Top 10 Workplace Tours

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Jelly Belly Factory

    

Top 10 Unique Eateries

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Top 10 National Parks

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Big Horn Sheep at Yellowstone

First year in review

It has been awhile since I, Sunset the Snake gave one of my reports from the road. So since I do not have as much to do I thought I could report on the first year the Martin family has spent on the road. Yes a snake has put together a video, made the map and compiled the stats! If you do not believe this then you're imagination is seriously lacking and I am afraid you may suffer from serpent prejudice! Sorry about the lack of sound on the video, youtube has been having fits accepting the music, but we are trying to replace the sound with an audio swap but youtube is also having fits with that!

So here is the adventure by the numbers:

• We started in Cambridge, IL and ended the year in Pittsburgh, PA.
• We traveled over 35,000 miles between the RV and the vans.
• We visited 22 states
• Over 100 Walmarts and 1 Target
• We replaced eight tires.
• We visited 17 Zoos/Aquariums.
• We lost a total of 7 teeth.
• We explored 49 National Parks.
• We soaked up the sun on 10 different beaches.
• We ate at over 70 unique eateries and 25 different McDonalds and 95 other national or regional restaurant chains! 
• We saw at least 277 different species of animals.
• We toured 27 workplaces.
• We went to 6 different amusement parks.
• We spent time in two different countries.
• We traversed through 42 state parks.
• We stayed at over 120 campgrounds!
• Celebrated 7 birthdays.
• Expanded our horizons in over 40 museums.
• All in 372 days (this is from 9/23/10 - 10/1/11)

more...

Check out the basic path we took on our trip in the first year!

Celestial Seasonings Tea Tour

By Patsy

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Campground review - St. Vrain State Park

Our final Colorado campground was St. Vrain State Park near Longmont. We also celebrated Chase's fifth birthday.

Nearby attractions - 7 -Within sixth minutes of Denver, Boulder, Ft. Collins and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Staff - 7 - Typical state park staff.

Natural surroundings - 8 - Not many trees in the part of park we stayed in, because it was a newer part of the park. Still we were parked right on one of the several pond/lakes and enjoyed hikes through the parks and sunsets on the distant Rockies.

Value - 7 - We paid $28 a night for full hook-ups for three nights, which included $7 a day for state park entrance fee.

Bathrooms - 6 - Decent and clean, but you have again have to pay 75 cents for four minutes. We can get four minute showers in Howard.
Roominess - 8 - Nice sized parks with not many people here during the week.

Facility fun - 5 - Hikes around the park and fishing if you have a license. Boys also enjoyed throwing rocks in the lake and shooting their sling shots into the lake as well.

Cleanliness - 9 - Very nice!

Facility usefulness - 4 - Bathrooms, but not much else.

Overall - 7 - Nice park, lots of birds and love the lakes. Close to I25 with easy access.

One Way Street

Our family finished our Colorado ministry tour by stopping by One Way Street. This was a unique stop for us because it is the "birthplace" of Blake's alter ego, Kevin Shutterbug. One Way Street has a been a supporter of our traveling ministry, Kidology to Go. They are primarily a puppet making company, but they also have skits, books, DVDS, illusions, props and other kids' ministry aids that they sell.

It was pretty cool for our kids to see all the puppets, including the ones that were in the process of being made. We also enjoyed taking a look at their warehouse which had boxes and boxes of different puppets. I spotted several puppets we have used through the years, including the heart puppet and a Bible puppet. It made us nostalgic for the days of working hands on with kids! Children's ministry can be so much fun. Then I remembered all the recruiting and the volunteers that never showed up and I was cured of my nostalgic moment!

Still One Way Street is a great organization helping outfit children's ministries across the United States and the entire world. Of course Kevin Shutterbug had to do a live report from One Way Street, which included a little talk with One Way Street President Todd Liebenow!

Rocky Mountain National Park

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Campground review - Boyd Lake State Park

We really needed a wide open space after our tight quarters in Colorado Springs. We parked Howard at Boyd State Park in Loveland, Colorado.

Nearby attractions - 8 - Within 60 minutes of Denver, Boulder, Estes Park.

Staff - 6 - State park professionalism.

Natural surroundings - 8 - Right on Boyd Lake with lots of trees and birds. Amazing sunset there Saturday night.

Value - 7 - Paid $28 a night for electric only. This included $8 daily pass fee.

Bathrooms - 6 - Decent and clean. You have to pay for showers, 75 cents for three minutes.

Roominess - 9 - Nice big sites, with plenty of open spaces to run. We played catch and the boys played swords without disturbing anyone else.

Facility fun - 8 - Two playgrounds, a walking path, boat dock, pretty lake.

Cleanliness - 8 - State park clean.

Facility usefulness - 7 - Laundromats on site. Dump site. Water on each loop.

Overall - 8 - Love state parks for the wide open spaces. Wish this one had free hot showers and full hook-ups.

