the all-true adventures of hiyacynth and 9 French people in the American West
Well. I was going to post pictures tonight, but it turns out to be much more gargantuan a task than I had anticipated. It will have to wait til I get several nights at my home computer. In the meantime, I will spill out narrative details of my trip, with just a few visual aides.
Here is the first: Our route, mapped out clumsily by me and without the benefit of any actual highway markers. I'm winging it.
We started in the East Bay, headed up Hwy 80 to Tahoe, turned east into Nevada, still on Hwy 80. Reno-Wells Nevada is the most boring stretch of drive I have ever witnessed. Then we headed north into Idaho, up just barely into Montana, and we entered Yellowstone from the West Entrance. From there, we toodled around the park for a couple of days, then headed out the East Entrance and into Cody, Wyoming, about 80 miles away. Then north-west into Montana and back into Yellowstone by the Northeast Entrance. Back across Yellowstone, and then we retraced our route back to the Bay Area.
2500 miles in all, in two cars, with ten people--five adults, five children--in nine days.
Here's a more detailed map of the Yellowstone area, again with my clumsy route markings.
And this link will take you to a cool interactive map of Yellowstone.Yellowstone at your fingertips
Let me start by identifying our players. And also by saying that although I bitched/will bitch about Zee Franch in general, they are fabulous people--energetic and funny and smart and much less repressed than my family is. A few flaws aside, they were great traveling companions.
My Family:
Me: Cynthia (aka Tata or Tata Cynthia). You all know me. I'm me, and I have a tendency to a) burn instead of tan and b) crinkle up my nose and tip my head back in photographs so I look like a pig.
Marjorie: My sister, four and a half years my senior. Technically still American; functionally French.
Yves: Her husband. French, funny, fit. Triple threat. We love him.
Johanna: Their oldest daughter. 12 and a half years old. Shopping trip yesterday confirmed her supermodel potential: Size zero, legs too long to fit in size zero jeans, perfect little French boobies figure that will be bombshellesque in a couple of years. Annoying French hair that looks good almost no matter what. Flaws include moodyness and tendency to boss her brothers around. Blossoms under attention of her Tata. Never burns, only tans.
Martin: Middle child, eldest son. Ten years old. Inherited our complexion--that is, pale, pale, pale. Burns immediately. Blond/blue-eyed French kid. Flaws include hair-trigger temper with occasional eruptions into physical violence, usually targeted at his younger brother and heavy tendency toward sulking. Qualities include enthusiasm for nature, random cuddlyness, and budding geekboy/gamer traits.
Antonin: Youngest child. Seven and a half years old. Olive skinned like his sister and father, tans instead of burning. Tiny, tiny frame with scary underwear-ad abs. No body fat at all. Very few flaws except occasional abrupt descent into depressions upon provocation. Qualities include all-around good-naturedness, enthusiasm, cuddlyness (and also being tiny enough to easily cuddle), infectious laugh, and generally being too cute for words.
Zee Franch:
Guillaume: Father/leader of Zee Franch. Smart, funny, able to fix anything. Very charismatic. Flaws: TALKS INCESSANTLY. I mean, all the time. Constantly "on." Never a dull/quiet moment. Exhausting. Former circus performer.
Celine: Mother. Also very energetic and chatty, but not to the point where you want to stuff rocks into her mouth to shut her up, unlike others of Zee Franch (see above). Very good friend to Marjorie. Calming influence upon the rest of Zee Franch.
Lea: Eldest Franch child. Ten years old. Take away her freckles, and she looks like an Elven child. Smart, friendly, adventuous, occasionally combattant. Excellent unicycle rider.
Luca (aka Lulu): Youngest Franch child. Seven years old. Smart, friendly, occasionally combattant.
Other players:
Le Camping-Car: Zee Franch's camper/motor-home/RV. 24-foot camper with room to sleep seven or eight in relative comfort, plus large refrigerator/freezer, sink, stove, flush toilet and shower (rarely used).
Le Popo: The VW/Westfalia camper we rented. With the tent-top popped up, we slept five in relative comfort. However, its major drawback would be revealed almost immediately upon debarquement.
Sunday: Left Orinda around noon, after much drama with the camper rental place. Almost as soon as we got into fourth gear on the freeway, the oil/overheat light on the dash started blinking and the loudest, most annoying buzzer you can imagine a vehicle having went off. We stopped, checked the oil (normal) and called the camper place. "Oh, that's normal," he says. "The light goes all the time. You're fine. For the buzzer, just give a little tap on the accelorator and it will go away." So we set back off. Yes, if you accelorate, the buzz stops. For about 10 seconds. We hit our first impasse. We can take their word for it that Le Popo isn't going to explode and learn to ignore the buzz, or we can take the hour-and-a-half trip back down to the South Bay to see if we can get them to fix it or exchange for a new camper. Based on our earlier experience with them, we decide to go on.
