Slowly I Turned

We needed to take another big road trip. A good, long one. A couple of weeks, with lots of stops. It had been a while. Too long, by our standards, certainly. But, life got in the way. Our days always seemed to be full. Chauffeuring the kids around. Working on the house. The pets. The this. The that. The everything. And before you knew it, a year had gone by. Then two. We really needed to take another trip.

What we really lacked was a reason. We needed some inspiration. A nudge. Then my sister (who lives in Alaska) gave us just the excuse. For the 3^rd year in a row, she was going to run in the Boston Marathon. And while in Massachusetts, she was again, going to stay with our East Coast family. “This year, you guys need to come.” she said. Then my Boston cousin confirmed, “You're all staying with us.”

Sure. Why not? We'll head east. All new places for Jenny and the girls to see. Plus, an opportunity for Clark to hang out with his family that he hadn't seen in forever. It sounded great. But, what else? We needed more. Boston is a pretty decent drive from St Louis. There's plenty to see along the way. The East coast is rife with opportunities.

So it was opened up for discussion.
                              “Where else does everyone want to go, besides Boston...?”
“New York City?”

                              “Definitely!”

“Pennsylvania?”
                              “Sure.”
“Connecticut?”
                              “Maybe...”
“Can we see how long it takes to drive across Rhode Island?”
                              “We'll see...”
“Niagara Falls?”
                         
“NIAGARA FALLS!!!”

Slowly I turned...

So, it was set. Our next adventure. First stop, the northwestern tip of upstate New York. We piled into 'Mia the Kia' (our recently named minivan) and headed out. Surprisingly, Niagara Falls is just a 12 hour drive from home. (Who knew?) And like a bunch of traveling pros, we got there in no time.

Now none of us had ever been to Niagara Falls before. Even though we all had our own idea of what we thought they would be like, we had no idea. It's funny how things are that way. The more we travel, the more we learn that. You just can't picture things until you've been there.
We arrived at a seasonal transition time. The extremely harsh northern winter was (mostly) gone. Preparations were being made everywhere for the upcoming tourist season. Spring was near. Or so we thought. When we got out of the car, it felt pretty brisk. Cold. We put on our coats, and headed straight to the overlook of the falls. The wind picked up the closer we got. Pretty darn chilly now. Gloves. Hats. Then as we walked up to get our first glimpse, the mist hit us. It was everywhere. And when the temperature is hovering around freezing, mist turns into, well, frozen mist, I guess. It was frigid. Biting. For a bunch of Mid-westerners, it was full on winter. ”Look there's an observation tower. It's inside, and has a great view!.. Just a quick walk over a little raised bridge.” Where the winds were even fiercer. Sub-Arctic. Top-of-Mount-Everest cold.

...step by step...

Twigs the Snowman

Niagara Falls was massive. We were seriously impressed. Cold be damned, their allure was unavoidable. They were literally awe-inspiring. I was inspired with awe. Now, they weren't massive in a tall way. They're kinda' short, really. (At least when compared to the rest of the world's largest waterfalls) They're survivable-if-you-go-over-them-in-a-barrel short, actually. And they weren't massive in that they stretched on and on. They are wide, for sure. Just not that wide. No, Niagara Falls are massive in a that's-a-crap-ton-of-water kind of way. With a world's best rate of 150,000 gal. per second flowing through them, the amount of water is super impressive. Indescribable. Until you see it.

In a master stroke of vacation pre-planning, our hotel was within earshot of the falls. We could hear them from our room. That night was filled with short walks back to the falls, snowball fights, and even snowman building. It was definitely still winter.


The next morning we did the one thing I would insist everyone does when they visit. The Maid of the Mist boat tour has been sailing to the base of the falls since before the Civil War. And for good reason. Armed with ponchos and anticipation, we boated right out to the base of both the American Falls, and eventually the Horseshoe Falls.






Seeing them from below was a whole other experience. The water. There was just so damn much of it. It was so amazing. So worth it.

That's some white noise machine.

...inch by inch...


After our journey below, we hiked across to Goat Island, in the middle of the falls, to finish up our stay. More views of the falls were to be had here, but again work was being done everywhere. Construction. Improvements. Maintenance. That much water has to do some damage, right? It does. Every year the falls erode 1 foot. If that amount seems high, it has actually been slowed down (thanks to engineering) from 3 feet per year. They say in 50,000 years, the falls won't even be there anymore. So, if you haven't been, hurry up and get there while you can.

And take the boat tour.

In the summer.


For now, so long Niagara Falls.

NIAGARA FALLS!!!

Slowly I turned...

Four Big Guys and One Bad Place

The Avenue of Flags

 Following our short stay in Colorado, it was off to the Black Hills of South Dakota for our next adventure. After driving across W(ind)yoming for the second time, we headed for the town of Keystone, at the base of Mount Rushmore. After a fun-filled night in the hotel pool, we woke up early and headed off to the one National Monument that is truly America personified.

