South Dakota - Jackalope and Jillalope went up the Hillalope

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Have you ever ridden a jackalope? Well, in South Dakota I did.  I haven't ridden a horse yet, but I've ridden a jackalope. Weird huh? Riding the jackalope was awesome. Below I will be talking about Wall Drug, Mount Rushmore, alpine slide, mountain goats, and tons of other stuff.

My favorite memory was getting lost at Wall Drug. The store was fun because we had to find our way around hundreds of people. My dad told me about the jackalope, but don't even think that a jackalope is a real animal.

Mount Rushmore was so cool. I didn't realize that Mount Rushmore has SO much detail.  Sadly my family had to double check the fourth president on Mount Rushmore. By the way the four presidents on Mount Rushmore are George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson.

We also went on an alpine slide. An alpine slide is a slide on a mountain. You ride in a go kart type thing, but it doesn't have pedals. The most wonderful part about the slide was we were able to control our own speed! I thought that was REALLY fun. My dad was going as slow as a snail, even a jackalope could beat him

My animal for South Dakota was mountain goats in the Badlands. A bunch of people were just sitting there, so we thought we'd check it out, and guess what we saw...mountain goats.  We saw two mountain goats standing on a one foot wide ledge that was about fifty feet high!  If my dad was their dad, he would go crazy.

Some other things we did included eating at a Philly cheese steak restaurant called Philly Ted's. We were going to have a picnic, but it didn't work out because we couldn't find the place that we were going to have the picnic at.

Lastly, we went to an outdoor Christian concert. Addison Road is my favorite group, and they were there. They even sang my favorite song! At the concert there was a kid's area with blow up things. I went on the bungee run. I wanted to go again, but we had to get back to our hotel.

In conclusion South Dakota was the best. I'm hoping that our next state, which is North Dakota will be even better!  Maybe I can finally ride a horse and not a giant jackalope there.

The Daughter

South Dakota – Where the 3% of Americans without AT&T Coverage Roam

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How do you know when you’re in South Dakota? The hotel in Sturgis has a box of rags to wipe down your motorcycle! But that’s not all, they also have a hose and special place to wash down your bike out back. I guess it’s to wash off all that Black Hills dust. We did a lot of things in South Dakota, but none of it included motorcycles.

Here are some highlights from South Dakota:

Most Beautiful Spot: The Badlands. After seeing them, I’m still not sure I know what they are or how to describe them. They’re sort of like the Grand Canyon, but not as grand…and not really a canyon. Some are peaks, some mounds, some canyon-like. Whatever they are, they’re interesting and beautiful, and I loved the ones with vivid yellow stripes in the sand.

Best Tourist Spot: Cosmos Mystery Area. The tour consisted of many different mind boggling demonstrations, some of which involved people on the tour appearing to change heights and others involved people appearing to defy the laws of gravity in a strange cabin. Much of the mystery can be solved with simple science and illusions, but there were some things we couldn’t explain. I wished we had a science teacher with us to debunk the mystery!

Worst Tourist Spot: Wall Drug. In all of our travels, we have not seen any place advertised as heavily as Wall Drug. I counted over 50 signs in the 50 some miles from Rapid City to Wall. The only place that even comes close to rivaling them in interstate advertisements is Lambert’s, the throwed roll restaurant off I55 in Missouri.

Wall Drug has been around since the 1930’s, when the entrepreneurial owner advertised free ice water and 5 cent coffee to travelers to get them to stop at his store. It worked, and the tourists still stop in droves; although, the water I had wasn’t exactly ice cold. I guess I expected better prices with free water and cheap coffee, but it seems that’s more of a marketing draw…and it works! For us, it was just a large, crowded store and restaurant, so we drank our lukewarm water and got back on the highway. It's a must stop because of its notoriety, though.

Best Meal: Culver’s. I’m ashamed to say a chain, but there was a Culver’s within walking distance of our hotel, and we were having a hard time finding affordable restaurants. We used to frequent Culver’s in our old town of Lincoln. It’s great for the budget because their kid’s meals are for any age, and to sweeten the deal, they come with a scoop of custard. Levi even discovered you can get a free topping as well!

Worst Meal:
Picnic at the gas station, of all places. We ordered cheesesteak sandwiches to go, so we could take them to Memorial Park for a picnic. I had heard on the radio there was a concert in the park that evening. Do you realize how many Memorial Parks there are? Our GPS listed over 120 of them. To make matters worse, AT&T advertises that 97% of Americans have AT&T coverage, but apparently all 3% are in South Dakota because we couldn’t get data service to save our lives. We finally found a Memorial Park, but it was a campground in the middle of nowhere, not the park we were looking for.

