Arizona and the start of winter

Las Vegas
In November we went to Las Vegas again and we stayed in a hotel there. All of us met Penn and Teller and we walked around a lot and we ordered pizza for the room.


London Bridge
After Las Vegas we went to Lake Havasu in Arizona. We saw London Bridge and it was big. In England it was sinking, so they took it apart and brought to Arizona.

Our famliy by the London Bridge

Musical Instrument Museum
 Then we went to Phoenix and to the Musical Instrument Museum. So we saw many instruments from the world. Some of the instruments were wacky and we got to play some instruments.

Elvis' jumpsuit and guitar at the Museum

Cold, cold, more cold
After Phoenix we went to Winslow, Arizona and then to Amarillo, Texas and it was pretty boring at that campground it was really cold there.  We were happy to leave there and go to somewhere warm.

Busy Days

Yesterday I went on a tour boat of Lake Powell. It was a 90 minute boat ride and it was fun. We saw mountains and rock formations. The lake was created by a dam to store water for 4 states.

I got my hair dyed purple 2 nights ago. There were steps to do it and I had to wait 50 min for each of them.  The first step was to put bleach in my hair and the next step was to wait 50 min. Then we had to wash it off with a shower head. The next step was to put the purple dye in my hair and I had to wait 50 min again and after the 50 minutes I had to wash it off and it looked cool on my hair.

My new purple hair

The day before we went to the Grand Canyon.  We did a hike there and after the hiking we were all hungry and thirsty so we had a picnic lunch and some soda and water.  It was a fun trip.

Grand Canyon

Vegas and Utah

One day we went to Las Vegas to stay at a camp ground and it was called Circus Circus. The next day we went to a magic show. My parents thought it was funny. There was a bear that came out of a tent. Then the magician ate a Guinea pig and then it later showed up in his pants. Later we had supper with Jen, my mom's dog trainer friend from MN.

After Las Vegas, we went to Utah. We drove up a mountain at Zion National Park and we went hiking there and it was a long hike and we were on the edge of a cliff. We drove through a very long tunnel.

My toy skull at Zion National Park

Near St George we rented a dune buggy and it was very bumpy and we had lots f fun and we went on giant sand dunes.

The dune buggy we rented

In central Utah we went for a short hike and saw some hieroglyphs carved in the rock. Nobody nows how old the writing is or what it means or who wrote it. It could have been Incan or Mayan writing. After the hiking we went to a creek.

Unknown hieroglyphs

At Fillmore we rode our bikes to the museum. We learned about Utah Territory. Fillmore was the first capital of Utah.

While in Utah we drove to Provo to see our cousin Jake and we went hiking and it was about 2 and a half miles up to the hot springs and water fall and we dipped our feet into the stinky water but it was very hot. Also in Provo, we went to Walmart and I found my toy that was supposed to come in November but out of nowhere we found the Cupcake from Five Nights At Freddy's.

My new toy

A screenshot from Five Nights At Freddy's.

a new dog and other stuff

We spent the last few weeks in central California.

On September 8th we to see our grandparents and their dog named George and one day we went to pick up a new puppy and everybody came along and her name was Linda. This is a picture of Linda.

We took George to Yosemite and my mom and dad and sister went hiking while i stayed with Grandma and  Grandpa and I had a soda.

On September 17 we went to the Monterey Jazz Festival to see Davina and the Vagabonds and it was a good time there. On Sunday we went to the Greek Festival and the food was really good and the dessert was baklava and i did not like it.

Then we left to go to a different campground and this was no ordinary campground, this was a air force base. The next  day we went to the heritage center at Travis air force base.

On Monday we went to the JELLY  BELLY FACTORY and it had a lot of candy and we had lunch there and after the the factory we went to a castle winery and me and my sister had grape juice and they showed us the dungeon and the torture room and we had a good time there.

Later in the week we went hiking at Muir Woods and it was so pretty there. We also went to Point Reyes and we saw a deer herd.  

fun in Oregon

After Washington we visited Oregon. We went rafting on the McKenzie River,  we drove to a wild animal park, and went to Crater Lake.

We went rafting on the Mckenzie River and it was fun. We got very wet and we were very cold at the end and it started to rain. People took our pictures during the rafting and there was one part that was bumpy and very splashy too.

The next day we went to the wild life animal park and we saw animals come up close to the RV.  We saw a hippo poop in their pool a lot of times.  We saw a rhino that was very grumpy so you couldn't stop by it. The most imported part was that there were flamingos and we got ice cream.

The day after that we went to Crater lake, one of the cleanest lakes in the world and also the deepest lake in the USA. You could even take a shower in there but it too cold. It's so blue that it looks like someone panted it blue. It was formed about 7700 years ago from a volcano.

Crater Lake

Lewis and Clark

On Wednesday we went to go learn about Lewis and Clark at the Lewis and Clark Interpretative Center.   They are important to this area because Cape Disappointment was the end of their adventure.

