Your Patience is Rewarded

Here they are #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5, not just once but twice in one posting. We hit the Grand Canyon and the two selected pictures were to prove they got there and they departed. It was touch and go whether we were willing to make the journey to the rim with #5 in the equation.

However, with the help of John Karr (our bus driver) and our discussion of the danger. #5 was pretty well reserved. When John held his fingers apart about 2-3 inches describing the thickness of the book journaling the number of people and their respective methods of final breaths around the Grand Canyon, #5 was pretty well convinced it was not just mom and dad's concern, but a real risk.

Good night for now.

Big Daddy
Captain of the Crew

A Day of Rest

We decided to drive 30 miles today. We got to camp earlier than any day yet.

But before we did we tried to deal with some mechanical issues. This in itself is a scary idea, since I had a mechanical bypass at birth. But the automatic stairs decided to quit working. (By the way it is not a problem if one is 6'5", but tends to cause issues for those under 5'5".)

Also, there was a rattle by the driver's step, so I climbed under to see what the deal was. Evidently, the manufacturer either left off four nuts or they worked their way off. Either way, it would have been nice to have a picture of me under the RV acting as though I had a clue what was going on!

I am not sure, but I think it has rained every day since we left on the 20th. But we have officially had hail twice now! We sat patiently after our recent experience and it passed after about 5 minutes.

We are hopping a train to the Grand Canyon in the am. If you are not up to date with Western news, there is a forest fire burning on the north rim. Most of the National Parks around here are shut down and there are strict rules about behavior in the forest.

Big Daddy
Captain of the Crew

Since when???????

The other day we ate @ Olive Garden for the first time in about 12 years (for our parents, and Caddie). It was delicious! As we left Olive Garden, my dad was still paying, so my mom took us out to the RV. Suddenly, we saw a little rodent like thing run across the road. We weren’t quite sure of what it was right then, so we went to get a closer look. Being the city folks that we are, we were surprised to see prairie dogs everywhere in Albuquerque, New Mexico! Here is a good picture of two of them:

These were two of the three that were stil outside by the time Caddie ran to go get the camera. If you don’t really know about prairie dogs, they “bark” when danger is coming in order to warn the rest of the prairie dogs that danger is coming. We didn’t hear them bark, but they must have, because they all ran into their “houses” about a minute after we saw them. (info is courtesy of Caddie, she did a report on prairie dogs, so that was pretty special to her to get to see the animals she did a report on) So, that’s the update! Talk to you later!

-Dumbo (#2)

THIS IS A SHOUT OUT TO SOME HOMIES!

Hope you enjoy!

Dumbo (#2)

God is making it interesting here on Route 66

Yesterday, something weird happened in Arizona. The wind was blowing backwards (compared to how it usually does)! We went to a petrified wood store, and the owner of the store said the tumbleweeds were “moving backwards”. Speaking of tumbleweeds… It’s a good thing a tumbleweed caught Flat Stanley, or hewould not only be flat, but he would be no more.

So far, for most of the day it wasovercast. We have had some rain, but no hail like yesterday. Look @ the picture!

My mom was trying to take a picture when she was surprised to have a lovely background. Also we saw a river that was dried up.

I know that isn’t the best picture, but hopefully you can kind of see the drop where the river used to be. Well, that’s about it. J Talk to you later!

-Caddie
(#1)

De Ja Vu

It was a windy, stormy day out west(some 35+ years ago). It was a trailer not too different from the one in an earlier posting. Instead of 5 youngsters, there were 3. Mom and dad, I am sure were confident that all was well and no harm would fall on anyone. As the trailer rocked and the winds brewed we sang louder and louder. Before long the storm passed and it was a fond memory.

Tonight was a windy, stormy day out west. I hate to inform mom, but we trumped her little spring time sprinkling. Please do not be offended, but the only way I can describe what occured was "all heck broke loose". I tried my best to put up a strong front, but finally I had to retreat to the bedroom with #5 and dive under the covers. I don't know for sure, but I think it over now.

I am pretty confident the tears running down my cheeks are in laughter, but......we still have a few hours until daylight. Peace be with you and hopefully with us. Do you remember the true meaning of a rainbow?


Big Daddy
Captain of the Crew

Roadkill Sweepstakes

Sometimes it gets a little dull on the road, so we have to make up games.

Today we saw jack rabbits. Can you guess what state we're in? If you guessed Texas you were right. We saw a flat jack rabbit, almost as flat as Stanley.

