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This is my Journal |
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We left at two o’clock and the only reason we left 6 days later then expected was…
Then when we finally got on the road we saw two porcupines and a satellite that was moving rather fast!
We got a late start at about 10 o’clock and at about 12 our box started to fail we had to pull over and unload the box and put it all in the RV! That was a drag at about one o'clock, we crossed the border between the U.S. and Canada, we took some pictures that will be on our web site. We made it to Haines Junction were luckily we found a garage that had the materials and everything ready, because the box was still being worked on (everything that was in the box before was in
my bed!) I got to sleep on the nice hard floor!
Our first big town was called Whitehorse, we saw a wooden skyscraper and we took more pictures, then we saw the Yukon river and mining was one of the reasons the town was built in the first place! We camped right next to a creek, me and dad climbed a baby mountain and almost got to the summit. (the top).
First thing we found out this morning was we had food poisoning in our dinner the other night. Then at about 12 o’clock we saw a huge bull moose with a big rake, it could barely get back in the woods! At Watson lake (British Columbia) we saw the world famous "sign forest" in August or July when we come back we’re going to add our own sigh to the collection! (about two thousand signs a year are added!) we saw another moose, this one was a cow, (a female moose) and about an hour later we saw a caribou right by the side of the road! We soon camped and went to sleep.
The next exciting place we went was the only remaining original wooden bridge on the Alaska Highway. We saw both sand and shale stones right next to each other, then we reached mile 0 on the Alaska Highway or the beginning of it, (mile 0 was in Dawson Creek were we stopped to get groceries). We drove on enjoying the beautiful sunset on the way. We camped in Kleskun Hill Park. The prairie used to be underwater, the hills contain fossils of dinosaurs and water creatures!
We drove all morning and most of the afternoon, our total miles were 501 and at about 8:15 we saw an elk in the town of Drumheller which has a famous museum on dinosaurs and fossils called the Royal Tyrrel Museum, and we’re going to see it tomorrow! It took forever to find a place to sleep however we finally found a place after trying a different one first. (RV parks)
At 10 o’clock we went to the Royal Tyrrel Museum we saw all sorts of fossils and bones, there was one room that had only bones it had a full skeleton of a T-Rex and lots of other things from the sea, ancient mammals, and the ice age creatures. Then we hit the road at 1 o’clock our next fun stop was Head smashed in buffalo jump it was fun so we went on a marked trail that took us on a good hike! Then me and dad played pool at our R.V. Park and went to sleep.
First we went two hours in the wrong direction when we got back on track we had sun we had sleet we had rain and we had high winds! We crossed the border between Canada and Montana the park (it was called Glacier National Park) was closed 14 miles up so we turned back and drove on to Great Falls Montana and stayed at the base there for the night.
We didn’t move an inch out of Great Falls. We hung out in the morning and part of the afternoon. Dad found a leak in the black water tank and he went to have the oil changed. While I went to my first gymnastics class in weeks it was short, only an hour and a half but it was hard on my hands because they were very soft after so long off the bars. Then we went back too the base I did my homework (which means typing this among other things) and went to sleep.
This morning we got groceries and things we needed for the trip south (Yellowstone National Park went record low with 8 degrees F OH NO!) in the middle of the day me and dad climbed a rock face and crossed a stream on rocks. At 5 or so we went into Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park w stayed at Yellowstone campgrounds for the night and climbed another hill and went to sleep
October, Friday 1, ’99 Yellowstone National Park
First thing in the morning we saw elk! Two male elk were bluff charging each other over a small herd of doe and first year babies. After a while the stranger elk went away and we went on our way. We didn’t get too far until we stopped again. This time we stopped at a bunch of hot springs. It was very cool: we got a million pictures! We stayed for an hour and walked on little paths along the cliffs and hot springs. When we were done we drove on. We found a cliff
with yellow, green, red, orange, and brown rocks in it. Next we found the scene of the forest fire of ’88. Then we found both a smoking cliff and another hot springs. Then we saw two streams, one was jade green, the other was bubbling! Then we saw a "smoking valley." The forest fire was down here too, (the fire burned 36% of Yellowstone National Park!!) At Norris Geyser Basin we went on a very long hike. We saw at least 100 caves, springs, lakes, streams, and puddles. About 5 of the geysers erupted right before our eyes. One geyser (the second one we saw erupt.) was called Echinus and it erupts every 30 to 90 minutes. We walked in just in time because we sat down and it erupted! It was so cool. And the women next to us said it was better than Old Faithful! The Echinus is the largest acid spout in the world, acid geysers are very rare and most of them are found in Norris Geyser Basin! We took another million pictures and one thing that I really liked was a sky blue pool right next to a red one! We tested the water in two of the non-acid water and found it warm. At Yellowstone’s Canyon we saw two deer about 10 feet away! One looked like future Bear food. You could count its ribs and everything. We took a few pictures of the Canyon, looked cool with multicolored rocks on its walls and greenish-blue river, when we came back a deer (the healthy one) was standing 3 ft or so away from a park visitor and just stared it didn’t bolt or anything then it walked away and we drove on. We stopped in the Canyon town and dad took a nap for about an hour and me and mom went on a little hike down the Canyon (a mile walk) we ended up right over the lower waterfalls and we couldn’t get a good picture but we tried. The long climb up was hard but we made it fortunately and hit the road once more. Soon we saw some dark brown spots on a hill and pulled over, they turned out to be buffalo there where 48 to be exact. We soon moved on. We found a "mud volcano" and walked around for a bit. We left and went in the direction of Lake Village. We soon got there and asked a ranger were they’re where open campgrounds? There were 3 one we had been at before and were near the entrance, out of the question. So we went to the one at the other entrance. (or exit depending on the way your going) we were on the road to our campsite when we saw a lone buffalo right by the side of the road! It was a beautiful young male with only half his coat we took a picture and moved on. We went though a construction area and right when we reached pavement again, a buffalo crossed the road in front of the car in front of us! We saw another hot spring and moved on. We finally found a campsite and I did my homework again that included typing this and went to bed.
The Beginning.
We woke up and immediately after we took showers did the laundry then went on our way. We past the continental divide, Elevation: 8391. This continental divide flows in 2 directions, one goes to the east (the Gulf of Mexico) and the other goes to the west (the Pacific) we saw a male deer who ran into the woods the minute he saw us. We went to Old Faithful next, we had a wonderful time and there were a lot more geyser, and pools then just Old Faithful! There were so many, we took a million pictures and saw three buffalo about 10 ft away! We unfortunately had to leave right after Old Faithful erupted. My favorite part of the trip was when riverside geyser erupted! It was so cool! The water went about 50 ft in the air! And it went on for 15 minutes or so! We soon came to a
Small area of springs and pools we walked around and drove on. We found another area looked and drove on. We were on our way to Tetonns National Park when we saw an Antelope! It was cool. unfortunately we couldn’t stop. So we moved on. We found a campground did homework and went to sleep.
We got a late start, and in the evening we stopped at Jackson Hole and walked around and I got two new beanies, (honks and spangle) a duck and a bear with the colors of our flag. We camped in St. Charles Idaho right next to some horses! We ate outside and took showers. We did some star gazing and saw Venus, the Milky Way, the Big Dipper, and about a billion other stars, (I’m not kidding about the billion stars part! And went to bed after about 15 minutes.
First thing in the morning we mailed at least 50lb. of stuff home plus some post cards and other things. When that was done we drove on. Then a little while later, we saw a whole herd of Antelope! We stopped at the fossil monument visitor’s center and had lunch. We went on. I quizzed mom and dad on the United States of America for two hours and moved on. We found a campsite and camped. Dad and me climbed a hill that had cacti! I got pricked twice! The second time I couldn’t get all the thistles out, and climbed on in discomfort. I fell into the river up to my knees and the current was in my face! We ate did homework and went to bed.
This morning we went through the Sheep Creek Canyon Geological Loop! We saw all kinds of sandstone and other rock cliffs. Then we saw some Antelope! Next we went inside the Flaming Gorge Dam, where they make electricity and provide irrigation water for farmers! There were fish that were called lunkers but we know as trout! We learned they eat anything the turbines chew up! Then in the afternoon we saw real dinosaur bones buried in rock cliffs! Then we took a little walk saw a lizard and found a campsite. We saw a skunk! It walked within 10 ft of us! We did homework, and went to bed!
This morning, we went to a dinosaur museum/visitor’s center! It was very cool! They had a wall of dinosaur bones embedded in the rock of the wall! The building had one wall that was slanted and made of the rock of the hill it was sitting against! The wall had lots of dinosaur bones in it the archeologists hadn’t removed! Soon we had to leave but it was fun. We drove to a site that had petrogilifs! Dad and me climbed the cliff and saw a ground squirrel at the top and chased it. It was a cool climb and we found out that we had climbed 432 ft in the air. Then we went to this winery and mom got some wine. Drove on and found an expensive RV Park! We did homework took much needed showers and went to bed!
We sent more in the mail and started out. We found a cool waterfall and ate lunch there. In the same town we found a hot spring pool! It was so nice! I met some girls and we played tag. Two hours later we set out and went to another town. By then it was 5 o’clock and we had to find a campsite soon. We walked around the town and went over perhaps the highest past we will ever go on in this trip! It was 10,288 ft! It didn’t feel high but it was! Soon after we saw a campground but it was bond to be expensive! So we went on. We soon found another campsite, it was expensive to but o well so we moved in did homework and went to sleep!
We saw a cattle drive right in the middle of the road! (That was in Dolores.) Next we saw some old Pueblo ruins! They were very cool! Soon we left and got Dairy Queen ice cream! We got train tickets to an exciting new train ride from Durango to Silverton! We found an RV park that had a pool and some horses, plus miniature horses and baby’s! We fed the horses grass and apples, they loved them! We fed them till late, did the usual routine and fell asleep.
On Sunday morning we went on a train from Durango C.O. to Silverton C.O.! It was fun! We got to sit in the outside car, there was a good and a bad situation: the good part was we got to touch rocks and tree limes as we whizzed by! The bad part was that cinders and soot were getting into my eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and hair! We got ice cream at Silverton and had lunch. We got back in time for a shower and sleep!
