Missouri to Colorado

We had thought that Missouri would be flat. We thought that Kansas would be flat. We were wrong. We were shocked at how hilly Missouri was. It reminded us a lot of New Hampshire with rolling hills and great vistas around most corners. Needless to say, we were very surprised.

After spending an afternoon at the Flint Hills Discovery Center, a natural history museum, we learned that Kansas was at the bottom of an inland sea during the time of the dinosaurs. So the hills and valleys that we see here, are the result of an ocean shaping the landscape...pretty cool.



We also learned that there is a rather large controversy about converting their farm lands into green energy fields instead.  As we drove through Kansas, we passed mile after mile of windmills. We thought they were beautiful. 

Our family feels that the more green energy the better. We are sure that when roads were built and telephone poles went up that there was opposition to them, for they changed the landscape. Change is hard, but it's so very worth it in this regard. 





One morning, Mae, being the beach baby that she is, tossed a few toys and a large stick into the lake. She was very certain that the waves (very small, and only created by a stiff Kansas wind) would bring them right back to her. We timed the animals on their journey across the lake front. It was close to 17 minutes before they drifted close enough to shore for Daddy to fish them out of the water. Lesson learned.

We saw some beautiful sights in Kansas.

We were very surprised by Kansas. We left Kansas and headed to Denver. It was a long travel day for us, 7 hours on the road. It was 10 hours in the car before we were at our new site. The first day in Denver was very low key, we were all pretty tired from the trip. I took Mae down to the lake created by the Cherry Creek Dam.

 

 The park was amazing and was meticulously up kept by the camp hosts. Unfortunately, Mae and I didn't have good luck with a hot shower. We were already cold and tired, and the shower was the tipping point for a tearful Mae. The very sweet camp host working in the office, refunded our money for the shower, and bought Mae an ice cream to apologize for her having a cold shower. The staff and rangers could not have been nicer or more helpful. It was the first time we've camped where it gets below freezing at night, so George had to unhook the water each night. The water connection was a little funky, but Park Ranger Dan was able to help us out!

We woke up to snow!!! Mae was over the moon! She wasn't sad to be in the cold weather today, that's for sure. We bundled up and tromped around outside for about an hour.It was so beautiful to see the leaf covered trees, dusted with snow.

 

Mae and I played pretend that she was a meerkat, and I was a scientist out in the wild. She had a hurt paw (mitten falling off) at one point, and I had to bring her back to my laboratory.



Luckily she was able to find her den and take a rest.

We spent the rest of the day at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. It was a beautiful space, unfortunately it was crowded like Disney at Christmas! There were 1,400 students there on a field trip, and 2 of the school districts in Denver were on Fall Break. Needless to say it was busy.

We learned more about the wild animals in this area and what to do if we encounter one. Mae was upset about having to throw rocks at a mountain lion if it was attacking us. She resoundly refuses to do so. Much time was spent explaining that it was a last resort and only done in order to save our own human lives. Didn't matter to her. I guess, I'll be doing the rock throwing, God forbid.

 

We also learned a lot about how gems are formed.  It's sad to say that George and I had no idea that lava and minerals are necessary in order for them to form.  These beautiful red gems are from Colorado!

 

 

We needed to change campgrounds, ours was sold out. Yes, a campground in Denver, at the end of October was sold out...even the tent sites. We were very shocked. There are some hard core tent campers up here!

We had to look at the weather forecast and make a decision. We decided to just move to the other side of Denver. It's warmer here than up in the Rockies, just to our west. We were going to stay here for just 2 days, but we were only there for a few hours before George extended our stay to a full week. It's very centrally located, has great wifi, a hot tub, our site is across the street from the playground and hot, clean showers! There is so much to see in the Denver area, we tried to see as much as we could.

We saw our first rock climbers, no harness I'd like to add!

        

Mae and I hiked up a portion of Green Mountain, our first morning, with Izzy. We watched out for rattlesnakes and mountain lions. There was a sign that advised against running on this trail, because the quick motion was likely to attract the mountain lions. I'm glad that we weren't the only ones on the tail that morning. There were many, many other people out running, bike riding and walking. 

Later that day we went with Daddy up Lookout Mountain. We hiked on one of their trails and then enjoyed learning in the warm nature center.

We ended the day with a swim in a beautiful pool, up in the mountains. We got to watch a snow flurry. Mae excitedly told her new friend that there was a blizzard outside the window.

a pool up in the mountains

 

 

watching "the blizzard!"

We had a couple of "home days" while we were in Denver. I had high hopes of getting our home school papers organized, the house cleaned up and baby quilts made for the two newest members of our family. By bedtime on the second "home day" I'd finally dealt with the house and school stuff. At least I washed the fabric. Hopefully while we are in Utah, I can make the quilts for the babes.