Made it up to the Tahoe area in good time. Stopped at Donner Lake in the mid-afternoon for a swim and a snack, and to plan the next stage of the journey, which, we've been warned by those who have gone before us, is the most boring stretch of highway ever paved. Northeastern Nevada. We have our first adventure around 7, when we were getting ready to stop for dinner. Tiny little tornados were touching down along the highway, and one caught the edge of Le Camping-Car, unrolling its roll-out awning. Guillaume managed to maintain control of the vehicle, but we had to stop and figure out how to fix it. Which we did (*puffs up* I figured it out, but the boys didn't believe me until they'd done it themselves. Silly boys). Hit the road again and drove until about 1 a.m. Parked in some god-awful truck stop outside of Battle Mountain, Nevada--officially voted America's Armpit. It was an unfortunate choice: Freight trains all night, as well as 18-wheelers pulling in and out. "Woke" at the crack of dawn and decided to get going early.
Slight tangent: Le Popo does indeed sleep five people. Usually Marj and Yves had the top, under the pop-up tent, with Antonin. Johanna or Antonin and I usually slept down below. The three on top were so crammed in they had to all agree on what side they were to spoon to, and turn in unison. The upper bunk made the most alarming creaking noises as they moved around. J and I thought we would be smushed for sure.
Monday: "Early start" stopped by bypass to KMart in search of I can't remember what, and then to WalMart because KMart didn't have it. Decided to so a little grocery shopping. Hit the road three hours later. Oh, at KMart, I bought man-pants shorts. They are hideous and unflattering and I love them with all my heart.
We eventually continued across The Wasteland. Hot. Flat. Nothing to see. I read most of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to Johanna during this stretch. We hit Idaho for a late lunch at Shoshone Falls, just outside of Twin Falls, Idaho. Gorgeous. We swam in the Snake River and napped on a very nice lawn, then headed out again. Stopped at Massacre Rocks State Park, right along the Oregon Trail, and found a lovely campsite big enough for both vehicles. BBQ'd sausages for dinner. So yummy. Generally a beautiful, fun evening.
Tuesday: MPSP was so lovely we decided to take it easy that morning, so Marj and I had showers at the deluxe bathrooms and then we all had breakfast. Then more swimming in the Snake. Johanna and Lea had the bright idea of swimming across the river (actually, mostly across, to what turned out to be a big island, not the other bank)--about 100 yards. Guillaume thought this was a fine idea, so they all set out. Marj and I realized what they were up to and went after them. I stopped to take Martin back, as he'd seen very early on that the current was much too strong for him. Then I had to catch up with the others, who were already across and considerably downstream. And then, of course, we had to come back. J and Lea were already really tired and didn't have nearly the energy needed to make it back. G ended up towing Lea most of the way, but J wouldn't hear of it (and is also pretty big to be towed on one's back). So Celine, Marj and I took points around her to make sure she didn't drown or get swept away, and we all made it back fine--J well winded and pretty freaked out. An adventure. And I'm pleased and surprised to discover that despite the ongoing shoulder injury, my swimming isn't really affected.
Anyway, more showers, as the insides of our suits were caked with icky algae, and then lunch, and then we headed out again. We went into Pocatello, went to the Natural History museum there, and then drove hard all evening, finally stopping just outside of Yellowstone late that night, in a place called, I think, Henry's Fork, Montana. Parked on the side of a side road and slept where we lay.
Side note: Every time we stopped for the night we had to pull all the bags and stuff out of the "trunk" and fold the seats down flat into a bed--piling all the bags wherever we could up front. We'd pop up the tent-top to sleep but couldn't drive with it up, obviously. So that meant that every morning we had to un-unpack and repack all the baggage. Not a big deal, but just a weird rush very early in the morning. Plus, we were all leaving various things in various places, and no one ever put anyone's various things away in the place where you wanted it, so my toothpaste floated around, and J's hair brush, or our nightclothes, dirty socks, etc. Constant tension over "Where did someone put my..."