Group Publishing

We drove up to Loveland, Colorado to visit Group Publishing Headquarters. As a children's pastor I used lots of resources provided by Group including their VBS curriculum, their Hands On curriculum and I was an avid reader of Children's Ministry Magazine, which they produce. I was also thrilled to be able to write an article for this magazine last year.

So it was a great joy to stop in and see where the magic happens! As you enter the building you hear applause, evidently there glad you came! The first thing you notice is a huge moose head hung on a big brick fireplace. If you stand there looking at him pretty soon he will start talking to you. This was an abundant source of amazement for out little guys! As you walk further in you see the hind-end side of the moose on the other side of the fireplace! The entire decor of the lobby and much of the building is one of our favorites - Adirondack.

We were treated to lunch by the head of the Children's Resourcing department at Group - Chris Yount Jones, and some of her staff. They have an incredible cafeteria with a world class chef at the facility. The boys had pizza and cookies and Patsy and I had paninis. We felt so honored as Chris and her staff "picked out brains" about current trends and needs we have seen in children's ministries across the continent. We felt flattered that they would seek our opinion!

After lunch we gave a tour of Howard and then Chris gave us a tour of the headquarters. It was cool to see how Group is striving to make a creative workplace to encourage their employees to think creatively themselves. The entire place just made you feel ready to come up with brilliant ideas! They had lots of little gifts for our kids there too, which they loved and they felt very special as well.

Group continues to be a great organization for churches on so many levels, and I can tell you they have a heart to equip those ministering to kids and really want to stay connected to what local churches are needing to be successful in their mission! Be sure to check them out if you are not familiar with their organization.

Campground review - Goldfield RV Park

We stayed at Goldfield RV Park while we toured sites around Colorado Springs and Canon City.

Nearby attractions - 9 -Right by Manitou Springs and all Colorado Springs attractions.

Staff - 7 - Nice guy helped us check in and gave us lots of ideas for things to do.

Natural surroundings - 4 - There are a few trees, close to major road.

Value - 9 - We paid $18 a night plus electricity for a pull-through with full hook-ups. Ended up being about $20 a night.

Bathrooms - 8 - Decent and clean.

Roominess - 2 - Very tight and packed in close.

Facility fun - 2 - City playground close by, but nothing really do at RV park.

Cleanliness - 7 - Slightly above average.

Facility usefulness - 7 - Laundromats on site. Exchange library. Propane close by, but you have to go there. Wifi and cable cost extra.

Overall - 6 - Cheap, but basically a gravel parking lot with showers and hook-ups.

Compassion International

Colorado is home to many para-church ministries and charities, and we are taking some of our time here to visit them and expose our kids to their mission and purpose. Today we visited Compassion International, also headquartered in Colorado Springs. In the lobby they have some statues of kids from Latin America, Asia and Africa coming to a statue of Jesus. They let kids crawl up in the lap of Jesus for a photo. Pretty cool!

We have been big fans of Compassion for years and have supported a little boy named Jerson from Honduras through this ministry for about six years. The tour was very nice, we were the only ones on the tour. They show a little shanty that represents what many kids in third world countries live in. They also have a sample mission school from Latin America that shows where kids who have Compassion sponsors might go to.

I have always felt that kids of the world were the most marginalized group of people in history. The sad fact is they receive very little of the aid and charity that is often meant for them. Parents use money for drugs and alcohol, governments take huge portions of it via graft and corruption and so many charities take big chunks of their donations for administrative costs. Compassion is one of the best charities in terms of percentage of donations used for administrative costs and they do everything in name of Christ, teaching and preaching the Gospel to every child they help out. They also do a great job working with national churches and employing local people to work in their field offices.

This is truly a class organization doing an amazing work with eternity in mind. Consider sponsoring a child or even two! It is a great chance to teach your own kids or grandkids about how blessed they are and how God wants us to be grateful and generous with these blessings!

At the end of our tour we stopped by Patsy's Candies in Manitou Springs for a photo op and a bit of chocolate. We also took a taste from one of their famous natural springs. We thought it was gross!

Focus on the Family

We have always loved Focus on the Family, especially Jim Dobson. His book "Raising Boys" helped shape my parenting style and philosophy. We have consulted their books and websites for issues ranging from ADHD, adoption, dyslexia and attachment disorder. We love the Plugged-in page and consult often when choosing movies and games for my family. We even have the Plugged-in app for the iPhone. Their pastoral ministry has often helped us through tough times. And of course our kids (and dad and mom) have loved the Adventures in Odyssey radio programs. We have mostly listened to them as sets while driving on long trips. We have also gobbled up many of their audio dramas such as the Narnia series and Screwtape letters.

So it was a great thrill to visit the Focus on the Family headquarters in Colorado Springs. I am pleases to say they really do have something for the whole family here.We started off by taking a guided tour of the headquarters building. This was very interesting and our guides were very kind and asked lots of questions about us the participants.

