Frogley Summer Tour - Day 1

Day 0: Prep Day

Yesterday was a whirlwind of shopping, laundry, packing, and cleaning. Somehow we managed to get everything picked up, wiped down (not the kitchen as well as I would have liked), packed up, and loaded all before 11pm. That NEVER happens for big road trips like this.

Day 1: Orem, UT to North Platte, NE

Our alarms went off at 5am Mountain Time today. Super exhausted, but excited this day finally came. We’ve been planning this trip since the beginning of the year, and we’ve had reservations since February. Our itinerary keeps getting more and more full as we discover new things to see and places to visit. We are all SO excited.

Dave jumped in the shower. I showered last night, so I just get dressed and then start waking up the kids. They need to get dressed and bring me their dirty pajamas so I can load them in the car. I hate leaving dirty clothes while we’re on vacation, so yesterday I washed everything except what the kids were wearing. This morning their dirty day clothes from yesterday were already in a duffel bag, and we just needed them to put on the clothes we had laid out for them, and gather their dirty pjs.

While the kids dressed I gathered the food for the cooler. We have applesauce, bread, jam, and go-gurts that we wanted to leave in the fridge or freezer until the last possible moment. The car was already loaded with tons of other snacky foods.

I loaded all the last minute items while Dave finished getting ready. The kids got impatient waiting in the car and kept running back in to ask if we were going or not. :) They were very excited too.

Finally, we got everything in the car, Dave locked up the house, and I took some pictures before we pulled out of the driveway at 5:50am, ten minutes earlier than our goal time.

I’d been pulling several late nights in preparation for this trip, especially while trying to put together the itineraries for the kids (more on that later… they are AWESOME), so I was exhausted. Dave drove for the first three hours, and I attempted to sleep. I dozed a lot, but the kids kept interrupting asking for food or a bag to throw up in… so inconsiderate. Jacob threw up a couple of times… we found out later that he apparently ate 6 applesauce pouches and nothing else for breakfast. I wasn’t really monitoring the food… just passing back whatever was asked for in an attempt to get the kids to let me sleep.

Oh, and we’re also listening to Harry Potter on audiobook again. We’re most of the way through book 5… for the second time through the series.

Anyway, the first three hours went pretty smooth and we made great time. I missed taking a picture of the Welcome to Wyoming sign because I was dozing and woke up too late. I drove the next two hours which put us more than halfway through Wyoming. At the rest stop I stopped at at the end of my driving several of the kids ran around reading signs. One of the younger ones asked what Danielle (10) was doing and I explained that she was learning about the Wyoming wind (as that was the subject of the sign). Danielle then commented that she didn’t need to read about it, as she could feel it. I agreed, but pointed out that the sign could teach her about the benefits of the wind. She agreed and then gave me a brief explanation of how the wind blows the Wyoming snow around and creates bare patches of ground for elk and deer to find food in winter. Then Danielle ran off and sketched a mountain that she saw from the rest area and thought was particularly pretty. I love homeschooling. :)

Dave stopped for gas a few miles before our first random roadside attraction: Tree in the Rock. I’ve seen the tree on previous drives, but it’s been more than 10 years since Dave and I have been east of the Wasatch, and I don’t think I’ve ever stopped to actually look at the tree.

The kids had a lot of fun climbing on the nearby rocks and reading the signs. Marie (4 ½) asked a lot of good questions about why there was a cable tied around the rock with the tree. I love inquisitive children. We also made some quick pb&j sandwiches for lunch and passed around a bag of carrot sticks.

Several more hours of driving passed mostly uneventful. We crossed into Nebraska (I got a picture this time!) and then detoured briefly into Colorado.

13 years ago, during a trip to Iowa for our wedding open house, Dave and I learned that I-80 gets within 2 miles of the Nebraska/Colorado border, so we took the short detour just to say we went there. As none of our children have ever been to Colorado (and only our oldest has been to Wyoming, Nebraska, or Iowa), we figured it was worth the extra 4 miles. Unfortunaely, due to construction and some closed exits, it ended up being an extra 14 miles… but still totally worth it.

The farther east we got, the more we noticed the humidity… none of us are used to that and it was quite a shock to all of us, even to Dave and me… and we were expecting it. This could be a long trip… ;)

We finally rolled into North Platte around 6:30pm, Central time. A total of 11 ½ hours on the road… not bad at all considering our detours and stops and the fact that google maps claimed it would take 9 1/2 hours. We checked into our suite at the Quality Inn & Suites, unloaded the few bags we needed, and then headed across the street to Applebee’s for dinner. The kids ate EVERYTHING they ordered, so we allowed them to get dessert, which they also finished. We had zero leftovers… it was awesome… and expensive. :)

We got back to our hotel around 9pm, got ready for bed, let the kids watch a show on a computer we brought, then put everyone to bed. Now it’s 11pm local time, and we have another early morning and long drive tomorrow. Goodnight!