Category: Places

Yeehaw, Utawh (Days 1-4)

Ryan McElhanyLeave a comment

Leaving Home

This year, our summer trip began a bit unconventionally. We left our house for the last time, walking room-by-room to recount a few of the memories. Then, we locked up and headed northwest – primary destinations being Utah, Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

The route will likely be our longest-ever in terms of total miles. To maximize time, we did something uncharacteristic and decided to drive until evening and find a hotel room. I’m normally too much of a penny pincher to stay in a hotel, but we figured it was worth it to get further up the road, plus save time by not having to setup camp in the dark or tear down the next morning.

Day 1 – The Drive

Our first day put us 12 hours up the road at a Springfield Suites by Marriott in Gallup, NM. It was a nice, clean room with 2 queen beds and a pull-out sofa bed. We were mindful to exercise basic precautions in case Rona visited previous guests.

Day 2 – More Driving

The next morning, we pulled out early with priorities in mind – good coffee. Typically I make my own with a hand grinder and metal pour-over filter. But, since we didn’t stay in the camper, I didn’t have those handy.

We happened upon a small joint called Gallup Coffee. I’ve had a number of disappointing cups of coffee on our many adventures, but this one was a pleasant surprise. Their in-house roast was flavorful and just the right amount of fruity. It left me wishing I’d ordered more than a double cortado.

Then, up the road we went toward our first campground, Kodachrome Basin State Park in Utah.

Kodachrome Basin

I don’t think I could have picked a more remote destination. The campground brochure seems to relish in the fact that there is zero cell reception. Thus the reason you’re reading this post days into our journey.

In total, we logged almost 1,300 miles in the first 2 days. Sadly, we thought our campsite had water and electric. But, it did not. Thankfully the June daytime temperatures were moderate. And at night – boy howdy did it get cold.

Setting up on the first night took a little longer than normal. Mostly because of a few repairs and upgrades we needed to make this season.

We added Velcro to our pop-up gizmos to make setup a cinch. We figured this was a must to protect the bunk ends from the Utah sun.

Plus, we put in a new faucet at the sink, and I replaced the fuse holder in the overhead vent, which had been inoperable since we bought the camper.

The first night, I woke up in the middle of the night shivering and had to add my long camping clothes. LaShera says these are the only times I like to cuddle.

Day 3 – Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument

Then, the next morning we opted for Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument as our adventure of the day.

Wow!

First off, we decided to drive Hell’s Backbone. An unfinished park road that rattles your bones.

We took a number of misadventures along the way. That included me doing what men supposedly don’t do – I found a boondocker and asked if they could point us the right direction, because the turns on Hell’s Backbone aren’t well marked.

Of course, there are happy accidents. We stopped to have lunch beside a freezing stream.

And our misadventures did lead us up to some impressive stands of white birch trees. Ghostly, beautiful soldiers on the top of a mountain. For me, these trees rival redwoods and sequoias, simply because of the stark beauty of the colors against the skies.

Finally, we found an opening in the trees and the view of the back expanse of Escalante. Best enjoyed from a small bridge (Hell’s Backbone) looking straight down on both sides. Apparently the original bridge was created by some adventurous souls who felled two pines, and then a brave man who decided he could drive a bulldozer across them with a rope around his waist for safety. Today, the bridge is far more sturdy.

The girls were a bit freaked out by the vision of their lives flashing before their eyes.

After nearly 4 hours on Hell’s Backbone, we emerged on the scenic Loop 12. And I don’t think we’ve seen anything as awesome as the front expanse of Escalante.

Ridges of mountains. All different shapes, colors and formations.

After a long day, we returned toward camp. But, not without one last highlight to the day.

There is a song I sometimes play that the girls hate. It’s called Sunday Drive by Hello Dearie. As we were fueling, the song was playing. A car pulled up next to me with a couple from Colorado. In his tattooed glory, he commented on how epic the song was. (It isn’t, and he was being ironic.) Then, he asked the artist and song so he could torture his significant other. She also rolled down her window to ask if we were crossword puzzlers. The answer she was looking for – “a 3-letter word for fish eggs.”

And then, back to camp we went.