Out of desperation, we stopped at a picnic table near a dinosaur. I thought maybe the dinosaur had to do with Dinosaur Park, a well known park in Rapid City with dinosaur statues you can climb on, but Mike pointed out that it was a Sinclair gas station whose symbol is a green dinosaur. As it if couldn’t get worse, the picnic table was so filthy we sat on a ledge, eating our now cold sandwiches.

Biggest Revelation: The infamous Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches are made with Cheese Whiz of all cheeses! Somehow we discovered this in South Dakota, not Philadelphia, which seems a little odd if you ask me.

While waiting at Ted’s Philly Cheesesteak & Subs for our sandwiches to go, I read the newspaper article about Ted framed on the wall. He fell in love with the Black Hills on vacation and moved out from Philadelphia to live near them. After not being able to find an authentic Philly Cheesesteak, he started his own shop. Good quality meat wasn’t a problem, but the cheese was – no one had Cheese Whiz! I have to admit we were a little deflated after finding out a good quality cheesesteak has Cheese Whiz of all things, but we applaud Ted for following his dream whatever kind of cheese he uses. Just eat them warm before the Cheese Whiz coagulates…

Biggest Surprise: The history behind Mt. Rushmore. It was built with the sole purpose of putting South Dakota on the map, and boy, did it ever! Tourists flock there like politicians to TV ads these final days before the election. We, of course, did too.

We paid our $10 parking fee, along with the 8 million other tourists on vacation there in the middle of summer. Our National Park pass didn’t qualify because the monument was free, but the parking was not. Nice technicality.

I’m glad we saw Mt. Rushmore. Let’s rephrase that: we HAD to see Mt. Rushmore. It’s four humungous presidents’ heads carved in stone on the side of a mountain, but it really was more of a checkmark on a bucket list than anything else. We were too early for the stirring lighting ceremony, and it was too hot for hiking. The whole experience was over and done in 30 minutes.

Biggest Twinge of Homesickness:  A rowing machine. The Holiday Inn Holidome we were at was, well, old. (That is sad for me to admit because Holidomes were built when Mike and I were kids.) Their fitness center was so ancient they actually had a rickety rowing machine. It was great exercise, but it reminded me of when I used to row and work out with friends, and I missed them.

Worst Closures:  Alpine Inn restaurant. Alpine Inn was highly recommended to us. We dropped “inn” for lunch on Sunday, not realizing they’re closed Sundays…Our loss!

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. We arrived too late in the day, and they were already closed.

Best Drive:  We drove Iron Mountain Road to Custer State Park. It was a thrilling drive with hairpin turns and one lane tunnels, but the views were lacking. In Custer, we saw a herd of buffalo and some baby Tatanka, which I guess are just called calves. With a name like Tatanka, it sure seems like they should have a more original name for their young.

Worst Drive:  The one we didn’t go on. We were trying to return to our hotel via the Spearfish Scenic Canyon Drive, but Carmen (our van and GPS) was not very happy with this route. We were trying to defy her, but somehow she managed to trick us into missing the scenic drive. Once we realized it, we had spent too long in the van to back track.

Biggest Disappointment:  Realizing we couldn’t drive to DeSmet to see the Little House on the Prairie house. I’ve been a big fan of Little House on the Prairie since I was a girl, and it killed me to “let go” of driving the family clear across the state simply to see it.

Funniest Memory: The quest for the Geographic Center of the US. We made the lonely drive from Spearfish north on a 2 lane highway in order to stand on the geographic center of the United States near Belle Fourche. We thought that road was lonely, and then the road sign pointed down a deserted dirt road. I hesitated since Carmen just had her first car wash of the trip, but hey, the geographic center only comes around once, right?!

Wrong! We saw a stack of rocks with a homemade sign saying “The True Center of the US,” but we never did see the official marker. Instead, we just got Carmen really dirty. Oh, and we were stopped by cows in the road! You should have seen the looks the cows were giving us, as if they knew we didn’t belong there.

Worst Memory:  Embarrassing Chloe – on TV. The Fox News affiliate KEVN interviewed Mike about his transplant and our trip promoting organ donation. The interview went well, and then the reporter wanted to film us walking to our van. There was a little confusion when he motioned to start the van and drive off. Now, there’s a quirk in our 2005 minivan that when you start the vehicle, the automatic sliding door will open if it hasn’t closed completely. In the confusion, I didn’t wait to let Chloe’s door close completely before starting the van, so in the segment, you catch a glimpse of Chloe as her door pops open. It’s a little embarrassing if you’re a tweenage girl because no one knows it was my fault, not hers.

