The Grand Tetons

The drive out of Texas is tortuous.  For 10 hours, we battled flat, brown landscape.  The drive into Denver was during the wee hours of the morning, and we weren't able to appreciate the mountains rising over the horizon.  The much shorter drive in the Grand Tetons made up for all 10 hours of Texas.  The mountains were spectacular.  Actually, spectacular doesn't begin to describe the majesty of the country.  As we gasped and awed, pointing out the window at each new glorious scene, we were abruptly stopped.

The bison wanted to cross the road for lunch.  We we not about to disrupt their plans for food!

They appeared to be having enough of their own drama....

The goal of leaving Warren Bridge early in the day was to arrive at  Headwaters Lodge and Campground at Flagg Ranch early enough to secure at walk in camp site.  Folks, these sites reserve up to a year in advance!  A YEAR!  I got in line for a site, and managed to score two out of the last three!  It was 9:08, and the host opened at 9:00. HALF of the campground was booked in 8 minutes.  Geez.  With lodging taken care of, but a few hours till check in, we opted to take a short hike.  

We hiked for over an hour, and the views were...again...no words to describe.  The God I serve has a bigger imagination than I can think of.  From the raging rivers to the deepest canyon to the highest peak of the snow topped mountains, we are BLESSED to live in and experience His AMAZING creation.  

Hiking over, we pitched our tent, showered, and made the hour long trek back to Jackson to meet up with my parent-in-laws and my oldest daughter.  We ate, we laughed, we shared road stories, and when were were done, we headed back to camp.  I was SO thankful for our 20* sleeping bags.  34* is pretty chilly at night!  Tomorrow, we would explore Yellowstone and meet up with an old friend.  Don't miss the next installment of the Jolly Camper!

Year 3 - It begins

Welcome to the Jolly Camper!  I'm Sara, the Jolliest of campers, and this is my blog.  Every year for the past three years, I've gathered up my children, packed my mini-van, and headed out on an adventure.  Two years ago, we camped in our van through 14 states.  Last year, we got smart, bought a TENT, and camped for 30 days through 30 states.  This year, we're finishing up the lower 48 states.  I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am that God lets me do this.  I'm not proud, I'm not lucky, I'm straight up BLESSED.  

OK, so this year, we started with some car trouble.  I know, not the ideal way to start a trip.  I am fortunate enough to share the road with Ciara this year.  Ciara has been babysitting for us for the past two years, and she agreed to come along as my traveling nanny!  She's good people.  Anyhow, I'd had  an alignment done, and you know when you take your car to the shop and they start to "find" things?  That happened.  We ended up with an alignment, an AC belt a serpentine belt, and a new tensioner.  They were recharged the AC while they were in there.  I went from the shop to pick Ciara up, we loaded the van, and set out of San Antonio.  Excited and anticipatory, we drove 3 miles and realized the AC was not....cold.  Not even not cold, it was warm.  I called the shop.  "Give it a few days to cycle" they said.  I may be blonde, and I may not be mechanically inclined, but I KNOW I'm not going to make it through 10 hours of West Texas with a "cycling" AC.  I called my regular mechanic, and he got us in right away (I had strayed because he doesn't do alignments.  Never.  Again.). Apparently, you need the shredder valves IN the line for the unit to stay charged.  Mike at the Express Lube on Pat Booker in Universal City.  Go see him.  

We didn't leave till almost 4pm with a air conditioning mishap, so 14 hours of driving later, we arrived in Denver just in time for breakfast.  My sister in law housed us for a few hours of sleep.  Once we'd washed the sleep out of our eyes, we loaded up for food.

Kristina is my sister in law, but honestly, she's closer to being my sister.  She stood up with me at my wedding to her brother, and I stood up with her.  We've laughed, cried, loved, experienced, and done life together.  She's an amazingly talented artist of paper and food (she's a graphic designer AND chef).  When she recommends food, I listen.  Sam's #3 greeted us with coffee and some AMAZING green chili omelets.  The kids crawled all over her, and they weren't denied hugs and kisses.  The visit was short, but sweet.  THANK YOU, KRISTY!

10 more hours of driving... but hey, 10 is shorter than 14!

Driving to the Grand Tetons from Denver was one of the most beautiful drives I think I've ever taken.  The green rolling hills and mountains growing in the distance gave hope to a destination.  We were slated to stop in Falls, ID to camp for the night.  The place we wanted to stay in Wyoming was a first come first serve campground, and we knew they filled quickly.  The plan was to stay in Falls, then leave early in the morning to get to Headwaters by 0900.  Ciara and I were tired, and the drive was taking longer than we anticipated.  With three hours to go, Ciara noticed a sign for camping on the left side of the rode.  We though, checking it out wouldn't hurt anything!  

