Day 1 Of Our Roadtrip

 Day 1 was a winner I tell ya! Packing the van took forever last night so we were pretty surprised we left on schedule!! Things were going great until...we hit Ogden. You read that right...Ogden! mark took a wrong turn and so we had a small detour before we hit the Ogden Canyon. We were on our way again and things were looking up until, an hour in to our drive up the winding canyon road, Christian lost his cookies. It was actually Apple Jacks but still...it was gross! It even came out his nose the poor kid (I know, you really didn't want that visual!!)!! I think that is the first time he has really ever thrown up that I can remember. We pulled over and cleaned him and the car and prayed that this was the end of any carsickness (which is highly unlikely since we were only 1 hour in to a road trip that would be a grand total of 72 hours of driving)!!! 

Poor kid!

Paige is demonstrating how crazy we were getting by putting bread on her head....but, come to think of it, she does that at home too without being in the car for 5 hours!!  :)

We made it to our first destination which was Penny's Diner in Rawlins, WY for some delicious lunch!! My question is this; why would anyone ever want to live in Rawlins, WY? It was so windy and is always windy. It would be impossible to ever have a good hair day outside of your home living there! But, the restaurant did have yummy hamburgers! We went to pay for our check when, low and behold, Mark had left his wallet at home! *palm to forehead* Thank goodness for awesome neighbors!! We are having it shipped overnight to our hotel in Iowa!! Seriously Savannah, you are a life saver!! The ride was pretty smooth after that! We made it to Mount Rushmore at 7:30pm and watched the lighting ceremony.

Mount Rushmore after the lighting ceremony.

Of course, Mark and I had to earn the 'Parents of the Year' award while we were there!! We lovingly allowed our children to run around in their shorts and t-shirts in 56 degree weather with a cold breeze, after a rainstorm, for about an hour! Mainly because I forgot to pack jackets for everyone except Christian but we used his to cover his seat that had been thrown up on. Best part was Christian was bare foot the WHOLE time!! Yup!! We are big winners. 

After earning the 'parents of the year' awards we finally bought jackets after being there for an hour.  I put mine on Christian so he could wear it while we walked to the car....seriously!! 

Let's pray they won't get sick!! Never the less, we made it to the hotel! Mark, Christian, Monte and Pearl are out grabbing a bite to eat while Paige sleeps peacefully!! Me...I'm enjoying some peace and quiet! I enjoy reminiscing about the events of the day and when I do think about them it already feels like it has been weeks since they took place! My favorite part was, of course, Mount Rushmore!! What an AMAZING piece of art work! Although, I have to say, I expected it to be A LOT bigger. Maybe because it is carved in to a mountain and when I think of a mountain I think of Utah mountains!! I didn't think it would be huge...but bigger than it was. Still, it was amazing to see. My regret was not getting there earlier so that we could hike closer to it and actually explain to Christian the purpose and history behind it! Who knows if he would have understood it any way. When I think about it...I don't think I even know the purpose and history behind it. Oh well!! Tomorrow is going to be another day filled with driving. I'm just crossing my fingers for a smoother ride!! But then again...that would take out all of the adventure!!! :)

This is 1 of the 4 beautiful rainbows we saw on our last 30 minute drive to Mount Rushmore.  Christian was so excited!

By Mark:

Gina is giving me the change to add in my thoughts from each day. Except for the few forgettable moments, the day was fun. I wish I would have researched more the sites that we would be passing along our trail as a couple of them would have been fun to stop at. We went by Martin's Cove the site of the famous Sweetwater River crossing of the Willie & Martin Hand Cart companies, and Independance Rock, which was a favorite stopping point of pioneers on both the Mormon and Oregon Trails. We saw both from the car but it would have been fun to get out and learn more about those locations. Martin's Cove would have been especially fun since my Great Great Uncle was one of the three young men who carried the Hand Cart survivors across the frozen river.

My highlight of the day was Mt. Rushmore. I agree with Gina that I thought it would be bigger. But it was neat to see and it was nice to be there at the lighting ceremony. It was an excellent ceremony where both the Declaration of Independance and the Gettysburg Address were read. An expecially poignant part was when the Forest Ranger drew parrallels to the final sentence of the Gettysburg address to us in our day as we draw near to the 10th Anniversary of 9/11. Referring to the dead at Gettysburg, Lincoln stated ".... that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." As the Ranger stated, I think those words ring true to us today. For a short time after 9/11, I think we did have a renewed resolve towards our nation and to each other as an American People, but that resolve has wained. I think it important that we not wait for the next major disaster to remind ourselves of how fragile our liberty and indepenence is.