More Pictures From Our Last Day of Vacation

The Great Family Western Adventure - Day 13 or Homeward Bound

The final day of our vacation came all to soon as we arose early in Kansas City for a quick breakfast at the hotel. Today is the only day we actually backtracked over roads that we had traveled before. I honestly did not want this vacation to be over. The kids had been great, the things we saw were amazing, and I felt privileged to have been able to witness the great sites of this country. I really did not know if I would ever get to see some of the things we saw on this trip, but I now want to see even more of this great country. I just do not understand how people can look at these natural wonders and not believe there is a God creating all of this.

As we headed east that morning, we only had one thing on our agenda, other than getting home. We were stopping at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and riding to the top. LeAnn, Abby and I had done this before, but Ian had never been there. Plus St. Louis was approximately half way home, so it was a good place to get out of the car.

When we got to the Arch, Ian announces rather loudly that he has to go to the bathroom...NOW! The Arch is quite big and it does look like it is right there, but believe me, it's not. We walked as fast as we could to get there, since there were no bathrooms between the parking garage and the actual Arch itself. We headed to the nearest entrance only to see a huge line. By this point, Ian is about to relieve himself on the side of the Arch if we didn't do something quick. I explained to a security guard the situation and he suggested we go over to the other entrance since there was no line there. So here Ian and I go, running as best we could to the other entrance leaving LeAnn and Abby behind. Sure enough, there was no line, but as we entered the door, I knew we had a problem. In front of us, going through the security was a young couple with what looked like five kids, three of which were still in strollers. Trying to get all that through the metal detectors was crazy. The thing went off every time one of them went through it. Meanwhile, Ian is jumping up and down at this point. Finally, they get through. Ian immediately flew through the metal detector, while I am still putting all my paraphernalia in the plastic box. Fortunately, Ian didn't set the alarm off because he was gone. I got through as fast as I could and caught up with Ian. Gladly, we made it to the restroom avoiding any major catastrophe.

We bought our tickets to ride the tram up to the top of the Arch. While we waited for our appointed time, we visited the museum and the bookstore. I bought a couple of really cool books about Merriweather Lewis and William Clark. One of which is their diaries from their expedition. Ian got a four decks of cards. It was a buy one get another free deal. Ian collects decks of playing cards. I believe he ended up getting around seven decks on this trip. He was very happy with his purchase.

We then headed over to the line that takes us to the tram up to the top. If you have never been to the Arch, you ride a tram to the top. Each car looks like a futuristic egg and holds five people. It is very cramped, and Ian wasn't too sure of it. Of course, the rest of us had ridden to the top of the Arch before. But Ian quickly decided it was safe and thus okay to proceed. At the top, there is a narrow hall that has several windows on each side. The eastern side overlooks the Mississippi River and into Illinois. The western side overlooks downtown St. Louis. You get great views of Busch Stadium and the skyline. If you stand perfectly still, you can feel the Arch swaying a little bit. Especially in the tram is coming up to the top. The kids had a great time and really enjoyed the experience. We then grabbed our egg down to the bottom, made quick bathroom trips and headed back to the car. Once we got to the car, I was reminded that we were beginning our last leg of the trip.

We traveled south to Caruthersville, Missouri and then headed east again, across the Mississippi River and back into Tennessee. An hour later, we were pulling into our driveway, and the Great Family Western Adventure was officially over. And it truly was an adventure.

Thank each of you for patiently reading all of these post about our trip. I hope it wasn't to boring for you. But each day was so different and amazing that we didn't want to leave anything out and wish that each of you could have experienced it with us. A big thank you to Jon and Megan for joining us for our first weekend. It was really great to see you and spend time with you like that. This was a special trip for our family and we can't wait to hit the road again for another adventure. Not sure when or where that will be, but we will definitely let you know all about it.

More Pictures From Days 11 and 12

The Great Family Western Adventure - Days 11 and 12 or Man, This Country is Really Big!

I thought I would combine these two days since they were pretty much travel days. And honestly, nothing much happened on day twelve. Not even any decent pictures.

On day eleven, we woke with a little sadness. We definitely were not ready to leave Yellowstone and head home. But the vacation days were running out, not to mention the money. We got up early again and finished packing the car. We went over to the general store next door and got some breakfast for the road, gassed up the car, and headed south. Today, we would drive through the Grand Tetons National Park and visit Jackson Hole, Wyoming before ending the long day in Boulder, Colorado.

We headed south and left Yellowstone through the southern entrance. When you leave the park in this direction, you immediately enter the Grand Tetons National Park. The Grand Teton mountain range is amazing and beautiful. You get right up next to them as they dive down into the various lakes that come right up to their base. Every angle is beautiful. We made several stops along the way to take pictures and just take the view in. My favorite place is Jenny Lake and I could have set there and stared all day. We stopped at the visitor center and bought a few T-shirts.

We then headed down to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. From Jackson, TN to Jackson, WY was very cool. Jackson Hole is really a ski resort town so during the summer, I didn't expect it to be very busy. But the place was hopping. The downtown surrounds a town square. The town square is entered through arches that were made from antlers of deer, elk, and moose. It is very cool place. We stopped here and got some more T-Shirts and drove through a Wendy's to head south towards Colorado.

Wyoming is very beautiful and has many different types of landscapes. As we traveled to the southern most part of the state we traveled in a flat area that was nestled between two snow-capped mountain ranges. It was a long way to the interstate but it was a straight shot. We finally made it to the interstate and turned east toward home. As we did, we entered a new terrain. It was very much like those old western movies when the cowboys travel out into the desert. Another great things that we got to examine. We stopped in Laramie, Wyoming to have dinner before heading south into Colorado.

We finally made into Colorado and on into Boulder. We got in very late and it was the only time the entire trip that I was ready to get out of the car. It was exhausting, and we were homesick for Yellowstone.

Day twelve was nothing more than travel. We slept in just a little since we all were so tired. But we got up and had breakfast at the hotel. We then loaded up the car and headed out. We traveled through Denver and out in to the Great Plains. We traveled across Kansas and back into Missouri before making it to Kansas City to spend the night. It wasn't a bad day at all. But it was just driving across the flat plains of Kansas. Not really much to talk about.

The next day is our last day of this great adventure and the destination is home. At this point, I am just ready to be home and to get this driving done. But we have one last adventure to do before we get home.

More Old Faithful Inn Pictures

The Old Faithful Inn

Before we leave Yellowstone, and head back home. I thought I would post some pictures of the Old Faithful Inn. This is an amazing hotel. You can feel the history as soon as you walk into the lobby. It was indeed a huge privilege to stay at this hotel. I am so thankful that I had this opportunity and I got to share it with my family. LeAnn took some incredible pictures of the Inn, and I hope you enjoy.

More Pictures From Our Last Day in Yellowstone