 |
||
 |
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
[ Washington 6/19] [ Idaho 6/20 ] [ Montana 6/21-6/29] [ Wyoming 6/30-7/2 ] [ South Dakota 7/3-7/11 ] [Minnesota 7/12] [Iowa 7/13-7/15] [Missouri 7/16-7/21] [Illinois 7/22-7/25] [Kentucky 7/25-7/30] [Virginia 7/31-8/06] The Trip Home- [Washington DC] [Gettysburg] [Philadelphia] [New York] [Boston] [Niagra Falls] [Dearborn] [Chicago] [The rest of the drive] Detailed Itinerary-day by day / Leave us a Comment / |
||
|
|
|
Day 15 - July 2nd Rapid City Hello again! We've been out of touch for a few days. I'm sure you've all just been waiting with baited breath for our next update! We'll it's been a few great days. On Wednesday the kids had one of their favorite days yet because, yes, Trish, there is MUCH to do in South Dakota!!!! The hardest part was figuring out what to do and what to leave out. We had to leave out most of it but hit a few highlights. While Don biked his way from Keyhole State Park at the base of Devil's Tower into South Dakota, the kids and I went on ahead to a huge maze. It was really fun. Annie got stuck for awhile and we had to go rescue her. Took us about 20 minutes to figure out how to get to her! Because of the detour, Elsie found her way out first but James would like everyone back home to know he would have won if it hand't been for Annie... Then we went to Bear Country USA and saw huge elk, reindeer, wolves, etc. roaming free. There were huge bears wandering around that came right up to our car. Made us miss our Saint Bernard, Brutus! He's just as big I think!!! Anyway, it was pretty fun. Then we headed over to Storybook Island, which is a free park in Rapid City. It was really big and had tons of characters from... you got it, Storybooks!! Donny met up with us there. He had a pretty tough day that day. He rode 83 miles but was done after about 45. He dug in deeper and made it, but didn't have the same fun he's had on other days. It's getting really hot and that has to be a factor! I genuinely don't know how he stands the heat - we're baking in the car. That night we drove up to Custer State Park, winding through really tight tunnels - I was driving and we actually made it through! Go figure. Had a nice campfire with smores next to Sylvan Lake. Beautiful evening. Day 16 - July 3rd Mt Rushmore Today was Don's day off. Yay! What an amazing day it has been!! Best 4th of July celebration ever. We had a leisurely morning -Don's first chance to really sleep in this "vacation." Then we spent the morning hiking around Sylvan Lake. It is a gorgeous spot with huge boulders coming straight up from the lake. Then we headed off to Mt Rushmore for 4th of July fireworks that they do a day early here. We arrived at 3 pm for the 9:10 fireworks to find that traffic was already parking about 3 miles back from the site. So Donny dropped us all off at the front and then went and parked, riding his bike back uphill to Mt. Rushmore. We spent the next 6 hours enjoying some of the most memorable of our lives. It was truly a "God bless America" day with songs, tons of praise and honor for our veterans, inspiring talks, etc. We were all so proud to be Americans and so very blessed to get to be a part of that moment. The fireworks were the most amazing I have ever seen. Part of it had to be the backdrop - they shot them off from Lincoln's head! Annie must have said "Wow" over 100 times. It was incredible. When it all ended, we joined the masses to walk the 3 miles back to our car. But because we had parked so far away, we were some of the first to get to leave! The people who had arrived early (8am) to park in the parking garage had to wait to start their cars until we all had left!! What a glorious day. Ended the night by driving to our campsite and finding a note left for us at midnight saying to call home ASAP. Spent the night worrying and praying that our animals and family were OK. Turns out the house we rent out had a broken pipe and flooded the basement. First time it's ever done that in 7 years and it does it while we're out of town! Also found out that our housesitter hasn't shown as expected so neighbors have been feeding, watering and caring for our animals - without us even having to ask. What a wonderful group of friends we have!! Thankfully, we have made contact and it's all been worked out, I think! Our housesitter is on his way and the animals should be happy once again. A HUGE thank you to the Stiles and Coffeys and Altmeyers and Ratcliffs and Claytons and who knows who all else for all that you have done!! It takes a village to take care of our home while we're gone .... Been tough not having any cell phone coverage since IDAHO! Thank you all for your patience while we are only accessible via email every other day or so! Day 17 - July 4th Hot Springs Happy 4th of July! Seems like we already celebrated yesterday but we keep remembering today is the actual 4th. Don had today off, too, as we're just hanging around town. The highlight of our day? Finding gas for $3.83. Thank you, Hot Springs!! Oh yeah, we also went to the Mammoth Dig. They are digging out this area that has real live (dead) mammoths. Tons of them. You walk through the dig and get to see the bones sticking out of the ground. It's pretty cool! Then we spent the next hour explaining the difference between "millions of years" and a worldwide Flood