Homeward Bound

We’ve covered lots of miles since my last post, with limited internet access. After leaving San Francisco, we drove pretty solid for 2 days. We stopped overnight in Salt Lake City and before we left the city, we stopped by the Mormon Temple Square. The buildings and grounds were absolutely beautiful and the people were met were very genuine and kind. We talked pretty extensively with a couple of young ladies who were missionaries for their church. We obviously disagree pretty drastically with many of the tenants of their faith and we knew that going in. But, we thought it would be a good opportunity to help our children understand how something that could look and sound good doesn’t always line up with God’s Word. We looked at a lot of their displays and talked about how, in many ways, they looked like what we believe to be true, but how concerning some of the other aspects are.

Our oldest observed how sincere and kind the ladies were and how committed they were to their faith. We discussed the fact that they were prepared to answer our questions and how they had obviously spent time studying and preparing themselves for their work. We had some good conversation about the fact that we too need to be prepared to share and defend our faith. I think it was good for them to see that we must constantly be sifting what people say through the Bible and see how it compares to Gods Word. They also seemed to get that untruth can still appear very lovely and appealing. We definitely had a good discussion with our girls about the dangers of a works-based salvation and the importance of grace to our faith.

From Salt Lake City, we traveled on to Estes Park, CO where we were able to rest up for a few days before we started the longest haul of the drive back. The first full day in Estes, we didn’t do much, we were worn out and ready for a break. We were actually in an apartment type set-up with multiple rooms and bathrooms. We all enjoyed having space to spread out a bit. I cooked while we were there and we were all so glad to have home cooked food after 3 weeks of hotel breakfasts and restaurants. Of course, by the end of 2 days of cleaning up after the meals, we remembered how much we like not having dishes after we’ve eaten!

We did enjoy going in to town and exploring the shops there. I found a clearance sweatshirt for the girls and I which was a welcome addition to our layers. I had been doing more laundry than I intended to, simply because I under packed on our warm clothes. I knew the weather was going to be cool in places, but we honestly have only had one day in 3.5 weeks that we have not needed a sweatshirt. We were all pretty tired of the 2 or 3 I’d packed for each of us.

One day while we were there, we went into Rocky Mountain National Park. We had intended to do more in the park, but it was cold and rainy while we were there. We did enjoy the one day we spent there. We all agreed it was the best place we’d been for wildlife viewing. We saw no less than 100 elk, several mule deer, some big horned sheep, and a variety of cool birds.

Despite all of our efforts, this was the closest we got to seeing a bear. We kept our eyes wide open, but we never got a glimpse of a real one, the whole trip!

Just two of about a gazillion elk we saw in the Rocky Mountain area.

A mule deer
A big horn sheep. We never saw a male, only a female, but she was still pretty cool!

Our most memorable part of the afternoon was the short hike we took to Bear Lake. We tromped our way to the lake on 60+ inches of snow while more snow was pouring from the sky. The kids really enjoyed it and would have loved to frolic longer, but we simply didn’t have the proper clothing or shoes.

Hmm, glad we didn't need the trail map, since it was buried in the snow!

Cold? Who's cold? We all had on a shirt, a sweatshirt, a fleece, and a raincoat and our teeth were still chattering!

Cheese!

Lizzy made it to the top of the snowdrift.

They all got their Junior Ranger books done, and so they were able to get their 3rd Jr. Ranger badge for the trip. I just have to say that I love the Jr. Ranger program. It really motivates the kids to observe and record what they see. They practice writing, reading, following directions, drawing, listening, and a host of other skills, all within an authentic and relevant context.

Yesterday we left Estes Park and headed down to Colorado Springs. The kids had really been looking forward to visiting Whit’s End at the Focus on the Family Headquarters. I thought we’d be there a couple of hours, and we ended up spending about 5 hours there. We explored the Adventures in Odyssey section and ate lunch at “Mr. Whitaker’s Soda Shoppe” We also took a tour of the Administrative building and got to see where the broadcasting is done. The kids got free magazines, Odyssey CDs, books, and other goodies. However, the highlight of the day was that the 4 oldest got to record their own Adventure in Odyssey episode. They went into the Kydz Radio booth with a director and the two oldest read from a script while Isaac and Lily were the “Foleys” who made the sound effects like walking, horse hooves, and doors opening and closing. Then, when they were finished, we got a complimentary copy of their recording. It is really fun to hear their voices intermingled with Chris, Connie, and Mr. Whitaker. I don’t know how many hours they’ve spent listening to Odyssey through the years, but it’s a lot. They were delighted!

Getting instuctions from the director.

Listening carefully

Ready to make the sounds effects

Just outside the Administrative building. Look at the view!

This morning, we began the first of 3 long days of driving. We stopped by the Garden of the Gods before leaving Colorado Springs so the kids could walk some wiggles off. Then, we hit the road and drove the 8 hours to Topeka, KS. Let me just say, Kansas must have more museums than any other state in the union. I don’t know if it’s their effort to make up for the lack of scenery, but there is a museum billboard before nearly every exit. There’s one for nearly everything you can imagine: pioneers, famous folks from astronauts to senators to presidents, farm equipment, famous battles, the Wizard of Oz, etc.

Posing beside "Balance Rock" the most photographed rock in The Garden of the Gods.

Called the Siamese twins, I think this was my favorite rock formation that we saw today.

Handsome boy in front of beautiful scenery. I'm ready to go back to NC, but I sure will miss the amazing landscapes!

Lizzy has been hoping we’d find another Fazolis on the way home. We used our GPS to locate one in Salina, KS. It was a couple miles out of our way, but we decided to make the detour to satisfy her breadstick craving. Well, our trusted GPS led us astray and there was no Fazolis when it announced that we had reached our destination. We had one very frustrated 10 year old and we needed dinner. It ended up being a happy accident because we found some place called Freddy’s Frozen Custard which had some yummy food and ice cream treats. Tomorrow holds no sightseeing except the highway, so it should be a long day. Lizzy is determined that it will be okay because we’ve promised her we’ll find another Fazolis along the way.