4 Wheels 4 Girls

On August 3rd, we arrived at our aunt and uncles’ house, Rose and Mark, in Rochester, Minnesota.

We went inside to say hi to everyone, which was my aunt and uncle and cousin Cullen, and then Mark told us that he was going to take us for a ride on the four-wheelers. After he got out three quads and he and Cullen gave us quick rides, Mark told me he was going to teach me to drive one. At first I was a little freaked, but then, after I was pretty sure I got how to drive it, I was a little more relaxed. But I guess I wasn’t as good as I thought I would be. As soon as I hit the gas, I went WAAAAAAAAAAAY too fast! I slammed on the breaks and then started again, this time much slower. Then, after going around the yard a few times, we went out on the trail behind their house. The first part was sooooooooooo scary! It was a big downhill and then a big turn. The first time I did it, I didn’t turn enough and I hit a tree!!! Luckily I didn’t hit Mark! He came immediately to help me, and after that I was fine. I had a great time on the trail for the rest of the day, and we even went back out after dinner. I’m so glad I learned how to drive a four-wheeler!!! 😉

Fun! Fun!!!

On August 3rd, we stopped in Minneapolis to spend some time with friends. After shopping and having lunch with Amy and Emily, we went to the lake with some of Amy and Jean’s friends. One friend of theirs, Liz, has a daughter that I’ve been friends with for a really long time, Nicole. She’s my age, and I also met another girl my age today named Anna. They were both really nice.

We got in the lake, and it was a lot warmer than I’d expected. It was a little gross at first because we saw a dead fish on the shore, but we got used to it. We swam in the warm water for a while, and then we got out to hang out and rinse off. Then I gave my friends a tour of the RV, and they thought it was super cool. Then we hung out a little more, and then we unfortunately had to get on the road. I said goodbye to Anna and Nicole and all the other kids, (Emily, Carla, Sarah, Danielle, John, and Jack) and then we left. I had a great time at the lake!!! 🙂

On July 31st, after everyone went on the hike to go see the mud pots and Dragon’s Mouth Spring, they went on another hike while I went back to the camper to make guacamole. I had gotten the ingredients at Trader Joe’s a few days before, and I was itching to make it, so… I did! They were gone for about twenty minutes, so I had that time to get everything set up and get started before they got back and we would have to drive. So by the time they were back, I had mixed all the avocado and tomato up in a bowl, and I was cutting onion. Everyone said it smelled great. I have to admit, my guacamole is pretty good. I made up the recipe in sixth grade when I had to make something for Spanish Food Day. We started to drive, and before we got to Mammoth Hot Springs, I was done with my delicious masterpiece.

… Three hours later…

We got back from the visitor center, and we were all really hungry. The solution? Guac and chips! We pulled the guacamole out of the fridge and the chips out of the cabinet, and we dug in! It was super delicious. We ate it all in under an hour. It was a great, yummy day!!! 😉

My guacamole didn't last long

On the morning of July 31st, Dad, Stella, Ellie, Ana, and I went on a quick walk in Yellowstone. It was on a boardwalk, and the first thing we saw was a boiling mud pot. It stunk like rotten eggs from all the sulfur, and it was murky and gray. It was pretty cool.

On the Mud Volcano Trail at Yellowstone, near Dragon's Mouth Spring

Then we saw something AMAZINGLY cool. It was a hot spring called Dragon’s Mouth Spring. It was JUST like a dragon’s mouth; it bubbled and foamed, and it made this heavy breathing sound. It was red and blue and brown and orange, and there was a bunch of steam coming up from it. We stood and admired it for minutes, and we were all amazed at how alike it was to a real dragon’s mouth. Then we finally left the spring, and Dad, Stella, Ellie and Ana went on another short hike while I went back to the camper to made guacamole.

Dragon’s Mouth Spring was SO cool!!! 😉

In a sulfer steam cloud at the Churning Cauldron spring

On July 30th, we went on a hike to see some mud pots that were called Artist’s Paint Pots.

The hike was on a trail, and we walked about half a mile before we actually saw anything. But it was SO worth it. The first thing we saw was a small colorful mud pot. Mud pots are like ponds full of bubbling hot mud, heated by magma under the surface of the earth. The mud in the first mud pot was gray and bubbly, and it was really cool. Then we walked uphill for awhile until we had a great view of the mud pots below. We saw a few geysers, and then we came to something really super duper cool.

