The McLaughlins Head West

We loaded up the "rig" (aka our BIG van) early (pre 6:00 a.m.) Monday morning to begin making our way to Portland, Oregon via a stop in Des Moines, IA to see my great-aunt Helen and then on to Yellowstone for a few days.

Day 1 (Monday, June 22) We began at 5:45 a.m. with the GPS set to DesMoines for our first stop. Our first mission was to name the GPS (John's Father's Day gift). After many submissions, we decided on Abbey's contribution of "Eunice". She has now become a member of the family and somewhat annoying whenever we take a slight detour and we hear "recalculating". At least she's electronic so she doesn't get frustrated with us.

We made a lunch stop at Herbert Hoover's Library and Museum in West Branch, Iowa. (It pays to have a husband who searches out unique places to stop along the way) They had a nice park there and we enjoyed our turkey and cheese sandwiches while the church bells played old hymns at noon. This brought me right back to my childhood in Peotone, IL where the Methodist church would ring a few hymns throughout the town each day at noon. It's nice to know that still happens!

On to DesMoines to see my 95 year old great-aunt Helen Erickson. This was the highlight for all of us as well as a bit sad too. Aunt Helen has been a wonderful part of my life and is such an incredible example of having a positive attitude no matter where life has set you. Her short term memory is failing but she enjoyed reflecting back to days when she and her husband, Dave, took trips, including one to Portland, OR. I don't know if she'll remember we were there but I'm so glad we were able to stop.

After what has become a daily routine of getting ice cream, we headed on to our destination for Day 1, Omaha, NB where we were able to take a swim and get some relief from the 90 degree heat! A good night's sleep and we're up and at 'em for Day 2.

Day 2 (written by Abbey)

For the second day, it's been a bunch of driving. No scenery for a while, just corn fields and cow poop. Eunice hasn't failed us yet, but continues to recalculate a lot. We stopped at a nearby rest stop for lunch, as soon as we came out of the car, the aroma of manure breezed by, making everyone there gag. We decided to eat in a little shelter, where the smell was more mild. Once everyone ate, we began packing up the cooler, when Colin spotted something yellow. Wanting to see, he grabbed his camera and walked over. There was a yellow station wagon with a yellow jelly-bean shaped trailer attached. We named it the "Yellow Jelly-Bean."

After 10-20 more minutes of driving, we made a little stop at the Pony Express... if we could get there. With an angry Eunice, and a frustrated parents, we went through the neighborhood looking for the little building. Dad sped on through the area, not realizing he passed the Pony Express sign. It was only when we reached an end in the road, did we realize we missed it. Finally, we made it, and picked up a few souveniers and pieces of knowledge about the historic mail system. At a nearby McDonalds, everybody picked up a treat (except Eunice).

(Lynne) We had miles to go to our final destination for the day, Rock Springs, WY. We made a pit stop at the Sierra Trading Company Outlet in Cheyenne and a quick dinner stop before finally arriving in Rock Springs at 10:00. The kids were bummed to not get to go swimming that night, but we made up for it the next morning.

Day 3 - The Grand Tetons/Yellowstone We awoke to a warm, sunny day in Rock Springs. After breakfast, the kids hit the pool, John loaded the van, and we were off again. I happen to overhear a conversation in the hotel where a woman was telling her mother how her friend couldn't get a job because she had "a record" to which the mom replied, "Well, doesn't everyone in Rock Springs have a record?" Hmmm. . . I guess we are in the wild west!

We were definitely in the plains of Wyoming with ranch after ranch greeting us along the highway. Most had a good herd of cattle and some had horses. The vastness of the land was overwhelming. Then off in the distance, the mountain ranges appeared. As we drove closer and closer, they became more and more breathtaking. We couldn't help but crank up Chris Tomlin's "Indescribable" on the stereo!

We arrived in Jackson, WY at the base of the Tetons and got out to do some exploring. They have a park that has 4 arches made completely with antlers in the center of town. After going through a number of shops, we found a park at the base of ski hill and had our lunch. Then it was on to Grand Tetons National Park.

The drive through the park was amazing. The mountains are incredible and it was hard not to stop at every lookout. Parts of the drive were a little rough as they were doing road construction and it was all torn up. We stopped at Jenny Lake to take a mini-hike and get our daily ice cream fix. Nobody went swimming as the water was truly freezing - John & Jackie put their feet in and verified this.

Alas, we arrived at Yellowstone and began our trek through the vast park to our stopping point for the day in West Yellowstone. We stopped for dinner at The Lake House on Yellowstone Lake and enjoyed the incredible view while enjoying some decent pizza. We still had miles to go and the sun was on it's way down meaning the wildlife would be prevalent. We got our first sightings of bison and elk, which would become a regular occurance over the next few days.

Day 4 - Yellowstone National Park: Off to explore this beautiful park for the day. I was amazed at how much fire damage had been done in the big fire of 1985 as the last time I had been there was 1982. Our first stop was to go see what else but Old Faithful. We hit a Bison traffic jam on the way into the park so it took a bit longer than expected. The bison do not care who has to wait for them and frankly, hitting one would be catastrophic to one's vehicle.

