Summer Road Trip: The Long Ride Home

We woke up to sausage, orange rolls, and coffee. The perfect way to say good-bye to our amazing hosts! We finished packing up the car, and just as we were saying our good-byes, D started to bawl. She did NOT want to leave. She cried non-stop until we hit the Bay Bridge, then it was strangely quiet. She slept until we got to Sacramento, asked if we were still in California, when I told her yes, she started to cry again. Poor kid, I sort of felt the same way. I drove the whole way through Cali again until we got to Reno, then Adam took over and drove across Nevada.

Happier girl once we got into Nevada.

We had decided to try a different camp site in Nevada for the way home. We agreed to try Angel Creek, but once we got there it was totally full. There was another site but was up in the mountains. So up we went, and found our camp site. It was truly a beautiful site, but I wasn't too keen on it. It was also packed, so tons of people blaring loud music and yelling at each other. Plus there were giant swarms of nasty little bugs. (think the size of a mosquito without the bite, but as annoying as gnats or fruit flies).

The really neat things was that just a slight hike around the corner, was this amazing lake, hidden at the top of the mountain, and was filled with melted snow from the top.

The next day we were off for Vedauwoo Wyoming again.

First off a stop in Park City Utah for a potty break and lunch. We had lunch at Del Taco, but had a silly time in this at the visitor center.

Almost back to our destination for the night, we made a quick stop at Little America Wyoming for a gas/potty/change driver/ice cream break. Added bonus: a small playground for the kids to run a bit.

Back at Vedauwoo for the night. Just before we got there, there was a little sprinkle and a rainbow. Wonderful! Set up camp, made dinner, and had our last s'mores for the trip. Adam took this series of shots while trying to get a "good" shot. Personally I love these more.

Every night of our journey, the kids and I would write in our journals. We would write about anything that had happened that day, that way we could remember all the fun times we had.

We woke up the next morning. I had not heard from my friend (L) keeping an eye on Milo for us for a few days, so I sent a quick text asking how he was doing. She said he had been fine, just not eating much. He would do that on days he would get mad at us. We figured that was the case. But she had then gone down to check on him for that day, and we got a text that he wasn't doing well. He was hiding under the bed, yowling, and refusing to come out. So I got a hold of my other friend (A), she headed over to check on him and possibly take him to the vet to get checked out. A could tell just looking at him that it was not good. She rushed him into her vet, and that was when we got the bad news. Because he had stopped eating, and drinking his kidneys were shutting down. He was so far gone, that all the vet could do was give him a little IV, antibiotics, and a bit of a pain reliever. The vet said that if it was his cat, he would bring him home to pass away. This was horrible news, especially since Adam and I made Milo promise he wouldn't go while we were away. We had decided from that very first bad news text to drive straight home to be with him. It would take 18 hours of pretty much straight driving.

A would text me through the day giving us updates, but never good news. Eventually she called to tell me that he had begun having seizures, and would I like to say good-bye over the phone. So she put the phone to his ear, and I said my good-byes. It would be the hardest thing I have ever had to do.... As soon as Adam heard what I was saying, he pulled the car to the side of the road, we all got out and had a giant family hug and crying session. It was extremely hard on all of us. L said he wanted to go to heaven with Milo, D said she didn't know daddy would cry like that. We thought it would be best if we moved all the stuff from the backseat so that I could ride back there with them. We explained that everyone will grieve differently, and that is ok. If they wanted to talk about him, we would, or if they didn't want to talk that would be fine too. So we kept our mind off things while watching T.V. shows and DVD's.

Eventually I got the text that Milo had taken his last breath, my friend A was just as heartbroken as we were, but she stayed with him the whole time. For this, I am forever grateful! We continued on the way home, stopping just outside of Joliet Illinois to switch drivers again, and I took the rest of the way home. We arrived home at 2:30am with both kids sleeping. Adam went in first to take care of Milo before we brought the kids in. We felt it wouldn't be good for them to see him, he no longer looked like him. We got the kids in bed, and brought in all the stuff from the car. We kept a small tuft of his fur from his belly and keep it in a small fancy pill box in case we needed help remembering.

Adam and I didn't go to sleep until 5am! When we all awoke at 11:30am the kids decided to build a little shrine to Milo after being inspired by the one at Haight and Ashbury. My kids were troopers, and made it the whole 18 hours with no complaints or bad behavior. They knew what was happening and have dealt with things like the big mature kids they are. I am incredibly happy to know that I have amazing friends that help me when I need them, and I have an amazing little family. It was a little bittersweet to come home like that, but it still was the most fantastic trip we could ever have taken. The kids are already asking what road trip we are taking next year.

Summer Road Trip: Utah and Nevada

We continued our journey through the states and made it to Utah. The first visitor center had a nice sign for photos just on the other side of the parking lot. Not sure if you noticed, but we stopped at a visitor center in each state because Adam insisted we had to stop to pick up a state map. Never mind the fact that we had a current Atlas for us, atlas' for the kids, google map print outs, a GPS, and maps on my phone. He has turned into a total DAD on these trips! Why do they all need more and more maps???

D and L were super excited to see more prairie dogs running around by the building eating food that had fallen.

One of the places along the route the kids were most excited to see were the Bonneville Salt Flats! Have you watched the movie The World's Fastest Indian? It's a great movie that takes place there and talks about the racing that has occurred in the area for decades. D was the one that was just itching to get out there and run on the salt flats, and Adam was happy to let her! We just pulled off to the side of the road in a safe place and let them run. We scrapped up some of the salt on the top layer and brought it home for my dad. My dad has a love of cars, racing, and travel and has not yet made it out west yet even though he has dreamed of it for as long as I can remember. It was the least we could do.   I found it really interesting to see all the tires marks as we drove along. People get out there and drive around all the time. I also thought it was really neat all the messages people left either spelling it out with rocks or writing in the salt. Very cool stuff!

The Tree of Utah

And just like that, we cross into Wendover Nevada. You can tell that gambling is all the thing here, there are slot machines in the bathroom!!!

Once again we found a camp site through the free camping website. This was South Fork State Recreational area in Nevada just south of Elko. We got in later than we wanted, we got lost in the park trying to find the tent camping, and tensions began to run high. We finally found our location, set up camp for the night, and ate a quick dinner. The kids and I got in the tent while Adam cleaned up, we had a lantern on inside the tent while we wrote about our day in our travel journals. It sounded like it was raining, and that was when I realized it sounded that way from all the bugs hitting the outside of the tent. YUCK!!!!

We set up the tent on the gravel by the picnic shelter because we saw tons of prairie dog holes in the ground. We didn't want to take any chances. In the morning, L had noticed that the prairie dogs has closed up their holes overnight. Hmmm, I guess we didn't need to worry. We packed up with the exciting knowledge that by that night we would be at our friend's house in the Bay Area! California here we come!!!

This casino houses the world's largest dead polar bear. We had heard that they have postcards with him on them so I headed into the casino to take a look. The place was pretty empty, and I struggled to find a worker, much less one that spoke English. I found the bear, looked around, and didn't see anything. The bartender finally saw me and asked if I needed help. I asked about the postcards and she looked at me like I was crazy. I explained how I read they had some postcards, and that maybe they were out of them. She laughed and said they haven't had those for about 40 years. Oh well!

This was at a really pretty rest stop along the way in Nevada, pretty much right in the middle of the dessert. The bathrooms themselves were horrible, but the rest of the area was really nice.

And finally on our last travel day before we arrive, we stopped at a pizza place for a pizza buffet lunch just outside Reno. The kids thought this little guy was so cute they needed their picture with him.

California bound, here we come!!!!!