TandemFamily: Prelude
I’m copying my personal journal of our sabbatical journey here to the blog more or less unedited. Therefore, you can get all the beauty and confusion of my stream of consciousness writing along with errors and omissions. I’ll try to make weekly posts including a video of the week. I’m not going to spend a lot of time editing text or videos at this point, that will all come in the final draft of my book and documentary.
18 August 2019 Sunday
Start: Verdi, CA End: Wells, NV
We plan to drive from California to Maine! We attended Hunter Lake ward, measured kids at the office. Drove to the California state line in Verdi for a photo then began Eastward trek. Horse trailer tire blew out 100 miles later, blessedly there was a wide shoulder area where we could be safe while changing the tire. At 9:30pm In Wells NV I noticed an bulge the size of half of a grapefruit on one of the trailer tires so we got a hotel for the night. After driving slowly one mile to the hotel the blister had grown to the size of a watermelon. I am grateful I was prompted to sleep in Wells rather than drive to the 24/7 tire store in Wendover. We would have been stranded on the side of the road just past Wells.
Colleen stayed in Reno to finish up her projects.
19 August 2019 Monday
Start: Wells, NV End: American Fork, UT
Got two new trailer tires installed, drove to American Fork and dropped of Grandma Sykes and kids. Left the horse trailer there and went to Heber to buy a new snowmobile trailer to haul the bikes. Slept at Grandma Sykes house.
21 August 2019 Wednesday
Worked on bike mounts in the new trailer and installing a new stereo in the van. At night we said prayers together, then when I came back to give the kids a kiss goodnight Patrea was leading them in studying the New Testament. She is great!
22 August 2019 Thursday
Finished stereo install, somewhat frustrating for hunter but he figured it out and did a great job. Colleen drove from Reno to Orem and we met there.
23 August 2019 Friday
We had plans to leave Utah today but decided to wait so we could learn more about Brayden Meiers future. He has been in a coma for 2 months, and today they made the heart-wrenching decision to take him off life support (in a few days). So we waited to find out if they would have a funeral in Georgia or Utah. They chose Georgia, so we will drive there directly.
Tonight we had a going-away party. Greg Sauers and his family came, it was wonderful to see them. It’s amazing how old friendships reignite even after six years of not seeing one another.
24 August 2019 Saturday
Start: Orem, UT End: Denver, CO
This morning we jacked the trailers up on blocks at the storage lot, parked the cars and started east! We told the kids we would leave by noon and we were actually on the road by 11:30am! We stopped at REI in Denver and camped at a terrible campground by the freeway and train tracks.
25 August 2019 Sunday
Start: Denver, CO End: Mormon Island State Park, Nebraska
We got kicked out of the campground at 8am because they don’t allow tents (even though they have a tent price listed on their office window). We went to church in Fort _?____, they were having Stake Conference via broadcast, but it was a terrible connection so we left early. We set up camp in the daylight (and no rain!) at Mormon Island State Park, Nebraska. They have received 10” of rain in the past week.
26 August 2019 Monday
Start: Grand Island, NE End: Springfield, MO
Beginning at 3am today we experienced a rain and thunderstorm the likes of which I have never seen. The kids did great through the storm. When it got light we discovered that our tents, pitched on high spots of ground, were surrounded by four inches of standing water from the rain. We packed up our wet tents and drove to Winter Quarters. We toured the visitors center and the temple grounds, then drove to Joy’s house in Missouri!
27 August 2019 Tuesday
Today Joy’s kids stayed home from school and we spent the entire day with them. We went to explore the Bass Pro Shops headquarters and went to dinner together. This is our first visit to their house, I wish we made the effort to visit them before now.
28 August 2019 Wednesday
Start: Springfield, MO End: Land Between the Lakes, KY
Left Fair’s after breakfast, drove to Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky. When we crossed the Mississippi and Ohio rivers the kids were amazed at their size! It feels silly to call the Truckee a river instead of a stream after seeing those.
We spent the afternoon organizing gear, loading panniers and adjusting bikes. We left the car at the North end of the park and started out on a two-night bike trip in the dark at 8pm. We rode 2 miles and set up in the dark, we have lots to learn about this!
