Day 19 - La Porte, Indiana to HOME!

Ms. Perrin:  "Well, today was the long drive home.  I thought that it might make for a long day because I wanted to see my husband and boys so much but it was actually fun knowing that the clock was ticking and at the end of the day, I'd be home with my whole family!"

"The border was no picnic!  We crossed at Sarnia and had a long line but after that it was smooth sailing in the lowest speed limits that we've seen this entire trip! :\  The rest of Canada was 110 km/h and most of the States was 110 - 120 km/h (70-75 mph)."

Ms. Perrin:  "We arrived home in the evening and all the boys were waiting for us in the driveway.  Even the dog was happy to see me! :)  It was so nice to see them - I had missed them so much!"

"What can I say...our trip was incredible!  We saw so many amazing things and had such a great time together!  We spent this last day reminiscing about our favorite parts of the trip and I commended her on never once complaining about how much time we spent driving.  I loved our adventures, singing along to the iPod in the car and her making fun of how many times I stopped to pee. :)  We had 3 weeks of only crazy girl stuff and it was great!  I'm so glad that we did this together!  We will both remember this for life!"

Day 18 - Meeting Kelsey's Penpal

Ms. Perrin:  "Today we spent the day with Kelsey's penpal and her family.  It was really neat - when we were planning the trip and I told Kelsey which states we'd be driving through, she jumped up and asked how close we'd be to her penpal.  As it turned out, visiting her was right along the way.  We met up with her and her mom and the girls spent the day at the beach on Lake Michigan while the mom's chatted and I got to have a conversation with someone over the age of 12. :)"

Ms. Perrin:  "It was really great to meet their family.  When the rest of the family came home from work, we all went out for pizza and had a great time.  The only disappointing part of the whole day is that they live so for away.  Our families would be a great fit to hang out together! :)"

Day 17 - Sioux Falls, South Dakota to La Porte, Indiana

Ms. Perrin:  "Today was a lot of driving that pretty much looked like this:"

Ms. Perrin:  "We went from South Dakota to Minnesota to Wisconsin to Illinois to Indiana.  LONG day!  We even managed to hit Chicago just in time for rush hour. :)"



Ms. Perrin: "We were so happy to finally reach our destination and it's absolutely lovely!  I can't believe that our trip is almost over."

Day 16 - Custer, South Dakota to Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Ms. Perrin:  "I am feeling much better after a good night's sleep.  We had a king size bed last night so all of Kelsey's flailing and kicking didn't reach me.  Yahoo!! :)  First thing this morning, we went to Mount Rushmore.  On a side note, Kelsey has been 'collecting' license plates all through this trip.  She has seen every state but 4 (Rhode Island, West Virginia, South Carolina and Louisianna) and she's still missing Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the Territories.  She also needs Washington DC.  She prioritized the day by stating that the first order of business at Mount Rushmore was to do a 'lot crawl' and see if we could find any of her missing states/provinces in the parking lot.  This has almost become more exciting than the trip itself.  You should've seen us when we got Hawaii.....3 TIMES!!!  Anywho, we only added South Carolina to our list but now she only has 3 states to go! :)"

Kelsey:  "I am determined to get those states!!!!!

Ms. Perrin:  "Mount Rushmore was amazing but what I found the most interesting was The Hall Of Records.  Apparently it's blasted into the mountain right behind Lincoln and holds all kinds of historical stuff regarding the United States.  I didn't know it existed until today.  The public are not allowed to see it but they show you a model of it at the Visitor's Centre.  If anyone's planning a visit here and you'd like to walk the Presidential Trail, take the left entrance to the trail from the Grand View Terrace.  That way, you get to walk DOWN the 250 stairs....unlike us!"

Kelsey:  "I have now lost the love that i never had towards stairs."

