Glacier National Park- St. Mary Campground and Many Glaciers

After racing, we drove as far as Butte, Montana to sleep at a Wal-Mart. The next morning which was Monday June 17th, we stopped in Great Falls to eat breakfast at McD's, work on business stuff (yea Wi-Fi) and UPS paychecks back home. The rest of the way up to the East Glacier entrance was Blackfoot territory and it was very depressing to see how impoverished the towns were. Small casinos lined the area and wild-looking dogs ran around the streets.

Finally, we approached St. Mary's Campground on the Mideastern side of Glacier National Park around 3 pm. It was a primitive camp with no hook-ups and very limited generator hours. We were so glad to be out of the driver's seat with two feet on the ground. Eager to start exploring, we rode our bikes to the visitor center to get information on hiking, etc. The rangers informed us that the shuttles were not running yet and most of the park wouldn't be accessible until July due to snow. Our RV was too long to drive the main road into the park so we would need to rent a car back in town in order to drive further into the park.

There was a river nearby the camping loop so we walked over to check it out. The boys collected rocks and I found some driftwood to take home. It was very beautiful there.

 Here is a pic of our campsite with a view of the mountains.

 On Tuesday morning, it was around 60 degrees in the camper when we woke. We drove up to Many Glacier Lodge and hiked around Swiftcurrent Lake which was 2.6 miles around. Then we took a boat tour across and hiked another 1/4 mile to Lake Josephine for another boat ride. Our hike was with a large group of people and we met lots of nice families from Iowa (The Bodes), Ohio (The Naess) and even Tampa(Steinfelds). Yes, one of the families played for Citrus Park Bills last season with us! Their son played on varsity football and their daughter did cheer for the super-midgets.
                                                                                     How crazy is that?!

 On the hike, we crossed suspension bridges, small creeks, played in the snow and saw lots of beautiful scenery. That hike was another 2.8 miles. The boat was full and couldn't hold all of the people going back at 5:15 so a few of us stayed behind at  Lake Josephine with a guide.  The temperature was dropping and mom was the only one with a jacket. We chatted with a family who was just back from a missions trip nearby.  As we discussed our dilemma with the road restrictions and our RV, they offered us their SUV for use the next day. I don't know too many families that would offer a stranger their vehicle. After our boat finally arrived and the tour was complete, we headed to the RV for our ride back to St. Mary Campground. In the parking lot, we saw some bighorn sheep looking for some handouts.

There were too many photos taken to show them all so here are few of my favorites from the day...

What a memorable day this will be!

 

 

Riders ready, watch the gate....

We rolled into town in our now cool RV and even early enough to check in at the KOA before going to the BMX track. It was located in Bar Nunn which a was a little town close by. Most RV parks were full due to the college championship rodeo going on in Casper over the weekend.



Jason announcing the race Friday night

Mike Sedar BMX track is located inside a county park and was in great shape for being all dirt. No asphalt, soiltek  or concrete at all. All the locals were asking, "Who are these orange Fortress Team kids?" and "Why did y'all come all the way to Wyoming to race?" Jason jumped right in and did the race announcing while I took photos of the boys in action. It began to get a little windy as the night went on and that meant colder too.

After racing, we were all starving and couldn't find too many places open at 9:45 pm. Outback was around the corner - yumm!  The next morning, we had nothing planned and the USA BMX Race for the Cure didn't start until 5 pm. It was Nathan's 12th birthday so I cooked breakfast and we relaxed for a bit. There was an indoor swimming pool and of course we needed to do more laundry. By the time the last piece was folded and put away, it was time for more racing. I believe there were 94 kids registered and around 27 motos for all of you BMX junkies that need details. By the way, they are a little slower paced out here in the West so it took a while to get through them. Wesley, SamBob and Jason dominated their races and came out with 1st places. Nathan finished with a 4th but it was his first time to race as a twelve year old.

Jason Jr. saw a mountain bike trail behind the track that he had to try so off he went to climb up
the steep hill. He was successful in his descent and no injuries even though there was a speed wobble or two sighted below.








We celebrated with some mini-golf and then dinner at a really cool place name Sanford's Grub and Pub. Then it was too late for birthday cake so I guess it will have to wait until breakfast on Sunday...























