Day 4: Get along ye lil doggies

Miles traveled in day: 172

Miles total: 1000

Today we woke up and celebrated Father’s Day. Johnny had made James some cards in school and had been asking daily if he could give them to him. They were pretty darn cute.

The boys then went outside after pancakes and bacon to fly mini kites. It was pretty ridiculous!

Then we were on the road for Yellowstone. We gave the boys options for side quests but they all demanded the stones of yellow. So away we went! When we were about an hour out we stopped by a drive-in called Frostop. The burgers were good and so were the shakes. Jimmy got a root beer float the size of his head!



We pulled into a Yellowstone KOA in West Yellowstone and met up with Grandma and Grandpa Fowler. After we all were setup and ready to go we shambled on over to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. Jude learned quite a bit about bears and told me he was not as afraid of them anymore.

My 3 wolf cubs

Dinner was back at the KOA over the campfire and then swimming (while I was getting the laundry done).

Day 3: Fly Me to the Moon

Miles traveled in day: 225

Miles total: 828

Today we slept in and then got on the road. With some advice of some friendly campers we stopped into Craters of the Moon. The boys all became Lunar Rangers and got some free patches to prove it. The landscape here is so amazing. Pioneers came through and I have no idea how they would have - it is treacherous but beautiful!




The jewel of the day was the EBR-1 (World’s First Nuclear Reactor).Jimmy’s mind totally exploded from the moment that we saw the Experimental Reactors outside. They were made to test nuclear-powered turbojet propulsion for nuclear-powered aircraft.





Then we went inside the reactor itself. Inside we opted for the Self-Guided Tour. It was pretty fantastic. Our new saying “like Jimmy in a nuclear reactor” is going to used hopefully regularly.

Jude didn’t want Jimmy to turn it on!

We headed for dinner soon after, on our way we noticed a tiny little museum on the side of the road along with the USS Hawkbill’s sail. It was an impressive stop. The retired tailgunner that was giving us the tour was a great highlight.  He not only had atomic bombs on his shoulder on some of his missions but he also worked on the nuclear sub program out here in Arco. Jude said it was his favorite stop so far.

For dinner we went to Pickle’s Place, “Home of the Atomic Burger”. The food was delicious!


We then went back to Mountain View RV Park. Here we met a nice old submarine electrician who tested some of the subs. It was a really neat evening with some great stories and insights.

Day 2: Danger Noodles

Miles traveled in day: 254

Miles total: 603

We woke up early today trying to beat the time changes as we moved east. The kids didn’t much like the idea until they realized they got one more swim in before we left.

Johnny was sad to go. He was convinced that all he needed in life was to live there. “Free coffee, pool-sized hot tub, I’m set!”

After we convinced him that it was just the beginning of the trip we were able to move on.

We had some delicious breakfast with James’ aunt and uncle, who came in style on their Indian and Harley (respectively). It was very nice to catch up and wish Debbie a very happy 27th birthday!

After some tours of the bikes and the motorhome they were off and so were we!

We had a long drive out to and over the Snake River and we were finally in Idaho!

We made it to Bruneau Dunes State Park about two hours later.  It is gorgeous here. We went to scope out the telescope set up first and then the near by lake.  The boys were on the lookout for sneks, scorpions, and spiders the size of my head. There were none but there were mosquitos the size of my right eye. Johnny loved snatching them from his arm and smooshing them. Then the wait for the sunset!

Note he is smiling!

Checking for scorpions and rattlesnakes… Nothin’

Pond

Human sundials

Observatory (25” Newtonian Reflective Telescope)

Unfortunately we picked the only day without a clear sky. Johnny was the only one of us to be able to look through the telescope and see Jupiter before the clouds thickened. The rest of us were disappointed until we realized that we would be able to come back any time. They apparently have a Star Party here in September or October. They definitely have the sky for star watching!

Day 1: Bend and Burns, Oregon

Miles traveled in day: 349
Miles total: 349

We started out the road trip like any road trip should begin.
With food!
Our first stop was Elmer’s in Woodburn and we filled up on German Pancakes and scrambled eggs (Jude was the weird one out with a grilled cheese and corn)

After the food stop and the hangries were abetted we moved on, after a dam pitstop we went to the High Desert Museum in Bend, OR.

If you haven’t been it is something to see. It’s super clean nice walking trails. Play areas for the littles and cute animals. We did not have time to see it all so we will be going back again soon!

burrowing owl

majestic eagle (thought of you Nicole)

They are multiplying

living history chores

pretty rooster with a dirty mouth

James in the privy

hoops

graceful Jimmy

It’s golden

They are always butting heads

We then moved on to our home for the night. Crystal Crane Hot Springs is a nice quiet place 30ish minutes outside of Burns. It was super nice to slip into the hot water and soak the road weary bones.

Looking forward to day 2!

Elmer's to start

A Northwest favorite since 1960. Filling up the minions for the day.