Outer Banks

Well, our trip is almost over. After Milwaukee, we headed East. We stopped in Dayton OH at a nice KOA and at Greensboro NC in a not so nice former KOA. The last few days have been spent in Rodanthe NC. This is a very narrow part of the Outer Banks, a thin strip of sand that separates the Atlantic Ocean from a sound and then mainland NC. We normally spend time in the summer in Kitty Hawk so it is kind of fun to be farther South. Camping here is great - we are just a short walk from the beach. The kids are having fun building sand castles. Andres is discovering the fun of boogie boarding. All of us are enjoying evening walks along the shore.

What a trip. We have seen the beach, plains, mountains, desert, and everything in between. We have been at 12,000 feet looking down at clouds. We have seen snow in July. It was 114 in the Mojave Desert and down in the 40's at night in the Rockies. We are all so glad to have had the opportunity to spend some time together. Thanks for following along. Look forward to seeing or hearing from everyone soon. Stay tuned for more travel adventures sometime in the future.

Erling

Bristol Renaissance Faire

None of us had been to a renaissance fair but it sounded kind of fun. Jousting, juggling, and people in fun costumes. The Bristol Renaissance Faire is on the border between Wisconsin and Illinois. Andres liked the weapons stores; he even got to hold a real sword. Elena liked the rides - all are powered by people. Check out the picture of her flying into the air on a large bungy cord! Too bad I couldn't record the scream. The flying ride Andres is on was powered by two guys turning a wheel.

It was a very interesting experience - not exactly authentic to the 1500s - but fun anyway.

Pictures

Erling

Jellystone

Well, this isn't exactly like the national parks. During our visit to Milwaukee, we are staying at a Jellystone campground. It has a great waterpark, fun playground, and Yogi Bear. This is actually one of the nicer commercial campgrounds we have stayed in. Caledonia works out pretty well to visit Milwaukee, especially the South side. Lots of fun.

Pictures.

Wisconsin State Fair

Over 500 different foods on a stick! Welcome to the Wisconsin State Fair. People in Milwaukee love fairs and festivals. They are all about music and food. And, it is a lot of fun. We spent a day at the Wisconsin State Fair. Seeing all of the animals like cows, goats, and chickens was fun. Then, we rode rides on the Midway.

Every year at the fair, there is some new food that is the hot thing. We missed the chocolate covered bacon last year. Oh well. And this year, well, I passed on the donut burger. Yep - it is a hamburger, but instead of a bun, they use a Krispy Kreme donut. We stuck to pizza, mo-jo potatos, and creme puffs - another fair specialty. Yum.

Pictures.

Erling

Medora

When you think of North Dakota, you might envision the plains; flat fertile farmland. That might be true for much of the state. But, in the Western part of the state are the Badlands. This is the area that helped build Theodore Roosevelt into a strong man ready to be our nation's 26th president. As we have visited many national parks on this trip, it is hard not to be thankful for Roosevelt's vision and action in creating parks, forests, and wildlife areas. His actions earned him a spot on Mount Rushmore along with Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln.

The town of Medora is the gateway to the badlands. It is a neat small town. We explored the shops including a taffy store where we saw taffy being made. There is a wild west themed playground which the kids enjoyed. The post office shows that even everyday buildings don't have to be boring.

One evening, we attended the Medora Musical. For 45 years, this has been one of the top tourist attactions in the area. It is a fun, western themed show. At one point, we looked up and saw the Milky Way up in the clear night sky.

We stayed at the Red Trail Campground. We were going to be in Roosevelt National Park. However, with temperatures in the 90's, we decided that maybe we needed to plug in so the air conditioner could work. While Red Trail isn't fancy, it surprised us with the fastest internet connection so far. Great to catch up on the blog.

We spent one day exploring Theodore Roosevelt National Park. One of our guide books describes it as 'one of the most interesting but least visited national parks'. Of course we saw great views of the badlands. There were herds of wild horses. We encountered a herd of buffalo. While hiking on the Coal Vein Trail, an enormous buffalo walked within just a few yards of us. Exciting but it also makes you a bit nervous, too. We saw a type of rock called Scoria which is formed when coal starts to burn heading the rocks around it forming a brick like rock. One big surprise was that we found prickly pear cactus growing in the park - who knew that cactus could grow in North Dakota.

