Koelle Cross Country Road Trip

KCCRT Post 11

JTK — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 04:51:04 +0000

Bryce Canyon National Park yesterday and Zion National Park Today. It is truly incredible to see God’s hands in a way that surpasses any kind of chance. Unfortunately all the people who work at these beautiful places don’t believe that the mighty hand of God carved them all with the great flood. And God never does cease to show how mighty and glorious He is. Yesterday on our way to Bryce Canyon the sky let out a torrential downpour. We thought it was going to be raining all day. We each prayed one at a time to ask God to clear up the skies and let the sun come out so we could and enjoy his creation. By the time we got to the first outlook the rain had stopped and upon reaching the second outlook the sky had cleared up and the sun was out. God is so great.

Today we went to Zion National Park, the home to Angels’ Landing. There was no threat of rain today but I felt sick from the moment I woke up. I was so nervous to climb that rock face. My dad, Gabe and I started at the trailhead at about 10:52. By about 12:30 we had climbed up about four-fifths of the way up. It wasn’t as scary as I had though. It was just a ton of hiking. Then it started to become crazy. All of a sudden there were shear drop offs of 1500 feet on either side and the only thing you could use to support yourself was a chain. My dad and I went on about another eighth of a mile only to find that the chain ended in a spot where you wouldn’t want the chain to end. I decided to quit because I knew that I didn’t have the nerves to continue on. Gabe ended up being the only one of us three to reach the summit. Yeah I am a little jealous of him but I can be confident in the fact that I went as far as God wanted me too. I am so proud of Gabe. He really does have nerves of steel.

Sorry I’m behind on pictures. I’ll get them up ASAP

KCCRT Post 10

JTK — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:13:26 +0000

Today was an alright day. This morning we were able to see one of God’s greatest works. We left from our campsite in Flagstaff at 6AM. We wanted to make sure we packed up our stuff before it rained. On our way to the grand canyon we visited a couple of Indian shops along the route. They were all very friendly. Of course, they wanted to sell their wares to us. When we first saw the Colorado River I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen, the red rocks, green algae around the banks and the blueish water. It was so great. But once we got to the north rim viewing area my jaw dropped. It was so far down I don’t think I actually ever saw the bottom of the canyon. If you look at the pictures you can see where Gabe and I climbed up to. It was so high up. You can see a picture of where Gabe is clinging to the rock. It actually wasn’t that steep. But the camera angle makes it look like he is hanging on for dear life. That’s what we did today.

KCCRT Post 9

JTK — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:55:52 +0000

Today is day 5 and wow today was a lot of fun. We left Holbrook this morning and we decided to do a little souvenir shopping. On the outskirts of Holbrook is a store that sells minerals and jewels of all kinds. I could have looked at the rocks in that store forever. It was so cool to see what they did with the rocks and petrified wood.

Our second stop of the day was Meteor Crater. This crater was huge. They had a model of a six foot astronaut standing in the middle and he looked so tiny. I got some pretty cool pictures of the crater. I even stitched together a panorama of the crater itself. I’ll try to upload it to Facebook but I’m not sure how large it is going to be.

Then we completed our trek to Flagstaff, Arizona. It wasn’t too much further but it was about half an hour. Haha. That was nothing compared to the other days’ travel distance. In Flagstaff we quickly set up our camper and then we set off to Slide Rock National Park. Slide Rock was pretty cool. Even the ride from Flagstaff was awesome. All the rock formations were quite awe-inspiring. The beautiful reds combined with the green trees. It was quite lovely though I am partial to the beauty of a certain someone back in Brockport. For those of you who don’t know what slide rock is, I’ll tell ya. During the flood all of the rushing water carved out this beautiful valley in which slide rock sits. Sow the actual attraction is the rock in the water at the bottom of the valley. As the name suggests, the park is a series of natural water slides carved out by the water. The water was freezing but the slides were more fun than the water slides at Seabreeze or Darien Lake or even Disney. I didn’t take any pictures of the slides themselves but my dad took some video of us traveling down stream. I’ll have to see if I can get my hands on it. Enjoy the pictures!!!

KCCRT Post 8

JTK — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:43:48 +0000

Ahh another day of driving across the country. Today we started at the eastern edge of the northern peninsula of Texas and we are now on the eastern edge of Arizona. It is pretty incredible the time zone here is 3 hours earlier than the time in New York. So we crossed all of New Mexico today. Quite an incredible drive. We are so exhausted.

