Eloise USA trip

8. Glacier National Park with the Hochhaus family

September 23-29, 2021
 
We were in Glacier National Park for around 2 days. We stayed at a house in Columbia falls, MT. 

At our house, there was a really nice, cute cat named little cat. Sophie and I really loved him, and Allison started loving him a couple days after us. A bird crashed into one of the big windows and started spinning around on his side on the ground. I screamed when I saw him because I felt really bad, and it was scary. We saw probably tamed Elk because they were inside of a fence. At least we saw them! We also saw a black bear and a grizzly bear! Sadly, we did not see any wolves or moose. We watched night in the museum at the house. Today, sadly, we had to drive Allison to the airport. Sophie went in their rental car. We could not find the rest of the family at first because they were returning their rental car. But eventually we saw Allison’s dad come in when we we’re waiting. And then, we went over and saw Sophie and their mom, and I helped pull Allison’s bag. When we got back, there were deer in our front yard. They were just watching us trying to pull into our driveway. Mom stayed home so we told her when we got inside, and she got to see them. I think they were white tailed deer, but I don’t know.

I really liked our time in Glacier National Park and with the Hochhaus. I really miss Allison and Sophie.

7. Yellowstone National Park

September 11, 2021
 
In Yellowstone National Park, my Aunt Saundra came to travel with us in Yellowstone. We saw bison, geysers, hot springs and more! We watched a geyser called Old Faithful erupt several times! It went pretty high up! We also visited crested pool which a nine your old boy named Andrew died in in 1970. We got to see bubbling mud pots. We also got to see cascading terraces at mammoth hot springs!

We walked on a trail of boardwalk and dirt and we saw hundreds more geysers and hot springs! We also visited Black Pool and Abyss Pool. I don’t get Why they named it black pool because it is a Caribbean blue.

Abyss pool looks black. We also saw Elk, a Bull Elk, Bison and Mountain Goats on our Wildlife Tour. Our Wildlife tour went through Lamar Valley and Hayden Valley. We even got to see a baby Mountain Goat with its mom!!! We saw a couple bears as well not on the Wildlife Tour. I saw a Brown Bear scurrying away and my mom and I saw a grizzly bear mom and her cub! I only saw the mom though. At least I saw her! On our Grand tour we saw the Grand Prismatic spring, Grey Jays, stinky bathrooms (I almost got sick it was so stinky), Bees and wilderness! I really loved my time in Yellowstone National Park and with Aunt Saundra.
 
Geothermal Features For upper elementary:

In a hot spring, you can tell how hot it is based on the color. For example, blue is the hottest color. It is around 198 degrees Fahrenheit. If it is green, it is around 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Yellow is around 147 degrees Fahrenheit. Do you know the average temperature of the human body? If not, it is around 98 degrees Fahrenheit. That doesn’t mean that you can go and touch a green hot spring though.

Did you know that if you are on the boardwalk at the Grand Prismatic Spring, you can get hidden behind blue steam if it is very steamy? The reason the steam is blue is because of a reflection coming off the spring. By the way, if you happen to go to a national park, make sure to get the junior ranger program! Most of the time it’s free but in Yellowstone National Park it was three dollars. That is the only one that I’ve gotten that costs money but there are probably others that cost money as well, but I’ve never done them. You also get badges and rewards and stuff after completing them and turning them in. Have you heard about Gabby Petito? Very sad. Apparently, they found her remains in Grand Teton National Park after she had been missing for a while. They are not sure that they are her remains because they have no identification but either way it’s not good. I hope that you guys get to do a junior ranger program!! 
 
6. Horse-riding in Cody City, Wyoming
September 9, 2021
 
In Cody, my dad and I went horseback riding. My horse was named Black Jack. As you can imagine, he was a Black horse with a dark brown shine in the light. My dad’s horse was named Gus. He was a medium dark-ish brown horse. After the trail ride, I said the only thing I didn’t like about trail rides was that I like to go fast, and you can’t go fast on a trail ride. The man that sat in the shack (the front desk kind of area) offered to let me go in the big circle pen with Dusty Rose. Dusty Rose was a white, light-ish brown speckled horse. She was a really nice and cute horse.

My dad kept on telling me to put both hands on the reins, but I did it once and almost fell off and I wasn’t wearing a helmet, so I didn’t do it again and I just kept one hand on the saddles horn and one hand on the reins. Dusty Rose kept on stopping at the gate and she was a bit stubborn when I tried to turn her. I also had to kick her sides and kind of whip the Below where the reins were when I held the reins on the back on her neck. But overall, she was a great horse. I loved my time in Cody, Wyoming. If you ever go to Cody, make sure you go to Cedar Mountain Trail Rides!!!. Bye! Cody, Wyoming

 
5. South Dakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and Wounded Knee Massacre Site, 
Sunday, September 5, 2021
 
Today, we visited Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. It was not at all what I expected. Almost everyone lives in mobile homes and the stores are full of unhealthy food like dr pepper cotton candy. And yes they actually had that. You might have heard about those candy cigarettes that they stopped selling around 20 years ago because people thought that it would make kids think that smoking was glamorous. They would even walk down the street with it sticking half out of their mouth! Well anyways, they had it at the store along with a type of Doritos we had never seen before, tangy ranch, so we got two packs of candy cigarettes and one bag of tangy ranch Doritos. We also went to the wounded knee massacre site in the reservation and there was an older lady and a younger lady selling hand made dreamcatchers, medicine wheels and jewelry with porcupine quills, buffalo teeth, bone and hide.