Wednesday: Up, reorged, and on the road to Yellowstone by 7. Hit the gates by 7:30, and were reassured that there were still campsights available. Dashed up to Madison to register for one, collect maps and guides at the Visitor Center, sign the kids up for Junior Rangers, and take in the Junior Ranger program, "Animal Family Circus." Learned lots about black and grizzly bears and wolves. Headed down to the geyser area, where we spent the day. When we finally got there, Antonin had one of his sudden crashes. He jumped out of Le Popo to see all those bears and wolves and his face just fell. "C'est que de l'eau!" -- "It's just water!" He was heartbroken and plopped down on the boardwalk, put his face in his hands, and cried. Marj tried to pep him up, but no luck. Enter Tata. I grabbed his Junior Ranger activity paper and told him we were going to make him the best Junior Ranger ever. (Which, incidentally, I think we did.) He and I headed out together, looking at his activities, filling them in together, watching geysers and hot springs. He took over my camera--he's a really good photographer. So for me, Yellowstone really ended up being about me and Antonin and the Junior Rangers. Must say, I had the best time. We didn't do any camping or leisure traveling as a family when I was a kid, so I never did any real nature/awareness programs like the Junior Rangers. It was really fun to see Antonin get so excited about it, and to change the way he was looking at the park and the things and people in it. And also just fun to have something active and involved to do with him. And I kind of really wanted my own Junior Ranger badge, but apparently I'm too old or something.
In the afternoon we had lunch on yet another parking lot (side note: ANY time we stopped on a parking lot, we were guaranteed to be there at least a half-hour, and usually it was 1-2 hours. Extreme cases were 3 hours. This was mainly because Guillaume will never shut up, and us in parking lots expands his pool of people to talk at. Transitions in and out of parking lots became a source of great tension. On the other hand, J and I got through all of TL,TW,&TW and Prince Caspian that way, so... ) and then went up to the Old Faithful area. Watched OF go off, hiked around the geysers there, and then watched OF again. Cool stuff, but lots and lots of people, as is to be expected, if not enjoyed.
Wedneday night we went back to our campground at Madison and had more BBQ, then s'mores. Zee Franch had never had s'mores. They were good.
Thursday:Up and on the road fairly late. Went up to the Norris area, stopped at the NPS Ranger Museum, then headed west, stopping at Upper and Lower Falls (lots of vertical walking, good for legs, but oof), which was gorgeous. Then briefly to Artist's Point (most people crammed into a natural area I've ever seen), then out along the road to Cody. There was a landslide or summat along that road, and it was closed nightly at 8, so we had to get out relatively early. Must say, the drive from Yellowstone to Cody is the most beautiful stretch of anything I've ever seen. Wildflowers, mountains, hills, rivers, lakes, meadows of the richest yellows and goldy reds... I could just be there forever. When we got to Cody, we had dinner in the Rodeo's parking lot (Cody Night Rodeo Night Every Night!) and then went into the rodeo.
I have never been to a rodeo before. I had some thoughts, as I watched the cowboys rope and tie calves and ride bulls and how the poor horses were yanked all over the place and stuff, about how cruel it is to animals. But wow. I gotta say, it was plain-old exciting. Fast-paced, funny, nail-biting. The cows all got up and walked away without noticable physical damage (note my use of "noticble"), and I can't say the same thing for the cowboys. Many of them got the very crap kicked out of them, by calves, horses, fences, you name it. And god help me I knew from the very start I was in scary redneck company because before the rodeo started they played Bush's Message About How Terrorists Are Going to Kill Us All and We Should Invade Every Which Where to Make Sure We Kill 'Em All Daid First, and then they did the Pledge of Allegiance, and then some creepy War Song, and then the National Anthem (which, despite my problems with many things above, still brings tears to my eyes; being American is funny). Point: A good portion of me was, by the end of the rodeo, ready to rope me a cowboy and settle down in Wyoming, despite my better judgement.
After the rodeo (enjoyed by one and all), we drove to the luxurious Cody WalMart, where we spent the night. Guess where we spent half of Friday? Just guess!
Friday: That's right! We spent half of Friday in the WalMart parking lot. First we got doughnuts for breakfast (side note: As a group, we consumed more than 100 doughnuts over the course of our trip. I gave them up after Friday, and am physically sick at the smell of them, but Marj and the kids are still going strong. I have no idea how they all stay so skinny.) We managed to get out of the WalMart and into a local store, where Yves, Martin, and Antonin obtained Genuine Cowboy Hats, Johanna obtained a Genuine Buckskin Purse, and I resisted temptation. Until I saw The Bag. It was too beautiful, and I was given a 20% discount. It is light brown leather, with a star and two thingdoobies cut out of it, with red blanket behind it. Our love was instant, deep and true. We shall nevermore be separated. Photos to come.
