Garden of the Gods and more family

Today we explored Garden of the Gods, a beautiful natural feature in Colorado Springs. Because we didn't have much of a drive today we went for a hike at our campsite beforehand. 

After a cold rainy day yesterday it was sunny and warm. The views in the park and the climbing were very enjoyable. Our tourist guided for the park had an ad for a gluten free restaurant not far from the park. Of course after lunch we had ice cream and then headed up to Denver to visit with Tim's Aunt Shirley and her son & family who live with her. This includes another kid cousin, Josh, who the kids were happy to meet a new cousin. They had fun playing ball in the yard (I was too tired to think of taking pics but they were adorable of course). We've taken advantage of the civilization by giving the kids showers and re-freezing our ice packs. Tomorrow we are heading to Moab for a couple of days. 

Scenes from today:

A lizard with a glorious view of Cheyenne Mountains. 

Climbing trees...

And on rocks...

And more rocks...

Ice cream and a tiny bench

Wii with Josh

Tim & Shirley talking family trees. 

Duncan and Josh bunking down for the night. 

Short driving day and some fun

Today we had 200 fewer miles to drive so we had time to take it easy. Our campsite in Kansas was very unique and not what you usually think of in this Prairie state. The park was down in a canyon on a lake and had some interesting native history. There was a Pueblo ruin that is the most northern and western known settlement and not far from the campground, up on the flatland, was an amazing rock formation called Monument Rock. 

After enjoying the visit to Kansas much more than expected, we headed over to Colorado Springs and a lovely campground at the outskirts of town. Once again, we were very happy to have our solid roofed, dry pop up. To protect us from the rainstorms that swept through. We arrived at camp during a dry moment and had a short enough day to let the introvert gang out in the camper while the rest of us relaxed outside. Though I feel slightly guilty for not doing something local with the afternoon, it was nice to have an unhurried evening. 

The city is on display below us and the sky is doing amazing things, even as it rains sporadically, the vista is memorable. Tomorrow we have an even shorter drive, just to Denver to see Tim's Aunt Shirley. We'll explore Garden of the Gods tomorrow and maybe the Air For d Academy on our way out of town (if we could go see the school's outdoor pagan worship space, we'd go for sure, but they tell me it is not in an accessible part of campus so is not open for visitors. Still we have another fun, relaxing day to look forward to! 

Here is today's photo stream:

 Imagine stumbling upon this in a cornfield. 

There were barely signs to the place, but there was someone else there to take this picture for us!

An impressive cow pie!

Today's distraction was pipe cleaners and pony beads. More successful than I would have predicted!

They were even good entertainment during the rain. 

City-camping

Off with a bang!

Today was the first day of our west bound trip back home. We're taking less time and a more direct route and will be home next Sunday. But to get started required a loooooong first day. We left Springfield and travelled up to Kansas City (still not in Kansas) and drove most of the way across Kansas which, by the way, is a very WIDE state! We drove 560 miles altogether once the side trips for essentials like gas and Steak and Shake milkshakes were acquired. 

Fortunately Kansas is also a flat state which meant that motion sensitive riders could still entertain themselves. The kids watched movies, played on the various devices and decorated their windows artistically. We also listened to music, played a conversation game called Chat Pack and did I mention milkshakes?

The kids & I demonstrated our camper assembly prowess to Tim, who mostly watched and learned but also helped a bit, and we got the camper up in under 13 minutes, including refilling the water tank! (For those of you not familiar with manual cranking pop-ups, let me assure you that is an impressive time!)

The weather across Kansas today can only be described as blustery. There was rain, cool temps and at times an impressive fog! We tried to capture it with pictures for you. 

Without wanting to imply or state that my mother was not EXTREMELY helpful on the East bound trip, I will say that setting up camp, meal prep and bedtime run very smoothly when you are doing it with someone you have cohabitated with for 18 years and coparented with for a dozen. We were all in bed by 9:40 and as usual I am the last one up, blogging as they breathe peacefully. 

Saying good-bye to Uncle Kevin. 

The minecraft worlds that have been created this summer are many!

The giant windmills topped in fog are a spooky site. 

Tim & I are not in agreement about these devices. He is pretty sure they are for oil and I think it is possible that they are pumping water. Any definitive insists are appreciated!

Ah, beautiful Kansas  

Duncan's window scene. 

Arrived!!

My charming Oregon children do not let rain and wind get in their way!

Reunion fun and road trip prep

Today was the Davis/Donica family reunion! We are all related to my great grandparents by blood or by marriage, including a bunch of double cousins stemming from my great-aunts marrying brothers. Before we set off for the reunion, we aired out the camper, cleaned out the kids' backseat area, grocery shipped and packed up a bunch of stuff. 

The reunion was to a of fun. "We have a good family" as my children observed when we were driving away from the park. 

We started the day with a bunch of kayaks and canoes. Ainsley is very into kayaking so was looking forward to it. Duncan would have preferred swimming and fishing but seems to have enjoyed the kayak nonetheless. I didn't have my camera with me (water and iPhones don't play we'll) so I'll have to get picks from John, who was taking pictures from the shore. After kayaking, we ate and the kids played badminton, murder (a board game we all grew up with) and generally had fun. The adults played a little too and caught up with each other. 

Tomorrow we had a brutal 500+ miles to get ourselves out of Missouri and mostly across Kansas. In preparation for the long day, the camper is packed and hitched and we have most of the rest of things organized. I'm going to bed soon in anticipation of the 7:00 am wake up call I have coming. 

