The End of the Line

A COLLAGE OF PICTURES (I tried to use pictures that you haven't seen yet)

We left Deer Lodge, Montana in the morning after only a handful of sleep hours and made it home around 4pm. It was VERY good to get home. Max the dog was hyper when we walked through the door and the kids chased around the kitten that had grown a little bit.

The C and the Cross that sit on Colville Mountain guarding the city.

While on the road heading home, I surveyed the family on what some of their favorite parts of the trip was. The question was, "What was your favorite part..."

1. ...while at Uncle Punk and Aunt Ag's house in Helena, Montana?

Ella - The chickens that laid eggs.

Sam - Fireworks

Marci - Watching my kids have fun like I used to at the farm.

Brent - Cooking in the kitchen with Aggie.

2. ...when we went to the Mt. Rushmore area?

Ella - Going down the waterslide.

Sam - Seeing the faces on the mountain.

Marci - The espresso stand we found that opened at 6am.

Brent - Acting like one of the kids (waterslide, etc...).

3. ...after Rushmore, we did a long day in the car to Minnesota. What was your favorite part about traveling in the car?
Ella and Marci - Getting closer to Illinois.

Sam - Playing my DS.

Brent - Being together alone as a family.

4. ...during the six days we spent in Illinois?

Ella - I liked having fun with Evan and Aunt Barb.

Sam - Playing baseball at the farm with dad.

Marci - Everything. There is no way I can narrow it down to one thing.
Brent - How Aunt Barb would make a pot of coffee for Marci (with flavoring) and a pot of black for me. We would wake up and she had them set out on the counter in urns, labeled and ready for us. You don't get that kind of service at the Purvis home.

5. ...at the Pawnee Lake Campground in Nebraska?

Ella - I liked that when Dad got up early and caught a bunch of fish.

Sam - I liked it when Dad was fighting that big bass.

Marci - Nothing, I was too sad about leaving Morrison.

Brent - The leech story. Sam was wading in the water and told me that he saw a leech swim by. I said, "No way. There are no leeches in this lake. Don't worry about it." Sure enough, when he got out of the water, we had a leech attached to his leg sucking away.

6. ...at Torrington, Wyoming with Aunt Alice and Uncle Kent?

Ella - Playing tag with the neighbor kids.

Sam - Pulling the settler cart at Fort Laramie, just like the old days.

Marci - Hearing stories of Brent's parents when they were young and seeing pictures of them.

Brent - Hearing Uncle Kent's stories.

7. ...while at Yellowstone National Park?

Ella - Putting sand on the lake that was on the edge of our campground.

Sam - Setting up the fire.

Marci - The mudpots and geysers.

Brent - Fishing in the Yellowstone River.

8. What was your favorite part of the whole trip?

Ella - Going down the waterslide and splashing down into the water, and seeing the baby horse that had a broken leg when we went out to Uncle Kent's ranch.

Sam - That is a hard one, we have done lots of fun stuff. I can't think of it. Riding on the freeway...no, no...watching the cows and horses pass the gravel road on the way back from the ranch in Wyoming.

Marci - Going on a roadtrip with my family like I used to do when I was young!

Brent - The feeling of success. We pulled it off. No major car breakdowns, no major family breakdowns, the itinerary was solid, we stayed within our budget, the kids will have some good memories, and we made it home! I might actually try something like that again sometime.

9. What is your favorite part of getting home?

Ella - Seeing Gizmo and watching Max run all over the place.

Sam - Watching Max make a hole through the screen door.

Marci - To be stationary for a while, not moving around, being at home.

Brent - Never having to deal with that *&%$^# Big Mac Car Top carrier again!

I can't help but think that we have a beautiful country. Some thoughts after driving through nine states:

- There is so much to see in our country, let alone the world. We just stopped at the touristy spots, too. I am tired of tourists.

- Washington State is one of the most beautiful states that I have ever been to. It has every type of terrain that we saw on our trip.

- Colville, Wa has the highest gas prices out of anywhere that we explored. Lucky us.

- I like Colville's grocery stores (price and quality) better than anywhere we went. Lucky us for real.

- Driving is way better than flying. You get to really see the country and get a feel for life and culture. I only was given the bird once, too.

This was a good trip for our family. Thanks for following along. I appreciate the requests for the FROG to continue. We'll have to see about that. Maybe once or twice a month we can get something up there. Brent

PS - (I have to have a PS, don't I?) We had so much fun, we are already considering a trip next year. We would like to see Mom and Dad in Ketchikan, so maybe a roadtrip through BC? We'll get back to you on that one.

PSS - (Is it PPS pr PSS?) In our stack of mail upon returning home, Alaska Airlines sent Ella an offer for a credit card. THAT is NOT what we need!

Quarters and High-90

That is an Elk, not a moose. I am learning the difference. Antlers help.