Once we got to Arizona we went to the Petrified Forest National Park. To see God’s creation was something amazing. The beauty in each of these rocks was something to behold. Now here is the coolest part. Almost All day it had been raining on and off. And the skies looked so rainy above our destination that we decided to pray that God would clear the skies. Once we arrived at the park the skies cleared right up and there was blue sky right above us and sunlight peeked through the clouds. Since then it hasn’t rained once. God is amazing.

KCCRT Post 7

JTK — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:43:27 +0000

Today and tomorrow are probably going to be the longest days of the trip. We traveled all day today. We traveled straight from the KOA in Missouri to this Best Western in Texas. So we drove all the way through Oklahoma today. It was super flat and super boring. Everyone in the car was great though. We are an hour ahead of schedule so if we start out at 8 tomorrow we will be in Arizona by the end of the day tomorrow visiting the Petrified Forest National Park.

KCCRT Post 6

JTK — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:34:03 +0000

Well now on to Day Three. Today I don’t believe we are doing any sights seeing, mostly driving. We are headed to Elk City Oklahoma. A full day of driving. Last night I actually slept pretty well. I was really hot but the breeze coming in through the windows helped a lot. I’ll be adding more pictures from today.

Last night we went swimming in the pool here at the KOA. It was so nice to get a little wet after a long day in St. Louis. Some boy was eyeing Lydia. I had to put that in here. After our swim we headed out for dinner at a local Steak N’ Shake. That food was pretty good. And now we are off

KCCRT Post 5

JTK — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:57:47 +0000

The Great St. Louis Arch. It is quite a sight to see. And we just went up it. Now if you are familiar to the area of St. Louis the Arch might be more fabulous because you know what you are looking when you peer out the windows from 633 feet in the air. If you have claustrophobia then look out because those elevators are like cramming yourself into a tuna can. But for us it was perfect. It seated five people and we filled each seat. We got to the arch around 2:30 (Central time) or 3:30 (Brockport time). We went up the elevators at about 3:00 CT and hung out up there for at least half an hour taking pictures of each other and such. All the pictures that I have taken will be posted on Facebook as soon as I can get them up there. Probably this evening.

Driving Time Remaining 74:14

I-44 West outside of St. Louis Missouri

KCCRT Post 4

JTK — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:02:26 +0000

Hey Everyone!!!

Well we’ve started our day’s trek from Aunt Mary and Uncle Dick’s house. We had a ton of fun. When We first arrived we greeted uncle Dick and Aunt Mary and staying with them is my dad’s cousin’s kid, Isaac. What was really cool is that his birthday was the same as mine, except that he was born in 1993 and I was born in 1989. November 5^th what a great day. We played a game called Cornhole. In New York we’d probably call it something more like bean bag toss. The pouches are filled with corn though. And the holes are so far apart. Gabe, Lydia and I were lucky that we got some practice in. I needed it before Uncle Eric arrived. My Dad’s cousin Eric and his wife Cindy joined us for dinner and a couple of games of Cornhole. They were a lot of fun. After Eric left Gabe, Lydia, Isaac and I went downstairs to play some ping-pong. Eventually our games disintegrated into chaos and laughter. The last round we played was called round the world. After you hit the ping pong ball you had to run to the other side of the table and hit it after the next person. To wrap up the night we played some cards. I taught Isaac how to play pitch(Thanks Em!!). So the teams were Gabe and Lydia against Isaac and I. Isaac and I won.

It was great first stop. Aunt Mary and Uncle Dick were so hospitable and they were such a blessing to us. Thanks I’ll be posting soon.

Driving Time Remaining 79:07

Exit 24 Route I-70

KCCRT Post 3

JTK — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 13:01:00 +0000

Our First Stop. I’m now reporting from Erie Pennsylvania. The Home of Splash Lagoon. I think as a family we’ve been here like twice already. We didn’t stop this time to go to the water park though. We are just passing through and eating some breakfast. We just ate at Bob Evans. That was one quick meal. I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to post again before we left. We are on the opposite side of the interstate now at the sword shop. I think dad is looking for some allen wrenches.

KCCRT Post 2

JTK — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 13:00:38 +0000

Hmm… that large well of emotions, what exactly was I trying to describe. Well my first feeling was a feeling of Love and a confidence that that love will remain strong and grow stronger as the days pass by. This applies to the love I have for my family. And a strong love for God too. Another feeling I have is one of intense devotion.

Another feeling I’m exploring right now is the sense of adventure. Our family is headed out into the great unknown for two and a half weeks. It should be pretty interesting to see what happens. I can’t wait to explore the country with my family.

Something else that I’m going to be doing on this trip is, not shaving for as long as I can. We will see how long that lasts.

Driving Time Remaining 85:35

Photos!!!