Guess where we had lunch? That's right. The WalMart parking lot again. Didn't leave Cody until almost three. Headed northwest toward Cooke, Montana and the Northeastern Entrance to Yellowstone. It hailed hard on the way, leaving about an inch on the ground at one point. Very mountainous and beautiful. Stopped in a vista point parking lot for snack, and then down into the valley. When we got back into Yellowstone, it was pouring rain. We ran for the Visitor's Center, where the kids met with a really cute Ranger who checked their Junior Ranger activity thingies, asked them each a few questions, and then swore them all in as Junior Rangers. I managed not to cry when Antonin got his. But it was close. Then we went out to look at more geysers, under the pouring rain, which was fun, but cold. Weird to stand next to boiling water, in a sulphery mist and be all warm and eggy, and then move two feet away and be freezing. Poor Antonin is so small and skinny, he gets cold really fast. So we ran back to the car ahead of everyone else (we'd thought we were on a loop path, but it was really more like a question mark--went almost all the way around, and then stopped). But no keys. Poor Antonin crawled under Le Camping-Car for shelter. Then everyone else arrived and there was a general and shameless stripping of wet clothes in a parking lot. We all know more about the rest of us than we'd like now. But what're you gonna do?
We left Yellowstone the way we'd come in and drove as long as we could. Guillaume found a nice, quiet road for us to park on, and we slept like the dead.
Saturday: Woke up in a beautiful little lane with horses on one side and fields on the other, sun shining on sunflowers and thistles. Very peaceful. Drove back down to South Central Idaho to Craters of the Moon State Park. Had lunch, then headed out to the lava fields for hiking. Very interesting, geologically. Everyone else loved it a lot more than I did. I found all the volcano stuff interesting, and certainly the landscape itself was stunning, but I didn't like the way it was stunning, if you see what I mean. It wasn't my version of pretty. But we had a great time. There were hardly any other people there, which on its own was a huge benefit over Yellowstone. We were able to crawl around in lava tubes and caves and stuff, and that was fun. We camped there that night--no showers still.
Side note: We all had showers Tuesday morning at Massacre Rocks. Marj and I washed our hair in Le Camping-Car's sink Friday morning. Saturday, we spent THREE HOURS in the parking lot of a gas station in Idaho, where they had an RV toilet dump and free RV water hook up. So we dumped, filled up with water, and then most of us took showers in Le C-C's shower. Except me, as I'd been sponge-bathing pretty thoroughly, had washed my hair the day before, etc. By Sunday afternoon, I was strongly regretting the choice not to shower. Anyway, Zee Franch adults stunk like nobody's business, as they rarely shower at all, and all our shoes were unmentionably smelly.
Sunday: Breakfast at the campground, and then off on a really nice, long hike along the volcanic craters. It was only a couple of miles, but lots of ups and downs, and it took us a good long while, and was very hot. By the end we were all gray with volcanic dust, sticky from sweat and sunscreen (except Celine, who never wears any and finally got a sunburn that day). We. Were. A. Stinky. Group. Yves and I took off our shoes to find that our feet were black black black. Vocanic dust is fun! So we washed off. Nobody else did . We then pointed and laughed at the rest of them and their black feet and ankles. Had lunch on the parking lot at the end of the trail, then headed out. In Twin Falls, Idaho, anticipating The Great Wasteland, we stopped at a humongoid grocery store that was not WalMart. Marjorie forbade Guillaume from going in (taking him shopping extends the trip by at least an hour), so he stayed with the boys on the parking lot, and exercised the dog by having it tow the three boys around in a shopping cart. I laid low in Le Popo. Ice cream! Then more driving. Once we hit Nevada, we drove until the rear tires of Le Popo literally went bald (more fabulous maintenance from the guys who rent them). Had them replaced at the renter-guys' expense (another hour in a hot parking lot--J and I were now well into The Voyage of the Dawn Treader). Then we drove and drove and drove some more. Stopped for quick dinner, then more driving. Drove until midnight, when we hit Winnemucca, Nevada, about 180 miles east of Reno.
Monday: Up at the crack of dawn, back on the road early. We stopped at a gas station for a fill up and stayed there for an hour or more for breakfast. I washed my hair in the gas station's sink. I was desperate. More driving. Didn't stop, didn't see anything good until we hit Tahoe again. Stopped for lunch and a much-needed swim at our old friend Donner Lake. Then M, Y, and I took Antonin and headed out early in Le Popo, leaving J and M with Zee Franch, who would follow at a more leisurely pace. We made it back to Orinda in three hours--arriving home just at 4 p.m. Unloaded Le Popo and cleaned it, then headed out with it and the borrowed Jeep to Redwood City again. Returned it with a list of our complaints. Got $50 back and sincere and embarrassed apologies about Teh Buzz (I haven't mentioned it, but remember, everytime we cleared 40 mph, BUZZZZZZZZZZZZ). Then back to Orinda in the Jeep. Greeted by food, drink, showers, and a lot of people in a relatively small house.
PHEW!!! So now you know what I know. I'll do a pic post next week sometime. Now my hands are cramped and I'm cold, so I'm going to go take that bath I was talking about earlier before everyone gets home. If you managed to hang in this long, thanks for reading. If not, no offense taken :-)
Looking forward, if not to being back at work, at least to being back among you all next week. Lots of love.
