Breakfast at the fabulous Sunflower Cafe at Glacier Campground. Delicious huevos rancheros, great coffee, and long strands of uncooked fettuccini to stir the coffee with to reduce waste. Spent the day driving toward Yellowstone with amazing Chinese/Thai takeout for dinner at the campground with the mountains and a Montana sunset as a backdrop. Tonight we did something we haven’t done in the camper since we started this trip, we watched a movie together! It is so weird and wonderful to think that we haven’t watched TV, I haven’t read books or written in my journal. All the self- reflecting, reading and writing I thought I would do hasn’t happened. My wise friend April said “You’re busy LIVING right now, you will have time to read and reflect when you get home”. I love that.

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#sunflowercafeglaciercampground

#livenowreflectlater

#thisjourneyamazesme

#lifeontheroad

Our Last Day In Glacier…

We hiked 6 miles, rented canoes and took the pups out on their first boat, and had one of those beautiful “relationship enhancing” discussions that brings loved ones to a new understanding of one another. When one member of the family finds her nervous system more activated than the others (because of multiple conversations with several locals and a park ranger about the very real need to carry bear spray to deter the grizzly bears in bear country), we all discover that kindness, compassion, and communication go a long way in making things better for everyone.

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#thegloryofglacier

#momreallyisntcrazy

#weareaworkinprogress

#lovealwayswins

#gratefulformyfamily

TODAY WAS BEYOND DESCRIPTION. We drove the “Going-To-The-Sun Road” through Glacier National Park, which is now officially my favorite place in the world (at least for today (-;). The view became more spectacular as we ascended higher and higher. Maybe that is a metaphor for life as well, eh? We drank from fresh running mountain springs, saw the Jackson glacier, picnicked by a lake, and discovered the most beautiful river I’ve ever seen with purple/pink rocks and turquoise green water that was so clear you could see to the bottom. It was hard to pick which photos to post. Magnificence at every turn.

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#glaciernationalpark

#hopespringseternal

#Godscreationsdazzleme

#blessedandsoverygrateful

#happytobealive

BIG SKY COUNTRY and Day 2 of our long but absolutely breathtaking drive up to Glacier National Park. This countryside makes my soul sing. Everywhere I look there are brilliant blues and rich greens. The sky. The water. The towering Pines and Aspen trees. Eli wanted to try one of the hot springs in Hot Springs, Montana as we drove through, so we made a stop at “Big Medicine” springs. It was an outdoor hot spring with mineral water and it was HOT. You just put $5 in a drop box on the honor system and can go in and soak. These waters are heavy in sulphur, so we wound up smelling a little like rotten eggs, but were definitely relaxed. Ernie and Tatiana opted to drive straight to our campground which is very close to the Glacier National Park, and where there are signs everywhere (including inside the women’s bathroom) warning people that if they leave garbage or food out, the bears love to come in and go through the trash. Yikes.

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#gettingtoseeglacier

#bigskycountry

#breathtaking views

Happy Happenings & A Beautiful Drive East.

We got up at 6:30 AM to try to get one of the few park passes they were releasing at 7 AM today to drive through Glacier National Park this Tuesday. Without a pass, you can’t go into the park. After 3 failed tries we got through and secured a pass, and we get to drive the famous “Going-To-The-Sun Road” through Glacier. I then called a highly-rated campground right outside the West Entrance of the park and asked if by any miraculous chance, they had availability. The lady on the phone said, “Well, you must be living right because we just happen to have one spot that has come open for 2 nights”. We had back-to-back mini-miracles and were cheering as if we’d just won the lottery.

Today we drove from the misty forests of the Pacific Coast, through the VERY windy plains of central Washington, through the rich farmland of Eastern Washington (yes, that is Eli running through the field at a rest stop), and into the gorgeous lakes and woods of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho to our campground with the dog on the roof. This country thrills and amazes me. It changes dramatically and quickly and you never know what you will find around the next corner. I am in love, and inspired, and ever so grateful!