It was big. A bold work of art. Impressive in scope, with likenesses that were uncanny for their size. It represents everything that makes our country great. The presidents; Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln, represent the first 130 years of American history. These presidents were selected because of their role in preserving the Republic and expanding its territory.




From 1927 to 1941, Danish-American sculptor Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers carved the colossal 60 foot high carvings in the granite rock of the Black Hills. Using scale models that constantly needed to be changed, Borglum orchestrated a crew of men to create his vision. Problems arose along the way. Jefferson was originally to be to the left of Washington. But, when there wasn't enough good rock on that side, he moved him to the right. Roosevelt's likeness was forced back further than the rest, due to inconsistent rock surface. The sculptures were supposed to continue on down to their waists, but funding ran out, leaving just their heads.

Couldn't see if it was made by 'Acme'

Hanging from harnesses off the mountain, the workers jack hammered, carved, and smoothed the faces of our leaders. 
The girls were fascinated to learn how they used dynamite to carve 90% of the memorial. There was even a detonating plunger hooked up to a TV monitor, where they got to simulate blowing up parts of the mountain. "Just like the coyote uses on the roadrunner, right Poppa?"

Sometimes they make me so proud.

After a history-filled afternoon, we took a scenic drive through nearby Badlands National Park. "Why is it called the Badlands?" the kids all asked. The answer was simple. Years ago, frustrated French fur traders labeled the area "bad lands to traverse," and the term "badlands" came to describe any area with similarly topography. Nowadays, there is a beautiful scenic road that takes you through the entire park, but we could imagine what they must have experienced.

The land is barren. Virtually no vegetation exists anywhere. Heavy water erosion and frost have carved the land into pinnacles and other fantastic geological formations. The rocks are constantly changing, eroding at a rate of about an inch a year. These sharp and rugged rocks seemed extraterrestrial at times. Like we were driving along the surface of the moon. It was awesome.



We had to hurry, as the short amount of winter daylight was quickly fading. Rain showers were dotting the skies as well. This combination lead to some breathtaking sunset panoramas, and even a rainbow on the horizon. Not too bad for the Badlands.

Awesomeness.

What State Are You In?

New Mexico...check.

One of the fun parts of this trip for the girls, is to identify each new state that we travel to. They each have a map of the United States where they color in the corresponding states once we've visited them. The only rule is that we have to actually do something in the state for it to count. Just driving through, stopping for gas, or eating lunch does not count. There has to be at least one destination within the state before they can fill in their maps. 

Colorado...check.

Arizona...check.

Utah...check.

You can imagine their delight when they learned about our next stop. The Four Corners Monument marks the point in the Southwestern United States where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. It is the only point in the United States shared by four states. Since, technically the monument rests in all four states, it counts as a destination for each one.

There are literally lines in the pavement that converge in the middle, in a cross pattern. We all enjoyed goofing around in what is probably typical Four Corners behavior. “Hey...I'm in Utah! Can you hear me all the way over there in New Mexico?”... “Where's the kids?... They're each in a different state!” … “My head is in Arizona, but my butt is in Colorado”. Good fun.

The girls were also interested to learn that there are still Native Americans living in our country. The monument sits inside Navajo nation, and there were vendors selling Native American trinkets all around the monument. “Why aren't they dressed like Pocahontas?” We really need to work on some more history lessons.

We're so close together, yet so far apart.

 

Whatchu Talkin' Bout Willis?

It's the Sears Tower. Not the Willis Tower, as it's now called. It will always be the Sears Tower to me. The Sears Roebuck and Company built it as their headquarters in 1973, and it was the Sears Tower for me growing up. That's just what it is. Regardless of the stupid corporate name change.

The nation's tallest building is a must see if you're ever in Chicago. At 1450 feet it soars above every building in the western hemisphere. So, we jumped on the 'L' to downtown (hooray good public transportation!) and a short walk later, we were at the base of this massive building (3 acres around). The elevator ride to the top is quick. Ridiculously quick. Like, 103 floors in under a minute quick. So fast, your ears pop, quick. I've been on elevators that take longer to go a couple floors.

Once at the top, the views were simply amazing. The highlight of the Skydeck is 'The Ledge'. Added just a few years ago, these 4 glass boxes jut out from the side of the building, allowing people to step out from the sides of this massive skyscraper. We waited our turn, and gathered the girls close to explain to them how perfectly safe it was... “The glass is really thick”... “The people who built it were really smart”..."They can hold up to 10,000 pounds"... “Well, just don't look down if you don't want to.”

In front of us, a European family was gathering on ''The Ledge' for their group photo. One of the grown men in the group was struggling with his nerves. He didn't want to go out. His group pleaded with him. And, although we could not understand what they were saying, it was clear. He was terrified. He finally backed out, slowly, onto the glass box, facing inward, and posed for a quick pic. Then he dropped to his knees, and crawled out. A grown man. Crawling.


“It's OK kids....it's perfectly safe. Just don't look down.”

How Scared Were They? Rankings: 1-most scared)Norah, 2a)Clark, 2b)Jenny, 4) Nina, 5) Nadia