We woke up and drove south again. At lunch we drove into a park called Mesa Verde National Park! It had all sorts of Pueblo ruins! We took two guided tours of "Cliff Palace" and "Balcony House"! Cliff Palace was a special community that had 23 kivas, (kivas are rooms that are mostly round and are under ground, to the Pueblo people it was like a church) over 100 rooms, and had about 3 towers, it was also the biggest city in the canyon! When we got home we read some and went to sleep.
In the morning we hung out. But in the afternoon we visited a lot I mean a lot of sites!! All of them were cool! But I personally liked the "Sun Temple" best! We hung out a little bit and ate dinner, after that we went back to the same campsite as before. Did homework read and went to bed.
This afternoon we went to the Lowry Ruins had lunch and went to Cortez, Colorado and saw a livestock Action! It was cool, and cruel and cute, because we saw some piglets. Soon we found a campsite and settled down by doing the usual routine, dinner, homework, and sleep.
This morning we went to Hovenweep National Monument! We saw a pueblo castle! We went on a 2-mile hike and saw all sorts of ruins, my favorite was the building that had been under a rock, but the rock was free standing! After that we went back into Utah and drove into Arches National Park, they have 2000 natural arches there! We saw about five of them and found a campsite for the night, we did the routine but dad fell asleep right after dinner! Sleep soon followed till noon the next day.
There we saw the valley and climbed a couple of rock hills and climbed to the base of Delicate Arch into the bowl of the canyon and on the way back up we went through an Arch! (The hike was 3 miles.) Then we went to Devils Garden, where we saw 5 Arches and took a little climb. One Arch was called Double O Arch! The Arches were stacked on top of each other! Soon after we left the park and found a RV park with SHOWERS! Our skin was all salted and sweaty from 8 miles of hiking in the hot sun! We took showers, did laundry, played cards and went to sleep!
We spent most of the morning getting supplies and cleaning, but we did a hike in the afternoon called slick rock in Canyonlands National Park! In Canyonlands I got my third Junior Ranger Badge! In each park they have some activities! Like picking up trash and stuff like that! We found a campsite and went to sleep!
Today we went to Natural Bridges National Monument and stayed for the day. We saw three natural bridges and hiked to the oldest of the three, Owachomo Bridge! I became a Junior Ranger again and we found a campsite outside in Bluff. We looked at the horses that are kept there and went to sleep.
This morning we took showers, a long day of driving at
Lake Powel, I went swimming in the lake! After that we drove into Navajo National Monument but the ruins were closed! We reached the Grand Canyon at 4:33! We saw the walls of the canyon but we couldn’t see the river! Camped there, played a game and went to sleep!
We hiked the Grand Canyon today!! It was fun except for when we were going back up! That was hard, there was a bridge and right above it was a tunnel! I hiked up it without stopping; did I mention the sun? Well, that whole stretch was in the sun, and it was about a mile long! I carried a pack the whole time, up and down the pack weighed about 5 or 6 pounds! I know it doesn’t sound like much, but on that stretch it felt like 100 lbs! We had eaten lunch at the bottom, in roaring springs. Coming down was easy but as I said before going up was near impossible! We got back to the car after 6 hours of hiking, from 8:20 to 2:20, and after that we needed showers! So we found a RV park and went to sleep!
This morning to this afternoon we spent browsing around Kanab, we got our mail but I got absolutely nothing out of a boxfull of stuff! We looked around town, got groceries and stuff like that. After Kanab we drove to Bryce National Park, I got some erasable crayons. We looked at 3 viewpoints of the Canyon, and found a campsite. I got out of homework because it was so late and when it was dark we went to the nearest view point and looked at the canyon in the moon light, then to you know what!
We signed up for horseback riding! At 12:45 we went to the horse/mule yard and got pared up with horses and mules! Me and mama got mules and dad got a horse, my mules name was Crazy Alice, mamas mules name was Barbara and dads horse was named Smoking Joe! Only, Alice wasn’t crazy at all, she was really nice! Barbara and Alice were inseparable! When Alice went faster, Barbara went faster. (Alice and me were in the front of the line behind the guide) We went on a half-day ride! When we were done our knees and butts hurt to the touch! We found a RV park took warm showers and went to sleep!
Today we browsed around in a little suburb where we has slept the night before. Around noon we left for a little side trip at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park! We climbed up one of the slopes of unique sand of sandstone! Me and mama took off our shoes and socks and felt fine grains sift through our toes then ran down the dune four times! We had lunch there and drove to Zion National Park and reserve a campsite at an RV park then went into the park to go to two tunnels: one was a mile long and skinny, the other was short and fat! The visitor center happened to be 11 miles into the park, so I got a stamp and a few Christmas presents for friends, then left, to sleep!
This morning we spent in Zion National Park. First we walked down a paved trail called Riverside trail! At the end if you want to go farther you have to cross the river! That was fun, but we couldn’t stay long too bad! We went Zion’s lodge and mama got out for a four-mile hike, dad and me stayed behind. When mama came back we got frozen yogurt, yeah! Then we drove through the park to a town called Springdale! It was quiet! Mama and me went for a walk and got Christmas presents for people and went to sleep, (the RV Park has a pool and I’m going swimming tomorrow!)
We drove most of the day and went to Hoover Dam! That was very cool, we took a tour of the dam that went all the way to the bottom! 112 people died building this thing and it has 3 purposes, 1. Flood control, 2. Electricity, 3. Irrigation water! (That was why Boulder City was built, for the workers and their families!) The sun went down as we left, and we found a campsite for the night at a campground with over 1000 spaces! Then went to sleep!
This morning w went back to Hoover Dam and stayed the after lunch we got ice cream and left. We drove to Las Vegas! We went to the base there and reserved a space at their campground, and wondered to some of the hotels: Excalibur, the Pyramid, MGM Grand, (MGM had two live male Lions!) but we didn’t find the Lake, shucks! We soon had to go but it was fun! (We visited all of these at night so when we left we where leaving to sleep!)
This morning we hung out for a while, then we did errands! We finished at 4:00 and walked around some more, the hotels we went to this time where: New York New York, Ceasers Palace, Circus Circus, the Mirage, Treasure Island, and Circus Circus had games for kids so played some then watched two shows then left, at the Mirage they had White Tigers! They weren’t very active but that’s OK! We had Mckdonalds ice cream and Gelato for dinner! (I got two post cards and a T-shirt!) We went to sleep happy!
Today we went to Wheeler RV sales and repairs were we got our pump and other things replaced they had a billion RVs which I looked at during 3 in a half long hours of waiting! We had lunch at 1:30! Then we drove to the bases freezing pool! After we froze our tootsies off I went back to the gym for another class. That got dome at 8:00! We went out to dinner and then went to a show at Treasure Island! First we watched a short show outside! It was between Pirates and Britain’s! First it looked like the British where winning then the pirates struck back and sunk the British ship! Then we went inside to watch the show we had come to see it was the coolest thing I had ever seen! My favorite parts where when 2 guys came on stage and did gymnastics strength things like one guy would lift the other up in a handstand with his feet! The other funny thing was when a really really fat baby (that was really a man) got a woman in the front row to be his "Mommy!" the show ended at 12:00! We got to bed at 1:00! I conked immediately, but it was really cool!
Today we got lost doing errands so ended up leaving at 3:30! When we did get on the road we stayed on it for a couple of hours before we set up camp all by ourselves and star gazed for a while then went to sleep!
Dad climbed a 1000-ft hill today! We hit the road for a long day of driving of which mom and dad tasted natural salt! We went through Death Valley and camped in Yosemite! We went to sleep soon after!
Today we pretty much drove and hiked. We did a total of 4 hikes! We hiked 6-7 miles too! My favorite was Sentinel Dome! We climbed the short way up the Dome all the way to the top where the view was spectacular! When we found a campsite it wasn’t in a town, bummer! But we did have candy and we did have a spooky stories book that mama read from, but it sure didn’t beat trick or treating! We soon retired to bed!
Happy Halloween!
This morning we started driving. We stopped at a few places. Two of the best places were Mono Lake with almost as much salt as Salt Lake! We also went on a couple of hikes and found some really cool Redwoods! Some of them were 3000 years old! We also saw 9 deer 2 males and 7 females! At our mail town and got our mail! We spent the night at a RV park with a spa! (Hot tub!) They had hot showers too (this was the 4th day without a shower!) We went in the spa and pool took showers and went to bed!
Today we went through the mountains to California hot springs! (On the way dad tried to melt the wheel covers we didn’t even know we had! The wheel cover melted because of the brake over heating!) It was 2:30 so we camped at a beautiful small campground with a creek and shade and everything! First we went swimming in the hot spring! Then bought ice cream and headed home were for 30 minutes or so we watched the stars come out and finally did a little bit of homework and went to bed!
This morning we drove out of California hot springs and went to Sequoia National Park and went to one of their campgrounds were I played on some huge rocks by a river and went to sleep!
This morning we explored Sequoia and saw the biggest sequoia in the world! It was called the General Sherman! It was 274 ft tall! It was 34 ft in circumference! Then we went to General Grant Tree too! We decided to camp early and drove to the visitor’s center and got a junior ranger patch! To get the patch I had to read a newspaper and do a workbook and collect trash most of what we find in these parks are cigarette butts! Then we drove into King Canyon National Park and fell asleep!
Today we drove too Santa Cruz! meat Aunt Jean then we went to a place called the Crows Nest and went to sleep!
Today first we went on a walk and saw a lot of interesting houses and walked on the beach! Then we went to a good coffee place and got some coffee for mama! In the afternoon we went on the beach again and I got soaked! We went to bed at 11!
We where in Santa Cruz still and we went to look around town for a while and got ice cream for lunch then went to a local bowling alley but coun’t get in so we went to the arcade across the street! We played laser tag and went to pick up mom and dad at the massage place and went home to Jeans house for dinner again I slept with Jean and fell asleep at 10 or so!
Today we hung out till noon when we got on the road we drove to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and stopped we walked half way across the bridge and back on foot. Then we drove across it and drove 1 hour more and had a bit of trouble finding an RV park but we soon did and I finished my second Harry Potter book in 2 days a mew record for me ! we fell asleep soon after!
