Blog

We’ve been home since Sunday evening and life is back to normal. Trailer is unloaded, laundry done, kids are back into soccer, back to work and we’ve spent some time with friends. Life is good.

A huge thanks to our chief-adventure-seeker and planner extraordinaire: Tracy / Mommy:

Tracy knows how to plan a trip. Every day was booked months ago with a framework for each day set it advance. Every evening we would sit down to finalize our next day based on bookings, weather, must-dos and then we would fill in the spaces in between.

Every afternoon/evening we would review the plan and agree on our start time. And this resulted in every day being fully packed from sunrise to sunset with adventure.

Thanks for a great trip Tracy. You made every day fun and full. You found all the right fuel stations, all the best routes and made sure our windows were clean enough to see it.

The drive on this trip was 13,259 km. This is very close to our 2023 California trip (smithtrip23.wheelersmaple.com) where we put on 13,440 km. On this trip however we did burn more fuel. Our average was 4.1 km per liter which is about 24.4 L / 100km. Our last trip with the 3L duramax truck we averaged 17.5. Although gasoline is cheaper with most prices around $3.29 a Gal, we saw fuel from $2.79-4.80 on this trip. Our last trip Diesel was $3.89-6.27 plus we had to use Def.

Big thanks to Caleb for pumping the fuel and doing most of the camp setup and trailer hook-ups.

Big thanks to Isla for the singing, sharing snacks and asking if I want a coffee.

Big thanks to Tracy for hanging out the sunroom and consistently pointing us the right direction on another great trip.

I love you all

Today we will be home! We stopped at Target to do all our last minute American shopping. The Target near Port Huron didn’t have a very big grocery store so I need to remember that for next time.

During the drive home I asked everyone some questions about the trip:

Best food:

Isla: Pizza at Stellebello in Salt Lake City

Caleb: Buffet at Old Faithful Inn Dining Room in Yellowstone

Joel: Taqueria el Compa food truck in Wells, Nevada.

Tracy: Bubba’s Bar-B-Q in Cody Wyoming and Swig in Provo Utah

Best View:

Isla: Grand Prismatic overlook in Yellowstone National Park

Caleb: Grand Prismatic overlook in Yellowstone National Park

Joel: Walking through the Redwoods

Tracy: The light coming through the trees as we hiked the Boy Scout Trail in Redwoods

Favourite Hike:

Isla: The Obsidian Flow in Newberry Volcanic Monument

Caleb: Cascade Canyon Trail in Grand Teton

Joel: Cascade Canyon Trail in Grand Teton

Tracy: The Obsidian Flow in Newberry Volcanic Monument, Fern Canyon in Redwoods, Cascade Canyon

Favourite thing about America:

Isla: All the different landscapes

Caleb: How different some states are from the other

Joel: National Parks Junior Ranger Program

Tracy: Junior Ranger programs at the National Parks

Least favourite thing about the USA:

Isla: Del Taco

Caleb: Del Taco

Joel: Coffee

Tracy: How expensive food is. Seeing random people carrying hand guns.

Most surprising thing about the trip:

Isla: How much is snowed in Yellowstone

Caleb: How much it snowed in Yellowstone

Joel: How much it snowed in Yellowstone

Tracy: The amount of Americans who apologized for their President and said they love Canada.

Favourite drive:

Isla: Hayden Valley, Dunraven Pass and Lamar Valley in Yellowstone because of all the animals we saw

Caleb: Lamar Valley in Yellowstone because of the wildlife

Joel: Highway 101 up the coast of California and Oregon because the mix of the Redwoods and ocean.

Tracy: Howland Hill Road on the Redwoods for the trees.

Favourite Animal we saw:

Isla: Bison knocking over the tree

Caleb: Bison

Joel: The happy horse at the Cody Rodeo

Tracy: The massive bachelor Bison

Favourite Moment of the Trip:

Isla: Seeing the mother moose and baby so close when we hiked the Cascade Canyon Trail. When the bison charged at the horses when we were on the stage coach ride.

Caleb: Biking at Lassen Volcanic National Park

Joel: Watching Isla run into the mist of the Beehive Geyser in Yellowstone

Tracy: Watching Isla as the Beehive geyser was erupting.

Least favourite moment of the trip:

Isla: Leaving home

Caleb: Leaving home

Joel: Coming into Jackson Hole and waiting too long before using my engine brake.

