Courtney's Blog July 28th, Day 23 of the Epic McFarland Journey!

This morning we get a fancy breakfast at the Courtyard because Mommy called the "elite Marriott member" line and told them we wanted free breakfast. For $10, we bought "free breakfast" for the four of us. The kids each got french toast. Each plate was enough for all four of us, so a good deal for $10. Abby devoured the french toast but lamented "it's still not as good as Guggies...". You just can't beat good ole home cooking. We tell Abby that Guggie's pancakes have an ingredient that the Courtyard doesn't use, love. <3

After our filling morning start, we head out to Craters of the Moon. There are a couple of old, inactive volcanoes and what is left of their previous explosions. The ground is all burnt and covered with what looks like pieces of asphalt. It is amazing to think that the most recent explosion was 2,500 years ago, yet the ground is still covered in this. I also am amazed and horrified with myself at the same time because I had no idea there were ANY volcanoes in North America besides Mt. St. Helens. I know that sounds uneducated, but well, I guess it is uneducated. Let's just say history and geography were my worse subjects.

Our first stop we made was to do a loop trail around some old volcanic activity with views of the volcanoes in the background. I convince Gideon, after a ton of bribing and pleading, to take more pictures with his camera:

Me: Gideon, are you going to take your camera?

Gideon: No, I'm ok.

Me: {making a sad face} But, I LOVE your pictures!!!

Gideon: No, I'm ok.

Me: (making a sad face) But you do such a good job taking the pictures, can you please take some more for me?

Gideon: No, I'm ok.

Me: (pretending to cry) Ok....

Gideon: Mommy, don't cry. I'll take more.

Now I'm not proud of this method, but it's working. Well, honestly, maybe not. He only takes maybe one picture after this daily exchange, but still. His pictures crack me up because he sees the stuff we ignore. I think it is a combination of his site range, and his inner artistic self.

The loop trail is a nice easy break because it is fairly flat and easy to traverse. We have done a lot of hiking on this trip - up steep hills on the sides of waterfalls, up hundreds (literally) of steps in San Francisco, up another volcano and 70-something steps out of a cave. We take our time on the trail, Gid takes a few shots, Abby and Adam get super artistic and lay down on the trail to get some cool shots, and we head back to the car. The next stop is up a steep .4 mile climb with a 24% gradient in 6,000 foot altitude. We decide we can do it! (foreshadowing)

We pull up to where the trail should start, but we only see some huge black hill and no trailhead. Finally after wandering around we decide the trail must actually be up the huge black hill. It doesn't look that bad. We climb all the way up. Phew, we made it. Nope. There are two more just like it. We trek on. At this point, I am getting kinda breathless, but that's typical for me. I've always been a super heavy breather during exercise....it was so embarassing in gym class. I also have pink cheeks for 45 minutes after any physical exertion. Also embarassing for gym class. Anyhow, I start up the second part of the climb and tell Adam and the kids to go ahead without me. I am lagging behind. When I get to the third climb, I can't see them anymore. As people pass me going down the hill, I hold my breath and try to look like "I'm just looking around at the views, ok?" As I head up the third hill I start to realize something isn't right, my eyes are watering and my nose is running like crazy. I push on because it's almost easier to climb this than to stop walking. I get to the top, sit on a rock and that's when the pain sets in. I get this terrible pain in my breastbone, feel a little dizzy and I cannot catch my breath for the life of me. In fact, I am feeling MORE breathless than when I was climbing. Adam keeps asking me if I am ok, but I don't answer because 1) I can't waste the breath and 2) I don't know the answer. Finally, I put my head down towards my knees and try not to panic. In about 5 - 7 minutes, I can breathe again. I'm still not sure what happened. Could have been a panic attack, a asthma attack, a "this hill is too steep for you" attack...I'm not sure. But I do know, the rest of the day I sounded like a 70-year-old-chain-smoking-man-with-Emphysema. The view from the top was nice though, probably not worth the scare for me.

Based upon my little experience, I skip the next loop trail which goes down to a Cave named DewDrop. Remember that huge ball of purple that Abby is traveling with? Its name is DewDrop. Can't miss this photo op. Check out Adam's pictures for the proof.

We do some more leisurely walking that I engage in. Gideon is holding my hand. He does this thing that I hope he never grows out of. I know it's silly because he will grow out of it, but my heart aches for him to stay this way. He loves to rub his head on you like a cat does to show their love. He will just grab by hand, kiss it, and then rub his head all over it. Or sometimes when we hug or cuddle, he'll rub his head on my body as if to say "this is the best feeling". I agree with him. It is. I got another picture to capture the moment.

Before we leave the park, we scan license plates again. We only need two more: Vermont and Delaware. On the way out, we spot Vermont. Just one away from the 50 state bingo!!! I can't wait to see what we win!!!

We decide to try another local food joint because, well, I seriously cannot go through another drive thru. I can't eat another piece of food wrapped in decorated tin foil, or hidden in a box. I can no longer squeeze condiments out of a bag. There is a local BBQ joint that is supposed to be good. We are all mildly impressed with the food but all glad it's not McDonalds. For dessert, we snack on treats we have in the car. Gideon has a new found love for Whoppers. That kid can down them faster than I can get them to him. Usually after every meal, including breakfast, we hear a small "uh, can I have whoppars pwease?" Abby has been enjoying rolos and some yummy danish cookies from her famous celebrity hometown of Solvang, CA. In the parking lot of the BBQ place, I really look at an Idaho license plate. Go look for yourself on the license page. It says "famous potatoes" at the bottom. Isn't that sad? I mean, really, that's sad. I thought the rest of the country was making fun of Idaho by pointing out they are only good for potatoes. I guess Idaho embraced it and is proud of their potato heritage now. I mean, good for you Idaho. Good for you. (but I still think it's embarassing)

We head over to the hotel and on the way Gideon says "we are going to Hopkin-a-ton, wight?" I say "not yet, sweetie". He starts crying. The time has come: Officially Homesick. This is probably mostly because Gideon thinks we are about 10 minutes away from Hopkinton, no matter where we are. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel in Idaho and Gideon said "I don't see the food we weft for that guy, herw-a". I just told him it must be gone.....of course, that food was left in New Mexico (or was it Nevada..just kidding). So from his perspective, the hours we spend in the car are to go round in circles approximately 10 minutes from home. I'd be getting pissed too. Can we go to our house yet? This is getting ridiculous!!! This little homesickness bout turned into a nasty temper tantrum in the hotel room. Yikes, this was a doozy. I was sure we were going to get a call from the front desk:

Front Desk: Hello, we have gotten some complaints about the noises from your room. It is our policy to ask that guests refrain from torturing and murdering their young after 8pm at night.

After about 15 minutes, he is under control and knocked out (bad choice of words) and completely asleep. Phew.

Summary:

Too steep for fun, Homesickness sets in, Abby is the best, fast food has got to end.

Ended the Day at the Holiday Inn Express, Idaho Falls, ID

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