miura-adventure.comLife should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "WOW, WHAT A RIDE!!!!"

Aileen (Ken’s cousin), Craig and their daughter McKenzie lived in Long Beach California and moved to Idaho a few years ago. They could not be happier. They fully live the Idaho lifestyle, from fishing to hunting. When I told Aileen about my encounter with javalinas in Arizona, she asked if I shot them for dinner. “Ahhh, NO!” Apparently, they make good food!!

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My friend Veronica, husband Scott and kids Matias and Sophia also came for the weekend. I met Veronica in Brazil while we were both pregnant. It was so great to see her after many years and we picked up just where we left off in Brazil! Sophia is an amazing and beautiful little girl, having survived a brain tumor 18 months ago. (Many of you offered your support throughout this very difficult time). It was great to get to see her play, ride her bike, draw and write. She’s a true inspiration!

Now off to the city of Boise!

We met so many interesting people!

First, the gal Jamie who owns this java place owned this land on the river for years and followed her dream to open a little coffee place. She had two black labs and let them run free to play with our kids (during recess of course) and chase a Frisbee across the river. We let Hobie out to join in the fun and it was a field day for all!

We chatted with a great guy, Joe, who lives in Yosemite in the winter and Stanley (doing rafting trips) in the summer. He had such a fresh perspective on life.

During our pizza lunch, we met a handsome guy, who pulled up in an expensive Mercedes convertible. I asked him if he was on road trip and he exclaimed, “How did you know??” (Was it the maps in his lap of the fact that he looked like “city folk!” ) We shared stories back and forth for an hour, ending with him telling us THE place to go in Lugano Italy (complete with hotel name and room number – his favorite place on Earth!)

Then there was Karen, a journalist. She was 52 years old and had her 3 year old son along her side. Such a interesting gal!! She was on her way to interview Jamie Lee Curtis as part of her series on “strong women” She booked an apartment in Paris for a year and found 12 women to stay in the apartment for a month each, sharing their experiences for a future story. (Pick me, pick me!)

Then there was the famous MICROBURST! This weather event was unbeknownst to us until this day. Andrew and I were with Hobie, taking pictures of beautiful Red Fish Lake. We loved watching the white caps on the lake as the wind picked up. Then the wind got VERY GUSTY and it happened!! TWO large 60 FOOT tall lodge pole pines fell to the left and right of Andrew and me. We then ran quickly back to the RV, with Andrew exclaiming, “OH MY GOSH!!” We got to the RV just in time to see a 60’ pine tree FALL ON TOP OF OUR RV! “OH MY GOSH!” is right!! The girls were inside and thought they were in the middle of an earthquake!! As quickly as it came, the wind became calm. Then came the cleanup. Ken had to drive to the Forest Ranger for help and the ranger returned with his chainsaw. Amazingly, there was minimal damage (costly but minimum) and we were able to leave Stanley Idaho the next day. Won’t forget this town anytime soon!

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The town of Salmon was about 20 miles down the road. This little town’s claim to fame is that it is the BIRTHPLACE of Sacagawea! Pretty darn cool! We visited the town and took an interactive tour of the Sacagawea Center. We all learned so much and feel like we knew the gal personally! Next door to the RV park was a funky little coffee shop that was a favorite stop for all the local hunters and fisherman. We had desert there one night and enjoyed homemade pie. Yum!

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We left Yellowstone with so many wonderful memories. We were excited to visit Montana as we had pictures in our minds of “BIG SKY COUNTY”. Montana truly lived up to its name.

We drove far back into the beautiful rolling mountains to find this small and beautiful campground, “Lewis and Clark State Campground.” We were in the middle of nowhere and it was great! We were one of four other campers and could see rolling mountains from every window. The temperatures were in the low 80 which began to melt the chill of Yellowstone.

Fishing in Yellowstone was non existent (much to Andrew and Ken’s dismay) so Andrew was excited to get out to the Jefferson river across the small road to catch us some dinner! BINGO!! He caught the first fish in 20 minutes and it was a 20’ brown trout!! Then a 16” and 18’ brown trout. (Measurements are very important to fisherman as I have come to learn!) Andrew was the happiest I have ever seen him!! We had an amazing dinner of trout sashimi, sitting outside in the warm breezy mountain air.

That night, Ken and Andrew wanted to keep fishing (were they thinking fish muffins for breakfast??). The girls and I sat by the fire, roasting marshmallows with Hobie alongside checking things out. Then we realized, Hobie was not with us! According to eye witnesses, Hobie took off after three deer and ran far into the mountains. With some help from camping neighbors, we called him loud enough to find him and get him to run back to us. He ran back as if he was in the movie, “Born Free!” It wouldn’t have been too cool to tell Ken and Andrew we lost Hobie while he was under our watch!!