Tracy: When they cancelled our Old West Cookout at Yellowstone because of the snow

Favourite campsite:

Isla: Yellowstone – they had awesome showers and Bison

Caleb: Yellowstone – the biking trails and the nice trucks (there was a lot of money in that campground)

Joel: Skull Hollow State Campground near Smith Rock State Park – it was quiet and open

Tracy: Craters of the Moon Lava Flow Campground – it was cool being surrounded by lava rock and I felt the kids we safe biking around

Least Favourite Campsite:

Isla: Crater Lake Nation Park – I was worried someone was going to come knock on the door and tell us to leave

Caleb: Sue-Meg

Joel: Sue-Meg State Park Campground- the site was unnecessarily tight

Tracy: Ramblin’ Redwoods – the owner changed our campsite I had paid more to reserve, it was across the road from a prison, half of it was seasonal campers. The whole vibe was no good.

Favourite State:

Isla: Wyoming – the rodeo, Yellowstone and Grand Teton

Caleb: Utah – I just love it

Joel: Northern California- the trees and the climate and the hikes

Tracy: Wyoming because of the snow capped mountains (but Utah still has my heart)

Favourite thing to listen to while driving:

Isla: Dave Ramsey

Caleb: Dave Ramsey

Joel: Dave Ramsey Satellite radio and the Matthew Perry book

Tracy: Prime Country Satellite radio

Most interesting person you met:

Isla: When Dad sneezed and a man said “bless you” and then found out we were Canadian and he went on to genuinely apologize for how America is currently treating Canada with the trade war

Caleb: Ranger Bob at Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone who told me about fishing in the area.

Joel: At Crater Lake the worker at the campground who just gave the last campsite to the person ahead of us in line (at a first come, first served campground) when I asked what happens if we park in the parking lot was so mean and kept saying “don’t do it”.

Tracy: Joel’s new parents we met on the rafting ride down the Snake River in Grand Tetons. Pat and Ed were lovely (both own a counselling practice in Des Moines).

Best Smell:

Isla: Ponderosa Pine

Caleb: Steak near Smith Rock

Joel: Fresh air in the Redwood forests

Tracy: The vanilla smell of the Ponderosa Pine while we hiked around the waterfall at McArthur-Burney Falls State Park

Worst Smell:

Isla: Sulphur in Yellowstone

Caleb: Sulphur in Yellowstone

Joel: Ocean in Crescent City

Tracy: Great Salt Lake State Park – rotting shrimp

Most unexpected things:

–the Bison knocking over the tree

-the amount of deep snow in Crater Lake in June (Caleb says he has never seen snow that deep in his life)

-the lack of cell service in the Midwest/west

-the moose walking right in front of us on the Cascade Canyon hike

-when the Bison charged at us on the stage coach ride

-that the sea lion swimming with Joel and the kids didn’t attack them

-we went the whole trip without doing any laundry!

-how much “Grizzly and the Lemmings” Caleb watched and how much he laughed

What was the most super touristy thing we did that was surprisingly awesome: 

Isla: Beehive Geyser erupting and Trees of Mystery with Paul Bunyan and Babe

Caleb: Swig

Joel: Jackson Hole – the antler arches and walking around the town. Wall Drug was a fun tourist trap store.

Tracy: Watching wildlife with random people on the sides of the road in Yellowstone. The Bonneville Salt Flats were as pretty as the pictures and totally different than anything else I’ve seen

Was there something we did that didn’t meet your expectations?

Isla: no

Caleb: Mount Rushmore – it was smaller than expected

Joel: Del Taco

Tracy: The visitor centers in the Redwoods – they were all small and didn’t have the impressive videos I was expecting. The Oregon Coast – it could have been that it was too windy to be very happy but O was expecting it to be breathtaking

One thing that would have improved this trip:

Isla: A fan for the hot nights in the trailer

Caleb: Having more space to walk by others inside the trailer

Joel: If I bought Cafe Buaso coffee instead of Dunkin Donuts to make in the mornings

Tracy: Two sets of binoculars for Yellowstone so the kids wouldn’t argue.

What we missed most about home (other than people and the animals):

Isla: Our air conditioning

Caleb: My fan

Joel: Unlimited water

Tracy: The ease of making food. McDonald’s fries (bc they are GF in Canada but not USA). Space.

Where do you want to go on your next vacation?

Isla: Arizona to see cactuses

Caleb: Newfoundland

Joel: Smokey Mountains

Tracy: Canadian West Coast and Northern USA loop

Would you take such a long trip again:

Isla: Yep

Caleb: Yah

Joel: Yes we are just getting warmed up!

Tracy: 24 days felt much shorter than 33 days. I didn’t ever think on this trip “why in the world did I think being away this long was a good idea?!” like I did in 2023. Travelling in June when we had 16 hours of daylight really allowed us to cram a lot into our days. We didn’t get in as many sunrises and sunsets as I wanted to – I think mainly because the sunrises were all around 5am (which I do not like)and the sunsets were never that spectacular because the sun would go down behind the mountains but it would stay light out for another hour. So yes – 3 weeks is a nice length.

