And finally, we visited the Yellowstone Grand Canyon and then drove through the Tetons and Jackson Hole on the way out. We had quite a successful trip.

Wolves, bears, elk, coyotes and bison...oh my! We saw wolves and a mama grizzly and cub through a telescope so we have no pictures to prove it but we did have a bear cross the road in front of us and a buffalo walk through our campsite and put on quite a show.

From Portland we took the long drive through OR and Idaho to Yellowstone in WY. The first day we spent almost the whole day near Old Faithful and walked around and saw hundreds of other geysers and pools. It is just bizarre to walk around and see mud randomly bubbling, steam spurting and geysers just errupting.

The next day Trey, Grace and Grandma and Grandpa Dunham arrived. They drove out from Laramie and spent the rest of our vacation with us which was fun. We headed to the Oregon coast which was unbelievable it was so stunning. We camped right near the beach but the wind on the beach was so fierce and cold we had to hide in grass on the sand dunes just to sit and watch the ocean. The kids ran all over the sand dunes and even stuck their toes in the freezing cold water. We went a little north the next day to a beach where the kids found tide pools they could climb around in and search for sea anenomes, crabs and starfish.

After a day of rest, Aunt Sue took us to Multunomah Falls where we climbed up quite a ways to a river. The kids then climbed up the river on rocks for awhile, we picnicked and then hiked down.

Our next stop was Portland, OR where we stayed with Tim's Aunt Sue and cousins Cristin and James. It was great to have a "home" for awhile.

Redwoods

After the Big City, we headed north through dozens of vineyards to the Redwood Forest. I've been saying every place is my favorite so I've been a bit dramatic, but this really was my favorite. The trees of course are gigantic and the forest enchanting. I expected to see deer and chipmunks to pop out and start singing. The forest was right along Northern California on the Pacific coast and it was beautiful. The coast was rugged, quiet and wild and I could have sat there a week to take it all in. I was looking for whales but apparently it is the wrong season. I would love to return here to camp on the beach and hike through the forest. On our way out we did see a forest fire beginning which was a bit frightening and sad. The fireman came quickly. One of the firefighters' base camp was not far. We passed it and was a large field filled with tents. These men and women are amazing to be so selfless.

San Fransisco

From Yosemite we headed to San Fransisco and spent a day in civilization. We rode the trollies, walked Fisherman's Wharf and saw the sea lions, ate lunch in Chinatown, walked the Crookedest Street and had chocolate in Ghiradelli Square. We were typical tourists but the day was fun and it was a neat city.

Yosemite 2

The day we pulled out of our camp at Yosemite was the highlight. We were driving out and Tim spied a bear in a meadow right on the road. He did a quick stop, turned around and we all quietly gawked out the window at not just one bear, but a mama and 2 cubs. They were close enough that we snapped these great pictures and really couldn't even get out of the van. We were all so excited its a miracle we didn't scare the bears silly. Tim won the wildlife award for the day. AND, to top it all off, minutes later we saw a HAWAII license plate and brought our game down to just 3 more plates! (If anyone spots North Dakota or South Dakota let us know!)

Yosemite

We arrived at Yosemite and much to our great surprise found a campsite. Nothing is terribly crowded we have found on our trip, probably due to gas prices. But we picked a site next to a bunch of rocks so the kids spent every minute there climbing all over the place and re-enacting Justice League super hero episodes. They have plenty of bruises to show for it. Andy has 22 scrapes and bruises and Anna has 20. We did a count.

Yosemite has so many majestic views with El Capitene, waterfalls, giant sequoia trees, and beautiful valleys that we could send a gazillion pictures and bore everyone to death so here are just a few...

drive to Yosemite

The day after Disneyland we were exhausted so after sleeping in we drove around Beverly Hills in search of a Lambourgini or a Porsche for Sam. He did spot a dealership and went in to peak. We then left LA where it was a great 80 degrees everyday and headed east towards Yosemite. The whole way across CA the temps again were over 100. The valleys were super hazy too due to all the forest fires. We never actually saw a fire but plenty of smoke.

Disneyland

Sunday was great fun as we took the kids to Disneyland. Many of our friends out there are always telling us how great it is and that it is magical and I have always been a bit skeptical...but it really was lots of fun. Sam and Anna were roller coaster freaks and Andy like the Buzz Lightyear ride where he shot laser guns at Zurg. Anna saw a princess coronation and we were able to watch great fireworks despite their warning they might be canceled due to forest fires.

funny pictures

Thought I'd add some funny pictures...

Our car (door) overheated.

Well we're back connected to the rest of the Intertube-net-web so we have a few blog entries to catch up on. First, back to Death valley

Our car has had a history of running high in temp because of a coolant fan that was a bit on the fritz. We had it fixed of course before leaving, but I was still a bit uneasy as we hit temperatures in the 120s. I couldn't take my eye off the temp gauge though the car (engine) did fine.

When we arrived in LA on the 4th, we watch 3 sets of fireworks from the beach (3 different communities--it was quite nice).

The next morning, we were having difficulty opening the back door of the van. And by trouble I mean that we couldn't open it at all. I pulled everything out and was able to get it open from the inside using a screwdriver. Finally I found that there was some protective rubber-gooish stuff over the latch that had melted, gumming up the mechanics. After I scraped most of it off it started working. I'm sure many folks have had cars overheat in the summer in S. Cal, but I think we may be one of the first to have a door overheat.

Happy Birthday (aka Welcome to Death Valley)

Today I turned 37. And my family felt it appropriate to drag me to Death Valley. Actually the opposite is true. No one really wanted to go but me. However it was a lot of fun and it's always cool to hit a landmark like the lowest point in N.A.

P.S. Death valley is seriously hot.

Day of Contrasts

Yesterday we left the Grand Canyon. Before we left we wanted to take one more hike down into the canyon. Jill had suggested that we leave our campsite early in the morning and it turned out to be a great idea because most of the trail was in the shade. It was a beautiful and quiet.














We then headed to Las Vegas via the Hoover Dam and saw the hottest temperatures so far on the trip.















When we go to Vegas we were assaulted by billboards, crowds, traffic, and activity. What a contrast.















Some of the contrasts were obvious, some came to me later. In the Grand Canyon, I couldn't help but feel small....that there were bigger things out there than me. In Las Vegas, it seems that everything is geared toward me--that I will get lucky, that I will be entertained, that I will find fun or comfort. I think that's the difference when I find myself within God's creation and man's creation.

Grand Canyon

As we drove into the Grand Canyon, it was early evening and the air was comfortably warm. The first point by the entrance is Mather Point and as we approached we had fleeting glimpses of the canyon through the trees, cars and people. I cut across traffic and let Jill and the kids out so they could run to the viewing area while I parked the car. As I caught up with them Jill saw me and summed things up by saying "This is the coolest thing I have ever seen."

Painted Desert National Park

On our way to the Grand Canyon we stopped in the middle of Arizona at Painted Desert/Petrified Rock National Forest. Andy finished various tasks and was the first Dunham to become a Junior Ranger. He had his work checked, said a pledge and was made official by the Ranger. Andy was quite proud. We only spent an hour or two there because it was hot, pretty barren, and well, desert.

Albuquerque

After driving across the boonies of TX we reached Albuquerque and spent the night with our friends the Butlers. We spent time reminiscing and laughing about the crazy things we encountered while spending time together in Papua New Guinea.