The Pastor Plays and We're Ready to see Matt

Surf's up!

Days 9 and 10, Tuesday, August 27 and Wednesday August 28

We arrived in Escondito, at our friends' the Lawsons', last night at about supper time.  Leave it to us.  “Hi, nice to see you.  Nice to meet you.  What've you got for us to eat.  Oh, and did I mention we need a special diet?”   But Rob and Kristen were prepared, and so good-hearted.   And Kristen was ready for us.  She served a lovely and wonderfully tasty supper for us.

It's kind of a pastor thing.   We know that wherever we are and wherever we go, the pastor in that area will be there for us.  Just as we'd be for them.   It's very good for the men to have a cohort to kick back with and shoot the breeze, and talk shop, etc.  And it's fun for us women to get to know another pastor's wife, and to know that we've got friends all around the country.

We did laundry.  Oh, Kristen, I hope you know how appreciated that is.  We had so much, … smoky from campfires and damp from the rain, ... stinky from sitting in a hot vehicle for several days.  Ugh, this small gesture was say beyond the call of duty.

We made posters for Matt's graduation, to hang in the van windows.  Things like, “Abrahamson, Plt 1070,” “Delta Company,” “Go Matt!” and etc.

The Lawson kids had to go to school today for a short time. But their folks took them out of school early so that they could all take us to the beach at Oceanside.

A little lunch

Our gracious hosts, Rob and Kristen

Rob grilled hotdogs and Kristen had packed chips and cheese sticks, and frozen water bottles.  She also provided the beach towels, so we wouldn't have to pack wet ones up again when we left.   I had a big drink cooler full of water, and a bunch of folding chairs.  The Lawsons had boogie boards and a shade tent thing called an Easy-Up.

Slathering up.

The weather was nicely warm and the waves were just right.   I was so happy that Joe got out there and had fun in the surf.  He body surfed with the kids and bounced around.   The kids did both body surfing and boogie boards.  Those who did the boogies boards ended up with many scrapes and scratches, from being buffeted and dragged across the bottom by their boards.

The Family

I mostly stayed near the edge with Inge, since she was a little bit afraid of the constantly moving water and sand.   She and I stayed in the shallow water, at about knee deep for me.  I was holding her. Some of the waves came up to about my waste.   But because Inge was so nervous, I tried to stay where most of them only splashed her a little as they wrapped around my legs.

"It's coming!"  Emma, Stella, and Donna

Playing in the sand

After awhile Inge was content by herself, as long as she stayed in the very shallow water.  So I foolishly let Joe coax me out to the deep.  I didn't really know what to expect, since I hadn't played in ocean waves since I was on a high school choir tour throughout the south.   One of the stops on that trip had been a day at Padre Island, on the Gulf Coast of Texas. 

Joe went out to where the bigger swells were cresting.  I went out to about waist deep, where the waves would come in over my shoulders, but then rush on past.   I was not quite ready, in my mind at least, when the first crest came.  And it was a biggy!   I turned to press my back into it, thinking that perhaps I could withstand the onslaught and simply remain standing until the swell passed.

But no.

I was standing in waist deep water one minute.  The next I was plunged into the maelstrom, hitting the bottom, sea water forced into my eyes, nose and mouth.  I floundered around, kind of going with the flow, until I felt air above me and sand beneath.   I clumsily found my legs and slowly emerged from the torrent.  Wet, bedraggled, and feeling a bit sotted.

And then I was done.   That was enough beach playing for me until next time.  I returned to the easy-up with Kristen.   Joe needed to play in the surf.  It was wonderful for him to cut loose and simply play.   I got some girl time visiting with Kristen in the shade, as our kids and the dads all played.  It was just what I needed, too.

Kristen and I having some Mom time

Have sand, will bury

Sophie and John flee the maelstrom

The kids were surprised their dad spent so much time in the water. They asked him about it later,
“How did it feel, Dad, to play in the ocean?”

“It was … like a great big release.”  And with that simple statement, I knew that all the work and planning and stress of the trip was oh-so-worth it.  Anyone who knows my husband well will know that “a great big release” was just exactly, perfectly what he needed.

Rachel and Louisa's henna tats

After we were done at the beach, we headed south to San Diego and the Wyndam Gardens Motel.   It's a lovely building with graceful wrought iron railings on long porches across the upper levels.  The foliage is mostly a variety of palms.  Some are kind of short and squat.   Short only compared to the towering ones above.  They have very big leaves that spread upward and outward toward the porch railings.   The littles were very intrigued with these big stiff leaves.   They found it very interesting and cool to be able to stick their arms through the railings and touch these amazingly big leaves.

