Back in the spring when we would normally be ordering the kids' animals to grow and take to the county fair, COVID was just beginning. The kids were pulled out of school, everyone was in a strict quarantine and anything in sight was cancelled. We were happily holed up on the Hill but unsure of what was coming next.
The County fair is Gabby's favorite week of the year. She loves animals and she loves feeding people. She lights up when she talks about agriculture and in general, she is her happiest on that Sunday night before the fair starts, when all her people meet up in the barns and prepare for a fun week.
But growing animals costs a lot of money and if she can't sell them at the fair, we lose a couple thousand dollars. After talking it over with Gabby and looking at the political landscape, back in April a fair didn't seem likely. She decided to pass on growing animals this year. And it was sad. It was a big loss for her for sure and the empty pig pen and turkey cages were a sad sight all summer.
Plus, to pour salt in wound, there actually was a county fair this year. Everything else under the sun was canceled it seemed like, but the fair carried on.
Shaun and I felt terrible. We love Gabby more than our own life, and in trying to predict the future and make a wise decision in the face of a pandemic, she lost her favorite thing.
As we processed and prayed about it, we started floating the idea of a trip to take the place of a fair. We have always wanted to take our kids out west, but with animals, it's hard, if not impossible, to leave during the summer. This year, though, our barns (and our hearts) were empty.
We looked at 20 different scenerios, camping, renting an RV, buying a pop up, flying into 6 different airports in a thousand different situations and finally came up with a decent plan. We would fly into Denver, rent a suburban and drive through the Rockies, into the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone and back in a week. We knew it would be a long week full of long days but we really felt like the kids were old enough to do it and really, with Ellie going to college and the fair fiasco it felt like the right time.
On Sunday morning around 9am, we boarded a flight to Denver with our masks on and our trusty backpacks filled to the brim and landed in the Mile High City at lunch time. Our first stop was at Walmart where I had ordered $400 worth of food and all our favorite snacks and we headed north. The kids were sleepy and snuggled into the burb all spread out and Shaun and I were so happy to be on an adventure after our extended quarantine.
We drove for hours, finally stopping about 2 hours South of the Grand Tetons in a Priceline room. The ride was amazing, we took a lot of back roads and saw so much of the wild parts of northern Colorado and Wyoming. The kids gorged themselves on junk food and poor Sam threw up right at the end of our day. He said, "I think I'm going to throw up" and we all laughed because all the kids felt a little sick at their diet so far that day. But when I looked back and he was holding a walmart bag, I dove from the front seat to the back row in a second. He blamed the three carrots he ate that day (because they are hard to digest) and not the 5 bags of Cheetos and Doritos, countless Slim Jim's and 3 gatorades. We laughed so hard we cried at the "bucket Hills" and tried to come up with a ranch name for our pretend family ranch (Seventh Heaven). We talked and dreamed and the kids gamed on their devices and I napped and we listened to the radio and it was so wonderful.
When we got to the hotel, I went in first and sanitized everything a person could touch, armed with my Lysol wipes and spray. The kids and Shaun laughed at me, but really, I was taking zero chances with my Maxy boy. We slept really well and got up early the next morning for some McDonald's coffee and a short ride to the Grand Tetons.
Our first stop was the potty because no one wanted to use my Honey Bucket. Shaun bought some bear spray and we found a picnic table in a quiet little cove and ate chips and salsa and fruit and took 1,000 pictures. The kids wanted to go on a hike and Shaun and I noticed that maybe we didn't need that bear spray after all because they walk through the woods SO LOUD. Happy, teasing each other and talking like Peppa Pig, but LOUD. The bears surely heard us coming.
Shaun has a slight obsession with Old Faithful so that was our first Yellowstone stop and we waited to watch that go off. It was hot and crowded but we found some shade off to the side after walking around the board walk and Old Faithful did not disappoint. We laughed and laughed at how funny Shaun is about his Old Faithful pics. That evening we drove out the East Entrance of Yellowstone to our little motel. It wasn't camping and it wasn't a teepee (which was on our radar) but it was a clean bed and a hot shower. We were only planning to sleep there so it was fine. The kids had turkey sandwiches and veggies for a quick dinner and then lights out for an early morning of looking for animals.
Tuesday was the first morning in Yellowstone we found the Upper and Lower falls and recreated a picture Shaun and I took back in our pre-kid camping days. Max LOVED the camper he saw across the valley. We laughed and laughed that we were here to see this magnificent waterfall and Max is fascinated by the camper he can barely see in a parking lot across the way. So typically him.