If you could go back to one moment and do it again right now:

Isla: Driving through Hayden Valley in Yellowstone

Caleb: Biking in Crater Lake

Joel: Swimming in the ocean and watching the sea lion (before I knew they are currently going crazy and attacking people).

Tracy: Hiking the Boyscout Trail in Redwoods.

Next time we should pack more:

• Paper plates
• Underwear
• Two sets of shower toiletries
• More pens/pencils
• A good Sun hat for Isla
• More spoons (disposable ones? For all the morning yogurt)

Our night at Walmart in Austin Minnesota was quiet. Austin is known as “spamtown” as it is the home to spam. There is even a Spam Museum but we decided we better get on the road.

Around lunch we stopped at Costco in Madison Wisconsin. We bought some fun food that we don’t have back home, the kids ate their fill of the abundant free samples, and they got pizza and hot dogs for lunch. Food is not cheap here.

Today is full of driving…the kids played on their phones and napped. I navigate, nap a bit, and read a book Tiff got me for the travels called “Let Them” which is exactly what I need to read in my life. I read a page to Joel and it was like the author was talking about me directly. Joel drives.

Today we need to put some miles behind us but there is still so much to see. We arrived in the Badlands after the visitor center closed so that needed to be our first stop.

The Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is an American national historic site established in 1999 near Wall, South Dakota, to illustrate the history and significance of the Cold War, the nuclear arms race, and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) development. The site preserves the last intact Minuteman II ICBM system in the United States, in a disarmed and demilitarized status. 

The visitor center was interesting – the just of it was that having a nuclear arsenal and the threat of mutual destruction keeps everyone from being trigger happy and a greater likelihood of peace.

We stopped for gas three times today! The cheapest gas was $2.79/gallon.

This morning we drove the Needles Highway through the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Wind Cave National Park is in the southwestern corner of South Dakota. It’s known for the vast, underground Wind Cave that’s over 168 miles, with chambers like the Post Office and the Elks Room. Many of the cave’s walls are rich in honeycomb-shaped calcite formations known as boxwork. 

Jewel Cave National Monument contains Jewel Cave, currently the fifth longest cave in the world and second longest cave in the United States, with 220.01 miles of mapped passageways as of May 2024. It is located approximately 13 miles west of the town of Custer in Black Hills of South Dakota.

Caleb, Isla and Joel got up at 5am to fish at our campsite. We were packed up and on the road east by 6am.

Joel’s having lots of fun driving all these windy passes through the National Forests. The Powder River Pass had a mandatory pull off for all RVs, trailers and transport trucks where they had signs posted about the catchnet cable system (fancy runaway ramp) and the lives saved by using it and the crashes that happened on the road.

Highlights of today:

• Isla: Making a dirty soda at a gas station (it was a self serve fountain pop with lots of flavours to add). When they lit up the faces at Mount Rushmore.
• Caleb: Finding out how well I did on my report card! I got all A’s and 95% in three subjects!
• Tracy: Seeing Devil’s Tower up close – it’s a crazy landform and reminded me of Giant’s Causeway in Ireland. My low light is the sound of the highway in South Dakota (it’s got a weird high pitch hum).
• Joel: The hike at Devils Tower. It was longer than expected (7.5km) but I enjoyed it.

We are camping at Stockade North Lake Campground this evening. It is part of Custer State Park.

We finish the day fueling up. Regular fuel is under $3/gal

We started the day fishing in Yellowstone Lake. Caleb had a great time. Hooked a fish but lost it before getting it to shore (in Yellowstone you have to use barbless hooks).

Once back at the camp site Caleb, Isla and Joel went on a bike ride and returned the bear spray.

Thoughts on the rodeo:

• Isla: It was so fun. They called kids under 12 down to try to catch a bandana off two calf’s tails and I did that. (She really did not like the calf roping and tying up their legs).
• Caleb: My favourite part was the bronco riding. I did not like the calf tying thing – the poor things!
• Tracy: It was a really good experience – It was beautiful that the MC opened the night with a real heartfelt prayer. I’m happy that the kids got to see the American pride in God and Country. The kids don’t ever see that kind of thing in Canada – there is no prayer and message of salvation before, during and after public events. I really liked the barrel racing. Watching the bull riding and bronco riding is very conflicting – I’m really rooting for the rider to do well, have fun and not get hurt but at the same time I think he is crazy for doing it in the first place. There was kid bull riding – I did not like that at all. I understand that the kids want to do it and it is part of their family traditions but to put their little bodies through that trauma (if it goes perfectly) or the potential fall/trampling is beyond me. I like the pride and the family vibe of the whole event. During the rodeo, it started to rain and got super duper windy – the thought did cross my mind that we better not end up in a news story about a freak tornado ripping through Cody Rodeo.
• Joel: It was surprisingly windy but I loved the horses that were so happy to be there.

