Twin Cities, SNIT, Pocahontas, AR, and a Colombian Homecoming! - Week 6, 7, & 8

After TR National Park we drove into Jamestown, ND for a hotel stay, which means pool swimming, showering, and blog updating.  We had an easy drive of less than 300 miles mostly on interstate.  It was good to be back on a 4 lane divided highway.

The next day, we planned to camp one more night in Minnesota.  We had two state park campsites planned out, but because it was Friday night and Minnesotans love their summer camping, there were no spots available at either state park.  This was really the only time on the trip that our lack of preplanning got the better of us.  Luckily, we have awesome friends so we called Fran and Leslie and asked if we could arrive a day early to their home in Minneapolis.  A hot night of camping with mosquitoes quickly changed into a comfortable evening with close friends.  Sybil and Cara handled the change of plans with grace and of course Hudson was ecstatic.

There are fewer cities in the U.S. more enjoyable than Minneapolis and St. Paul in the summer.  The cities are filled with great parks and lakes all connected by dedicated bike paths.  The highs are in the 80s and most days are sunny.  So we borrowed bikes and hit the trails!  On one day we road out on an afternoon adventure with Holly and Caleb, whom are also pregnant and expecting their first in October!

We rode along the bike path that hugs the Mississippi River to our first stop at Hiawatha Falls.  Sybil was pumped to be able to use her SpiderWoman helmet again!

Our second stop was at Lake Nokomis for a swim and beach time.  The lake had a perfectly shallow shore for Sybil to play in.  After our swim we went to the Blue Door, a local brewpub near Freslie's to try our first Lucy which is a cheese filled hamburger.  A beer and Lucy was the perfect way to end this sunny swimming and biking adventure.

Other Twin City highlights include but are not limited to: Hanging with Fran, Leslie, and Courtney at their house, Como Zoo with Holly, solo bike ride adventures around town, breakfast at Birchwood Cafe, Disc golf with Caleb, Children's Museum, practice with Drag n' Thrust.

After an awesome week in Minneapolis the SNIT crew was set to arrive.  After airport pickups of the Berens and Poindexters we had a park hang where Dan had his first of many MVP (most valuable parent) moments stopping a large swing from ramming Sybil.  The next day we loaded into to cars to drive east to Long Lake, WI.  We stopped for lunch in Eau Claire at the restaurant of Fran's parents.  

Our 2nd annual SNIT substituted Terry and Mia for Chump and Bryan and included Klaus, Tina's German Man of Steel.  The 2nd was just as amazing as the first.  Eat, Drink, Compete, Repeat!  This year was also memorable b/c Kai joined the crew and we had three pregnant competitors: Cara, Holly, and Amanda.  I'm already counting down the days to SNIT 3!

One new event this year was a prego belly painting competition.  Although they are both amazing, it is clear which belly and team earned the points for this event.  No question.

This photo taught us that it is possible to flip a pontoon boat with enough people not considering physics.  Thankfully the boat floated long enough for us to take the photo and then immediately move to even out the weight.  The dock on the other hand was not so lucky.  

Kai and Sybil spent most of their days playing with this water table on the dock.  Sybil's favorite water/beach past time continues to be filling things up with either sand or water and then dumping them out.  She can literally do this for hours!

Sunday relaxation after Team Fran sealed a back to back victory the night before.

Dan the MVP of the weekend!

All good things come to end, and although we had to leave our friends and the road trip was coming to a close we had one last stop with family to help us get over the PSD, post SNIT depression.  Pocahontas, Arkansas here we come!

We left Long Lake, WI around noon on Sunday and decided to make the 700 mile drive in one push, our longest driving day of the trip.  We arrived to Granny Bea and Aunt Faye's around 1am.  Sybil was a rockstar and once again proved she is turning into a full fledged road warrior.

Sybil still loved getting rides on their "horses" around the house.  The amazing Granny Bea is still able to take Syb for a lap or two.  94 and going strong!

I love this photo.  Cara used to help Aunt Faye and Granny Bea shell purple hulled peas when she was a little girl.  It was awesome to watch Sybil help Aunt Faye.  

We also had a great day with Uncle Hoyt.  He is an amazing carpenter, and recently he's been making beautiful wood art using electricity.  Sybil helped him make several pieces on the porch outside and he gifted us two for our home.

After three awesome days of visiting, eating, porch sitting, and TV watching it was time to head home.  Near the end of the trip Sybil switched her car question from, “Are we going home?” to “Where are we going?”  When we finally answered “home” this time, she replied “I don’t want to.” Nothing made us happier. :-)

Final Road trip numbers: 47 total days, ~ 7,150 miles, 36 nights with friends and family, 7 nights of camping, 3 hotels, and over 1,000 smiles.

