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Dear Journal,

Yesterday, we picked Dad up at the airport.  He is going to stay with us for a while. 

Today we went to a fossil quarry.  We found many trilobites.  It was kind of boring for people like me who don’t particularly enjoy smashing rocks with a hammer. 

On our way there and back, we saw many very cute cows, and baby cows.

We gorilla glued many things on the table there.  I even spelled "U-Dig" which is the name of the fossil quarry.  Unlike his competitor, a man who likes to refer to himself as the "King of the Trilobites", the man who owns U-Dig Fossils likes to refer to himself as the local quarry slave.

Dom is a poor Jewish Italian who lives in Napoli.  When his mother puts him on a boat headed to Ellis Island all Dom wants is to go back to his family in Napoli.  He just needs to find a way. 

Although he knows next to nothing about New York he listens and observes.  Its also helpful that his mother gave him a pair of nice shoes which helps him because people think he is rich.  He meets people and makes many friends because he is so nice and helpful and honest.  But Dom still wants to get home. 

So he and his friends Tin Pan Alley and Gaetano open a sandwich shop with the help of Grandinetti a fresh produce seller and a trusted friend of Dom.  They discover that they can buy a long sandwich for 25 cents and sell a quarter of it for 25 cents.  Before long people begin to trust their business and he’s selling thousands of sandwiches. 

He earns enough money to go home but he no longer wants to.  He has built too much trust and so many friendships.  Because Dom has become The King of Mulberrry Street.

The book, Paint The Wind, by Pam Munoz Ryan, is about a girl, Maya, who has been living with her no-nonsense Grandmother (on her dad’s side) since both of her parents died in a car accident.  She is practically imprisoned by her Grandma who absolutely hates Maya’s dead mom.  She bars anything with any relation to her mom from the house.

Maya yearns to learn more of her mother, and the horses that her mom deeply loved.  When her grandma dies a sudden death, Maya is sent to live with the family from her mothers side.  Her grandma had always called them dirty hillbillies and that’s why she never took Maya to see them. 

Maya learns that almost everything her grandma taught her was wrong.  She learns to understand other people, like her cuz in Payton who acts very annoying but when she gets to know him she realizes now nice he is.  She learns to love her Grandpa Moose, Uncle Fig, and Aunt Vi.  And she learn to trust Artamasia, her moms horse.  When the horse and get caught in a storm and are forced to live in wilderness they bond like glue. 

Maya learns to be a better person and she learns a big lesson in life, to live a little.

The Willoughby’s are a truly old fashioned family.  They even find a baby on their doorstep.  The children – Tim, Barnaby A, Barnaby B, and Jane – all decide that they should be orphans.  They begin conducting a malevolent plan to get rid of their parents.  The plan included sea voyages and pirates.  Little do they know that their parents are also conducting a truly diabolical plan to get rid of them that includes an odious nanny, and a real estate agent.

Manny classic stories, including Mary Poppins, Huckleberry Finn, and Polyanna, make an appearance in this story.  Things including villains, odious nannies, abandoned infants, long lost relatives, and late –life romance declare this story an “old-fashion” parody.

Today, we are driving to Utah from Idaho.  We are going to pick up Dad in

Salt Lake City.  On the way, we accidentally made a wrong turn that took us 1 hour out of our way…AND IT WASN’T MY FAULT!!!  It was Mom’s!!!

We went to the Sacajawea Center.  I learned that Lewis & Clark had a code so that if they were to send a top secret message to President Jefferson, it would stay secret.  What I think was funny was that the key to the code was “artichokes!”  I guess it’s cuz every letter in the word is different. 

After that, we had to drive another hour back in the correct direction.

Then, we got to the Lava Hot Springs pool. It was fun when we went down the fast slides!  When we finally arrived in Salt Lake City, it was midnight!

We have been staying at the Redfish Lodge in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho.  It is on the side of a lake.

On our first day staying here, I rented a mountain bike.  I went biking around trails.  I saw 2 boys about my age who didn’t look all that strong, and were skinny.  They had a rope tied around some huge logs.  I asked them what they were doing.  They said that they were moving some cut down tree that fell atop a trail.  Somehow, the weak, skinny boys did it.

Later that day, I caught 3 fish bottom lining.  Alex caught zero. 