Well, it is time to make some fast miles East. Looking forward to stops at the Mall of America, Wisconsin State Fair, and the Beach. Thanks for following along.

More pictures.

Erling

Glacier

Glacier National Park is the wildest, most rugged place we have stayed on this trip. We spent six nights in the park with no hookups, no internet, no electricity except our batteries and no water except what I filled in our tanks.

It was bear country; keep all your food locked in your camper. We joked that if Yogi Bear was written today, the ranger wouldn't be after Yogi but after the campers who leave food out.

But what an incredible place. After seeing so much, you start to lose words to describe it all. Glacier is a little bit canyon - like the Grand Canyon, but formed by Glaciers so different. It is a little bit like Rocky Mountain - but not really. It has lakes and mountains like the Tetons, and yet it isn't really like them, either. It is its own place and quite dramatic.

One day, we did a five mile round trip hike to a lake in the mountains. You could look up and see five waterfalls. They were fed by snow melt and a glacier that was hidden over the top of the mountains. On another day, we went along the Going to the Sun road up to Logan Pass. We hiked in a meadow and saw two kinds of Marmots, Ground Squirrels, and some kind of animal we couldn't identify; maybe a rare Fisher. When we got back, a Bighorn Sheep walked within about 100 yards of us.

On our last day, we rented a rowboat just to get out on Lake McDonald. What fun. Andres is pretty good at rowing, too.

The local specialty is huckleberry. No, not the cartoon character, but a berry that looks similar to a blueberry. We saw them growing wild along the trail - and tried huckleberry cobbler, huckleberry ice cream, and even huckleberry beer (well, Erling tried that one anyway).

It was a long drive to get to Glacier and well worth it. As we left, we began our journey East toward home. We still have a few stops along the way. Hope to have internet soon so we can keep you posted.

More pictures.

Erling

Yellowstone

You would think that the photo I would use to show off Yellowstone would be Old Faithful. True, we did see Old Faithful blow. Twice in fact. And it was very impressive.

But the thing about Yellowstone is that there is so much more to it that just one geyser. We spent only two days exploring the park. It is huge, so there is really no way we could see it all. Like most people say, it is also very crowded and has lots of traffic.

But, in just those two days, we saw an incredible variety of landscapes, from geysers to mountains, to grasslands and so much more. As you drive, you can be in one type of place and minutes later feel like you are somewhere completely different.

The list of animals we saw was long; a grizzly bear with her two cubs, a nest where an osprey fed its three young a fish, a herd of mule deer wandering in the road, an elk, and much more.

We stayed just outside the park in West Yellowstone at the Grizzly Campground. It was a good choice as a base. The campgrounds within Yellowstone aren't really geared toward campers and with the long distances, no matter where you stay you will be driving to get anywhere.

Yellowstone is impressive. Our two days just barely scratched the surface. Glad we had the chance to have a short visit.

More pictures.

Tetons

We visited Grand Teton National Park. It is just South of Yellowstone. Several people had mentioned it as one of their favorites. It was a fantastic place.

Most mountains have foothills. The Tetons just rise up from a plain. There are seven peaks. The area has many lakes and wonderful hiking trails. One day, we did a hike around part of Jenny Lake then took a boat ride back. We spent another day riding horses. We also rented kayaks one afternoon.

The parks have surprised us. We stayed at the Colter Bay campground. While we camped in the woods and were visited by deer and other animals, there are lodges, restaurants, and even a marina within the park. The restaurant at Signal Mountain was excellent and had a great view of a lake.

While we only spent a few days here, this is a place we would definitely want to return. More pictures.

Cherry Hill

Cherry Hill Campground in Kayesville, UT was the kid's favorite stop so far. Here are their reviews.

