Days Five through Eight

Day Five

 Started our adventure where Lewis and Clark did.  Cool visitor center let us look at a keelboat replica.  The girls hope we find the Ice hills and the Giant sloths that Jefferson thought existed.  Eventually we will make our way to the end of the Lewis and Clark trail, but we are skipping most of the middle and headiing farther south... in the footsteps of Coronado.

I never knew all these mounds existed in Cahokia.   Pretty surreal!  If only the native cultures had built them out of stone, there might be more to see.  Eiley saw the St. Louis arch from the top and though it was really small.  When we finally got to St. Louis, she definitely changed her mind.  It is HUGE - a definite gateway for all pioneers.

St. Louis - where paving and painting are optional.  The traffic was insane - 4th of July and a game making it impossible to go through downtown.  Garmin kept telling me to go downtown, so we skipped getting the famous concrete custard and introduced the girls to Dairy Queen.  Not Ice Cream Man, but it was thick enough you could turn it upside down and it wouldn't come out.  The girls were very impressed!

Day Six

Got to Fleming park, outside of Kansas City, so late we almost didn't get to camp there ;)  Thank goodness we already had a reservation or the attendant said he wouldn't let us in.  Won't make that mistake again!  I have to say Missouri and Kansas take their fireworks VERY seriously.  From our spot we were able to watch at least four different major fireworks displays.  Pretty neat.  

I felt like we had gone to some European town when we walked through Kansas City.  They have Gondola rides down the creek with a view of Spanish architecture mixed in with Italian villas.  Really pretty town!  Lots of beautiful museums and arts centers.  The girls were convinced that they were ready for all this sophisticated culture. KS, MO also has the best BBQ I have ever had - Jack Stacks

We were planning on going swimming today, but the wind never let up and the girls wanted to play games and hang out at the playground.  I told them they wouldn't see water like this until they went to the coast - here we come desert.

Day Seven

A very long drive through Kansas and Oklahoma - got a little carzy sometimes!   Girls were glad they had schoolwork to do to drive away some of the boredom (can you imagine!).  The Flint Hills of Kansas - infinite green going on forever.  Oklahoma - oil rigs, wind farms, and herds of cattle - hedging their bets on all fronts.

Stopped at Black Kettle National Grassland - not a lot of undisturbed prairie, but plenty of red clay! The girls saw a "river" and now understand what I meant about not seeing a lot of water before we hit the coast.

 Eiley and Brianna both caught lots of frogs and we heard lots of Bobwhites in the background.

Day Eight

Made it to Palo Duro Canyon in Texas with plenty of time to spare.  Even got a little plate of Texas style ribs to compare with Kansas City - like the Kansas City style better, though there was something of a ginger flavor to the Texas sauce.   By far the prettiest campsite we have had so far!  Down in the canyon with opuntia, yucca, and a deer to keep us company.

Got up bright and early to act just like Coronado and ride through the Canyon.  The view was amazing, the girls were awed, and I finally got Jamey onto a horse.  He said he can finally see the appeal.  I'll make a cowboy out of him yet!

It is good to be back in the desert - for Jamey and I it is surreal being here with our kids!  This is where we met and it sort of feels like coming back home.  The smells of the juniper, the cactus in bloom (couldn't believe we were lucky enough to see a lot of the desert in flower), the dry heat, the amazing scenery wherever you turn, and the crazy blue sky.  Tomorrow New Mexico awaits our return.

Jamey - "Are we really going to come all this way and not have real Mexican food"
Carol - "No way!"
Stopped at a FANTASTIC restaurant - Abuelo's.
Carol - "Should I try the Chile Relleno?"
Jamey - "You know you are going to be disappointed."
After the first bite of Chile Relleno:
Jamey - "Oh my!  Can I have more?"
Carol - "No way!"
Jamey shows the girls a taco - "See girls, the tacos aren't supposed to fall apart when you eat them."
Eiley - "Why don't we make them like this?"
Jamey - "New York doesn't know anything about real Mexican Food."
We even took a pint of their fire roasted salsa to go - heaven!!!  Who needs a V8, I'll just drink the salsa.

We were all hot and sweaty from our 100 degree hike through the woods.  The shower at Palo Duro was pretty icky, so here we are at a hotel in Santa Fe.  Enjoying the air conditioning, the running water, and the first real bed the girls have slept on in eight days.