When we got to the motel, Joe's Mom and Dad were awaiting our arrival.  They had flown in yesterday, and so spent the day today touring the USS Midway.   They took the city bus a short distance, and then met the trolley that took them through Old Town and down to the USS Midway.  It was fun to hear about their day.  The smaller kids enjoyed seeing Grandma and Grandpa in such an unexpected place.  "How did you get here?"

We indulged in a rare meal out that evening, in a real, sit-down restaurant.  We headed first for a barbeque place adjacent to the hotel, that was alleged to be able to serve gluten free food.   But it was packed to overflowing.  The line was spilling out the door and onto the sidewalks.   Since we were a group of thirteen, and several of us were small, hungry children, we figured we better not attempt the wait.

We continued on to Red Lobster.  We had eaten in a Red Lobster once in Chicago.  That would have been about the time Matt was a baby, so, nineteen years ago.  They were able to accommodate Joe and his dad's special dietary needs, and we all had a great time.

After we walked back to the hotel, we got the kids ready for bed and tucked in as soon as possible. They were a little revved up, so it was kind of hard to settle everyone down, but we have an early start tomorrow to all the excitement at the base.  Joe's parents have a room with two double beds, so Stella and John are staying over at Grandma and Grandpa's room. 

I can't believe we're finally going to see Matt!  It seems like it's been forever.

What Happens in Vegas ...

Again, this is a post from memory, as I wrote nothing at the time.  And I am not sure what happened to our pictures from this day.  I thought we had taken a bunch, but maybe on one of the kids' cameras.  I only found a few and the were not that interesting.  Oh, except this one advertising an upcoming Air Supply show.  I remember listening to the annual countdown on New Years Eve my Freshman year in high school listening to see how many of their songs made the list.  I had some sort of competition with the neighbor boy between my band and his. 

Day 8, Monday, August 26
Vegas, Baby!  A place that wasn't on the list of sights to see on this trip.  I have nothing tangible against Las Vegas.  But I don't have money to risk losing.  I am far more impressed with the Beauty of God's earth than with glitz and flash of hedonistic America.  And, ... well, they don't call it Sin City for nothing.

It just wasn't high on my list of American Southwest family tourist destinations.

But it was raining on the north rim of the Grand Canyon.  It was raining on the south rim.  It was raining in Zion National Park.  It was raining along this entire section of our route.  And not just a little rain.  One of those steady, three day soakers that sends the water careening down the dry gulches of the American southwest in raging torrents.  As we were coming into Las Vegas there were places the muddy water had washed onto the highway.  The following morning's newspaper had pictures of flash flooding in nearby many areas.

So we ended up in Vegas.  Where we knew no one, and had done no research on what to see or do.  We considered a day trip to Hoover Dam.  But we crossed that off the list after some unsuccessful checking on parks in the vicinity.  We had purchased food for camping that needed to be used.  Some of it needed to be cooked.  Any outing we planned had to include a shelter and a grill for our noon meal.  Most of the park information for that area was somewhat vague as to the availability of grills or fire pits.  We did have our campstove if we needed to use it, but cooking on two small burners is kind of a slow process for the volume of food we needed to cook.

I did find out about a kind of cool sounding place just on the Vegas side of the Hoover Dam area.  On our next trip down to that part of the world, if it ever happens, we'll have to put Hemenway Valley Park, along with Hoover Dam, on our list for the next trip.  "One of this park's main attractions is the Bighorn sheep that come down from the mountains to water and graze." (from the Boulder City website).

Thankfully I was reminded by one of my online friends that she and her family live in Las Vegas.  Oh, yes, online friendships... My daughters tease me because they see the double standard.  We exhort our kids to only have online correspondence with those they know personally.  But on the other hand, we are all part of various on-line communities.  And we come to know and love the people we meet there.  And to depend upon them for support and advice.

I'm part of a Confessional Lutheran women's facebook group.   Many of these women are pastors' wives.  Many homeschool.  Many have large families.  All these women are committed to raising their families to know and understand what it means to be a Lutheran.  To train up our children to know firstly that they are sinful and live in a sin-filled world.  And secondly, but more importantly, that Jesus has died to save us from the guilt of our sin, so that we can one day have eternal life in Heaven with Him.  And that this righteousness, that is ours through Christ, is a free gift.  A totally free gift.  The Lutheran view of Salvation through Grace alone, Faith alone, and Scripture alone, and that also depends totally on God and His grace to give us the gift of faith through His Word and Sacraments, is unique among Christians.  We seek guidance and help in all areas of our parenting through our facebook friendships. 

