Ugh! Are we done yet?! The next whole day was spent driving to Ogden, UT. Surprise, surprise. We did stop at the Platte River museum. Hard not to. It's an overpass over the freeway. That's a cool place! They give you earphones and you walk through an interpretive museum covering the groups of people that used the Oregon/California/Mormon trails. Despite the many stories of hardships I've heard (and there are a lot of them), I somehow got the impression that for most people, it was just a three month walk across the country. This whole trip was eye-opening. We all know I would have made a pioneer era trip miserable for all who accompanied me. For crying out loud! I groused the whole way and I had an air conditioned van and only had to make two pb&j based meals on the road AND had motels (or generous friends/relatives) to stay with. I would have died along side the trail, with a sign stapled to my body saying, "I told you I was dieing".
Day 11. 872 miles. 12 hours on the road (or on top of it!)
In Ogden, we stayed with Dan's sister Valerie and her husband James. Dan's parents live with them. It was another lovely-to-be-there resting place. We were there from Wednesday to Friday. It only seemed natural to end our church history trip with an excursion to Temple Square in SLC. Knowing our propensity for chaos, we stayed clear of official tours. The kids loved the Christus statue. Malynn somehow got ahold of the camera and shot several pictures; some of them quite lovely. While we were sitting in front of the statue, Alison leaned over to me and said, "I like Jesus, but I don't care about Joseph Smith." I think we exposed her to more than her three year old system could handle. 
Day 14. We were so sick and tired of packing and unpacking that we plowed through the 800 miles back home. Usually we stop halfway at my parents' home in Weiser, but oh, the pain. The pain, I tells ya! It was better to bite the bullet and drive home to our beds. We pulled in at 11:15 pm. Sweet! I'll never leave home again.
2 comments:
Hey, I was just catching up on your blog and I clicked on the seriously, so blessed blog. That is the most hilarious thing I've read in a LONG time. Wow. Where did you find out about it?
This was fun to read! What a loooong but grand trip. I can't believe you are still sane after so many hours and miles in the car with five kids!
When I was eight years old my parents drove us from North Caroliona to California (moving back west). We stopped everywhere on the way (many of the same places you guys did). It took us two weeks. It is probably up there in the top five best memories of my life.
So, stand back and pat yourself on the back. Your kids will remember this forever!
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