The Cinnamon Roll Chronicles

Daniel has always wanted to see a game at Wrigley Field and since the traditional first anniversary gift is paper....I decided to buy him tickets to a game. We had amazing seats to watch the Cubs take on the Pirates. I was pretty impressed with our seats considering we had no idea what was considered good when buying them. The were directly behind home plate and in the shade. I really like the scoreboard at Wrigley because there are people actually inside changing the score. After singing take me out to the ball game in the 7th inning, we left. We wanted to avoid some of the traffic and still have time to see some of Chicago. I spent a considerable amount of time on the drive to Chicago researching pizza places. Apparently there are two big time pizza joints in Chicago Lou Malnati's and Giordano's. everything a read said the Lou Malnati's was the best. So we went....okay....nothing special....next time I will try the other place. After pizza we walked down Michigan Avenue a...

Yesterday we spent ten hours in the car. We drove from Grand Tetons all the way to Mount Rushmore. We did stop along the way to see Devil's Tower. Devil's Tower was quite impressive. But Mount Rushmore was pretty amazing. We were lucky enough to view it during the day and at night. Today we drove for 12 hours all the way across South Dakota and Minnesota, into Wisconsin. My was that quite the drive. If you are Facebook friends with me, you could probably start to tell that I was getting a little stir crazy from being in the car for so long.  We are forever grateful to Claire, Chris, Mark, and Mary Glen for letting us stay with them tonight! It's great to have family in different states! Now tomorrow on to Chicago to celebrate our one year anniversary (a week early). Hopefully we will still be married by the time we make it home Monday ;)

Yesterday we got to sleep in a little. But once we got up were off hiking.  Cascade Cayon had been described to us as the Disney World of the Grand Tetons, and boy were they right. We took a boat across Jenny Lake to start the hike.  It was half a mile to Hidden Falls and I swear I have never seen some many people in my entire life on a trail.  It was crazy. You couldn't even enjoy the falls because of all the people.  From there it was half a mile to Inspiration Point. We was basically a straight up rock climb.  After that you could hike further into the canyon, and the people def started to thin out,  we ended up hiking about six miles total today, which for those of you that know me know is a huge deal. I have never hiked that far ever before, but we did get to see another Moose on the trail.  Today was our last day in the Tetons, and I must say I have enjoyed it here much more than I did Yellowstone.  Could be because it is warmer (almost 80 t...

Yesterday we spent the day in Jackson, WY. Once we got to Jackson we drove 45 mins to swim in Granite Hot Springs.  Then we walked around Jackson.  We missed lunchtime at the Million Dollar Cowboy bar, but Daniel still had a buffalo burger for dinner.  We actually started the day hiking to Heron Pond in the Tetons.....and Daniel finally saw a MOOSE!!  

Today was just spent driving from Yellowstone down to the Grand Tetons. The we did a driving tour of the Tetons to hit most the major sites. Still on the lookout for a Moose....but guess what???? I finally got WIFI. Thank you Grand Tetons for believing in WIFI. So here are some pics....

Since my phone and google are still not meshing then I still can't post pics. So I figured I would blog about two days at once. I promise as soon as I get good service or wifi that I will post pics. Yesterday we hiked to Cascade Lake. It was a total of five miles round trip. We survived the wilderness of Yellowstone without buying bear spray. Thanks Stacie and Nathan from saving us from making that wasted purchase. However there have apparently been a lot of grizzly spotting a since we have been here but we have yet to see a grizzly or a moose. A park ranger guaranteed Daniel we would see a moose in the Tetons. Also yesterday we saw the Artists Paintpots. Today we spent visiting the National Park Ranger Museum and the Fishing Bridge Area. In my opinion you could see everything you wanted to see in Yellowstone in about three days. In exchange for a nap today I agreed to go to a 9:30 ranger program on Buffalo. Did a mention the program is outside and the high here today was 49. Oh ...

Saturday we spent the day walking around the Geysers and watching Old Faithful. I most say I was pretty impressed with Old Faithful but the other geysers were pretty cool too. We also spent some time in Old Faithful Inn. Daniel is convinced that when we bring our Child back to Yellowstone that we will stay in Old Faithful Lodge. By the way if you ever come to Yellowstone make sure to bring a pair of binoculars. People won't tell you what they are looking at if you don't have a pair. Still cannot get photos to post. I'll keep trying.

Service in the park is spotty and there def isn't any wifi. So posts will be sporadic for the next week or so. We are officially half way through the trip. We spent yesterday driving from the north end of the park to our campsite. The high was 43. Needless to say I was pretty miserable. According to Daniel I was very whiny yesterday. But wouldn't you be too if you slept in a tent in 29 degree weather? It has snowed on us three days in a row. Seriously snow on May 31st?  Anyway we survived the day. We were able to see Mammoth Hot Springs, the petrified tree, and tower falls. Still no Moose, but plenty of buffalo. Sorry no pics tonight my phone and blogger are not getting along well. Hopefully I can post some tomorrow.

