Day Four

Well Well Well...

Ladies and Gentlemen it is our fourth day here on the 'recreational vehicle' and i must say we are having a divine time...If you were one of the lucky few to get to look over our itinerary for this trip you would know that we were suppose to arrive at Yellowstone at FIVE O'CLOCK this morning let me repeat...FIVE O'CLOCK in the morning!! needless to say Mrs. Tipton was quickly shot down by a unanimous vote from the other six of us that five o'clock was out of the question! We arrived at Yellowstone National Park at eight o clock this morning...and the sploring started right away...we were greeted by beautiful scenery...snow covered mountain, iced lakes, and breathtaking beauty...we were just driving right along when we saw out first buffalo, so of course we had to stop...Aunt Lori, however, thinks that the buffalo are her friends and tried to get a little too close, they both stopped what they were doing and stared us down, according to uncle mark a stare down with two 2,000 pound buffalos was not a good way to start this venture...Our first stop of the day was artist point...it was an overlook that looked over the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It was a gorgeous overlook of a huge waterfall...also at artist point we were joined by a tour bus of japanese tourist...story to follow about that....after artist point we went to our next destination which was a hike to the bottom of a waterfall...this trail was called Uncle Tom's Cabin it was a 'strenuous' hike...but to our dismay after a .2 mile walk down we see that this trail is close do to DANGEROUS conditions...whatever that means, snow can't hurt that bad...Lori was so upset but don't worry she found us another trail to hike...We went to the Brink of the Lower Falls for a near death experience of a hike!! Going down was a breeze, the view was breathtaking...it took us to top of the waterfall that we saw from a distance at artist point (it would really help if we could post pictures so 'you guys', my western accent i have picked up here, could see what i was talking about) but the hike back up....well lets just say it was more of a workout then i have had in the past year...After that we went to get out national park passport stamped...a must on this trip...then off to meet TARA...Tara is a park ranger at Yellowstone, but she is also one of Uncle Marks high school buddies...we had lunch then hurried out to see Old Faithful...it was definitely a sight to see...but the real sight was seeing uncle mark get run over by a japanese man who was half his size...uncle mark aunt lori and tara were talking after we took a picture of them and this little japanese man, who was clearly running late to something, shoved them out of the way, not politely went around them, he literally shoved them apart and ran right through...we laughed and reenacted it for the next thirty min...After that we headed out to see Morning Glory, once again it would be great if i could upload a picture so you all could see it...after morning glory we had a cup of ice cream and on to the RV park we went...

Now for the good stuff...we have created chores here on the RV...you know to make things run a little smoother...todays duties requires payton: make all beds, jordan: to dry and straighten everyone's hair, mark and mike: well thats obvious...they are driving us for hours a day so we can't ask much more of them, brandi: entertain everyone, and write the blog daily, leslie and lori: cook dinner and clean the crapper, yes the cleaned it like wild mustangs today!!

just a little poem...

Hello everyone! In the midst of all the updates you have been receiving, I would like to enlighten you all with a bit of poetry and insight to the great western front.

We traveled afar, by foot and by RV
From South Dakota to Wyoming, a long day you see.

We talked, we laughed, we slept, and we ate
And tonight we are planning on staying up late!!

We stopped along the way to play in the SNOW
I think it had to be about 100 degrees below. (freeezinggg!)

As we approached our destination, we smelled something foul
The bathrooms we later found were the guys best pals! (ewww.)

We finally arrived to the fine and friendly city of Cody
And ate at a nice restaurant that was everything but grody.

Our beautiful campground, also called Ponderosa
Has a DQ right beside it, blizzards come closa!!

Well now we’re all just chillin, one big happy bunch
Hopefully none of us will be the first to throw a punch.

Goodnight, goodnight, we love you all
As we are here on this recreational vehile, simply having a ball!

P.S. The mountains here in Wyoming, the Tetons, are as grand as you’d think. They are simply breathtaking!!! They just seem to dominate creation out here towering over everything! Thank you Lord for making them with Your strong hands!

Adios. Keep it real, Cleveland!
-Paytie

Day Three

Well hello folks!!!
It is early morning of day three and we are still in Hill City, South Dakota!! Yesterday our venture started at the BAD LAND...which were incredible to see...we went on a mile hike up to this gorgeous overlook...pictures are coming soon...the internet is horrible at the Horsethief campground, so hopefully next stop we will have better internet! After the Bad Lands we went to see the infamous Mount Rushmore! After taking lots of pictures and getting our passport stamped it was off to the campground...Uncle Mark grilled some amazing chicken, while mom and aunt lori made baked potatoes and baked beans! For dessert mom tried to make us some chocolate chip cookies...key word here is TRIED...she put a plastic plate in the OVEN...she's smart i promise...just wasn't using her brain at the moment...the plate created a very nice flower shape but is now ruined do to the lack of thinking before sticking it in the oven..needless to say we are down to two plates:) After that we made smores...these weren't your typical smores though because guess who forgot the Hershey's chocolate bars....ill let you guess:)...so we created a new invention...graham cracker, cookie dough, and roasted marshmallow...can i just say mmmm mmmm good!
Soooo...we are living the good life on this here recreational vehicle...which brings me to another point....we have all been diagnosed with RVS...Recreational Vehicle Syndome...this means that once you are and RV for more that 24 hours and then get off you still feel like you are on the RV...we are still feel like we are moving when we are sitting still...not a pleasant feeling...but i guess it just is part of the venture.
Here are some quotes of the week...."Can you climb me?" This was said by non other than Mrs. Lori Tipton...Uncle mark was needing to get to the back to fix the air and had to climb over lori who was sitting in the floor, but instead of can you climb over me she said can you climb me...we laughed for a looong time:) " Ummm wrong babe" Lori asked if uncle mark needed anything and mike turns around and says "no babe" haha then lori obviously says ummm wrong babe. "Is she a midget?" This was precious little payton...we stopped at a truck stop to wash our bug infested windshield, when payton looks out the window to see a little girl and says "is she a midget?" come to find out she was...good observation paytie..."I guess i should take some clothes!" paytie was getting ready to head to the shower house to get a shower and was planning on coming back to the RV in just her towel...let me remind you we are at an RV camp with a hundred people we don't know:) this is not camp cherokee payton, they do require you to wear clothes from the bath house to the RV...this leads in to the next quote..."YOU SHAMELESS HUSSY!!" was said by uncle mark to his precious little girl, who didn't want to wear clothes back to the RV...and last but not least...."Are those DICKLES" hahaha aunt lori wanted to know if the pickles were dill and it came out dickles...
Well folks we are getting ready to head back out on the road...next time we post we will end up Cody, Wyoming!! Love you all!!

Brandi: your number one RV reporter:)

The Start of our Adventure!

Hello Peoples,
Well we started our journey out west today!! We have made it through four states
so far and are hoping to end up in South Dakota in the near future:) Captain Mike drove the first
twelve hours of our trip and did a mighty fine job, and Captain Mark is creating a pleasent drive for the
next ten hours! The women on this 'recreational vehicle' (Payton, Jordan, and I just found out what RV stood for
today) have been playing countless games of mancala, a game of swap, and a game of rack-o, but don't be fooled
it hasn't just been fun and games for the five of us! The mothers slaved over our taco dinner tonight, that was amazing if I do say so myself, and to top it all off we have had no air the whole trip, but hey, it's been great so far!! Payton, Jordan, and I have made detailed videos about the happenings of the day that will be posted as soon as we get to out first campground!! Well too-ta-loo for now, you'll be hearing from us soon about the craziness or our slorin venture!!

Brandi: your number one RV reporter:)

The adventure begins in 6 days!