Best Memory:  Playing with the kids in the Holidome pool.  I’m noticing over and over again that my best memories are not seeing something monumental but rather just having fun with Mike, Levi, and Chloe. It’s time spent together that cements your relationship, and we’re getting plenty of that!  Seriously, love the ones you’re with. Not like the song, but love the ones you’re “with” for life – your spouse, your kids, your family. Spend time doing fun things together.

My SD Hike:  Nothing. I wanted to hike in the Badlands, but it was too hot. With temperatures over 100 degrees, I opted to stay in the nice, cool air conditioned van.

What We Did Miss:  The whole eastern side of South Dakota, including the Ingalls Homestead.  Mammoth Site, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, Story Brook Island, and so much more all recommended to us.

In Summary:  South Dakota, we had a fun time, but before we could move there, AT&T would have to increase its service area - and we should probably get a Hog…motorcycle, that is.

The Mom

South Dakota - Life in the Fast Lane...of the Alpine Slide


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In South Dakota you would think there wouldn't be much to do. If you thought that, then you're wrong. South Dakota, surprisingly, has a lot to do. Mainly, we stayed on the western side of the state. We went to Mount Rushmore, drove past Crazy Horse, went down an alpine slide, and ate at Philly Ted's.

Going down the alpine slide was a thrilling experience. When you go down an alpine slide, you can control your speed. Sadly, you can't go too fast, or you'll fly of the tracks. Excluding that fact, it was super fun. You take a fun ski lift to the top. When you get there, you have to choose between the fast track and the slow track. I chose the fast track. It was awesome because of the sights and the speeds.

In South Dakota my favorite restaurant was Subway. We didn't go to many local places; although, we did go to Philly Ted's, which serves Philly cheese steaks. The one reason it's not top dog is they didn't have seating. Going to Subway is our major back up if we don't find anything.

Dinosaur Park is a park that has dinosaur statues. While I would not pay for the park, I liked it. Climbing on top of the statues was my favorite part. Since it is outside, you should only go on a nice day. Sadly, some dinos were too big to climb.

Holy Terror Mini Golf was one of the hardest mini golf's that I have ever been to. Putting up the steep hill is hard enough, but then they throw in rocks and PVC pipes. Mostly, we got a score of three and four each hole. Despite not doing that well, I enjoyed the course. Since this was a challenging course, I give it four out of five stars.

In South Dakota we also went to the Badlands. Even though it was 100 degrees out, I still loved it. Saying it was amazing is an understatement. The landscape had hills and drops. I can't describe how amazing it is: it's so breath taking. Sadly, we couldn't hike, because it was one million degrees.

Mount Rushmore was a nice monument. I have one problem with it though. There's no museum; there's nothing interesting. That's also the problem I have with Crazy Horse. It's just a giant statue. Nothing else is there. They haven't even made much progress in the last sixty years. Mostly, my complaint about Crazy Horse is it's a head. You can see four times the same thing with president’s heads at Mount Rushmore, which does have hiking trails.

South Dakota contains the most beautiful state park, a hard mini golf course, and Mount Rushmore. Being bored is out of the question because I know I enjoyed myself in South Dakota.

Dr. Dorito

Wyoming - O Rodeo, Rodeo, wherefore art thou Rodeo?

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If Wyoming is known for one thing other than Yellowstone National Park, it’s the rodeo. Did we get to a rodeo? No. Did we ride horses? No. Did we eat baked beans and other typical cowboy foods? No. So what did we do? Drive…a lot! Wyoming is a big state, with lots of open spaces and crazy names, like “Crazy Woman Creek,” so it was a pretty crazy week.

Here are some highlights from our week in Wyoming:

Best Meal: Holiday Inn breakfast buffet in Casper. It surprised me as well that a hotel restaurant could top the category, but I’m not much of a heavy breakfast eater. Oh, I love breakfast foods – for dinner. In the morning, however, I prefer eating a light breakfast. Much to my delight, the Holiday Inn had a large portion of their breakfast buffet dedicated to fresh fruit. In fact, their fruit selection was so good, it was even better than the fruit on the cruise we took to Alaska! The Holiday Inn had individual serving bowls each of watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, strawberries, grapefruit, orange, blueberries, pineapple, and even black and red raspberries. I have never seen such a selection of fresh fruit, which wasn’t in a grocer’s produce section, in my life! It was awesome, and to top it off, they had a soda dispenser. Fresh fruit and caffeine, now that’s a perfect start to any day!