and the results it would have had... Pretty amazing to see animals that were alive in the time of Noah! Also pulled into the city park there and spent the afternoon wading in a beautiful little river that runs through the town - it is warm, thus the term "hot springs"... =) It's been a delight to find all these little places and parks to spend time as we travel across America. Then on to Walmart to spend the night. I gotta say, I LOVE Walmart. Their prices have been consistent across America so far. When all the little stores are charging 2 to 3 times more than Spokane for food, they are consistently low. Then, after getting good cheap fruit and veggies, we get to stay for free in their parking lot with security guards monitoring for us. In the morning, we go in to the bathroom, freshen up, and off we are on our day. Thank you, Walmart!!! Day 18 - July 5th Interior Hm. What to say? It was a great day until just a little bit ago. Let me start at the beginning. Don got started nice and early to beat the heat and meet up with us at the famous Wall Drug. We had a leisurely morning, especially as I wasn't feeling super great. Between the constant going, the heat and not drinking enough, my body was groaning a bit. We finally hit the road and found Don bicycling away. We were about 5 miles from Wall Drug at that point, where we had agreed to meet up. So as we passed him we waved, knowing we'd see him soon. Turns out, a wave is not enough! Apparently we are to STOP and say hello when we see our very tired husband and father on the road. We figured this out once we were at Wall Drug and a sad daddy showed up. Now we know. Whenever we see him, pull over!! Things to remembe for the future! Anyway, had a great time at Wall Drug. We gave each kid $5 to spend and they had a blast figuring out how they wanted to do that. Now James and Elsie are the proud owners of harmonicas and they haven't stopped playing them all afternoon. Thankfully, they are both doing well and it is actually a pleasure to listen to. On a very cool note - As Don was walking by a lady, she asked him if he was riding for a charity. He said yes and she handed him some money! Very amazing who God touches to give. After Wall Drug, we said good-bye to Don, planning on meeting up with him at the KOA in Interior. About 10 miles into the ride, we arrived at the Badlands National Park entry. We have a family pass so I showed it, explaining that my husband was on his way about 30 minutes behind me. Not good enough I was told. He had to be in my car to be allowed in. Seriously? They weren't budging, so I pulled over and waited for Don to show up. They still wouldn't budge so - and I'm serious here - I had to circle back around the little booth, load Don's bike up and drive him across the booth line. Argh! It seemed really ridiculous and we were a bit fussed but tried to have a decent sense of humor about it once we realized they really truly were going to make us do that! So we drove a minute to a pull out to take Don's bike back off the car so he could get back to riding. We stopped to take a family picture and when we turned back around, a car had hit Don's bike, badly bending the back rim tire, and then had driven off. Double Argh! Had they not made us put Don's b ike on the back of the car... Anyway, it's done! The result? Don is out of commission at this point. We drove to the KOA and had a nice afternoon in the pool. Tomorrow we will drive to Pierre and hope the bicycle shop there can get him back on the road. We are just trusting that Godwas protecting Don from something as the sequence of events was just too weird. Or maybe we're supposed to learn something. Regardless, here we sit in Interior, having a nice family evening despite it all. Oh, by the way, the Badlands were pretty. There, I said something nice about it. =) Day 19 - July 6th Pierre Had church in the RV this morning. Don talked about Phil. 2, about having tenderness, compassion, etc. for one another. Not sure if it was directed at me or the kids! =) We'll see if it helps! Then headed off with the busted bike on the back of the RV for Pierre. Stopped by an old original sod homestead on the way. The kids were more interested in feeding the prairie dogs than the homestead we bought the tickets to see... Arrived into Pierre to stay in a nice hotel for the first time in way too long only to find that the hotel we booked through Priceline had been sold. Through that, other things had changed, including access to a swimming pool, etc. So here we were like the atheist lying in his grave - all dressed up with no place to go. The owner/manager at the hotel, Sonya, could not have been more friendly, helpful and accommodating. She was incredible. Sonya offered to pay for us to go to the YMCA in town to swim or pay for another hotel. As she used to manage the Comfort Inn here in Pierre, she got us over there for an incredible rate and got us all set up. Now the kids are the nice inside pool with NO BUGS, I've eated my free cookie with NO MOSQUITOS, the kids have had their free juice and watched some Disney, the A/C is on, our room is big and beautiful and we are SO happy and thankful. Oh, that's right. This was supposed to be about a bike trip. Well, it's Sunday in a small town so nothing has changed on that end of things. We will go to the repair shop (by we, of course I