First road trip

I know, it's been a while, but we went on vacation and it takes time to recuperate!

It was Aaron's first road trip and we took the dogs as well. We ended up leaving Thursday afternoon which was earlier than expected so we ended up going back to the house twice before we actually made it out of town.

We camped out the first night in the Steamboat Rock State Park. Aaron did very well. I was about 35 degrees and his body and his head were pretty warm thanks to his own sleeping back plus ours and a stocking cap, but his cheeks got really cold. So I tried to put him further into our sleeping bag but then I worried that I was suffocating him. So I didn't get much sleep after that. There is a huge rock there and you can actually hike to the top of it. We needed to get out of town to make it to Missoula on Friday so we didn't do it, but we have plans to go back and tackle the feat!



After the first night


The first full day we went to Grand Coulee Dam which used to be the biggest dam in the world, now it's just the biggest dam in the US. It was built to not only produce electricity but to spread water throughout the eastern part of Washington which is basically a desert. The idea was first proposed in 1917 and the final construction was finished to make it what it is today in 1983. There is a laser light show during the warmer months but of course they stopped those Oct 1. So we were too late. And we didn't make it to the tour because the tour doesn't start from the visitor's center. How much sense does that make? It started on the other side of the dam at the exact time we got to the center. Oh, well! Next time!



We took highway 2 across Washington, down to Spokane, and then 90 to Missoula. It's so pretty. We, of course, stopped at the new Cabela's in Spokane and got Aaron a camo stocking cap that says "I hunt for hugs." It's super cute. Then we were going to make it to Couer D'Alane, Idaho to let the dogs run and make sandwiches but before we got on the highway we saw there was a dog park, right next to the highway. It was awesome! Every rest stop should have a dog park! Then we hit the road, and when you get into Montana there is a great bike trail that someday I will have to ride. But they close it during this time of year, crazy!

Diaper changing station


So, Friday night we got to Missoula and this was the relaxing part of the trip. We just hung out with Chuck's family for a day and a half. Shannon is expecting and she is so cute. We are fellow scrappers and she has made so many scrapbooks already, she's much farther ahead than I am. But we visited my favorite scrapbook store and stocked up on things I would need. The first night we were there Aaron didn't sleep very well because he slept most of the day in the car. Plus Skeet was trying to snuggle with him on the floor, I don't think that helped. The next night I put him between the bed and the wall and he slept great, from 10 until 6.



Sunday we left and attempted to take the "scenic" route to Glacier National Park but it was snowing like crazy on that side of the mountains so it wasn't very "scenic." So we actually ended up turning around and taking 93 up which ended up being very scenic. I was so glad we turned around, much more relaxing with no precipitation.





We knew that when we got to Glacier that the road would be closed due to construction. Then we found out that due to the weather (snow and ice) that the road was even more closed down. The whole road is about 60 miles and we couldn't even take half of it. She said we could hike from where it was closed to the top of the summit, Logan Pass, so we asked if we could take the dogs. In National parks you can't take dogs on trails but since this was a road, we thought we'd be able to. But no, if the road is closed, it turns into a trail and we can't take dogs. What a rip off!! You can drive vehicles on it!! So we hiked it anyway, it was pretty cool so we didn't mind leaving them in the car. The hike to the top was completely clear, no snow or ice, and it was nice. Longer than expected, at least it seemed like it. We got to the visitor center and took some pics and then headed back down because it took more time than expected and when we got to the top it was stinkin' cold and windy! At the bottom near the car we saw people looking at a mountainside with binoculars so I broke out my zoom lens and there were four mountain goats, big white ones, and then two others 100 yards away from them. Pretty far away but they were the only wildlife we saw the whole time in the park.


We were going to attempt to camp out this night but it was going to be down to 18 degrees and we decided not to brave it. Not with Aaron. So we found a hotel and figured out what we would do after that. We were expecting to spend the next day in the park but since the road was closed, there wasn't that much to do, especially with the dogs. We had a couple options, there is a very nice and scenic road in North Washington called the North Cascades Highway and we would have camped out but that would have taken the whole two days that we had left of vacation time. Or we could just take 2 down to Spokane and take 90 home a day early. That's what we ended up doing. Taking 2 down to Spokane was very pretty!! Plus, this allowed us to visit a Sonic in Spokane. MMMMMM...it was Aaron's first visit to Sonic!



On the way home, you cross the Columbia River (HUGE!!) and the Jeep was acting kind of funny. It had been swerving a bit while Chuck was on the phone with a buddy but we thought it was the windy because it can get really windy in the plains. But when you take the almost 90 degree turn to get across the highway it made a funny sound and felt weird. So we decided to get off the highway. There was a clover leaf exit and it made the sound again and a scary swervy movement and we knew what was wrong: a flat tire. It made the same actions and noises it did for me a year and a half ago when I got the first one. So we pulled off the rest of the way and changed the tire. Chuck was so fast and I was so distracted, I did not get a picture of this. I may have to have him re-enact this at a later date for the scrapbook. He doesn't know this yet.

We finally got home around 7 Monday night and all in all it was a good vacation. Disappointing at some points along the way but it was no work for Chuck and it was time to spend with Daddy for Aaron. I'm not sure what he thought to make of that! I think they really bonded over the vacation.

Next road trip we are not taking the dogs. We love our dogs but they tend to weigh us down when we want to get out and hike or go into a store. We feel so bad. So they will stay with their friends and we will have a good time, everyone wins!