The Wojcik Family *

July 2, 3, 4 - Land between the Lakes Kentucky

2007-07-12T14:41:00.000-05:00

The trip from Nebraska to Kentucky was another long road day - Daisy wasn't in the mood.

We had a awsome view from our campsite, we didn't even need to get out of the RV to enjoy it.

The boys were ready to finally go fishing.

Just enjoying the view...

The only way to fish...
The sunset was beautiful.

That means time for the marshmellows.
In the morning we rented a deck boat and were ready to have fun.
Trust me guys I know what I'm doing...
Mema decided to sit this one out.
The kids had a blast...

Even mommy got in on the action...
Too much fun for mommy, time for a break...
Just goofing around.

July 1 - Travel Day from South Dakota - Omaha Nebraska

2007-07-12T14:30:00.000-05:00

Today we left our campsite (Walmart) in Murdo South Dakota and made it to our next stop in West Omaha, Nebraska. As you can see Daisy was up for the trip.

The children needed to burn off some energy... Around and around the campground they went.

June 30 - Devils Tower and Mount Rushmore

2007-07-01T21:23:00.000-05:00

Devil's Tower was in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. We stayed at the camp ground directly at the base where they played the movie every night. Alex really enjoyed it. Although it was another rock the formation was very cool. It is a very scared place to the Indians- they have prayer bundles in many of the trees around the base.

From there we drove to Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota. Mt. Rushmore was not as impressive as we thought it would be. The cravings were smaller then I imagined. But never the less it was a great place for us to visit and the surrounding area is very pretty too.

June 29 - Another Travel Day

2007-06-30T10:15:00.000-05:00

We headed thru Wyoming to Devil's Tower and Mt. Rushmore. Below is how Miles and daisy passed the time

We went over Bighorn pass. The views were fantastic. Then we came upon this herd of cattle(must have been at least several hundred of them) walking for a few miles down the road we were suspose to be driving on It really was a sight to see. Thank goodness I can count on not being delayed by a cattle crossing in Charleston!!!

June 26, 27, 28 - Yellowstone National Park

2007-06-30T09:35:00.000-05:00

Yellowstone National Park is Huge!!! We ended up staying there for 3 days. The continental divide goes through the park also. Yellowstone has many amazing sites that are really awesome.

Old Faithful !!!
The bison were everywhere(and boy what a poop they made--you really had to watch where you stepped)they would even walk across the road. We saw a grizzly bear and a mama black bear and her cub too.

To make our trip to Yellowstone even more memorable we were to spend an evening with our Wyoming family,the wild west Wojciks. Fred, Julia and Schuyler it was wonderful to see you thank you for drive all those hours to see us. It really meant a lot to us. It was great to see you, we miss you.

June 26 - Lava Hot Springs Idaho

2007-06-30T09:28:00.000-05:00

We really didn't know much about Idaho until this trip and we all fell in love with it.It's a very beautiful state. Lava Hot Springs is a very cute little town(pop.251).The hot springs were incredible the pools were springs fed only, the water ranged from 106-112 degrees. There wasn't any sulpur odor(thank goodness). We also went to a great water park there as well. All 3 of the kids(even Alex) jumped off the high drive. It was 17 feet tall--now I have more grey hair!!!

June 24/25 - A day of rest and then the Dino Dig in Delta Utah

2007-06-30T08:57:00.000-05:00

U-Dig Fossils in Delta Utah. The kids had a great time in the quarry. They found many different fossils. Boy, was this a hard stop to find. We saw it on the travel channel a couple of years ago and have been looking forward to going there ever since. There is a 20 mile gravel road that could not have been any bumpier. We even lost a fog light in the RV.

Zion National Park, Utah

2007-06-23T23:57:00.000-05:00

Zion is a beautiful park. It really gives you a preseptive of a canyon. In the Grand Canyon you are at the top looking down or you can hike down. At Zion you drive to the bottom of the canyon where there is a shuttle bus to take you from point to point. Here you hike up, which we felt was much easier, because on the way back when you were tired at least you were going downhill.

The Emerald pool trail was awesome. It consisted of 3 different pools. when you reached one you could get your feet wet and cool off. Mom made it to the 2nd pool. Martin and I took the kids to the upper pool, where the climb was steep. The temp being over 100 didn't make it easier. But it was sure worth the trip.

The motor home made it thru this tunnel but any vechicle over 11'4" needs to travel in the middle of the tunnel therefore all traffic coming in the other direction needed to be stopped. Boy, was it dark in there.