mean Don while I hang at the nice hotel) and hope they can get the bike fixed tomorrow so we can head off to Storybook Land in Aberdeen as planned. But you know, if it doesn't get fixed... this isn 't such a bad place to be for a day or two!! Ran out to the RV to get something and was so thankful to get back inside to the nice hotel. See, Michael, I'm a princess, TOO! =) BTW - It has been SUCH a HUGE encouragement to have so many of you leave us comments on this blog. Thank you for sticking with us. We feel loved. Day 20 - July 7th Lake Louise We seem to be 2/3rds of the way finished since we have already gone through two time zones. Mileage-wise that is not correct, nor is it in terms of days. But as you may know, 92.4% of all statistics are made-up anyway. Well, I found a bike shop and they are replacing the wheel. They said it is, "way beyond being able to fix." So I should be back on the road sometime this morning/afternoon. Thank you Lord for putting us in a town with a good bike shop. I am anxious to be back on my bike. That isn't the whole point of the trip, but it sure feels yucky when I can't ride. My ankle is feeling a bit better too. It still hurts to walk, but should be fine on the bike. All things are better on the bike... I spent several hours on the computer yesterday evening catching up with emails and whatnot. I normally don't get any computer time because I am pretty wiped by the time I get off the bike. So it was nice to be a geek again for a day. Thanks for your prayers. The bike crunching episode was a good reminder that this trip is full of potential for mishaps and injury. We are grateful that things have gone as well as they have and continue to covet your prayers for safety and that God would open people's hearts to AWOP. Day 21 - July 8th Aberdeen Well, Don is back on his bike today. By the time we had the bike repaired yesterday, it was too late to ride. But he got started early this morning and rode about 75 miles. The first 45 miles were really tough as he was riding into the wind. He averaged between 8 and 12 miles an hour. After that, the wind turned and he was able to average 15 to 23. He did get to see three huge bull elk today and rode on some great country roads. Meanwhile, the kids and I spent the day at Aberdeen. What a great day in a great town! We are at a beautiful campground, Wylie Campground. There are tons of paved trails, a great swimming beach, many kid structures and playgrounds, Storybook Land, and on and on. What a great find! When we drove up, there were a few leaders and children out in the park singing Christian songs andhaving some kind of VBS. We joined in for the singing. It's so wonderful to be in a totally new place and feel at home. It's the body of Christ across the world! Back at the ranch on GreenBluff, our basement in the rental is a mess. Apparently a pipe broke that flooded our crawlspace and brought in mud as well as water. Sounds like we have about 1" standing mud in our old laundry room. Our wonderful neighbors, the Altmeyers, have got the drywall cut out, carpet ripped up and are working to get it back together. I forgot to give a huge thank you to our other neighbor, Tony Davis, who left work to run up to our place and turn off the water when it was flooding. Thank y ou SO much for helping to minimize the damage! Day 21 - July 9th Watertown I forgot this day and am adding it late! So hard to keep track of what day and date it is! We spent the morning in Aberdeen and then met up with Don in Watertown, a pretty town that sits all along and around a lake. As we traveled through Watertown, a super nice reporter from the Public Opinion by the name of Jessica interviewed us. Here is the blog from the publicopinion.com website. Pretty fun! Thanks, Jessica and all the best to you in school! ThePublicOpinion.com Washington family makes local stop on cross-country bike trek By Jessica Kokesh, News Staff Published: Thursday, July 10, 2008 11:55 AM CDT Don Story had biked 98 miles from Aberdeen by the time he arrived at Stokes-Thomas Campground late Wednesday afternoon. “I just couldn’t stand it, so I biked two more miles on the bike path so I could call it a century,” he said. “The path on the lake is just beautiful.” While Don waited for his wife, Teri, and their four children to arrive, he took a dip in Lake Kampeska and a short nap. When Teri pulled into the campground a little after seven that night, Don was greeted with hugs and pats on the back from his family. “It was a good day today,” he said. “It was nice weather, no bad winds...There was a little bit of grooved pavement that wasn’t fun, but otherwise it was good.” The Story family is spending their summer biking from Spokane, Wash. to Yorktown, Va. to raise money and awareness for the African Widows and Orphans Project (AWOP). They became interested in the project after one of Don’s friends returned from Ethiopia and told them how great the need for help in the country is. “The money given to the government often disappears and the private organizations give it directly to the people,” Teri said. “This money will help keep kids with their family and put money into Ethiopia.” In addition to adding charity, the cross country bike trip has been 25 years in the making for Don. “I figured it was a great way to get out of doing yard work for a month,” he joked. “But