The lighthouse at Cape Disappointment, with Oregon in the distance

Thomas Jefferson wanted a good route to the Pacific Ocean,  so he got Lewis and Clark. They left Saint Louis in May 1804 and reached the Pacific in November of 1805. Sacagawea was their interpreter along with her husband. They followed the Missouri River, crossed the Rockies, and went down the Columbia River. In November in 1805 they got trapped in a storm as they neared the Pacific. They went back in March in 1806 and arrived in Saint Louis in September in 1806.

It was a hard trip. They made canoes out of trees. They climbed steep hills.  Only one person died on the trip but historians think it was from appendicitis. Sacagawea had a baby.

Besides learning about Lewis and Clark, we've had fun in Long Beach. We went biking along the beach for 10 miles. There is a game center and we got more costume rubber ducks. We played mini golf. It was a lot of fun staying here for a week.

Walking by the water adventure

After the mountains, we went to Dungeness Recreation Area. There we went for a walk on a beach to the lighthouse. It was 11 miles round trip to get there. When we got there we had sandwiches and chips and after that we went inside the lighthouse and got a tour of it. There is a tiny little light that makes it so bright that you could see it from 17 miles.

A stamp for walking to the lighthouse

There is a  home you could stay in for a week but we didn't. After the lighthouse we had to walk all the way back and it took forever to get back and after that when back to the RV and our feet hurt so bad the we couldn't walk.

The lighthouse we walked to in front of Mount Baker

Then we went to another campground and today we went to the beach and saw hermit crabs and tiny ones too.  We climbed rocks and saw sea anemones and lots of kelp yuck.

Volcanic mountains

On Wednesday we went hiking in Grove of the Patriarchs in Mount Rainier National Park, and we saw a river and we went across a bridge over a water fall and it was very loud too.  There was a big Douglas fir tree which grew to be 200 feet tall and if you try to circle around it would take 27 other people.  

After the hiking we went to Mount Rainier to go up the mountain and we saw a marmot there. It took quite awhile to get to the top of the mountain and we had to take breaks because our legs hurt really bad but there was really clean water you could drink. When we got to the top of the mountain we had to go back down and it was so long. 

The next day we went to Mount Saint Helens and it is a famous volcano. There was a huge chunk of its side that blew off of it and it destroyed all the forest and the trees. It also killed 57 people and their homes too, and also the bridges. There was a movie about it too and rangers to talk about it too.

 The mountain erupted on May 18, 1980 at 8:32 am and the ash from the mountain traveled around the world in three weeks.  Nearby towns became night instead of day. Enough dirt and ash blew out of the mountain for each person on earth to have 15 buckets full.

It has been 36 years since the explosion and it is slowly coming back to life.

Sailing in San Juan Islands

After the cruise boat we went sailing for a week and it was fun too. And we saw some Orcas and a baby too.  The next day we went on the dinghy to go hiking. We did sword fighting with sticks on the beach, and it was so fun. We also saw some dead crabs and little crabs and we had a picnic there.



One we went to the sculpture garden and it was pretty to see them and after the sculpture garden we got some ice cream too.  On our last night on the boat, we went out for supper because we didn't break anything and the next day we took all the stuff out of the boat and went back to the RV.

Swimming at Roche Harbor

Hiking in the Sculpture Garden near Roche Harbor

On an Alaskan Cruise

On July 22nd, we went on a cruise to Alaska with my mom, dad, sister, and Grandma and brother too. When we got inside the boat, we had a hard time finding our room.  We found champagne and snacks in our two cabins, which hooked together.  It was very pretty!

Me and Reese on the tender to shore

On the next day, we went to Ketchikan to a rain forest adventure. It was fun, and we saw a humpback whale. We went to have some crab and I liked it very much! Then we went back to the boat.

Rainforest adventure

Then we went to Juneau to see some whales. We saw humpback whales bubble feeding. The whales were really big, and it was fun.  Then, we went to see a glacier. We saw a baby bear running across the road - naughty bear!  We went back to the boat.

Then we went to Skagway to go on a train ride with Grandma and Reesey-head and it a long time to get back to the ship.

My mom took this picture for me

Then we went to Victoria and went to see the Butchart Grardens and it was so pretty there and it smelled fresh too and by the time we got back it was 11:30pm.

My favorite part of the cruise was Alvin our waiter and the buffet too.  Then we went back to Seattle to get off forever and it was sad to leave the boat.

Canoeing and Biking

Yesterday and today we are staying at Heyburn State Park in Idaho. This morning  we went canoeing and I got wet and we saw a plane land in the water. We went a long way and it took a while to get back and we saw some geese and they were scared of us.  The scenery was very pretty to see  and the waves were so quiet.

After canoeing we went biking on a trail and we went on a bridge and we had fun.  It took us a long time to get back to the RV. On top of the bridge we saw a nest and we heard chirping and we heard a moose yelling at us. After biking we got some ice cream and fries too.