Today we got started at 10 or so and got to the first winery at noon (Today was a winery day we went to 3 winery’s in all!) we ended up at Point Reyes National Seashore but we couldn’t sleep there so we went just outside I did mathe and then tried to finich my book and went to sleep!
Today we drove to Point Reyes again and looked for Sea Lions. We didn’t finr any so we started the lonng drive back to Santa Cruz. On the way, we were on a highway called highway one that went inchs from a cove and the strait cliffs that met the Pacific Ocean below! We were "going to fast" for mama on the turns the whole we got to San Francisco we walked around the harbor, China Town and we met an old lady who was painting a house across the street! Then we went to Borders Books and in downtown San Francisco. Shortly after we took a trolly back to our car and took off again for Santa Cruz. Then we crashed!
Mom and dad went to LA so mom could fly to New Mexico, but first they went to the Getty Center Art Museum! They said it was really cool! But I won’t tell you the details so you can go see go yourself! Meanwhile me and Jean went to gymnastics and I had a good, but exuasting workout and crashed!
Dad was still gone so we drove over to the "Boardwalk" to go bowling and fortunately we did get to go bowling and had a great time! I won Jean all 3 games! We didn’t go to laser tag, but we did go to the beach behind it called Main Beach! I had a great time with another girl splashing in the waves and getting soaked! Dad came home that night and we went to an italian resterant for dads birthday! (which was today!) we also got him leman merang pie for desert! Then we went to bed! (bed is the most important thing in every entry!)
We didn’t do much in the morning but in the afternoon we went on a 70 ft sail boat called the Chardonnay! In the 2 ½ hour boat ride we went past a US Navy ship called the Antietum! When we got of the boat it was 5 o’clock and dusk. We hung out until bed!
Dad and me went bowling this evening of cours dad won all the games! But that’s OK because we played laser tag next! We waited out the evening then went to bed!
Dad did work all morning while I read and the RV got worked on! At lunch time since we still didn’t have the RV we rode our bikes, (Jean was at work during all of this excitement,) to the bank and the book store and back! On the way I crashed into a fence and earned a couple of bruises and temporary scars. We did uninteresting things until Jean came home at 6 and went to bed!
November, Tuesday 16, ’99
November, Wednesday 17, ’99
Today we got up at the crack of dawn (6) and drove to LA to pick up mama and go all the way to San Deigo where we went to a gas station and dad tried to be skinny and get past the pizza truck in front of us, but it didn’t work and the black water tank spilled all over the cement! It did stink up the place good! So we had to clean that up and then we had to find a campsite which was difficult so we finally went to the airport! Which was near the harbor! Jean and me (who had come for our boat ride) went all over the airport so mom and dad could clean up the RV and make the beds without us in the way and we had a good time! We where out for on hour from 9:30 to 10:30 and went back to the RV where Jean got my bed and I slept on the floor!
November, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 18, 19, 20, 21, ’99
On Thursday morning we loaded the 36’ boat and did a little practicing for about an hour before we took it out on the Bay! When dad was ready we went under one bridge and into a cove with a docks and an anchorage! We anchored a little while away from the others and dad and me went ashore, so we could look for golf balls! (we anchored right next to a golf course) we found five and sped back to the boat before the sun went down and watched Titanic the movie before going to bed!On Friday we went straight out to the ocean and saw tons of seals, harbor seals! We rocked and rolled out there for a bit before going to Mission Bay next to San Deigo Bay! We anchored and watched a movie about a unusual staircase that was really cool! Then we went to bed!
On Saturday we cruised Mission Bay for the better part of the day and anchored again for a little while where we had slept the night before and me and mama went to explore that beach! We found a million shells! We had to pick and choose which we wanted! My favorite was a conch shell and a sand dollar! We went back to the San Deigo Bay to anchor in the same place we had the first night and this time went closer to the other boats! During the night our boat almost crashed into another boat twice while we were sleeping!
On Sunday we went looking for a gas station to fill up out tanks and when we did find it (this was a boat gas station) it took a while to fill so me and mama met with the golden retriever that lived there and played fetch! See, you take a floating ball or something and in a high pitched voice shout:"go get it Wolly, come on go get it girl!" she needed incouragment to get it! Then we went and returned the boat to its dock and went to the airport to bid Jean good bye and went to find an RV park and went to sleep!
Today we went to the San Deigo zoo for 6 hours! My favorites are the Tiger cubs! The played chase-and-pounce while mom lounged nearby! At one point one of the cubs jumped on her back! My other favorite was the baby and mama hippos! The baby would put its head right up against the glass! We saw all sorts of animals and at the end near 4 o’clock when they close down we went too a sea lion show and watched the sea lions swim and do tricks like blowing kisses! At the end we got ice cream and went to Pine Valley to see cousin Eleanor and her friend Dorothy! It turns out Dorothy has a lot of beanie babys over 100! She gave me five of her duplicits I didn’t have too! It was fun really fun! We slept in the RV instead of Eleanors house too!
We drove and drove and just for a little change of pace we drove some more! We slept in Prescott where my great-great-great uncle, and indian scout was buried!
Again we drove and drove and drove some more but first we went to the Sharlot Hall Museum! That was really cool we learned some more about my uncle and saw his grave! Then we went to Camp Verde and again learned some more about Pauline Weaver (my uncle) and went on to Jerome who used to be called the "wickedest town in America!" then we drove and drove and drove! We arrived in El Rito, New Mexico at 11:00! Then we went to bed!
This morning mama and me went to go see everyone in the house and took showers and learned the family had 10 animals! See they had 3 dogs, 3 cats, 2 fish, and 2 ferrets! I liked the ferrets most, (ferrets are like weasels,) see, every time you got them out of the cage and go one way they put on the breaks and wants to go the other way every time! I also discovered a good tire swing in the back yard it went round and round up and down! That was really cool! That also happened to be Turkey Day and so dinner was great too! Me a girl named Gena and a girl named Sara went to bed out in the RV. But at 6 in the morning Gena woke me up to saw Sara had been coughing all night and getting spooked every time the heater went on so we walked her inside and got up!
This morning we played and played and played some more! We had a great time! We played on the tire swing; we played with the ferrets! Than near the end of the day I tried something called the Suicide Run! It’s where you hang from a cable and jump of a platform about 10 ft high and wobbly! That was the best part of the day too! Me and Gena who got to sleep over again slept in the little cabin mom and dad where using!
First thing in the morning Coleen opened her birthday presents! Then we all went to Taos to shop and stuff! After that I taught all the kids how to make geckos and stuff like that! The kids loved it! That day I made two geckos and everyone else had made a lot a lot more! That we went to sleep!
Again we played and played and played! The tire swing had gotten a lot of use and my beads where running out! We did the Suicide Run again and went to sleep!
Today we drove and drove and drove! We stopped 4 times. 2 at Santa Fe, 1 in Albuquerque and 1 in Grant. The most exciting one was the Loretto Chapel that had the unusual stairs! They were really cool and impressive! We had to leave shortly and go get groceries in Albuquerque and our mail in Grant. We camped near a place called Blue Lake State Park!
Today we drove to Hubble Trading Post and than on to Canyon De Chelly National Monument, and went to Spider Rock Overlook, Face Rock Overlook, Sliding House Overlook, Junction Overlook, and Tsegi Overlook! Then since the sun had set we camped in Cottonwood Campground for the night!
We hiked White House Trail this morning and went all the way to the bottom of the Canyon and went to the ruins of White House that was on the far wall! Then we went on the North Rim to Massacre Cave and Mummy Cave! Then we drove and drove and drove all the way to the Grand Canyon! We stopped at Grandview Point and Lipan Point! Then we went to the Visitors Center. I got my Junior Ranger things and my stamp! We went to a place called Trailer Village and went to bed!
This morning we hiked 12 miles of the Grand Canyon in about 6 hours! We went all the way to Plateau Point and back! On the way to the trail- head we saw 3 mule deer and 1 rode-kill squirrel! When we did get on the trail it was easy! It only took us about 2 and a ½ hours to reach the bottom! When we had about a mile to go we saw exactly 9 deer! There were 2 yearlings, 6 does, females, and 1 buck with a good size rack! When we got to Plateau Point we could see the river clearly! We ate lunch there and had a very persistent visitor in a squirrel! The squirrel would go over to dad and try for free food! Dad of course kicked him but every time the stupid little thing came back! After lunch we started the exhausting climb up! When we had almost reached top we looked up and saw Two Mountain Goats right in the middle of the trail! Dad inched by first and the goat just stared at him so I went next but he didn’t do anything so mama went next and did fine so we went on out way! We finally finally got to the top but our day wasn’t done yet! Right after we found the car we took mama out to her birthday dinner! Dinner, which of course was great, was at the El Tovar Lodge, in Grand Canyon Village and was a nice place! After dinner at 7:30 mama and me went to a Ranger talk and learned a lot! 1.the Grand Canyon was only the Grand Canyon for 100 years, how? Well, people never thought the Canyon grand until the 19th century, but it was geological canyon for 2 billion years! There were 4 words he used to describe the Grand Canyon and here they are: enormous proportions, beautiful scenery! Then he explained there are three ways this canyon could have formed. 1.the Colorado River cuts thought the rock uncovering softer rock that falls in and around the river! 2.the river flows on top of the rocks which are not at their full height yet and the river cuts down a little bit and the rocks rise up around it uncovering softer rock which falls in and around the river! 3.the river flows on top of the rocks and they lift up and around the river, uncover softer rock that falls in and around the river! He also explained why the Grand Canyon has such flat walls and how unusual that is! See the rock to begin with is flat but it usually gets jostled around a bit and made jagged, but this canyon was lifted gently so it has flat walls! That was really interesting! He also gave us the recipe for the Grand Canyon, the right rocks 1 and 2, a desert climate 3, water 4, and time 5! Water, the Colorado River is one of the very very few major, desert, rivers! Also he asked us, why would want a desert climate when there’s a river involved you want lots of rain don’t you? Actually no. The Colorado River is fed by the southern Rockys! Also if you had lots of rain you would have lots of rock-covering trees and plants! If the river did cut through the rock at its peak where would all that rock that filled the hole that is now the Grand Canyon go? The Gulf of California used to be a whole lot bigger! The Colorado River empties into the Gulf so that’s where all the rock from the Grand Canyon went! See the Gulf used to be half way up the state of Arizona! So that’s what we did today, interesting isn’t it? After all that we went back to the Trailer Village. I finished my Junior Ranger sheet and went, of course to bed!