Old Faithful was as spellbinding as ever. The whole visitor center area is so much more built up than I remember with lots of seating for all the spectators. We barely made it for the this showing so were in the back of the crowd. It was exciting to see it go off and amazing to think of how this happens every day like clockwork for how many years - who knows. Next we walked the boardwalk and saw the other geysers, mudpots, basins, etc. All are such a unique phenomena. Colin reminded us that we were really standing on top of a volcano and this is how it releases its pressure.

We decided to do lunch in the Yellowstone Inn for the experience of it. It was fun to eat in a part of history although the food took forever to get there. Oh well, not a bad place to wait! We got one last Old Faithful eruption before we left and then it was on to Yellowstone Lake for some sightseeing and fishing for John & Colin. The girls played on the shore, I read my book and the guys fished. It was super windy so the fishing wasn't too good.

Then it was off to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We hiked to the brink of the Upper Falls first. The power and speed of the water going through there was just incredible. A little bit up the road was the hike to the brink of the Lower Falls. This was a longer trek of switchbacks to get to the edge, which was once again phenomenal. The hike back up was more difficult, especially with the altitude.

We had had our fill of geo-thermal activity for the day so we found a picnic spot for lunch and then headed back to our hotel in West Yellowstone.

Day 5 Yellowstone to Butte, MT We had some concerns about the burning smell we noticed in the rear brake so John found a repair shop in West Yellowstone to take a look at it. We had just had them replaced before the trip so we were hoping it wasn't anything serious. Thankfully, it wasn't - just an overfilled brake reservoir. After finishing laundry, we headed back into the park for our last stop, Mammoth Falls. We enjoyed a picnic along the way and then did a driving tour of the falls. It was a bit rainy so we didn't get out here. We enjoyed the town of Mammoth Falls and the history behind it's buildings which were all built by the military since they ran Yellowstone until the early 1900's.

In the mid-afternoon we headed out of the park and toward our destination for the night, Butte, Montana. We had dinner at Fuddrucker's in Bozeman where we almost left Abbey! I was so glad I asked if we had everyone as I was pulling the van out! We took a brief tour of the city and then got back on to I-90 west. We made it to Butte just in time to see the Berkley Pit, a HUGE copper mining pit that now holds a toxic lake 1 mile deep. At some point they will have to treat the water and then drain the lake (slowly) so it doesn't get in the drinking water. The mine is the whole backdrop to the city as it was the largest copper mine for many years and helped move the country forward with electricity and piping.

Day 6 - Portland or Bust! Ahh, the final 600 miles to Portland - we're not even thinking about the fact we have the same distance to drive back home! We started the day with a latte and the beautiful terrain of Montana. I told John I would like to build a cabin by a stream in the mountains where he could fly fish and I could read my book on the front porch overlooking the majestic mountains. It's always good to have dreams!

We had our lunch at Lake ?? in Idaho (have to ask John for name but he's sleeping). Anyway, it was a huge lake at the edge of the mountains. We then entered the dry, deserty part of Washington. It was hot and desolate. We listened to a book on tape of Hattie Hatfield's Diary of her trip on the Oregon Trail from Missouri. It was fascinating as it was the same route we were traveling only we did it in luxury and her trip was most difficult resulting in many hardships, including death.

We finally reached the Columbia River and were on the home stretch. I felt almost blasphemous passing through there without even stopping at Multnomah Falls. Maybe on the way out. It was great to pull the rig up to the curb at Mark & Sue's and breathe a sigh of relief. Aahh - we made it!

Day 7 - Portland We spent Sunday in "relax mode". We went to church at First Covenant and apologized to everyone for stealing Matt & Jessica Anderson to be our Minister of Worship at Thornapple. They were very forgiving. In the afternoon, Colin, Abbey, Sue, & I headed to Powell's Books in downtown Portland. It's an amazing bookstore that literally takes up a whole city block. Abbey thought she had died and gone to heaven and can't wait to go back.

In the evening, we all met up at Chris & Jana's for dinner and a fun evening in Happy Valley. Really, that's the name. I thought we might of accidentally ended up on the set of "Desperate Housewives" but it really is a very nice place and we enjoyed our time with everyone.

Day 8 - Mt. St. Helens This is one of the day trips we wanted to do while out here this time. I had never gone up there in all my visits so I was excited to see it up close. We had an incredibly beautiful, clear day to see everything. The movies and visitor centers were so informative and the amount of destruction done in just a few minutes was beyond belief. What power! It's been 29 years since the eruption so much has grown back in that time but you can still see where the mudslides and ash changed the whole landscape of the mountain. We ended the day with pizza so it truly was perfect in every way.

