The World of Mackay

While we were sad to leave Under Canvas, we were excited about the animals and other amazing sights we would see inside Yellowstone. We hit traffic immediately at the gate, but the staff moved everyone quickly along. Thanks to Mackay still being considered in the 4th grade until the end of August (and Obama for putting this program in place), the kid finally saved us money instead of costing us! Free admission for 4th graders and their families to any national park. Yay! You do need to register and print your pass before you show up though. One we clear the gate, we drive fairly smoothly from the West entrance of the park, headed to Lake Yellowstone to find our cabin. We had only one tactical error. Knowing we had a few hours to kill before check in, we saw a sign for Norris Geyser basin, and thought 'let's go check it out.' Note: it's about 1pm, and we're here the 4th of July week. We pull into the 1-way section that leads to the parking lot, and it's absolu...

We left Jackpot NV with zero traffic, crossing the border into Idaho in a matter of minutes. Our first charging station was in Twin Falls, ID - and damn, I sure wish we had stayed here instead of Jackpot! The Snake River Valley is stunning. Since it was July 4, there were dozens of kayakers paddling around under the spectacular bridge. View to the left of lookout (ignore my finger) View to the right of lookout The town is manageable and manicured, with green rolling lawns around every office park and shopping center. While we were charging, we went in search of a sporting good store where we could find a collapsible oven that would work on top of our camp stove, so we could bake Bill a belated birthday cake. Thanks to Sportman's, we found it. A stop at Starbucks for breakfast provisions, and we were on our way. The drive through Idaho was pretty, with cute farmhouses and LOTS of cornfields as we make our way to Pocatallo, ID for our second Tesla charge of the day. It w...

Note to reader: This is a post from Bill - I believe it's the second one since I started the blog many moons ago! --------------------- I woke up around 3 a.m. this morning, as I do almost every morning these days, and thought about turning fifty today and what the future will bring. If you'd asked me ten years ago about turning fifty, chances are 50/50 (no pun intended) that I would have answered, "I doubt I'll make it to fifty." Why I thought that then is unclear to me, but it turns out it was more accurate than I would have liked. Several years of battling cancer, recovering from that battle, both physically and emotionally, and trying to help my family stay healthy definitely took its toll. So, to my forties, I say, "don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out; but if it does, good riddance!" Despite the challenges of the last decade, I have learned so much about being human; perhaps more than I wanted. Nothing like having everyone ...

Our goal today was to make some good progress toward our stay in Yellowstone. The first few hours through the Nevada high desert was easy. The scenery is a bit bleak, with fairly uniform grey scrub, and the mountains in the distance. Our first stop to charge the car was in Lovelock, NV - conveniently located at the Chevron station, across from a McDonald's (yay, health food!) and a dollar store where Mackay picked up a t-shirt with her vacation mantra. While I have always loved road trips, Bill can attest to the fact that before we had the Tesla, I was a 'don't stop until we get there' sort of driver. If you're hungry or have to pee, too bad. With kids especially, this new mode of driving is so nice! Via the GPS, the car tells you how long you can go until the next charge, identifies the supercharger locations, and even tells you how long you need to charge before you continue on your trip. In most cases, it's less than an hour to get a close to full charge...

We made it to Graeagle. An easy drive from Tahoe -- took us a bit over an hour, even with busy holiday traffic. Graeagle does their 4th of July fireworks on the closest Saturday to the Fourth, so this year they were on June 30th. We arrived with provisions on hand, as my mom had been down with pneumonia for a few days. Very glad we could be there to help her. I made a batch of chicken noodle soup, and we settled the cat into her new surroundings. She'd been here before, so it didn't take long. The kids love Graeagle (and their Nana!) so we spent our time on simple things, like decorating the wagon for the fireworks celebration. It's a short hike (a few miles) from my Mom's house to downtown Graeagle, and we took her aging dog, Maverick, with us on the walks we took to into town each day for ice cream and other necessities. If you're ever in the area, the salted caramel ice cream at Buckaroo Chocolates is to die for. Despite 5 days of antibiotics, my mom w...

Ok - after a 5 year blog hiatus, we are back to the World of Mackay (Owen is slightly offended that he is not part of the blog title, but I started it right after Mackay was born). Since Bill and I are both off work this summer, we have decided to take the road trip we have dreamed of. Originally, we were planning to drive all the way to New York and then come back via a southerly route. However, due to some serious back problems for Bill - we decided to reduce the mileage and focus on the western national parks -- which we have never really explored. To make things more interesting/complicated, we chose to drive our Tesla, which puts some general constraints on our route, as we have to stay somewhat within reach of the Tesla charging network . The other thing we learned about trying to plan a trip to national parks is that you need to start at least a year in advance if you want to have campsites or hotel rooms inside a park. Oops. Anyway, we are cobbling together a combo of camps...

Not sure if Owen is hard of hearing or he just doesn't pay attention, but his most likely response to any statement or question lately is 'What??' He says it very quickly, with a clipped enunciation and a hard 't' that makes it sounds like we are - quite possibly - wasting his time. It's pretty funny, and has largely become a part of our family vernacular.