Belk Family Vacation

Tuesday September 11th...Final Day

2009-08-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

Today we woke up and took our time as we knew we were close to home. This morning we left the hotel and arrived at the Kentucky Horse Park around 10:15. We caught a few shows, walked the grounds, cut up, perrused the museum, and by 1pm, home was calling us! We headed home with anticipation of knowing our beds awaited us!

The last hour, as you probably know, was very long...we arrived back at the house at 8:15pm, we were 15 minutes shy of being gone for exactly 3 weeks! We unloaded the Surburban and loaded up the garage...headed to bed....we slept until about 8:15am..since I (David) have woke up @ 6am or earlier for the past 5+ years, this was a blessing in disguise.

Our Quest to find the Best Jerky West of our Kitchen, was achieved in Jackson Hole, texture was the way we like it, taste truly beat dads. BUT, there was only this one that beat dad's. Our conversations about the jerky were mixed with each one we had. One note about all the jerky we found, all was made by a processing plant and quick dried, we did not find any jerky that was hand made or slow dried....atribute to dad...lol...I am writing this!!!!lololol

There may be a few additional postings about various things, as there were many we left out, not to mention all the stuff we actually learned...I have encouraged the kids to post but they are "just so busy".

I hope you have enjoyed the sights as these pics represent about 10% of all pics taken on the trip! I hope this can give you the desire to take your family and hit the road and see what our great country has to offer.

Saturday Sept 8th thru Monday Sept 10th

2009-08-28T16:51:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning we got up, said our good byes to the Ingles, and met them for breakfast 30 minutes later in Bozeman!!! From there we split our ways as our family was en route to Mount Rushmore. We arrived there about 3:30 in the afternoon, spent about 1 1/2 there looking aournd, reading in the museum, wathcing the videos about how the park was created. It was really neat.

We were fortunate, it was the end of Sturgiss Motorcycle Festival..we saw lots of "things", some we did not need to. The actual small town of Key Stone, reminds us of Chimney Rock in the NC mountains.

We headed back on the intersate and headed for Pierre North Dakato...the capital of ND..arrived around 10:30 that evening..saw lots of deer on the small roads leading here...even past thru towns populated with as few as "11" persons. Pierre is another town that I'm not quite sure how it came about..perhaps its the middle of the state and this was where the capital should be...don't think I need to go back unless its for Pheasant or deer hunting.

Next morning (Sunday), we left and our destination was the Embassy suites in Kansas City...this was an all day event as we arrived about 7:30pm...dinner, pool time, bed.

Monday Morning again got up, left and headed for Embassy Suites in Lexington Kentucky. Arrived in Lexinton in time for, of course, dinner and headed to "The Mellow Mushroom". Again Dinnner, pool, bed!

Trout For Dinner Friday Night!!!!

2009-08-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

Preparation for the feast began in the gourmet kitchen by the two "master fishermen". The recipe is as follows: we rinsed and patted-dry the trout, then massaged a light layer of olive oil inside and out. We salt-and-peppered the inside, then placed garlic, lemon slices, and a big bunch of rosemary and thyme, fresh from the famers market, in the cavity. We then wrapped bacon slices around the fish and - holding the fish closed - toothpicked the bacon on to hold everything together. These guys went on a very hot grill - covered and maintained at about 425-degrees - for 10 minutes per side.

Dinner was served with Lori's famous Tomatoe Tart and some nasty rice (Lori's description of the rice). Dessert was Lori's Chocolate Bundle with Ganache topping!

The evening ended with packing, final fooseball and bed!

Friday IN Montana

2009-08-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

We took a little hike, to some local water falls called Ousel Falls (many of the plant pics actually came from this walk). It was really nice. What do you think we did after that? Eat, yep, eat! Drove back to the little village and had the best tasting Cheese burger I think I have ever had...the beef was fantastic.......We should not have eaten that much because tonight is Grilled Trout Night!...By now we're used to all of this food!

With all that food we headed back to the house to rest, you know to rest for our next feast..and to mentally prepare to become mobile on Saturday.....