Scenes from the day:

Kids & John talking college football. 

Jennifer, her boys Evan and Ryan with Duncan

Will, Evan (I think), Bill and Duncan

Donovan, the littlest cousin

We came from all over!

David, Maggie, Mom, Ainsley, Duncan, Larissa and Tim - the West coast contingent

We had some Murder boards custom made for the reunion. My grandmother's board was larger and heavier but looks just like this one!

Ainsley & I played right before leaving. It was so fun!

Town day

Today we had little on our agenda before the Taco Party scheduled to happen at our place as some pre-reunion fun. Apparently taco parties were a thing for the family when my mom's generation of cousins were younger and in addition to being an easy way to structure a pot luck with lots of our of town guests, it was also a shout out to the good old days. 

The kids enjoyed sleeping late and having no immediate agenda for the day. I thought I would too but by noon I was feeling restless to do something! So after lunch we took the kids to Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, which has its 300,000 sq ft flagship store here in the town of its founding. The ace was an amazing attraction with statues, aquariums, live alligators (small ones), quite a lot of taxidermy (I wish I had gotten a shot of the bird scene on the ceiling of the women's restroom) and really cool boats for sale. We explored for a while, including a visit to the Archery Hall of Fame (no sign of Merida from Brave) and Tim got some shorts, the kid got some candy and I got a Bass Pro sticker to add to our camper's growing collection of Been There, Done That bumper stickers. 

After Bass Pro Shops, we went to a bouncy house place where  the kids bounced (maybe the adults too a little) and we played air hockey and whack-a-mole. Then it was time to head home to the taco party where we got to see and meet all kinds of extended family. 

Here is today's photo stream:

1of 3 entrances

ELK!!!!

First you get them a pop-up camper, then they want a fishing boat!

Red-eared sliders and a soft shell  sitting on a rock

Not all the animals were friendly!

Bounce!

Their grandparents are cousins. What does that make these guys? We've just decided to call us all cousins and quit worrying about it!

Samantha and Wyatt. Samantha & I are the same age and remember each other from the family reunions of years ago. 

The last time Darsi and I were at a reunion together, she was a cool teenager and I got a fever and missed a trip to Opryland. 

Lounging & chatting

Field, Mans; Field, Spring

I'm going to have fewer pics today but we are (finally) settled on the family reunion house in Springfield. We enjoyed the hotel and got back on the road to our final Laura Ingalls Wilder pilgrimage- the home in Mansfield, MO where she and Almonzo settled after many hard years in Dakota territory. 

I thought I had been to this ace. Before, sometime with my Grandmother  when she lived in Missouri. I suppose it is possible that the museum has changed but it was not what I remembered at all, I remember the Lawn dress on a mannequin, I remember the exhibits and the dress wasn't there and the museum was different from my memory. Still it was great to see!! We also saw the Rock House which was a house Rose built for her parents in the late 20s. They lived there for 10 years while Rose lived in the main house. Rock House was interesting too. It was made from Sears Robuck plans and looked a lot like homes we've lived in. The views were lovely and I was rinsed of how I thought Missouri was when we'd visit  from Chicago as kids. 

After a quick drive to Springfield, we're now in the reunion house where we'll get to sleep in beds, enjoy refrigeration, and hang out with extended family for a few days. We've aired out the camper and nearly finished the laundry so there isn't much left to do other than enjoy ourselves!

Air hockey!

Daddy's here!!!

Rock House

I forgot to take any pics at the house but Tim took this one of me in the kitchen. I was having fun! 

We saw half dozen or so Amish carriages. Looked like young people out for drives. 

We raced a train (and won!)

The introvert gets some peace!!

Passing the baton and going with the flow

Today marks a turning point in our trip. We left Knob Noster and headed into St. Louis his morning, where we were planning to camp about 20 miles out of town. The say was always going to be action packed - a great museum to see, connecting Grandma with her car that she left here when she flew west to join our road trip, and probably the most anticipated activity - picking up Tim at the airport on the early evening. Though we have 1 more day of travel before we officially "arrive" today is the day we trade traveling partners from Grandma to Dad. We've missed him so much!!!!

But it turns out this transition has been another chance to be spontaneous. Tim's flight was cancelled and instead of coming in at 5pm, he arrived at 11:30pm, too late for me to trek 40 miles round trip and leave the kids sleeping alone at a campsite. We decided to stay at a hotel near the airport where my mom's car was parked and take a break from the camper. This was a Good Idea (TM). We are staying at a hotel that used to be a Holiday Inn Holidome with an indoor pool. The luxury of 3 people showering, leaving their bottles in the stall and having ample space to hang towels afterward is appreciated more than I can express. 

In addition to the nifty hotel, we also got to spend hours at the City Museum and the Arch. The kids got another stamp on their National Parks passports and we went out for pizza. 

Plus ow my husband is here!!! I'm going to post some pics for you and try to remember how to sleep without a 9 year old digging his knees into my back. Tim is a much better snuggler!!

About to go down the 10 story slide. Many more pics on my FB feed from the City Museum but they don't nearly do it justice. 

Is there a limit to how many slides Duncan will cheerfully stand in line for? Is so, we did t reach it today! 

Can I say that it really impresses me that my kids spontaneously sit down on barrels and play checkers w each other?