I also went paddle boarding while my mom and bro kayaked.  Paddleboards look like long board surfboards, except they have different fins on the underside, and they have foam on the top so you don’t need surf wax or a rash guard.  You stand on it, and paddle with a paddle thing.  It was really fun.  I was not horrible.  I only fell a few times in the hour that I had it rented.

Dear Journal,

We left Kayla last attempting to escape a bird refuge where her evil parenting unit known as "Mother" attempted to make her learn.  Kayla managed to escape, thus preserving her ignorance.  But, on her way out, "Mother" and sibling unit "Alex" recaptured her, and are taking her to Glacier National Park.

August 13, 2009

On the way to Glacier National Park, parenting unit "Mother" once again attempted to rid her life of Kayla.  At a Huckleberry Stand, she purchased a bag of huckleberries and presented them to Kayla.  "Mother" also added a few drops of deadly poison to the bag.  Little did "Mother" know that Kayla had created an immunity to said poison by adding a safe amount of it to her own food prior to the huckleberry incident.  "Mother" was amazed (and very disappointed) when Kayla gobbled up the berries and wasn’t in the least bit sick.  Although "Mother" was not pleased by the outcome of the huckleberry incident, she thought up a new plan to get rid of Kayla once and for all.

Still on the way to Glacier National Park, "Mother", "Alex" and Kayla came across a rampage of bison.  "Mother" requested that Kayla take a picture of them.  Noticing the danger of the raging animals outside the car, Kayla refused.  But upon being offered 5$ by "Mother," Kayla finds it difficult to refuse.  With camera in hand, Kayla pokes her head out the sun roof of the car.  She pushes her entire body up so that she is standing on the roof. 

Horrid bison snarl brutally around her.  Kayla takes a few pictures, as "Mother" laughs and begins to close the sun roof.  Noticing the problem, Kayla, holding the sun roof in one hand and the camera in the other, pushes back with inhuman strength.  She opens it enough to slide through, and returns the camera to her dismayed parenting unit and redeems her money.

August 14, 2009

We still have not arrived in Glacier National Park, but parenting unit "Mother" is still devising a plan to get rid of Kayla in a horrible sort of way.  Although Kayla would be perfectly happy to return to her hometown in New York, that is  a much too pleasant and simple fate for her.  No, "Mother" must think up a more drastic way to rid Kayla from her life, one that will get rid of Kayla forever.

On the way, "Mother" noticed a road-side stop that could possibly fulfill her goal to get rid of Kayla.  The roadside attraction was called Bear Adventure. Upon entering, we noticed numerous "Danger" and "Enter at your own risk" signs.  Another sign declared that our car was our cage, and it most certainly was!

Vicious, man-eating bears surrounded our car.  Although there were many signs that said that we were not allowed to open our windows, "Mother" ignored them and rolled down her window to get a better picture.  She "accidentally" dropped her camera case out the window, and asked Kayla to get it for her like in the bison incident.  Kayla refused, but when "Mother" offered her money, Kayla could not refuse. 

As Kayla climbed out the car, "Mother" slipped a Huckleberry-Honey sandwich in Kayla’s back pocket.  Kayla retrieved the camera case, and slipped it through the window which "Mother" quickly closed.  As Kayla made her way around the front of the car, three bears made their way towards her.  They sniffed the air then walked towards Kayla.  With a low growl the bears charged.

Surprised, Kayla growled back.  The bears all threw their sharp claws at Kayla.  She fought back.  Unfortunately, for the bears, they were boy Grizzlies and Kayla kicked them in the groin.  As the bears fell to the floor in pain, Kayla slipped into the car.

"Mother" was dumbstruck as Kayla sat down she felt a squishy thing in her back pocket.  She reached in to find a sandwich.  With a pleased look on her face, she gobbled it down.

Later that day, upon arriving at Glacier National Park, "Mother" formed another diabolical plan to dispose of Kayla with the potential benefit of losing sibling unit "Alex" also.  Originally, "Mother" planned to tire us to death on a hike, but at the trail head she noticed a sign.  It said to beware of flying squirrels.  This gave her a plan that was certainly ten times more malicious.

As we made our way through the Trail of the Cedars, we noticed that it was teeming with life.  The rainforest was also very wet.  It is very curious that there should be a rainforest in Northwest America, but there was … laughing, a cackling laugh.  "Mother" stepped to the side of the trail.  She announce that she was taking a picture of some uprooted trees, and for us to go one up ahead.