We raced again on Sunday at Mike Sedar BMX track. Jason relinquished the microphone to another announcer and I helped with scoring. They all did really well again. The results for the mains were: Wesley 2nd, Sambob 1st, Nathan 5th and Jason Jr. 2nd. Since it was a Redline Cup
race, the trophies were cool. SamBob threw a fit because he didn't want a 1st place trophy. He would have rather had a dogtag instead. Everyone was overtired and it was time to leave Casper, WY.

 

Slept like a baby

Saying bye to the Wittenberg's less Stella

 It was Thursday June 13th, and I didn't want to get out of bed. It was nice and cool outside, around 63 degrees! I knew the plan was to get going and find a repair place that could take us right away. All of them were booked and couldn't squeeze us in for days. That wasn't going to work since we had places to be, things to do and people to see. Our whole trip was already mapped out and reservations were hard to come by in many places along the way. We said goodbyes to our friends, the Wittenberg's thinking we'll see y'all again, maybe even next summer. As we left Centennial heading north, you could see the smoke had covered the mountains. We had seen this very thing last June when we came through Colorado.



 


Jason following the RV repairman

 


 Not too far up the road, we stopped and saw a mobile RV repairman who was nice enough to donate his time and energy. After about 1 hour of troubleshooting, he concluded that we needed a new control panel where all the wires went in the  A/C unit. Since it wasn't in stock anywhere near us, we loaded back up and headed into Wyoming to the Jolley Roger RV to pick one up. Upon arrival, another repairman that Jason had been speaking to earlier informed us that it most likely was the thermostat. Oh boy how we love chasing our tails! That had to be ordered via UPS from the very place we had just come from that morning.... Denver. 

 

 

Since we would be hanging around for the part, we found a cute little RV park in Cheyenne, WY called AB Camping. It is a family-run, Christian campground and they served dinner until 8 pm. Who could resist some cowboy BBQ from the Wild West? The boys ran around and played in the park almost until dark and then everyone had showers and settled in for a good night's sleep.

Temperatures dipped down to around 50 degrees as we slept that night. The next morning, we weren't in a big hurry to go anywhere since the thermostat wasn't due in until around 1 pm via UPS. Jason caught up on some laundry and then we found a skate park in town to burn some more time. It was the nicest one I have ever seen and in a public park of all places.      

Finally, the news we had been waiting for... our thermostat  had arrived! We hurried back to Jolley Roger RV and picked it up. They were even nice enough to warranty the old one for us. Jason switched it over and then we were off to Casper for some BMX racing.

 

 

 

No Sleepy, No Happy, No Coffee, No Drivey

On Tuesday June 11th, we pulled out early around 6:15 am. Did I mention that we didn't sleep good again due to A/C problems? Somehow, we also forgot to make coffee before driving away which is not a good start to the day.  About 3 hours into the driving, Jason looked over and asked if I was ready to get behind the wheel. I replied, "Yes, as soon as I get my coffee"! The day was long and the driving was rough due to 40 mph crosswinds in Kansas and 102 degree weather. We had to keep a death-grip on the wheel to keep the RV on the road so 2 hours shifts were about the max for us. By the way, the landscape in Kansas was not too exciting either. Just curious, in the Wizard of Oz, why did Dorothy want to get back home so bad?

 

We kept in close contact with our friends, The Wittenberg's in Centennial, CO throughout the day and made it just in time for dinner at their house. It was such a relief to get out and relax for a bit. As our second annual tradition, we went to Baskin Robbins for $1 scoop night.

The kids played until it was pretty late and we got to catch up a bit with Jennifer and Doug. The next morning, Jason was busy talking on the phone to RV repair shops trying to figure out the problem with our A/C. Jenn and I took the kids to their community pool to cool off.  Later in the day, we drove 2 cars and the RV into Littleton for a little volunteering at a small church hosting a community VBS. The kids had a blast making crafts, eating spaghetti and playing games with some new friends. Luckily, it was cool out that night and we slept with the windows open in the RV. Occasionally, we could smell the smoke from the wild fires to the south of us. Everyone was so exhausted and had no problem sleeping that night!

Here we go again...

After much preparation and planning, the Cunningham's time in Lutz was up. Everything was packed and ready to go by Saturday night. The house was clean, animals taken care of, business stuff wrapped up and school was out. One last night to sleep in the comfort of our own home. Finally the day was upon us!We got up and piled into the RV for church Sunday morning. Afterwards, we said our quick goodbyes and headed North.

