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9 Aug 2024 – Trip day 131

After Craters of the Moon, we drove the other direction to City of Rocks National Preserve. The visitor center is co-located and run by the Idaho State Parks, where Castle Rocks state park is also near by.

It was a small visitor center, with a few displays. Outside, there was a small path/trail with a couple of wagons out front. This area was part of the westward migration in the 1800’s., with the California Trail passing through the City of Rocks area.

Ducky had a great time doing his book and exploring the trail!

We drove by Register Rock, where travelers left their names when they passed through what is now the park.

A view of the rock formations as we enter the Reserve.

The City of Rocks.

Further in, we came to a trail to Window Arch. Window Arch was past several campgrounds. Meagan and the kids went out, then we tagged out while Randal slept.

Selfie at the Arch!

More amazing rock formations!

Kids on top of Bread Loaves rock!

We stopped at a picnic area at the end of the road in the park, near Bread Loaves rock. Randal was all about getting out of the car and running around.

He promptly armed himself with a stick and began on his mission to cause chaos!

Scenic vista at the park.

View of the Bread Loves from the other side. There is a group campground there. The National Reserve is very popular for rock climbing and camping for the locals.

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8 Aug 2024 – Trip Day 130

After a few days hanging out with the grandparents, we headed north to check out Craters of the Moon NM.

The kids knocked out their Junior Ranger books in the visitor center and the small museum. I took Ducky and Randal out so they would cause less chaos, so we didn’t get pics of Jarek and Evan getting their badges.

After the visitor center, we embarked on the scenic drive. We stopped off at the Devil’s Garden area for a picnic lunch and walked the short paved trail.

A view of some of the lava formations.

Happy kids on a hike!

We drove on and came to a cinder cone. There was a trail up to the top. Randal was asleep, so Meagan and the kids went up to the top first while I stayed with Randal. Zoom shot from the cell phone came out well!

Ducky works his way up. You can see the van and the parking lot down below.

On top of the world!

Views from the cinder cone.

Arya and Ducky walk along the top of the cone. As they were heading down, Arya asked Ducky to hold her hand. Ducky says “No, I don’t want to hold your hand!” Arya says OK, and walks down the hill a bit. Ducky sees this, then shouts after her “I want to hold your hand! I want to hold your hand!”

At the end of the scenic drive, we came to another lava field. The kids and Meagan took a short walk out to explore it along the trail.

Back at the RV, Ducky poses with his new duck he got from Granny!

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6-7 Aug 2024 Trip Days 128-129

Two kiddos, snuggled up and not wanting to leave the nest.

Granny and Grandaddy came to visit us. They brought us some home grown blueberries. Randal thought they were great! And it was also great to share and feed Mommy!

Ducky communes with the chalk before continuing work on his masterpiece.

Jarek gives Grandaddy a run for his money on the chessboard. Arya is having a harder time with Granny.

After chess, it was time to go to the playground. The playground, as you know, is a lot of hard work. Randal gets a drink between chaos-causing events.

The next day we went to the Herrett Center at the College of Southern Idaho.

They had this really neat sundial out front where you could line it up and it would match the current date. However, it was based on solar time, not daylight savings time.

Ducky was fond of the library and explores some books.

There were a number of Native American displays as well as artifacts from other cultures around the world.

We also watched a couple shows at the planetarium they had there.

One of the shows was The Great Solar System Adventure. It was very well done and the kids liked it.

After our time at the Herrett Center, we went back to the RV to make dinner. Ducky supervises Alan while he makes shells for tacos.

Then we went over to the hotel to hang out for a bit and use the pool.

A cold Evan sits in the hot tub to warm up after playing in the big pool.

Big brothers and sister had a lot of fun taking Baby Randal around the pool in his float. Ducky loved his baby shark float as well.

Time for some more chess after the pool, and then time to say farewell!

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5 Aug 2024 – Trip Day 127

After hanging out with the grandparents, we ventured forth to the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument. This site is a bit unusual, in that the actual site is not co-located with the visitor center. We drove out to the site and were a little baffled when we first arrived that there was no visitor center. The drive took us out by the Snake River through some pretty country.

 A sign at the parking lot in the actual monument. There was a hike that we didn’t do, we elected to drive into town to the visitor center before they closed so the kids could get their Junior Ranger programs done.

We arrived at the visitor center and found that it was co-located with and run the the Thousand Springs Idaho State Park and the State Park personnel. They were very excited to see us there!

 Alan is posing with a replica sloth skull. The Ranger had me hold it up to represent the approximate height of the prehistoric ground sloths for the kids.