We went on ahead a bit, then stopped to wait for "Mother."  About ten minutes later, "Mother" came by and was dismayed to discover that "Alex" and Kayla were completely unscathed.  Although there were plenty of ground squirrels everywhere, we saw no flying squirrels.

August 15, 2009

Today, Parent Unit "Mother" did not try to specifically kill Kayla (although the opportunities were plentiful.)  No, she has become much wiser through the previous attempts. 

She has realized that Kayla is much too amazing, witty, brawny, perspicacious, and savvy.  Furthermore, the author of this book has realized that it is easier and faster to pretend that today was a normal day and she wants to go fishing and her Parent Unit "Mother" said she could not fish until she finished catching up her journal up to the current day (an obvious attempt at boring Kayla to death.)  So, here we go with a fake "normal" journal entry.

Today, we went on the Road To The Sun.  It was awfully windy and extremely dangerous.  We went to a Visitor Center where we watched a movie and did Junior Ranger programs.  We also saw bighorn sheep on the side of the road.  They were walking around like it’s nobody’s business.

August 16, 2009

We are still pretending that Kayla’s days are normal so she can go fly fishing sooner.  Sooo here it goes.

Today we went on a hike from Logan’s Pass.  It was very foggy, it was like we were in a cloud (which we were.)  It also rained a lot.  We saw a mountain goat.  It was really cute.  It actually came up to us!

August 17, 2009

Today, we went on a boat trip.  We crossed two lakes to get to the place where we went for a hike.  It was a naturalist guided hike.  We saw a pretty waterfall.  We also had to cross a bridge.

It was the kind of bridge that shakes when you walk on it, and only holds one person at a time.  Everyone held the rails and walked slowly and stumbled a lot.  I power walked down the center, holding no rails, and not stumbling once. At the same time, Alex shook the bridge from the other end.  That just shows how strong I am.

This post is for the 2009 Blog Action Day on Climate Change.

Blog Action Day:

• Blog Action Day Pollution Story (2007)
• Blog Action Day Poverty (2008)

Dear Journal,

Today we went to the Not So Pah Hot Springs in Idaho.  The water was warm.  We went on a water slide.

Later we went to some Ice Caves.  It was really cold.  It was boring.

Even later we ate at an A&W for the first time.  They don’t have any in New York!  I was disappointed to learn that they did not sell A&W Cream Soda.  So, instead, I got their draft root beer.  It was delicious, way better than bottled ones.  I also got a cheeseburger.  It was OK.  I got one of the mugs to keep.   For dessert, I got an orange cream milkshake.  It was good.

Dear Journal,

We visited Ranch 71 in Nevada, and stayed there for a couple of days. 

The first day we went on a 2 hour horseback riding trip.  We were checking to see if the cattle had water in the troughs.  They did in all but one which we turned the water valve on.

The next day, we took a 5 hour horseback riding trip.  Like the day before, I rode Little Red.  I combed his hair and braided a piece of it. 

We rode into the Ruby Mountains.  I even swam in a pond there.  It was cold.  Not a lot of people can say they swam on the Ruby Mountains which still have snow on them in the summer.

We also found some leeches when we rested by the pond.  A bunch of them stuck to my foot when I went swimming.  I asked my mom if I could keep them, but she said NO:(

At Ranch 71, I also met Stretch Magoon and Happy Jack.  They are two of the many shooters who dress in old west clothing and shoot at metal targets with single action revolvers.  The event was called Cowboy Action Shooters Tournament.

Dear Journal,

Today we are on Route 375… a.k.a. the Extraterrestrial Highway.  It’s a long, long, long road.  For a while, the road was even unpaved.  The speed limit was 70 mph, but my mom found herself accidentally speeding at 100 mph at some points. 

She was afraid that a cop might catch her, but I explained to her that this road probably got 3 or 4 visitors a day, and no cop in his right mind would be stationed here.

We also went to a restaurant call A’Le’Inn.  They had good hamburgers.  it was all alien themed.  It even had a flying saucer in the front.

Despite our efforts to spot UFOs on this highway, all we saw were cows and antelopes.  I don’t believe in UFOs anyways.  Although the roads were so long and vacant, we could understand how someone driving it alone might become delusional enough to think that they spotted a UFO.