Everything was still covered in snow and -3 when we woke up. We headed to Hayden Valley, Dunraven Pass (8859ft elevation), and Lamar Valley to see some more wildlife. It feels a bit like I’m a city person driving around looking for deer back home… which I’m always happy for them to get to see deer but I never like when the deer are near or on the road.

Islas thoughts on Yellowstone National Park (while we waited for the stage coach ride around 1pm):

• The bison are so fun to see. It was amazing watching one itching his head on a tree and he knocked it right over and scared himself.
• Watching the grizzly bears and black bears walk around the hills is something we don’t normally get to see. There are a lot of them here.
• Watching Old Faithful erupt was something cool. Water shot up like 100 feet in the air.
• The hot pools are super cool to see. Different ones are different temperatures so different bacteria grow in them, making them different colours.
• Seeing the fox run across the road with the fawn in his mouth was cool. I felt bad for the fawn but the fox was pretty happy and proud of himself.
• Seeing the snow fall was pretty cool. The bison looked cool covered in snow.

Highlights of today:

• Isla: Beehive geyser erupting and being in the spray.
• Caleb: The bison charging the horses while we were on the stage coach ride. The coyote pouncing on the ground squirrel and eating it.
• Joel: The fox carrying the dead fawn.
• Tracy: Watching Isla watch and dance in the spray of the beehive geyser.

Last night there was quite the thunderstorm at home but here in Yellowstone National Park it’s snowing! We got up early to drive through the Hayden Valley to see if we could spot some wildlife.

We were supposed to do our horseback ride and cowboy cookout tonight but it was cancelled because of the weather – I said there is only bad clothing, not bad weather but they didn’t care. I’m super bummed we are missing it and there is no way of rescheduling. Instead we headed into Gardiner Montana.

Wildlife sightings today:

• Coyote – 2
• Grizzly bears – under 20?
• Black bears – 6?
• Elk – 3
• Bison – 30+
• Pelicans – 2

On another note: It is surprising how many people, once they find out we are Canadian, apologize for how their country is treating Canada right now and they completely disagree. Like almost everyday someone will go out of their way to say they love Canada and disagree with what is happening between the two countries.

Yellowstone National Park South Entrance.

Animal sightings today:

• Black bear
• 3 bison
• Mommy and baby marmot
• Bull moose
• 2 trumpeter swans

It feels really good to be in Yellowstone National Park! I have flashes of memories of being here when I was younger. Mom – how old was I when we were here?

Drive back to our campsite after supper added to our wildlife sightings:

• 2 female moose
• Coyote

And we finish the day with treats

And our campsite before we pull-out tomorrow morning

Today we leave Idaho and enter Wyoming to spend two days in Grand Tetons. Joel woke us all up too early so it’s been a quiet morning. We stopped at Walmart in Idaho Falls for more water and food.

We pulled over after the Teton Pass for a few minutes to let the brakes cool off – it was 10% grade for 6 miles. The front brakes on the truck were smoking a bit. Teton Pass has some of the steepest grades of any highway in the continental United States. 

Quote of the day: Joel

“It’s ok everyone is scared of something. Isla is scared of snakes, Caleb is scared of bears and Mommy is scared of road edges.” Isla: “And what are you scared of?” Caleb: “Mommy!”

We are camping tonight at Gros Ventre Campground in Grand Tetons. The air is filled with fluffy seeds from the cottonwood trees.

The Indian Cave at Craters of the moon was formed similar to the lava caves in Lassen Volcanic National Park and Newberry Volcanic National Park but much closer to the surface. You didn’t need a flashlight as there were many spots the roof of the cave had caved in.

Today we spent the whole day at Craters of the Moon. We watched the park videos and spent lots of time in the visitors center. We went on many hikes and bike rides through the fields of lava, up cinder cones and fields of cinder.

It’s been nice having a day of no real driving and just meandering through the park. It’s been around 31 degrees all day but with the black lava rocks all around us it feels so much hotter. It is really windy here from mid morning to about supper time – I’m not sure why really. It’s a hot wind but it hurts the ears!

We are at the halfway point of our travels…

We spent the night “dispersed camping” at the Rim of Crater Lake. The Mazama Campground, which is first come first serve, was full. At the Ranger station, one ranger suggested that we get a free dispersed camping permit and put it in the truck and park at the Rim.