Ms. Perrin:  "Then we went to Sitting Bull Crystal Cavern.  I've been to caves before but this was my first crystal cave.  It was very cool and the crystals were HUGE!  I am embarassed to say that I thought that all of the crystals would be clean, sparkling points.  Of course, they are not.  They have all kinds of cave stuff on them but it's really cool.  It feels like you're standing inside a big geode."

Kelsey:  "The cave was fun, but the cave beside it you didnt need a tour guide to go in and we were allowed to just go into the cave with the supplied flashlights. my flashlight didnt work, buti went in with a group of people. Somehow, i got a bunch of mud stripes on my leg. So, Tony the tiger, now that i have earned my stripes, what have you to tempt me to eat your nutrcious-and-not-delicious terrifying cereal???????"

Ms. Perrin:  "Then we drove to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  We came through a massive storm with hail and ridiculous winds coming out of Rapid City and then we arrived here to a beautiful light show of heat lightening lighting up the sky behind the B & B we're staying at."

Kelsey: "apparently, the attic room looks awesome, but the lightswitch is halfway across the hall and the only light we get to GET to the switch is from the lightning in the bathroom window. its scary out there, so im going to wait til morning!!!!!!

Day 15 - Cody, Wyoming to Custer, South Dakota

Ms. Perrin:  "I AM SO TIRED!!!!!  The driving is starting to get to me.....wishing that I had a second driver in the car.  Kelsey thinks that I should just let her drive.  Tempting........."

"Today we slept in and then got up to see where we are.  It's beautiful here.  We've definitely found the Wild West.  I can't believe that I used to be naive enough to think that canyons only existed in Arizona. :)" 

Day 14 - Alberton, Montana to Cody, Wyoming

Ms. Perrin:  "First let me say that the place we stayed at in Alberton was so cool.  It was the Montana Hotel, set up beside the railroad in 1909.  It’s a genuine old west hotel and was SO cool.  It’s name is now the Ghost Rails Inn and well worth the stay!"

"Then we were off to Yellowstone National Park.  As usual, the drive was awesome.  We’re definitely in cowboy country now!  There is ranch after ranch after ranch and they are absolutely massive." 

"And speaking of massive, Yellowstone is much bigger than I could’ve imagined!  First we stopped in the town of West Yellowstone, just outside the park.  If you’re looking for tourist shops, this is the place to go.  It’s located right before the West gate to the park." 

"Then we spent 4 hours in the park and 2 of that was driving time.  The only stops we made were to see some of the geysers.  I did not realize what an active volcanic area this is.  Kinda freaks you out! J  The smell of sulphur is common and there is steam rising up out of the ground everywhere.  We also arrived only 40 minutes before Old Faithful was scheduled to go so we got to see that.  Very cool – I love the rumble that you hear coming out of the ground!"

"There is wildlife everywhere and we saw plenty of elk and bison.  One thing that really struck me is that in several areas, all of the trees are dead.  And I mean dead trees for miles and miles.  I’m going to have to look up what’s killing them.  The only thing that I thought of was either disease or the volcanic activity and sulphur."

"Anyways, the drive out was another scary one down the side of the mountain only this time I got to do it in the dark.  Woohoo to that!!  (please read sarcasm!)  They have these little pull outs to the side with NO guardrails and sheer cliffs and you’re constantly wondering if it’s another curve in the road.  All I can say is pay attention, drive the speed limit and watch the center line of the road to see which way it curves.  You cannot afford any distractions when you’re driving up here!"

"We arrived safe and sound just after 10:00 pm local time at the Red Pole Ranch in Wyoming.  It’s dark so I’ll have to tell you tomorrow what it looks like out here" 

Day 13 – Salkum, Washington to Alberton, Montana

Ms. Perrin:  "Wow what a day!!!!  The B&B we stayed at said not to miss Mt. Ranier National Park and they were right.  It took us an extra 4 hours (which put as at our next stop at 11:15 pm!) but it was well worth it!  I imagine that this is how beautiful Mt. St. Helens was before half the mountain disappeared.  As the day before, the mountain was clouded over when we first got there but it showed itself within the next couple hours.  You can’t begin to understand just how big it is from photos.  I’ve never felt so small as I did at 5,000 ft looking up at this mountain.  I can’t begin to imagine what it would be like if it blew.  Mt. St. Helens only had one glacier on it.  Mt. Ranier has somewhere around 15 to 20!  That’s a lot of melted ice!  They said that it is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in North America."