Here is the first: Our route, mapped out clumsily by me and without the benefit of any actual highway markers. I'm winging it.
We started in the East Bay, headed up Hwy 80 to Tahoe, turned east into Nevada, still on Hwy 80. Reno-Wells Nevada is the most boring stretch of drive I have ever witnessed. Then we headed north into Idaho, up just barely into Montana, and we entered Yellowstone from the West Entrance. From there, we toodled around the park for a couple of days, then headed out the East Entrance and into Cody, Wyoming, about 80 miles away. Then north-west into Montana and back into Yellowstone by the Northeast Entrance. Back across Yellowstone, and then we retraced our route back to the Bay Area.
2500 miles in all, in two cars, with ten people--five adults, five children--in nine days.
Here's a more detailed map of the Yellowstone area, again with my clumsy route markings.
And this link will take you to a cool interactive map of Yellowstone.Yellowstone at your fingertips
Let me start by identifying our players. And also by saying that although I bitched/will bitch about Zee Franch in general, they are fabulous people--energetic and funny and smart and much less repressed than my family is. A few flaws aside, they were great traveling companions.
My Family:
Me: Cynthia (aka Tata or Tata Cynthia). You all know me. I'm me, and I have a tendency to a) burn instead of tan and b) crinkle up my nose and tip my head back in photographs so I look like a pig.
Marjorie: My sister, four and a half years my senior. Technically still American; functionally French.
Yves: Her husband. French, funny, fit. Triple threat. We love him.
Johanna: Their oldest daughter. 12 and a half years old. Shopping trip yesterday confirmed her supermodel potential: Size zero, legs too long to fit in size zero jeans, perfect little French boobies figure that will be bombshellesque in a couple of years. Annoying French hair that looks good almost no matter what. Flaws include moodyness and tendency to boss her brothers around. Blossoms under attention of her Tata. Never burns, only tans.
Martin: Middle child, eldest son. Ten years old. Inherited our complexion--that is, pale, pale, pale. Burns immediately. Blond/blue-eyed French kid. Flaws include hair-trigger temper with occasional eruptions into physical violence, usually targeted at his younger brother and heavy tendency toward sulking. Qualities include enthusiasm for nature, random cuddlyness, and budding geekboy/gamer traits.
Antonin: Youngest child. Seven and a half years old. Olive skinned like his sister and father, tans instead of burning. Tiny, tiny frame with scary underwear-ad abs. No body fat at all. Very few flaws except occasional abrupt descent into depressions upon provocation. Qualities include all-around good-naturedness, enthusiasm, cuddlyness (and also being tiny enough to easily cuddle), infectious laugh, and generally being too cute for words.
Zee Franch:
Guillaume: Father/leader of Zee Franch. Smart, funny, able to fix anything. Very charismatic. Flaws: TALKS INCESSANTLY. I mean, all the time. Constantly "on." Never a dull/quiet moment. Exhausting. Former circus performer.
Celine: Mother. Also very energetic and chatty, but not to the point where you want to stuff rocks into her mouth to shut her up, unlike others of Zee Franch (see above). Very good friend to Marjorie. Calming influence upon the rest of Zee Franch.
Lea: Eldest Franch child. Ten years old. Take away her freckles, and she looks like an Elven child. Smart, friendly, adventuous, occasionally combattant. Excellent unicycle rider.
Luca (aka Lulu): Youngest Franch child. Seven years old. Smart, friendly, occasionally combattant.
Other players:
Le Camping-Car: Zee Franch's camper/motor-home/RV. 24-foot camper with room to sleep seven or eight in relative comfort, plus large refrigerator/freezer, sink, stove, flush toilet and shower (rarely used).
Le Popo: The VW/Westfalia camper we rented. With the tent-top popped up, we slept five in relative comfort. However, its major drawback would be revealed almost immediately upon debarquement.
Sunday: Left Orinda around noon, after much drama with the camper rental place. Almost as soon as we got into fourth gear on the freeway, the oil/overheat light on the dash started blinking and the loudest, most annoying buzzer you can imagine a vehicle having went off. We stopped, checked the oil (normal) and called the camper place. "Oh, that's normal," he says. "The light goes all the time. You're fine. For the buzzer, just give a little tap on the accelorator and it will go away." So we set back off. Yes, if you accelorate, the buzz stops. For about 10 seconds. We hit our first impasse. We can take their word for it that Le Popo isn't going to explode and learn to ignore the buzz, or we can take the hour-and-a-half trip back down to the South Bay to see if we can get them to fix it or exchange for a new camper. Based on our earlier experience with them, we decide to go on.