This morning we had a quick stop at the Visitors Center so I could get my badge and saw my pledge and then, we drove and drove and drove! Our goal was to get to the newest cave and state park in the U.S. by 4:30 but we got there by 4! We got there in time for the last tour of the day! The Cave was called Kartchner Caverns State Park! This park has the 2 longest soda straw in the world, is still alive, has a column about the size of a 5-story building, and is very warm and moist inside, the humidity of 98 0/0! These caves where created by water dissolving the limestone! We took the tour at 4:40 and went through, 1. The Rotunda Room that had a mud floor that was quite deep! Then we saw great stalactites, (the ones that hang from the ceiling, c for ceiling and in stalagmites g for ground!) then we went through the "Imaginary Passage" next to the "Throne Room" and saw a 17 ft soda straw and a 50 ft column also 5 story building! There we watched a light show with music to go with it! (That mama bought after the tour!) Then we had to exit but mama got a brochure with lots of interesting stuff in it including Columns, a formation that is formed by the joining of a stalactite and a stalagmite, or when stalactite meats the floor or a stalagmite reaches the ceiling! Stalactite, a formation that hangs from cave ceilings and forms as layers of calcite are deposited. This occurs when water flows over the outside of soda straws after hollow centers become partially plugged or plugged. Helictites, twisted formations projecting at all angles from the ceiling, walls and floors of caves. The overall formation seems to defy the laws of gravity. Soda Straws, a thin walled hollow tube formation about ¼ in diameter, Soda Straws grow from ceilings of caves as water runs down inside them and deposit rings of calcite at their tips! Stalagmites, a formation that rises from the cave floor and is often but not always formed by dripping water from stalactites above. Stalagmites are usually larger in diameter than stalactites and more rounded on top! Bacon, this formation forms when, over time, water flows down walls, over floors and/or other formations resulting in build-up of calcite! Flowstone, this formation is formed when, over a period of time, water flows down walls, over floors and other formations resulting in build-up of calcite! Then we got Owens present at the gift shop and went to Tombstone for sleep!
Today we spent all morning in Tombstone! We got our pictures taken dressed up as women of the 1880’s! We went into a museum called the Historama and watched a movie about the history of the town and why it was founded and all that! We also went to the cemetery and saw that 1882 and the early ‘80’s where not a good time to be in Tombstone! One reason was there was no law and order as there is today, if you didn’t like the man you killed him or he killed you! And the other reason was the year of 1882 was the year of the big gun fight in the O.K. Corrals when the Earps and their enemies, the Clantons and the Mclaurys and the Earps friend, Doc Holliday where in the corrals with a couple of horses and mules. Now the Earps where law people like lawyers sort of. See, Virgil Earp and one of his brothers, Wyatt Earp were the police of the town and their brother Morgan Earp well he was a hot head and he wanted a good fight and Doc Holliday was a hot head too so historians think it was one of them that made the first shot. Now there were 5 cowboys and 4 law men but Wyatt Earp was the second fastest gun in the west so the cowboys didn’t stand much of a chance any way the actual fight lasted about 30 seconds and 3 cowboys where died and 2 more had fled at the beginning of the fight! Now the lawmen had only injury no one was killed but Morgan had taken a bullet though his right shoulder and out his left! Doc Holliday had had a bullet scrap his side and it must have hurt real bad cause he through up his arms and cried, "I’ve been shot clean through!" Virgil took a bullet right under his knee and Wyatt didn’t get hurt and lived to be 82! Anyway then we drove and drove and drove some more all the way to White Sands National Monument in New Mexico and stayed at Holloman AFB for the night!
Today at 10:00 we went to Visitors Center and I got my Junior Ranger things and we went off to the Big Dune Trailhead! Mama and me went on the 1 mile hike while dad messed around with the computer! We had a great time! I took off my shoes to walk in the sand bear foot and man it was cold! We got to crashed down the steep side of it and everything! Then we went to Alkali Trailhead and had the best time of my life there we have to go again! We crashed down slope after slope and the sand was warmer to! Dad came along this time and we had an absolutly wonderful time! Of course we had to leave to soon but were coming back! We went back to the Visitors Center so I could get my badge and saw yet another pledge! Then we were off for Carlsban which we reached in an hour or so! We found a campground just outside Carlsban which has a bunch of caverns like Karchner caverns and tomorrow we’re going to see the difference between the two! Good bye for now!
This morning dad took the computer in the lobby to check our E-mail while I helped put up a Christmas tree in the lobby! Mama came in to check on her E-mail and after that we left, to ho look at Carlsban Caverns! I my stamp, and we got CD players with head sets and set of for the cave! One definate difference was this cave was a whole lot bigger than Kartchner! It was also less colorful and very deep! It also had was more died then alive where as Kartchner was more alive than died! It was about a 3 mile self-guided tour that had elavators for the steep climb up! When that was dome we drove to a place called Fort Davis, State Park campground! I did homework and went, after making a new plan, went to bed!
Today we had a leisurely morning till 11! At 11 we went up to the Mcdonald Observatory for a tour! (we had crossed the border the night before!) we learned all about Sun spots before we went up to the 435 inch wide telescope! We didn’t get to look throught it but we did get to look at it! then we went over to a mirror like thing called the HET telescope with 91 meter mirrors to make it! We learned a little bit about helium, hydrogen, oxygen and more! then we went back to our campsite to eat and then we drove up to an ovservation point overlooking Fort Davis, Texas! We hiked down to see the historic fort! From just above we saw ruins of the first fort facing true north and whole houses facing magnetic north! We went to the two open houses and then we went to the visetors center, I got my stamp and we looked at some cool displays. Then we went to the building right next door and found an amazingly real Barracks for unwed soldiers! We went to the hospital next and saw all kinds of sick, and storage rooms! We climbed back up to our RV and took off for our cam0site where of which we made a fire and ate dimmer outside! We went back to the Mcdonald Observatory at 7:30 and stayed till 9:00 looking at constalashens, planets, and other galaxies was really really fun! We even got to see Saturn’s rings! Then we went to bed!
This morning we got at the awful hour of 6! We took showers and hit the road! I went to sleep in the for a while and that was resting! Then we drove and drove and drove and drove some more! We had lunch near a cotton field and got DQ ice cream at a place near Brownwood and camped near Glen Rose, Texas at Dinosaur Valley State Park! Mama and me went on a walk past really cool dino tracks and 2 herds of deer! We had another fire and ate outside again inspite of threatening rain! At 10:00 o’clock or so we went to sleep! But at 3 in the morning we had a awesome lightening storm! It was absolutely pounding us with rain!
This morning we hiked and found more dinosaur tracks that where in really clear water less than a foot deep! We left at about one and drove to Arlington were my first preschool was and met the women at the desk who happened to be the only one in the intire building who was there when I went to school there! She said she remembers me too! We had to leave early so we drove to Desoto where we had lived for 2 years! Then we drove to Waxahachie where we went poking around the Victorian houses and parked in the Walmart parking lot for the night. We got to bed at 10:00!
This morning we made two more trips to Walmart before we went to Palistine (its pronounced Palistene!) where Jerry Sue Hammett lives! We went to a book talk about Texas history proticularly the book Goliad Survivkor! We left to go have dinner and go to sleep! But first… Isaac of the Texan side was in line to be massacured and spoted a low spot in the fence! He shot through it, but he got shot in the leg before he could escape! He met a few others from his side but in the end the others went on without him and that was the last he saw of them! He crowled toward a little wooden boat that would take him to the next town! When he got there he met a mexican man! He calapsed at his feet thinking the man was the enemy! The man was not enemy nor friend he turned Isaac in to the mexican army who worked him hard! One day he took a fast horse from the meadow where he was sopost to be herding cattle, and escaped! Anyway the books worth 75 bucks in its original print! Good Night!
Today we went on a Christmas Train in the afternoon for 2 hours! We had a lot of live music and of course Santa and even Scrooge! We had a lot of fun too! Everyone, since everyone could see his bald spot, would comment about it! like, "your not even cold?" ‘cause it was pretty chilly in there! We had another thunder storm that night as we where going to bed!
We just hung out this morning! Then we put up Sue’s tree and I decorated all the bedrooms and stuff with all kinds of stuff! I had a lot of fun! Then we went to bed!
Today we went to the Dollar store and got a whole lot of great stuff for only a dollar! We hung out for the rest of the day watching music videos and twirling in Sue’s computer chair until 12:00 then we went to bed!
Today we went to a Tea Party at one old women’s house who was in the Acorn Club that Sue’s in and arrived just in time for refreshments right after the production on Scotland which was 10 pages long and Sue said the women can’t read and it was very very boring! When we got home after going all around the neighbor hood and looking at all the Victorian houses which was fun! When we did get home dad came out and informed us we had left him! Then at about 1:00 we went to bed!
Today we took Rosey and we all went out to Linda, Sue’s cousins ranch! We met a lamb with a sock on! (a coat like thing!) and some horses! Tipsey, Linda’s huge guard dog and little fat Rosey who was older and the boss, had a blast! Everyone else talked about stuff until dark. Then we left to bed!
Today me and Sue went with Linda on a beanie expidition! We went all the way to Buffalo for beanies! First we went to the hospital and I got a really cute bear! Then we went to Buffalo and I got a Rover the red dog to $7,00 and it was marked 25! We then went back to Sue’s house and painted! That was really really fun! I painted a plate and a glass bowl! Then we went to bed!
Today we drove al the way to San Antonio and parked in a truck stop!
Today to start with we went to the Witte Museum! We had a lot of fun at the Tree House! We went to Alamo next! That was really fun and we learned a lot! First of all 200 Texans survived 13 days of siege by 6,000 Mexicans! they all died in the end though! We watched a movie of it and walked around the courtyards for a while! Then we went to the River Walk! We walked to Market Square and got a few things then we went up and down the walk until dark! Then we found an Italian restaurant and had dinner there! then we went to TCBY and got frozen yogurt for desert! Then we found our RV and went to Lackland AFB then we went to sleep!