29 August 2019 Thursday
We had camped in a rough spot in the forest, so we went to a picnic area on the lake for breakfast and started biking around 11:30am. Rode south on the main (only) road, it is beautiful and green with lots of small hills. In all we rode 30 miles, averaged 8.5 mph and took LOTS of rest breaks and finished the day ABSOLUTELY EXHAUSTED!
We need to plan about 15-20 miles each day to start our tour. We camped on the shore of the lake and swam before dinner. It was a fun day that taught us many lessons.
30 August 2019 Friday
Start: Land Between the Lakes, KY End: McMinnville, TN
Sara and I biked 18 miles to get the van while the rest packed up. We toured the bison range and wildlife preserve, then drove to Caten’s in McMinnville TN for the night.
31 Aug 2019 Saturday
Start: McMinnville, TN End: McMinnville, TN
We arose early and drove to Atlanta GA for Brayden Meiers funeral. It was wonderful, the Meier’s are a strong family. Colleen and the kids dropped me off at a hotel and drove back to Tennessee. I got the last room at the hotel as people are fleeing to Atlanta to escape Hurricane Dorian.
1 September 2019 Sunday
I flew to Reno, the family spent the day with the Caten’s.
2 September 2019 Monday
While I did office work, Hunter, Patrea and Sara rafted the Oconee River with Catens.
3 September 2019 Tuesday
Start: McMinnville, TN End: Washington DC
Colleen and the kids drove from Caten’s to Maas’s house near Washington DC
4 Semptember 2019 Wednesday
The family toured the Zoo and a few museums in DC, I caught a red-eye flight after a day at the office.
5 September 2019 Thursday
I landed in Baltmore and took the train to DC where I met the family on the Mall. We toured the Air and Space museum then visited Marie Evans. We slept at Maas’s again.
6 September 2019 Friday
Biked: 22 miles
We drove the trailer to the Tidal Basin and from there we biked to all the monuments on the Mall. We had a blast seeing the White House, visiting the Library of Congress and all the statues. We rode 22 miles.
7 September 2019 Saturday
Start: Washington DC End: Liberty Park, New Jersey
Biked: 20 miles
We left DC early and drove to the edge of Philadelphia. We biked into town and toured Constitution Hall and the Liberty Bell, then ate cheesesteak (it was disappointing). We drove through the big cities to an RV park right by the Statue of Liberty, across the river from Manhattan.
8 September 2019 Sunday
Biked: 27 miles
Today is Taylor’s 12th birthday! This morning we took the bikes on the ferry over to NYC and rode up to Central Park then over to church at the Manhattan Temple. At church we met Alex Boye and The Piano Guys, they are all incredible musicians and outstanding, faithful individuals. From there we biked to the 9/11 memorial and ferried back to camp. We rode over to Liberty Park and cooked dinner within sight of the Statue of Liberty.
9 September 2019 Monday
Start: Liberty Park, NJ End: Plymouth MA
We got an early start to get out of the city before traffic, but still had a harrowing experience driving our big van and trailer through New York City. We drove to Boston and took the subway into Boston Common where we met Josh. He’ll come with us to Palmyra and then drive the van to Joy’s house. We walked the Freedom Trail and climbed to the top of the Bunker Hill tower. We camped at an RV park new Plymouth, MA.
10 September 2019 Tuesday
Start:Plymouth, MA End: October ??? State Park, MA
We spent the morning exploring the Plimoth Plantation and learning about our ancestors way of life. Then we drove to a beautiful state park for the night.
11 September 2019 Wednesday
Start: October ??? State Park, MA End: Fillmore Glenn State Park
Visited Susquehana River and the Priesthood Restoration site. The visitor center is new there, the church has done a fantastic job there. We had a very spiritual visit. We camped at Fillmore Glenn State Park
12 September 2019 Thursday
Start: Fillmore Glenn State Park End: Palmyra, NY
On the way North we visited the Whitmer Farm, which is the site of the completion of the translation of the Book of Mormon and the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
We camped at the Twilight by the Erie RV park and spent the remainder of the day getting ready for Josh to leave with the van. We washed laundry and sorted through our piles of gear to separate out what we would keep with us on the bikes. We had ordered two Outdoor Ukulele’s and had them shipped to Palmyra, where we picked them up today. They are made out of the same type of material as Nalgene water bottles, so they’re weatherproof and nearly indestructible.