The next day, we ventured to the Lewis and Clark Caverns. I wasn’t sure what to expect and had a mental picture of climbing through these tight, cold, damp and dark tunnels, mostly doing it to say “Done that!” Well, these caverns were some of the most beautiful places we have ever experienced! There were different “rooms” with amazing snapshots of the earth we have never seen before. I am so glad we make the effort and we will go to every cavern we get a chance to see from now on!

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We made our Yellowstone reservation six months before we set sail and made it for a whole two weeks.  (The longest we have stayed anywhere so far!)  The kids think this qualifies them to say they have LIVED in Yellowstone! 

Who needs to visit a zoo when you can have bison, elk and deer as close to you as your van window!  Our initial greeting to Yellowstone was crossing over Fishing Bridge along with about 20 bison.  Hobie was going NUTS as they were so close to us.  Later we learned,  from the park ranger, that bison are “directional” so once they are headed in a certain direction, they keep on moving forward.  One little guy (a teenage we imagine) kept being “NON directional” and was loudly scolded by his father!

We arrived to beautiful days of 70 to 80 degrees.  Ken and I celebrated our birthdays at Yellowstone Lodge and the “cafeteria”.  Don’t laugh – it was GOOD food!  Before dinner, we sat out on the big porch in rocking chairs, overlooking Yellowstone lake, watching a bison act like he was going to charge a freaked out family in a minivan and just enjoying being in Yellowstone! 

The weather changed dramatically as a front from ALASKA came through, bringing the HIGHS down to the mid 40s!  We were completely unprepared for this change in temperature (our goal was to follow the WARM weather!!) so Ken, Andrew and Lauren had to take a TWO HOUR trek to Walmart in Coty Wyoming.  While they were gone, Nikki and I bundled up and took Hobie on some long and beautiful  walks. It’s so great to have one on one time with a single child, asking them what they want out of life. 

We took two long drives – one on the lower loop of Yellowstone and one on the upper.  We left in the morning with temperatures in the low 20s.  The fog swirled mysitcally about the Yellowstone lake.  Then there are the geysers.  They really defy words.  It is amazing to see the earth IN ACTION!  The kids were not happy about the smell of sulfur but came up with a way to plug their noses while still seeing the beauty.  It was really something to finally see a place that we learned about in 4th grade!  Old Faithful was amazing – erupting every 90 minutes -each and every day.  It was SO fun to have the anticipation build.  And the waterfalls were spectacular! 

Despite the cool weather, we did manage to take a lot of picnics.  It was during these picnics that we got to see bears!  In total, we saw a total of 5 bears which is a bit scary but also really cool!

We left Yellowstone, we so many memories in hand and a hope of warmer weather in Montana!

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On my 48th birthday, we started our trek in Utah, then drove through Idaho, Montana and ended up at the Grand Tetons in Wyoming.  We drove through Yellowstone (our next adventure) to get to the Tetons and had the most beautiful day!

We visited the World Potato Museum in Blackfoot Idaho and learned more about potatoes than we EVER knew! Nikki was in heaven as potatoes are her favorite food and we had to get her a very funny potato t-shirt!

We walked to the beautiful Jackson lake at the base of the Tetons. We had a  yummy birthday Mexican style dinner made, of course, by Ken.  (ONE of his new “careers” is being a chef!)   The view was out of a fairy tale!

We blew our second jack out but were level enough not to feel too slanted to the right! 

Our next trek: TWO WEEKS in Yellowstone!

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We stayed at a perfectly manicured campground (Pony Express) where the kids swam in a salt water pool and played at the cool playground into the night.  We have never seen a campground which was so clean and spotless!!  No dirt to be found anywhere! 

The girls and I spent a day in the city to get my hair and nails done. I was looking a bit like a mountain woman with 10 weeks in an RV and needed to spiffy up!  We had SO much fun walking around this pretty city!

We all toured “Temple Square” and got to see the amazing headquarters of a world religion.  What beautiful buildings and gardens in this area! 

Part of the reason we came to Salt Lake City was for our annual business convention.  My wonderful friends, Darcy and Marcilynn,  flew in for the Convention.  The three of us bunked up at a hotel in the city and had a special few days working together, drinking together (no easy feat in SLC!) and sharing our dreams together.   It was so hard to say good-bye!