And so we becomes close friends although we don't really know each other personally.  And to some we become closer to than others.  We have private message or e-mail conversations, or even write letters, call, or visit when  opportunities arise.

Erica S. is one of these friends who I've gotten to know a little better through private conversations.  Besides having in common the Lutheran and mothering and pastor wife parts of our lives, I've often thought that our families would get along especially well.  Various topics of interest that have come up seemed common to us.

And yes, Erica lives in Las Vegas.  But I had forgotten that.  After I posted from the hotel in Vegas about our plans changing, and about being in Las Vegas with no particular plans, Erica sent me a message suggesting that if we have time, we should try to meet in person.  I explained our dilemma of needing an outing that would include cooking our camping food.  And also that my teenaged girls wanted to experience a little bit of Vegas, and to shop at a Ross.

The day turned out splendid from our point of view.  We met the S.es at a park in their neighborhood.  A park with both a shelter and a grill.  Their two little ones played with our little ones on the well-appointed playground.  They got sopping wet in the drizzle, but it didn't seem to bother any of them.  Erica and her husband, Vincent, visited with Joe and I.  Joe cooked burgers, while Erica and I got the other foods set out.  The teen girls worked on photos for the "Planking in Vegas" project they plan to produce.

We had a lovely visit.  After lunch, the S.es invited us over to their home.  Erica had noticed me putting our dirty dishes into a plastic bag to wash later at the hotel, so she kindly offered the use of their kitchen sink.  And she threw the kids' wet clothes in her dryer.  So very thoughtful and kind.

The kids played some more.  The men played.  They watched break-dancing videos and engaged in feats of valor with wooden practice swords, escrima sticks, to be precise.  They talked theology and science fiction/fantasy, among other things. 

After the clothes were dry, we moms and the older five girls took off to see the city.  We shopped at Ross and TJ Max, and found a few things.  We drove the strip and saw the sights.  Said sights would include a moving billboard of three scantily clad or unclad women advertising a certain phone business.  Yep.  Stuck in downtown traffic behind the truck that was the billboard.  Stop, start.  Stop, start.  All the way through downtown.  Mostly naked ladies staring us in the face.  Two pastors' wives and a carload of teenaged girls. 

We went to the Fashion Show Mall on the strip.  We zipped off the strip to catch a quick supper at a fast food Mexican joint. 

Then back to the strip to meet the rest of the gang.  Vincent and the S. children decided to call it a night and so they didn't come downtown.  They were all tuckered out after a day with the Abrahamsons.  Imagine that!  But Vincent gave Joe directions to meet us at the Fountains of the Bellagio.  Louisa had seen the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc, in Barcelona, Spain, so was interested in this famous fountain, too. 

As things happen, especially where the Abrahamsons are concerned, things got a little confused.  Erica and the girls and I thought we were meeting in the lobby of the Bellagio.  Joe with the littles thought we were meeting at the fountain, along the road near the parking lot.

We women folk walked through the indoor gardens adjacent to the lobby, and when Joe still wasn't there, we went down the hallway to the chocolate fountain. 

Joe and the kids watched the fountain go.  Every fifteen minutes.  For about 40 minutes.  They saw three of the repetitions.  Inge had to go to the bathroom and so fussed nearly the whole time.  And really, what's a dad to do?  He is trying to keep order on a 4, 6, 7, and 9 year old in a jostling crowd.  The nearest restroom is who knows where, but no doubt at least a several minute walk through the jostling crowd.  And he had no idea when we were finally going to arrive or what the hold up was.

We women finally ran out of things to look at inside the Bellagio and so Erica gave Vincent a call to see how long ago Joe had left and where he expected Joe might be.  Ah-ha!  Down by the road.  So we hurried down the walkway along side the fountain.  Scanning the rows of people gathered to see the fountain.  Stopping so we didn't photo-bomb any of the many shots of people posing along the walkway.  Somehow managing to get separated into three groups on the way down to the road. 

I found Joe, and he kind of threw Inge at me.  "She has to go to the bathroom!  Immediately!"  I grabbed Inge and started the way back up the sidewalk to the lobby.  Along the way I found Erica and the girls with her, and pointed out Joe to them.  I found the bigger girls, and told them where to head.  And then I, continued on to the bathroom, hoping that by the time we were done, everyone else will have found each other. 

All told, we women got to see one of the musical selections that the fountain presented.  Joe and the kids saw three.  But I'm not sure Joe really enjoyed it, since he had a crying little one, and no clue how to help her, and whether she might at any minute wet her pants and her dad.

And where was our cell phone in all this?  Safely in the van, of course.  Where we could use it in case of a roadside emergency...

Oyweh!

