Smoky Mountains in Western Virginia*
Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge in St. Louis*
- - We've done the 1400 mile Nebraska-to-Virginia trip in 1 day and 2 days. This time, we took 3 days, and we all preferred the slower pace. This allowed us to make longer stops, explore the towns along the way, and make 3 park stops per day. Which leads me to comment on a type of story that's been trending lately, first as a cover story in The Atlantic and more recently as an article in the New York Times: the idea that playgrounds can be too safe and this is bad for older kids (they need danger, they need sensory experiences, they need exercise and won't use equipment designed for toddlers, etc.). These reporters should visit the middle of the country to find their park utopia. We consistently saw parks that would be great for older kids -- huge slides and challenging climbing structures; old school equipment like merry-go-rounds; zip lines; etc.
Nebraska (aka The Good Life)*
-- We spent most of our time in Nebraska hanging out with family, which i loved. There is just something about being in Nebraska that refreshes my soul and makes me feel like everything is right in the world. That's laying it on a little thick, but seriously, I just love spending time in Nebraska.
Wendover, Nevada*
- - One of our hotel nights was spent in Wendover, Nevada (pictured above). This town, wedged between the Salt Flats of Utah and the barren dessert of eastern Nevada, is so very in the middle of nowhere that it sort of feels like you're on the moon. And then, unexpectedly, these bright lights appear on the horizon, and you see what appear to be three huge Vegas style casinos in this tiny little town out in the boonies We've driven through Wendover a dozen times and I have always been SO curious about these giant casinos in this tiny little town, so this time we stayed in the Wendover Peppermill. It turns out that the casinos are not quite up to Vegas or Reno standards in terms of amenities. The gaming floor is huge and the hotel rooms are spacious, but aside from the actual casino, there are no amenities - no pool, no dozens of restaurants, no nightclub, no spa. So if any of you are tempted by a too-good-to-pass-up weekend getaway trip to Wendover: I'm going to strongly urge you to reconsider. But if you're driving through on I-80 and looking for a big hotel room for a good price in that general area, then Wendover might be the perfect stop for you.
Wyoming*
-- The kids have been doing great with the driving. Joshua likes to watch for trains, and we have seen dozens in the western half of the trip. We've had some difficulty with Joshua's eating while we travel. It really helps him to have routine - eating the same meal at the same time and place each day - and of course this is really hard to manage with traveling. Now that we're in Reno for a month, we've been able to set up more of a daily routine, and his eating is picking up. I don't think he's lost weight yet, and if things do get worse, we've still got the G-button in place and can use it if needed. But I would appreciate prayers for Joshua's eating during our summer travels.
We will be in Reno for most of the rest of July, and then back in Lincoln for 10 days at end of July and beginning of August - if you are a Reno or Nebraska friend, I would love to see you!
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* None of the photos pictured in this post were taken by me. All were found by doing a Google Image search of my favorite areas through which we drove. If, for some unimaginable reason, this blog post gets a big readership, I will go back and post photo credits.
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