Today we are driving east across the rest of Oregon and into Idaho. We stopped for gas in Christmas Valley and it’s was a great time. Caleb got an 8 piece family chicken finger and wedge meal to share with Isla and Joel for breakfast. I got a 44oz Mountain Dew and made toast in the trailer 😉

Driving through Oregon is very very different than all the other states so far. There is nothing except random cows with the towns very few and far between.

Know that we have left Oregon here are our thoughts:

Highlight of Oregon:

• Isla: The Big Obsidian Flow – I enjoyed seeing all the black shiny rocks from lava
• Caleb: Crater Lake – it was cool biking around part of the Lake with so much snow. Collier Logging Museum.
• Tracy: The Big Obsidian Flow – it was amazing hiking through the cooled lava. Eating huckleberry ice cream at Smith Rock State Park.
• Joel: swimming in the ocean. Watching Isla in the ocean and how much she loves it. Tracy wearing her new Smith Rock shirt at Smith Rock State Park.

What we would skip if we went back to Oregon:

• Isla: I can’t think of anything. I loved it all.
• Caleb: The second cave (Lava River) because we already did a cave. (Little does he know we are going to 4 other caves). And Del Taco.
• Tracy: I wouldn’t have tried to camp at Mazama Campground – that was no fun dealing with the worker on a power trip. We should have just went straight to the visitor center.
• Joel:Del Taco – it wasn’t good food.

What surprised me about Oregon:

• Isla: How big the chunks of Obsidian are. How blue Crater Lake is.
• Caleb: How big the cliffs were at Smith Rock. It was fun watching rock climbers climb.
• Tracy: I was expecting a more west coast hippie vibe.
• Joel: How much snow there is still.

Last thoughts on Oregon:

• Isla: I loved it
• Caleb: I really liked it
• Tracy: Everything hasn’t been what I expected – sometimes better and sometimes worse. The coast was painfully windy but the Newberry Volcanic National Monument and Smith Rock blew me away. The National Parks visitor centers are nothing compared to Utah’s…
• Joel: It had the biggest swings in daily temperature (today was 2 degrees to 31 degrees).

Side note on the truck for Dad: Joel and Caleb lowered the hitch about two inches in California and now it is towing even better than before.

Joel got up early to work (again but I’m not complaining as it makes him happier to be there for his team) and the rest of us slept in. We hit the road around 8am.

Isla loves all things rocks so before leaving the area we had to go inside the Newberry Caldera (inside the Newberry Volcano eruption). 

The Big Obsidian Flow hike was an unexpected highlight of the trip so far! We were debating about making the stop or not because we already did the Lava Butte and Lave River Cave but I’m so happy we did. It was fun hiking through the rocks of glass in the middle of a sleeping volcano while being surrounded by snow capped dormant volcanoes.

The Willamette National Forest feels like the White Mountains. Smooth windy two lane highway through nice green forest and a creek running beside us.

Most common phrases right now:

• Isla: “I have a question”
• Caleb: “What’s the fuel economy now?”
• Joel: “Look at that view”
• Tracy: “There is no rush”

Our midday was spent in and around the Newberry Volcano – “Central Oregon’s Sleeping Giant”. Newberry last erupted 1,300 years ago and “present day hot springs and geologically young lava flows indicate that it could reawaken at any time.”

Today we leave the Redwoods behind and head up the Oregon Coast.

“Opponents of President Donald Trump’s administration on Saturday are rallying in nearly 2,000 locations across the country, including thousands in Northern California. 

The “No Kings” protests were originally planned to counter Trump’s plans for a military parade in Washington to mark the Army’s 250th anniversary. The parade also coincides with the president’s birthday. Also driving the demonstrations is opposition to recent immigration raids and the deployment of the National Guard and Marines in Los Angeles.”

Tonight we are camping at Horsfall Beach Recreation Area on the sand dunes. This area is for people to drive their side by sides and atvs on the sand dunes. I picked this site for Caleb so he could watch all the machines race.

Today was a laid back day of travelling up the Oregon Coast, exploring Coos Bay Area and playing in the sand. One big difference we noticed once we crossed from California to Oregon was the amount of campers and vehicles parked on the side of the main roads – looking like they are camping.

Everyone playing in the ocean and sand while I supervised in my many layers and toque. It’s super windy. Tomorrow we head inland Oregon.

Today we are continuing to explore the Redwoods. Our campground is near Crescent City and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. Everything in this area is smaller than expected (visitor centers and towns) except the trees.

A little farther down the road we hiked the Stout Grove Trail.