Day 4 – Bryce Canyon National Park

I don’t have the words. Honestly, I didn’t expect much from Bryce Canyon. You tend to hear more about places like Zion National Park. And, we chose Bryce Canyon for Father’s Day, because we figured it would be the least trafficked and the shortest of our park visits.

We were right regarding it not being busy.

But, we did not expect the beauty of that first span from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point. It was one of the most glorious views I have ever seen. It ranks up there with the upper peaks in Yosemite.

To make it better, we had opted for a lengthy hike around the upper rim and then down into Queen’s Garden below. The girls were troopers through the first 90% of the hike.

But, what goes down, must come up. And that journey back to the rim of the canyon about did everyone in.

Since the crew were solid sports, we stopped off in Bryce Canyon for some ice cream as a treat afterward.

And then, back to camp.

What’s up for Day 5? Time to visit Zion National Park and see how it stacks up.

Day 20: Sometimes Things Go Wrong — Terribly Wrong

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If I haven’t said it before, not everything in these cross-country trips goes according to plan. I’ll state our family motto again:

Plan your trip. Work your plan. Be flexible.

On Friday morning, the plan was to make a leisurely drive from our home in the Keys up to the Everglades. The drive was only about 4 hours, so we planned to stop a few times along the way.

Before we left the Keys, we had a very bold morning visitor. With a few more Cheerios, I bet we could’ve gotten her to come inside.

I think the girls would gladly give up the dream of having another puppy if they could have a pet deer instead.

When we finally made it onto the road, I knew I wanted to taste some key lime pie before we left the strand. Success, thanks to the Blonde Giraffe.

Next up, we knew that we wanted to visit Biscayne National Park. It was a fantastic little national park. When we arrived, blue land crabs were frantically skittering across the pavement. About a half-dozen iguanas threw a welcoming party as well. The girls were ecstatic. There were the red-tailed Agama lizards, an invasive species of territorial lizards. There were the two lizards I caught in the act of love. Biscayne was a success.

Our little Junior Park Rangers.

Then, with about 2 hours before the sun went down, we were on the final leg toward the Everglades.

Before we left Friday morning, I discovered that the campground I had on schedule didn’t have electric hookups. On this trip through 102 heat index in some places, we didn’t want to spend the night without air conditioning. So, we re-routed to the one Everglades national park with electrical hookups.

By the time we arrived, it was raining outside — not so much that we couldn’t setup — just enough to be slightly wet outside.

When Things Go Wrong…

We had the camper about 75% setup when I decided to plug in the AC to pre-cool the camper. The AC came on, then promptly died. We tested some other outlets as well, and they weren’t working.

We reset the breakers in the camper — no luck.

We reset the breaker on the campground electrical box — no luck.

The person next door was a local and said that the electric boxes at that campground short out sometimes when it rains. So, we tore down the camper and moved to the spot next door. It was annoying, but would be worth it if the electric worked.

We setup the camper and turned on the AC. Nothing.

Defeated, we knew we were going to endure the Everglade weather for a night and then move down the road after the next morning’s activities.

We went to bed in the muggy, 90-degree Everglades with no AC. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep well.

The air felt thick and moist. I hugged the unzipped windows most of the night to draw in some of the outside air which was at least a couple of degrees cooler, but not getting close enough for a mosquito to suck my blood through the screen. (When I woke up this morning, there were mosquitos swarming the screen trying to find a way in.)

Plus, I was restless because I went to bed defeated. I didn’t know what the problem was in the dark of night, and I knew the day would bring new challenges.

Because of the circumstances and the Everglades lack of proximity to any real town, we opted to head north toward St. Petersburg a bit early. I’ll post separately about the day’s activities. But, I spent most of today’s trip obsessing about what could be wrong with the camper. It could be the fuses. It could be that the AC went bad. It could be the inverter. It could simply be that the electrical hookups at that campground were bad. I hoped it was the latter.

The first campground we tried to snag a site at was full. So, we had to push further north.

When we finally arrived at a suitable campground, we popped up. I waited to plug in the electrical until the last moment to put off my sadness.

Still — I was sad. The AC didn’t come on at the new site either.

So, methodically, I stepped through the electrical systems of the camper.

Then, we made our trek into a nearby town to Home Depot.