 

Mae always enjoys staying home and playing outside. She can happily spend all day on the playground, or making up stories with her dolls and animals. Lately, she's taken to taking videos of them. The quality of the videos is improving.  (Let's hope this video link works, it's about 15 seconds long.)

http://youtu.be/P6LmnyUtPo4

I can't help but think that the directors and producers of today's movies started out as children using the family's movie camera.

 

 

While I was researching Red Rocks Amphitheater I came across the guidelines for working out within the space, I laughed a little to myself reading them.  The joke was on me! We arrived to see the theater filled with people working out, as well as enjoying the park. There were people running up the steps, doing push ups on the risers, and some women doing lunges the whole way down the amphitheater. What a spectacular place to break a sweat!

Mae, of course, wanted to sing and dance on the stage. She was a bit put off by the teenagers that were hanging out there already. Eventually, the desire to perform overcame the desire to avoid the big kids, and she sang and danced to her heart's content.




We all climbed to the top of the theater, and we were awed at every step of the way. The view looking up and looking down changed, each time we stopped to catch our breath. It's much different working out about 1.5 miles above sea level. 




The lack of oxygen did not slow Mae down, not in the slightest. The fear of rattlesnakes was enough to have her sticking close or holding a hand though.

We stopped to have a picnic outside the Red Rocks Museum. We took turns looking at the exhibits inside. One of the things we learned, was that the first performers at Red Rocks, as well as audience members were brought to the sight on the backs of mules. It's the only naturally formed amphitheater  in the world. We'd love to see a concert there some day.

After lunch we hiked one of the trails. It was a beautiful walk on a bright sun shiny day. 




Mae played with her little animals at the top of the mountain, in the shade of the red rocks.


       



George, Izzy and I rested up for the trek back down.




One day we decided to have a low key day, and just bring Mae to a new playground. I'd read in the Denver magazine that there were some cool playgrounds. I pulled up the list of parks, and had George pick one. While he was reading about Utah Park, he saw a building labeled "pool." He told me, and I packed a suit for Mae, just in case. Well, not only was there an indoor pool, but we could use it all day for $3.50! Mae had the place to herself for 2.5 hours. 

       

She used the huge water slide and would walk across the 3 foot deep pool, over to the sprinkler park area. She still had enough energy left over for a quick stop at their beautiful playground when the pool closed. It was a great day, a great facility, and a great price!

 

We lucked out in terms of Halloween festivities as well. The Children's Museum of Denver hosts a Trick or Treat Street the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday before Halloween. 

        

Mae was Cinderella, we got some extra miles out of the fancy princess dress we bought her last spring at Disney. She was very excited to wear a costume, from the real Disney World. A pair of sparkly silver shoes, and we were ready to roll.

             


They did a great job of providing treats, crafts and games for the children alongside all the great exhibits within the museum itself.



Making a new friend, was one of her favorite parts of the day. Both girls had already played in all the different rooms with their family members. They had a chance to go back and revisit them all again, this time with a new buddy. The girls had a blast exploring and sharing.  They ended the day with a private ride on the train. That's what happens when you close the place down!

We greatly enjoyed Denver. It was a clean, green, health conscience, sunny city. We were amazed by the amount of sunshine up there. The locals tell us that they don't get much snow there and that it's nice and sunny all winter. Hmm... food for thought.

We are headed to Utah!! We will get to explore our first National Park!

 

Niagra Falls to Illinois

Niagra Falls to Illinois

 

greetings from the edge of the USA

 

 

 

First of all, our campground was ON THE SHORE OF LAKE ONTARIO! How cool is that? For someone who has never seen a Great Lake before, living with one outside their door for a few days was totally awesome!

 

It was a such a crazy feeling to know that you were standing on, essentially, the edge of the United States of America. We could look across the water from our campground and see Toronto. We had a lot of fun exploring along the shore.




We couldn't believe the size of the whole trees that were washed up on the shore as drift wood. Before this, we'd only seen entire trees on the beaches off the Maine coast...and we were on a fresh water lake... very surreal feeling. We made some cool rock sculptures and found out that we could use one rock to write on other rocks that were large and flat, kind of like personal chalk boards.



We went to see the falls, which are in the Niagra Falls State park, in the town of Niagra Falls, NY. The falls are actually named the Horseshoe, American, and Bridal Veil Falls. It's so nice to be able to see such an amazing sight, with so few other people around.




The falls were amazing and beautiful. The mist creates rainbows all day long.

 

After lunch we took an elevator ride down to the bottom of the gorge. The elevator shaft was built in the 1920's BY HAND! No power tools or dynamite were used. It was completed completely with hammers and chisels. Each spring the park erects a special staircase for visitors to use at the Cave of the Winds . We climbed these stairs, alongside the falls, back up. On the Hurricane Deck, we were standing 10 feet from the falls.

 

George and Mae 10 feet from the falls!

