12 October 2009

the trek begins......

Oh, where do I begin?  After a really long three days of packing out , pick up and change of command activities we got on the road.  It was with much anticipation after such a long time coming that we headed out...but not without first saying goodbye to many friends whom have made our Whidbey time bearable, fun and memorable.  To all of you and you know who you are --thanks for the laughs , sharing in tears and picking me up off the ground when I needed it most.  Alright, enough of the sappy stuff...
First day we made it to Spokane where we stayed at Fairchild AFB...it was familiar to us as it was the home of one torturous week for J.at one time years ago...and that night a front decided to move through ..record breaking temps.  COLD--we weren't prepared for winte coats, gloves and hats but luckily the mama bear in me knew I should pack all those things for the kids but didn't for me and daddy.  So we stayed there and found out quickly that our heat works in our lovely little camper--and works well. 
Day two we made it through scenic Idaho and p.s. Lake Couer d'Alene is BEAUTIFUL...but as soon as we passed it we began seeing snow andmore snow and ice and there wer were in a little place called Deer Lodge , MT.  When we called to inquire if the KOA was still open we were greeted warmly by the owner who quickly invited us over the the local fairgrounds for the pig roast...we had chili instead but were appreciative.  It started to snow in MT.....and didn't stop.  (sidenote: as we pulled into what appeared to be a lovely little mountain town we began to see signs all over that were from children begging their parents not to do meth--uh oh, we're not in KS anymore are we??--I gt a little worried )
Day three: Through MT in the snow and ice, swerving, freezing temps in the 10-15 degree range.  We hadn't seen temps in two days over 23 or so....we made it to Sheridan , WY and stayed at our KOA there where we had a great time playing in the snow, watching wild turkeys wanderthrough and deer and rabbits too.  Dogs loved it, kids played finally b/c it was cold but different cold and fun with the inches of snow on the ground.
And that brings us to day four: LM and Miss g doing well..swapping out with mommy and daddy but mostly there is a girl car (Mommy, G and Mattie) anda boy car (daddy, LM, Beau and BT).  We are trying to walk the dogs severa times a day when we stop...we hop out make lunch in our camper , get back in and go.  We went through Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse monuments today in SD after going through the snow all day in WY and SD and suffice to say the WY DOT is much better than the MT DOT about road clearing.  Anyway, we saw crazy horse and drove past Mt. Rushmore which I did not see as I was tryikng to keep my eyes on icy , snowy road and as per usual for us there was clouds covering some of it...icky day here and not much playing outside for the kdis but we are managing. LM was excited today to get to what he calls "Rabbit City" aka Rapid City. Seems we'll never get out of SD and will travel here tomorrow as well....wish us luck in our trek to VA--can't wait to get there , see old friends and find a home.