Thursday In Montana

2009-08-27T18:05:00.000-07:00

Today was somewhat of a lazy beginning...again....we eventually decided to pull out the tennis raquets (we brought them all this way, we must use them). We headed down to the Big Sky Village and played for about an hour and 1/2. and then of course....it was time to eat...then we shopped a little, had some ice cream...little more shopping, then headed on down the mountain to the famers market were Wendy bought a "rock", this is not a pet rock, I mean a "ROCK"...no not Bling Bling!!! A R-O-C-K! lol...we bought some more Huckleberry Jam (Boy I wish we could find this in NC)....SAW NO JERKY @ the Market...Jeff & I did decide to give a "Best in Show" Prize to one of the Vendors...This guy had built a Mobile Brick Oven Pizza Stand, with hydraulic doors, gates, etc, it was truly a never been seen item to these eye.

But according to the locals, it was Thursday, they planned an event and it was going to rain as it always does when they have the market and the Band planned later that evening.....and rain it did.

We headed back to the house just in time for the snow to begin falling...not much but it did snow, in August, in Big Sky!

Dinner, Fooseball, Bed

By the way...the attractants have not worked all week in the back yard....We figure a raccoon perhaps has been the beneficiary of our efforts ( I can't say what efforts as I think it could be illegal) but there have been no large Paw prints or tracks but the goods have been gone every morning!

SMORES....

2009-08-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

Smores happened about 3 times this week off the grill...it was just good & fun!

Wednesday in Montana...The Girls

2009-08-27T17:29:00.000-07:00

The girls drove down to West Yellowstone...SAW A GRIZZLY Bear along the way..again thanks to Avery....they attempted to shop the tourist trap, went to an IMAX Theatre to see a story on Bears, of course. IMAX was beside the Bear & Wolf Discovery Center..they were let down with the center as the animals appeared to be drugged...Lori says "it was just lame".

I know this is not much about them but this is all I can get out of them!

Oh, they saw a Bull Moose on the way back! Then they drove back and did not do anything but wait for their MEN TO ARRIVE!!!!

Wednesday in Montana....The Boys

2009-08-27T17:23:00.000-07:00

This was our fishing day!!!! We only had to go about 8 miles to fish on the Madison River...unfortunately there was no rode, so we had to drive about an hour around the montain thru Bozeman to get to the Upper Bear section of the river. We fished the upper canyon and for the day. It was really neat as we were truly in no mans land. The canyon walls around us were about 200 - 300 feet high, that were pathed only by the river...we walked the boulders of the river along a make shift path over and thru the rocks.

The fishing was great...Fished from about 9:00 - 6:00....we returned with one shy our 10 fish limit..average fish was about 3 lbs..we had plenty of fish!...3 Browns & 6 Rainbow.

Dinner & Fooseball & Hot Tub & Bed....

There Were Neat Flowers & Plants Along the Way

2009-08-27T16:39:00.000-07:00

Meet the Ingles: Jeff, Wendy & Sarah

2009-08-27T16:04:00.001-07:00

Tuesday in Montana..the Small Fish

2009-08-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

Another lazy day on the wake up trail....Jeff and David decided it was time to try some fishing and would take the girls...no not Wendy & Lori, they went to the SPA!!!! We boys decided we would try the stream we crossed yesterday while horsback riding. On the way down the hill, Avery shouted, "hey dad, there was soemthing back there on the hill off the road,,,it had big horns"....now Avery has become my expert deer spotter in the woods when we go skiing so I had to turn back.....we were absoutlely amazed....2 large Big Horn Sheep, one was defintely a trophie, they were about 15 yards off the road...see pics....

Anyway, back to fishing....we drove up a gravel road, found a house that looked abandoned,, and drove back thru the yard until we came with in 20 yards of the stream. We got all the rods prepared for the girls, showed them where to be and what to do...no fly fishing,,,zebco's and worms...Jeff and I began fishing and the next thing we heard "SPLASH"...laughing and laughing, then anohter then another and after about 15 minutes the girls fishing event was over and they were fully wet,,,jeans, shirts, shoes,,,you name it....we fished on....caught a few that made us happy...probably never fished more than 400 yards of the stream back and forth, caught maybe 15 , but kept 2...fun for us....the girls had at somepoint walked back to the car, had lunch, laying on the surburban, back, hood, top, even called their moms to tell them we had abandoned them because we were out of sight...from the car! Bite stopped about 4pm, so we headed back to the 4 Star Exxon and had another ice cream before heading up the mountain.