We were greatly impressed with the falls from the American side. We couldn't imagine what all the hype was about around viewing them from the Canadian side. 

We'd traveled so far to see the falls, we figured we had to go to Canada to see what all the fuss was about. (Not to mention, now we can claim to be international homeschoolers!)

Wow! A picture is worth a thousand words, is so true. We couldn't not believe the view! It was breathtaking, awe inspiring and majestic. The raw power and magnitude of the falls can really be appreciated from the Canadian side.

Mae got a kick out of being in the land of the maple leaf flag.

Each night the Canadians illuminate the falls with colored lights. We went back the next night to see them "under the lights." It was a very wet endeavor. We were soaked, like we'd been standing in the pouring rain, after trying to see Horseshoe Falls. Our vantage point didn't allow us to see the falls directly, but we could see the pretty mist all colored and swirling.

We thought that was good enough. Mae pushed us to cross the park and view Bridal Veil falls. She was sure that we'd be able to see the pretty colors there. As we walked, we noticed in the street lights, it appeared to be raining; but you could look farther into the sky and see a cloudless, starry sky. The contradiction was beautiful.

We could indeed watch the Bridal Veil Fall change colors! We were so glad that we followed Mae's lead. We could enjoy the colors without getting soaked with mist-a big added bonus!

We left New York and headed to Ohio, we stayed only two nights versus the three that we have been staying. There was time for some exploring of the lake and playground in the rain when we arrived. I can't believe how warm it has been. 

During our full day in Ohio we did errands, grocery shopping and catching up on some technology updates and such at the local library. We left for Indiana the next morning. It rained the whole time we were in Indiana, so we went to the movies. It's a favorite pass time for the whole family.

Our travel day to Illinois was beautiful and warm after a cold rainy stay in Indiana. We stopped for a bathroom break, and ended up finding a great little farm stand. We bought some delicious honey crisp apples and veggies. For the very first time, we got to actually pick a pumpkin off the vine! There was even a corn maze. Talk about a great rest stop.

We ended up staying for four days at our campground in Illinois. It was a great spot for us because we had a nice big spot, right next to an awesome playground. Mae played outside for 12 hours for two days in a row. The only time she came in the house was to go to the bathroom. We even ate all of our meals outside or in the play castle for two days.

I told her the first night that we got there, that in the morning I'd make her a sensory bin in the morning. She was so excited. The next morning she work up early, and the first thing she said was "Can I play with my sensory bin now?" So I made her a batch of cloud dough, that she played with all day. It's eight cups of flour and one cup of oil (baby or veggie). It has a nice soft texture and can be lightly molded.

The second play day began with three batches of kool aid playdough. It smells wonderful and has such a great bright color that's 100% food safe.

(playdough)

1 cup flour

W1/2 cup salt

1 TBSP cream of tarter

1 TBSP veggie oil

1 cup water

Mix all the dry ingredients. Then add the wet ones and cool over a medium heat until the mixture sticks together.

Mae started right off by making a bakery with her playdough and nature items.

As usual, she included her toys. Today most of her plastic animals were her assistants in the kitchen. They all demonstrated very nice team work skills. When she was done with the playdough, she went back to the playground. We didn't see her again until dinner time.

Speaking of dinner time... I have to stop and sing the praises of my electric skillet. I bought it about two months ago hoping that it would help me cook without adding heat to the house, because I can plug it in outside and cook out there. I got so much more for my money. On our trip so far, I've cooked a pot of split pea soup in it (simmered for 2 hours). I baked a batch of muffins, the bottoms burned, but I'm going to try a water bath next time with my silicone muffin cups. We've made pizzas, using a tortilla as the crust and the toppings of our choice. I also used it to make the playdough. So, not only was I able to cook outside, I was also cooking for free. Electricity is included with our nightly campground fee. So it didn't cost us any extra to cook the soup for a few hours. If I'd been using the propane to cook the soup on the stove, I'm pretty sure we would have used a lot of gas. We are always excited about a money saving idea.

Our last day camping in Illinois, we actually spent in Missouri, at the St. Louis Zoo. It's open free to the public! Some of the events cost extra once you are there. We did the math and realized that for just an extra $20 from what we were going to spend we could buy a zoo membership that's good at participating zoos and aquariums across the country. Needless to say, we bought the membership. We also have a membership to the science museums across the nation. George is going to use the lists to help him choose campgrounds, so if we have some extra time or a rainy day, we can take advantage of these local resources.
 
                  

The zoo was very well done and was a great place to spend the day learning together. Like with Niagra Falls, it was wonderful to be there when the masses were not. We had lunch while watching the sea lions, totally awesome!

 

We had the gift of time to allow Mae to explore at her own pace. She spent a lot of time petting this goat.

She was sharing her goat knowledge with another little girl. That's one of our major goals for this trip. The slow, natural absorption and assimilation of information on a deep level. We are so fortunate!