Looking back . . .

As our vacation is wrapping up, it’s hard not to look back and reflect on the trip. What did we like the best? What was our favorite? How many animals DID we see? Funniest moments . . . best places to eat . . . etc.etc. As I mentioned earlier on Jake’s birthday we talked about the vacation from everyone’s perspective, as I jotted it down on a kids menu, I thought it would make GREAT blogging material. So here goes (this isn’t going to be quick) . . . . Most memorable or favorite thing (by person)

Doug 1. Playing in the Snow 2. Seeing a Grizzly bear at Glacier (because he spotted it) 3. The Ram in the parking lot at Logan Pass Sam 1. Watching Old Faithful 2. Seeing Buffalo at Yellowstone 3. Watching the Goats at the Goat Lick Jake 1. Hiking to the waterfall at Glacier 2. Seeing the Grizzly (and cub) at Yellowstone 3. Seeing the Mudpots at Yellowstone *I am shocked he didn’t say fishing ! Lisa 1. Driving the Going to the Sun Road (although I found it terrifying too!) 2. Seeing the baby goat on the road 3. The dinner at Jackson Lake Lodge

Favorite Park • Grand Tetons – Sam & Jake • Glacier National Park – Doug & Lisa

Favorite Campground • San Suz Ed at Glacier National Park – Doug, Lisa & Sam • Colter Bay Village at Grand Tetons – Jake

Best Meal • Jackson Lake Lodge at Grand Tetons – Doug & Lisa – The views of the mountains were amazing! • McDonald Lake Lodge – Sam & Jake

Wish we could do over • Mom – Explore the city of Jackson by the Tetons (it looked cool and we just drove thru) • Dad – Wish we had a car rather then a RV when we saw the Grizzly at Yellowstone so we could have parked on the side of the road and checked it out. • Sam – Wished he could have played in the snow more at Logan’s Pass in Glacier • Jake – ??, he wouldn’t say probably buying more pets or fishing more.

Funniest Moments • While on a hike Doug hid in the trees and jumped out at Lisa pretending to be a bear. It made Lisa scream like a little girl. • At McDonald Lake Lodge the boys found a HUGE stuffed bear and called it chubby. On a subsequent trip to the Lodge the boys started beating it up and karate chopping it while a very crowded lobby looked on in horror. Mom was laughing so hard she could stop the boys! • At the beginning of the trip the boys played tug of war with Penguin and his arm ripped off. Every day after that the “pets” were the main attraction. Mostly they were entertaining but sometimes it got annoying and out of control. When the pet play got too crazy Mom or Dad shut them in a cupboard and gave them a time out.

Biggest Surprises • The General Store in Polebridge had the absolute best sandwiches and huckleberry brownies! • Sam split a FULL glass of pop on the dinner table at the Jackson Lake Lodge. • The fact that Jake can whine “I’m so T-I-R-E-D after one hour of being awake." • That Doug could look at wildlife forever, while Lisa, Jake and Sam would be like “yup, I saw it” and want to move on. • How much Doug LOVED hiking, he could hike forever! One day he went over 10 miles and could have just kept going and going. Someday some overnight hiking is in his future, just not sure who else will join him. • How freaked out Lisa got at running (or hiking) on the trails because of bear and cougars. This setback the marathon training for sure, but she will be pounding the pavement back in Michigan. • The fact that everyone is still speaking to each other at the end of the vacation. Between the rental car and RV we put on approximately 2,400 miles!

Animal Sightings in Total • Black bears – 6 • Grizzly bears – 3 (including 1 cub) • Coyote – 2 • Elk – 2 big bulls, some smaller bulls, lots of cows and calves (including one nursing calf) • Buffalo – Hundreds • Mule Deer – Few smaller bucks, numerous does and one fawn • Antelope – About 30 • Goats – Between 20 – 25 including one kids really close up • Rams – 7 all males including one up close in a parking lot • Marmot – 1 • Bald Eagles – 2 • Columbian Ground Squirrels – LOTS!

Stuffed Animals • We came with a Penguin, a duck, and a kitty – all with annoying voices. • We found along our travels, two owls, one bear, one goat, one bald eagle –all with annoying voices! So all in all the vacation was really awesome! We really enjoyed having the RV. Sometimes the RV was a little hard to navigate in (like if you missed your turn – oops!) or hard to find just the right parking spot since Doug didn’t master backup in the 31 footer. But the upside was always having everything with us and the kids LOVED having the extra room to screw around in.

We are leaving on a jet plane, back to Michigan today. The rest of the Sabbatical we will be traveling around in Michigan! See you soon!!!