A little later that evening Jeff and I rode to the top of the point where we were staying, we found a logging road and deceided it was for us.....it took us up and up and up,,,turning around at the top was a little bit of an issue but we managed...the house of glass from yesterdays pics is actually a pic we took looking down from where we were with the best zoom we had....we figure that house to be about 20,000 Sq Ft.....Anyway, the top gave great views...

Dinner...fooseball tournament in the play room , and bed at somepoint....

Vacation VS Excursion

2009-08-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

While our intent for content was intended for this event to be a vacation...it should be noted that we soon realized that our usual vacation of staying on the beach at Atlantic Beach in NC for a week or 2 was no where in sight...we changed our term from vacation to excursion while in Yellowstone!

Monday in Montana Pics

2009-08-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

Monday in Montana

2009-08-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

Well we have all gone from sleeping in a 1 or 2 bedroom hotel to a large house where we can sleep until we want and that's sort of how this week begins...we ate breakfast around 9...looked at our view....frankly I don;t remember that we did much until we decided to go horseback riding...Jeff and David took the girls, Sarah, Taylor, Hailey & Avery down the mountain....we decided to stop at the 4 Star "Exxon" and have a hotdog and ice cream before we went. Lori and Wendy held down the house for the afternoon.

We saddled up at "Jakes Horses". Now I'm talking some "big" horses here...anyway, the scenery was beautiful...thru streams and up into the hills and back thru the streams. NOTE: Hailey did not stick her horses nose in anyones business on this ride!!!

I think we may have had more ice cream before heading up the mountain.

Taylor had to run for cross country so we (she and dad) pretended to run up a mountain road at about 8000 ft of altitude...I truly thougth my lungs were exploding....so we literally ran about 400 yards at a time and then walked until we could see clearly and would start over, until....I saw something out of my right eye...well it was't in my eye but you know what I'm saying....I looked and quickly told Taylor to "STOP" and walk bacwards slowly and don't speak.....we backed up about 40 yards and then I pointed out a Cow Moose and her calf...besides a Bison we learned that this is about the moost (get it?) dangerous encounter we could experience if went badly. So we gazed for a few minutes and then decided to run and get the rest of the family by car...you know we did not have to stop once running down hill...each step gave us more oxygen...I must admit that not a whole lot more running actually took place the rest of the week....

...Back to the Moose's....We loaded everyone up and drove up the hill and got some great pics...Dinner at the house and a great nights rest...

Sunday September 9th...The Lord Said Rest!

2009-08-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

We were exhausted...so we rested as the Lord commandeth...it was a lounging day in sweats and pajama's....naps were good........

Yellowstone Saturday Pics

2009-08-25T18:09:00.001-07:00

YellowStone Final Day & Into Montana

2009-08-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

We left the Yellow Stone Lake lodge Saturday Morning at a leisurely pace...breakfast, a couple of pics on the waterfront, more junk from their gift shop...And we were off to Mammoth Hot Springs....it's important to know if your ever thinking of traviling in Yellowstone..nothing is close! I have come to describe the park as sort of like leaving Greensboro heading to Charlotte, hopping over to Rockingham, then to Raleigh, and finally back to Greensboro... ok, its not that big but it sure does feel like it... no..it is that big!

On the way to Mammoth we decided to see a "beautiful waterfall" and take a hike...it was a great break from the car but not such a great fall, small in nature and after some of the really big ones we had seen it was a let down...never fear, we all had some of dads jerky afterwards..remember this whole trip was only a "jerky run".

We made it to Mammoth in time for lunch (read my NC description of the park above) and had a great cheese burger in the oldest section of the park; as well this section actually stays open all year...hard to believe with the snowfall they receive. Of Course, we walked the shops and headed up the hill about 400 yards to the see the Hot Springs. By this time the girls were tired and I basically ran around as this is where I really wanted some pics. From there we headed south to the west entrance for exiting the park into "West Yellowstone" Montana, (a town outside of Yellowstone Park with every type of tourist trap store you can imagine). The Ingles said they past us as we were heading south they were heading up to Mammoth (The Ingles are the family we meet in Big Sky tonight for a week together).

We cruised the BIG (little) streets of West Yellowstone by car for about 5 minutes and decided to head on to Big Sky.

We arrived in Big Sky at about 5:30pm and of course we decided to eat before heading up to the house...Found a great pizza place that we actually frequented again that week....headed up to the house and got there @ about 7:30...the Ingles had just pulled in about 15 minutes before us.

