We woke up at around eight o’clock. We went into the living room and started watching tv. Daddy soon came out and said we could have breakfast. We got some food and ate.

Our goal today is to take a hike in the Petrified Forest. We got dressed and went outside. In the car we had our car fairy gifts. We hopped in the car and started driving to the Petrified Forest.

We went to get bear spray because we didn’t have any, and then kept driving to the Petrified Forest. On the way there we saw the Devil’s Slide, a steep rock formation that was red.

We arrived at the trailhead, talked to some people about bears, used the restrooms, and started hiking. The trail was haphazardly steep and curvy. It continued into the Petrified Forest. We had to take caution as the trail got drier, crumblier, and rockier.

There were some small caves and big overhangs dotting the trail as we climbed around a big rock. We climbed to a big overhang and sat down to rest. The interpretive trail was 2 miles, and (hopefully) we were near the end of the trail and were going to hike down.

This paragraph is informative, so if you know about the billionaire Forrest Fenn, you can skip to the next paragraph. Forrest Fenn, a 70-year old billionaire who had cancer, hid a small treasure chest full of gold nuggets and jewelry in the Rocky Mountains. The only clue he offered was a poem containing nine or ten hidden clues. The way Mommy and Daddy deciphered it led us here.

Daddy went to peek in a few caves, out of curiosity and to look for the chest. We sat around the bottom of the overhang, and some other friendly hikers told us that around the corner the trail had completely washed away. Thanks for the tip, that probably saved our lives. Looks like the trail ends here.

We really had to take extreme caution as we descended the constantly switching trail. Lots of painstakingly small turns and dry, crumbly rocks. Finally the trail evened out more reasonably flat. We could walk straight instead of walking sideways, and we focused more on getting back then taking too much caution.

There was a dried out creek bed, so we could collect some petrified wood. We could only collect 20 cubic centimeters a calendar year, but that was fine by my standards. We collected a couple pieces of the wood and headed back to the trailhead.

We approached a family who was asking about the hike, and we realized it was past 2! We had been gone about 3 hours! We also totally missed lunch, but for a good reason. The drive started back to the cabin.

When we arrived at the cabin, we had an evening of relaxing and a dinner of hot dogs and couscous. I read Mommy’s and Daddy’s blog. I learned that one of the reasons they went to the petrified forest was to look for the treasure. It said from the blog “We convinced the kids that collecting petrified wood would be cool”. Collecting the wood was cool, but I didn’t expect something of this scale from that.

I showered and hopped into bed. B was exhausted and acting tired, so Daddy had to sleep with him, and I went to Mommy’s and Daddy’s bedroom to read a bit. I soon came back to bed and fell asleep.

   This morning we all woke up around 7. We all changed reasonably fast, but we were going to get the hotel’s breakfast course, so that wasn’t unexpected. Daddy, Braden, and Zoe went down first, because I needed to trim my fingernails and Mommy needed to curl her hair.

The breakfast course was phenomenal. There were eggs, juices, waffles, yogurts, and other breakfast delicacies. I got a mini cinnamon bun, apple slices, a yogurt, and some apple juice. After we were done eating we went back to our room and started packing up. This drive was going to be a little shorter then yesterday’s; almost a whole hour shorter.

We hopped in the car and headed for our cabin in Northern Yellowstone National Park. We stopped at a few sightseeing places along the way, and we stopped for lunch in Grand Teton National Park. Along the way we also saw wildlife such as baby antelopes.

We neared the entrance of Yellowstone, but there was a huge line. After the line we were able to use the restrooms, apply bug spray (for mosquitoes), and see Jackson Lake. There were mountains everywhere. We hopped back in the car and continued.

After my iPad was close to dying, we approached a sign telling us that our cabin was 26 miles away. This meant our 5 and a half hour drive (lengthened to about 6 hours) was coming to an end. We would stay 3 nights at the cabin and keep on going to Bozeman, MT.

Apparently, the drive was not going to end so soon. We hit a construction area that we had to wait in for about 20 minutes. Once we got out, we only kept going for about five more minutes until traffic slowed. We didn’t stop, we just slowed to a different pace.

Sooner or later we arrived at the cabin. We quickly unloaded the car and settled in. We had pizza for dinner, watched tv for a bit, and turned in for the night. Finally we had arrived at the cabin, ready for tomorrow.

 Happy 4th of July! Happy Birthday America! You are now officially 242
years old! Exactly 242 years ago today America was born, with help from Thomas Jefferson and others of the Continental Congress.

Today is the 4th of July!

This morning we woke up around seven. We almost instantly started packing our stuff for the 7-hour drive that awaited. The car got loaded and then we hopped in.