Worst Meal:  Lunch in Thermopolis. It was my pick for lunch, so I decided to take a picnic to Hot Springs State Park. It was a nice day, and everyone in Thermopolis had the same thought. There were numerous groups having cookouts, occupying the picnic tables. Instead of eating at one of the last undesirable picnic tables, I thought it might be fun to eat on the wooden deck jutting over the creek. We hauled our lunch out, only to discover why no one else was already eating there – dead fish, right there next to our picnic spot! Floating dead fish isn’t appetizing, so we moved to a park bench near the playground equipment, which was actually just a large rock. Apparently in Wyoming, rock climbing is pretty important, and they start the kids young.

The whole picnic lunch turned out to be a dud: finding a nice spot to eat, fighting the wind, knocking over beverages…maybe better luck next state.

Biggest Surprise: The road closed signs installed on the highway for wintry weather. After each interstate exit, there was a “Road Closed Return to…” sign with a barricade. I thought they’d have this snow thing down out here and not need to close the roads because of snow, but I guess there’s really just too much highway and too few people.

Biggest Disappointment: That we weren’t able to be in Wyoming at the same time as the 2nd annual Casper Ghosts Donate Life Night baseball game to promote organ donation awareness. (The Casper Ghosts are the Wyoming farm team for the Colorado Rockies.) It would have been great to be a part of it, but at least we were glad to work with the great folks at Donate Life Wyoming in order to do some pre-event publicity for the game and organ donor awareness in general.

Biggest Twinge of Homesickness: Doing normal things on a Sunday afternoon. Ayers Natural Bridge was nice, and the kids had fun playing in the creek while Mike and I enjoyed relaxing. The water was just ankle deep under the bridge where they floated their flip-flops to each other over the “rapids,” and it made the excursion worthwhile…not like the glass bridge excursion in Washington! (see WA blog)

Once again, the shelters were packed with people out enjoying the park on a beautiful weekend afternoon. People were eating, swimming, playing games, and enjoying themselves. Do we do this back in Illinois? Is the pace slower here, or have we just missed it? We certainly used to do relaxing park activities on Sunday afternoons before the trip, but we didn’t see parks crowded like here in Wyoming!

Worst Closure: The rodeo. It kept eluding us. It rained when we were in Cody, and we were mere days too early for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.

Most Beautiful Spot: Yellowstone was a little disappointing at first. The vast number of fallen trees took away from the beauty. We’ve seen so many more beautiful places, but then we saw them: the Upper and Lower Falls of the Canyon, and we were in awe! Yellowstone is beautiful. Check out the pictures.

Best Tourist Spot: The National Historic Trails Center was fun, educational, and free – thanks to our National Parks pass. Both Levi and Chloe enjoyed the exhibits, and I think Chloe even learned something from the hands-on exhibits about the different overland trails (Mormon, Oregon, Gold Rush, and Pony Express) that all converged in Casper in order to cross the Platte River. Fortunately, the virtual wagon ride across the Platte River ended when it did because it was starting to make me sick to my stomach!

Worst Memory: The family bickering over the TV - of all things! Really? It seems so wrong to have these moods or attitudes on a year-long adventure around the United States. We’ve been blessed with something so special, and we’re not cherishing every single moment of it. It reminds me of a scene from the movie Return to Me where Minnie Driver is at the doctor for a regular transplant check-up and disappointed in herself that she’s having a bad day - that it seems wrong to have a bad day or bad attitude after you’ve been given something so special as the Gift of Life through a transplant. It makes me wonder, can you live life cherishing every single day? Is it possible??? Cherish 24/7. That should be my new goal.

Best Memory: Nothing like driving thru Yellowstone listening to “This is Your Life” by Switchfoot and realizing this is my life! Wow, I am so blessed! Sure, the hotel was old and outdated. Sure, we disagreed over where to eat an overpriced lunch and ended up eating a Pop-Tart. Sure, I’m tired now. Sure, it’s raining. Sure, you get the idea, but this is my life! I’m travelling the 50 United States with my family! Who am I that God has blessed me so?

Most Heroic Moment:  Climbing around on the big boulders beneath Devil’s Tower, Chloe, amazingly enough with her long legs, got stuck on a large rock where she couldn’t get down. Mike came to the rescue and helped her. Interestingly, if it wasn’t for his transplant 7 years ago, he could never have been that heroic Dad in her eyes, rescuing her from her distress.