Warren Bridge is where we stopped for the night.  A quaint campground with a vault toilet, but a beautiful stream.  For $10, who could say no!  With less than a 2 hour drive to Headwaters, we set up the tent and called it a night...

But not before a quick jammie hike to the stream. 

Folks, this is what it's all about.  In a tent with three beautiful kids, a friend and nanny, and God's paintbrush.  Really, who wouldn't be a jolly camper?

Year 3 - It begins

Welcome to the Jolly Camper!  I'm Sara, the Jolliest of campers, and this is my blog.  Every year for the past three years, I've gathered up my children, packed my mini-van, and headed out on an adventure.  Two years ago, we camped in our van through 14 states.  Last year, we got smart, bought a TENT, and camped for 30 days through 30 states.  This year, we're finishing up the lower 48 states.  I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am that God lets me do this.  I'm not proud, I'm not lucky, I'm straight up BLESSED.  

OK, so this year, we started with some car trouble.  I know, not the ideal way to start a trip.  I am fortunate enough to share the road with Ciara this year.  Ciara has been babysitting for us for the past two years, and she agreed to come along as my traveling nanny!  She's good people.  Anyhow, I'd had  an alignment done, and you know when you take your car to the shop and they start to "find" things?  That happened.  We ended up with an alignment, an AC belt a serpentine belt, and a new tensioner.  They were recharged the AC while they were in there.  I went from the shop to pick Ciara up, we loaded the van, and set out of San Antonio.  Excited and anticipatory, we drove 3 miles and realized the AC was not....cold.  Not even not cold, it was warm.  I called the shop.  "Give it a few days to cycle" they said.  I may be blonde, and I may not be mechanically inclined, but I KNOW I'm not going to make it through 10 hours of West Texas with a "cycling" AC.  I called my regular mechanic, and he got us in right away (I had strayed because he doesn't do alignments.  Never.  Again.). Apparently, you need the shredder valves IN the line for the unit to stay charged.  Mike at the Express Lube on Pat Booker in Universal City.  Go see him.  

We didn't leave till almost 4pm with a air conditioning mishap, so 14 hours of driving later, we arrived in Denver just in time for breakfast.  My sister in law housed us for a few hours of sleep.  Once we'd washed the sleep out of our eyes, we loaded up for food.

Kristina is my sister in law, but honestly, she's closer to being my sister.  She stood up with me at my wedding to her brother, and I stood up with her.  We've laughed, cried, loved, experienced, and done life together.  She's an amazingly talented artist of paper and food (she's a graphic designer AND chef).  When she recommends food, I listen.  Sam's #3 greeted us with coffee and some AMAZING green chili omelets.  The kids crawled all over her, and they weren't denied hugs and kisses.  The visit was short, but sweet.  THANK YOU, KRISTY!

10 more hours of driving... but hey, 10 is shorter than 14!

Driving to the Grand Tetons from Denver was one of the most beautiful drives I think I've ever taken.  The green rolling hills and mountains growing in the distance gave hope to a destination.  We were slated to stop in Falls, ID to camp for the night.  The place we wanted to stay in Wyoming was a first come first serve campground, and we knew they filled quickly.  The plan was to stay in Falls, then leave early in the morning to get to Headwaters by 0900.  Ciara and I were tired, and the drive was taking longer than we anticipated.  With three hours to go, Ciara noticed a sign for camping on the left side of the rode.  We though, checking it out wouldn't hurt anything!  

Warren Bridge is where we stopped for the night.  A quaint campground with a vault toilet, but a beautiful stream.  For $10, who could say no!  With less than a 2 hour drive to Headwaters, we set up the tent and called it a night...

But not before a quick jammie hike to the stream. 

Folks, this is what it's all about.  In a tent with three beautiful kids, a friend and nanny, and God's paintbrush.  Really, who wouldn't be a jolly camper?

I'm gonna make you an offer you can't refuse....

My moms side of the family are great historians.  They have tracked our families history for generations.  It's been really neat to follow my roots.  My dads side....well, the closest I've gotten to the history of my dads side is a book called Louisiana Power and Light.  It's not exactly a flattering rendition of my history.  Monroe, Louisiana is where the Fontana family settled after immigrating from Sicily, and since we were close, I thought, what the heck, lets go see what there is to see.