We also saw a dead porcupine that probably poked someone's tire. We saw a dead dear dad gave 100 road kill points because it was lunch for four buzzards. Yesterday .was fun and today will be too.

Dumbo #2

Here's to you Mr. Smiff

Not every posting is in chronological order. Some are more random and no less important.

Stanley says hey from Chandler!

Big Daddy
Captain of the Crew

Kahina Momma

We hit the National Route 66 Museum today and all I could think about was mom.

This goes out to you!

RV Momma

PS Mom, click on the picture to enlarge to appreciate the humor!

Dibs

Times change. Did you say "dibs" when you were a kid to claim ownership to an asset? There is a prime passenger seat in the RV I am sure the kids would all be saying "dibs" if it were an in style type thing to say. Oh well, it's a little Route 66 nostalgic thought.....

Anyway, we are about to enter New Mexico. We have met some amazing people and had some amazing times. At dinner we sat next to Manuel, Susie, Roger and Kathy. They were some neat folks. What was amazing about them was they spent the last two nights at the exact same spots we did.....pretty wild. Manuel and Susie invited us to visit their Strawberry farm when we hit CA. Who knows it might be Strawberry fields for ever....

Back to Dibs. The kids are asleep and I enjoyed a little taste of heaven. If you haven't tried Dibs...hit the grocery now! Until we meet again.

Big Daddy
Captain of the Crew

Singing for Joy

Today I went by an Opera house and I sang for joy! I can't put the picture for you to see, but I will tell you it is funny. I love Route 66! Most of the time we camp at KOA and it's "good clean fun".

I learned that if the swimming pool is 5 feet deep (over my head) and I can swim, then I can swim in 20 feet deep water. It feels the same.

Kit #3

AWESOME!

Route 66 is Awesome!!

Dog #4

Shoe Tree

On June 23rd we were in Oklahoma nd having a bunch of fun! We went everywhere! Our main two stops were the Totem Pole Park and the Blue Whale. It's a huge blue whale that is very old. No one is allowed on the water slide any more...booooo. But if I could, I would!! We saw the biggest totem pole(91 feet). Today we saw the the shoe tree. #3 Kit

Blue Whale

This is the Big Blue Whale in Oklahoma. You used to be allowed to swim in the water around it and go down he slides on the whale, but now the whale is closed. Now all you can do there is picnic or just hang out in the whale. We had fun there. #5 wanted to swim… of course, but he was ok with just leaving to go swim @ KOA instead.

Rainbow Bridge

This is a part of the Rainbow Bridge in Kansas.
Flat Stanley enjoyed it there, and so did we, it was very pretty… ;)

-Caddie (#1)

Lamberts

Flat Stanley loved the rolls @ Lamberts. He may have gained a couple pounds from one of those rolls that he got chucked @ him…

But he still had fun. (to see the picture, check the previous post from my dad)

And so did we. I got to eat a bunch of rolls and fries. I wish I was more hungry @ that point in time, but I wasn’t so I just decided to eat a side of fries. The guy that threw the rolls was really nice. One of the rolls he threw fogged up my mom’s glasses because it hit her glasses. It was really funny. OK. Well, I guess I will let you go.

-Caddie (#1)

Oklahoma is OK

We made our way through Kansas and into Oklahoma today. We will probably be limited in posts in the next day or two due to our likely locations. We made it to Tulsa. I wanted to take the kids to the Exotic Reptile Park, but most of the critters were sleeping.

But their slumbering did not prevent me from waking them at Lambert's; Home of the Throwed Rolls. It was a hit for all and great food. If you make it to the Springfield, MO area, you have to check the place out.

Some of our interesting adventures today included a friend named Willie showing the kids where to stand to strattle the MO/KS state line. (He told us where we could go to have them in MO/KS/OK simultaneously, but I was a wienie.) They got their leaned over two old time bridges. They stood in the mouth of a whale. And leaned on a totem pole.

Not to mention a backwards dinner. They ate their ice cream before the real stuff made its way to the table.

Mr Smiff, RV Momma says, "Hi! I am looking forward to seeing Chandler tomorrow. And glad Big Daddy is in charge of the black tank."

Peace for now!

Big Daddy
Captain of the Crew

Multi-State Day

Wal Mart seems to be our sure stopping point daily. We are taking a break in their parking lot now. Everything has been moving smoothly so far, just a few surprises. But the scenes have been incredible. Their are long horns, bazillions of bales of hay and many 1950's establishments; some still operating and some not.