Boy Scout Tree Trail evening hike.

This is the last of the Redwoods for us… tomorrow we head up the Oregon Coast.

Howland Hill Road

Back to the campsite

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelican_Bay_State_Prison

Today is cold and foggy so far. 10 degrees and we are bundled up. We let the kids sleep in checked out of our campground around 8:30am.

I remember when I was little coming here to the Trees of Mystery. A lot is the same and a lot has changed!

We got to our campground at 5pm and are taking the evening to catch up on things – dishes, greasing the hubs on the trailer, adjusted the hitch and let the kids run free. It’s our earliest evening of the trip.

Highlights of the day:

Isla: When Caleb blew a kiss at the other gondola we passed in the sky. Also the canopy trail where we walked in the sky from redwood to redwood.

Caleb: Between going up the gondola and the canopy trail.

Tracy: Seeing Paul Bunyan and his ox Babe.

Joel: I really loved driving up highway 101. The big trees, views of the ocean, and winding road was beautiful.

Today we left our campsite in the north of Lassen Volcanic National Park around 7am to drive the 2 hours around the park (because of winter road closures) to the south end of the park. Those sure were some tiny and windy roads!

We are driving to the coast of California now. Caleb says Mark would love this road. It’s like a racetrack going up and around these mountains.

We dropped our trailer at our campsite for the night quickly and headed off to do three hikes before the sunset. We are camping at Sue-Meg (pronounced Soo-May) State Park Campground which is right on the ocean… but we can’t hear or see the waves from our site.

The day started out in a cold (8ish degrees) volcano, peaked at over 33 degrees midday and now is a chilly 11 degrees on the coast. Brrrr

We slept last night in Winnemucca, Nevada in a Walmart parking lot.

Today we are driving through the rest of Nevada, into California with our destination being Lassen Volcanic National Park.

In the Lassen National Forest we found the Subway cave. The subway cave was formed less than 20,000 years ago. Lava from the Hat Creek flow was discharged in large volumes from a series of cracks in the earth. The river of lava crawled northward covering the floor of the Hat Creek Valley. While the top crust cooled and hardened, rivers of red-hot lava, insulated by newly formed rock above, continued to flow. Eventually, the lava drained away leaving a tube-like cave. 

Highlights of the Subway cave:

• Joel: seeing where the roof had fallen and you could see the different layers of the lava.
• Tracy: The only way you would know there was a lava tube there was because it caved in in two places. It felt like a privilege to see this part of this past world.
• Caleb: The wind tunnel – in one part it was super windy all of a sudden.
• Isla: When we turned off all the lights and it got pitch black.

Highlights of the Waterfall:

• Joel: That Caleb was also out of breath on the hike (we are still getting used to the high elevation).
• Tracy: How spread out the waterfall was and how bright blue the water was.
• Caleb: Our hike around the waterfall.
• Isla: When I was standing on the rocks and could feel the mist coming off the waterfall.

Highlight of the 11.5km bike ride from the Devastated Area to Summit Lake:

• Joel: The snowmelt water rushing down the side of the road.
• Tracy: My electric bike. It was magical being just the 4 of us biking through the Lassen Forest with the sounds of the rushing water charging down the mountain from the snow melting. It felt like Spring.
• Caleb: When Mom passed me going up a hill.
• Isla: Seeing all the snow that we had to bike around.

We’ve driven through one province (Ontario) and 9 States (Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and just entered California). That is over 4,600 km.

Overall rating 8/10 (Joel – 2 points of bc of fuel economy) and 9/10 (Caleb) and 9/10 (Tracy) and 9/10 (Isla).

Average fuel economy 4.0km/liter.

Pros:

• Truck is very comfortable
• Seats are lovely and cosy. The massage seats in the front are nice after a few hours of no stops.
• Air suspension makes a smooth ride
• Cabin is very quiet
• Rides and pulls very well
• Always has more than enough power, especially up hills
• Air conditioning is quiet, quick and effective
• Lots of storage inside for cups and things
• Moon roof is great for seeing the mountains

Cons:

• It’s very thirsty
• Although the mirrors are excellent for looking behind you, they get in the way of looking forward especially when taking corners (and taking photos).