Sophie was our chief photographer and we were so grateful to see some buffalo up close that morning. It was a beautiful day and we spent it finding little spots to hike and climb rocks. We had no agenda and the day was incredible. We had so much fun.
I started to get a little twitchy on Tuesday afternoon when I realized how poor our cell reception was in the park (and really everywhere out there!). Ellie was flying out to meet us in Jackson Hole on Wednesday and she had a connection in Chicago. Her layover was only 45 minutes and she's rarely flown and never alone. She was certain she could handle it and didn't need anything, but she's still 17 and I'm still her mama. Thankfully, we have friends who are pilots (and the parents of three daughters) and friends who fly in and out of Chicago on business nearly every week. I was able to text both of them and they said they would keep their cell phones close just in case she needed anything. Shaun (and Ellie) thought it was overkill, but I don't really care.
That night we returned to our little motel, showered and collapsed. Shaun and I stayed up too late talking and happy. I loved the sound of our babies falling asleep and rustling around all night. I will miss all the things when they are grown up but I'll really miss the little things, like the night sounds of the people I love the most sleeping peacefully.
Wednesday we were up bright and early and I was thrilled to see my girl. We packed up the room and got some coffee and headed to pick up my girl. We had some extra time and got lunch in Jackson Hole, which is the most adorable summer town ever. I did some laundry at the local laundry mat and Shaun took the kids for ice cream. We had texts waiting for us once we got back in cell range that Ellie had made her connecting flight and I relaxed a little more. Finally we went to the airport and I she climbed down the steps of the airplane looking sleepy and I cried. She laughed and rolled her eyes and Shaun picked us up at the door. We adjusted our seating arrangements and Ellie adjusted to the fact that there was no internet or cell coverage. We hiked a couple miles into the Grand Tetons and had a picnic dinner. It started to rain and the kids raced back to the car. Shaun and I walked together, so thrilled to have our babies all in one place. It's the best feeling.
That night we tucked in to the car and Shaun started driving south. We drove until Shaun got tired and we found somewhere decent to spend the night. Thursday we were up again and headed South of Denver. We ended up at USAFA at lunch timeish and dropped Ellie and Sam off to run. Sam fell off Ellie's run because of the altitude and we picked him up at some random college campus. We ended the night hiking in Garden of the God's and Sonic milkshakes.
Our hotel that night was priceline deal and while it wasn't our favorite of the trip we all had a bed and slept well. We woke up the next morning and I hit a wall. I was emotionally and spiritually and physically exhausted and I had my traditional vacation meltdown. That's not something I'm proud of, but it did happen and it's a reminder for me to make sure I don't get too worn out because that's really the times when I get really emotional. We talked it out as a family and I asked for forgiveness and we were on the road again south of Denver to the Royal Gorge. It was a little windy and kind of expensive and the lines were very long, so we didn't chance wasting the whole day to not get to ride the gondola. We spent the rest of the day picnicking and adventuring and ended up at Seven Falls. It was a perfect evening...another picnic, finishing up all our snacks from the week and just as we were finished coming down the Falls and walking back it started to storm. Ellie and I were behind the Shaun and the kids, talking through some of what had happened that morning and as it rained we ran and laughed. It was magic and I felt so full and exhausted and a little worried about the lightening all at once. The shuttle took us back to the car and Sam begged to go to Garden of the Gods one more time. So we did. Ellie ran, the kids climbed, Max was sleeping in the car and I walked with the middle three. We met up at the end of Ellie's long run and took pictures directed by Max. He led us all on a 'hike' where he was in charge, leading the way and we had to hold hands and ask his permission for basically anything. It was probably the happiest part of his trip.
We finished up the day, packed up our little backpacks and left a little piece of our happy hearts in Colorado. Our flight left Denver early so we had to turn in our car at 4am and the airport was quietly buzzing. Our flight was full on the way home, we slept most of the way. My mom and Keith picked up half of us at the airport and the rest of us picked up groceries at Kroger.
We pulled up the Hill at lunchtime, the girls and their doggies finally reunited and Shaun and I a little sad that it was over. It's interesting to me how much we all love to be at home and how much we all love to travel. I think the truth is that we really just love to be together.
I know the days of us having the schedule to even kind of make it all work are coming to a close, but I also know that we loved the time we had.