Eventually we all found each other, used the bathroom, and saw both the water and the chocolate fountains.  We said our goodbyes to our new friend, Erica.  And then we assembled in the van to head to the hotel.  Tired and ready to sleep.

A Grand (but very drippy) Canyon

Day 7, Sunday, August 25
We  had planned to do "family church" as we've done in the past, around the campfire before heading out for our day's outings.  But since we no longer had the option of a campfire, and in fact, were packing up to head on to new locations, rather than simply heading out for a day's outing, we, quite frankly, didn't even think of family church.  The schedule was disrupted and the distraction of life tempted us away from what's really important.  But we did have a little "family church" in Las Vegas in the evening.  But how we ended up in Las Vegas is part of this tale, so I'll just leave it at that.

On Sunday morning, we packed up and left our cozy little cabin.  We might have stayed another day, since the cabin was open for that night, too.  But we felt it was a little bit out of our price range for two nights.  We knew we didn't want to camp in the rain.  And rain was most definitely predicted for the next several days.  Apparently there was a tropical storm pushing all this wetness up from the southwest, across the Mexico boarder, and southern California, but toward the northeast and into Nevada/Arizona/Utah.  We could only sigh at the irony of it.  Here we were traveling in the American Southwest.  All of us for our first time.  And where it was supposed to be hot and dry, was predicted to be wet, wet, wet.

And cold in some areas.

Like the Grand Canyon.

But we're pretty tough.  We can handle wet and cold.  Just not in a tent.

So we had more decisions to make throughout the day.

But first to see what we came to see.  We started off our scenic drive past the lake for which our Inn was named, Jacob Lake.  Louisa and Rachel had returned late to the cabin the night before, all giggly and excited about their walk.  "It ended up being much further than we thought.  We need to drive  past there, Mom.  It's so pretty.  I think you'd really like it, Dad.  It's the kind of place you'd like to take pictures of."

It turns out the girls had a surprise up their sleeve.  I had wondered when making the reservation why there were no water recreation opportunities listed in the attractions, "Camping and picnicking, Hiking, Sightseeing, Wildlife viewing, Naturalist programs at Jacob Lake Campground, Access to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Horseback riding."

Jacob Lake Historic Ranger Station

The girls drew our attention first to the cute Ranger Station on the left.

Jacob Lake

Then they pointed out the lake on the right.




Not only is the lake on private property, it is really, well, not much of a lake.  Not.  Much.  Of.  A.  Lake  (If you can't get the full effect, be sure to click on the image for a better view of this scenic, .. um, ... puddle.

I asked the girls then, why it took so long for them on their walk, since they had claimed the night before to have walked all the way around it.

"Well,"  they explained, with many giggles.  "We kind of got lost and were wandering around the forest service roads.  Luckily when it started to get dark, we ran into some guys who pointed us in the right direction."

BIG LUMP IN THE MOM's THROAT!  Thinking of what might have happened ...  But as Ma Ingalls always said, "All's well that ends well."

We had forty miles to drive before arriving at the North Rim.  We didn't know where we'd end up by bedtime.  So we headed on toward the Main Attraction.  All we could do was forge ahead and hope the rain held off.

Which it did not.

By the time we reached the tourist areas, the rain had turned from sporadic sprinkles into a steady dripping.  And it just kept going.  Not a heavy rain, mind you.  Just a good steady soaking rain.  The kind the farmers at home would like.

It was cold.  With a little bit of a blustery wind.  Not a whole lot of wind.  But enough to make us tuck our hands into our sleeves and hunker down into our hoods and collars.

We checked out the book store and the Visitor Center first, in the hopes that the rain would taper off a bit.

But it did not.

The standing water in the treacherous walkways

So we finally braved the trails along adjacent to the Visitor Center.  We carefully traveled those wet and windy trails that in some areas have no railing guarding visitors from the edge.  We carefully walked out the rocky promontories where they had thankfully erected rails for our protection, but where the rock pathways were filled with water and a bit slippery.

Louisa and Elsie

A view looking down

Notice again, the standing water in the trail.  Oh, and the lack of railings.

We overlooked Bright Angel Canyon, which we had heard about in the book, Brighty of the Grand Canyon.  We talked about how amazing this was, and yet it wasn't even the main canyon.  We hoped to drive to either Cape Royal, or Point Imperial to take in the view of the main canyon before leaving the area. 

The drippy tourists

Then we shivered our way back up to the Lodge area.














We got to have our picture taken with the bronze Brighty statue.

John, Elise, Sohie, Rachel, Louisa, and Mary

We so totally splurged on a rare treat of a round of hot chocolate at the Rough Rider Saloon.  $30 for 10 hot chocolates.  Wow!