Not much to report from yesterday. As you read we left Estes Park at 7:15, with a ten hour drive a head of us. Because of the sequester the campsite we wanted to stay in wasn't schedule to open until 5/31. And we were arriving in Yellowstone on 5/30. Which meant we got to stay in a bed and breakfast...YAY!!!  But the b&b was on the north end of the park in Montana. It took us about ten hours to get to the park. We stopped in Casper to have lunch with my friend Devin and then we stopped in Cody to take a quick break before driving through the park. Once we got to the park it took us two hours to get from the east entrance to the north entrance. It SNOWED again!!! And we saw a ton of Bison just driving through. I took full advantage of the bed and breakfast. I showered when we got here and showered again this morning before we left, since I probably won't have another good shower until we get to Wisconsin.  Oh and the house we are staying in is built entirely of rock, which ...

The weather did not cooperate for our visit to Rocky Mountain. First, on Tuesday evening when we arrived in Estes Park we went directly to Visitor Center to get a map and ask some questions. We were quickly informed that the hike we wanted to go on, had the potential for snow avalanches. Second, the weather was forecasting afternoon thunderstorms.  Our plan was to get up early and be done with our hike before the bad weather hit. Well it started raining at 5am. Daniel frequently checked the weather and saw clear weather between the hours of 9am and 3pm. So off we go to get our hike done as quickly as possible. As you drive through the park there are all these signs that say "Beware weather conditions can change quickly". Plus all of these crazies were gettingon the shuttle up to the trailhead in shorts and tennis shoes. The rangers continued to tell everyone that the trails were snow covered and the snow was about 4 feet deep. We get to the trailhead it doesn't seem too t...

Okay people...so as of yesterday I have officially been on this trip for ONE WEEK!  So far no major breakdowns, but yesterday afternoon almost did me in.  First, Daniel broke a glass in the car. Then we finally arrived to the campsite and it is TERRIBLE. I don't ever suggest the KOA in Estes Park. Notice in the picture that the main road into Estes Park is directly behind our tent. We were the only tent in the campground and contemplated switching, but after driving around the campground we realized that all the tent sites suck. One positive from this crappy tent site is that Daniel has already told me to call the KOA in Mount Rushmore and upgrade to a cabin :). Then, while I was trying to cook dinner I sliced through my thumb. Luckily  it was a brand new pampered chef knife and I barley felt a thing.  Now I can honestly tell my students that a sharp knife doesnt hurt as bad as a cut from a dull knife.  But then my potatoes would never cook and we ended up havin...

On Monday we spent the day in Denver. We started the day shopping at Daniel's favorite store REI. The one in Denver is huge compared to the Asheville store. After REI, I got to go to a fabric store, it had a lot of fun fabrics but not a very big selection, which was slightly disappointing.  We spent some time walking around LoDo and the 16th street pedestrian mall, had lunch a brewery, and found a pinkberry. Remember yesterday when I said we searched out sporting venues....well Monday we saw Coors Field and Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Too bad I couldn't find Peyton.  The worst part about Denver was that it was Memorial Day and a lot of what we wanted to see/do was closed. Denver was fun, we would like to come back to experience more, but we still like Boulder better. OH and how could I forget....we got to walk around Red Rocks....which was unbelievable! 

On Sunday we spent the day in Boulder. We started out driving around The University of Colorado...GO BUFFS! Daniel was able to get out of the car and walk around Folsom Field. We apparently spend our trips seeking out sporting venues :) While in Boulder we visited the Celestial Seasonings facility, which was really cool....I tried at least 10 different types of tea, Daniel decided that he might actual like some tea, and we both survived the Mint Room. After the tour we walked around Pearl Street and did a little shopping...especially at Penzey Spices! As we were leaving the city we drove up on Flagstaff Road, which as an amazing view of the City. Thanks to Claire for giving us that tip via Facebook. We absolutely feel in love with Boulder and would move there tomorrow!

Saturday we drove from the Kansas/Missouri border to the West side of Denver. It quite possibly was the longest road trip of my life. After being in the car for 22 hours in the last four days....I hate the car...I hate all the music on my iPhone and Daniel's. It was pretty terrible. Luckily we don't have to drive a long distance for five more days.  The Koa we are staying outside of Denver is in Central City. We pulled into Central City and were amazed. It is the neatest little town I have ever seen. All the building are still standing from the 1870's. So after we got our campsite set up we thought we would go explore the town.  EVERY building in the town is a casino. That's it. Nothing else. Needless to say we weren't there very long.  I did survive sleeping in the tent last night. I won't say it was the best sleep ever, but it wasn't the worst. But I have a feeling I am going to need a massage when I get home...hint hint...mom you should buy me one :) ...