As we returned to camp, the skies opened up. Obviously, I couldn’t work on anything electrical outside. So, I fed all related wires and cables into the camper to get to business.

Ultimately, this connector plus is what I thought was the culprit. Note the burned connector. I suspect that the rain at Everglades got the port wet. Electric plus water equalled a short. At least, that’s what I hoped.

And, that meant I was going to need to do a bit of rewiring. Thankfully, I got some pointers on that from my father-in-law Bobby Snider back in 2017 when I was having electrical issues on our first pop-up. I put that knowledge to use.

Sadly, the rain persisted most of the evening. So, it was a couple of hours before I could venture outside, thoroughly dry the port, and test my work.

I plugged it in, switched the breakers, turned on the campground power, and then nervously went inside the camper to the AC unit.

I am happy to report that, at least for now, we are cozy in our cool camper on the midwestern side of Florida.

Day 19: Front Porch Sittin’ in the Keys and a Whole Lot of Nothin’

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We’re at that point in the journey where I always get a bit sad. We’re about 2/3 of the way through. We reached our furthest destination. Everything from this point on is technically part of the journey home.

Our journey will still take us to the Everglades for a fan boat ride. Then, we’ll enjoy some beach time in St. Petersburg, Destin and Louisiana before arriving home.

Still — I can feel the trip winding down, and a little bit of melancholy is creeping in. Of course, sitting around the campfire with these views doesn’t help.

One day I’ll make a great retired person. I’ll take my grandkids to some of these places and think back fondly to these moments spent with my kids.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

For now, we have about 8 days left to milk for all they’re worth.

So, we did a bit of rooftop swimming.

We did a little bit of feeding the key deer. These critters weren’t the least bit shy. In fact, they often ate out of our trash can like dogs. So, when I went to hang my swimsuit under the back bunk to dry tonight, and I saw movement in the dark, I had a bit of a scare.

We did a little bit of sitting around the community fire pit. The girls also hung out along the shoreline looking at fish and brightly colored crabs hiding among the rocks.

I had a little hitchhiker on my water bottle.

The day was crazy hot. So, we spent quite a bit of time in the clubhouse playing pool, ping pong, and Rummikub with the girls. The air conditioner in the camper worked. But, when the weather feels like 99 outside, the AC unit isn’t going to be able to keep up — at least not until I buy those Pop-up Gizmos for the bunk ends to help reflect solar heat.

All-in-all, it was a nice, leisurely day.

Tomorrow, we head up the keys toward the Everglades. Hopefully we’ll see some more alligators, iguanas, snakes, or whatever other critters make the Glades home.

It’s hard to believe we’re already leaving the Keys.

Somewhere along the way, we will stop at a key lime store. We figure we stopped at Peach World in Georgia, we need to find a Lime World and an Orange World while we’re in Florida.

Day 18: The Dry Tortugas, Egg Farts, and Speedo Stan

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Since the trip began, I have longed for the post-Disney camping in the Florida Keys. More specifically, I looked forward to the ferry out to Dry Tortugas National Park, the 3rd-farthest national park in the country. It is roughly 100 miles from Cuba, 70 miles from Key West, and 300 miles from Mexico.

Basically, we taxied out to the middle of nowhere. Just us and an old, crumbling Civil War-era fort with coral growing along the walls.

To begin a day in the Keys, you need the right shirt and a cup of fruity coffee. So, I finally got my Jimmy Buffet goin’. I’d been waiting for the right moment to wear that shirt.

We began the day with another bright and early wake-up — rise at 5:30, in the car by 6:00, to drive to Key West and board the Yankee Freedom III for a 2-hour ferry out to the islands.

The old fort was a fascinating sight in the middle of the ocean with nothing else in sight.

After a tour of the fort, we got our snorkel gear from the ferry company and added another new experience for our family. We snorkeled in the shallow reef around the island. It was interesting seeing all of the little fish in the area. When hiking the upper walls of the fort, we even saw a few large barracuda swimming in the reef below.

Addie was disappointed that we didn’t encounter any sharks or sea turtles on the trip.

Speedo Stan

We did, however, encounter a different living creature — Speedo Stan. At least, that’s the name I gave him.