Today we went to Fredricksburgh to look at a Garden of Peace given to one of the Admirals in World War 2 by the japanese! Then me and mama went to the downtown area of town and shopped! I got 2 beanies that I didn’t have and one of the was worth about 100 dollars and I got him for 10! Then we drove out to Enchanted Rock State Park and climbed the pink granite rock to the top where dad nearly broke his phone when it fell of a huge rock into a crevis really far down! I crowled under a couple of rocks and then back up them! We had the best time! We went back down to our RV and took off for Johns place just out of Kervil! We got there before he did! We waited a little while and had dinner! They came home late and so the kids where very happy to be ou of the car and very hyper! There was a 3 year old and a 1 year old! I intertaned the 3 year old and dad intertioned the 1 year old! I brought in Dogo for them to play with and they had a good time! Then we went to sleep!
Today we went on a roller coaster like ride around
the ranch and looked at deer feeders and things like that! We went back to the house and looked at the humming bird nest which was tiny! At 10:00 we drove all the way to New Orleans, Louisiana! W got there about 9:00 and went to a friend of dads house for the night! We talked till midnight and then I died so we went to sleep!
Today we went on a roller coaster like ride around the ranch and looked at deer feeders and things like that! We went back to the house and looked at the humming bird nest, which was tiny! At 10:00 we drove all the way to New Orleans, Louisiana! W got there about 9:00 and went to a friend of dads house for the night! We talked till midnight and then I died so we went to sleep!
A Florida Christmas Essay
Introduction
From Kerville TX to Tampa FL took two days and 1200 miles! We got in to Tampa at 11:30 on December, Tuesday 22,'99.
Trip to Tampa
Kerville, TX to New Orleans, LA
The night before we had stayed at mama's friends John Knight's ranch. That morning he took us for a tour of the ranch we got on the road at 10:00am and arrived in pelting rain at Richard Hebert's house, a friend of my dad's. Richard's architect company designs zoos!
New Orleans, LA to Tampa, FL
Goodbye to Richard and hello to another 600 mile day! More hard rain fell as we went by the unique New Orleans cemetery, it's unique because it's above ground and constructed like a city! Forward to Seaside, FL where we stopped for an hour. On to Tampa and arriving at 11:30.
Family Christmas
Hotel with Peg
The day we got there my Aunt Peg (who was already there) invited me to sleep with her and my cousin Owen at the Tahitian Inn! A few days later my other cousin Evan moved in too! Christmas morning Santa came to the hotel. (Cousin Owen made shore he came) on the day we got there I had my first bath in 3 months!
First of all there where 30 people at the huge party Bill and Susan (my grandma and grandpa) threw! Half of them from Susan's side of the family where like getting new cousins, aunts, and uncles! Even though I'd met them when I was 3 I don't remember that! At the end of the party we kids got to open some presents not all though!
Susan's son who was named John had a wife and two sons whose names are Melissa, Jack and Joe! Jack's 9 and Joe's 7 so I was the oldest. We went over to there house for brunch, (after which Melissa's mother fell on two steps and broke her hip while carrying in some dishes!) Christmas morning dad gave me rollerblades for Christmas! Aunt Sue and her friend (Aunt Sue lives in Seattle and her friend lives in Oregon) sent me a couple of beanies and gift cards and all kinds of other stuff! Everyone opened what was left of the presents that night!
Only Us
Activities
We rollerblade daily (mama got some rollerblades from dad too and dad got some for himself) and swam every single day and day before we left we took our bikes to the repair shop. Mama's was in horrible condition with a front wheel crooked and the seat needed repair so we pitched it! My bike only needed a tune-up so we left it to pick up later! When I had left the car I had locked the keys in the car so that took a while!
For the New Year's Fireworks we went over to Mr. and Mrs. Rice's house right by the major highway call Bayshore that runs all along Tampa Bay which was closed for the fireworks! (The road was closed not the bay) the fireworks where the best I have ever seen! Fantastic! They where amazing!
University of Tampa
The Tampa U looked a lot like Old Russian structures and used to be a hotel! This building was built in the 1880's and cost 3 million dollars! 3 million is like 16 million nowadays! That is a lot of money! It was built by a rail road millionaire called Henry Plant!
The End
Today we woke up in an enormous RV resort! Mom and dad went rollerblading and after, we all went in the pool and hot tubs! We read some then left (we were in Sarasota) to the Mote Marine Aquarium and Pelican Man's Bird Rescue and Recovery center! The Aquarium Turtles, Sharks, Sting Rays, Manatees, even a shallow pool with a bunch of harmless Horseshoe crab's and clams and lots of other stuff! The Manatees where wonderful! One of them the younger one weighed 1460 pounds! The Sting Rays where really cool and you could pet them! They liked it! The Horseshoe crab was harmless though it looked a little like a Sting Ray with its tail that really was for balance! The Turtles where cool too! They where in a pool sunning themselves! I did have a paper on them but I lost it. I also got a paper on Sharks that I still have!
About Sharks…
Sharks are among the world's most successful groups of animals, inhabiting the seas for more than 400 million years. And for more than 100 million years, they have been nearly unchanged in form. Together with they're closest relatives, the skates, rays, and sawfishes, they collectively known as elasmotranchs.
Altogether, there are more than 350 species of sharks! All have certain anatomical features in common, most notably the fact that their skeletons are made entirely of cartilage and contrasted to the bony fishes whose skeletons contain true bone. Sharks are different in other ways too. They have the same five senses we have plus electrosensitivity that helps them find live prey that may be hidden. Also unlike most bony fishes sharks do not have ribs or a swim bladder. Thus sharks are slightly negatively buoyant and despite the lift from a large oil rich liver they sink slowly unless they continue to swim. Typically there are from five to seven gill slits on each side of the head through which water exits after having entered through the mouth or spiracles (small holes on top of the head in some species) and having passed over the gills that extract oxygen!
Shark's teeth are in parallel rows and tooth loss and replacement is continuous throughout life. Studies by Mote scientists have shown that on average small nurse sharks will one tooth at a time replace an entire front row of teeth every ten days of so in summer and every on to two months in winter when they are feeding less and their metabolism slows down!
Despite their reputation sharks seldom bite people although the bite of even a small shark can be serious with loss of flesh and heavy bleeding. Most attacks are believed t result from a case of mistaken identity as when a swimmer is among fish upon which the shark is feeding or when the shark believes it is repelling an intruder or when a person bumps into steps on or otherwise molests a shark. Large pelagic sharks like the Oceanic Whitetip Shark, the Mako, the Blue, and the White Shark all of which sometimes feed on large prey have been implicated in fatal shark attacks. For swimmers in the Gulf of Mexico the potentially most dangerous sharks are the Tiger Shark, the Hammerheads, the Lemon Shark, and the aggressive Bull Shark that will enter brackish water and sometimes even fresh water. The potential notwithstanding there is still relatively few accidents in Florida. So while few sharks eat people many people eat Sharks and the heavy harvesting is a definite threat to the shark's unique role in the marine ecosystem and its long history of survival!
Here are some Shark questions and answers!
Q. Most Sharks Are Harmful To People.
A. Untrue! Of the 350 or so shark species about 80% are unable to hurt people or rarely encounter people!
Q. Sharks Eat Continuously.
A. Preposterous! Sharks eat periodically depending upon their metabolism and availability of food. For example juvenile lemon sharks eat less them 2% of their body weight per day!
Q. The Great White Shark Is Common Abundant Species Found Off Most Beaches Visited By Humans.
A. Not! Great Whites are relatively uncommon large predators that prefer cooler waters. In some parts of their range Great Whites are close to being endangered!
Q. Whale Sharks, The Largest Species Of Sharks Are Voracious Predators.
A. Incorrect! Whale Sharks which are the largest fish that ever lived are plankton feeders like the Great Whales thus the name!
Q. Sharks Prefer Human Blood.
A. False! Most sharks don't appear to be especially interested in blood of mammals as opposed to fish blood!
Q. Sharks Are Not Discriminating Eaters And Scavenge The Sea.
A. Wrong! Most sharks prefer certain types of invertebrate fish and other animals. Some sharks eat mainly fish and others eat other sharks or marine mammals. Some sharks are plankton-eaters!
Q. Sharks Are Not Found In Freshwater.
A. Forget it! a specially osmoregulatory system enables the Bull Shark to cope with dramatic changes in salinity from the freshwater of some rivers to the highly saline water of the ocean!
Q. All Sharks Have To Swim Constantly.
A. Misconceived! Some sharks can respire by pumping water over their gills through opening and closing their mouths while at rest on the bottom!
Q. Most Sharks Cruise At High Speed When They Swim.
A. Invalid! Although some sharks may swim at bursts of over 20 knots (23 miles per hour) most sharks swim very slowly at cruising speeds of less than 5 knots (5.75 miles per hour!)
Q. Sharks Have Poor Vision.
A. Erroneous! Sharks eyes which are equipped to distinguish colors employ a lens up to seven times as powerful as a human's!
Q. Sharks Have Peanut-Sized Brains And Are Incapable Of Learning.
A. Fallacious! Sharks relatively large and complex brains are comparable in size t those of supposedly more advanced animals like mammals and birds. Sharks also can be trained!
Q. Shark Meat Is Poisonous To People.
A. Wrong! Although there have been some reports of people being poisoned by shark meat the meat from the majority of sharks is edible and delicious when properly handled and prepared!
So the was my day! And then of course we went to bed!
Today we went canoeing on Myakka River and saw more them a dozen Alligators in the river! One was just a baby too! We also saw lots of Herons, Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Roseate Spoonbills, White Ibis, Limpkins, Coots! We saw a lot of birds! At the end of our trip we drove back to camp and rested watching one of the Civil War movies and went to bed!
Today we went to the Ringaling Bros. House and Museum! That was fun! I learned all about circuses! (I also got The End beanie at the museum!) The house was closed due to construction but at the museum we got free undated tickets for when it opens! After that we drove south to Venice where we walked around a bit before finding a campsite at a RV park! Then we watched two more Civil War movies and them we hit the sack!
Today was to boring to write about so I won't!
Today we went to Marco Island and beach! I met some kids and we played a little while! Them we drove to Flamingo in Everglades National Park! Then we went to sleep!
