Gatlinburg By Way of Keeneland

Since we were leaving bright and early, but couldn't check into our "chalet" until 4:00pm, we made a small pit stop in Keeneland.  I've never been there for actual races, but according to a list of free things to do in Lexington we could see the horses practicing from 6:00am until 10:00am.  Had it been about 15 degrees warmer I really think the girls would've been interested in this, but sadly it was freezing.  Luckily any disappointment over the horses races was washed away by a super cheap breakfast at the Track Kitchen which included grits and biscuits and gravy!
Even with our brief stop, we still got to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in time to purchase junior ranger books and hike a couple miles.  It's hard to complain about paying $3 for the ranger books when the whole park is free.  We watched the movie about how the park came to be.  We stared at the taxidermy in the museum.  Finally, we set off for Cataract Falls.  We opted for the long way to the falls so we could check out one of the historic buildings on the trail.  This gave Dan and Lottie an opportunity to scare the living daylights out of Gabby and me.  This particular waterfall wasn't super impressive, but the walk was lovely.  We tried to go a little past the falls but not everyone was really on board for that plan.  We accepted defeat and turned around.  The next stop was Food City to stock up on junk food for dinner.  Our rental property, the Sugar Shack, was a pretty standard a-frame. It was delightfully easy to find from town.  The drive up the hill to the property was far less treacherous than some in the area.  All major pluses since we were completely exhausted.

Waiting for the horses to come by.

They had to be still for a while so I could get a horse in the background.

Grits, eggs, biscuits and gravy.  Southern breakfasts are AMAZING!

She loves grits too!

Add caption

Thank goodness for those tumbling lessons.

Dan still laughing about jumping out from behind the door and scaring us.

Lottie only runs up hill.  Walking on flat land she does nothing but complain.  RIDICULOUS!

Warm and cozy

Sugar shack.

The Journey through Nevada and Idaho with a Craters of the Moon Pit Stop

The next morning we were of course running behind schedule for what would be the longest drive of our trip.  We left Reno around 630am and didn’t end up at our resting place for the night until probably close to 800pm, although that may have been with some sort of time change.  Either way it was a LONG day.  Nevada is a fascinating state for the first couple hours and then you just kind of start to go crazy.  The speed limit needs to be about 100mph (then maybe we wouldn’t have gotten that wretched speeding ticket).  We made it through safely and avoided my worst fear of this trip which was breaking down in the desert with no water, so speeding ticket aside we’ll say it was a success.  Once we got into Idaho the scenery began to change.  Despite being behind schedule we still decided to go to Craters of the Moon National Monument “on our way” to Idaho Falls where we’d be staying for the night.  We were all glad we did.  The girls got their first junior ranger books although we have to mail them in because we didn’t have time to finish them in the park.  They also got their first stamp in their National Park Passport Book.  We also got to hike through lava fields where the temperature was easily in the 90s and then climb down into caves where there was still ice on the ground.  It was the first of many dramatic temperature differences we experienced on this trip.  I don’t know that I’d make a trip just to see this park, but if it’s “on your way” to somewhere it is well worth it!

After our quick visit we went to stay in what was according to Gabby the nicest hotel of the trip.  Compared to the gambling towns I’d have to say I agree.  It definitely had the freshest air.  Idaho Falls is clearly where lots of people start and end their journey to Yellowstone.  I can’t really think of another reason to be there, although the people were nice and they have a lot of impressive monuments in the town.  Staying here put us a few hours from Yellowstone, so we could get there shortly after “check-in” (I feel like there should be a term specific to campgrounds) even with getting stuck in traffic and stopping in a West Yellowstone liquor store.  Normal people probably hang out there and eat or shop at touristy shops, but we needed to set up camp so none of that for us.

The steps leading down into the first cave.  This was was pretty open and everyone was happier. 

Posing in the cave of course

Some of us had an easier time than others squeezing through these openings.

Ice!!!!!

Gabby doesn't like dark or enclosed spaces and was about reaching her limit in the caves.