We had dinner at a Brazilian churrascaria on Ken’s birthday with the kids, Darcy and Marcilynn. Eating that much meat on a stick brought us back to our memories of Brazil!  Thanks Darcy for being such a trooper given you are a vegetarian!  

Marcilynn spent two nights in our RV before making the trip back to Indiana. Our FIRST overnight guest in our new home and it really wasn’t THAT tight a fit!!  (Okay it was a bit tight but we are among friends!) 

On the way to take Marcilynn to the airport, I dropped off Ken and the kids at The Great Salt Lake! We had to see it!  The kids floated in this amazing (and quite odd) lake because of the lake is up to FIVE times saltier than the ocean.  They caught brine shrimp while floating.  Now that’s a cool way to fish! 

From urban SLC back into the wilderness and Teton National Park.

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On our way to Provo. . .a night at Walmart! 

We had to experience what many RVers have done before us and spend the night in a Walmart parking lot!! It actually was GREAT as we were in need of a wide array of groceries and stocked up!  Can’t beat the price of “free!”  We did our banking at Wells Fargo, conveniently located in the parking lot along with dinner at a great new China Buffet in the very same parking lot!  Even got the oil changed on the van while we shopped! 

A visit to Provo Utah:

After spending our time at some of the west’s most amazing National Parks, it was a different experience to stay at a private campground again.  The RV park was clean and nice and the kids played in the pool by day and we all watched the Olympics by night.

Andrew and Ken did some serious fishing at Utah Lake, walking distance down the road for us.  Andrew caught a whopping 25 FISH in one morning and donated them to the nice couple next to him that looked really hungry and weren’t too good at fishing! 

We took a great bike ride along a long path which hugged the river and went through fields of horses.   It’s always so nice to find paths that don’t go along streets with cars. 

From Provo, onto a more urban environment in Salt Lake City. . .

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We really had NO idea what to expect in Zion.  We try not to look up anything prior to our visit so we can see the new location with fresh eyes.  Our first introduction to this park was when the ranger informed us that we would have to pay a $15 fee to have him escort our RV through the mile long tunnel.  We (I mean KEN) had to drive it right in the middle of the tunnel which as 13’ high and the sides of the tunnel are a mere 11’ (The RV is 12′ 10″ high!!!).  The ranger had to stop the oncoming traffic so we could hog the tunnel and make it through without peeling off any of the paint on the top! 

We camped right on the river and it was a big enough river for the kids to tube down it.  Most people had these expensive tube rentals which were big and strong.  Our kids, well, they had the $3 ones we bought at Target and boy could they feel the rocks along the bums!  It was such fun sitting along the river and awaiting the arrival of our offspring on their tubes, screaming all the way! 

There were great bike paths throughout the park and we all took a long ride along the river and through the “no cars/shuttle only” area.   We sgot to see, up close, amazing views of the magnificent cliffs and rock formations.

Each morning, Ken and I would take a bike ride to a local little java place.  We sat on the roof top deck and planned out our lives.  Quite special time. 

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The park has amazing hikes all throughout it.  One of the most famous hikes is “Angels Landing”.  When the shuttle bus driver talked about this hike, she said, “It is not for anyone afraid of heights”.  Why did I then blurt out,”Hey Ken, what about hiking Angels Landing?  Of course he said “YES!” (being the adventurous man who left the corporate world behind!).  SO, Andrew, Ken and I left at 6:30AM for this infamous trail.  The hike is 5 miles and goes up 1500’. The last half mile had sheer drops on both sides – one 1200’ and the other 800”, You had to hold a metal chain to avoid falling off. But it was worth it – what a view!  I am so glad I did it and can check that one off my list! 

From this special National Park, we set our sites on Provo, a town along near Utah Lake. . .

 

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Bryce National Park was really a one of a kind place.  Anyone ever heard of “hoodoos?”  They are amazing rock formations unlike anything we had ever seen.  It was as if we landed on another planet.  We took a hike through the “Queen’s Garden” and got up close and personal with these rock “sculptures”.  We make the 3 mile trek (in 85 degree weather) with only bottle of water for the 5 of us. We declared Andrew the “water boy” after this debockle! (What were we thinking??) 

Ken, Poohnut and I woke up one morning at 5:30AM to watch the sunrise over the canyon.  Then we made sure to watch the sunset as well.  Lighting really makes the canyon come alive and changes so much of its dimensions. 

The kids found a great place to do jumps on their bikes and I swear they would have been happy just doing jumps for 8 hours in the day!  Simply pleasures. . .

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