6/22/07--Travel day from California to Utah

2007-06-23T23:36:00.000-05:00

This was a travel day for us. We drove from California to southern Utah. We passed thru
Las Vegas as well, but with the 3 kids we didn't stop in. We unforunately made the ride even a little longer by going to the wrong KOA campground apparently there are several that are by Zion National Park. When we realized this I called the KOA we were suspose to be at and the lady there give me directions to "come up and over the hill". Well, this was no HILL, it was Mt Everest!!! We climbed to 10,000 feet!!!! To make matters worse the winding road had no guard rails. My hands were numb after 43 miles of this and Martin was doing the driving!

Once we finally got the the correct location Alyssa was able to go horseback riding.

June 21 - The San Diego Zoo

2007-06-22T09:41:00.001-05:00

The kids are very excited, we are ready to spend a day at one of the greatest zoos in the country.

The Polar bears were sunning themselves, but no one wanted to go for a swim.
Enjoying a bus tour around the park.
This Koala bear was so cute. All of his friends were sleeping so I guess he figured it would be a great time to eat.
These Meerkat's were our favorite. Only one was standing watch until a helicopter flew by. When they heard it they all got up to watch it fly by. It was very funny.
Lunch time.

The Panda bears are so sweet. This one posed for us.

All the Pandas in the US are on loan to us from China. This guy is in the 11th year of a 12 year contract. They live to be about 30 in captivity.

We had a wonderful visit.

6/20/07 A Great Day in California

2007-06-21T00:03:00.000-05:00

We had another very busy and funfilled day. We started the day with a visit to Calico, which is a ghost town. In the mid 1800's it was a booming sliver mining town. We got to tour the old sliver mine.

This is what the town looks like today.
Stick 'um up Dad!!!!

WE MADE IT!!!!! Here we are at the Pacific Ocean and the beautiful Hotel Del Coronado.
We had a wonderful visit with Aunt Connie, Uncle Larry, Larry, Cyndy and Tony. Thank you very much for the delicious dinner and your hospitality. It wonderful to see you. Thank you Larry, Cyndy and Tony for taking time out of your busy day to see us. We wished we could have stayed longer. We love you!!

6/19/07 Hoover Dam- off to California

2007-06-20T00:15:00.000-05:00

We arrived at the Hoover Dam mid-morning, gosh was it hot and crowded.

Since it hasn't rained much the water level in the dam was very low.

The water is sooo blue.

Lake Mead is beautiful.

We saw this very inpressive tunnel cloud as we were driving through the Mojave Desert.

Look closely and you will see the temperture in the Mojave Desert was 105 on the world's largest therometer!!!

We arrived in Califirnia in the afternoon.
The Mojave Desert.

6/18/07 The Grand Canyon

2007-06-19T23:50:00.000-05:00

This was probably the hardest post for us to create thus far. The Grand Canyon is truly awesome and we have many wonderful pictures. But I don't think the pictures do it justice.
We took the Bright Angel trial and hiked down the canyon 1.5 miles. What a view!
F rom the rim the canyon almost looks like a painting but as you hike down you can really apprecaite it.

Going down was easy, walking back up 1.5miles wasn't!!!
We ended the day watching the sunset set over the rim.

6/17/07 Petrified Forest

2007-06-19T23:29:00.000-05:00

Sorry that it has taken us a few days to update our website. We were in the Grand Canyon and there was no internet connection there. We really enjoyed the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert. They were just beautiful.
The crystals and the rock these logs have turned into is amazing.

The Painted Desert was equally as beautiful. The colors were incredible.

June 16 - Mesa Verde, CO.

2007-06-16T22:52:00.000-05:00

This is the Square Tower house which was built in A.D. 1200-1300.

Mesa Verde is at 9000 ft. What a ride to the top it was!! Great driving Martin!!
Enjoying the scenery from one of the overlooks.
The view is awesome!!! You really don't know where to look first
We took a guided tour of Cliff Palace, which is one of the largest cliff dwellings, the ranger discribed it as a downtown area.

On our way down to the Sruce tree house ruins.

Cliff Palace has 150 rooms, plus 75 open areas. The number of Ancestral Puebloans linving in Cliff Palace at any one time was 100 to 120.

June 15 - "Not another rock, mom"

2007-06-15T22:46:00.000-05:00

Yes kids we are going to see another rock, this is inscription rock.

This is the first English inscription at El Morro National Monument. As you can see it dates back to 1849. Can you also see that they spelled inscription incorrect, the "r" was added later.
After viewing the inscriptions we continued to climb up the mesa.

One of the beautiful snapshots we took from the top.

Alex resting for a moment at the top of Box Canyon
What a climb, but we made it to the Puebloan ruins.