Homecoming! We had the best and possibly the most exhausting homecoming from any trip. First of all, huge thanks to Cara and Nana and Papa for the support Friday night and Saturday. Within the first 48 hours of coming home I was able to watch an ultrasound of a healthy Pepita for the first time, reunite with good friends at Skip's bachelor party, play ultimate at the Sol's first playoff game, welcome good friends from out of town, and see my parents. You can get a lot done when you don't sleep enough.

After arriving home on Thursday around 3pm, we spent the next 24 hours unpacking, cleaning, and preparing the house to host our friends Chevi and Juani. We have stayed with them a few times in Colombia, and this was their first time to visit Texas so we were ready to go big and show them a good time.

Chevi, :-), Juani, Max, and Cohen after the Sol game.  We lost a tight game to Raleigh.

I didn't get any photos during the time I spent at Skip's bachelor party, so here's an old photo from our trip to Australia back in 2006.  Bjorn and I drove out to the lake house after the Sol game.  Highlights: getting to hang with good friends like the old college days, frisbee Jet Ski!, and morning run with Stevie and DNoll.  Skip marries Julia at the end of September just before Cara's due date.  Our C-section is scheduled for the Monday after the wedding weekend, but Skip says he's prepared to deliver the baby on the dance floor if needed.

For our fist night in Austin we took Juani and Chevi out for a true Austin and Texas experience.  Two stepping at the Broken Spoke!  In one night Juani and Chevi: two-stepped, listened to a live Texas Swing band, ate some chicken fried steak (thanks to Walch), saw the capitol at night, and played shuffle board for the first time.

Chevi is clearly a natural Texan

On Sunday we went to Barton Springs and then played Goaltimate at Zilker.  Another dip in Barton after before heading to Trudy's for a late night Tex Mex dinner.  

Monday was Cara's birthday!  Happy 36th!  To celebrate that night, we took Juani and Chevi for a walk along the boardwalk to see the bats leave from Congress Bridge.  Huge thanks to Mariah for stepping up and watching Syb!  It was the first time that I've seen the bats from a distance as they fly off for the night in huge groups.  Their movement was mesmerizing.  After watching the bats leave from the bridge we continued our walk past auditorium shores and then stopped at Whole Foods for second dinner and last second shopping.  The night ended with a nice meal and conversation around our dinner table at home.

The boardwalk is almost as awesome as these two amazing people.

Sybil loved hanging out with her new friends and was always eager to wake them up in the morning.  While watching the bats we determined that Juani's spirit animal is a flamingo.  We are still working on Chevi's.  Which monkey best portrays boundless energy and is blithe with a hint of mischievousness?  I think that would fit the best. 

After a final breakfast at Kerbey Lane on Tuesday morning, we headed to the airport for the drop off.  I can't think of a better way to return to your home than by experiencing all of the best things it has to offer with good friends that are experiencing them for the first time.  We'll miss Juani and Chevi, but know that we will see them soon. 

For now we are eager to see our other in town friends and get to work prepping for the start of the school year and Pepita!

The National Parks of Montana & North Dakota - Week 5

Our next planned destination was Whitefish, Montana (just outside of Glacier NP) to stay with the very generous Shelley and Abe McCoy, long time family friends of the Natenbergs. The McCoy's brilliant annual migration involves spending May-September in Whitefish and October-April in Texas. 

Our first full day there we hiked up Whitefish Mountain on the Danny On Trail. This beautiful 4 mile hike wound through stands of spruce, fir, and pine forest with the occasional open field of wildflowers where the ski runs are in the winter. 

Abe & Shelley McCoy with us at the top of Whitefish Mountain. 

The top of Whitefish Mountain had a nature center that involved my favorite exhibit yet in an interpretive center: plastic, but very realistic, animal scat models! S got a kick out of it too, since one of her favorite topics of conversation these days is poop.

In the interest of nap time, we took the "Scenic Lift" gondola down the mountain instead of hiking another 4 miles. 

And now...a brief montage of a very happy Hudson. 

Chalet McCoy has an incredible upper deck which looks out on 10+ acres of wooded beauty with the mountains of Glacier NP in the distance. Hudson spent 2 glorious and unsanctioned outings chasing deer and wild turkeys on their land. 

Our second day we hiked the Lion Mountain trail in the morning and played on the "beach" on Whitefish Lake in the afternoon. You can see the ski runs on Whitefish Mountain in the background of this photo. 

Our last day in Whitefish we made a day of it and drove into Glacier NP. Mike and I visited Glacier on a road trip in 2005 and were blown away by the beauty, so we were very excited to return and to share it with S, especially before it loses it's namesake to climate change.  