See the house we stayed in at http://www.bigskyhaus.com/.

Piled into the house...talked alot and hit the hay!

Day 3 pics 2

2009-08-16T19:27:00.001-07:00

Yellowstone Day 3 pics

2009-08-16T19:09:00.001-07:00

Day 3, Yellowstone..Self Tours, Chuck Wagon Dinner and the almost Stampede

2009-08-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

We got up and set off to see a few more geysers/mud pots. They all smelled like sulfur. We also took a small hike to see a waterfall. We then went to the 'Canyon' and had our lunch. We had definately had better. We then just drove around and looked for wildlife and tried to find the colorful geyser. We found it, but we couldnt get many pictures because of all of the steam as it was a cool day. O well.... After that, we drove on down to the Roosevelt Lodge to see what it was like. The lodge was very nice. We also went to the corrals there. While we were there, people started crowding around and started waiting for the Covered Wagon Old Cowboy Cookout to begin loading onto the wagons. We were the only family on the waiting list. And we were lucky enough that two groups didn't show up....not lucky for them! It was amazing. While on the wagon ride, our guide told stories about where we were headed and why we were able to go and have a cookout there.

The food served there began with "Cowboy Coffee" cooked over the fire (See Pic)...then all you could eat Steak, Chicken (That no one ordered), the best beans ever, corn muffins, potatoes, cobbler (huckleberry!!!! Cobbler) and a lot of other stuff but we ate these in large portions. After the Chuckwagon we had just enough time to drive staight into Lamar Valley for another excursion before dark....

THE BISON.....the rut was in early stages and the progression to the valley was underway as the bulls were beginning to establish themselves... One bull would not let a cow cross the road because, as she tried to move, he continued to block her progress...this went on for about 10 minutes.It was funny at first, then we just waited until a ranger came up and banged on her truck and they ran off. The car facing us was terrified as the bison quickly ran towards their car at full pace... only at the last minute (with in a foot of the car)did they "split up" and go around the car on each side. The Ranger told me to simply bang on the car and they would move..."if they don't ram you first".These were dad's instructions....150 yards later dad had his opportunity to prove he could handle the bison. Only this bison didn't get the training manual on how to cooperate with visitors to the park....and decided he didn't like us... decided to come at us! Everyone screamed in fear and horror. We then all agreed that it was time to go home(The Yellowstone Lake Hotel).

This post by Taylor.

Yellowstone Park ....Day 2 PICS-2

2009-08-06T08:29:00.000-07:00

Yellowstone Park ....Day 2 PICS

2009-08-06T08:21:00.000-07:00

Yellowstone Park ....Day 2

2009-08-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

Day 2 tooks us on a day tour of the lower basin of the park...left @ 9:30 and returned @ 5pm (this is like work) It was an informative tour of the Geisers of the park as well as other items of interest....we were not on the bus all day, we drive 15-30 minutes and get off for up to 30 minutes with a "walk and guided learn"...lunch stop was with "Old Faithful" for about hour and 1/2.

The things in this park and it's diversity of items in one area is absolutely amazing...and weird at the same time...

Animals: more Bison (You really kind of get tired of these guys a fter a while as everyone stops for one bison no matter how far away they are....you know like a dot on ht horizon...the good place for bison is Lamar & Hayden Valley when the rut has begun, and it was getting underway..Lamar was our favorite), Eagle catching a fish, Grizzley Bear, Prong Horn (These animals are pretty much everywhere as well).

We returned, had dinner at the Yellowstone Lodge (down the road from the hotel)...we do not recommend the eating accomodations here), then returnes to the great room overlooking the Yellowstone Lake and listened to a great string quartet for about an hour and half before heading to bed.

Yellowstone Pics

2009-08-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

Yellowstone Park...Day One

2009-08-06T07:22:00.000-07:00

We left the beauty of Jackson Lake lodge in the Tetons and headed into Yellowstone...about an hour and 1/2 drive with the construction on the roads. Stopped for Lunch at _____________..the meal was pretty good...our waiter was from my home town of Gastonia and actually graduated from my High School (Ashbrook High...you know the home of James Worthy and David Belk...lol---ROLL GREENWAVE!!!) We knew of the same folks and he was good firends with one of my highschool coaches son....anyway....