This scared Marci.

Sammy fishing.

Oh give me a home, where the buffalo....sleep.

The fishing master at work.

This guy was swimming right for us, and he can swim fast.

My girl loves to fish.

The fam at the falls.

Geyser seeing.

Old Faithful! We sat around for about a half hour and then it launched. Kent and Alice and Grandma Beth both watched us on the Old Faithful cam online.

We spent the day exploring the massive Yellowstone National Park. You could spend a lot more time seeing the sights, but we did a pretty darn good job cramming the sightseeing into one day. Old Faithful was faithful and went off, although some of the other geysers were more impressive. We never did see a bear, but a lot of other animals. We spent some time fishing and almost had a monster of the deep. All in all, it was a fun day, but I got tired of tourists really quick. I guess growing up in a tourist town may have given me my fill.

We got everyone fed, showered, teeth brushed and pajama'd and were just about to put everyone down for the night. It was dark out and all we had left to do was sleep, wake up, break camp and hit the road. I happened to mention that I wasn't tired and maybe we should try to take a few miles off the trip tonight. Marci and the kids cheered. I think we are all ready to be home. The kids both went to the bottom of their sleeping bags and prayed so that we could leave tonight. Sooooooo....we packed up camp and headed out. We told Ella that we would drive until I got tired which would probably be around the time we get to I-90. She said over and over that she wanted us to leave so we could get to "High-Ninety".

I drove until I felt the effects of no sleep and we rented a room in Deer Lodge, Montana. Now, refreshed and with only about 300 miles left to home, we are ready to hit the road. Jody, I would guess that we will be home around 4pm. Tell the pets. Brent

PS -I told the kids that I would pay them a quarter for each wild animal (not counting birds and squirrels). I owe them some quarters after that herd of buffalo.

PSS - You are probably glad to stop getting these emails, but I will send one more when we get home to close it out!

Into Thin Air

We are all exhausted today, so my commentary will be brief. It turned out to be a good decision to get to Casper last night as the trip into Yellowstone was slow. There was a lot of road construction and mountainous driving. It was really stunning, too. Marci thought the Tetons were the most beautiful thing she has ever seen (next to me, of course).

Flat to start the day.
We finally see mountains.

Starting to gain altitude.

The pictures really don't do these beauties justice.

We have arrived.

The shores of Yellowstone Lake (where our campground is) reminded us of the Puget Sound shoreline a little bit.

There is hot water coming out of that cone.

The bubbles coming out of the ground around West Thumb.
Lots of moose.

Gaggles of them. It was a fun thing to see to end the day. I'm going to bed. Brent

Head West and Run, Boy, Run

We had a great time with Uncle Kent and Aunt Alice today. After breakfast, the girls went to garage sales while the boys drove around Torrington. Kent treated us all to a very good Mexican lunch and then we drove up to the old Fort Laramie where we all learned about life on the frontier.

The kids got some new hats

Sam learned about mattresses stuffed with straw.

They both got to try out the old way of washing clothes. I hope they appreciate their mother, now. Wait, she has machines... but it still is a lot of work (so I'm told).

Sam got caught stealing and had to wear the barrel all day.

They received a neat lesson on loading the old rifles. Those old bullets were pretty big. The kids also thought it was a little crazy that the doctor's main tool was a saw. I doubt they will complain next time the receive a shot from the doctor. At least the doc won't saw off any limbs.

After leaving the fort, Kent and Alice took us up to their old ranch property and the kids got to see the car get surrounded by horses and cows. I remembered the ranch house and property from my childhood visits. I recalled Uncle Kent teaching me to drive when I was 13. He gave me the keys to his pickup, put me in the middle of the prairie and said, "Have fun."

Heading West at Sunset.

We ate supper and loaded the van back up. Uncle Kent gave the kids some really cool treasure and I was given a new fishing reel. Since the next leg of our trip is so lengthy, Marci and I decided to take a couple of hours off our trip by heading up to Casper, Wyoming tonight. We left Torrington around 7:30 or so and got to a Motel 6 in Casper around 10pm. Tom Bodett left the light on for us.

Tomorrow we will head for the Tetons and Yellowstone. Brent

PS - Marci would like to make sure that we say that we appreciated the Main Street coffee house in Morrison. They probably appreciated the business that our entire family brought them. The coffee and service was good (although Marci would like them to upgrade from Styrofoam cups - Aunt Barb, can you work on that?).

PSS - We had just left Torrington, "Heading West Young Man" as Uncle Kent put it, and the kids had on their headphones, quietly watching a movie in the back seat. It was a quiet, peaceful drive until, out of nowhere, Ella loudly exclaimed, "Run, boy, run." Marci and I got a laugh out of that one.

PSSS - Sam really liked Uncle Kent's Tinker Toys. He built a lawnmower and a race car.