Sep 9, 2013

Summer 2013 road trip from FL to WY and back

We left Palm Coast and drove to Tulsa, OK to see Danette's cousins, Jim and Sue Wahouske.  We went boating and spent the night with them at a camp site near their home.

We then drove to Fraser, CO to see friends, Mike and Jana LaPorte.  We spent the 4th of July with them at their lovely home.  Their daughter and boyfriend were there, and we met some of their friends.  LaPorte's live in Palm Coast part of the year and CO during the summer.  We went to a concert in Winter Park, went biking and hiking, and did some sightseeing.

We drove to Jackson, WY July 8 to get the lay of the land as we had 10 people arriving July 13 for a week family vacation.  We toured Yellowstone and Grand Teton Nat'l Park, Teton Village, and Jackson Hole.   Andrea (daughter) and Sofia, Jenny (daughter) and family, Tony (son), and Mike (brother of Danette) and family arrived on July 13.  We all stayed in a great home in Teton Village with two large living areas, large kitchen, outdoor patio, large dining and kitchen area, and five bedrooms.



For seven days we had a vacation filled with activity.  Activities we did included horseback riding, hot air balloon ride, white water rafting, downhill biking, hiking, white water rafting, alpine slide, paragliding, Yellowstone National Park, and Grand Teton National Park.  Jim and I were thrilled to see the family enjoying new adventures, like paragliding, and to repeat things they enjoy, like rafting and horseback riding.  Time spent within Yellowstone and Grand Teton was an adventure for all, and the kids got their Junior Ranger badge.

After leaving WY, we drove to ND and made a stop in Montpelier to see Scott Maurer's (Danette cousin) family and other cousins.  It is always a treat to spend time in the big metropolis of Montpelier, population 87.

Fargo was our next stop for a week.  We enjoyed time with Danette's mother, Darline, and Susan (sister) and family.  It would not be a trip to this area without spending time at the lakes in MN.  We stayed at Deb Anderson's cabin for the weekend.  We went to a golf outing one day, hosted by
Bill and Cathy Yokom, where we came in last place, but the previous year's loser was happy to see us there so we could take the trophy for a change!

We then drove through Minneapolis for a stop to see Kayla (Danette's niece) before driving to Rising Sun, WI.  Jim's brother, Tom, and his wife, Kris hosted us for the weekend.   Jim's cousin and wife, Butch and Sharon, came along with Jim's sister and husband, Kathy and Gary.  After this we stopped in Milwaukee for a night get together with Jim's relatives.  We met at his cousin's restaurant and bar.  Our last night in WI was spent with Dan Zuehlke (best man in our wedding) and his wife.  It is always great to see them and we went boating, had dinner, and a few cocktails.  We left in the middle of the night and drove straight back to Palm Coast, FL.  Our total trip was about 7,000 miles.