Best Drive: Wind River Canyon Scenic Drive from Shosone to Thermopolis. Gorgeous. It was raining during our drive, but that didn’t stop us from being in awe of the view.

Worst Drive: The one spent sitting so long on the road in Yellowstone because of the road construction and all the tourists that they instructed you turn your car off!

Best Roadside Detour: Wagon Ruts. We drove off the highway about 20 minutes to see wagon ruts, off all things. They were much larger than we imagined, carved in the rock by all the Oregon Trail travelers. It was interesting to see just how much they wore through rock.

My WY Hike: Hiking in Yellowstone. The falls were amazingly beautiful, but the mud pots and other areas stunk – literally, like rotten eggs. Ugh! I prefer less aromatic hikes.

Biggest Revelation: That’s where Yellowstone gets its name from! The rocks are actually yellow! Once I took my tinted sunglasses off, I could see it clear as day. It was beautiful.

What We Did Miss: The Tetons, the rodeo, Fort Laramie, a big statue of a Jackalope, Buffalo Bill Cody Museum – all recommended to us on our community.

In Summary: Wyoming, we may have missed your infamous rodeo, but we didn’t miss any crazy woman...I’m still right here, insanely traveling to more states!

The Mom

Wyoming - Beauty and the Bison


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We're now working with the boy (aka Dr. Dorito) on his writing.  If you're a teacher, please help us and constructively critique his blog!


Wyoming was one of my favorite states. We went to Devil's Tower. Before that we saw a Gunslinger's show. When we were in Casper, we went to the National Historic Trails Center. Sadly we weren't able to swim in the hot springs. Driving through Yellowstone was superb.

Devil's Tower was extremely fun. Despite the drive, which is about a half a hour, I enjoyed it. If you go to Devil's Tower, you're in for a steep hike, very steep because the only way to get to the top is by rock climbing. They had millions of boulders to climb. I had so much fun leaping from rock to rock.

Olive Garden, not a local restaurant, has the most superb bread sticks ever. After eating there if I had to choose between Subway, which we go to almost every state, and Olive Garden, I would by far pick Olive Garden. When I go there, I order their breadsticks, salad, and chicken tenders. Picking them as top restaurant is a no brainier for me. Sadly our budget cannot include an Olive Garden in each state.

Thinking back, I can't forget playing soccer with Chloe in our hotel room. We took all of our shoes and made a tiny goal. We even used mom and dad's stinky shoes. Because it was a hotel room, we had to use a small ball. Mostly we stood ten feet away and tried to bounce the ball in the goal, which was guarded by a goalie on his knees. Since then we have not played soccer.

Surprising as it is, this Taco John's is a mini golf course, not a taco restaurant. They had a great course with enormous rocks and tubes, like at the bank, but without the suction. Sadly they have one big problem which is bugs. I hate bugs, especially spiders and mosquitoes; however, they mostly had ants. Over all I give it three out of five stars.

At our hotel in Casper we had a blast, or should I say a splash. In Casper we stayed at Holiday Inn which have restaurants instead of free breakfasts. One evening my sister and I went swimming at their pool. In the pool swimming with us were three other kids. After about five minutes Chloe and I got into a splash fight. While Chloe and I were splashing each other, they surprised us and joined in too. Then it was all out warfare. We fought for half an hour, then Chloe and I had to leave.

Yellowstone is one of the most known parks in the country. Personally I've seen better. My problem with Yellowstone was there was no dangerous or exciting stuff. (I'm excluding the buffalo butt which counts for dangerous and exciting.)  Driving through Yellowstone was nice. We got to see the bison and the beauty, but I'm a thirteen year old boy. I don't care about that stuff yet.  I want adventure, danger, and Indians trying to kill you. I want that type of stuff, not "Oh what a beautiful tree."

In Wyoming I got to play soccer, see bison, and soak Chloe and some other kids. Leaving Wyoming was sad because of how much fun I had there. I put Wyoming in my number nine state
.



Dr. Dorito

Wyoming - No Bull in This Blog


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If I were ever going to ride a bull, I would do it in Wyoming, but I never did. I'm sure if I wanted to, I wouldn't be old enough anyway. In Wyoming we did multiple fun things like a gunslinger show, Ayer's Natural Bridge, and Devil's Tower. I wasn't expecting much from Wyoming because it's one of those states that you're like, "I don't want to go to Wyoming for vacation."