 A mammoth skull, among others, were on display. It was fun playing keep away with Randal!

 Evan and Arya work on their books. We also watched the park video. They had a table set up where a lady was preparing replica specimens for display.

 Garrett and Randal enjoy some time outside in the grassy field surrounding the building. The flowers were much more fun than the fossils – Mom and Dad would let them play with the dandelions!

 The staff kindly took our family picture by the mammoth skull.

 We also tried to take a picture by the prehistoric horse. Ducky was in his shy mood and tried to run away (again)!

 After we were done at the Fossil Beds, we returned to the RV Park. Big Sis takes Randal for a ride on the swings – one of his favorite things to do!

 Granny helps Garrett out with a ‘clink clink clink’ super swing.

 After a turn on the swing, Randal gets his dig on and explore the depths of the sand box.

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3 Aug 2024 – TD 125

After the Golden Spike, we took a rest day.

Unfortunately, we woke up to find that Jarek’s bike had been stolen. A neighboring guest at the RV park relayed to me the the story. Apparently one of the local homeless men hanging around the downtown KOA came in the campground and, while in the process of being chased out of the campground by the staff, grabbed Jarek’s bike and fled.

I filed a police report with the SLC PD, but thus far I haven’t heard anything back on it.

It was still very warm, so the kids spent the day playing in a sprinkler I set up on the grassy part of our site.

Chaos beast can be rather cute at times!

A baby…a bucket…some water…and mud. What could happen? You can see our Starlink in the background. I had to get rather creative as our site was almost entire under a heavy tree canopy and my usual positioning wouldn’t work.

With the determination of an Olympic track and field athlete, Ducky jumps through the sprinkler!

I also took the opportunity to change the cabin air filter in the van. The dusty miles in the Southwest had taken their toll.

August 4, 2024 – TD 126

Travel day

Departing SLC, we headed north to Twin Falls, ID. On the way out, Meagan stopped with the kids to get some long overdue haircuts.

Ducky gets his hair cut. He had fussed at the dentist last time we took him, but he was very cooperative and smiled the whole time getting his hair cut. He watched the big kids go and wanted to do the big kid thing.

Handsome Ducky!

 On the way north, Meagan and the kids stopped for a bathroom break. Unfortunately, the bathrooms and store were closed, but there was a little petting zoo at the gas station. The kids had a good time petting the animals.

 Arya got her goat.

 At the RV site, Alan is setting up the front of the RV. Firefly is all done with this trip and ready to go home.

 Later that night, Randal explores the bottom of the lunch box looking for snacks for 2nd, 3rd, or 4th dinner. The little monster is always hungry!

 On the drive north, the truck popped some codes. I located a shop just down the road from the campground (in walking distance actually!) to work on it.

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2 Aug 2024 – Trip Day 124

This is a continuation of part 1.

This is the video from our visit to Golden Spike National Historic Park. After getting their Junior Ranger badges, we went out to look at the trains. The trains are replicas of the originals, as the originals were scrapped.

Engine 119 is coal fired, and Jupiter is wood fired, due to where the trains operated and the accessibility of the fuel needed.

Some of the technology and tooling had to be remade. Several parts were upgraded, such as the metals and method of construction – welding vs rivets. The brake system were also upgraded.

After completion of the line, it was quite the western boom town with lots of colorful characters.

 World War 2 and its demand for steel caused the line to be salvaged. That little tidbit tends to get left out of the history lesson.

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2 Aug 2024 – Trip Day 124

We drove north out of Salt Lake City to the site of the Golden Spike National Historic Park. The kids got to work on their books, while the engines Jupiter and 119 stand behind them.

There was a nice railroad museum set up. Here is a replica of the spikes that were used. There was also an interesting display on timezones and the railroad’s role in the creation and implementation of the time zone system as we know it.

There was a posterboard and marker set where kids could write their thoughts on the display. Randal didn’t mind, and thought that nomming on the markers was a better idea!

After finishing his book, Evan gets his badge. Also, this is our life on the trip in microcosm – Evan is doing his thing, Randal is causing chaos, Garrett is poaching from brother’s water bottle, Meagan is browsing the post cards, and Jarek and Arya are off finishing their books.

Jarek and Arya get their badges.

After getting their badges, we went out to see the engines.

A close up of the engineer’s cabin of Jupiter.

Jupiter was wood fired, as it operated out west and wood was plentiful and coal was rare.

Engine 119 was coal fired, as it operated in the east where coal was more accessible and wood was rare.

119’s cabin.