Donna, Stella, Clara, Inge, John, Elsie

But it was worth it.  That's what vacations are for.  Treats and memories.

Mmmmm.

I have a feeling even Inge will remember at least that we were somewhere drippy and having hot chocolate.  And we'll be able to say, "Yes, yes!  That was when we went to Matt's Marine Corps graduation and stopped at the Grand Canyon and it was so cold and rainy."  And then we'll continue with memories of all the other fun things we got to do on this trip.

After we warmed up a bit, we moseyed our drippy way to the gift shop and looked around.  The kids got to pick out a few things to buy for themselves with some Christmas money they had saved.  The first thing John got was a baseball cap, since he didn't have a hood on the sweatshirt he had brought along. 

Besides that, John got a bandana and a sheriff star.  Donna got a nightlight made with a slice of agate.  Inge got a bag of rocks and Stella got a bag of magnetite.  I'm not sure what the older girls picked out, since they had their money in their own care.

After the purchases were made, we sadly headed for the van.  It was still raining steadily.  It was still cold and blustery.  When a family comes to the Grand Canyon with plans to spend three days hiking and other outdoor activities, a rainy several days really changes plans.  We headed toward the Country store that was alleged to be a mile or so down the road and have wi-fi.  We hoped to check the weather one last time and get info on potentially cheap or dry places to stay the next few nights. 

But the store was not clearly marked and we ended up passing it by.

We had a short debate about whether or not to drive out to the other look-out points.  I was all for it, of course, since I wasn't the one driving.  Joe was a little more trepidatious.  The dirt roads were wet.  Visibility was low.  He was driving a new-to-us van that was 20 inches longer than our previous one.  And there were warnings about the safe length of vehicles (30 ft) on the roads out to those viewpoints.  "But we're nowhere near that long," wheedled theMom.  "I'm sure we can make it."

But all things considered, especially the fact that we didn't know how far we'd need to drive that day, we decided to head onward on our way, rather than meandering along scenic drives.  Sadness!  After forty-six years I finally get to the Grand Canyon, and can't even spend any time there.  Alas!

I had to shake myself out of my self-pity.  "For goodness sake, Mary.  This wonderful trip you're on!  You're wonderful family!  And you'll get to see Matt soon!  Get over it, Girl, and count your blessings!"

And so we drove.  And drove.  And drove.  And for the first couple of hours, we enjoyed the scenery we'd seen the day before.  Then we veered off to the southwest, in the general direction of San Diego.  We still didn't know how far we'd go, or where we'd end up.

The immediate goal was the town of St. George, UT, where we were hoping to hit a wi-fi spot to do some lodging research.  We had hoped to go to the public library, having forgotten, once again, that it was Sunday.  See, this is what happens when you miss church.  You're discombobulated for the whole week.  We arrived in St. George around 5:00 and realized we'd not be likely to find a library open at that time on a Sunday evening.  So after we fueled up, Joe asked the station attendant if there was public wi-fi anywhere in town.

And as is often the case, God worked everything out for us just right.  The wi-fi hotspot in town was at the Wendy's restaurant.  And Wendy's has one of the most "official" gluten free menus of any of the fast food chains.  And we were hungry.  And tired of being in the van.  And truth be told, kind of tired of eating food from the cooler.

Now, just imagine what it's like to try to order for our family at a place like this.  Firstly, we are almost totally unfamiliar with the menu.  Then we've got to try to explain it all to the littles.  We usually go directly to a table, until we can get it all worked out.  "A burger or a wrap?  Chicken nuggets?  Or a bowl of chili."  Mom, can I have three wraps and a chicken sandwich?  I'm really, really hungry."  "Do they have fish sandwiches?"  "No. No happy meals.  No. no pop."  And so on.  Until we've finally got it all written down and approach the counter.

And get ready for them to stare at us in wonder, as we continue to order and order and order.

We got our food and everything passed out to the right people.  We got the ketchups and waters and napkins and straws passed out where needed.  I hit Kayak to get some help finding a place to stay.  We'd kind of decided by this point, that it was futile to try to camp.  Our whole route was under this system of rain and storms with only spotty sun.  Without going too far out of the way, we'd not find a dry place to set up a tent.

Where can we get the cheapest lodging in that part of the country?

"Las Vegas, Baby!  Viva, Las Vegas!"

It was a little tricky searching for hotels in the Las Vegas area, since apparently, the system there is to market the rooms at about 1/2 price and then charge for fees and services which about doubles the rate.  As I was frantically trying to figure this all out, the kids were finishing their meal.  And the battery life was expiring on my laptop. 