We got up early to ensure there wasn't much traffic on Going to the Sun Road, the singular and stunningly beautiful east-west through-road in the park that runs along a sheer mountainside for much of the way. 

 

Learning from our past mistakes adventuring with a toddler, we decided to stick to minimal stops and one big hike. We ended up hiking to Virginia Falls from St. Mary's Lake, on the east side of the park. This incredible hike: provided stunning views of St. Mary's Lake, crossed over aqua streams laden with glacial flour, showcased 4 postcard worthy waterfalls, and resulted in one incredible (and, luckily, safe) grizzly bear sighting! Syb was very excited to see her first real bear, especially considering "Going on a Bear Hunt" and "A Bear in the Woods Ate My Underwear" are two of her favorite songs. 

Virginia Falls

Tuckered out on the hike back along St. Mary's Lake.

While we were all sad to leave the creature comforts, hospitality, delicious healthy food, and world class vistas of Chalet McCoy, we were excited to move on to see good friends at our next planned destinations: Minneapolis, Minnesota and Long Lake, WI. 

But before we could get there, we had to endure the lows of the High Line. The day started out innocuous enough with a road side stop on the south side of Glacier NP (along Hwy 2) to view a herd of mountain goats. But after abruptly exiting the Rocky Mountains to the east of the park, the monotonous flatlands of eastern Montana set in. There are few camping opportunities in eastern Montana, but Mike found some dispersed camping opportunities at Beaver Creek Park south of Havre, so we pitched our tent after a very long day in the car with not many miles to show for it. 

The next morning we got up early (not difficult to do when the sun is up at 4:30 am) to grind out some miles. Evidence of the natural gas boom is all around you driving through North Dakota. Nearly every agricultural field has a gas well in the middle of it, with hastily built trailer camps every few miles for the itinerate truck drivers, welders, wildcatters, and machinists that come to work. And surrounded on all sides by miles and miles of drilling sits Theodore Roosevelt National Park & the Little Missouri National Grassland. 

The sheer joy that S brings to our adventures is indescribable. The simple act of putting up a tent is a party. 

The landforms are considered part of the badlands; they look similar to the Badlands of South Dakota but are much greener. 

Bison roam freely in this park, as you can see from the photo above of the enormous bison that walked through the campsite next to ours. Hudson was beside himself, and I had to quickly shove him into the car so he wouldn't further provoke it. We also spotted a family of 4 owlets in the tree right above our site. 

We left with a renewed sense of gratitude for our nation's protected places that afford much needed protection for the awesome creatures that we were lucky enough to observe, and the ones we weren't. 

Spokane and Idaho! the best kept secret in the NW - Week 4

Spokane in north eastern Washington is awesome!  Not only does it have the honor of being the home of the Allers, but it is a beautiful city with tons of trees and flowers, hills, a river, and a charming and accessible downtown.  On top of all of that it provides easy access to Idaho's mountains and forests to the east.

After arriving we spent the afternoon enjoying a walk to the park and playground followed by a home cooked meal.  It was great to catch up with Jim and Tracey.

Sybil and I took a walk the next morning to Duncan Garden just a short walk from the Allers' home.  She especially liked the pink flowers and fountains.

Hud and I are getting good at sneaking out for trail runs when Sybil is taking naps, thanks for covering Cara!  Jim directed me to the Bluffs, his favorite place to mountain bike and trail run close to home.  It was a great trail with a pretty steep drop off to the side of the narrow trails.  We were loving it and I couldn't imagine riding it.  Good reminder I need more time on my bike on trails.

That afternoon we went downtown to the children's museum and then Tracey treated Sybil to her first carousel ride!  I'll let Sybil speak for herself about whether or not she enjoyed it. :-)

After feeding Spokane's famous garbage eating goat and sliding down the huge radio flyer slide, Sybil enjoyed a riverside dinner.  One very hungry (and lost?) seagull provided her entertainment.

Family photo with the Allers!  Thanks for opening your home to us again.  We were off to explore the Idaho Panhandle National Forest next.

I love this photo.  This was our first time to really take in our little section of the Coeur d'Alene River near our campsite.

A creative lumberjack created this stump thrown.

While Cara was fly fishing in the pools nearby, Sybil, Hudson, and I lounged along the river bank wading, skipping stones, building rock towers, and sunbathing.

We've been lucky to find these precut logs in our campsites, which have served as perfect tables.

This root provided a perfect nature toilet for Syb!

Happy family about to begin the Route of the Hiawatha.  It would take awhile to get everyone happy again after the first tunnel.

