Road Trip Stage Four: MO, KS

Back home now enjoying the temperate climate of Seattle! I've got a paper due (doesn't that sound weird? oh well...) on Friday, but I'll try to post a few more photos from the trip in between paragraphs.

Once we left Indiana, we started making our way back west. Larry and Deb, Emily's aunt & uncle, were terrific hosts.

Great with the baby, and full of trivia on Emily's dad's family :)

They're outside of St. Louis, by the way. Route map of this stretch:



Also saw their son Todd and his kids (their mom was sick, unfortunately, but last we heard she's feeling better):

Caiden and Blaike, beautiful girls.

Todd's sister Angie and her husband Rob came by to make delicious sandwiches:

Thanks again!

And then it was on to the great state of Kansas. Haley and Franklin really hit it off:

I haven't gotten through all of our photos yet, but we may have failed to capture Lonnie and Barbara Lee on film. We won't need any help remembering their wonderful hospitality, however. Thanks, and congrats on the beautiful new house!

Also drove in to Lawrence, which of course meant lunch at Zen Zero:

Can't wait until Franklin can try their curry!

Note, he did _try_ to try it the other day... hope that stain comes out of my shirt! :)

Franklin enjoyed meeting Tom:


And seeing the beautiful KU campus:




I also tried to explain to him just why I love La Prima Tazza's espresso so much:

Probably have to return when he's old enough to sample it... Likewise the growler of Free State beer we picked up for the road :)

Wonderful to see the town, and especially nice to hang out with Deron and Haley!


And as you probably know, Franklin cut a dashing figure in his new KU onesie as we approached the Colorado border:

More from our trip back west coming soon!

Road Trip Stage Three: IA, IL, IN

The fun continued as we approached our easternmost point. Great visit (a little busy, but great nonetheless) with Grandma Christine in Illinois.

Speaking of state names, here's a look at our route:



Had fun indoors, and outdoors.

At a pleasantly rainy Moraine Hills State Park:

Little touch of home :)

Also enjoyed a couple of nice visits with Franklin's great aunt Dorothy:


Then we were off south to Indiana. Of course, we had to swing through Franklin, IN. Missed the welcome sign, but this is a pretty good alternate:


Almost as soon as we arrived at Brown County State Park for the Campbell family reunion, Braxton began his weekend full of hugs for Franklin:


Great to see other cousins (and second cousins, and third cousins!) too.

Matthew, Amelia, Franklin, and Braxton.

Evan and Franklin might be too close in age to have much to say to each other for now, but at least they can exchange book recommendations :)


And Shelley was nice enough to drive down to Nashville, IN to hang out for a couple of hours.

Emily, Shelley, Emmitt, Oscar, and Isaac.

After all the excitement, we were grateful to have the chance to relax a bit at Nana and Papa's place:

Road Trip Stage Two: WY, SD, IA, NE

You know what? Driving across the country with Franklin and his mom is, well, awesome.

Here's how the second big stage looks on the map:


And here's how the little guy looks in the car:

Thanks for that lion, Gina!

Perhaps the most exciting bit so far was the night we spent camping in the Badlands.

Didn't see any snakes, but we did enjoy some great views.



Fun shadow photo Emily took of the three of us:


As promised, we saw some amazing stars. And planets. And amazing.

And then the dawn came all rosy-fingered at like 5am... At least it looked pretty good.

ῥοδοδάκτυλος

But what better company for a sunny morning in a tent?


Also had so much fun in Omaha with Mike Battershell and his family that we almost forgot to take any pictures. Fortunately, Emily got this great shot of Franklin hanging out with Sammy and his mom Alicia:

And if you're looking for even more photos, there is, of course, a set on Flickr.

All right reader, we have some fun to have in Illinois. And we will see you in Indiana!

Road Trip Stage One: WA, ID, MT

We set out Wednesday on our way to Indiana (and back!) for Emily's family reunion (on the Campbell side). Lots of drivivng, but great company.

On a clear day you can see Rainier from central Washington. Now we know! Franklin was a great sport as we set out east.

Emily got this great photo as we started out:

Starting Road Trip... Now!

Covered over 500 miles and 11 hours getting from Seattle to Bigfork on our first day:


Including a stop in Spokane to say Hi to some of Emily's coworkers at Sacred Heart. Franklin enjoyed seeing Pam again:


And he was happy to hang out with family:

Grandpa Ray on the Swan River above Bigfork.


Gma Rhonda, Franklin, and Gpa Ray at the Mountain Lake Lodge.

And some old familiar sights, like McDonald Pass:

Great spot for a diaper change: who knew? :)

And Franklin met some family for the first time:

His aunt Marisa in Helena.


And in Butte, his cousin Eponine.

Nice family photo with Gina and Eponine:


So far so fun. And I promise I'll get some photos of Emily for the next post :)