Made it up to the Tahoe area in good time. Stopped at Donner Lake in the mid-afternoon for a swim and a snack, and to plan the next stage of the journey, which, we've been warned by those who have gone before us, is the most boring stretch of highway ever paved. Northeastern Nevada. We have our first adventure around 7, when we were getting ready to stop for dinner. Tiny little tornados were touching down along the highway, and one caught the edge of Le Camping-Car, unrolling its roll-out awning. Guillaume managed to maintain control of the vehicle, but we had to stop and figure out how to fix it. Which we did (*puffs up* I figured it out, but the boys didn't believe me until they'd done it themselves. Silly boys). Hit the road again and drove until about 1 a.m. Parked in some god-awful truck stop outside of Battle Mountain, Nevada--officially voted America's Armpit. It was an unfortunate choice: Freight trains all night, as well as 18-wheelers pulling in and out. "Woke" at the crack of dawn and decided to get going early.
Slight tangent: Le Popo does indeed sleep five people. Usually Marj and Yves had the top, under the pop-up tent, with Antonin. Johanna or Antonin and I usually slept down below. The three on top were so crammed in they had to all agree on what side they were to spoon to, and turn in unison. The upper bunk made the most alarming creaking noises as they moved around. J and I thought we would be smushed for sure.
Monday: "Early start" stopped by bypass to KMart in search of I can't remember what, and then to WalMart because KMart didn't have it. Decided to so a little grocery shopping. Hit the road three hours later. Oh, at KMart, I bought man-pants shorts. They are hideous and unflattering and I love them with all my heart.
We eventually continued across The Wasteland. Hot. Flat. Nothing to see. I read most of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to Johanna during this stretch. We hit Idaho for a late lunch at Shoshone Falls, just outside of Twin Falls, Idaho. Gorgeous. We swam in the Snake River and napped on a very nice lawn, then headed out again. Stopped at Massacre Rocks State Park, right along the Oregon Trail, and found a lovely campsite big enough for both vehicles. BBQ'd sausages for dinner. So yummy. Generally a beautiful, fun evening.
Tuesday: MPSP was so lovely we decided to take it easy that morning, so Marj and I had showers at the deluxe bathrooms and then we all had breakfast. Then more swimming in the Snake. Johanna and Lea had the bright idea of swimming across the river (actually, mostly across, to what turned out to be a big island, not the other bank)--about 100 yards. Guillaume thought this was a fine idea, so they all set out. Marj and I realized what they were up to and went after them. I stopped to take Martin back, as he'd seen very early on that the current was much too strong for him. Then I had to catch up with the others, who were already across and considerably downstream. And then, of course, we had to come back. J and Lea were already really tired and didn't have nearly the energy needed to make it back. G ended up towing Lea most of the way, but J wouldn't hear of it (and is also pretty big to be towed on one's back). So Celine, Marj and I took points around her to make sure she didn't drown or get swept away, and we all made it back fine--J well winded and pretty freaked out. An adventure. And I'm pleased and surprised to discover that despite the ongoing shoulder injury, my swimming isn't really affected.
Anyway, more showers, as the insides of our suits were caked with icky algae, and then lunch, and then we headed out again. We went into Pocatello, went to the Natural History museum there, and then drove hard all evening, finally stopping just outside of Yellowstone late that night, in a place called, I think, Henry's Fork, Montana. Parked on the side of a side road and slept where we lay.
Side note: Every time we stopped for the night we had to pull all the bags and stuff out of the "trunk" and fold the seats down flat into a bed--piling all the bags wherever we could up front. We'd pop up the tent-top to sleep but couldn't drive with it up, obviously. So that meant that every morning we had to un-unpack and repack all the baggage. Not a big deal, but just a weird rush very early in the morning. Plus, we were all leaving various things in various places, and no one ever put anyone's various things away in the place where you wanted it, so my toothpaste floated around, and J's hair brush, or our nightclothes, dirty socks, etc. Constant tension over "Where did someone put my..."
Wednesday: Up, reorged, and on the road to Yellowstone by 7. Hit the gates by 7:30, and were reassured that there were still campsights available. Dashed up to Madison to register for one, collect maps and guides at the Visitor Center, sign the kids up for Junior Rangers, and take in the Junior Ranger program, "Animal Family Circus." Learned lots about black and grizzly bears and wolves. Headed down to the geyser area, where we spent the day. When we finally got there, Antonin had one of his sudden crashes. He jumped out of Le Popo to see all those bears and wolves and his face just fell. "C'est que de l'eau!" -- "It's just water!" He was heartbroken and plopped down on the boardwalk, put his face in his hands, and cried. Marj tried to pep him up, but no luck. Enter Tata. I grabbed his Junior Ranger activity paper and told him we were going to make him the best Junior Ranger ever. (Which, incidentally, I think we did.) He and I headed out together, looking at his activities, filling them in together, watching geysers and hot springs. He took over my camera--he's a really good photographer. So for me, Yellowstone really ended up being about me and Antonin and the Junior Rangers. Must say, I had the best time. We didn't do any camping or leisure traveling as a family when I was a kid, so I never did any real nature/awareness programs like the Junior Rangers. It was really fun to see Antonin get so excited about it, and to change the way he was looking at the park and the things and people in it. And also just fun to have something active and involved to do with him. And I kind of really wanted my own Junior Ranger badge, but apparently I'm too old or something.