"Then there’s the drive up and down the other side of the park.  Holy mackrell!!  For those of you who have driven into Golden, BC through Kicking Horse Pass…..whoopdee lala!  This is much worse and without the guardrails.  I was amazed at how far the drop off was and they have signs to warn you that it is a sheer cliff.  It just goes down for thousands of feet!  And of course it’s winding along the side of the mountain and in some places, it weaves back and forth in a switchback." 

"Then there is the drive from the park to Idaho.  There’s a beautiful canyon on I-82.  The state of Washington is absolutely breathtaking.  Definitely worth the trip and probably the most impressive state that I’ve been to yet!!!"



Day 12 - Forks, WA to Salkum, WA

Ms. Perrin:  "Well, today we had a slight change of plans.  We went back to La Push beach so that Kelsey could have a quick dip in the Pacific Ocean.  It was cold and therefore brief but she's very glad she did it (crazy canuck!).  Then we drove through Hoh Rainforest.  Wow.  This place is beautiful and the trees are absolutely enormous.  We came to the conclusion that this is how the rainforest got it's name.  Somebody said 'Hoh, would you look at the size of those trees!' and voila, Hoh Rainforest. :)  Part of the highway takes you along the Pacific Coastline so the views are breath taking.  I'm really enjoying taking the scenic route rather than the interstates!"

"We made our way South East through Washington to the Mount St. Helens Volcanic Monument.  This was really cool for me.  I remember when the volcano erupted and I've wanted to come and see it ever since I was a little girl.  I've seen pictures but nothing can prepare you for seeing it in real life.  It's also amazing to see how wide spread the damage still is over 30 years later.  The mudslide completely buried the river in ash and the evidence remains in the valley to this day."



Kelsey:  "Yea, it was really cool because we drove in and the mountain was really foggy, which is not ideal. so we went into this little theatre type thing and at the end of the 16-min film, the curtain opened to a big window and there was the mountain, with not a single cloud near it. :) But that only lasted for a few minutes until more clouds came. and we were elevated 3000 ft, so we drove through a cloud :). For anyone whose never felt a cloud, its not what you think. when youre driving, it feels like its just raining from infront of you, instead of from above. but its really cool. and Contrary to popula belief, clouds dont feel like cotton candy, or pillows. They feel like little water droplets. So dont fill up your pillow with cloud, because you, will get wet. :)

Day 11 - Abbotsford, BC to Forks, WA

Ms. Perrin:  "The day started sad as we said goodbye to Oma.  That was hard.  Then it was off to cross the border into the US and then Forks, WA.  Yes, this is the Forks from the books and movies in the Twilight Saga.  Driving through the forests in Deception Pass and Olympic National Forest is incredible.  The trees are bigger than any that I've ever seen!"

Ms. Perrin: "It took us longer than expected to arrive in Forks due to the fact that I hadn't accounted for the wait at the border or for the ferry but we only lost 2 hours.  For all of you Twilight fans, Forks is awesome but remember that it is the Forks from the books, not the movies.  Also, this is a small logging town so stores close between 5:00 and 6:00.  Very cool to be here!  We saw the diner, police dept., hospital clinic, high school, Edward, Bella & Jacob's houses, the treaty line and La Push beach.  There's great Twilight shopping at Dazzled By Twilight and we had steak & cobbler for dinner at the Forks Coffee Shop."