No problem.  I'll just go out to the van, plug the computer into the power jack, and use the wi-fi from there.  Nope, sorry, the wi-fi didn't reach to the parking lot.

Hmmmm.  Maybe they'll let me plug it in inside somewhere.  I was thinking maybe a table or booth had an adjacent outlet. 

When I re-entered the store, and explained my problem, the manager pointed to a utility sink just inside the kitchen area.  "Hmmm?  Curious," thought I.  "And not terribly convenient, but I guess it will do." 

So there I stood, balancing my laptop on one hand; digging in my purse for my credit card with the other; moving out of the way anytime one of the workers needed to access the sink; trying not to drop my cord into the water; just to start all over again when I got situated once more.

But it was soon done.  Reservations were made.

Anyone who's traveled into Las Vegas from the northeast on I-15, will recognize this view.   The canyon through which the highway is carved is tremendous.  Down and down we went, though layers of cliff.  It was very cool.


Las Vegas, here we come.

Texas Station Casino on the north side of Las Vegas.  $12 per night, plus a $15 service fee.  Two rooms.  Two nights.

Unexpected Pleasures, aka, the Silver Lining in a Wet Cloud

Days 5 and 6,  Friday and Saturday, August 23-24 (having been written on Day 6)

Oh, where to start!

I'm not going to start at the beginning. I'm going to start right now. I'm sitting in a cabin! A cabin that's not where we planned to be. And the power is out!

Our lovely van outside the Jacob Lake cabin

Joe, Elsie, Clara, Sophie, and John are at a talk on the Navajo, particularly focusing on the weaving and other handicrafts of the women. Louisa and Rachel took a walk around the lake, and it took them longer than they thought it would, so they were late for the talk. Instead, they shopped at the gift shop and then came to the cabin all tuckered out and ready for bed, and grinning ear to ear. I was here with Inge and Donna and we were playing a Pictionary Card Game I picked up at Wal-Mart today in anticipation of the rainy weather.

But what about Stella, you may ask. Where is Stella?

She is here with me now. But a little bit ago, when the power was still up and running, she had been with Joe at the Navajo talk.

A few minutes ago, Inge, Donna and I were sitting in our cabin playing our card game. Suddenly everything was pitch black. And at the same moment, there was a knock at the door. We were all a bit befuddled, trying to figure out where the lights were, and where the sleeping bags and tote bags were, compared to the walkway.  And who would be knocking at the exact moment the power went off.  All I could do in answer to the knock, in the dark, in a strange place, was to holler, "I'm coming, just a minute."

Fortunately, I had left the door unlatched. And in tumbled Stella. She had become bored at the talk, so Joe said she could come back to the cabin. She was walking back here all alone, in a strange forest, through the roads and paths of an unfamiliar inn and cabin facility. Thankfully, she was just about here when the power went off, so she could find her way all right! Poor little goose. She didn't seem too phased, which I suppose it good. Inge was kind of freaked out, so she crawled into bed with Louisa and Rachel until her heart stopped racing.

We got the littles all jammied by the glow of Sophie's dollar store LED lantern. They crawled into their bed on the floor of the cabin. We sang I am Jesus Little Lamb and Jesus Loves Me. We said prayers. Besides our regular nightly prayers, we thanked God for the blessing of this cozy little cabin, in which we can sit out tonight's storms.

We prayed for Matt, as we've been doing each night all summer long. But this time we included his birthday prayer. His birthday was really a few days ago, but with not much for schedule these days, we'd forgotten it was his birthday. We always say a special birthday prayer for each of our children on their birthdays. We thank God for the precious gift of the child, and his or her particular personality. And we ask God's blessing on the coming year. Particularly, we ask that according to His tender Mercy and Wisdom, God grant us another year with that child.

Now everyone under my immediate care is tucked in tenderly, so I have time to write. To share the excitement of the evening, and to talk about the wonders of the last few days.

Yesterday morning, we were still in South Dakota, in the lovely Black Hills.  We woke the kids early and rolled everyone out of their sleeping bags and bedding. And yes, there were a few whom we quite literally rolled out. They all worked very busily to get the bedding rolled up and the tents taken down. I packed the van, which job traditionally falls to me. I'm a pretty good packer. I learned from my dad, a Navy man and an excellent packer. Joe finds packing very frustrating, trying to make everything fit. I find it kind of a fun puzzle. But I'm also discovering that, well, I'm not as young as I used to be. It's kind of a drag, really. the getting old thing. I want to be tough and be able to work hard and stand anything. But by the time I get the van loaded and unloaded a few times in a few days, I am pretty much worthless. I'm sure that it's mostly my age. But I'm secretly blaming the altitude. That must be it, right? I can fool myself into believing that were I simply vacationing in Minnesota, I'd be just as spry as in years past.  Or maybe it's the bruises all along my hips and rib cage from sleeping on the deflated air mattress.  Or maybe all of the above.  But mostly the altitude.