Today we went to one of the Visitor Centers and went on a cool walk and talk! We learned that hurricanes do the park good in that they take out all the mud in the water and make it clearer! At the main visitors center I listened to the opinions of a Ranger, a Homeowner in Miami, a Farmer, a Conservationist, a fisherman, and a vacationer about water in the Everglades! All but the farmer wanted the water for the sugar cane fields to go to the Everglades! Then we drove all the way to Grassy Key! Where we found a nice place for a bargain price and went to sleep!
Today we drove to Key West! When we got there at noon we looked at almost all of the Navy bases in Key West (which was a lot because of Pirates in the 1800's) before we found a place right on the beach and a playground! We made camp and went to bed!
Today we got up at 6 and went on the Yankee Freedom 11! A boat that was going (with a load of tourists like us!) to Fort Jefferson National Park on an island about 70 miles off the coast of Key West! We arrived there around 11:00-11:30 and went on a guided tour of the fort! The guide even took us on the roof! Most al of the wall was in need of repair! The whole fort and everything else but the lighthouse is brick! The inner part was mostly brick arches and canon windows! We got to see a real canon! (The reason the ceilings and doors where arches is to ventilate out all the smoke if a canon ever was fired which it didn't in its whole history of over a hundred years!) and saw the ruins of the officers house's and the Barracks too! The bricks where two different colors. The bottom and earlier color where mud brown which came from the south before the Civil War and rich red brick on top from Pennsylvania and the North during the War when it was a captured northern fort! After the War it was a prison and its most famous prisoner was Dr. Samuel E. Mudd, the doctor who took care of John Wilkes Booths broken leg from when he jumped from Abraham Lincoln's box in a theater and broke his leg! We saw his cell, which wasn't very interesting, and then after out own self-guided tour we ate lunch and went snorkeling! The little time I was the water I had a lot of fun! I couldn't stay long because my mask leaked but before I quit I saw lots of white fish and a purple Jellyfish! Then we cruised back walked a bit on the beach and went to sleep!
Today we went to see Fort Zachary Taylor that was also a Civil War fort! Then we hung out for the rest of the day till we went to sleep!
Today we went to the laundry mat and did laundry! Then we wandered around for a while got some blockbuster movies and then we went to the swimming pool and swam in freezing cold water and then went back to camp and watched 2 movies before going back to sleep!
Today we all walked t o Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States vacation home in Key West! We had a good hour on the tour of the Little White House Harry Truman's house! Then dad left and went back to the RV and we went to the Shipwreck Historieom! We watched a movie about Wreckers! (People who salvaged sunk ships!) We got the best view of the town and more importantly the sea! Whenever a ship struck a reef whoever spotted it first would yell, "wreck ashore!" and everyone would come running! Then we went combing the city looking for a pair of kid pants made of satin but we never found them! Then we went back to bed!
Today dad and me went down to the harbor and found a cool boat called the Lady B! Then we went back to the beach and hung out for the rest of the day till bed!
Today we went to the harbor and went on the Dolphin Watch! We never got them till the sun went down and learned there was going to be a lunar eclipse two nights later! We decided to stay two more nights then leave for Disney World! We left soon after!
Today we played on the beach for a while and went in an inflatable plastic boat then walked to the Aquarium! We took a tour and went along the wharf before heading home! There was going to be an eclipse but the clouds came in! Then all of a sudden it started raining! The moon came in and out after that but I was asleep and didn't see it!
Today we drove out of the Keys and into Fort Pierce north of Miami! We got there at dinnertime and met my third cousin and his wife! He was my great grandma's sister's son! We had dinner with them and went to see their house! We stay at a different place and went to sleep!
Today we did pretty much nothing!
Today first thing we went to the Kennedy Space Center! We went on a bus tour for 3 hours but first we went to Robot Scouts a new show that had almost nobody in it! After we went to Imax 1 L5 First City in Space! Then we went and looked at a little bit of a real space shuttle! Then we went to Walt Disney World! and camped in Fort Wilderness and went to sleep!
Walt Disney World
January, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 24,25,26, '00
On Monday we went to the Animal Kingdom! We went to the boneyard and dug up a few dino bones then we went on a scary ride called Countdown to Extinction! Then we went to Asia! We went on the Kali River Rapids and got soaked practically! Then we went on Maharagah Jungle Trek! we saw bats, birds, tigers, two kinds of antelope, and a Tapir! Then we went to Africa! We went on the Kilimangaro Safaris and had a crisis with some poachers and then we went on the Wildlife Express train to the Conservation Station! I got introduced to a snake and an owl! We pet goats and went back to Fort Wilderness and went to sleep! On Tuesday we went to Epcot! First we tried the test track! That was so fun! First you go in a hill climb then you go on a braking stunt on with ABS and one without! Then you go through doors at full speed except the doors are closed instill the last second (I always close my eyes on that!) and then you go full speed in an outdoor loop with the curves at an almost 90 degree angle! Then you go and get you picture while your still windblown! Then we walked to the espresso shop and I spilled my hot chocolate all over my pants and the wind was blowing and it was cold so we walked to China on the world showcase lagoon and I got a new outfit which I wore out of the store! Dad came and joined us at the Chinese place for dinner! Then we watch a 15-minute long spectacle of fireworks and flame! Then we went to bed! On Wednesday we went to Epcot again in the morning and watched 3D Honey I Shrunk the Audience where we get shrunk and the dog gets enlarged! Then we went on a 45-minute ride about energy by Bill Nye the Science Guy! Then we went to Disney MGM Studios for the rest of the day!
When we went to MGM we first went on a great movie ride for old movies to current ones. Then we went on the Aerosmith roller coaster that goes upside down three times. I had my eyes closed most of the time!!! We saw the Mulan parade, the Tower of Terror (elevator dropped 130 feet like on a bungee cord!!!) and Star Wars (it wasn't very scary).
I enjoyed the back lot tour of the MGM studio where they make movies. We were taken through a canyon and endured a flash flood (one woman got really wet) and a fire. Then we went back to Epcot the Tapestry of Nations Parade which was cool. I wanted to go on the Test Track again where mama's mood improved. We saw the fireworks from a better location this time.
Today we did errands for a while and then went to Walmart and to spend the night!
Today we drove to Fort Matanzas and Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine FL! We learned that Fort Matanzas (the Spanish word for slaughter) and Castillo de San Marcos where made out of fossil stone and shells named Coquina and is very very strong! This fort of shell stone is still standing and it was built in 1672 and St. Augustine was founded in 1595 and withstood many English attacks from when Britain was declaring war on Spain! (Spain owned Florida for almost 300 years that's longer than we've owned it!) England never ever got Florida by force but they got anyway in the first treaty of Paris after the French (of whom the Spanish sided with) lost the 7 years war! In the second treaty in Paris however Spain got Florida back in 1784 and gave it to us the US in 1821! Then we went and looked at Castillo de San Marcos and went to a state park watched a movie and went to BED!
Today we went into town and walked down some streets that had Musicians and painters and other craftsmen all over the place! We saw the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse in the US! The school was a tiny one-room classroom with teachers Quarter's upstairs and a Kitchen and Privy outside! We walked on the beach for a little while and then I got a beanie (magic) and we went back to the campsite and went to SLEEP!
Today we slept and watched Star Wars lV! Then we went back to Fort Matanzas and went on a Nature trail at the Visitors Center and went on a ferry across Matanzas Inlet to Fort Matanzas! Some of the old canons were from 1821 when Spain gave Florida to the US! We looked at the men's quarters and the ceiling was low enough so that I almost bumped my head! Back then the average man was 5 foot 2 inches! We went up to the roof and looked out at the inlet from under Spain's old flag! We went back to the ferry and watched a cool bird that was white and I don't remember his name. Then dad watched the Superbowl and it rained and we played Scrabble and went to Bed!
Today we went to Daytona Beach and went to a mall there (it was raining all day) I got new jeans at the Gap and mama got stuff at Victoria's Secret! We found a beanie store and got three of them (two of which I didn't have to pay for!) then we went to Blue Springs State Park! It's a refuge for Manatees in the winter cause its always 72 degrees there! We watched some really cool manatees and some babies before we watched a slide show of manatees and learned some of their names before we had to go and find a campsite before they where full! Then we went Bed!
Today we went back and looked at the manatees some more! Then we wandered around Orlando for 4 hours, cleaned our cloths and went to sleep at some state park or another! (No, now I remember, we camped at "Lake Wal-Mart".)
Today we went to Sea World! We went to a very funny show with Sea Lions, an otter and humans! We went all over! Dad stayed with us until after Shamu's show! At that show we got totally soaked! Then dad left and mama and I went to the Rescue tour behind the scenes! Than we went to Shamus happy harbor which was a monster of monsters playground for kids! This thing was huge! I could have spent hours on it! We didn't have time though cause it was 4:30! We drove to Tampa and camped out in the parking lot! Then we went to SLEEP!
Today I pretty much read and watched TV. Jack and Joe came to spend the night but that's all.
Today was pretty boring also and I read and watched TV again.
Today to start with we went down to Davis Island to watch the pirate ship come into the canal near the convention center. We got beads from people in the boats! Then we went to the Gasparilla Pirate Festival! It was really fantastic! The main reason anyone was there was the pirate treasure-represented by bead necklaces! Dad said they must have come in by the truck load there where so many! I got a huge pile because I was in front! Whenever any of the bead people came by everyone would chant at the top of their lungs, "Beads, Beads!" everyone including me waved their hands and ran in front of people and floats to get at fallen beads! (I got a total of 33 necklaces) The parade lasted about 3 hours! We went back to the apartment did homework and went to bed!
Today we hung around till about noon then we departed going to a place (I'm not sure where it was) on the coast and looked at a boat called Solo! It was worth $500,000! The cabin, which was rather plain and had a gray sofa which made into a gray bed! We went down into the galley (kitchen) and living area, which was really small and the galley was rather large! It had two pantries, one for wine and the other for everything else, and it had a freezer and refrigerater too! Farther down was the cabins! What would have had been my cabin if we owned it was small and cramped with a bunk and a closet and nothing else! But it had two bathrooms, one with a shower and the other with a bath! Mom and Dad's would be room was big and space galore! There was a queen size bed that took up most of the room and lots of storage! The lower front deck there was big with a perfect view ahead! Up on the top deck there where two chairs and a steering wheel! We went back to the RV and drove to horse country for the NIGHT!