Being good Sicilians, they were all Catholic, and Catholics keep GOOOOOD records!  I got a hold of the perish in Monroe, and I hit the jackpot!  I found birth records, baptisms, deaths, marriages...  It may not seem all THAT exciting, but for me?  Well, I'm a huge nerd, and LOVE research, so this was a big deal for me.  Plus, I was able to peek into the lives of my ancestors, and start in depth ancestry documentation.  I hope to one day obtain a dual citizenship to Italy.  Look for Dominic and Lena Fontana (my great grand parents), and Mary Fontana (my dad's mom).  Pretty neat stuff!

From Monroe, we headed for home.  We were able to surprise Gordon a day early!  Travel is fantastic, but it was good to be back home.

40 Essential Items for a Three Week Road Trip

The 40 Essential Items to 24 Days on the Road with Your Kids

ie:  The Packing List

9 days from right now, I'll be taking off with four kids (ages 19, 10, 7, and 3, and picking up an 18 year old along the way) on a grand adventure of a road trip.  We'll be visiting 15 states in 21 days and camping in our tent AND in our van!  See the pics below for our setup.  So, here's the conundrum: I have to be able to fit everything from the trunk in the front two seats for sleeping when we aren't tenting it.  Here, I'll show you....

This is the layout of the van.  See the trunk space?  See the front seat space?  Well, the whole list of stuff, minus the air mattress, sleeping bags and pillows need to go from the back.......................

to in between the front seat and the dash.  This includes Annika's car seat.  So I'm posting my list to make sure I didn't forget anything, or maybe even skinny it down!  We've done it for two years running.  Next year, we'll be flying to Alaska and Hawaii, so I'll have a whole NEW set of problems....HAHA!  #camperproblems Please comment and FOLLOW!

1.  Air Mattress
2. Sleeping Bags x4
3. Pillows
4. Cooler with Ice
5. Fresh Food
6. Dehydrated Food
7. WATER
8. 2 pair long pants each
9. 3 pair shorts each
10. 5 pair underwear each
11. 5 t-shirts each
12. 1 sweatshirt/jacket each
13. 1 pair tennis shoes each
14. 1 pair Sandals each
15. 5 pair socks each
16. 1 swim suit each
17. 1 towel each
18. 2 pair jammies each
19. deodorant
20. shampoo
21. conditioner
22. body wash
23. toothbrushes
24. toothpaste
25. face wash
26. moisturizer
27. Sunscreen
28. Bug spray
29. Benadryl/Motrin/tylenol/valium
30. money
31. MOVIES
32. BOOKS
33. Emergency Kit
34. Atlas
35. Computer/Charger
36. Cell phones/charger
37. Tent
38. Tarp
39. Stove
40. Baby Back Pack

Car Camping:

 

Tent Camping:

When we went to Greece...only it was Nashville

We started from Kentucky to Monroe, LA,  but had a very important stop to make.  Jacob and Jenna Walker are two of the coolest people we know.  Seriously, I'm not even sure how they stay friends with old, boring people like us.  They are fantastic musicians, photographers, swing dancers, and parents.  You can check out some of their music here.  They moved to Nashville a few years ago, and we miss them, so it was fantastic to get to grab some lunch with them and their sweet daughter, Nora June!  Annika LOVED her pink boots!

We ate an amazing lunch at a local taco place, caught up, and departed.  We were casually flowing with traffic when we saw a sign.  It read "Parthenon - Next Exit".  Truth be told, I get confused pretty easily, but this one threw me over the edge.  I'm not a super smart girl, but the Parthenon is in GREECE (I had to google that since I get the Parthenon and the Pantheon mixed up).  Hook, line, and sinker, we exited.  I'll be dadblamed, there it was!  In Nashville, TN.  

The full scale replica wasn't open (closed on Tuesdays), but we spent some time looking at the architecture and talking about the history of the structure and how it in no way relates to Nashville.  Whatever.  Still a cool find!

It was hotter than snot, and we still had to make it to Monroe, Louisiana which is 7.5 hours from Nashville, so we head West on I-40.  I knew we had friends headed to Virginia that day, so I called them to see if we were anywhere close to being on the same rout.  They had had some changes in plans, and happened to be on I-40 East and had left Memphis!  We opted to meet up for a cup of coffee at a gas station.  Siri was ecstatic to see her friend Aubrey!

We made it a lunch stop.  Peanut Butter and Jelly down the hatch while mom filled up on gas, and we were back on the road.