The kids got to heft the maul used by the Ranger to break up coal chunks.

Engine 119 builds steam as the Rangers prepare to move the engine.

Family shot between Jupiter and 119!

Check out the video and Part 2 here!

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31 July 2024 – Trip Day 122

I went out to look at the van in the morning, as Meagan had mentioned that there was still a light on. I went and looked and found most of a TPMS sensor on the dash (sorry, no picture on this one). I called Costco back and they said to bring it back and they would fix it, so I took the van back the next morning to get the sensor replaced.

I took two of the minions with me, and they suffered mightily while we waited for the tire get fixed.

 After the van was fixed, Meagan took Jarek and Randal to the Timpanogos Cave National Monument. Jarek was happy to get his Junior Ranger badge. Unfortunately, the tours to the cave were very limited and we didn’t have reservations made in time, so we weren’t able to go inside the cave. Next time we’ll make reservations far in advance.

 Randal explores a cave exhibit at the visitor center – he’s very excited about it! He was also very excited to repeatedly dump out a bin of Timpanagos Cave badges in the store right next to their exhibits. He never tires of causing chaos.

 After he completed his Junior Ranger book, Jarek and I walked across the street, crossed a bridge, and had lunch at a beautiful shaded picnic area. The river was narrow, but it had a swift torrent of water running through it. Baby Randal’s instinct for danger always sends him straight at whatever is most likely to cause him to be hurt or killed, so he stayed strapped in the wagon during lunch.

 After lunch, we headed out on a scenic drive the Ranger recommended, the Alpine Loop Scenic Byway. The views were beautiful even with the poor visibility and the drive snaking up the mountain to the pass was a lot of fun. We saw many deer right next the road. The speed limit was 15-25 through most of it and there were segments with only one lane.

 After getting to US-189, we stopped to see Bridal Veil falls. This is the view from the upper parking lot.

 We went down to the lower parking lot and got out to take a closer look. Baby Randal loves water so much (see previous discussion about being

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30 July 2024 – Trip Day 121

Done with our time in Moab, it was time to head to Salt Lake City.

A happy Randal before we put him in his most hated place – the evil car seat!

On the way to SLC, I got a call from Meagan wondering about this symbol that showed up on her dash! Turns out she ran over something at a rest stop and got a leaky tire. She was able to utilize the runflats and air up the tire enough to finish limping to Costco in SLC, near our campground.

We previously had an appointment for a tire rotation, but it turned into a tire replacement as the tires were worn enough, and due to some previous warranty replacements, they were not able to replace that tire and have things be happy with the AWD system.

 Randal meets Mr. Pumpkinhead.

 He’s really not sure about that guy.

 Meanwhile, back at camp, I’m unpacking and getting set up. I open up the RV to discover that it was a bumpy ride. A container of oatmeal jumped off the counter and spilled open. The microwave dish also yeeted itself out and on to the stove, breaking all over it and the floor.

 More carnage. After this, I changed procedure to put the microwave dish into the oven for travel. Thus far, it hasn’t jumped out of the oven, but I have found the microwave door hanging open, even though empty.

 The kids enjoy a post shopping treat of ice cream!

 Back at the campsite, Mr. Goggles was busted!

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July 28, 2024 – Trip Day 119

We stopped into the Canyonlands National Park visitor center to get our passport stamps and to get the Junior Ranger books for the kids. There was this neat display on the wall going over the geology. Ducky thought this was the best thing ever! Doors and little cubby holes to investigate!

We did the scenic drive and had lunch at one of the picnic areas. Scenic drive video coming soon!

Then we went to Whale Rock and did the hike to the top. It was a decent hike and the kids had a lot of fun scrambling up to the top.

Randal got the easy way to the top.

Ducky also got a ride, but wasn’t having it today.

Be sure to check out the hike video (coming soon!)

After Whale Rock, we stopped off at the Grand View Overlook and got a couple awesome pictures!

After the grand view overlook,  We stopped off at Aztec Butte. Meagan and the kids did the short trail up to the shelter ruins.

They were able to see the remnants of a supply cache or ‘granary’ that remains under the cover of the rock overhang.

Sunset from the trail.

As the sun set, we headed back to the Grand View Overlook for a night sky ranger program.

I took this awesome picture as the last bits of sunlight were fading and the Ranger set up telescope. We were able to see a nebula and a few other stellar objects.

It was even more fun with the babies, because it was a National Park, no playpen for them, and a 1,000 foot drop off the cliff if you went too far. We managed to make it out with everyone in on piece, amazingly!

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