We had gotten the van mostly loaded the night before, and slept in our traveling clothes. And we'd planned to eat breakfast at a stop later on our way. We didn't want to mess with a fire that morning, and we knew as damp and chilly as it had gotten, nobody would want to eat cold cereal at 6:00 am. (We have done that before and trust me, it's really, really no fun. For the parents or the children.).  So all we had to do that morning was roll up sleeping bags and take down the tents.  And pack said sleeping bags and tents.  Just a quick morning pack-up.  Ten sleeping bags; six or eight other quilts and blankets; pillows for all; and two tents.

We ended up stopping at a rest are in Wyoming to eat breakfast. There was another family there at the same time, doing the same thing. They were a young couple, with six small children. It was fun to visit and to be able to encourage another younger couple. We certainly remember those days when the number of littles was still far too great compared to the number of bigs. It's a very difficult time, but so worth the work.

We traveled many beautiful miles yesterday, through the southwestern Black Hills area, diagonally across Wyoming, and on into Utah. We listened to Ann of Green Gables as we drove.

We arrived at the Hamilton's house for our evening sleep-over at about 8:00 pm. They are in the middle of preparing for a move to Wisconsin! In just a few days! When we found out, we made other plans, to travel a different route instead and see a few different sites. But they encouraged us that they were game for a little bit more crazy yet. I'm not sure they really were, but we totally understand. Their children were kind and welcoming, and they all made every effort to accommodate us even through they were in such an upheaval. We are thankful for this very great offering. And we understand, too, their desire to have us stop. They are a pastor's family, too. And we understand the sense of gratitude that comes with a visit from another pastor's family. It's always a treat. I'm glad Aaron and Joe had those few hours to visit and build each other up in their Holy Callings.

We got up and left kind of quickly this morning. We had to run back in once, just before we pulled out for a pair of flip-flops; and then we circled back a few blocks away from their house because a certain one of us remembered she had left her pillow. This time, when pulling out, we immediately got lost. Not really lost, lost. But mixed up anyway, to the point that Joe and I had differing ideas of where to go.

But that was soon resolved and we hit the road. I was quite bleary-headed the first hour or two. Just felt in a total fog. Joe drove until he felt groggy and then he pulled off at a truck stop/travel center. He parked way out away from everything, thinking since I was so befuddled, we'd just sit awhile and let the kids run a bit and he could nap. But by the time we got everyone pottied and bought some snacks, and one of the older daughters painter her toe nails in the truck stop parking lot, I was fully awake and ready to roll.

What a beautiful drive we had this day!  Since our destination for the day was the North Rim area of the Grand Canyon, we listened to Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry as we traveled.  We saw view after view of colorful cliffs, lonely looking draws, majestic rim rock, rugged gullies, and mountains and valleys of every shape and color.



The weather continued wet, alternating storm and sun throughout the day. We wound and climbed and coasted and braked. We took time to pull off the highway and photograph the vistas. We drove like old folks, meandering slowing and pulling off to let others pass us when necessary.

John leaving Utah

And so South through Utah, and into Arizona.

And entering Arizona

But with the continuing dreary weather, we really did not feel up to setting up our leaky, somewhat primitive tents. I didn't feel strong enough to deal with a three day cycle of hauling wet bedding to the laundry mat or hanging it all on our clothesline to try to dry between showers. So we just drove. Without worrying. When the kids asked, we'd answer along the lines of, "We don't know yet we'll have to wait and see."  It's always a challenge to find lodging for a group this size. If places have the space available, they often want us to get two or three rooms. Some places even require an adult in each room.  That's really challenging when they sometimes want to put us in three rooms.

We had reservations for three nights in the National Forest Campground, at the Jacob Lake area, about 40 miles north of the North Rim.  When we arrived, we consulted with the nice lady at the Forest Service information desk about the weather forecast and the various options available for lodging.  She said the weather was expected to continue much the same for the next several days, rain and storms with only a bit of sun peeking through.  She called the Inn area nearer the Rim to check on their prices and space availability.
Then I went next door to the lodging complex at Jacob Lake. I had read they had hotel, motel, and cabin options. When I asked at the desk, and explained about our large family, they were very helpful, even recommending we could all squeeze into one cabin, if we put sleeping bags between the beds and in the hallway area. Wow! I was astounded! Rarely have I had anyone encourage me to get fewer rooms! They usually cite fire code or company policy, etc, to get us into more rooms rather than fewer.