On the ride out, he was as concealed as they come. Jeans, baggy shirt, cap. But, on the island, all bets were off — as were most of his clothes. Speedo Stan was there to make the most of the occasion in nothing besides a little blue Speedo and his — ahem — snorkel.

Libbie thought he was hilariously gross.

Egg Farts at Camp

Jumping back to our arrival in the Keys, we were struck by, of all things, the smell. It was an aroma we encountered last year in Yellowstone when we stood beside the sulfur pots. The girls regularly refer to the stench as “egg farts,” like when someone has eaten too many deviled eggs at a family reunion.

At first, the girls attempted to lay SBD blame on LaShera.

But, soon enough, we discovered that it is something specific to the shallow waters of the keys and the bacteria that live in the muds below them. When the wind turns just right, it smells a bit eggy.

I even turned the propane off during the night because I was concerned that if we did have a leak, I wouldn’t be able to detect it.

The stench doesn’t follow everywhere in the Keys. But, we haven’t quite figured out the differences in geography that cause it in key locations (pun intended).

Key Deer

The campground does have a healthy population of key deer. They aren’t the least bit shy. The girls walked outside our camper door to feed them some grapes.

Swimming

Even after a day in the hot sun, the girls were intent upon us going to the campground swimming pool. Since the grounds had just wrapped up happy hour, everyone else in camp when back to their campers. We had the pool to ourselves.

Then, one of those south Florida rain storms rolled through with a bit of lightning. So, we bounced out of the pool. After a change of clothes, we spent the event playing ping pong, pool, and cornhole in the campground clubhouse.

While I’m not the most enamored with our campsite at this campground, they do have great facilities. Plus, the ocean is about 30 yards from our back bunk.

Late Post: Day 16: The Drive to the Keys, Cuban Food, and Another Dark Setup

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This post is another catch-up.

Day 17 was sort of leisurely. We took our time getting packed up from the Disney campground to head south, hoping we could connect with cousin Mike along the way.

Of course, challenge 1 was finding a place to dump the potty. Disney doesn’t have a dump station. However, they will allow you to dump at one of the full-service campsites if you call them to ask which one is best.

By 12, we were on the road to Miami.

Traffic coming through Palm Beach was a beast. A storm popped up along the way, which caused traffic to slow.

The drive through Miami was a beast as well. We texted Mike about 60 minutes out from the restaurant to let him know our ETA. For the first 55 miles after I texted him, the Google ETA actually went up.

Eventually, we made it to Havana Harry’s for some great Cuban food. Parking was an adventure of its own.

It was a joy to get to spend a couple of hours with Mike and hear about his work and adapting to the Miami way of life. We hadn’t really had a chance to catch up in a couple of years.

Then, of course, I had to ask if we could take a selfie with him.

Sadly, we didn’t make it to 7-mile bridge before sunset. So, we’ll have to see that when we return up highway 1 toward the Everglades on day 19.

Day 12: If There Was One Day I Was Forced to Delete from the Travelogue — Hollywood Studios

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Every long trip has it’s amazing days and those where you would just as soon hit the reset button. Today was the latter.

And, since I don’t like social media or blogs that only convey the shiny moments, I am going to provide an unfiltered depiction of today and my overall feelings about Hollywood Studios.

I was not a happy snowman.

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Day 11: We Finish Each Others Sandwiches (Epcot and Pool Time)

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The headline of this post is a reference to our shirts for the day.

At the moment it is after midnight LaShera is off doing laundry and I just finished lunch and snack preps for tomorrow.

I also have this snazzy picture of our camper table. I think the kids feel special, since we never eat this much junk when we’re home. To our credit, the sandwiches, apple sauce, etc., are in the fridge until we pack them in the kids’ backpacks in the morning. And, trail mix and granola bars count as health food, right?

Our Day at Epcot

After the day we put in at Magic Kingdom yesterday, Epcot was a well timed second day. We were there early to hit the big ride experiences on the list plus character signings with Baymax (for Emmie), Elsa & Anna (for Libbie), Mulan (for all of them); and we adapted our plan.

The girls all thought that Soarin’ at Epcot was better than any of the 19 things they did at Magic Kingdom. Full disclosure — my oldest 2 girls are chickens when it comes to rides. So, they aren’t comparing against Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, or basically anything with mountain in the name.