"La Push beach is breathtaking.  We're spending the night in the attic room at the Cullen house (very cool!) but there is also a resort at La Push beach called Quiluete Oceanview Resort and the location is beautiful.  We're going to head back over there in the morning so that Kelsey can go for a swim in the Pacific.  I'm sure that she has lots to say about today but for now, she has fallen fast asleep watching....Twilight. :) "

Kelsey:  " The driftwood here is HUGE!!!! i can crawl into the little caverns in washed up entire trees and still have room for a few friends and a tea party. Note to self: going to La Push beach, or jus the ocean in general, in converseis NOT A GOOD IDEA!!! its better to go in shorts and flips flops so you can play in the ocean, even though the water is cold. But there are lots of skipping rocks. It works esecially when you get a running start at it :)"

Days 7-10 - Abbotsford, BC at Oma's House

Ms. Perrin:  "We had such a great time visiting with my Oma (Kelsey's Great Oma :).  We played games together and walked together.  It was so nice to see her again.  We went through lots of old photos too."

"I also got to spend time with my Aunt Heidi and Uncle Henry and my cousins too.  I often wish that my family lived much closer but I am very thankful that we're a close family even though we don't live close to each other."

"On one sunny day we went to White Rock, BC.  It was beautiful.  It's a little beach town on the coast with lots of little shops and restaurants and AWESOME gelato!  There were kids trying to catch crabs from the pier and Kelsey had great fun checking out the tidal pools."

Kelsey:  "Yea, today was fun!!! i had lots of fun watchign tiny crabs in the tidal pools and collecting shells and rocks for my brothers! Although we didnt see any starfish, we saw just about everything else you can find in a tidal pool...

Days 5 & 6 - Medicine Hat, AB to Canmore, AB to Abbotsford, BC

Ms. Perrin: “Day 5 was a relaxed day with less driving and more doing. J  We left Medicine Hat and went to Dinosaur Provincial Park.  THIS IS A MUST SEE!!!  As you drive there through the prairies, you wonder where it could possibly be and then this huge crater in the ground opens up before you and you drive down into a whole new world of desert cactus & creatures, fossil excavation sites with a river running along the one end.  We spent a couple of hours there checking out the visitors center with all of it’s information, going on a hike through the badlands and then checking out the 2 fossil sites.  It’s amazing!”

“Then we drove to a B & B in Canmore, Alberta, checked in and went up to the Banff Upper Hot Springs.  They were so nice after all of this sitting and driving!!”

Kelsey:  “they were soooooo relaxing! And they smelled good! But I was cold when I got out… im going crazy… im watching Dora the explorer. I think shes distantly related to Stewie Griffin,I mean, look at their head shapes!!!! But ive been watching treehouse all evening. But dinosaur park was AWESOME!!!!! There was a lot of walking, but the view was amazazing! And every step you took, you thought you heard a rattlesnake in the bushes!!!

Ms. Perrin:  “Day 6 and it’s cloudy and overcast just in time for our drive through the Rockies. :\  They are still beautiful but the tops are missing. J  We stopped to see Lake Louise first thing this morning which was beautiful.  It was only 9:30 am so it wasn’t crowded yet at all.  We even had 5 minutes of sun for our pictures. J”

“Then we were off.  We made a quick stop at the Spiral Tunnels just outside of Field, BC.  They’re really neat.  The grade there was too steep for trains so to fix the situation, they blasted tunnels into the mountain that spiral around in a figure 8 so that they could minimize the slope of the track.  To get the whole story of the Spiral Tunnels, google “Spiral Tunnels at Kicking Horse Pass”.  A train comes through every ½ hour and they’re long enough that you can see the back of the train going into one tunnel while the front of the train comes out of the other.”

“Then we headed straight for Grandma’s house in Abbotsford.  The drive into Golden, BC was interesting as always.  It’s steep with lots of turns and cliffs so it can be tense depending on the traffic.  Also, if anyone is headed on this route, make sure you gas up and pee in Golden and Merritt.  There are no gas stations after these two locations for over 100 km.  I expected that in Northern Ontario but not in BC.” 