I was expecting too much from Yellowstone National Park. I mean, it's Yellowstone one of the most known national parks ever! There wasn't much that was cool there. I was NOT impressed. The only cool thing at Yellowstone was I got to see a buffalo UP CLOSE. It was extremely scary but really cool. I'll tell you a story about that later on in my blog.

We went to an awesome restaurant called Sagebrush. They had amazing sandwiches. They also had pasta salad. When I saw the pasta salad, I quickly ordered it because I love pasta salad.

We had some fun at a gunslinger show. It wasn't the best show, but it's fun to see new things. My funniest memory from Wyoming was funny because we missed a rodeo due to the rain.

In every state, I want to see an animal that I don't usually get to see. The animal for Wyoming was buffalo at Yellowstone National Park. The buffalo was literally two feet away from our car, and then the buffalo walked directly in front of our car. I was scared to death! He just stood there. It was so scary! Finally, he walked across the road and left.

At Devil's Tower, we climbed on a bunch of rocks. We had a bunch of fun! I would recommend going there. I saw some people rock climbing Devil's Tower, and I was jealous. I would also recommend going to Ayer's Natural Bridge. I thought it was fun because we were able to play in the little creek under the bridge. I didn't even know it that it started raining because the bridge was like an umbrella.

Some fun things in Wyoming were seeing a buffalo up close, Devil's Tower, and Ayer's Natural Bridge. Overall I'd have to say Wyoming was one of the worst states because it's hard to compete with doing fifteen fun things in one state, such as Utah. (That was exaggerated.) Now that I’m thinking about it, bull-riding sounds kind of fun.

-Daughter


Utah - Our New Home???

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Boring! Quite honestly, I thought Utah was going to be a boring state. What little I knew of Utah didn’t seem very exciting. Sure, they hosted a Winter Olympics in the past, but we wouldn’t be there in the winter. Of course, there’s the Great Salt Lake and the Mormon temple, but that was about it for Utah references, so I was amazed and astounded by its beauty with the mountains and the landscape in general. As an added plus, Salt Lake City was relatively easy to navigate. In fact, I just read recently that it’s one of the least stressful cities in the US, and we did enjoy a stress-free week while in Utah.

Here are some highlights from our week in Utah:

Best Meal: Kneader’s Bakery & CafĂ©. Mike had seen it from the road, researched it, and fell in love with it before we even tasted a morsel. Once we got there, I saw why. Walking in, the hours on the door said they were closed Sunday and underneath read, “Man does not live on bread alone.” Nice explanation. Inside, it was tastefully decorated in an Americana theme, but it was walking past the delectable dessert case to reach the counter that was the killer! We ordered dinner and ate and then, not surprisingly, went back for dessert, but that’s another highlight… 

Worst Meal: The one at the amusement park. I don’t blame Lagoon Amusement Park in particular. They’re all outrageously overpriced fast food. I opted for ice cream for lunch. My excuse being dairy was gentler on the stomach with all those gastrointestinal churning roller coasters the kids were dragging us on.

Biggest Surprise: We were surprised and honored to be presented an award in downtown Salt Lake City from the Yes, Utah Coalition for Donor Registry.

Yes, Utah’s vehicle itself was quite surprising. It’s an older taxi with Donate Life and Yes, Utah signs embellished on it. They use it in parades and various other events. It is really an attention getter. What a great idea that the Yes, Utah folks are utilizing! We were very impressed with Alex McDonald and everyone at Intermountain Donate Life Services. Thank you for the award and your tire-less (pun intended) work for organ donation.

Worst Surprise: July 4th. On the year that we’re travelling around the entire United States, I feel the least patriotic ever! Is it simply because we haven’t hung our flag, eaten watermelon, and seen fireworks? If that’s the case, that’s really sad…a cookout and fireworks are what I associate with patriotism?!? I respect our Founding Fathers, and I fully support those serving our country, but I fear I take it all for granted.

I know freedom isn’t free, but I don’t comprehend the price, the sacrifice, the commitment because I have it too good. I don’t have a loved one serving in the military. Every day I enjoy my freedom with my family close by my side. It’s actually very similar to the reason we’re on this trip. Our desire is to increase the number of organ donors because most people don’t think about it on a daily basis. Most people take it for granted. It’s when you know someone on the waiting list, waiting for their chance at life, or when you know someone who has gotten the Gift of Life thru an organ transplant that you understand the importance and the need for everyone to sign up as organ donors. So, thank you to our military, and sign up as an organ donor. Oh, and have your cookout, too.

