Mark Calhoun

Big Giant Trip - Final

I know, I know... I'm a few months over due on the updates/recap of the Big Giant Trip.

Here are the stats...  4 People ~ 1 Dog ~ 10 States ~ 18 Days ~ 5,200 Miles ~ 5 National Parks ~ 25 DVD's played trough at least 3 times each ~ Tons of Great Scenery ~ Numerous Big Mountains ~ Countless Family and Friends ~ In and Out Burgers (Calif) ~ Countless Cheesewheels and Breadboard Sandwiches (Wyo) - Steaks at the Mangy Moose and Svilars (Wyo) ~ 1 Camera dropped in the river ~ 1 - 3 mile hike ~ 2 Golf Games (Mountain View off of each Tee Box) ~ 1 Smashed Bumper ~ Over 20 Gas Stations ~ Lowest Elevation - Sea Level ~ Highest Elevation - 12,000 Feet ~ 5 KOA's ~1 Plague

The trip was Awesome!! We circumnavigated the great northwest, saw tons of great sites, and spent time with lots of family and friends. If you have never taken an extended vacation I highly recommend it. It took me about 5 or 6 days to settle in, but after that it was awesome. Highlights for me were seeing family (Julie's Grandma doesn't see to well, so I had an opportunity to read a letter to her, that was great - We got to spend some time near the Puget Sound with Julie's parents - We spent some time with Julie's cousins and Aunt and Uncle - We got to Golf with my Parents...)and spending time in the mountains and National Parks. I am a creation freak, so I really enjoyed Yosemite, Rainier, Yellowstone, Teton, and Rocky Mtn. National Parks. The greatest outdoor moment was a three mile hike that we took as a family to the Popo Agie Falls near my home town. The most frustrating moment came on the same hike... Some people ahead of us, on the trail, took it upon themselves to spray shaving cream all over the plants, rocks, and trail for about the first mile. Let me just state clearly now, so there is no confusion, this is one of my biggest pet peeves... People!!! DO NOT JACK WITH THE ENVIRONMENT!!! It amazes me how some people treat the back country. NO SHAVING CREAM!!! If there is any confusion go here. Do not get me started here... it is not rocket science... take care of the woods or don't go. Any questions???

Beyond that little incident and the fact that I Jack-knifed the trailer and smashed the bumper on the truck, it was an amazing journey, one that I will not soon forget.

Biggest life lesson learned... It's not all about me. I missed out on a few things that I really wanted to accomplish, but in the picture those things really didn't matter. What mattered was that I had an opportunity to reintroduce myself to my family, the ones I have neglected over the past three years while I was being consumed by school.  The Big Giant Trip was a Big Giant Great Time, I can't wait to try it again.

I posted 70 of the 800 photos in a Photo Album, I hope you'll have a look.

PS. They tore down my entire High School... Whoever made this decision should be banned from the Earth and cast out into space.

Big Giant Trip #2

Starting Day 5... 1932.3 miles behind us.!!! We caught up with Julie's Grandma on Monday in Salt Lake, it was great to see her, she enjoyed visiting with the boys. Night 3 was at the KOA in Ely, Nevada... Awesome!! Kamping Kabin #1. Interesting drive across Nevada, no cell service, no other cars, not much sign of life. We did run into a swarm of grasshoppers. We made it to Yosemite at 3 o'clock on Tuesday, it was incredible. We saw some climbers on El Cap and got some great photos of Halfdome. Did I mention I was driving half way across the country with a six year old and a ten year old... :-) Actually, they are doing fairly well considering they are couped up in the car for hours on end.

Navigational error #2, forgot to set the watch back in Nevada, ended up getting everyone up at 5:30 am instead of 6:30 on Tuesday... My bad.

Right now we are in Sacramento and heading off to the pet store, seems I left the dog's Gentle Leader, collar thingy, on the trailer at one of the rest stops and it blew away. We are off to Oregon... more later.

Big Giant Trip #1

As of 3:00 pm on Saturday we were officially on the road.   Mark, Zach, Jake and Samson that is, we will catch up with Julie on Thursday in Seattle. As always the trek to Denver was awesome!!! Huge thunder storms, the mountains... ahhh, the promised land. We hung out with Julie's brother and his Family Sat. night and Sunday morning for church. After church we made the customary pilgrimages to Invesco Field, Holly West for a Tacorito and REI. We got to Grand Junction about 7, we were going to stay at a KOA there and found out that there was no KOA. Navigational error one. In response to that little glitch we pressed on to Salt Lake.

Checking into the hotel with a dog and 2 youngins' at 2 am was awesome!!!

Zach says... "The snow and mountains are nice because we live in the flatest place on earth."

Jake says... "We are on a 10 state 3 week trip and we miss our mommy"

More later...