“We’re at Grandma’s house now and of course she has homemade soup ready for us.  Aunt Heidi & Uncle Henry also came over for a visit which was fantastic.  Sounds like they’ve got lots of cool things planned so we’ll keep you posted!”

Kelsey:  “Im still watching treehouse. The vampire dude from sesame streets’ hair just turned blue. Hes officially awesome. Personally, he was awesome before, but now hes awesomer. Im finally at my oma’s house!!! The waterfalls on the way here were so gorgeous!!! The water is so bluey-green here!!! I LURVE IT!!!!



Day 4 - Winnipeg, MB to Medicine Hat, AB

Ms. Perrin:  "Holy cow!!!  This is a 12 hour drive but it's a lot of straight and flat.  Long day!!!  The prairies are beautiful and smell awesome!!!"



"There are canola fields as far as you can see and trains every 1/2 hour.  Today we talked about how this is where Canada feeds the world and how cool it is to be Canadian because we have the best country in the world AND we're good sharers! :)"



"Tomorrow we get to the Rockies.  I CAN'T WAIT!!!  I love the mountains!!!  But first we're going to the desert at Dinosaur Provincial Park!"

Kelsey:  "(HAHA MOM!!! my writing looks cooler than yours does!!!!!)And about that train picture, (she took 1 of 2 different trains) i dont think the train people like her anymore.......... ANYWAYS! I did alot of sleeping this time, but thats what i do most of the time, so its not anything unusual. i dont officially wake up until 10:30am, so until that im pretty much a zombie. but my mom gave me a chocolate bar at 8am, but since i slept the WHOLE time and was just sitting in the car doing a whole lot of nothing, i got really hyper in the grocery store (at 8PM) and started walking like a chicken. I wasnt embarassed at all, but my mom felt the need to be embarassed for me. :) My mother and i have come to the conclusion that canola, smells like flowers and dead stuff. Nonetheless, it looks pretty.  



Days 2 & 3 - Sault Ste Marie to Thunder Bay to Winnipeg

Kelsey:  “Okay, so today we are blogging for 2 days. lets start with, yesterday… yesterday, we were driving along the highway, and I saw a bear. Not just any bear. A brown bear. Mom drove halfway down the road before she started to turn around, but we got a good picture of him before a big truck came by and scared him off."



Kelsey:  "Despite our forest-like environment at home, weve never seen a real bear, other than in zoos. Zooes? Zoos. We drove for a REALLY long time, but the view was STUNNING. We went to Ouimet Canyon, which was also gorgeous."

"And then I swam n Lake Superior! It was most incredibly cold, but it was fun. I only went under for a second, but I have now done something that my brothers haven’t, so it was worth it… Onward!!! Today, we have been driving for several hours, minutes and numerous increments of time, to find ourselves in Ignace, Ontario. THAT’S RIGHT! AFTER ALL THIS TIME, WERE STILL IN ONTARIO!!!!  But we'll be in Winnipeg for supper!"

Ms. Perrin:  “Yes yesterday was long but today, the drive to Winnipeg is longer and nowhere near as much fun to look at."

"Yesterday started out cloudy and overcast but the mist coming in off Lake Superior was so pretty.  We drove through Lake Superior Provincial Park and stopped at Agawa Rock to see the Native Pictographs.  VERY cool!!!  It takes less than an hour and we got to walk out on the rock ledge on the shore and view the drawings. "

"Then it was off to Wawa, the only major town between Sault Ste Marie and Thunder Bay.  And by major, I mean population: 3700!  Then there’s nothing but little pit stops until you hit Thunder Bay.  But the view is SO beautiful.  I have driven from Vancouver Island to Halifax and this scenery is second only to the Canadian Rockies!!  If you get an opportunity to do it, it’s well worth the drive!"