Biggest Twinge of Homesickness: Dessert at Kneader’s Bakery & Cafe. Chloe had gotten a star sugar cookie decorated for the 4th of July with her kid’s meal. It reminded us of the cut-out cookies we bake and decorate with my mom. Of course, Mike, Levi, and I couldn’t just watch Chloe eat her patriotic cookie, so we split a mint ganache brownie, which was essentially the mint brownie bar that we bake at Christmas time. Suddenly I missed baking – and eating – mmmh!

Biggest Revelation: I’m old. Chloe wanted to go to Lagoon Amusement Park for her 10th birthday. Amazingly enough, I saw it featured on Bert the Conqueror’s Travel channel show that very morning! Let’s be clear, we didn’t partake in the extreme ride that Bert did, but Chloe did step it up a notch or two on the level of roller coasters that she’ll go on. In fact, she surpassed Mike and me. Some of the coasters and rides were beyond my abilities. I found myself not feeling so well afterwards. (Imagine if I had eaten a greasy lunch, instead of ice cream!) I was my mom when she would take us to Great America and walk around with us and sit in the shade while we rode the rides. The light bulb went on as to why I was able to take friends to amusement parks!

Regardless of our inabilities and shortcomings, Chloe said she had the best day of her life. Any ride we weren’t able to muster up our courage (or stomachs) for, Levi stepped up to the plate for us. That’s why we have two kids after all!

Worst Closure: We had a difficult time finding a place to eat on the 4th of July since most dining establishments were closed. Of course, we were in Salt Lake City, so it was hard to tell if they were closed for the holiday or simply because it was Sunday. When it comes right down to it, I support them either way and can deal with the inconvenience.

Most Beautiful Spot: Arches National Park. It was a long drive to Arches and back in one day - about 8 hours, but being back enabled us to go to an amusement park on Chloe’s birthday. As we were driving thru a thunderstorm in a barren land, we wondered if Arches was worth the drive. Once we were there and saw the stunning sandstone sculptures, we knew we did the right thing!

Worst Tourist Spot: Antelope Island. Antelope Island is in the Great Salt Lake and is actually a state park with a beach. One of the things we wanted to do in Utah was be myth busters and test if we’d float in the salty lake. In doing research, I had read there might be a smell and bugs at the beach, but I was unprepared for the stench and the amount of bugs! The brine shrimp flies literally covered the beach area near the water’s edge, so much so, that we couldn’t even get in the water. Instead, we turned around, hiked back over the long, crusty beach, and drove around the island unsuccessfully looking for another beach or even the island’s namesake: antelope. Nothing. The island stinks - literally and figuratively. We did get some incredible pictures here, so be sure to check them out.

Worst Memory: The grocery store dinner. Occasionally, for dinner we’ll go to a grocery store and each get to pick a couple of items while adhering to a budget. This type of dinner always causes a problem for us though. I’d like it to be cheap and fairly nutritious, but my spouse enjoys the treat of a junk food dinner now and then. We end up getting frustrated, and no one is happy. Will we ever solve this dilemma? Stay tuned to future blogs to find out.

Best Memory: Watching “Tooth Fairy” in the hotel’s movie theatre. It was so cool that on Chloe’s birthday we were at a hotel that actually had a movie theatre room, and we were able to reserve it for just our family to watch a movie. We enjoyed sitting in the recliners and munching on snacks, and it was wonderful not having to worry about whether or not the volume was disturbing our neighbor…not that that would ever be a problem for us! (See WA blog)

My UT Hike: Arches National Park. We did a short hike up to Double Arch, and in the 100 degree heat, that was enough for me! The kids and I climbed on the sandstone rocks. They were thrilled that the rocks weren’t off-limits like in Garden of the Gods. I couldn’t help but be amazed by God’s creation here. It saddens me that the National Park Service says these were made over millions of years of erosion and geological changes. What about a Creator God and a global flood?

What We Did Miss: Zion National Park, Bryce National Park, Glen Canyon Dam National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Capitol Reef National Park. That’s a lot of national parks! All recommended on our community.

In Summary: Utah, you are definitely not boring! Will we return to live some day? I do enjoy reduced stress levels…

-The Mom

Utah - Where the Deer and the Antelope Don't Play

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As we read our kid's blogs, it's interesting to see that they don't remember (or care about) half the state.  We wonder what they will remember later in life about the trip.  Hopefully, at least their math!   You laugh, but when we talked to a business owner, he told us many of the High School students he hired couldn't tell him how many quarters in half a dollar.  Seriously.  