We drove to a nearby donut store and Daddy hopped out to buy some for us. A couple minutes later he came back out empty-handed. He said the line would take at least half an hour to get to the front of the it. We will get stuff later on the trip.

We stopped at a beer store to get some stuff for one of Daddy’s friends. This is interesting because his friend is back in Waupaca. Afterwards we got on the interstate and started driving to a rest stop near Laramie.

The rest stop was at the highest point on I-80 at 8460 ft. We got out and gazed upon the monumental rest stop. There was a huge Lincoln head near the rest stop building, which was surprisingly big for a rest stop. There was a grassy area dotted with roof-covered picnic tables. We had lunch and used the restrooms there.

We got gas and treats at a gas station in Laramie. We also got out our iPads at the next rest stop. The next stop we made was to see part of the Oregon Trail. Afterwards we continued on.

After what seemed like an hour, (unusually quick off my standards) we pulled into Pine Dale, 4 minutes away from our hotel. We checked in and went in our room. The room was smaller then we expected, so we quickly rearranged with the  hotel staff, and we got a way larger room instead.

After we got settled into our room, we went down to the pool. The pool had a little 4 in deep section, with stairs that led to an 3 ft 6 section. The deeper section gradually became deeper, increasing to 4 ft deep.

We stayed in the pool for a little while, and then went back to our room. Zoe hopped in the bath, and sooner or later Daddy came back with food. B hopped in the bath and Zoe and I started eating.

After Braden got out of the shower, I asked if I had to take one. Since I might be able to go down to the pool with Daddy later tonight, I didn’t have to. We continued eating and watching the TV, which was now turned on.

I went with Daddy to the pool a bit later. We talked about certain topics that Braden and Zoe would probably get instantly bored about. Such topics include future separate bedrooms for us kids, the route of tomorrow’s drive, and blogging.

Sooner or later we came back to our hotel room and showered. B and Z were already in bed, and Zoe apparently had a bloody foot, which we had to take notice of. I was allowed to watch for fireworks (as it is the 4th of July).

The fireworks were supposedly going to happen at dusk, but that was 10 minutes ago. I still watch for fireworks, although I still saw nothing. We saw a bright flash for a second, but no one saw what it was. My dad later thought it was a warning firework, sent up 5 minutes before the whole thing started. I knew it had been at least five minutes since we saw it, so even though it was obviously not the warning light, I still kept watch.

At about quarter to 10 Mommy and Daddy started wonder if we were on the right side of the building. But at around 10 I saw some orange lights in the distance. The fireworks were on!

I captured some video footage of the fireworks, meaning 5 minutes of it. Daddy and Mommy were like, a town 1/3 the size of ours had way more fireworks. The grand finale was breathtaking. Lots and lots of colorful lights. The finale ended at about half past ten, so I almost instantly went to bed and fell asleep.

Today we woke up a bit later. Still, we were able to accomplish leaving by 7:20 after a breakfast of bagels. We continued on our drive up the mountain. The hike we were going on was 1 mile round trip, with an elevation gain of 260 feet. We approached the hiking trail and parked.

On the hike we saw a billion marmots, lots of flowers, and a completely flat landscape. Decently flat, but there were cool “Mushroom Rocks” that we saw. The trouble that I had was mainly popping my ears. We reached up to 12,310 ft above sea level, so that made sense.

We reached the end of 0.5 miles and climbed on some rocks. We got to look at the dome, a metal circle telling which way to each nearby national park and how many miles. We made our way back to the parking lot and started driving to our next stop.

On our way, we saw elk up close, like, 8 feet away. We also saw the Continental Divide, a river that separates the water that goes to the Mississippi from the water that goes to the Pacific.

We parked at the parking lot and walked down to a river. We played there for a while and then hiked for a bit. We came back and ate lunch for a little while. We then used the restrooms and started driving to a visitor center.

At the visitor center we used the restrooms and stamped our National Park Passports. We started driving to the tram, where we would go on a ride up and down a mountainside. We arrived at the tram and parked.

We waited in line for a while and got on the tram. I starting getting suspicious about the storm clouds. My suspicion was proven when it started sprinkling at the top. We heard thunder and lightning. At the top we fed some squirrels and got in line for the next tram.

The tram took us back down the mountainside. When we got back down we went into the parking lot and hopped back into the car. We drove to the ice cream place Munching House and ate there.

We went back to the hotel and parked. Even though it was sprinkling a bit, we still changed and went in the pool for a while. Afterwards we had a dinner of microwave Mac and cheese and then turned in for the night.

This morning we woke up at 6 to go hiking. We were in the car and going by 6:20. We have to leave early, or else the park fills up fast. Our parents estimated an hour, but the drive only ended up taking 15 minutes.