And so we had a lovely, relaxing evening. We had to eat cold supper, since there is no cooking of any sort in or outside of the cabins.  But we all filled up on a variety of good things. Sophie took the littles to the playground. Louisa and Rachel took their walk, and Elsie and Clara did dishes. I got the food put away, and the bedding organized for later.   Joe downloaded today's photos. 

The Main Room

Here's a view of the main room of the cabin.  Joe and I in one bed; Louisa, Rachel, and Elsie in another; we put a sleeping bag on each side of the beds and in between, which were occupied by Clara, Sophie, and John.

The Alcove

But that's not all, ... We still had three more kids to bed down.  Here's the little alcove where we made a bed for the remaining three.

A view of the other cabins and the forest setting

The back deck

Later in the evening, those that were interested headed to the cultural talk.  Joe is still there now, at 9:51.  He must have found a kindred spirit in somebody there. By now, the kids who had been at the talk with Joe are back.  They came in almost an hour ago and brought word that he was staying for the discussion afterward.

Everyone here is nicely settled in. The power is not yet on, and I'm at the end of my tales thus far.

Hope all is well with you, my readers.  Goodnight.

A Very Cold Swim and the pursuit of the National Treasure Rock

Sylvan Lake

Part 3, Day Four, Thursday, August 22
After the fun hike and the adventurous drive, we finally made it to Sylvan Lake.  We toted our coolers to the nearest picnic tables, through the natural spring-fed ground that was kind of mushy-muddy.  Ish.  It was grass, like any other park picnic area I've seen, but it was deceiving.  The ground was sodden and sucked at our feet as we walked through it.  Several of us had mud splattered legs and clothes by the time we got to the picnic tables. 

No problem, though, since we're finally going swimming!

Playing in the sand

We quickly ate lunch, but not quickly enough to please all the kiddos, especially the older ones who'd been waiting to swim since we started out Monday morning.  Some kids had swimwear on under their clothes and others changed in the van.  The off we went to the lake.  To the beach.  Along the path.

Until we once again got into some spongy ground.  Thinking it to be only about the same as the ground in the picnic area, since there was a path there, after all, we continued on.  Only to learn too late that we really, really ought to have turned around and found another way.  There was a paved walkway further in, but we hadn't seen it until things got gooey.  But this time, besides just the gooey, spongy ground, we also found the water was sedentary.  Whereas on the hillside where the picnic area was, the springs flowed downhill toward the lake, here on the path too the lake, the ground was level enough it simply sat.

And stank.

So that by the time we had gotten through the quagmire, we were all quite coated with stinky, smelly mud.  Most had on flip-flops, so it wasn't too much trouble. 

But I had my tennis shoes.  Ish!  As soon as I got to the lake, I dipped them in and swished them around to get the stink out.  Which would have been fine had we sunny weather in the days to come.  But those poor shoes ended up in a bag in the car for several days.  And ended up in a gas station dumpster somewhere in Arizona or New Mexico.

But I get ahead of myself.

John trying to open the cave

One of the fun bonuses to which the kids looked forward at Sylvan Lake was the possibility of finding The Rock.  The rock into which one of the treasure hunters in National Treasure Book of Secrets had to stick his or her hand to open the cave or whatever it was to solve the mystery. 

Stella trying to open the cave

But they all knew just what Joe meant when he said, "Sylvan Lake is the Lake where they filmed parts of National Treasure.  The one that's alleged to be above Mt. Rushmore, but isn't really.  But it is a real lake and we'll get to go there when we're in the Black Hills." 

"Can we stick our hand in the rock?"

Sohpie getting bitten by a brown recluse--JK

As it turned out, no, they didn't get to stick their hand in the rock.  That particular rock must have been a prop.  But they found the promontory which was where the rock was supposed to be.  At least they think they did.  Joe took some of the littles around to other places until they found a similar enough looking rock that the kids could stick their hands in.  What a guy!

Climbing the rocks

By the time we were done with lunch and ready to swim, the wind had come up and it was quite chilly out.  The more mountainous lake temp compared to our still shallow lakes in Minnesota was also colder than they expected.  So as it turned out, nobody really swam much.  But they played in the sand, took walks and climbed the rocks.

Trying to keep warm

We listened to the chit-chat of the other tourists in many languages.  We heard German and Turkish and Russian, just at the beach among the few families that were there.

When we tired of shivering, we headed back to the campground to get an early bedtime.  In the morning it'd be time to break camp and hit the road again.

Rock Climbing

Hang on, girls!

Rachel and Louisa

Teeny Sophie

Sophie

Inge

John

Clara

Donna