Today we visited the horse capitol of Florida! (Ocala) We watched horses training and trainers and jockeys working the horses for exercise! There was one particularly restless dappled gray all alone in a small corral! We didn't stay nearly long enough so I don't have much to talk about! We got on the road again and drove to a state park and the visitors center was closed so we went on a unimpressive walk through the woods around the lake! Then we went to the light house (which I read through.) When we camped that night, I read through another walk and a bicycle ride that mom and dad took. They saw an armadillo that came right up to dad's shoe and two deer. When they came back, we did homework and went to bed!
Today we went to the old state capitol in Tallahassee and the historic Maclay Gardens. The gardens were more fun then the old state capitol! The new ugly state capitol is right next to it. We walked all over the grounds looking at flowers and wild plants alike! We stayed for a while and walked to the Maclay house (the family that built the gardens and owned them for some time) and walked back to the car. We drove to Andersonville, GA where we went to BED!
Today we went to the National Prisoners of War Museum at Andersonville. I did the Junior Ranger Program and looked all around the museum and outside the museum on the grounds and cemetery which was bigger then you could imagine! Wherever you looked you saw headstones and woods at the edge of the headstones! Some of them were citizens and there was a service being held just as we were leaving! We drove to Warm Springs GA on top of the Appalachian "Mountains" for the night!
Today we went on a 2 ½ mile walk in the woods, visited Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Little White House" in Warm Springs, GA and then went to Tuskeegee, AL! We stopped for a brief time to visit the George Washington Carver Museum and looked at a historic house of Booker .T Washington's and then left for Montgomery's Maxwell AFB and went to the commissary and did homework and went to Bed!
Today we went to the State of Alabama Archives in Montgomery and looked up Micheal .J Bulger, a possible ancestors of dads! We found pages of information on him! We then went to the old capitol where Martin Luther King gave a speech! We then went down to Panama City, FL and went to a state park there! Then we went to sleep!
Today I played with the girl next door all day and since che and ger brother have rollerblades, we went rollerblading! We played on some sand dunes until dark we had dinner and they went to bed! Me and mama make smores before we went to bed! We got a good fure going too!
Today again I played, rollerbalded and beaded! We ran errands read books and went to BED!
February, Monday 14, 00
Happy Valentines Day!
Today I woke up early and played for a little while then we left! We went all the way to the tip of Florida's pan handle and camped in a National Seashore played on the beach did homework, built a fire, (though we didn't make smores) and went to SLEEP!
Today we went on a self-guided tour of Fort Pickens! It was about the sice of Fort Jefferson too! We saw sone huge canons up on the wall! We left early to go into town! We didn't really stop for anything and after about an hour or so we went to the Naval bas for the night! I went to the beach and looked fort drift wood big enough to carve something out of! I stay till dark but left becouse the sand was getting really cold and numbed my bare feet! Then we went to sleep!
Today we went to the National Naval Aviation Museum and looked at a l;ot of planed! There was big planes, little planes, new planes, old planes, and wooden planes! That was on the 1st floor, the 2nd floor had a flight simulator, that bounced us around a little bit Pilot chairs, and some other cool stuff! It was absolutely great! Then wed bought tickets to a IMAX film at 12:00pm and before that we went on a bas tour that took us out back and we looked at some more planes that where to big for the Museum!Then we went to our beach! I played with a cat called Tomk theat is 16 years old! Then we went to bed after the fog closed in and you can't see past 100 yards! Then I went to bed!
Today we slept in late at dads friends house met his wife and 17 month old son! We had pizza for lunch and looked over the house! One room Will's room (dads friends son) was painted partly cloudy with the ocean a lighthouse, boat, and new plans penciled on the wall for when they have time! Then we went Fort Barrancas (Spianish for bluff) we did a half mile nature trail and then went in the Fort! We looked and read about the Glacis (look in the dictionary for an explanation I'm tired)scarp and counterscarp (more dictionary work) ditch, drawbridge, Sally Port (entrance) scarp and counterscarp gallerys, guard rooms, parade, and water batteries! Then we went back to the visitors center did a quiz and got my junior ranger badge! Then we went to Mobile, AL I played with somebody and we went to sleep!
Today me and dad went down to Mobile Bay and looked all over the USS Alabama and the submarine, USS Drum! First we looked at the ship. (this next section is quoted from a brochure) AT Mobile Battleship Memorial Park, you don't have to look very far to find heroes. From the mighty USS Alabama to the Submarine USS Drum and 21 aircraft (that was kind of boring carse we didn't get to look in the cockpit) the spirit of military pride is alive and well. Voyage through time and revisit an era of adventure and bravery as you tour our many exibits! The recipient of World War 2 Battle Stars the Battleship Alabama and her crew of 2,500 saw action on the Atlantic for a year before joining the Pacific fleet in mid-1943. There she fought at such key locations as leyte, the Gilbert islands, and Okinawa. After the signing of the War-ending surrender documents in September, 1945 Alabama, or the "mighty A" as she was known led the american fleet into Tokyo Bay! Nearby the battleship you can climb inside the USS Drum and see firsthand the conditions that confronted our Navy's submariners. You can relive the days of the Air force with "Calamity Jane" a B-52 stratofortress that served with the strategic Air Command. (SAC) another cold war veteran the A-12 "blackbird" (that one was really cool!) spyplane is another facsinating blast from the past! You'll also want to see World War 2 fighter planes in our beautiful aircraft pavilion, including a gull-winged Corsair and the P51-D mustang redtail, the plane flown by the valiant Tuskegee airmen, (we went to Tuskegee remember?) then inspected the other aircraft from Korea, Vietnam and desert storm! Then we walked to some old house an old lady talked about the house and we drove all the way to New Orleans and Brigit, and Richard Hebert came to meet us. We got there talked ever so long then went to bed!
Today we went to the French Quarter and stayed for the parade! I'm not going to describe their costumes though, cause it was gross. But they through beads so I was happy! We wen tout to dinner then went to bed!
Today we went rollerblading and canoeing! We had a blast it was a all day thing too! We didn't see any unusual wil live but we sure heard before we saw an airboat! We had lunch then started back with me in the middle! (I had been in front on the way there so mama was in front now!) we got back late and went to dinner! Then we went to sleep!
Today we did errands, lazed around, had dinner and went to sleep!
Today we went to the Children's Museum, and I can't tell you much cause we were only there for a short time! (It was like the Imaginarium in Anchorage) Then we went out to lunch. We went to the Confederate Museum next. Then we walked around for a little while, came back and went to bed!
This morning we went on a National Park Service tour of the French Quarter. (It really should be 'Creole Quarter'. Creole means you have French parents that were born in France but you were born in, say, New Orleans!) That goes for any country. In the 1800's (1894 or something or other) big fires destroyed the city! We saw some really cool old houses! Then we went to Chalmette, site of the Battle of New Orleans. (The last battle against the British in the War of 1812.) We took another tour and walked a loop and went back home and went to sleep!
Today we went to the zoo! My favorite animal was, of course, the white tiger! At about 2:30 we took a 45 minute boat ride on the Mississippi River to the Aquarium. My favorite animal there was the sea otter! We left at 4:00 and went home and went to bed!
Today we went to the Garden District and we went to the Commander's Palace restaurant for lunch! We went to a parade on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain that night. We got stuck in bad traffic after and had to go all the way around the lake to get home to bed! (60 miles)
Today we went to play basketball, visited a cemetery (city of the dead) and watched two parades in the evening. Then a storm came up and we went to bed (after we ate ice cream with Mississippi Mud Sauce mama made!)
Today, we went to a dog parade in the French Quarter, the Krewe of Barkus parade. (This parade benefits the SPCA) We had dinner out. Then I counted my beads and I got nearly 400!!! Then we went to sleep…
Today we left New Orleans and went to the Destrehan Plantation that was a few century's old. Got a tour and left, then went to a tiny town nearby and went to sleep.
Today we went to another plantation (Oak Lawn Manor) and got a tour. It is the governor's house! We went to a state park, made s'mores, talked with some kids and went to bed!
Today we went to the Jean Lafitte National Park Acadian Visitor Center in Lafayette. We watched a very emotional movie of the Acadian history. They were French who befriended the Indians in Canada and Maine and were forced out and seperated by the English. They were shipped to southern states like Louisiana. They were not accepted for a long time in their new home and when they were accepted over half had already died! Then we went to the Acadian Village. One thing I learned was that to reach a girl's room, you had to go through the mother's room. Guess why! The mother would protect her daughter from tempted brothers and even fathers. The blacksmith's shop was especially interesting! Number one, there was a real blacksmith in it. Number two, he was making things!
First he would put a piece of metal in the fire, then he would take it out when that end was red hot. Then he would take a hammer and pound it into a shape while ite was still hot. If it was done, he would hang it up to cool. If not, he would put it back in the coals. He even made me a lucky horse shoe for free! (It has my initials on it) Meanwhile, he made fireplace tools like a fire poker and a steak turner! We left the village to go along the River Road and to camp.
Today we went to Laura Plantation. (This is going to be a long day, so get comfortable!!) The founders of the plantation were American Revolution veteran Guillaume DuParc and his wife. They had 3 children, 2 boys and a girl named Elizabeth. Guillaume died during the making of the house, so his wife ran it until her retirement in which time she passed it on to Elizabeth. Elizabeth married a French man, but before she married him she made him promise to give here title to his land in France! He owned grape fields that made gallons of wine! Elizabeth had a soft hearter son so she sent him to military school. A few weeks after he was supposed to graduate and still hadn't come home, she sent him a letter that said if he didn't marry land have a baby, then he didn't get the plantation! He came home and married right smart quick! His wife had two miscarriages before she had Laura! Laura's father became owner of the plantation. Oh, I almost forgot, they grew sugar cane on the plantation!
Laura used to play on the covered well and pretended that it was her stage when she was young. One day, a slave came by and she saw he had scars on his forehead so she asked him what happened. He said that when he was a teenager, he tried to run away, was caught, and Elizabeth had branded her initials into his forehead! Laura didn't want to be like her grandmother after that. Her father named the plantation after her, to entice her to come back home. She did come back but only after his death and she only stayed for 10 years before selling it.