Early in the tour our guide at Meramec Caverns said to save some film or memory for later sights. It was another reminder of how the technology and pace of life has changed. Route 66 is a completely different experience than the interstates. It requires a slower pace and patience, but the view is much nicer.

Who would have thought ten years ago when someone said, "save some film or memory" they would not have been referencing your mind. We have taken many pictures we can show you at another time, but Meramec Caverns was a great lesson. We didn't take our camera into the caves and yet I am pretty sure we all saved some memories for many days to come!

As I complete this note, #5 is plugging my bald dome with suction cup bullets. I look like I have a mohawk.

Have a great day, I know we will!

Big Daddy
Captain of the Crew

Cave People

My dad had a whim yesterday, so we decided to go to the Meramec Caverns. It was tons of fun. They had a “natural theatre”, a “wine table”, and a bunch of hangy thingys from the ceiling. What I mean by all of that is that the people @ Meramec Caverns had named rocks (stalactites and stalagmites) in their cavern, and those were a couple of the things they had named. My family had loads of fun… and I would recommend to anyone. The guides are funny, and the things in there are amazing! Talk to you later!

-Caddie (#1)

RV?

I'm sure that Flat Stanley can fit in this "RV", but thank goodness our dad didn't make us fit in there!!!

I'm sure there are more interesting things coming up, so keep checking our blog!

-Caddy (#1)

Move over Elvis

Although Abe Lincoln and Elvis never made their way by this quaint location on Route 66, believe it or not Flat Stanley did!

We have survived two days and I am catching my breath, doing laundry and preparing for a shower.

I made several new friends today, but we will elaborate more later. One of my favorites was Chad. He received one of the coveted pens today. I cheated and gave two out, but I'll tell you that one later also.

Chad became a hero of mine today for showing me (hands on) how to empty the dreaded "black tank". If you don't know RVese, let your mind wander and you will understand. I thank my God in my every rememberance of Chad. Philippians 1:3!

Time to call it a night! Peace.

Big Daddy
Captain of the Crew

BYE!

Hey guys!

Today we are starting our adventure. Mom and dad are packing up the RV, while the kids are all anxious to get in it. (I'm sure that will change in a "couple" of days) Looks like they are almost done. I can't wait to start heading west. Today, out plan is to at least get ourselves to Chicago. SOO... we are going to leave now! SO... SEE YOU LATER!!!!!

-Caddie (#1)

Sorry

Hey guys!

For safety purposes... our dad doesn't want us to show you any pictures of us on the blog. But instead, you have Flat Stanley.

(to learn why he is "flat" Stanly, go to:

http://www.flatstanley.com/how.html

We also received an awesome shirt that Stanley likes to wear...

Flat Stanley will be traveling with us, and most of the pictures we put on the blog will have him in it instead of us.

-Caddie (#1) Ü

The Rig and Thanks

We test drove this big rig. It was a new exerience. It will be just a matter of days before we cross Adams and Michigan in Chicago and begin our trek west! Don't be bashful in offering ideas along the way.

We appreciate your comments and encouragement. R&K are the ultimate RVers and NW offered some unbelievable ideas to help with our preparations. Thanks.

Big Daddy
Captain of the Crew

OOO, Missouri

My bro has been dying to see the movie, "Cars" by Disney and Pixar. As you can see from the previous post, it conveniantly has to do with Route 66. Well, as we are going through Missouri (my state), there is a drive-in movie theater that our family is going to go to and watch the movie "Cars". This is going to be so much fun.

What I meant by "my state", is that my dad assigned states for each of us to research. I ended up with Missouri. There are many things in Missouri. Like... an ice cream store, outlet malls, movie theaters, and more. I can't wait to go on Route 66!

-Caddie

Kid #1

Prophetic Symbols

Many months ago I found three torn post-it notes on the top of my computer screen. Whether they were prophetic or taunting in nature, only the one who posted them knows.

(If you could zoom in, you would see a map of the US on the left with a trail from Chicago to LA. Then in the middle there is a Route 66 sign and finally a "short bus" with a whole crew loaded in.)

It seemed hard to believe one day the RV would be loaded with a crew and pointed west. But the first step was the Captain of the Crew had to leave the office.

So Friday, Gumby did my bidding for me. Mr. Flexible himself is waving goodbye for 90 days. The trip west will only take a portion of the time, but flexibility will be necessary the entire time.

If you have a dream, no matter how outrageous, today is the time to begin planning. It can happen and you will be glad it did!

Big Daddy
Captain of the Crew