We talked to her for a long time about Indian history and what the dream catchers meant based on their parts. We saw two buffalo, prairie dogs and their mounds and beautiful horses. Even gray ones. We went to a graveyard, but we left quickly because I was feeling uncomfortable.

 
4. Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Medora, North Dakota

Thursday, September 2
 
On Friday morning, my dad and I went to a place called Medora Riding Stables. We got to ride horses up and down The Painted Canyon, North Dakota Badlands with some other people and the guide. Yesterday when we saw them, after, my dad asked when we were going to see The Painted Canyon because it wasn’t painted and he thought that wasn’t it. The horse that I rode was named Hoss. He was really sweet and kind. We got to be right behind the tour guide. That means that Hoss and I were in front of all the other rider except for the tour guide! We were really lucky in that way! My dad rode a horse named Steel. Steel was a white-ish grey colored horse with brown and black-ish spots. Hoss was cream colored. They were a couple of kittens (including a mini Rosie, my cat)and I got to hold mini Rosie on the way out! I think she was a couple months old because she was so tiny!!  She was so cute! Hoss trotted a couple times because I kicked his sides a bit to make him go a bit faster because we were falling behind. Before we left the stables, Lexi, the tour guide said it was a walk only trail. We even got to see the Medora Musical later that night!!

On Saturday morning, we visited Theodore Roosevelt National Park! The only national park named after a person! We saw over 20 Bison and lots and lots of Prairie Dogs!!! I even got a Prairie dog shirt! I got a bison Theodore Roosevelt Hydro flask sticker! We even saw a big herd of wild horses! My dad and I got out of the car, but my mom stayed in and drove up further. The horses crossed the road right in front of her! The first Buffalo we saw was six feet away from us!! It’s too bad we were in the car. We saw a tree that was cut down by a beaver.

Ever since I went on Hoss, I had been begging my mom to let me go horseback riding again, and somehow, we found a man and a woman training their horses to be trail horses. They were both riding a horse and the man was pulling a rope attached to another horse. My mom asked if I could ride for a short time to some people that we farther up on the trail and then back. I was really happy to be on a horse again even though the stirrups were way to long. We were just riding for a couple minutes. I got my second national park stamp for my national park passport book. I used all of the stamps that they had, and I used two pages.

3. Minnesota: Laura ingalls Wilder and George Floyd

The day after, We went to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove, Minnesota. I got a Laura Ingalls Wilder dress, apron and two bonnets!! My mom also got a bonnet.

Yesterday, we got to ride Lyft bikes around the Minneapolis sculpture garden and crossed a bridge over a road to loring park. I got to ride on an ebike which is kind of electric. I really liked It. 

Earlier today, we went to the place where George Floyd was killed. It was even spray painted on the ground where he was killed. It was sad to see it. It also had names of other people who were killed. There is (or was) someone named Ahmaud Arbery who was jogging around his neighborhood when some white people chased and shot him. He was only twenty five.

Right now we are in the middle of driving to Jamestown, North Dakota. I think we are in North Dakota but I’m not sure. I think the Stockman House was very unique. It even had a bear rug!!!

2. Mason City, Iowa-Minnesota
Saturday, August 28-Wednesday to September 1, 2021

We were on the way to Mankato, Minnesota when we got hungry and decided to stop in Mason City, Iowa to get dinner. We stopped at a restaurant called The Quarry Restaurant & Tapas Bar and I got full after two Shirley temples (the second one the waitress did not ask if we wanted it she just brought it), and then we found something surprising, a Frank Lloyd Wright bank and hotel!!! The only hotel still in use!!!!

The hotel was called the Park Inn. We tried to book it but when my mom asked, the guy at the front desk looked at my mom like she was CrAzY. My dad and I just stayed in the car and I found the address to our house on the GPS. My mom told us that the guy looked at her like that. On Sunday my Mom and I went to the Stockman House by Frank Lloyd Wright and after that I got to watch back to the future 2!! I already watched back to the future 1 a couple years ago or something like that, I don’t really remember, but I watched back to the future 3 a week ago in Midland, Michigan, when we were trying to find something for all of us to watch at a hotel. We were just scrolling around and we found it.

1. Ohio

Monday, August 16-19, 2021
 
On Monday, August 16, 2021, after a long, ten-hour drive, we arrived in Gallipolis, Ohio. Before that, we had dinner in Charleston, West Virginia. We had dinner at a place called Hale House. I’m not sure if it was named after Nathan Hale but It could have easily been named after him. We stayed at a nice hotel except for the fact the bed that I had to sleep in was a roll-in bed because the bed that was in our room was a king not two queens. It was very uncomfortable. I could feel metal in the mattress.

The day after, we got to Dublin, Ohio. My dad’s cousin, Brigitte, and her family. They live in a really big, cool house with four dogs: Oliver, Kimie, Elsa and Henri (My dad’s name with the same spelling but everyone pronounces it as Henry). Oliver, Kimie, and Elsa are poodles and Henri is a border collie mix. They are all so sweet! A funny thing about Henri is that he gets jealous and noses you if you are petting the other dogs or one of the other dogs but not him. I also got to ride on Brigitte’s horse, Melvin. He is really big, and he is also really, really sweet. I got to ride Melvin with Brigitte holding a rope attached to Melvin. I also got to give Melvin a couple of treats. Even when I’m thinking of Melvin, I can actually smell him without being near a horse for some reason.