or maybe he's actually cute, I'm not sure.

Kids are adorable, though! Think of all the memories they will have of this road trip.

Amy J said...

You were missed! But your summer sounds waaayyyy more exciting than mine!

Am I a geek because I find it thrilling to see others using the word I picked for Word Up, Yo? Maybe...but who cares!

laney said...

Welcome back! Your trip looked fun and what great photo opps.

Can't wait to hear more of your stories...and thanks for the new vocabulary word! :)

Jenilee said...

i was wondering about you! glad you are having an adventerous summer! :)

Stacey said...

That is a terrifyingly beautiful drive! LOL I remember it from my childhood. It looks like it was a fun vacation though! Enjoy your somewhat freedom when school starts!

TheFitHousewife said...

So glad to have you back...I missed you soooo much!

I remember driving on the Going To The Sun road and also thinking it was a death trap...and I was only in a small car. I also remember feeling sorry for those people in motor homes, wondering how they did it?! Now I know....

Beautiful pics!

So is a hoary marmot just a fancy word for gopher?! 'Cause that's what it looks like....a dang big gopher. And over in these parts, we aim for them with the wheels of our cars!

Can't wait to hear more!

Unknown said...

Yippee! You're back! I missed you! Although those roads look pretty normal to me. What's the problem? ;)

Grace~The Mommy On the Bus said...

So glad to see you "back"!

I can so relate when you said, "Oh wait, I momentarily forgot that I have a 20 month old son who has no ability to entertain himself thanks to his 3 older siblings!"

The other night my in-laws took all the kids but my 2.5 year old and I quickly decided life is A LOT easier when my other kids are here to keep him busy! Boy he can get into trouble FAST on his own!! loL!

Jami said...

A hoary marmot huh? I used to know one of those. Just kidding. That probably wasn't nice....

Precious 3 said...

I did miss your blog! I was thinking about Mom and Me Monday and thinking I should do one...next week. I wasn't up to photos this week LOL!

I had forgotten all about that road, until your post. Then I was having flashbacks of being in a 15 passenger van whose sliding door just happened to get stuck OPEN while going up that road. And I just happened to be one of the two youth that was lucky enough to sit next to that open door! We squished and scooted as much as we could to get away from that opening, even though we were safely buckled. But it was a beautiful drive!

Unknown said...

Everyone deserves to spend time with their family, away from blogging. Just not too often, so no one gets spoiled! ;)

Looks like a great experience, despite the perilous roads. And totally worth it, for those photos!

Manda said...

I'm glad you indulged in your four weeks "off"!!! You were sincerely missed!
As for the children entering the threshold of a school year and you the emptier house... I'm sending you love, hugs, and prayers!!!
:) Manda

He & Me + 3 said...

Welcome back my friend. I have to say...the trip was beautiful but not in a million years would I take it. Nope ...I am afraid of heights and curvy scary roads. What a beautiful view of God's creations.
Glad you are back.

Natalie said...

I missed you my friend! But you know how I feel about that blogging time away - it's necessary!! And it's super hard to get back into the blogging groove once you come back.

Love your pictures, but seriously...my heart was beating a little too quickly just looking at the "two lane" highway! I would've freaked out!

Thanks for linking up to Word Up, YO!...it's fun, huh?!

Anonymous said...

I love your re-cap! Especially the part with the leg dangling out the window and tootsie pop - I think that says it all! The carefreeness, the trust! Sigh! I would have needed a sedative to get through that ride! You are one brave woman! Totally enjoyed the story - of course I want to hear about the hoary marmot. What a great summer you guys have had!

I've homeschooled my boys - and it's great when God says "Do it." and it's great when God says, "Put them in School." Enjoy your new experience!

Joey Lynn Resciniti said...

That's some stunning scenery. Our next vacation is supposed to take us where we can see those sights. Glad the bears didn't eat you!

Hannah said...

I'm glad you are back to posting. Now that you are going to have so much "free" time I expect more posts :)

Hope the kids have an awesome year at school and you get a little bit of free mama time!!

Alyson -- Common Sense, Dancing said...

Hopped over from WOW! and WOW -- what great photos!

I've got four children also...and though I am a redhead I have no redheads (you'll have to share your secret!).

Enjoy this last summer weekend!

Seizing My Day said...

That road scared us too!! ha ha! we drove from the North to the South of the park and drove on what I consider the best side of the road b/c we were up against the wall! ;) but we had construction to drive through... THAT was fun! they actually worked on the road last year!! ha ha! FABULOUS pictures! Took me right back to last years fun! Scary roads and all I want to go back on day!

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