so many people get stuck doing the same thing. I want to see the world and do something big.” A junior high school teacher, Don and family are scheduled to return one day before the start of classes for the 2008-09 school year. The Storys already had experience traveling long distances. A few years ago, the family logged 8,000 miles from Washington to Mexico. They spent two years saving up for the trip and planned for $4 gas prices. They left Washington on June 19, riding through Idaho, Montana and Wyoming to arrive in South Dakota July 2. Their blog at www.storybiketrip.info has pictures and details from all of their destinations. Don has done most of the bike riding on the trip while Teri and the Story children cruise ahead in their RV. On the first day of the trip, the oldest Story children — Elsie and James — biked 25 miles with their dad. “Before we started the trip, James and I were going to bike 10-15 miles a day, and then Mom would pick us (up) for activities,” Elsie, 12, said. “It didn’t quite work out that way.” “I don’t think the kids have biked once in South Dakota,” Teri said. “Our friends don’t believe us when we tell them there’s so much stuff to do here!” During their first day in the state, the Storys hit Bear Country USA and Storybook Island in Rapid City and were able to catch the fireworks at Mount Rushmore the next day. “It was unbelievable,” Don said. “Talk about patriotic.” James, 14, said that the activities were his favorite part of traveling. The Aberdeen Aquatic Center and Mount Rushmore were two of his favorite stops in the state. On July 5, while traveling through the Badlands National Park, the family hit the first snag in their trip which had been “amazingly trouble free” until then. While stopped to take a family picture, someone smashed Don’s bike on the back of the RV, bending the rear tire, and drove off. Don was out of commission until the wheel could be replaced in Pierre on Monday. Tuesday was a particularly bad day for Don when he caught some of South Dakota’s famous wind gusts while on the road. He said he liked the state “much more” on Wednesday. Teri and Don said that everyone they’ve met on the road so far has been very friendly and helpful. “People have come up to us, asked if we’re biking for a cause, and then hand us some money,” Teri said. “It’s amazing watching America step up and help.” The Storys have collected $167 while on the road and Teri said they don’t know how much has been donated to their Web site directly. The family doesn’t have a set goal for donations. Money isn’t the only way South Dakotans are helping the Storys. Don said that while he was stopped in Webster for lunch, a man gave him his business card and told Don to call him if he ran into trouble in the tri-state area because he traveled a lot and had contacts who could help. “It’s happened so many times,” Don said. “The people have just been awesome.” One of the hardest parts about being on the road is taking care of business at home. Recently, a pipe burst in the basement of their rental home and flooded the floor. Six of their neighbors have been helping clean up and take care of their pets while they’re gone. “When there’s a crisis, we don’t have the Internet or cell phone service a lot, so we just have to rally and keep going,” Teri said. The Storys are looking forward to getting luxuries like the Internet and full-sized beds back when they return home August 21, but are making family time a priority right now. “Our kids are going to be completely different people after all they’ve seen on this trip,” Teri said. On Thursday, Teri and children plan to go to De Smet and Lake Benton, Minn. to take part in Laura Ingalls Wilder activities. Don will bike down to Brookings to have lunch at Nick’s Burgers and some of South Dakota State University’s ice cream. Day 22 - July 10th DeSmet What a fun day for us. What a tough day for Don. The kids and I went to the Laura Ingalls Homestead in DeSmet. What a really cool place! They have the 140 or so acres that the Ingalls homesteaded on, along with lots of barns, dugouts, ma's little house, covered wagon rides, littlle schoolhouse, etc. It was completely hands on. The kids made corn cob dolls, made rope, made string from wool, braideed rugs, had to dress up at the little school and go up front for a lesson by grade and on and on. Then we went to the cemetery where the Ingalls are all buried - everyone except for Laura, who is in Minnesota. It was a really fun day but was SO hot that we were all just beat and having a hard time moving. We started wondering how Don was holding up... Headed towards a burger joint we'd heard of from a friend of Don's at school. We expected to go alone as Don was about 2 to 3 hours ahead of us at that point. Turns out - he wasn't. He ran into a huge headwind going out of Aberdeen this morning. Because of it, he averaged only 5-8 miles an hour (vs. 10-15 usually) for the first few hours. When we caught up to him on the road, he was completely spent. He credits the wind, but I'm giving some partial credit to the heat, too!
So we went to Nick's, had a great burger, stopped for some ice cream in the college town and then camped along the side of the road. I played with the kids while Don slept the afternoon and evening away. |
||||||
 |
||||||
 |
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|