Our Truck (2025 Ram 1500 Limited 3.0L inline 6 high output Hurricane engine) vs our old truck (2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT 3.0L inline 6 turbo diesel)

• Joel much prefers this new truck
  • misses the exhaust brake of our Chev diesel when going down mountains. With this truck he needs to use the brakes more.
  • This truck is more responsive and peppy.
  • It is nice to not have to worry about DEF anymore.
  • Misses having the integrated back up trailer camera of the Chev. To get it for the Ram it was going to cost over $3,000 so he got a camera from Amazon with a separate screen for $140. Side note: half the time the Chev camera didn’t work and he spent a considerable amount of time troubleshooting it.
• Tracy much prefers this truck
  • for comfort- the seats are more like a couch than a pew.
  • The air conditioner on the old truck was unfathomably loud – this truck is normal.
  • The cameras on the old truck were better than this truck.
  • On this truck the running boards go in and out which is sometimes annoying when my arms are full and want to set my foot on the running board to rest my load while opening the door and I can’t.
  • I love having a moon roof – it was Joels request and I didn’t think I cared but it makes the truck feel so open and we never feel crammed in.
• Isla prefers this truck
  • much more comfortable
  • likes the heated and cooled seats and that the seats recline.
  • She likes that there are lots of charging spots and the console between her and Caleb.
• Caleb likes this truck much more.
  • 1.When hooking up the Chev we used to have to hook up and then use the jack to pick up the truck in order to get the weight distribution bars on tight enough so that the truck wouldn’t squat like crazy. In the new truck, we just put the bars on as tight as we can without using the jack to lift up the truck and the airbags auto level the truck and trailer.
  • 2. I love how the truck always has always more than enough power while passing someone on a hill.
  • 3. I love how the rear seats recline and are heated and ventilated, making it easier to sleep.
  • 4. I like the trucks screen layout and how you can see a lot of details about the truck like the elevation, degree of the hills and engine sensors
  • 5. The digital rear view mirror can be adjusted up and down to check the bikes on the front of the trailer.
  • 6. The truck looks good.
  • 7. How soft the leather is.
  • 8. When the moonroof cover is closed it looks like stars poking through.
  • 9. Our new truck, the tailgate goes up much faster than the old truck. Instead of two ways of putting it up there are three. In the new truck the tailgate can be stopped at any position with just two clicks of the button which is handy when the jack is down.

Overall, Joel says this truck pulls the trailer much better than the old truck did. It is smoother, quieter and more comfortable than the old truck.

The Copper industry really has a big presence here in Salt Lake City. From the mining website:

“Our Kennecott mine is a world-class, integrated copper mining operation located just outside Salt Lake City, Utah, in the US. Kennecott has been mining and processing minerals from the rich ore body of the Bingham Canyon Mine since 1903, and today it’s one of the top producing mines in the world. Our operation includes a concentrator, smelter and refinery and tailings storage facility.”

You can tour the mine but we just don’t have time.

Everything is really big here – the Amazon warehouses, the FedEx warehouses, the churches. But the city feels to me like a little LA with too much money and too little. All surrounded by mountains.

I feel like the tv series Paradise (where they build a community in the Colorado mountains to withstand a nuclear war and start over) is more likely to be set in the mountains outside of Salt Lake City. It’s definitely a good location for it.

The Crater is a geothermal spring, hidden within a 55-foot tall, beehive-shaped limestone rock located on the Homestead property.

Over 10,000 years in the making, The Crater formed when melting snow on the Wasatch Mountains seeped deep within the earth. Two miles below the surface, the earth’s interior heated the water. As it percolated upward, it picked up minerals, which were then deposited on the surface — eventually forming the volcano-shaped limestone deposit called The Homestead Crater.

The hole at the top of the dome lets in sunlight and fresh air while the interior stays heated by the mineral water at a constant range of 90 – 96 degrees Fahrenheit.

Utah Capitol Tour

70% of people in Utah live within 50 miles of Salt Lake City.

Seagull is the state bird because they saved the day by eating the locust that were eating all the crops of the settlers.

Highlights of the Utah Capitol Tour:

Isla: standing in the middle of the rotunda and looking at all the paintings

Caleb: Learning about the earthquake protection that was installed in the early 2000s. They dug out all underneath the Capitol building and put in cylinder stabilizers that are a layer of rubber then steel over and over again with a lead core. There are around 260 of them under the building. In Salt Lake City they are worried about earthquakes because they are near a fault line that scientists say could cause earthquakes. When most the buildings were built in the 1800s they didn’t know they had to be worried about earthquakes.

Joel: Seeing the architecture and how big it is. All of the marble and granite. Mostly that they built the whole thing in 3 years.

Tracy: It was interesting seeing the paintings on the ceiling and walls that are scenes out of movies and tv shows we watch. It is a good reminder that these movies are someone’s version of what actually happened to real people. I can’t remember the name of the TV show on one of the steaming things – it was all about the settlers, Mormons, First Nations and army fighting over the land along the Oregon trail and Utah. Can someone remind me of the name? I for sure watched it within the last year. EDIT: American Primeval is the show!

