Normal Family of 4 - 39 days MO, KS, OK, NM, CO, UT, NV, OR, CA, WA. + AZ and TX

[sean257]

Wife - Kari, kids - Alli 11 and Jake 7, along with myself piled into a 2000 LX470 with 140,000 miles to take a 39 day road trip from MO to the west coast. We experienced a small sliver of the western half of our great country, and would not have come back if this stuff were free, and the kids didn't have to go back to school.

I wrote more extensively on our family blog (more words than pics) about the idea and planning for this trip, and will write more about the trip there as I have the time.
www.normalfam.com

Here I want to share photo's and basic information in this thread, as this forum is where these ideas came from for me.

The road trip really started in Phoenix this spring when we bought one way tickets to find a rust free vehicle to buy, take the trip in, and sell when we were done. While the kids were on spring break we flew out and drove a 2000 LX470 back home. Luckily I found the vehicle after I purchased the tickets, but before we arrived. The seller met us at the airport, and off we went. Before we arrived, he even agree to take it to a shop so we could get new tires, and have the running boards removed.

Still in urban clothes

Trying our new car in Sedona.

We were able to drive on the OHV trails and do some hiking for a few days around Sedona. The weather was waaaaay better than back in St. Louis!

Jake relaxing after the climb up the mesa

 

[sean257]

We left Sedona via OHV trails and FS roads before heading back to Phoenix for a few nights before driving home.

We stopped to see Motezuma's Castle NM and get a national park pass.

Jake likes big cacti.

We left AZ and headed to Albuquerque to have Dinner and drinks with my brother and his family, and sleep for the night. The next day we had time to go see balloons and drive up Sandia Crest, before heading towards Amarillo. The kids chased down a balloon and got to get in the basket, then help them fold it up and put it away.

Outside of Amarillo the kids scored some spray paint from another family that was leaving.

Dinner

Our Airbnb for the night was in the back of a pole barn, but was remarkably nice!

The next morning (Easter) the kids opened their Easter baskets and we headed towards Wichita KS on two lane roads in order to avoid freezing rain forcasted for Tulsa. The weather was crappy, so we had to skip visiting Palo Duro Canyon.

 

[sean257]

I was a little concerned about finding a place open for Lunch in rural TX on Easter Sunday, but we found a buffet in Higgins, TX. It was ok.

Even though it was cold, we stopped and hid Easter eggs in Boiling Springs State Park in Oklahoma.

We picked up the interstate again and had a boring drive from Wichita back to St. Louis.

Over the next couple of months I had the front axles replaced with OEM, flushed the AHC and Diffs, put a box, shovel and gas can on the roof and packed our stuff. We were ready to roll.

 

[sean257]

We left St. Louis for Lake of the Ozarks, and took back roads once out of STL. We stopped by a creek that we drove through and let the kids play for a while. It was pretty hot, but breezy from storms in the area.

When we went to leave, Jethro wouldn't start. That is what we named the Lexus, Jethro, so maybe she was mad about that. Anyway, the key turned, but didn't feel like it was attached to anything. Luckily, one of the responses to a thread I posted on the Landcruiser forum was instructions on how to start it after the ignition linkage broke. I had printed it out and put the instructions with our tools and things. Good thing, because I would not have figured that ******** out, and there was no cell service.

The bad piece

After stealing our own vehicle, we made it to the lake for the weekend, and I ordered the part with overnight shipping from a Toyota wholesaler in Kansas City. The part came Saturday afternoon and took less than an hour to install in the wonderfully humid 97 degree heat. We decided to rent the lake house on Airbnb to help with the trip finances, so Sunday we had to do all kinds of last minute stuff to make sure our place was ready before we left. Instead of leaving between 1 and 2 we left at around 4:30. Alli tried to sneak two huge stuffed animals into Jethro before we left. "We don't have room for that ********, take it back inside!" It ended up being lucky that she did because we didn't lock the closet in the house where we put all of our personal things, and forgot the bag with all of our bathroom stuff (toothbrushes deodorant, etc.). We compromised, because of the save, and let her bring her horse named cowboy.

Yes, socks and flip flops. I put some shoes on and off we went into the sunset, eventually.

We stopped in Fort Scott, KS for dinner at Sharky's before continuing on to our Airbnb for the night, a basement in Wichita. I didn't take any pictures, but it was a walk out basement in a nice neighborhood.

We slept well, ate cereal and hit the road towards Liberal, KS

Flat Kansas.

 

[sean257]

While having lunch in Pratt, KS we found out about the hot and cold water towers on the edge of town and the deepest hand dug well in Greensburg, KS.

The big well museum is a relatively new LEED certified building, that seems out of place here.

Stepping inside the museum answered the questions of why the museum is new, and why there are empty blocks surrounding it, and seemingly out of place home designs. 95% of the town was destroyed by an EF5 tornado May 4th 2007. The ladies working in the museum pointed out, on a huge photograph displayed inside of the museum, the houses they were in when the tornado hit. The tornado was wider than the town, killed 11, and left all of the towns residents homeless. The school, fire department, water tower - all gone. It was powerful to read about and sad to see.