In the afternoon we had lunch on yet another parking lot (side note: ANY time we stopped on a parking lot, we were guaranteed to be there at least a half-hour, and usually it was 1-2 hours. Extreme cases were 3 hours. This was mainly because Guillaume will never shut up, and us in parking lots expands his pool of people to talk at. Transitions in and out of parking lots became a source of great tension. On the other hand, J and I got through all of TL,TW,&TW and Prince Caspian that way, so... ) and then went up to the Old Faithful area. Watched OF go off, hiked around the geysers there, and then watched OF again. Cool stuff, but lots and lots of people, as is to be expected, if not enjoyed.
Wedneday night we went back to our campground at Madison and had more BBQ, then s'mores. Zee Franch had never had s'mores. They were good.
Thursday:Up and on the road fairly late. Went up to the Norris area, stopped at the NPS Ranger Museum, then headed west, stopping at Upper and Lower Falls (lots of vertical walking, good for legs, but oof), which was gorgeous. Then briefly to Artist's Point (most people crammed into a natural area I've ever seen), then out along the road to Cody. There was a landslide or summat along that road, and it was closed nightly at 8, so we had to get out relatively early. Must say, the drive from Yellowstone to Cody is the most beautiful stretch of anything I've ever seen. Wildflowers, mountains, hills, rivers, lakes, meadows of the richest yellows and goldy reds... I could just be there forever. When we got to Cody, we had dinner in the Rodeo's parking lot (Cody Night Rodeo Night Every Night!) and then went into the rodeo.
I have never been to a rodeo before. I had some thoughts, as I watched the cowboys rope and tie calves and ride bulls and how the poor horses were yanked all over the place and stuff, about how cruel it is to animals. But wow. I gotta say, it was plain-old exciting. Fast-paced, funny, nail-biting. The cows all got up and walked away without noticable physical damage (note my use of "noticble"), and I can't say the same thing for the cowboys. Many of them got the very crap kicked out of them, by calves, horses, fences, you name it. And god help me I knew from the very start I was in scary redneck company because before the rodeo started they played Bush's Message About How Terrorists Are Going to Kill Us All and We Should Invade Every Which Where to Make Sure We Kill 'Em All Daid First, and then they did the Pledge of Allegiance, and then some creepy War Song, and then the National Anthem (which, despite my problems with many things above, still brings tears to my eyes; being American is funny). Point: A good portion of me was, by the end of the rodeo, ready to rope me a cowboy and settle down in Wyoming, despite my better judgement.
After the rodeo (enjoyed by one and all), we drove to the luxurious Cody WalMart, where we spent the night. Guess where we spent half of Friday? Just guess!
Friday: That's right! We spent half of Friday in the WalMart parking lot. First we got doughnuts for breakfast (side note: As a group, we consumed more than 100 doughnuts over the course of our trip. I gave them up after Friday, and am physically sick at the smell of them, but Marj and the kids are still going strong. I have no idea how they all stay so skinny.) We managed to get out of the WalMart and into a local store, where Yves, Martin, and Antonin obtained Genuine Cowboy Hats, Johanna obtained a Genuine Buckskin Purse, and I resisted temptation. Until I saw The Bag. It was too beautiful, and I was given a 20% discount. It is light brown leather, with a star and two thingdoobies cut out of it, with red blanket behind it. Our love was instant, deep and true. We shall nevermore be separated. Photos to come.
Guess where we had lunch? That's right. The WalMart parking lot again. Didn't leave Cody until almost three. Headed northwest toward Cooke, Montana and the Northeastern Entrance to Yellowstone. It hailed hard on the way, leaving about an inch on the ground at one point. Very mountainous and beautiful. Stopped in a vista point parking lot for snack, and then down into the valley. When we got back into Yellowstone, it was pouring rain. We ran for the Visitor's Center, where the kids met with a really cute Ranger who checked their Junior Ranger activity thingies, asked them each a few questions, and then swore them all in as Junior Rangers. I managed not to cry when Antonin got his. But it was close. Then we went out to look at more geysers, under the pouring rain, which was fun, but cold. Weird to stand next to boiling water, in a sulphery mist and be all warm and eggy, and then move two feet away and be freezing. Poor Antonin is so small and skinny, he gets cold really fast. So we ran back to the car ahead of everyone else (we'd thought we were on a loop path, but it was really more like a question mark--went almost all the way around, and then stopped). But no keys. Poor Antonin crawled under Le Camping-Car for shelter. Then everyone else arrived and there was a general and shameless stripping of wet clothes in a parking lot. We all know more about the rest of us than we'd like now. But what're you gonna do?