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#thankingGod4everything

#inlovewiththiscountryside

#minimiracles

#wearegoingtoglacier

Seattle Space Needle Time!

We are on the move again and stopped to experience the Seattle Space Needle. Masks were required for everyone, they had implemented purified air, ultraviolet light purification, and hospital grade cleaning techniques; and the experience was amazing. The Space Needle started as a doodle on a napkin and became an amazing feat of engineering. It has a glass floor that rotates 360 degrees around the center, and plexiglass walls that slant and make you feel like you are up so very high in the open air. The views are gorgeous. We had a wonderful time! Onward and today, definitely upward!

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#overlookingpugetsound

#seattlespaceneedle

#ontheroadagain

Our first cold and rainy day since the monsoons of Arizona. We had a window of time to play a little soccer with Skylar at the dog park, then waited in the car for Elijah to return from his grand adventure in Canada. When it was time for Eli to cross back over, Ernie and I walked up and stood in bright yellow rain gear at the border to welcome our ecstatically happy son back with open arms. Before Elijah came through, the border guard watching us came out several times to say that we could just tell Eli to follow the sidewalk to Blaine, and then to suggest that maybe we were waiting at the wrong crossing altogether. We thought he might be trying to get rid of us because Ernie was showing me a tap dance at one point, and the guard didn’t want us to confuse and dumbfound the passenger cars passing through. One elderly gentleman pulled up in his truck, thought we were somehow part of the border guard and said “Boy, things sure have changed since I was last here!”

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#gigglesattheborder

#mysonisbackinAmerica

#gratefulbeyondwords

An Easy Day In Paradise

Today was a peaceful, easy, quiet day in paradise. We slept late, visited a fabulous dog park in Blaine, picked blackberries, ate by the bay, and just to keep things interesting, decided to take a hike as the sun was setting. Tatiana is a true nature girl and excellent navigator, so getting back in the dark was a cake walk for her, and actually a bit thrilling for us all.

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#birchbayhappiness

#hikingatdusk

#slowdaysareablessing

#lovehikingwithmydaughter

So I dropped my son off in CANADA yesterday! (Deep breath, mama, deep breath). After days of searching for labs with the right kind of rapid Covid test, discovering that all ferries and bus service between countries were suspended due to Covid, and looking for any Airbnb or room still available on Vancouver Island; the pieces miraculously came together and I literally drove Elijah to the border and dropped him off for a 3 day adventure in Canada (something he has been looking forward to for a long time). A kind Canadian friend offered to pick him up on the other side. I couldn’t find a place to drop him off so I prayed and just kept driving until the GPS suddenly said “Welcome to Canada”. Yikes. I pulled up to the border patrol and said “Hi, I’m just here to drop my son off”. The guard was kind, confused, and mildly amused. I had to show my passport, roll down all the windows so he could look inside the car, and answer lots of questions until he was convinced that I really was just a clueless mom on a crazy road trip wanting to help make her kid’s dreams come true. We made it to the tippy top NW corner of our gorgeous country and Ernie, Tatiana and I are camping at beautiful Birch Bay on this side of the border while Elijah finally gets to see Canada, and then it is homeward bound! This whole journey is so surreal and crazy and wonderful!

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#canadiansarereallynice

#adventureattheborder

#thethingswedoforourkids

#thebeautifulpacificnorthwest

8/15/21 Lunch in Portland with our dear friend, beautiful artist, and daughter by choice, Iulia Ionescu, and then a gorgeous ride through Washington up to the Seattle area. Did I mention how much fun it is to travel with Elijah in the car? He reads books, reenacts musicals, and appreciates the scenery all along the way. Right now he is reading “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”

For some reason, Instagram is refusing to post for me, so Facebook it is! Onward and upward!

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#lovingthejourney

#ourfamilybychoice

#gorgeouscountry