“Morton maintains multiple solar salt facilities from which it can harvest and produce Sea Salt. For example, located alongside the largest saline lake in North America – The Great Salt Lake, Morton Salt’s Grantsville, Utah facility harvests sea salt from the billions of tons of salt already dissolved in the waters of The Great Salt Lake. The natural replenishment of salt from local rainwater and snow melt makes it an ideal climate for natural solar evaporation.”

We left the Bonneville Salt Flats and are now in Nevada. We are now in the Pacific Time Zone so three hours behind home. Plan is to drive as long as we are happy and then sleep in a parking lot.

The I80 westbound is sure windy as we drive through Nevada. Joel’s not worried about it. Caleb is beyond exhausted. Isla is happily listening to music.

It is super hot and smells like decaying brine shrimp and we love it!

Earliest to bed yet! 10:45pm.

We drove until 1:30am last night and slept in the parking lot of The Archway in Kearney Nebraska. The Archway is a big arch over the I80 which is home of “The Journey to Build America”.

We started driving again at 6am. The kids and I napped while Joel drove. Around 7:30am we stopped for gas and coffee. It was the cheapest coffee of the trip so far – $2.45 for a small and large.

Nebraska, along the I80 is flat with black cows scattered everywhere.

Did you know that Matthew Perry beat up Justin Trudeau in grade 5? Matthew’s mom was Pierre Trudeau’s press secretary in Ottawa.

Entered into Wyoming this morning. This is all new roads for us now. On our Southwest trip in 2023 we left the I80 to the I76 in the top North East corner of Colorado. We won’t be going to Colorado this trip.

1:45pm Caleb was the first one of the trip to say “I’m tired of driving”.

This will be one of our biggest driving days. We left our spot at Cracker Barrel in Port Huron, Michigan just after 7am with Cracker Barrel coffee (in styrofoam cups!).

Remember the campaign years ago “This ain’t Flint!”? Apparently the Hot 89.9 radio station thought it would be a good slogan to show people that Ottawa was safe from the financial crisis of 2009.

We drove through Michigan and Indiana (gained an hour switching to Central Time Zone).

Still driving through Iowa… hoping to make it part of the way through Nebraska tonight!

We left home around 4pm.

The REAL last day of school is actually June 26th…we will be touring around Badlands National Park that day instead of taking our customary last day of school photos so we did it on the kids last day which is today June 6th.

Best Part of 2024/2025 school year:

Caleb: Having Mr Christy as a teacher. I have learnt a lot. I’m hoping for Mr. Bell next year. Volleyball and soccer at school was awesome.

Isla: Cross Country. My teacher did math a lot which I really liked because I really like Math.

Tracy: Watching Isla in her musical “Giants in the Sky” and how involved Caleb was in school sports.

Joel: Getting to spend every morning with Caleb getting him on the bus.

Worst part of 2024/2025 school year:

Caleb: The bus rides – way too long and I don’t trust my bus driver.

Isla: When Lynn was off and Todd was our bus driver.

Tracy: Picking up Caleb from after school sports (often with same day notice) and lack of communication from the school. The difference between Caleb and Isla’s bus pick up times.

Joel: The staggered end of day with the kids getting home at different times.

Favourite subject this year:

Caleb: Math

Isla: Math

Favourite school sport:

Caleb: Soccer

Isla: Cross country

Least favourite subject this year:

Caleb: Language – writing

Isla: Spelling

What is one thing you achieved this year that you will remember for the rest of your life?

Caleb: Being a bigger part of the business (Wheelers). Top 5 at the UC cup cross country.

Isla: Being top 20 at the UC cup cross country and being in the Giants in the Sky Musical

What is one thing you learned about yourself this year?

Caleb: I can speak French. My dream job switched from being a mechanical engineer to being a sugarmaker.

Isla: I like long distance running.

1. Great Salt Lake State Park, Utah
2. Lassen Volcanic National Park, California
3. Sue-Meg State Park, California
4. Redwoods National and State Parks, California
5. Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, Oregon
6. Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
7. Smith Rock State Park, Oregon
8. Craters of the Moon National Park, Idaho
9. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
10. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho
11. Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming
12. Custer State Park, South Dakota
13. Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota
14. Jewel Cave National Monument, South Dakota
15. Badlands National Park, South Dakota
16. Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota

In the Fall of 2023 we did an amazing trip of the American Southwest. This June we are doing the loop above that trip.

2023 Route: http://smithtrip23.wheelersmaple.com

2025 Route:

The plan is to leave June 6th and return June 29th. We are going to miss a lot of school, soccer, and family/friends but we are looking forward to seeing the beauty of America’s National Parks!