Some person behind us had to point out that we were matching :(  It was totally not intentional...at least not this time.

Crazy looking place.

Tahoe

Saturday morning at around 600am we headed out for Tahoe, our first stop.  The plan was to hang out there long enough to wear everyone out so we could go straight to sleep at our hotel in Reno that night.  Tahoe was STUNNING!  We once again were in for a trip full of windy mountain roads, but that seems to be standard for us now.  I just try not to look out the window when we’re in the outside lane. 

We dragged the girls down the path to Vikingsholm.  Promising ice cream if Lottie did it on her own two feet.  At the bottom they were able to dip their feet in the water before we trekked back up the mountain.  On the way back to our car we stopped at a waterfall.  Lottie discovered the secret to staying cool is dipping your hat in the water. 

Since we neglected to feed them an actual meal our next stop was Tahoe City in search of food.  And here is where priceless moment number one occurred.  While walking ahead of us with his Tahoe magazine a flock of geese flew over Dan’s head and pooped on the back of his pants and the magazine in his hand.  As he was cursing about this Gabby went up an grabbed the magazine and then got poop on her hand as well.  Apparently bird poop causes one to lose their filter and Dan eloquently informed her that she now had “shit on her hand.”  After scraping off what he could we continued on our restaurant search.  Lottie looked at Gabby who was biting her nails and told her “don’t put your hands by your mouth they have shit on them.”  Parenting award for Dan! 
We found a restaurant and made it through lunch although lack of food and sleep made for some unpleasantness from Lottie.  Afterwords we found a public beach and everyone but me waded into Lake Tahoe.  I wasn’t such a fan of the rocks and mud around the edge, but the view was incredible.

Then it was off to Reno.  What a dramatic change in scenery.  I have never wanted to get out of someplace so badly in my life.  Everything there just seemed dingy and depressing.  We took the girls for ice cream in our hotel’s casino, where conveniently they also have arcades set up.  This place was definitely not our cup of tea and the ice cream wasn’t even good.  We did meet a nice couple from Idaho who we kept running into.  They the first of many to tell us more efficient ways we could have made it to our destinations. 

I kinda wish there were a little more background in this one, but when people are nice enough to take your picture it's hard to complain.

First of many big trees.

Disappointing ice cream.  At least my iced tea was ok.

Hilariousness!  At least she didn't write that he got "shit on"

This creepiness was right outside our hotel. 

I could replace this with far more accurate descriptions

The Beginning

On day one of what may be the craziest trip we’ve taken yet the girls and I set out for the airport at 330am.  By some miracle both of our flights were running early and we got to San Francisco about an hour ahead of schedule.  We picked up our Chevy Impala and headed to our friends’ house.  These are the friends who made the camping portion of this trip possible. 
We started off considering a visit to San Francisco and then possibly camping at Yosemite.  At some point we considered driving across the country and stopping in places like the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore.  Because I didn’t want to risk my van dying or pay the exorbitant fees to return a car to a different state the cross country drive got the axe.  Yosemite also got crossed off the list because you can’t reserve campsites in advance and it seemed slightly less little kid friendly.  So instead we (maybe just this half of we) decided to still start in San Francisco to take advantage of our friends’ kind offer and then make a loop through the west stopping at as many national parks as we could.  At the end we would stay for a few days in San Francisco, so I could balance out all the time in nature.  We would do all this over two weeks with an estimated 2200 miles of driving. 
Our first day in San Francisco consisted of trying to shop for groceries and supplies and organize a U-Hauls worth of gear and luggage into a standard size car.  Again thank goodness for amazing friends, because I don’t know that Gabby and Lottie would’ve really been able to see me through this process.  In the end we made it work since thankfully the people in the back of the car didn’t require as much leg room. 
After a fantastic dinner and some time spent catching up we headed to bed so we could be up bright and early for our first destination.

This totally looks reasonable.  Right?

Traveling superstars!

Unflattering pictures of mom = airport entertainment

Miracle!

This one didn't last long, but points for a catnap.

These kids can step it up when they have to!!!