We were in Yellowstone Wednesday July 29th thru Saturday Morning, August 1st. We stayed at the Yellowstone Lake Lodge, this was built in 1858/1859 (?). (See Pic) Upon arrival we checked in and headed down for our first activity...Lamar Valley Drive....this drive is an attempt to go and see animals where the park knows they are most likely to be....left at 4:30pm and returned at 9:45ish....it was on a bus and fortunatley dad did not have to drive.....nothing is close in Yellowstone..this "park" as they call it could be its on small state.

We saw Bison, Elk, Prong Horn and a Black Bear.....

It was a fun day.

Jerky Alert #2

2009-08-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

We tried some Bison Jerky in Wyoming, Dads Won.

We tried another Bison Jerk in Wyoming...we decided it may be a tie, but no conclusive decsion was made (remember we are trying to find one that beats dads)

We Tried some Elk Jerk in Jackson..this was nasty...Hailey liked it.

We tried Bison Jerky in Jackson....It was the bomb...we have the name of the company if you would like to order some fro yourself...

We tried Bison Jerky in Yellowstone...3-2 dad's won....

What we have learned....its hard to find (Actually we haven't found any like this) a home-made jerky sold in a store out of a barrell or glass container...I know for most of you this would be "nasty or gross"...but real jerky, the cowboy-range jerky was dried in the sun a day or so and was designed to be hard and last more than 1 minute..., it was placed in the saddle bag with out napkins, zip lock bags or hand sanitizer.....all jerky we find is manufactured by machines....so our comparisons have come down to tase, texture, dryness and the length of time it lasts....only one last as long as dad's, only one has beating it in every category (unanomous decision), most are not as good....We're thinking if we can by-pass the FDA, we may have a process for success in this market.....not really.....

Things we did in Jackson....I know this is late But this is vacation...

2009-08-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

Road Horses in the Tetons....took the family on dads 2nd night safari...saw elk as close to 40 feet from the car...in the woods...everyone was amazed at the big bull racks....

Took a hike in Culter Bay....Lori, Hailey and Taylor thought a bear was after them once Avery and dad ran past them with no warning, the screaming and other vocal items (from MOM) made us laugh and laugh...I'm laughing now thinking about it again...

Had lunch at Ginny Lake Lodge....

Spent a rainy afternoon in the town of Jackson......See Jerky Alert

Spent 2 hours a Jackson Lake Lodge Pool....

Took a 3 hour float down the Snake River....

Road around and viewed the area....looking for animals at all times...

Wildlife Seen: Elk, Bison, Moose (Male & female), Whistle Pig, Eagles, Beaver, Pronf Horn, Mule Deer

Dads First night Safari Pic

2009-08-02T07:41:00.000-07:00

Sunday Morning..travel DAy to Jackson WY

2009-08-02T07:35:00.000-07:00

No “more corn” once we got about an hour out of Grand Island, but we began seeing ProngHorn about the time the corn dissapearred. If you ever drive across Wyoming, be sure you fill up your gas tank almost when you can. While Nebraska seemed long, Wyoming seemed even longer. It’s beautiful, but there is no-one here. It reminded me of many of the western movies I used to watch. I actually went back many times in my mind with John Wayne…looking for Indians…

On one Stop for gas I decided to take a mile or 2 detour to see if we could see anything, it was’nt ¼ mile we came up on a Pronghorn Buck walking a fence line and I found a dirt road that went beside it….we were 20 yards from this guy (See Picture).

Made it into the Teton Park and we checked into "Jackson Lake Lodge". Grabbed dinner at the restaurant, took a few pictures out back, drove up to Coultur Bay to grab a few items in the store and then Dad dropped off the kids for bed and he decided to take a personal "safari".

Saturday: Cheyenne WY, Frontier Days, Professional Rodeo

2009-08-02T07:33:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon we arrived in Cheyenne WY, drove around to see the area…fortunately Frontier Days was going on…because there is not much else to see or do there. We went to the fair grounds and walked around, the girls all got their Cowboy hats, and we saw lots of Indian stuff, cowboys and girls in the true since, and enjoyed a turkey leg. We arrived late so we missed the days rodeo events and they were getting ready for Kenny Chesney’s concert…we did not go to this….Dinner at a local restaurant called Sanfords….packed, place to be, good meal!