I have a soapbox to get on here, but it's Levi's blog so I won't climb too high on it......but parents, teach your kids!  Don't depend on the school for education - don't depend on daycare for manners - don't depend on a church for religion and ethics!  It's YOUR job to make sure they are equipped for life...oh, and it doesn't matter that you don't have time - good grief, it's your kids - shut the TV off.  We just met a single mom at a hotel that's getting it done - working two jobs, getting her own education, and making time with her kid.  She's exhausted, has a great attitude, and may get some sleep in three years...


They are our future.   


- Dad jumps from the soapbox he climbed a little too high on so Levi can get on with his blog


Hi everybody, Dr. Dorito here, and it’s time to do my Utah blog.

What were the major events in the state?
When we were in Utah, we played at Boondocks and at Antelope Island State Park, which is probably the worst state park we've been to on the trip. We also played at Lagoon Amusement Park on Chloe's birthday. It was definitely the most thrilling park we've ever been to.

What did you enjoy the most about this state?
I enjoyed playing at Boondocks the most. Boondocks is like Wahooza. (see ID blog) It's a laser tag, mini golf, bumper boat, go kart, and an arcade all in one. Mostly what we did was play an enormous laser tag. We played bumper boats there too. We got soaked to the bone. We also raced go karts. Surprising as it is, while we raced go karts, I got first by about 200 paces (listen to our podcast to get that joke).

What was your favorite food or restaurant?
My favorite restaurant was Kneaders. Kneaders is like Panera. It has desserts; it has soup; it has salad; it has sandwiches; it has it all. Usually, I got the turkey sandwich. I indulged in their mint brownies. They reminded me of the delicious Christmas cookies which my mom makes. Those were my favorite dessert.

What was your favorite memory?
My favorite memory was definitely doing the roller coasters at Lagoon. Chloe is finally getting into the fast roller coasters. We spun around on the Samari. It was the most extreme ride I have ever been on. It twists you in six directions at once. I loved it. We also rode on the Fire Dragon which has two loopdeloops. The wooden roller coaster was really scary. There was one other ride that I can’t name. It was curvy, not many steep drops but super curvy. We ate lunch there as well. That's where I had an 8 dollar chicken basket.

Write about the zoo/mini golf:
Boondocks had one of the best mini golf courses. It was the same set up as Wahooza except better maintained and different challenging holes. I enjoyed it more also because I won. You had to use lots of skill on these holes. On one you had to hit your ball through a PVC pipe into the hole. Another you had to lightly hit your ball up a hill into one of three PVC tunnels which led to another section. My favorite though was where you had to hit your ball in the middle of a giant Tiki. If you made it, the Tiki would shoot a humongous burst of fire which you could feel the heat from 5 feet away. If you missed, the Tiki would squirt water at you. Over all I give it five out of five stars.

Tell one story from the state:
One story from Utah takes place while at Antelope Island. Antelope Island is a state park, so they charge you a whopping 3 bucks to get to the island. When you get to the island, the first thing you notice is the stink. It is horrifying. Next when you swim in the Great Salt Lake, the first thing you hit in the water are a bunch of bugs, which could be biting gnats. Plus there's not a single antelope in sight. It was very disappointing.

 - DD signing off.

Utah - Chloe's Best Day Ever

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Our daughter kicks things off for Utah.  Utah is high in the rankings for a potential place to live with its mountains and activities for the kids.  In addition, the Donate Life groups in Utah were awesome!  Oh, and take some time to look at our pics - a beautiful state!  But enough comments from Dad, take it away Chloe...

Hi, Utah is one of my favorite states because I had my birthday there. On my birthday morning, I woke up and got dressed, got my shoes on, and suddenly my dad picked me up like a potato sack and carried me down to breakfast. I was relieved that there was nobody in the elevator with us.

We went to a restaurant in Utah was called Kneaders. I ordered a grilled cheese with chocolate milk and a delicious cookie. The cookie was LOADED with frosting. They also had the best ice EVER. It was little cylinder shaped ice that melts in your mouth instantly.


We went to an amusement park called Lagoon on my birthday. That day was the best in my whole entire LIFE so far. My favorite ride is called Fire Dragon. First you go up a big hill. Then you curve down into two loops, then skim the ground three times, and drop. Then you're finished. We went on a different ride called Cliffhanger which does double flips, and we were super soaked. While Levi and I were getting super soaked, my mom and dad were sitting on a bench watching.

Sadly, my animal for Utah was nothing. We were going to do my animal on Antelope Island, but we didn't see any bison or antelope. After that we just didn't have time to do anything. That's all I have to say about Utah. Bye.

-the daughter