One last post of our trip...

A photo of our new home

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/Tf6dV4hA This is the link to the slideshow.
Let me know if it doesn't work for you. You can also click on the full screen mode in the sidebar post and it will open up full screen for you to watch.
The link to all of my photoshows can be found here including our trip from east to west last Aug at www.photoshow.com/members/michelegphotography

This is going to be long so sit back and enjoy as you keep reading, feel free to close out the screen here but I hope you come back, or just forget reading this and thanks for at least visiting our family blog…
Where do I start- so many have asked what happened to me the week b/f our move … you can read up on that post by clicking in the previous post section to the side for the month of MAY titled- "What a week."
Since then, I have been feeling just fine- like NOTHING ever happened to my lung. The doc gave me the go ahead with my everyday life the Fri. b/f we left WA.
So, the packers show up for 3 days to pack and on the 4th day they loaded- thank you so much to all of those that stopped in to help. Jamie was unable to be around for the week so it was nice having you all. The house was empty by Fri afternoon and Jaima and I get busy cleaning. We had to pick Jamie up at the airport at midnight on the 30th- by the time we got home from Seattle- we got little sleep b/f waking up on Sat. to start cleaning more. Thank goodness we just rented when we arrived in WA last Aug- b/c I’m positive we’d still have a house on the market right now. Our day was full with activities. Jamie had her last soccer game and Cody finished up his baseball season. We zoomed over to the church building where the members had us a going away party. We enjoyed the celebration-thanks to all at CK for a great memory! You became our family in such a short time. We attended worship on Sun. morning- had one last Sun. lunch with a large group b/f heading out of town
… and here is where our journey across the US begins….
Sun June 1st- We head S towards Mount St. Helens. It was quite a drive up to the observation deck from the interstate. It was overcast but we thought we’d give it a try. We made it maybe 3000 ft up then turned around. It was like driving in Heaven so we headed back down to a nearby town to stay the night. We get up on Mon. (June 2nd) and decide the weather was just way too overcast to attempt the drive back up the mountain- so we didn’t get to see Mount St. Helens :0(
We drive about 2-3 hours south to I-84. This is a scenic Hwy in OR along the Columbia River/Gorge. (The Lewis and Clark trail.) This was an absolutely gorgeous drive all along the river. We stopped at a waterfall called Multnomah Falls. It’s the second largest in the country. It was right off the side of the interstate- so if you’re ever driving by and notice this enormous waterfall- I’d stop b/c it’s worth a quick hike up to stand underneath it. We snap a few shots and off we are to Boise, ID. This was our destination for the night… no certain reason, it was just far enough to drive for one day.
Tue June 3rd. We make our way towards Yellowstone National Park for the night but on our way we decide to take a scenic route- it was in the middle of NOWHERE but thank goodness my navigation system b/c it found our way back to the interstate after about a 3-4 hour scenic drive out of the way. SO WORTH IT THOUGH!!!! I caught some great shots of some rolling hillsides. I even captured a pic of the kids and Jamie trying to rock climb as we made a pit stop. My toes stayed curled just about the whole time b/c of the drop-off cliff sides not to mention- Jamie would pretend he was Geff Gordon as he hugged every curve. I was so thankful to see the interstate once again. We were making our way down the interstate just enjoying the flat rolling hills and then all of a sudden there was this huge deep canyon. We make a quick exit to go check it out. It was like the earth just split- we parked and walked over to it. I did all I could to walk out onto the steel bridge they built over this canyon- I really want to see the Grand Canyon but I have prepare myself for it after experiencing this canyon… I was able to capture some photos but I had to get off that thing. Of course the kids and Jamie made fun of me but I DON”T CARE- it was scary! Back into the car still headed towards YNP but then we come up on Shoshone Falls in ID. We made our way out to the falls. I was able to capture some great shots there as well. It was worth the short drive out. We finally arrive at YNP b/f dark. We stayed in a cabin inside the park. It was very rustic but made it fun and adventurous. We arrived at the cabin with snow on the groud-lots of it and then woke up to an inch of it on Wed. It melted quick as we ventured out for the day…
Wed June 4th. The weather was yucky but it didn’t stop us from riding around in the park. We rode the mountainside sightseeing all we could… we were able to see so many different kinds of wildlife. I’ve mentioned what all we seen in the prev. post so I’ll just mention the most memorable here… the wolf, coyote’s, bear w/ cubs, and moose were the best. I’ve never seen a moose or a grizzly bear- well actually I’ve never see a wolf or coyote as close up as I did either (unless they were all in a zoo-) so seeing these animals in the wild was AMAZING. My photos aren’t the best b/c you have to realize- 1. I’m in a moving vehicle 2. The weather was horrible to photo in 3. The animals were so far away so I had to use my zoom lense w/o a tripod. BUT I CAPTURED SOME GREAT MEMORIES. I hope you enjoy looking at them- it was something we’ll never forget! After a long day of sightseeing and shopping- we made our way out of the eastern entrance of YNP to stay the night in another rustic cabin. Just outside of the entrance is a place called Pahaska Resort… (When I say “RESORT” don’t think of this fancy place you might get in Mexico- remember this is WY and it’s the west.) We loved it. The cabin was cute and had a great view of a mountain behind us. We enjoyed a good night of rest.
Thurs June 5th. We venture back into YNP. This was our last day b/f getting back to the trip to the east. As we are getting into the park- Bison had traffic held up as they take their time walking up the middle of the road. Those things are HUGE! We had great weather which meant we had to get out of the van and do the geysers since we couldn’t on Wed b/c of the rain. We enjoyed many different geysers all around. We didn’t so much enjoy the smell of rotten eggs though. I felt like my lungs were getting poisoned. If you have no clue of what I’m talking about- then I’ll save my info and let you discover it for yourself when you plan your trip to YNP b/c YNP is A MUST DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We hung around for Old Faithful and captured some shots of that. Notice in the photos how one side of the photo is blue from the sky and the other is white- that white side is of course is the fountain blowing in the wind. The geysers of the bright colored ones are REALLY that bold/bright/&beautiful.