Saturday morning we took our time getting up and headed to the Rodeo at noon. This Rodeo is/was considered the biggest rodeo of the year and the best riders and wrestlers in the world were there. (IT’S A SMALL WORLD----we ran into Pierce & Ann Landry and the kids at a food vender before the rodeo)….The kids loved the rodeo...Lori did too! A live Rodeo is some production as there are things constantly happening around the arena…This went on until about 4pm or so and then we hit the carnival and rides behind the stadium…. As everyone was tired…we grabbed take out pizza and watched a Hannah Montana movie and hit the sack.

Pics of the Tetons and then some.....

2009-07-29T07:58:00.000-07:00

Wyoming Landscape Pics

2009-07-29T07:54:00.000-07:00

RODEO PICS

2009-07-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

another word from Avery

2009-07-25T09:31:00.001-07:00

today we are going to a Rodeo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!i can't wait to see the Bull ridding......plus the barell horse ridding!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and we are going to a carnaval today to!!!!!!!!!!!! yesterday we went to a Indian village!!!!!!!!! and other really cool old time stores!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! well I got to go!!!!!!!
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[P.S. please pray for my grandfather.. he's in the
hostpital and has a heart problem...got to go
BBBBBBBBBBBBYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!]

Jerky Alert

2009-07-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

We have only found 1 place to try Jerk, this occured in Nebraska...unanomous decision, Dad's won...we're in Cheyenne now, They are having Frontier days,,,,we should find some competetion today and tomorrow as we travel to JacksonHole!...just hope we don't run out of ours before we try too many....

Travel Video

2009-07-25T09:10:00.001-07:00

ST Louis PICS

2009-07-25T08:46:00.002-07:00

Gateway Arch

2009-07-24T04:41:00.000-07:00

Gateway Arch! WOW...this thing is huge as it's height towered over most of the downtown buildings. We did go back in time as we hoppped on the TOM SAWYER River boat and took a short and informative cruise on the Mississippi River. We then proceeded inside the Arch. Boy, the "bucket/space-like" contraption we rode in looked like something from "Lost in Space" (picture to come in a day or so...OH THANKS TO BILL BISHOP FOR OVERNIGHTING my Camera Cable...it is currently in Denver and will be awaiting me in Cheyenne when we arrive...pics tomorrow evening sometime, probably late..THANKS BILL!!!)

Looking down from the arch, people literally look like moving ants! The Arch gave a great view of down town, the riverside looking back into Illinois, and directly into the Cardinals Baseball Stadium. The Arch facility also has a great museum inside showing our countries expansion west, mode of transportaion and the good and bad times it could have represented.

Lunch was in "THE HILL" district which was reccommended by Dr. Holland of GSO, we had a fantastic 2pm Italian lunch at "Zia's" before we headed out....We needed a nap but had to forge "WEST"....well Lori got the nap...2days...2 naps and counting...

So today we left Missouri, and this moring we wake in Grand Island Nebraska....I'm just not sure how this place came to be, because it is truly in the middle of NO WHERE! And there's no water surrounding it......We will be in Cheyenne Wyoming after lunch to participate in Frontier Days, and the worlds largest Rodeo event is happening which we will attend tonight...See us on ESPN (Yeah I'm Sure).

All the girls are asleep and i feel like I could go back, but that will have to wait.....

Wildlife Seen Yesterday: Deer. CORN! Hawks, more Deer and MORE CORN...lololo I have to tell you, Coming out of Kansas City, on the interstate, it waas a littl quite as the girls were watching a Walton's episode (kids ask your folks), and Lori screamed "I saw a deer!" I mean she screamed....she said, "it was beside the road, it was tiny, it had spots"..... Her excitement continued for a while as I laughed, and then giggled later....it apparently was a new fawn, perhaps very new as she said it could not have been more than 2 feet tall...I would loved to have seen it as well but her reaction was priceless...lesson, to bad for all the old dear we saw, their not exciting...

Comment of the day comes from Hailey: "Dad, I don't know how people can actually say that most Americans are lazy. All we have seen is fields full of corn and other stuff, these large industrial plants we've never seen before, the barge workers along the Mississippi, all those who get the stuff from fields to the barges. People work hard in America."

Earlier in the day at the Arch museum I had pointed out a specific picture to the girls and read the heading, it read: "This is a hard life to swallow, but I just couldn't sit back and look to someone to feed us"...this was stated by a Migratory Worker....somehow I feel this point needs to be reinforced today!

Have a great Friday!