We left Yellowstone the way we'd come in and drove as long as we could. Guillaume found a nice, quiet road for us to park on, and we slept like the dead.
Saturday: Woke up in a beautiful little lane with horses on one side and fields on the other, sun shining on sunflowers and thistles. Very peaceful. Drove back down to South Central Idaho to Craters of the Moon State Park. Had lunch, then headed out to the lava fields for hiking. Very interesting, geologically. Everyone else loved it a lot more than I did. I found all the volcano stuff interesting, and certainly the landscape itself was stunning, but I didn't like the way it was stunning, if you see what I mean. It wasn't my version of pretty. But we had a great time. There were hardly any other people there, which on its own was a huge benefit over Yellowstone. We were able to crawl around in lava tubes and caves and stuff, and that was fun. We camped there that night--no showers still.
Side note: We all had showers Tuesday morning at Massacre Rocks. Marj and I washed our hair in Le Camping-Car's sink Friday morning. Saturday, we spent THREE HOURS in the parking lot of a gas station in Idaho, where they had an RV toilet dump and free RV water hook up. So we dumped, filled up with water, and then most of us took showers in Le C-C's shower. Except me, as I'd been sponge-bathing pretty thoroughly, had washed my hair the day before, etc. By Sunday afternoon, I was strongly regretting the choice not to shower. Anyway, Zee Franch adults stunk like nobody's business, as they rarely shower at all, and all our shoes were unmentionably smelly.
Sunday: Breakfast at the campground, and then off on a really nice, long hike along the volcanic craters. It was only a couple of miles, but lots of ups and downs, and it took us a good long while, and was very hot. By the end we were all gray with volcanic dust, sticky from sweat and sunscreen (except Celine, who never wears any and finally got a sunburn that day). We. Were. A. Stinky. Group. Yves and I took off our shoes to find that our feet were black black black. Vocanic dust is fun! So we washed off. Nobody else did . We then pointed and laughed at the rest of them and their black feet and ankles. Had lunch on the parking lot at the end of the trail, then headed out. In Twin Falls, Idaho, anticipating The Great Wasteland, we stopped at a humongoid grocery store that was not WalMart. Marjorie forbade Guillaume from going in (taking him shopping extends the trip by at least an hour), so he stayed with the boys on the parking lot, and exercised the dog by having it tow the three boys around in a shopping cart. I laid low in Le Popo. Ice cream! Then more driving. Once we hit Nevada, we drove until the rear tires of Le Popo literally went bald (more fabulous maintenance from the guys who rent them). Had them replaced at the renter-guys' expense (another hour in a hot parking lot--J and I were now well into The Voyage of the Dawn Treader). Then we drove and drove and drove some more. Stopped for quick dinner, then more driving. Drove until midnight, when we hit Winnemucca, Nevada, about 180 miles east of Reno.
Monday: Up at the crack of dawn, back on the road early. We stopped at a gas station for a fill up and stayed there for an hour or more for breakfast. I washed my hair in the gas station's sink. I was desperate. More driving. Didn't stop, didn't see anything good until we hit Tahoe again. Stopped for lunch and a much-needed swim at our old friend Donner Lake. Then M, Y, and I took Antonin and headed out early in Le Popo, leaving J and M with Zee Franch, who would follow at a more leisurely pace. We made it back to Orinda in three hours--arriving home just at 4 p.m. Unloaded Le Popo and cleaned it, then headed out with it and the borrowed Jeep to Redwood City again. Returned it with a list of our complaints. Got $50 back and sincere and embarrassed apologies about Teh Buzz (I haven't mentioned it, but remember, everytime we cleared 40 mph, BUZZZZZZZZZZZZ). Then back to Orinda in the Jeep. Greeted by food, drink, showers, and a lot of people in a relatively small house.
PHEW!!! So now you know what I know. I'll do a pic post next week sometime. Now my hands are cramped and I'm cold, so I'm going to go take that bath I was talking about earlier before everyone gets home. If you managed to hang in this long, thanks for reading. If not, no offense taken :-)
Looking forward, if not to being back at work, at least to being back among you all next week. Lots of love.