As I’ve said many times — “Plan the trip, work the plan, be flexible.” I like rides with excitement, and Libbie (aside from LaShera) is the only one that enjoys them. Sadly, she’s too short for some of the more exciting stuff by about 2 inches.

I am, however, glad that all 3 of my girls are still at the stage in life where they enjoy the fantasy of people in costumes posing as cartoon characters.

When the day was getting long and hot today, snacks and the free cola samples at Coke Around the World were enough to buy us grace to stick it out straight through 3:30. Then, back to the camper for rest while the afternoon rain moved in.

Skillet Quesadillas — Another Meal Standard for Camping

The girls let off some unspent energy while I made skillet quesadillas, which is becoming a substitute go-to quick meal. These were cheese with fajita chicken. (The chicken is pre-prepped.)

If you go camping, I don’t think there is any utensil more crucial than our big cast iron skillet. Whether it is breakfast, lunch or dinner; quesadillas, fajitas, tacos, burgers, breakfast burritos, hotdogs, etc.; our skillet has been well seasoned.

After our early dinner, Rather than going back to Epcot, we took naps. Then, around 8:30pm we went down to the resort pool. The girls had been asking since we arrived.

I’m beginning to think we’re checking off a list of swimming environments on this trip. So far, beach, spring/river and pool. I don’t think I have a Lake on the itinerary though.

As for tomorrow — we’re bracing ourselves for a long day at Hollywood Studios.

LaShera and Paula made shirts for each day of the trip. So, part of the fun for the girls is the night before — like opening early Christmas presents to see what their shirts for the next day will be.

Hint, tomorrow is Star Wars themed.

Day 10: We Survived a 16-Hour Day at Magic Kingdom

Ryan McElhany1 Comment

We were up at 6am this morning, on a bus by 7:15, on the ferry by 7:45, at the park by 8 when it opened, and it was off to the races from there.

Forgive me for the abbreviated blog entry, but I’m crazy tired.

We managed to do 19 things, which I understand is pretty great — especially considering that 2 of our fast rides broke and changed our schedule, and we had rain move in at 6pm which closed a number of the rides.

After a long day, even with the option of extra hours available from 11pm-1am that would have let us squeeze in a few more things, our children decided they were ready to go back for a shower and sleep.

All of them, except Libbie.

I was most concerned about Libbie hanging in there today. But, she seemed good to go for another hour, even after we’d been in the park for 15 hours.

My favorite moments of the day were with this turkey. She giggled the whole way through the 4D Mickey movie. She also ahhed everything in the fireworks show.

I’m writing this as we ride the ferry back to camp, and her head is beginning to bounce against my shoulder as her eyes fall heavy.

The most amazing moment of the day for the girls was the castle fireworks show. I must admit, it was impressive.

We succeeded on our budget goals for the day. We all had a Dole Whip toward the end of the day, after we had consumed our 2 carry-in meals and all of our snacks.

We brought insulated water bottles and filled those all day for drinks. So, we stayed well hydrated and I don’t think any of us suffered even a smidge of sunburn. Perhaps because I put sunscreen on everyone like a layer of cellophane.

I suspect everyone will sleep hard for the 6 hours they get tonight before we get up and do it again.

I think we’ll take it a bit easier tomorrow at Epcot. We’ll still get there early. But, we’ll take a mid-day break for a hearty meal and either a nap or swim before heading back. We’ll see how that plan shakes out.

The girls are hankering for a swim tomorrow night.

I’m pooped.

Day 9: The Big Disney Reveal That They Thought Was a Trick

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In 2017, LaShera and I were planning our first cross-country camp excursion with our children. For us, it was ambitious — from Texas to the far western coast of California, up, and back again.

On that first trip, we contemplated whether we should go for the big bang and bite off a couple of days in Disneyland. After an initial price check, and after comparing Disneyland to Disney World, we decided that perhaps that once-in-a-childhood experience for our kids would need to hold off for if we ever took a Florida trip.

As you know, we are currently on our third summer cross-country trip. This time, we were Eastbound, with a trajectory straight through Orlando.

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