Camera Cable...

2009-07-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

We just discovered that Mr. Belk left the camera cable for transferring data on his desk in g-boro..it may be a few days before pics & video are up...will use the small cameras tomorrow for some pics to share!

Oh, we also discovered that we have no idea what time zone this BlogSPOT uses..my blog from early this morning posted I think around 4am....I can assure you I was not up at that point...currently it is 9:26pm in St. Louis....10:26pm in NC.

A WOrd from Taylor

2009-07-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

Hey peopl who r on this blog..... this is taylor as u alredy kno. anyway im just goin to say i miss...... my dog heidi and my baby bear. but thats not all..... i miss leanna banana, mollie hedgecock(whom we most find a suitabl nickname 4), leah bear lemon square, charly carly, and mhershey marissa!!!!!! luv ya!! bibi

Our FIRST (2nd) Day.....

2009-07-22T17:54:00.000-07:00

Since we pulled out last night, we were able to make it to Lexington Kentucky just in time for the weather pattern to change and the rain had really sat in....We decided to grab lunch at one of Sonya Ostendorfs favorite places called Joe Bolgna's....Italian GReat Pizza and salad.....just happened to be round the corner from a Mellow Mushroom....but ut was great! Got ask about UNC Basketball as I had a shirt on,, the questions were as if I was a UNC recruiter.... WHile at lunch we checked the weather pattern and saw that it was not going to let up so we decided to forgo the Kentucky HOrse Park until we come back through...did see some great horse farms in the process though....I'm writing from St Louis, as we decided to head on and had our reservations moved.

TOmorrow we go to the Arch, see the water front and possibly put in a long afternoon drive as we are actually 1 full day ahead of our original schedule.

Wildlife seen today: Big Buck, Lots of Wild Turkey, Hawks, Orioles, CORN, CORN , and MORE CORN..........

A Word From Avery....

2009-07-22T17:52:00.000-07:00

Today was fffuuuunnn, inntteerreeesttinng, aannnnddd, weird (her new word for everthing)....change of plans.....we left early.....Saw the Arch of St Louis as we drove in...saw lots of horses.....uuhhmmm...thats it!

Voice from Hailey for today...

2009-07-22T17:50:00.000-07:00

"This has been the longest day but we watched the Little Rascals all day!

Just Had to Get Going...

2009-07-22T03:55:00.000-07:00

Well Its' Wednesday am, departure day.....welllll, we left last night! Pulled out @ 8:30pm and have awakened in Beckley W. VA. While we have been thru tunnels and such before the kids were amazed at how large and long the tunnels were coming up 77 into VA & West VA and the fact that the large mountains were above us. Their all sleeping and it's time to get them up and get on up the road!

Keep Getting Ready...

2009-07-19T20:08:00.001-07:00

YOu know how you plan a trip....your anxious to go and then your exit date seems to be slow in coming? Well that's were Mr Belk is!!!

I'm packed, Lori thinks she has the girls clothes ready.....Avery spent the day riding a horse at her great uncles, so she is now ready for horse back as a 9 year old "barrel expert". Taylor will be back from the beach on Monday, and I have that list that all of a sudden does not seem to be moving at all!

Lori just set off the car alarm and is waking the neighborhood.......

Piles of clothes are in each room, the dogs are gone, we're cleaning out the fridge...My batch of Venison jerky is now complete for the road

Just Waiting at this point....Monday to the office, tennis match in the evening, (I MUST WIN), then...that list has to get done...somehow it will...or it won't matter!

Getting Ready to Get Ready

2009-07-19T07:10:00.000-07:00

Weekend before we leave.....all the kids are away with friends or family for the weekend. A
2 1/2 -page list has been created for Lori and David to complete before Wednesday morning gets here...I'm not sure tennis was on the list but it found its' way into our Saturday evening...David's afternoon nap on the couch that was interrupted by Chad Hall wasn't supposed to be there either...maybe that's why Chad called.

In case we needed the air matress (you know hotesl are not made for families of 5 and we're not cheap, just thrifty and think 2 hotel roomsat each stop along the way would be wasting money)...the air mattress has a slow leak that was revealed by the flatness of the matress when we returned from playing tennis...now we'll be bugging our friends for one.

With everyone gone it is easier to do less and relax, but they will all be back on Sunday afternoon and then we'll be running around wishing we had done more when we could.....