Jimmy Walker hitching a ride
 

Jason and I took turns driving every few hours. The boys played video games which kept them super quiet. For once, we didn't mind them playing them! We pulled into a Wal-Mart in Chattanooga around 10:45 pm to sleep for the night. Our first glitch was when the automatic leveling jacks malfunctioned. We could not put the feet down and we were not level. Jason opened the slide-out for the bedroom anyway and everyone went to sleep. It rained much of the night and we heard lots of strange noises outside. Next, the A/C decided it didn't want to work on auto so it got a little warm.

Early Monday morning, Jason was ready to roll again but we had a small problem. The slide-out didn't want to come back in since we were off level. My handy, husband got it back in and off we went. Most of the day was either rain or construction zones (my personal favorite). Just after lunch, we arrived in St. Louis, MO. Jason had watched a show on Food Network which featured a local bar/restaurant there named Iron Barley. The area of town was a little rough but we were up for trying a new dish. Jason and Nathan had a chili, cheese-dog challenge and all the boys had root beer in the bottle because they thought it was cool!

 

We got back on the road and almost made it across Missouri into Kansas but the boys were a little restless and I was getting irritated. We stopped early in Knob Noster State Park to let them run around and burn some energy. Plus, I had two days of blogging to do...

Yeah, I know I never finished the roadtrip blog.....

Well, I realize that time got away from me and I never finished the Summer Road trip 2012 blog.
Let me just say that last Summer was amazing and our family got to experience so many wonderful places in the United States. We are definitely blessed to be able to take a trip like that. We finished up the summer with a few more visits along our Eastbound path. We took a trip to Kansas City and saw a baseball game, visited my grandfather in Forrest City Arkansas and another grandfather in Tupelo, MS. who I hadn't seen in 10+ years. We also stopped in Niceville, FL to see my brother, Anthony and his family. Our vacation was closed by a trip to Disney Fort Wilderness since our annual passes were expiring in August. I cannot believe that another year has passed and Summer is quickly approaching.
I will let everyone know now that there will be another blog for Summer 2013 road trip. Yes, we are going West again.....

Stop #19: Watsonville KOA- Santa Cruz, CA

On Tuesday night, we pulled into the KOA late. On Wednesday morning, the boys jumped up and went to play all day. They went to the playground, jumped on the inflatable bounce area, met some new kids next to us, rode scooters, swam at the pool, rode the choo choo and shot cap guns. Later that night, we had a fire and relaxed outside. The temperature was perfect. We didn’t have to run the A/C at all. 

Thursday, we had another full day of fun planned.

In the morning, we drove into Santa Cruz for surfing school. It was a 2 hour session for Jason Jr. and Nathan.

They had to learn all the basics of paddling out, balance, position and getting up on the long board. Just putting on the wetsuits seemed to be quite a chore. The weather was perfect and there were many other surfers in the waves. The beach in Santa Cruz was mostly rocks so we climbed carefully to a spot where we could see the boys in action.

Jason was the first one to get a wave and ride it in. As with most sports, it seemed to come so naturally to him. Nathan wasn’t far behind him on another wave. A little while later, Nathan got too close to the shore and the waves kept him from getting back out with the others. He was tossed around a bit and hit some rocks so he decided to take a rest on shore for a bit. One of the instructors came and retrieved him and he finished the lesson like a champ. We were so proud that he didn’t give up!  We realized that the tide was coming in and our beach area was shrinking so we gathered our belongings and moved around the corner to higher ground. After washing all the sand off of everyone and watching Sam Bob throw a major fit because he was cold, we hopped in the RV and went to the boardwalk amusement park that was over 100 years old.

We ate seafood at the pier then let the kids get on some rides. The one thing that I thought was really special was the indoor merry go round which was on the National Historic Register. The horses were beautifully decorated and had real hair for the tails. There was a lot of shiny brass on the ride and the music was coming from the Wurlitzer pianos playing nearby. This was definitely a cool place to go visit!

Friday morning, we had to pack up and head back East but not before doing laundry, a little maintenance in the cargo trailer and getting an oil change on the RV for the first time. Yes, we had already put over 4000 miles on it since purchasing it in Colorado a month ago.