After El Morro we were off to Four Corners

From there we traveled to Cortez Co. This is the view from the campground. It is an Indian resting of his back. Look from right to left. Can you see it

June 14 - White Sands National Monument

2007-06-14T23:14:00.001-05:00

After our stay in the Walmart parking lot we went to White Sands, New Mexico.

Enjoying the scenery...

Wow even the motor home looks tiny in all that sand.

It was just incredible how the sand moves and buries even very large trees,yet they still survive. Climbing up the dunes on one of the trails.

Yes, even the dogs were allowed to join us. I think that Daisy liked the sand between her toes without the threat of having to go into the ocean . She is afraid of the water.

The kids had a blast sledding down the hills. These southern babies not used to snow didn't realize how difficult it is to come back up the hill. Sledding is a lot of work and fun.

June 13 - Carlsbad Caverns New Mexico

2007-06-14T00:55:00.000-05:00

We slept in a bit then toured Carlsbad Caverns. It was amazing. We did the two self tours - the Natural entrance and the Big Room. We followed up with a guided tour of the Kings Palace.
Words just cannot describe.

The childred outside of Carlsbad Cavern.

The Cavern entrance...

The gang a little bit closer to the entrance.

We took over 200 pictures in the caverns and would love to post them all but not possible.

After we left Carlsbad we made our way to Alamogordo, New Mexico right by White Sands Monument and missle range. We are actually camping out at the Walmart Supercenter in Alamogordo.

We arrived in the Wal-mart parking lot in the middle of the night, but on the way out we realized what a view we had.

June 12 - Enchanted Rock, Llano TX then then off to New Mexico

2007-06-12T22:59:00.000-05:00

We had another early start leaving Houston West campground and making our way to Enchanted Rock in Fredericksburg/Llano TX.

There it is Enchanted Rock, a scared place to the Indians and a place everyone made fun of Sally for wanting to see, well it turned out to be a breathe taking place that everyone including the dogs really enjoyed.

Getting ready to hike up to the summit.

View from half way up. Pictures just don't do it justice.

Dad and Daisy on the uphill climb. Hard to tell who looks more tired.

Adam and Alex at the top...

The gang at the top...

Adam on his way down.

Well we had a great time but it is time to move on. We decied to skip Fort Stockon and drive straight to Carlsbad, NM. The expressions says it all - it's been a long day.

June 11 - Off to Space Center Houston & Johnson Space Center

2007-06-11T21:36:00.000-05:00

As you can see we had another early start but Alex didn't mind too much. He woke up just as we got into Texas.

The sign says it all....

We had a wonderful time and learned all about how the astronauts lived and work in space.

The family in front of the last Apollo that didn't get off the ground since the last three missions were scrubbed.

Checking out the acutal cockpit of the space shuttle.

June 10 - Louisiana~~here we come

2007-06-10T21:47:00.000-05:00

Alyssa and Daisy chilling out on the 300 mile/ 6hr ride.

This was a travel only day for us, we drove to Livingston La, which is right outside Baton Rouge, to camp only at the Lakeside Campground. Boy was it hot (100+dergees), so we took a dip in the pool.

There is a very pretty lake at the campground.

Dad tries to make pizza for the first time on the grill. It was a success.

June 9 - 4:30a.m.~~And we're off.......

2007-06-09T19:56:00.000-05:00

Just passing the time........

We were able to leave very early (4:30). It took us about 8hrs to make the 510 mile drive to the Rickwood Caverns in Warrior Alabama which is just north of Birmingham. We are now in the central time zone, so we had the 10:00 hour twice!! This really helped us to get a full day in.

Waiting for our guide to start the tour of the caverns.

Walking around the caverns. The caverns have a constant temperature of about 58 degrees which was a nice relief from the heat and humidity above.

Had a little energy left so we decided to hit some trails at the park.

Some other pics of inside the caverns...

June 8 - Mema's here for the trip

2007-06-09T19:47:00.000-05:00

Mema is finally here for our trip. Her flight was delayed for over 2 hours, but she is here, safe, sound and ready to go.

Getting ready for our cross country trip

2007-05-31T18:26:00.000-05:00

Hi Ya'll,

Here we go getting ready for our trip. We have been dreaming about this trip for at least 20 years. We were waiting for the right time, that time has come. Alyssa just graduated from Nativity, Adam will be a sixth grader and Alex will be in second grade. We can't believe that our dream is about to become a reality. We have been working hard on planning as much as possible and packing as many supplies that will fit. We will be hitting the road early in the morning on June 9 and hope to be returning July 6, give or take. Depending on access to the internet we will try to keep everybody posted as much as possible.

************ The Wojcik Family *************