Ethan's busy weeks

In June, we left our house for the last time and headed to Grandma's.  When we got to Grandma's we were so excited and we had ice cream there. We played baseball with their dog Missy and she was very happy to see us.

After Grandma's, we went to  Bismarck. We had a picnic and we had to what for Sammy to come. When they got there, we had s'mores. The next morning we went to their house and  we played Mortal Kombat and it was fun.

From there, we went to Medora and Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We saw lots of prairie dogs. They squeaked at us.

Next we went to Little Big Horn. I learned is  that his grave was only 18 inches deep, which was deeper than the rest of his men. My favorite part about it was the bus ride.

Next we went to Glacier National Park. We took a bus tour to the top of the mountain and it was so cold at the top. When we got to the campground we went swimming there and my family dragged me in and it was so cold.

I miss my kitty because  I used to squeeze her head.

Chippewa Falls, Crystal Cave, and Willow River

June 13, 2016: Chippewa Falls

Today I toured a greenhouse.  At the greenhouse I learned how they make seeds. There were lots of  pretty colors on the flowers, including bright red. I learned how to water plants.  We saw a rock cutter and some pretty rocks.

The greenhouse was very pretty and smelled good.

Others fun things her included playing with our cousins and Uncle Mark letting us drive his tractor.

June 14, 2016: Crystal Cave

Today we did a tour at Crystal Cave. It was cold and we saw lots of rock formations. They were formed  by minerals washed out of the rocks. The rocks were made from sea creatures over 450 million years ago.   Many bats live in the cave but they were gone for the summer for food.

June 15: Willow River State Park, Hudson, WI

Today we visited Willow River state park. We got to see our cousins, Spencer, Lincoln, and Sloane.

When we got to the falls we played in the water and splashed around and we went up 100 stairs to the overlook at the top and I got super wet.

June 10, 2016: Madison, WI

June 10 2016

The farmers’ market square in Madison - it was very loud there because people were having fun - they had microphones and  I tried on the police stuff. I saw lots of farmers selling healthy stuff. The people that went with me were my family we got to win prizes there.

Then we went to the state capital and the fun part about it was that i got to be picked to help the tour guide. The building was very pretty and it had lots of different marbles. It was huge in size. The shape of the building was the rotunda, or round. There was a copy of the Liberty Bell but it wasn’t cracked. The woman that was on top of the capitol was Miss Forward. She was made out of pure gold and she had on her head a badger. There were snail shells that are fossils in the marble walls. There were a middle judge who was the leader of the judges.  There was a painting of King John who signed the Magna Carta. If I was a senator I would have to press the red button to talk. My favorite part about it was that I got to sit in the red chairs. The assembly and senate had to do bills/laws.    After the tour, I got to walk around the balcony.  

Then we went to Noodles and I finished a whole pasta by myself. And we took a little walk down State Street. We had ice cream by the lake. Then we went home.  I learned a lot in Madison.

Visiting Rice Lake

We visited Rice Lake, Wisconsin.

Today I went to see a cow factory (also known as a dairy farm).  One thing I learned  is that I never knew that there have to be  only female cows in the  factory for some stupid reason. The reason that there needs to be female cows is that they are the only ones that make milk.

The farmers had to take blood from the cows just in case their milk was unhealthy.

The cows are milked in a big round area that spun around.  We got to go in the middle

of the circle. The cows were very scared of us being in the middle part.

The big circle of cows being milked

The cows where very fat because they had milk in their body. The milking process was that there were three men and a woman.  The first guy put soap on the female cows' udders and the second guy cleaned with a washcloth and the third guy was punting the tubes on the udders to suck the milk up. The milk goes into tubes where it is chilled to be very cold. Then the milk goes into a big truck to the cheese factory and to shops.

Me with 23 million gallons of cow poop

The tour guide named Asher showed us the poop that the cows did and it was a lot because there where so many cows in the barn. The poop came threw tubes under ground from the cows to a big pond.

Later after lunch me and my sister went with our uncle on the four wheeler to have some fun and we saw the cheese factory and they made fresh cheese and we went to a store that has cheese and we had some cheese.

Welcome to my blog

Hi my name is Ethan. I am 11 years old, turning 12 in September. 

The adventure I will be writing about is us moving onto a boat from an RV.  We are in the RV now.

I just finished 5th grade at a charter school called Eagle Ridge Academy in Minnesota.  It was a pretty long day. We would get up at 6:00 and start school at 8;00 and we end at 3;00 in the afternoon. Life was pretty good. 

And now we are living in an RV and I have my own bed and play games on Wii/tablet.  When I think about this adventure I hope that we have fun on the boat. I think the boring part about it is that we have to travel to a lot of places.The part that is happy is that we get to see clams that dig in the ground at the beaches.

I hope you read another of my stories in the future and stay tuned.