After enjoying two and half days of YNP- shopping too much, eating a lot, and put many extra miles on the van riding around inside… we head back out the eastern entrance on our way to Cody, WY for the night… on our way we stop in to go horseback riding at this ranch at the Pahaska Resort. We took an hour ride up the side of a mountain and along a river. We each had our own horse as we follow this guide. We climb this really steep mountain and stop to take in the beauty as we reached the topside. We sat and watched a grizzly bear play around in the distance. We had the guide capture a shot of us all on top of the mountain on our horses. It is probably my favorite photo ever b/c it was a memory I know we’ll always remember. I couldn’t tell you how many times the kids have said that was the best part of all the trip… so the photo is priceless! We start our 60 (or so) mile drive towards Cody- this is where we want to retire and live. We loved the beautiful countryside as we drive along the hwy. The shots I got are NOTHING compared to what it was really like being there. We saw a rainbow so pay close attention to those shots. I had to capture a shot of the CODY sign as we enter the town… go figure. I couldn’t talk Cody into getting out and getting in the pict. We reached our cabin at sunset- but then seen that the rodeo was starting in town so we drove down to the rodeo and enjoyed a few hours sitting on the bleachers wrapped in blankets watching cowboys and cowgirls do their thing… we’ve been to many rodeos- in fact Jamie has rode a bull or two but there’s nothing like seeing a rodeo in the west! We got back to our cabin and realized that our cabin needed sheets for the bunks so we headed out to WM- YES Cody does have a WM Supercenter. We bought some cheap sheets for the bunks and headed off to bed.
Fri June 6th. We head for Keystone, SD. It’s about 3 to 400 miles. We get there b/f the sun sets and decide to go onto the Crazy Horse Monument. I absolutely was amazed by this enormous monument. You have to go online and read about this thing. It is just jaw dropping. The facts about this monument are unbelievable- and they truly are if you can stand there and stare at this huge mountain being carved and imagine the facts as you look at it. Search FACTS ABOUT CRAZY HORSE MONUMENT and go to town reading all you can about this mountain. They’ve been working on this mountain for years and years and years- since b/f I was born and and it’s going on and on and on and will long after I’m gone too…. GO SEE IT!!!!!!!!!
We get to Keystone to rest for the night.
Sat. June 7th. We wake up- made our way up to Mount Rushmore. It was so neat the first time I seen this monument but after seeing Crazy Horse the day b/f it’s a little disappointing. You have to get underneath this monument- it’s an amazing view. The photos available are taken from underneath the monument. It’s an amazing monument as well- worth visiting too if you are in the area. It was our second time visiting the park- we stopped by on our way from east to west last Aug. We left Mt. Rushmore and started driving- and drove and drove and drove…….. Jamie insisted on driving until we reached Manassas, VA- OUR FINAL DESTINATION. He drove over 1700 miles- well I drove about 4 hours of that- I kept insisting we stop for the night but he won that battle. He just proved to me that he was more stubborn than I was. I say that b/c I’d been on the phone with his mom earlier and she said to be sure to make him stop for the night. I told her that he was a stubborn man but I’m more stubborn than he and I would win that battle- HE WON! We drove through the most awesome lightening storm. You have to realize that it doesn’t lighten in WA that often- in fact I haven’t seen lighten since last July. So, this was definitely a light show.
After driving close to 3500 miles total- we finally arrived in Manassas, VA Sunday June 8th in the late evening. It was so good to be HOME! We went from having temps in the upper 50’s down to the 30’s and arriving to a scorching 100 degree heat wave. It hung around for 2 days but now it’s finally nice to go outside.
We have been sleeping on an air mattress since Sun… our stuff will not arrive until this Sat. It went into storage b/c we weren’t here when the driver arrived with it- they immediately put it into storage. It was a good thing b/c we have been working like crazy to get the house painted. It’s much easier to paint when it’s empty. It’s a brand new home that was all white so it needed color. We have lots and lots to get done but we’re so excited and can’t wait to get back to some normalcy in our life. It seems like FOREVER since we’ve had that. I can’t wait to start having meals ready at night (yes I’m sick of eating out!) my husband come home to me at the end of the day, sit outside with the kids and not have a single thing on my list that I need to get to for the day. Last July- I made the trip from CT to WA w/o Jamie- thank God for my parents- they were there to help. Back then- by motto was “one day at a time.” I even found this bracelet that read the exact words on it that I wore often. That was just how I took life. I still lived by that motto but it kind of wore off as life was as normal as normal could be there for a while in WA until Jamie moved off to VA back in Feb. So living w/o him for 3 months has been a huge test on love. My friend Amy in Jasper sent me a bracelet that reads “love is patient, love is kind, love bears all things.” I wear that now b/c love is what has got our family through what all we’ve experienced in the last year. The LOVE that many has shown us in just a short time, the LOVE we have for each other to hang in there, and most of all the LOVE we have for GOD. He has been our rock! It hasn’t been easy but we’ve pulled through and now here we are back on the east coast- closer to our family in AL, planning to stay put for a while in one place, and getting back to LIVING, LOVING, and LAUGHING as we continue to journey through life together.
Sorry this is soooooooooo long. I told you it would be- so if you made it this far- THANKS a BILLION for showing your love. Hope you enjoy the photos. If you have a question about one- let me know. Email us we love to hear from you.
Love to all and miss those far away. Keep us in your prayers as we find a new church family, make new friends, and start a new journey