The Hiawatha is an amazing Rails to Trails that is about 15 miles long through some beautiful national forest on the border of Idaho and Montana off I-90.  It's a gradual downhill ride for 15 miles that passes through several tunnels and over hugely high trestle bridges.  It was a beautiful sunny day and perfect for a ride.  We were warned about the first tunnel, which is over 1.5 miles long, pitch black, and really cold (30s/40s), and tried to prepare Sybil.  She was justifiably freaked out, and spent the first 10 minutes of the ride crying and worried another tunnel was coming up.  "I don't want to be brave," was repeated over and over.  The tunnels gradually got shorter and her courage grew so that by the time we had to ride back through the first long tunnel at the end of the ride she hardly made a whimper and quietly and bravely rode through the dark and cold.

Just past the first tunnel.

Thanks to a tenant of the Machine's that left behind a bunch of child gear.  The Spiderman helmet and rear child seat worked perfectly!

Syb's first bus ride, that drove us back up the mountain to the first tunnel.

View from the Route of the Hiawatha.  We would later ride over the trestle bridge pictured in the background.

 

We celebrated that night back at camp with S'mores!

After two nights in the Idaho woods, we were refreshed and ready to hit the road headed east/northeast to Whitefish, Montana to stay with the McCoy's, long time family friends from Spring, TX.  It's been over a decade since we've been back in the Glacier area, and we are pumped for more mountains, trees, glacial lakes, cool temps, and hiking.  Here we come Montana!

Seattle & Friday Harbor - Week 3

Syb demanded that we only travel through states with recreational marijuana laws, so we continued north to Washington state. 

Actually, our whole road trip was originally designed around our next destination: Friday Harbor, on the San Juan Islands (see below for geography lesson).

In admirable fashion, our good friends Tessa and Damien quit their jobs in the Bay Area and moved up to Friday Harbor, 2 kids in tow, in January for a sort of life sabbatical. Continually gracious about opening their house up to visitors, Tessa offered to host a group of friends (we call ourselves the "Grey Area") this summer. 

Hudson is getting very good at photo bombing. We had some time to burn before boarding our ferry to Friday Harbor, so we had a picnic lunch at a beautiful hilltop park in Anacortes, Washington complete with a magnificent vista. 

Tessa and Damien's oceanside paradise. Just behind in the picture is a perfect little beach to explore. The kids enjoyed collecting crabs, viewing bald eagles, and launching the kayaks from there between the shifting tides. 

It's either cherry season or Sybil ate the raw heart of a harbor seal, you decide. 

I'm in my happy place here: sunlight, cup of coffee, good friends, and a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. It was a team effort, but we finished it in a couple of days with only one late night of puzzling. 

Tina and Syb on a walk down to a beach with some neat tidal pools at San Juan National Historic Park. From what I gathered from the informational placards, the most significant historic thing to occur here was a war between the British and the Americans that was almost fought over a pig. If you have 9 minutes to burn in your life, here's an overly detailed account for your daily history lesson. Cliff's notes: diplomacy works...kind of, mediated arbitration works, we don't need walls, and park rangers are awesome! 

Exploring tidal pools at Grandma's Cove. Tidal pool creature count: 1 star fish, 1 large crab, 2 hermit crabs, and tons of sea anemone. 

This is the whole crew on the final morning. That morning was our first taste of the chaos of 6 kids, 9 adults, and 1 dog in one living room, and it was a blast! Unfortunately, we just missed the Pasternak crew as they left the day before we got there. 

We're so grateful to Tessa and Damien for opening up their incredible home to the love and laughter, and chaos and destruction that comes with that many visitors (our family alone managed to break at least 3 of their things). It's a beautiful place and special thing they're doing there, and it was a joy to be a part of it for 3 days. 

When we got back to the mainland, we stayed with Deb and Chris Schiebe. After many years of looking up to her as an incredible player and calm presence on the field, I was fortunate to get to play with Deb on the 2009 World Games team in Taiwan. Her and her husband have an awesome house in Seattle and we had a few relaxing days hanging out with them and their two awesome boys. 

Their neighborhood holds an annual car show, when car enthusiasts of all types park their cars (mostly historic remodels) along a 2 mile long stretch of the main road. It was really neat to see the old fire engines, pick up trucks, mini cars, hot rods, and campers. 

We also explored their favorite park, Carkeek Park, and invented possibly the world's best lawn game: Giant Bubble Disc. 

In a stroke of awesome, my brother Andy, sister in law Nadine, and niece Kaya were also in Seattle on vacation from Austin, so we arranged to briefly meet for some kettle corn and hugs at the Ballard Farmer's Market. 

We're off to start the second leg of our summer long road trip adventure through the northern states of the U.S. First stop is the Machine's (Aller's) house in Spokane, Washington, popular from such blogs as: the very blahg you're currently reading from 2005. Adventure!