Now I'll tell you the history of the house instead of the people who lived there! First of all, it was built in 1805. And second of all it was Creole French, not American they are proud to say! You can tell it's Creole because of it's color. It's a dull yellow on the outside with a red front door, which was added much later and I'll tell you why in a moment.
The house used to have two connecting wings. Elizabeth's brothers lived in them. The oldest brother went just across the border (of their property) and planted a crop of sugar cane. The minute he did this, he was kicked out of the house (as they thought he was competing with them). So….he took his part of the house and moved it to his land! After that burned down, his brother got to thinking that Elizabeth was taking too much space so he moved HIS wing over to the land that been his brother's.
After she died, Elizabeth's son added a middle wing for a children's mess hall! (They had 34 children between them) Now back to the doors. The front door was for show and was only opened once in all it's history! Instead , if the gentleman came to greet you, you went through the gentleman's salon before going into the main salon. If the women of the house met you, you went through the women's salon before the main salon. That was because all your valuable and most beautiful things were in the main salon and a Frenchman would never think of flaunting their wealth! We also went through the kitchen and the dining room. Most of the exciting things of the day happened here says Laura (in her diaries)
The house was about to fall down when it was purchased by a group of investors. They redid it to look just as it did before it got run down! Then we went to Baton Rouge and went to look at the Louisiana State University Tiger stadium which has dormitories built right into the stadium! We also looked at a castle-like capitol building, then went to get a well earned SLEEP!
Today we woke up in the Baton Rouge Wal Mart parking lot. Then we drove to Natchez Grand Village built by Indians that are now extinct! We walked in a loop around the Great Sun's (ruler of the Natchez Indian people) Mound and Temple Mound. We looked at a model of their home and granary. They were farmers and lived widely spread around the area in family farmsteads. Also they had a calendar based on moons. March is the first moon, Deer. Then we went to Melrose National Historic Site. We looked at recreated house and slave quarters and left. We then had a wonderful time in downtown Natchez (Mississippi) looking at historic buildings and walking where we pleased.
We then drove to Mount Locust Stand on the Natchez Trace, a trail that goes from Natchez to Nashville, Tennessee and then on toWashington, D.C.! The inn is the only remaining of fifty that once stood along the Natchez Trace. For 25 cents you had a meal and a nice hard floor to sleep on! (The travelers along this trail were Indians and men who took their things to sell down the Mississippi River. They couldn't take the boat back upstream, so they sold the boat for lumber and usually walked home using this route.) We also went to see the family cemetery and then went back to the car. We were intending to go to Vicksburg for the night but decided not to. Instead, we went to the state park on the site of a city destroyed by the civil war called Grand Gulf! Me and dad looked around then went to bed! The END!
This morning we explored the remains of Grand Gulf. There was a jail and a water wheel, plus horse stables. We went to the look out tower and watched two barges go down the nearby Mississippi River. We then drove to the ruins of Windsor. Windsor was a beautiful house that survived the Civil War only to be destroyed by a careless smoker in 1891. We moved on to Vicksburg, where we made a brief stop at the Vicksburg National Military Park. We hunted for an RV Park and found one so we went to bed!
Today we went back to the Visitor's Center. I got a Junior Ranger booklet and watched a movie. We then went and parked in the middle of the park. We walked 2-2and ½ miles in a circle. Then we went on a quest for landmarks for my booklet. The monument of Illinois was HUGE! Louisiana's was stuck by lightning last year and had to be taken down because of a safety hazard. (They plan to rebuild it) We then drove to the U.S.S. Cairo Museum. The Cairo was an ironclad gunboat that was sunk during the war. Later they brought it back to surface with a crane (that was also coincidentally named Cairo!) We got to walk inside it. One reason it was sunk was it was wooden! We watched a very interesting movie then drove back to the Visitor's Center. I got my badge and we went back to the campground. I played for a while with two girls (one was from Texas and she told me I was lucky to be from Alaska because I lived in the biggest state!) Then I went to bed!
Today we drove to Jackson, Mississippi to do errands. I read through all but two of the stops, the first to Borders Books the second ice cream at Baskinrobins! Then we went to Vicksburg and bed!
Today we drove around Vicksburg and went on a tour of a Civil War time old Bed and Breakfast called a Balfour house. Union Army Headquarters for General James B. Mcpherson, the highest ranking officer to dye on the Union side in the whole war! What dad found interesting was a oval staircase that did two 360s! then we drove along the Natchez Trace in search of a campsite in Jeff Busby Campground. Me and dad went on a little walk and we where out till dark then we had a shrum dinner and went to sleep!
Today we drove farther up the Trace stopping at the Tupelo Visitor Center. I did the junior ranger program and got my badge. We then went to Shiloh in Tennessee off the Trace. We built a huge fire and cooked smores over the coals! We where up till 10:30!
Today we wandered around Shiloh for a whole day! We watched a faulty movie from the 1950's and got some books. Today wasn't all that interesting to me so then we went to camp!
Today we went to Jackson. On tha way we watched a "small" barge that looked really big to me, go through a lock! We then went to Savanna, Tennessee named by a lady from Savanna, Georgia! We went to a museum there to look at Savanna's history! Then we drove to Jackson, Tennessee to meet John and Marilyn Knight who mom and dad knew and who moved to Tennessee when I was 3 and a ½! Then we all camped out in the house for the night and I watched a few movies from the cupboardful before bed!
Today we went to Kenten with John and Marilyn. Kenten is the "home of the White Squirrel!" we saw dozens of them too! Plus if theres a brown squirrel found there, they catch it and "throw" it out of town! It was in the 30's today where as yesterday it was in the 80's! Then we went to lunch and back to Jackson. They had a wonderful supply of movies as I said last night! So I watched movies and ate for the rest of the evening until bed!
Today, we went to WalMart for an unexpected 2 hours! Then we went to Cypress City Park for a walk. We looked at a good number of injured birds (at the Raptor Center). We then went back to John and Marilyn's house, watched movies, ate, and went to bed late (at least 11:30 or 12:00!)
Today we left Jackson and went to a visitor center at Fort Donelson. We watched a movie and left. We went to a very old inn in which the Fort Donelson surrender took place. We then went to the border between Tennessee and Kentucky where a campsite was waiting. We then went to sleep!
Today we went first to the Bison Range, which was really a small pen like a cow's pen. You were guaranteed to see some there, but in the Elk and Bison Prairie they were in a bigger pen with woods so you weren't guaranteed to see them. We saw them anyway! There must have been more than 100, too! We saw only one elk that looked dead at first but then a bison moved in to it's hollow and the elk must have gotten away because when the bison got up, there was no squished elk in sight! (Bison weigh over 1,000 pounds each) We drove ever so slowly through the herd as they were next to the main road. We left the park at lunch and set off for Chattanooga. Only we didn't get there… We did sort of a loop-de-loop and in the process found a couple of interesting places.
Near Shelbyville, we went to a horse farm that breeds Tennessee Walker horses. We got to walk around the stables and my favorites were two babies with their moms. We also found Russell Cave National Monument (in Alabama) It, of course, was closed so we went through South Pittsburg (Tennessee) and stopped for groceries. Mama asked if there was a WalMart nearby. There was so here we are once more in a WalMart parking lot. We did two quick trips in, of course, to show our gratitude, and on my part, entertainment. Both times were long and I almost got bored. I reached page 210 today in Math. Then as always, we went to sleep.
This morning we went to Russell Cave National Monument. This limestone cave was inhabited from 10,000BC to 1565 AD! That's really old! There were three periods- Archaic, (meaning OLD), Woodland, and Mississippian.
The Archaic people lived by the Tennessee River in the summer and in the cave in the winter and fall. They depended on meat and wild plants. They weren't farmers but the Woodland people were and they also spent much time by the river. The Mississippians lived almost all the time by the river and competed for land there. We watched a movie with all that information before leaving. Then we sat for 45 wasted minutes on Highway 24! We tried in vain to get in to Chattanooga Battlefield and finally went to bed at a state park (Harrison Bay)
Today we went to Red Clay State Park. Red Clay was the last stop for the Cherokee Indians before they walked the Trail of Tears from Georgia (we're in Georgia now) to Oklahoma. (That's a long walk! Look at a map!) They have examples of guest cabins, which are very drafty looking with huge openings in between the logs. We also saw a barn, main house, counsel meeting place, and the Blue Hole (a sacred spring) They had their own government , laws, alphabet, and supreme court! They were fine in Georgia but things got worse when they were moved by Andrew Jackson, the president at the time. They also had an eternal flame that actually was eternal and is still burning! They took hot coals from the counsel fire before leaving for Oklahoma. They made new coals as they traveled and so on! They returned the flame to Georgia for a memorial flame about twenty years ago.
We then watched a very bad quality movie and went to Chickamauga Battlefield to the visitor center where I started but haven't yet finished a junior ranger program. They had the largest Civil War time gun collection in the U.S! (Trying to find particular guns with 5 minutes before the center closes is hard, too!) Then we went on a driving tour of the grounds and climbed up into one really big monument. Then we went back to the State Park and went to bed!
Today we went first to Lookout Mountain by way of the Incline Railroad, the steepest passenger rail in the world! So we went up that, came back down, and went to Angie's house. (In Louisville, TN near Knoxville) She has four tiny dogs (Pomeranians) by the name of Ashana who is the tiniest black one with the biggest eyes I have ever seen! Zuritsa, a black one that doesn't' like to be picked up. Electra, a very shy one so I don't know her personality, and last, but not least, Nicky! She's orangish like Electra and likes laps and is a very good beggar! Then there's Rob, Angies' husband, who before he met her wouldn't allow a dog in his house, much less in his bed!
Now every dog in the house sleeps with them! The house is very solid with a loft, a basement, a kitchen in the basement, and best of all, an elevator! It's the only way up to the loft except for a ladder that Rob set up. We got an elevator ride. We also watched DVD movies in the basement, ate dinner, and talked for awhile. Then we went to bed!
Today we left at 3 in the afternoon. We went to the Great Smoky Mountains visitor center, which was closing soon, so we went to a campground for the night!