The water slides were fun! They had a pirate water playground, a medieval dragon water slide, a gold rush water slide and the greatest put-put course ever! The dragon water slide had really dark tunnels that misted you. the gold rush slide had gold walls and several basins. The put-put course had lots of tunnels, castles and secret passageways. Cherry Hill was fun! Andres

I like Cherry Hill. The water slides are really fun. Two are dragons. One is the Grand Canyon. there are pools and put-put. Cherry Hill is in Utah. If you are going to go on a vacation, go to Cherry Hill. Elena.

We had a great time at Cherry Hill. In addition to the water slides and miniature golf, I highly recommend the razzleberry pie. Erling

More pictures.

Las Vegas

We were in Boulder City, NV. Since our tour of the dam was canceled, we had a bit of free time. So, we decided to take a quick drive over to Las Vegas. It seemed like a daytime drive down the strip might be interesting - just looking at all the wild themed buildings. Elena had found a brochure for M&M World so we had a kid-friendly destination. We parked at the MGM Grand and walked to M&M World. It is a four story store of nothing but M&M stuff. I guess I can't write any more since what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Erling

Hoover Dam

With the Grand Canyon, we saw one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It was only fitting that our next stop would be one of the seven modern wonders of the world - the Hoover Dam.

This is truly an engineering wonder that has transformed the Southwestern United States, providing electricity and water to millions. Of course, a beautiful canyon was lost in its making.

We stayed in Boulder City, NV the town that was created for the construction crew to live while the dam was being built. It was hot - 112 degrees. It is hard to imagine the crew working long days in the heat for very low wages. But, it was the Great Depression and people were eager for work.

We were looking forward to taking a tour through the dam and power plant. Unfortunately, as our tour was about to start, they canceled tours for the day. The excuse was that one of the two elevators was not working so it would not be safe for tourists. At least we got to see the dam close up.

More pictures.

Erling

Grand Canyon

I have wanted to visit Grand Canyon National Park for quite a long time. After two long and weary days of driving through Colorado and New Mexico, we finally arrived at the park. Thus far, we had traveled well over 4,000 miles and I was keeping my fingers crossed that this destination would be worth every mile.

We finally arrived at the park in the evening and decided to go to the South rim of the canyon to see the sunset. We walked through a forest of Ponderosa Pine to get to the rim. As we walked, I quietly thought to myself "Will the canyon 'wow' me as I have anticipated? When we reached the rim, the canyon more than 'wowed' me. It stopped me dead in my tracks and mesmerized me. I was wide-eyed and speechless as I viewed the vast landscape before me.

From the rim we were pleasantly surprised to see a California Condor. It is a somewhat odd looking bird with a very impressive wingspan. Near extinction until recently, it is a rare sight to see the Condor. This was my lucky day!

The next morning I woke up early to watch the sunrise over the canyon. I watched the canyon's palette of colors slowly change with the rising sun. That morning, in the grandest of canyons, the world stood absolutely still. It was a slice of heaven on earth.

I have thought of many words to describe the canyon's beauty and have taken numerous pictures to try to capture it. There are no words that truly describe its beauty nor pictures that can capture its enormity.

Was it worth every mile we traveled? Without a doubt - yes!

Now, if I can just see a moose and get my cowgirl hat...

Thanks for following.

Judy

More pictures available.

Glen Canyon Raft Trip

Judy is going to write about the Grand Canyon. What an awesome place. Look for her post soon.

While we were there, we took a day trip on the Colorado River near the Glen Canyon Dam. It was a very long, but very wonderful day. The raft trip was several hours on smooth water. It was hot - way over 100 degrees. The water was cold, 47 degrees, and clear. We used towels soaked in the water to stay cool.

The views of the canyon are spectacular. We had two stops along the way. At one of them, we hiked a short trail to see ancient petroglyphs. You really notice the heat once you are off the water.

Our guide stopped and played a few songs on the guitar which was nice. At one point, he let Andres drive the boat.

A great day in an amazing place.

More pictures are available.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Had a great time visiting Rocky Mountain National Park. The weather was a bit cold and wet - but it can't be sunny every day. This was our first national park campground and had no power, water, cell connectivity, or any other convenience. It worked out just fine.