We started hiking, our goal was to see 3 lakes and come back, an estimated 3 miles of hiking. I took lots of pictures of the waterways, and some rocks. The trail was beautiful, and it was a pleasure to hike on. There were lots others hiking the trail alongside us.

When we were done we went back to the hotel, ate lunch, and swam in the pool for a while. The pool got up to 8 feet deep and there was a nearby hot tub. The pool was fun and spacious, great for swimming. This part of vacation was going great.

Afterwards we started driving to Old Fall River Road. The road escalated to 12,000 ft in the air. On the trail we stopped to look at Chasm Falls, a huge waterfall near the road. The hill kept going higher, and across the valley were some more waterfalls scattered across the mountains.

At the top of the mountain we looked around, got stuff at the gift shop, and used the restroom. We started down the road again and headed to our hotel. Before we reached the hotel, we stopped and got pizza. Half cheese and half sausage.

Back at the hotel we ate dinner and went in the pool. I achieved somersaulting underwater, mommy did a handstand, and B tried touching the bottom of the 8-foot deep section. There were a few others in the pool, but that didn’t matter to us.

In our room we rinsed off and got into our pajamas. We were soon reading for a bit. As the lights turned off, we prepared for tomorrow.

 *Yawn* I woke up around 7 AM. We all woke up at about the same time, so we got dressed at about half past. Doing so made great time, and we were outside quarter to 8. We went to see what the “car fairy” (basically our parents placing gifts in our seats to help pass time in the car) got us. Summer Brain Quest books. What a surprise (I’m being very sarcastic here).

We left our hotel at about 8:00 AM. This drive would be shorter by a couple hours. We drove around Lincoln for a bit, stopping at a donut place and taking pictures of the capital building. Sooner or later we started our drive to Estates Park, CO.

Yes, of course, another rest stop for lunch. This is pretty convenient, though. Afterward, we got snacks from the—oh wait, I’m ahead of myself here. The vending machine was out of order. So what? We got stuff at the next rest stop, whose vending machine was out of order also. What is the chance of that!? We got stuff at a gas station instead.

The iPad display has been mounted. (Woohoo!!!) Finally we can watch movies together. Nothing else is in here like that. Our Pilot had a TV, but we didn’t need this display too much. We watched all of Ghostbusters and then got out iPads.

We made a few sightseeing stops along the way, like Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff. Pretty amazing being able to view practically everywhere nearby. By the time we were going back on the road from Scotts Bluff, Braden’s and Zoe’s iPads were dying. We dug our the chargers and went on with the drive.

We stopped at McDonalds for dinner, now in the mountain time zone. This will aid us with an extra hour of driving. All is well, so the trip is good so far. Lots of relaxing.

All this time the weather has been great, but when we stopped at the Wyoming welcome center / rest stop the ear-popping began. We were about 6300 ft in elevation. I got a refill on water and popped my ears, so I was fine. Now a few more hours and we will have reached our destination.

We wound around great mountains and some streams as we neared the hotel. There wasn’t phone data at all, so it was our brains we relied on for navigation. Finally we arrived in Estes Park and pulled into our hotel. It was technically a 2-floor motel, but at 9 in the night, no one really cares. We hit the sack and prepared for tomorrow.

  9:30 AM we pulled out of our driveway. Our goal was 8 AM, but that was without Mommy and Daddy going to bed at 2 AM and without Zoe fighting. We finally are on the road. B and Z constantly fight, so this is going to be a long trip.

Around 12 PM we went to La Crosse’s Woodman’s and got some cheese and turkey and other lunch needs. We went to a nearby rest stop (which was technically in Minnesota but we just were across the Mississippi River) and ate lunch there. It wasn’t crappy, but more like the opposite of crappy. It was a welcome center to Minnesota, so it was assumed it would be nice. 92 degrees, a shaded table, and a big (but not too bad) breeze. After we had lunch we got treats from the vending machine. Sooner or later we got back on the road with iPads to keep us company.

Nothing different. iPads, iPads, sights, iPads, iPads, sights, etc. At around 5 pm, we pulled over to a Dairy Queen and had dinner. Hot dogs, burgers, and sodas enjoyed while rushed (which I was partially in alliance with) cannot be fully consumed. Back on the road (No iPads included) repeated torrential thunderstorms (Woohoo for me) started whamming us in the face. They never really stopped until about 45 minutes before I typed this sentence.

We saw the University of Omaha, the start of the transcontinental railroad, and various fireworks. Nearly all were during rain and thunderstorms. Finally we arrived in Lincoln and checked into our hotel. After 12 hours of driving, we arrive at Lincoln, Nebraska and are ready for tomorrow.