Hanging out near "flying hot mud"

There was a blocked-off path and then a sign that said: CAUTION: FLYING HOT MUD. Sure enough, there was a mud pot full of splashing gray mud. We stood there and watched it fly up in the air for, like, ever, and then we finally moved on down the hill after taking about a million pictures and shooting a video too. Down at the bottom of the hill, we saw more geysers and even more mud pots. When we got back To the camper, I was actually a little disappointed; I couldn’t get enough of the beauty! It was definitely a worthy hike! 😀

On July 30th, we visited the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park.

The walk to go see it was pretty short, and it was on a boardwalk above boiling water. We crossed a river, and then we walked for a bit over some hot, shallow water. I was surprised to learn that organisms actually live in that boiling heat. We saw a bunch of cool geysers on our way to the spring, and when we finally reached our destination, I was truly amazed. It was huge, way bigger than any hot spring I’d ever seen, and the totally awesome thing was that it was rainbow-colored! Each color of the rainbow was where a different organism lived in the water, and that’s what made the different colors. Isn’t that cool?! We stood and admired the spring for quite a long time, and we took LOTS of pictures. Finally, we took a last look at it, and then we walked back to the RV. The Grand Prismatic Spring really was grand! 😉

At the Grand Prismatic hot water spring in Yellowstone

On July 24th, we, sadly, saw the Pacific ocean for the last time on our trip. 🙁

We waved goodbye to it, and then went to have Subway sandwiches for dinner. It was a good way to celebrate our goodbye with the Pacific ocean. The subs were super good!!!

On July 23rd, in Seattle, we saw a HUGE gum wall in Pike’s Alley. It was absolutely GINORMOUS, and it was so so so so SO cool!!!!!!!!!!!!! There was gum of every color and flavor, and some people had even made designs with their chewed gum. We saw one woman that was chewing gum and trying to make a bubble to stick on the wall, but every time her bubble touched the wall and got deflated, SHE PUT IT BACK IN HER MOUTH EVEN THOUGH IT HAD TOUCHED ALL THE OTHER CHEWED GUM!!! Talk about instant viruses! It was soooooooo nasty!!! We took a picture in front of it. It was the coolest thing EVER!!! 😀

Want some gum? Ever again?

On July 23rd, we took a ferry from Bainbridge Island to Seattle.

The day was beautiful, with sun, blue skies, and a great, clear view of Mount Rainier. After the 30-minute ferry ride, we got off and started to explore the city. I liked all the tall buildings, shops, and the loud noise and groups of people; it reminded me a lot of home. I get so tired of being out in the middle of nowhere, so it was nice to be around lots of people.

It was such a clear day, Mt. Rainier was crystal clear across Puget Sound.

We walked around town, seeing all the cool buildings and statues and whatnot. We walked unto this little waterfall garden and we saw a wedding party getting their pictures taken. We saw a bunch of trees wearing brightly-colored tree socks, and then… *gasps in fake horror* Dad and Jean found a national park, Klondike Gold Rush National Park. Of course, we had to go inside and do JUNIOR RANGER PACKETS. (Bleh.) But the museum was actually pretty cool. After we finished those up, we realized that we were getting hungry. We found a delicious Indian place and then after our bellies were full, we had to catch our ferry back to Bainbridge Island. The mountain wasn’t as clear, but it was still gorgeous.

In Seattle, the trees wear sweaters!

Then, when we got off the ferry, tired from our long day, Wes was waiting for us by the RV! It was a nice surprise. We met Wes back at our campground, and then us kids went to bed while Dad and Wes chatted it up in the living room. I was EXHAUSTED. It was a fun and busy day!!! 😀

Seattle was full of cool statues.

On July 22, we came into Washington in the early morning. We arrived in Bellingham at around seven or eight a.m. on the ferry, and we looked around and then drove on to Seattle. Then we took a ferry to another island, (I don’t know the name) and then we drove to Poulsbo, the town where our campground is. We pulled into a spot, ate lunch, and sacked out. We were all SO tired from the week before of having almost no sleep.

When we woke up, I did the dishes *stomps feet* and then Wes, one of my dad’s good friends, came to our campground. The last time I saw him I was about two or three, so I didn’t really remember him, but he was really super nice. We hung out with him for a while in the RV and then we decided to get some dinner in Poulsbo.

Wes recommended a great little pizza place in town, so that’s where we went. It was SO delicious. After we ate, we went to have ice cream. I had peppermint, and I loved it. *licks lips*

By that time it was getting late and we were all getting tired, so we went back to the RV and drove back to the campground. We said goodbye to Wes and then went to bed. It was a fun day and I’m really glad I got to meet Wes again! 🙂

Pizza! Poulsbo!