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: Wyoming, and Colorado???

Day 2 of our travels brings us to Wyoming, or Adam's favorite state. The views are absolutely amazing here, every where you look. One of the first rest stops/visitor centers is in Pine Bluffs. The facilities are perfectly fine, but the cool part is that you can go on a short hike to a real archaeological dig site and explore the area.  The kids did great on the hike there even though the temps were soaring well into the 90's at this point. Once there, we were able to find out a lot about the people that used this area as a mode of transportation. The kids were even able to "hunt" for arrow heads. We were just about to leave when the lady working there asked where we were heading. We told her our camp location and she said it was beautiful. Then Adam noticed a sign by the door, "Please don't tease the rattle snakes". He of course made light of it and a little joke. The lady then goes on to tell the kids that was why she had a shovel at both doorways, and that you can sometimes find them on the path back so to be careful and watch your step. THEN she says that they have grasshoppers there that make the same sound as a rattlesnake but they stop making the noise after a bit. What was just a 7 min hike there, turned into a 15 min hike back resulting in Adam carrying D because she was too frightened to take another step. Thanks lady!

 (see those super cool looking shirts we are all wearing? We made those the week before our trip so that we could have fun looking shirts to wear. All you need is a cotton shirt, Sharpie markers, and rubbing alcohol. Check here for more details)

 We made a stop at the tree in the rock just outside of Buford. D was super excited to see prairie dogs just running around by us while we stopped.

 We then made it to our camp site for the 2nd night. We stayed at Vedauwoo Campgrounds in the National Forrest in Buford Wyoming. Super cheap at just $10 a night. Tent camping was nice and quiet. Because we arrived on a Sunday night not many people were there.

 Our site for the night. Here is really where the Leave No Trace policy is super important!!!! The views from our tent were just amazingly breathtaking! We could not believe our luck and finding this wonderful little diamond in the rough. After dinner we went for a short little hike. The kids were still spooked by the lady's warnings of rattle snakes, but to make it worse, they spotted signs all over that said, "Bears love trash". So now not only were they freaked out about rattlesnakes, they were frightened of bears. (I must say, so was I)

 On our hike, we made sure to stay on the path way and to not disturb any of the rock formations. We only climbed where it was safe, and on the path. The kids found to rocks to be fun and silly at times.

(I spotted this one and thought it looked like a face)

Our site in the morning just before packing up.

Just across I-80 on the same road as our campground sits the Ames Brothers Pyramid. Once you arrive to the road, don't be surprised that it is a gravel road for about 3 miles. This pyramid just sort of showed up out of nowhere as you are traveling down. When we arrived there, a small group of college kids were hanging out. They had sent off weather balloons further down the road, and were waiting there for them to land somewhere so they could go and retrieve them. Pretty neat!

Just a little bit further down I-80 sits this really interesting rest stop. It also holds a giant statue head of Abraham Lincoln, and is the highest elevation point along the entire route of I-80. The kids joked that they were about to get sneezed on while standing underneath this head. There is also a museum inside the rest area. An added bonus is that a bunch of rest stops along the way were giving out Wyoming tourist stickers that have a fun vintage feel to them.

Now if you have ever looked at t a map of I-80 through Wyoming or even traveled it, you would know that it runs very close to the southern border. We were playing a game in the car where we had to look for someone picking their nose (fun, right?), and we missed what looked like a turn off for continuing on I-80. Next thing we know we see a sign that says Welcome to Colorado! Wait, what??? That was not a state on our list to go through, how did we end up here?? So we stopped at the visitor center to find out. We explained to the nice ladies inside what had happened, and she said that 90% of the people they get in are for the same reason. Who knew?!?!?!

So we added on an additional 30 min to our travel time that day, but got to knock off another state on our list! Next stop Utah and Nevada!!!