We did the drive to the highest elevation - over 12,000 feet, stopped by the continental divide, and a few visitors centers. We saw a great program on coyotes and another on squirrels. We are all learning quite a bit from the ranger talks.

A special part of this stop was that Erling's friend Rob stopped by for a cookout. Rob, Robyn, and their son Ryan drove a long way for a visit. It was great fun. Elena and Ryan became instant friends. We hadn't seen them since their wedding. Thanks Rob.

The Rocky mountains are pretty amazing. Glad we had the chance to stop. You can find more images of this stop.

Erling

Wind Cave

While we were in the Rapid City area, we had the chance to visit Wind Cave National Park. Wind Cave is considered the third largest cave in the world. It has a unique rock formation that looks like a box or grid.

We took the Needles Highway to get there. Along the way, we saw a lot of wildlife including a herd of buffalo, a prarie dog town, and some mule deer.

After visiting the park, we did the President's Alpine Slide. You ride a chairlift to the top of a mountain, then ride a bobsled-like cart down. We all had fun and wanted to do it again.

Pictures of our visit are here.

Mount Rushmore

We knew we would be away this year on the Forth of July. After a bit of thought, we decided it couldn't get much better than to be at Mount Rushmore for the holiday. The common theme of the presidents on Rushmore seems to be freedom. Each one stands for freedom in a different way. Each is uniquely American.

Now they usually have one of the best fireworks shows in the nation that day. Unfortunately for us, there is a beetle eating pine trees across the Western US. Because of that, there was too much dead wood and the fireworks were canceled. We had a great time anyway.

We hiked around the trail and attended a ranger talk on the construction of the monument. Andres and Elena did the Junior Ranger program which is a great way to learn more about the parks.

While in the Rapid City area, we stayed at the Rafter J Bar Ranch. This campground was a stop on a famous stagecoach trail. It is a beautiful setting up in the hills and away from most city noise. Plus, it had a great pool.

More to come soon on Wind Cave, Rocky Mountain, The Grand Canyon, and Glen Canyon. Hope summer is treating you well. Look forward to hearing from you.

Here are pictures from Rushmore

Wall Drug

Well, we did another "Must See" attraction along the way. We stopped at Wall Drug in Wall South Dakota. The free ice water really brings them in. Got the fridge magnet - what else is there to say.

More images here

Corn Palace

On our way out West, we had to do a stop at the Mitchell Corn Palace. Each year, the building is redecorated outside using different colors of corn. Amazing.

More images here

Blake

On our way from Itasca to Rapid City, we make a quick stop in Wahpeton, ND. Well, actually, we stopped in Breckenridge, MN which is just across the Red River. We had lunch at Wilkins with Blake. Blake is friend of Erling's from the time they were four. It was great to catch up and have a good meal together.

One cool surprise was that Blake had just bought a Ram pickup almost like ours. We just had to pose for a shot with our trucks and the grain elevator in the background.

Itasca State Park

Itasca State Park is in Minnesota. It is where the Mississippi river starts. Judy and I have visited the park several times and have always enjoyed it. One thing we always dreamed of doing was riding our bikes through the park. Well, we did it.

What a great visit. We had good cool weather. Our site overlooked Lake Itasca. The bike trail was just feet from our site. We rode our bikes through the park to visit the ruins of the general store, a logging exhibit, and the pioneer cemetery. At the end of the trail was the Mississippi Headwaters. You can literally walk across the river. It was very cool. Later that day, we drove the rest of the park and climbed up an observation tower.

You can see more images from Itasca

We are having fun so far. But, our posts are a little behind. It is actually somewhat hard to get internet access from state and national parks. But, we hope to soon post about Mount Rushmore, Wind Cave National Park, and Rocky Mountain National Park. Hope your summer is going well.

Erling

Long Lake

We have had a great time at the lake. It is always a sad day when we have to leave. But, more adventures lie ahead.

We have been coming to the lake for almost as long as I can remember. It is a bit hard to explain, but it really is one of my favorite places in the world. For starters, it is quiet. There are a mix of pine and birch trees that provide a nice rustle as the breeze blows. Then, you add the sound of the many birds chirping and calling; warblers, loons, and many more. In the middle is Long Lake. There are probably hundreds of lakes named Long Lake. This one is about three miles by one mile. The water is extremely clear with over 15 feet of visibility. It is a bit cool most of the summer - but that feels pretty good when you jump in on a hot day.