At the end of the day we made a quick stop at Ouimet Canyon (again, less than an hour).  Very pretty – looks like the finger of God just scooped it right out! J "

"Then we stayed at Eldorado Beach House Bed & Breakfast on Lake Superior.  We were right on the water and Kelsey even went for a swim at 9:30 because it was still light out.  The lady that owns the B & B also took us out to some awesome lookout points and to the marker where Terry Fox stopped on his Marathon of Hope.  A little known fact is that Terry Fox never quite made it to Thunder Bay or the place where the monument is.  He collapsed in Shuniah and was taken to Thunder Bay by ambulance." 

Kelsey:  “And so, today we went to Kakabeka Falls(GORGEOUS) and we saw the sign for Pickle Lake(GORGEOUS- The sign, not the lake…actually, ive never seen the lake, but the sign was pretty). Pickle Lake is the farthest north you can drive in Northern Ontario. After that, the roads just stop. You know youre up north when… ANYWAYS!" 

Ms. Perrin:  "Yes, today was an early, cool & rainy start.  I am absolutely exhausted after staying up  too late last night.  We stopped at Kakabeka Falls which only took us about 10 minutes.  They are beautiful - well worth the stop. 

We made it to Manitoba by 4:30 & Winnipeg by 6:30 (which is actually only 5:30 when you factor in the time change).  Now it's off to bed at the Howard Johnson.  Tomorrow is a 12 hour drive to Medicine Hat, Alberta!"

Day 1 - Sault Ste. Marie

Ms. Perrin:  "Well, we've arrived in Sault Ste Marie safe and sound and we're enjoying our first stay at a bed and breakfast.  It's very chill."

Kelsey:  "i just got out of the shower. i have a towel on my head. i feel like an egyptian. My goal is to have a shower in every bed and breakfast i stay at. this towel is getting heavy and uncomfortable. im going to take i off now." 

Ms. Perrin:  "So now that we were officially on vacation, our day was awesome.  Warm and sunny....and I got my first sunburn while driving the car so now, since last weekend, I've managed to burn the back of my right leg and the front of my left one.  I look ridiculous!  Anyways, we stopped at the Big Nickel in Sudbury and Kelsey hugged a giant nickel."



Kelsey:  "My hair is messy now. Surprisingly, the weirdest person we saw today was, in fact, in our hometown. Actually, thats not surprising at all! I was going to hug the nickel, but it was too big, so i hugged the pillar instead."

One More Sleep To Go...

Ms. Perrin:  "Okay, we're sitting on the couch the day before we leave.  We're almost packed and Hannah & Alyssa (Kelsey's cousins - they're not really her cousins but calling them cousins requires less explanation!) are finishing up their paper plate people who will also be going on the girly trip.  Kelsey thinks that the name "girly trip" is fruity but we're going to call it that anyways because Ms. Perrin has more seniority."

Kelsey: "Thanks mom."

Ms. Perrin:  "You're welcome.  Anyways, as I was saying, we leave tomorrow morning at 8:00 am and we'll be driving to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario."

Kelsey:  "Im so thrilled about the departure time. Because everyone knows i absolutely LOVE getting up early."

Ms. Perrin:  "Shht!  Stop interrupting me.  Anyways, Hannah & Alyssa also need to make passports for their paper plate people or we're afraid that they'll be held at the border in Washington and then lost forever.  I should go finish my 74 loads of laundry now so that the boys don't run around naked for the next 3 weeks."

Kelsey:  "I really dont mind, seeing as we're not going to be here, but im sure the neighbors will be ecstatic. THIS is why i never invite friends over.  Hey! If we have 1 more sleep to go, does this mean if i take a nap NOW we can leave when i get up?"

Ms. Perrin:  "No Kelsey unless you nap until 8:00 tomorrow morning. :P"

Kelsey:  "Go do your laundry mom."