Marine One flies over tornado damage in Greensburg, Kansas, Wednesday, May 9, 2007. (Charles Dharapak/AP Photo)

As we walked across the empty blocks from the well museum to the history museum in the extreme heat and blast furnace winds, the old house foundations and sidewalks still remained.
We raced the heat to eat ice cream on the rooftop patio of the museum then headed back into the endless farm fields in search of a round barn we saw pictures and a model of in the museum. Down gravel and dirt roads, and past huge windmills we found the big round barn. Somehow I didn't take any pictures of the outside, but did take some inside. There was no one at the round barn, just a box for donations.

Mullinsville, KS

We continued on to the Hampton Inn in Liberal for the night. We ate, saw some old rail cars, then let the kids swim before bed.

In the morning we had free stale cinnamon rolls, got some Subway to put in the cooler for lunch, and checked out the Liberal Air Museum.

 

[sean257]

After the air museum we hit gravel roads towards Boise City, OK

It was hot, dry, flat, and straight so we let the kids drive for a while.

We ate our sandwiches at the three state marker KS, OK, and CO. There used to be a windmill standing here, but now it lays twisted on the ground.

An amazing amount of nothing.

I wouldn't let her go much over 30mph, because every once in a while you would hit deeper loose gravel that would steer you. She knows how to drive, but still, we were a long way from help if we did anything too stupid.

Alli driving the Miata She even knows how to clutch and shift. Not bad for 11

 

[molanginaeda]

Can I ask what mounting option you use for the inReach? I can't find any good option.

 

[sean257]

Can I ask what mounting option you use for the inReach? I can't find any good option.

I used this Ram Mount. It wasn't the best, but it worked. I do not currently know of a better option.

 

[sean257]

We ended up getting to Boise City mid afternoon, went to our Airbnb in a nice older couples home and unloaded our stuff for the night.

Our Airbnb

It was hot out, and there is not a whole lot in Boise City, so we went to the Dust Bowl museum on the edge of town. It was surprisingly fascinating. They relocated an old house, school and train station from the era to the museum grounds. There was also a pole barn full of old cars and wagons and another full of old tractors. The museum closed at 4, but they let us stay and look at stuff, and we turned off the lights and locked up when we were done.

We finished up and had dinner, then went for a walk around town. The kids took their hiking poles after someone warned us about loose dogs that may not be friendly.

The town's ball field

Boise City, OK from 400'

The next morning we packed up and headed towards New Mexico then Colorado.

The last of the plains

We took pavement, then gravel/dirt to go see dinosaur tracks in a dry creek bed near Black Mesa in OK, then had lunch at the three state marker for OK, NM and CO

Jake jumping rope in three states

 

[sean257]

Next we headed up to Capulin Volcano National Monument.

Looking back towards the mesas and plains from the top of the old volcano.

We came down from the Volcano and headed towards Trinidad CO. for the night. The next day we headed towards La Veta, CO via Cordova Pass.

Ludlow ghost town

Heading into the mountains.

We found a pin on Google maps that said Icelandic Horses. Since Alli is a big horse lover we figured we would go check it out. Not the easiest place to find, and there were no signs, but we found it eventually, and ended up being there for a couple of hours.

Moving on we found a nice spot to stop and eat our sandwiches by a creek.

Apishapa Arch

Poor guy can't catch a break.

 

[sean257]

Bear near the road.

We stopped at Cordova Pass and hiked up the West Spanish peak trail a couple of miles. Even without going to the peak, the views are pretty.

Getting to the La Veta Inn for the night, we checked in and went to get some pizza. The inn had a courtyard, so we ate our pizza there, drank some beers, and the kids played some pool before we crashed for the night.

 

[sean257]

After La Veta, we took pavement so we could see Great Sand Dunes NP.

The kids were able to make friends and borrow a board to slide down the dunes on

Our dome Airbnb in Crestone, CO.

The next day took us over Marshall Pass and the continental divide

Another lunch and another creek. We ate and the kids played for a while.

After Marshall Pass, hitting the pavement again allowed us to go and see Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP. We stopped to check in to our cabin at a campground near Cimmaron then over to the Black Canyon.

We ate in Montrose, then headed back to the campground where the kids played, I drank some beer and looked at the mountains, and Kari drank wine. We also used the laundry room.

 

[sean257]

The kids took advantage of a little screen time after dark.

Not being in any particular hurry in the morning, we set up the hammock for the kids to play in while we re packed.

We went back to Black Canyon to see the rest of the view points, and go to the visitors center, before hiking the short 1.3 mile 300 vert ft Oak Flat trail.

For the night we went down to Ouray and stayed in the Hot Springs Inn

 

[sean257]

In the morning we drove up Yankee Boy basin, and used 4 low for the first time on the trip.

An amazingly beautiful place, we went up as high as we could, then came back down to the waterfall for lunch and play.

Eventually we headed back down and took the Million Dollar Highway to Silverton where we stayed in an old building above a store for the next two nights. It looks like people come to Silverton to visit during the day and stay overnight in other towns. Those people are all smarter than us.

In the morning we got our backpacks ready, and headed to the trail head for Ice Lakes. While not a super long hike, the trail gains 2,500 vertical feet, and starts at El. 9,800' We told the kids that if they made it up 2000' they could get ice cream and if they made it to the top they could have a stuffed animal.

It was amazingly beautiful, but hard, and full of mosquitoes.

 

[sean257]

Eating their ice cream reward back in Silverton.

Before heading towards Telluride we went up to the ghost town at Animas Forks. Pretty cool area.

On to Telluride via Ophir Pass.