MUNGO EATS Latin America

So we are stuck in a musty hotel room in Salt Lake City for two days.  This is because the trailer lost a bearing and Dad wants the van to get a new radiator.  Can you guess which project is taking all the time?  If you were thinking of the radiator, you are……….incorrect!  The trailer bearing is going to take three days because the place that is working on it is very busy.  But it was also the least busy place.  One place said that they would have room for us on June 17!  We had to say no to that place.

The place were we took the van is less busy but it still has a lot of things to do by the looks of it.  There are a lot of vehicles parked in the parking lot.  I don’t know if they are all being worked on or if they’re ready to pick up.  There are a lot of Westfalias so that  could be a good sign.  It is probably a good Westfalia garage if it has that many of them there.  There were two white ones, one teal on, one red one, and us.  That’s five Westfalias at the same garage. That’s a lot!

 There are a lot of Volkswagon vehicles in Salt Lake City.  You see a punchbuggy or a Westfalia on almost every block.  You also see a lot of buildings that are called Church of Latter-Day Saints.  That’s because the big temple that is for that religion is right there.  It is huge and on the front center spire there is a big golden statue of Jesus.  There are streets called South Temple and North Temple.  There is a plaza all around it and there are a lot of very experienced gardeners tending the gardens every day.  The area around the temple is called Temple Square.  Actually, Salt Lake City was founded because of this religion coming to live here and building their big temple.

Yesterday we went to Yellowstone National Park.  Before we got to the actual big hot springs that are the main attraction, we passed a sign that said that we were exactly halfway between the equator and the north pole.  I thought that that was really cool because they actually tell you that you are there.  At Yellowstone there are a lot of paths and people.  Dogs aren’t allowed to be on the paths so Mungo was really sad.  He did a lot of squeaking and scratching the door. 

Once we got closer to the hot springs we could really smell the sulphur.  The paths didn’t let you get very close to the actual pools.  So we were all pretty glum until we got to one part of the path thet actually let you touch the water.  The water is really warm and when it comes out of the rock it is steaming of boiling.  That water is really hot!  12 really stupid people have stepped off the path and over top of a undergroung poollof boiling water or mud and died.  About 300 people have done the same thing and been badly burned.

Right now we are in a campground called KOA.  There are KOA’s all over the USA.  The one that we are camping is just outside Salt Lake City.  It is really busy and filled with big RV’s.  The last KOA we went to was really empty and filled with lots of trees and next to a river.  This one has hardly any trees at all, is loud, has no rental bikes, and no river at all.  Oh well.

So this is a couple paragraphs on the last two days of our trip.  Sorry about not posting for a while. We kind of had no Internet for two days.

So yesterday we were having a campfire at our first stop in the US(Many Pines, MT).  I was looking for logs for the fire.  I walked by a tree and a really light brown streak zipped by my feet.  It ran into a old rotten stump.  I got down on my knees and peered inside a hole in the stump.  I could just barely make out two shiny, black eyes and a small, white nose.  I called Dad over and showed it to him.  At first he couldn’t see it but once he got the right angle he could see it.  After that I left it alone and enjoyed the fire. 

Once Mum got back from walking Mungo I went back to the stump to show her.  But as soon as I went by that same tree the streak went by again.  This time it was so close that I almost stepped on it.  It hid in the stump again and I showed it to Mum, too.  She decided that it was either a mouse or a vole.  She asked me if it had a long or a short tail.  I was pretty sure that it had a long tail so it was a mouse. But later I crept up on it when it was sitting out side of the stump on its front porch.  I got really close before it noticed me but I already saw its short tail.  That meant it was a vole.  I tried to find it a couple more times but it was deep in its den asleep.

Also at our fire that night I sang a lot of CCH campfire songs to my family(those who went to CCH know what I’m talking about).  I sang the Ricky the Rock song.  We made up Ella the Elephant, Oscar the Octopus, Patrick the Porcupine, Terry the Tree, and Frankie the Flower.  Sean also really liked the Timmy the Turtle and Sandy the Starfish actions.  I also sang Crag’s wheelbarrow song, but we didn’t do any of the good ones like you, Canada, or donkey.  We did hippogriff, though. 

And lastly, some crazy dog stories to make you laugh.  Right before we left the site of voles and songs, Dad took Mungo for a walk.  He let him off his leash because there were no people there.   And right on the path appears a deer.  Of course Mungo takes off after it and we spend about ten minutes calling him and freaking out before he comes back.  Also, tonight when we were eating supper we had him tied to a picnic table outside so that he wouldn’t eat all of the food.  Then he started to squeak.  We looked over and he was “stuck”.  His leash was really tight because he had gone under the table and around the bench.  He is just too stupid to retrace his steps and have a really long leash.

                                                                                                        Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

Wow!  First day of traveling and a great start.  Tonight we get to sleep in the van for the first time in a long while.  We left a about 1 o’clock, drove for 57 minutes, ate lunch for 48 minutes, drove for 2 hours and 12 minutes, and here we are!  Our first campsite is actually an RV campground.  I think that it is pretty cool because it has water, electricity, Internet, garbage cans, and outhouses.

After supper, we all took Mungo for a walk.  Eventually, we ended up at the Oldman River.  As soon as we got out of the trees and onto the beach, we heard a big slap/splash.  Dad said that it was a beaver.  Later he pointed out a beaver head.  It looked a lot like a stick.  We tried to get closer but it slapped its tail and dived under the water.

Mungo decided to go crazy and roll in the mud on the beach.  Now we’re waiting for it to dry off so we can wipe him down.  Well, after he rolled in the mud, we saw another beaver on the opposite shore.  The beaver was on land! Later he slipped back into the water and we couldn’t see him anymore.  Then we saw the other beaver swimming downstream.  Those things go fast!

When we were leaving the beach we noticed that the willows and poplars had beetles all over them in big clumps.  Mum tried to get a picture but her camera wouldn’t focus and Mungo kept zipping by her in his crazed state.  Poor Mum.  Stupid Mungo.

    Tomorrow we leave on our long, crazy trip with our intelligent annoying dog.  I can’t wait to see what he will poke with his nose, eat, cock his head at, and step on.  Our dog’s name is Mungo.  That means kind, gentle, and smart. That name doesn’t really fit him because he is evil, rude and very silly.  I’m pretty sure that he will poke a cactus and get needles stuck in his nose.  He also might eat a cactus, step on a cactus, and cock his head at a dead, hollow cactus that a bird is singing inside.

 We are amost completely packed in both the van and the house.  The van is packed, except for a box of maps.  The house is less complete.  There are still some things that we have to pack away.  All the food is either being stored downstairs or packed away into the various cupboards in the van.  So we are leaving tomorrow at about noon.

I’m really going to miss Canada and all of its trees.  I really am going to miss the Rocky Mountains.  I’ll miss the Bow River, our yard, our garden, our Jeep, and riding on Mum’s scooter.  I’ll miss skateboarding and biking.  Most of all, I’ll miss Canada.

I’m looking forward to seeing the capybaras and Mungo trying to chase after them.  Actually, most of the things that I’m looking forward to are Mungo doing stupid things.  Well, I’m also looking forward to the Andes and meeting Giulliana in Peru at Christmas.  We also might meet Aya (my ski friend) and her family at no certain time.

So I’m really excited and I really don’t think that I will sleep very well and that before we go time will seem really slow.