Day 9 - Portland and Trillium Lake We needed a "rest" day at this point in the trip. John & Colin went with Mark & Zach and Chris, Nolan and Clark to Trillium Lake on Mt. Hood to do some fishing. The lake is absolutely beautiful and they had a great time casting lines. Clark caught his first fish and played it out perfectly by shouting "I got a fish! I got a fish!" and dancing around. Colin caught a nice trout that he gave to Chris for some good eating. The girls and I stayed in Portland. I went and saw my college friend Cheri Pupkiewicz while the girls hung out at Mark & Sue's and played with Kirstin. Then we went back to Powell's so Maddie & Jackie could see it and get a book. Jackie was most intrigued by the map of the building. We ended the day at Aunt Ardie and Uncle Al's for a wonderful lasagna dinner. Off to the coast tomorrow!

Day 10 - The Oregon Coast All of us were able to go out to Canon Beach for the day. We ate lunch in the local park where the kids could play on the playground, the guys played badmitton, and eventually a family game of kickball. The tide was going to be its lowest at 3:15 so we made our way to Haystack Rock to see the tide pools. The amazing thing was the temperature difference. While we were in town looking in shops, it was quite warm and then we walked 1 block over to the beach and it was quite chilly and windy. This shortened our time on the beach but it was still spectacular. After an ice cream cone (seems to be a theme of this vacation), we headed to Ecola State Park where we could see the coast from high up on the bluffs. It got a little scary when Nolan started climbing the railing on the cliff, but he was quickly redirected. On the way back to Portland, we stopped at Camp 18 for dinner. This is a restaurant built like a lumber camp with lots of lumbering tools to look at and climb on. The perfect end to a wonderful day.

Day 11 - On the Road Again Our time in Portland drew to a close and it was time to hit the road again. I have to say, it was quite anticlimatic to get back in the van and know we had 2500 miles to go and the climax of the trip was over. After lots of good-byes and invitations to come to Michigan, we headed out. Just a little way down I-82, we stopped to see Multnomah Falls, which we had just driven by on the way in. We then wound our way through the Columbia Gorge and once again we were in the dry, deserty, part of Oregon. We made a planned stop for an Oregon Trail museum in Baker City. We accidentally went to the wrong museum instead of the Interpretive Center we were looking for and were disappointed because it was a bust and the other looked amazing with the ruts of the wagons that went through. We were short on time with miles to go though so we couldn't go back. At the end of the day, we stopped just outside of Salt Lake City after a 15 hours of travel. Ahhh - that bed felt good!

Day 12 - Salt Lake Area After a super long driving day, it was great to have a sightseeing day. We started by going to the Great Salt Lake which was interesting. We drove into a state park and found the main "beach", which was quite a walk from the parking lot. There is a pungent odor to the area and not much life at all by the water. When you get to the edge of the lake, there is a black band that you would think was sand or dirt, but it's bugs and the whole band begins moving as they try to get out of your way. Fortunately, they don't bite. John & the kids all got in the lake and I documented it. No thanks to swimming in there! After freshening up, it was off to downtown Salt Lake and to Temple Square. We saw the Mormon Tabernacle and some of the exhibits in the visitor center. There was an organ recital that we were able to attend that was fabulous and fascinating. The organ had over 11,300 pipes! Then it was back in the van on a short jaunt up to Park City, UT where we went to where the 2002 Olympic skiing took place. We saw the jumps used in the freestyle competition and the bobsled run. We were excited to find that there were athletes training on jumps that led to a huge swimming pool. The athletes would walk up to the top of the jump, give a signal to someone in a booth who would then make air shoot into the pool so the skier could see their landing and it would break the surface for them. The skier would then go down the ramp and do their "tricks" in the air before landing in the pool. Very cool! We then went on to Park City ski area and went on the Alpine Slide down the mountain. Pizza dinner in town and it was off to Evanston, WY for our hotel. It was becoming clear we were leaving the mountains and back to flatter, browner lands.

Day 13 - Road Trippin' Today would be our longest mileage day of the trip. We went from Evanston, WY to Omaha, NB - 777 miles. Not much to say about scenery today so I'll comment on our time in the van. The kids were awesome travelers. Maddie & Jackie made up their own games in the backseat and did lots of reading. We listened to many audio books and on this day it was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Ipods and Nintendo DS' also occupy time. I like having my whole family in the same place with the sense of having to stick together because you're the only people you know. Maybe it feels a bit like being pioneers in the 21st century. There is also something about all sleeping in the same room. A feeling of being in your "pack" sleeping in your den. Lots of rythmic breathing. I wouldn't want this all the time, but for a few days every year, I love it! We ended this travel day by watching fireworks from I-80 as we came into Omaha. It was so flat there that we could see shows from all over the area.

Day 14 - On the Home Stretch Ah - the last day! Grand Rapids here we come! We retraced our Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan route. Our last rest area lunch was at the nicest rest area of the whole trip located near the Iowa border. None of us are too anxious to eat another sandwich for a while. We stopped in Moline, IL for Whitey's Ice Cream - a favorite from John's past and a planned excursion. It was well worth the stop! Then a little further down the road we made a phone call to Aurelio's pizza and picked up pizza to go and ate at Irwin Park in Homewood. 3 hours to go. Actually, by now it felt like we were home. We rolled into the driveway of 7638 Leyton at 9:15 p.m. tired but with a feeling of satisfaction. We did it and we had a blast!