THE ROAD TRIP
I suppose
everyone my age has been on at least one memorable road trip and I am sure most
have been on several. In the 1940’s to 1960’s a road trip was a big adventure
for many families.
A road trip
was an inexpensive way to take a family on a fun get-away trip during the
Summer. Some of them were elaborate and some---not so much.
As I sat here
today meditating, a lot of my trips have come to mind. I decided to combine a
few of mine and add then to “my blogs.”
------ We had
planned for months for our upcoming Road Trip to Yellowstone Park. I had been
there before, when I was younger, however neither my wife nor kids had ever
been there. It was going to be a trip of memories. We had looked at travel
brochures, studied over maps and talked to people who had been there and after
all of that we found there was so much to do and see that we had a hard time
deciding where to stay each night. However we thought it all through and worked
it out and got everything organized and now we were ready to go.
We were
excited and anxious as we went to bed the night before we left. I think each of
us were so excited it took a while to finally drop off to sleep and we
anticipated our upcoming road trip.
We got up
early Saturday morning (and the kids even got up without much coaxing) and we
loaded the car, had a quick bite of breakfast and we were off on out big
adventure.
I should have
had some clue as to what we were in for when about five miles up the road from
home a little voice came from the back seat. “Dad I am really thirsty.”
“WHAT?’
“THIRSTY?” I thought to myself how could she be thirsty when we have only been
on the road about fifteen minutes? However I very calmly said,”OK we will get
you something in a little while.” Of course that only worked for a short time
and the voice came again, “Dad I am going to thirst to death if I don’t get
something to drink.” I had a remedy for that, which I had used for years, so I
said, “watch for a drinking fountain and I will stop when we see one,” At this
time in our trip we were traveling in sagebrush and alfalfa fields, with no
towns coming up, so there was no chance of her spotting a drinking fountain.
After no
noise from the back seat for a while, my wife looked in the back and smiling at
me she informed me they had gone to sleep.
We traveled
several miles and entered the area of northeastern Idaho, where the scenery was
magnificent. There was lodgepole pine, rivers and streams and even some deer
and a moose. I was relaxed and really enjoying myself. This area had been one
of my favorite places to travel for many years.
My wife
thought we should wake the kids up so they could enjoy the scenery. She woke
them and we started showing them the scenery and talking about the beauty of
the area and after only a few minutes all they wanted to know was, ”When are we
going to have lunch?”
Well we
stopped for lunch and the kids said, “can’t we go someplace where we can eat in
the car?” My response was, “NO WAY.” I had been in that car seat for hours and
I wanted a rest and to see if my “posterior muscles” would even move when I got
out of the car?
After lunch
we hit the road again. We had only gone a few miles and my daughter started
crying (in her fake cry of course) and repeated “He is sitting on my side of
the seat and taking all the room.” I am pretty sure the reason he had put his
leg on (her side) was to get a reaction out of her and of course he did. So, as
the mediator, I yelled back, “Move your leg right now—and don’t make me have to
stop the car or there will be big trouble.”
Everything
went fine for a while, my wife and I enjoyed the beautiful scenery and just
started to relax and our son yelled, ----“Dad she is breathing my air and I am
suffocating.” I went into “mediator mode” again and told him to quit acting
ridiculous or I would STOP THE CAR.
Fortunately
Mom was calmer than I was and she said, “Why don’t we play the license plate
game? Let’s see if we can see a license plate from every state. Thank Heaven
for Mothers. Everything was pretty calm for quite a while after that.
As we got out
of the forest and on a straight stretch of road later in the day it started to
get warmer. All at once a noisy—almost scream came from the back seat as the
window was being rolled down. My son was screaming, “I am sweating hot and I
cannot stand it any longer.” (Of course in those days we did not have Air
Conditioners.) After only a few minutes a female voice from the back seat
(along with the fake cry). Yelled, roll up your window, you are messing my
hair.” “Mom, he will not roll up his window!”
Again thank
Heaven for Mom’s, as she said, “Roll up the window half way and then we will
all play the ABC sign game. In fact there is an “A” on that sign right there,
see it says AMOCO Gas in 20 miles.” So they played the ABC sign game and
everything calmed down again.
We finally
got to our first scheduled stop for the night. We went to dinner, and we set
down in a Café to eat and we all talked about the great day it had been. I
thought to myself, even with all the turmoil (in my opinion) they actually
seemed to enjoy it.
When we got
back to our motel room the kids started complaining about how small the room
was and that it was like a jail because it had bars on the windows. When I
explained the bars were probably to keep the bears out they decided the room
was OK and we all played a couple of games of cards and we were off to bed for
the first night of our adventure.
We got up the next morning and proceeded to
make a trip around the loop in Yellowstone. We had gone about 30 miles and my
son said, “Dad I left my shoes in the motel.” Me: So what do you suggest we do?
Go back and get them-NO. Fortunately, thanks again for Moms; we had an extra
pair in the trunk so we just kept heading up the road.
We made the
loop around the Park with only a few diversions and a few unsolicited
questionable comments. Such as---while looking at the mud volcanoes—the most
repeated comment, not only from my kids but from almost everyone there was, phew
that really stinks. And at the hot springs it was the comment—why can’t I wade
in it? And on one occasion I had to run after my son as he was off to pet a
Moose. After explaining to him he needed to stay away from them because they
were wild animals, he wanted to know how come they did not have a fence around
them.
The name
Buffalope was coined in Yellowstone because one of our granddaughters could not
keep the Antelope and Buffaloes straight. The mud volcanoes will forever be
known in our family as The Stinking Mud Pots. For quite a few years we had to
keep reminding our kids that just because the bears stood up to the side of the
car and looked in the window did not mean you could roll the window down and
pet them.
On our way
home after we had gone through the Park and then Through Teton Park and Jackson
Hole I was talking to the kids about the beautiful scenery and all the animals
and how lucky we were to be able to see all that and one of them said, “ ya it
was beautiful Dad. It is kind of like Joe’s Valley except it has more animals.
Was it all
worthwhile or should we just have went to Joe’s Valley and spent the week
Again? I don’t think so; I mean go to Joe’s Valley instead of Yellowstone.
I guess the
thing that that makes it all worthwhile is that even now MANY years later, whenever
we get together and talk about it or when our kids talk about it, we usually
only remember the good times and how they would like to do it again. They seem
to have forgotten about the, he is breathing my air and he is sitting on my
side and even the fact they are thirsting to death.
Yes, kids on
a road trip, no matter where you go sometimes come a lot of small problems, but
they are well worth it when you get together later and talk, laugh and even
shed a few tears about the memories.
I am MUCH,
MUCH older now than I was during our Road Trip years, but as I recall them I
sure wish I could pick up and go on one tomorrow!
W.R. Baldwin
August 2015
(As I said in the beginning this is a compilation of
several trips to Yellowstone and may even be a little embellished in
places?????)
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