When it is just our family here, things are pretty quiet. We swim, fish, canoe, and hike. But, we are usually joined by one or more other families for at least part of our stay. That adds time with cousins, tubing, and water skiing. Lots of fun.

This year on the lake has been interesting. There have been many animals I don't normally see. Most summers there are loons, a beaver, and a bald eagle. Joining them this year have been geese, ducks, an otter, and a pair of birds that looked kind of like pelicans or herons.

Thanks for reading. We will keep you posted.

Andres' thoughts on camp and the lake

Skogfjorden is fun! We get to go swimming in a lake. We also play kanonball (or dodgeball). There is a candy shop where we can buy candy we don't normally get in America like Melkesjokolade (Milk Chocolate), uncommon Haribo candies (like: Sour S'getti, Frogs, Fizzy Cola, and Happy Cola) and Zots ( a hard candy that is sour in the middle). Zots comes in 6 different flavors; watermelon, grape, apple, orange, lemon, and cherry.

At Long Lake, my cousins and I went X-treme tubing. We went over big bumps, went fast and got "whipped". We also went water skiing! It took us a few tries to get up but, eventually, we could ski for a long way. I went fishing and caught three Bass.

Andres

Elena's thoughts on the lake

At the lake, I went fishing. I think the rarest one I caught was a Pumpinkseed, but I also caught a Bluegill and two Bass.

I went tubing with my cousins. They love extreme tubing and it is alot of fun to hit bumps and go fast. (My imaginary friends even went with us. They are such good dogs.)

In addition to fishing and tubing, we had time to watch a movie. We love the movie Matilda and have watched it five times.

Elena.

Bog Trail

Judy and Erling were at Bemidji State Park today. We hiked the Bog Trail. It is a pretty unique look at a bog. A bog is an environment where peat builds up making a watery area fairly acidic. This prevents things from biodegrading - meaning fossils can be well preserved for a long time. It also limits what type of plants can grow. We saw many plants we had not seen before. One of the unique plants was a Lady Slipper. I attached a photo of one to this post. We also saw a tamarack tree which has incredibly soft needles.

As part of our hike, we also learned the origin of the term 'get bogged down' since a peat bog is a bit hard to hike through. Fortunately, the state park has a nice wooden dock through the trail so we didn't get stuck.

More pictures of our bog walk can be found on a Picassa gallery. Click on the image to access the gallery.

bemidji_state_park

Skogfjorden

Andres and Elena are at camp this week. They are attending a one week session at Skogfjorden, the Norwegian language village run by Concordia College. For almost 50 years, these camps have offered an immersion into the language and culture of many countries including Norway, Germany, Spain, France, and many others. They get a passport, use local currency, and eat the food from the country they are staying in. Two of their cousins, Anna and Greta, are also at camp with them.

While they are at camp, Judy and Erling are at the lake with Erling's mom Lorraine. More to come on the lake in an upcoming post.

Heading Out West

Welcome to our blog. This is our first post on Amundson Travels. We are heading Out West, going on an adventure to see some of America's great places. On our travels, we hope to see everything from the Grand Canyon to Glacier National Park and many places in between.

It all started with an idea. Judy really wanted to see the Grand Canyon. I really wanted to go to Glacier, a place I last visited when I was about five. Every year, we take a trip to Minnesota to visit family and spend time at the lake. Well, the drive to the lake gets us over halfway to Glacier. So, we started thinking about how to visit the places we dreamed of seeing.

We have done some tent camping. It is a lot of fun. But, we really weren't sure if we wanted that much time in a tent. We have also done many hotel stays. But, staying in a hotel didn't seem to capture the outdoor spirit we were seeking. We really wanted to be able to wake up in the park, to be in nature. So, we decided to try a travel trailer. We are heading out for a great American adventure. We invite you to follow along. Feel free to leave us a comment - we would love to hear from you.

The Amundsons