Then we went over to the welcome center and explored the world of Odyssey! Actually we started off launching the kids down the biggest slide they have ever been on, a three-story slide that requires the use of elbow socks and potato sacks! The boys loved this and went down the slide multiple times. Once again the attendants helping them with their gear and safety checks were exceptional! At the bottom of the slide is a wonder world for kids. The WW2 plane from the Last Chance Detectives awaits to be explored along with an indoor playset. A real-live Whit's End is ready to serve up some ice-cream and of course their fan favorite Wodfamchocsod!

Traveling through some canyon tunnels you can stop by a large theater room and watch Adventures in Odyssey under the stars or move unto another room full of kids activities. Here the kids can dress up, put on a play or puppet show and watch the Lionel Train travel around the top of the room. Families can also sign up to record their own Adventures in Odyssey show. Down another hall is a recreation of main street Odyssey with different rooms for toddlers, birthday parties and other activities.

Then there is the bookstore upstairs, one of the seven wonders of Colorado. We could have spent a thousand dollars here easily, but we had to restrain ourselves. We did find a great deal on a series we have been reading with the kids called Passages and a couple more audio adventures for road travel. There is a lot more to see here at the headquarters! Be sure to stop by the next time you are anywhere near Colorado Springs.

Royal Gorge Train Ride

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Pikes Peak

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Campground Review - Chatfield State Park

During our adventures in and around Denver we camped at Chatfield State Park. Pretty nice facilities with full hook-ups for a state park!

Nearby attractions - 9 - Close to Greater Denver attractions and not far from Boulder and Colorado Springs.

Staff - 7 - Spoke with several state park rangers and volunteers. Nice people, no wow factor but nothing to complain about.

Natural surroundings - 9 - Lots of trees, birds, rabbits, squirrels, prairie dogs and a nice lake.

Value - 7 - We paid $34 a night for a pull-through with full hook-ups. This included an $8 a day state park day use fee.

Bathrooms - 6 - The showers were 50 cents for three minutes, but they were clean and sanitary. No soap to wash your hands with though.

Roominess - 10 - Very big sites and lots of room to play and run around in.

Facility fun - 8 - Playground and lots of room to play. Boating activities and bike path.

Cleanliness - 9 - Very clean place!

Facility usefulness - 6 - Laundromats on site. Each site also has grill, but fire ban was in effect.

Overall - 9 - Very nice place - enjoy the city of Denver while staying out in nature.

Kidologist and Kevin Shutterbug

Our family visited the founder of Kidology, Karl Bastian (AKA the Kidologist) and his family in Parker, Colorado. Kevin got a chance to sit down with the Kidologist and have a little chat and a few laughs. Thanks again to One Way Street for making Kevin’s interviews possible!

JEDI COUNCIL CONVENES IN PARKER, CO

Day with the Bastians

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Denver Museum of Nature and Science

We had a couple of cold rainy days in Denver so we decided to take advantage of our reciprocal museum membership and visit the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. We would get into this museum for free with our membership, but we saw they had the traveling Pirates exhibit here. We have seen this exhibit advertised before in other cities, and we were all excited about seeing and exploring it for the first time! Normally they charge $20 extra for adults and $11 for kids for this exhibit, on top of their museum entrance. For members however they only charge $7 each for adults and $3 for kids. For pirates we could do that, cheaper than the new movie for sure!!

When we got there, the museum informedus they could not use our reciprocal membership for the Pirate exhibit discount! Ugghh!! There was no way our family was going to pay almost $100 for entrance to this exhibit.

Of course trying to explain to our younger members we were NOT going to see Pirates exhibit was a bit dicey and we nearly had one meltdown. We continued on through the museum, but fellow full-timers, beware of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and their special exhibits. Kind of a rotten policy if you ask us!

They did have a nice exhibit. We didn't like their dinosaur exhibit, it was in your face evolution propaganda. However they have a nice Egyptian exhibit and lots of taxidermed animals. We really enjoyed their space room, where there were lots of hands on exhibits and volunteers to talk to. The little boys enjoyed their discovery room and we all loved playing with the high-powered microscope in that room. They also have a very cool gem and rock display. There are thousands of amazing geological wonders to see here!

I was proud of our boys for how they rebounded from their disappointment of not getting to see the pirate exhibit. They did get their picture taken with a pirate outside the exhibit! After an afternoon of exploring and learning we went to another Man vs Food restaurant, home of the 20-lb breakfast burrito - Jack n Grill. no we did not order the 20-lb wonder, but we have some nice Mexican food with some good guacamole to go with it!

Pork Burrito marinated in chile sauce

50 McDonalds - Colorado

We can add another state to our McDonalds quest - Colorado! We stopped into a Golden Arches in Pueblo for lunch on May 10 on our way up to the Denver area. There was a nice place to park Howard out back. The younger boys have been asking to go - Batman action figures in the Happy Meals! Chase here displays his Cheeseburger without the burger.

They also have some strawberry lemonade, which I had and found to be quite delicious and a nice alternative to soda. This was a pretty decent and clean McDonalds and we watched highlights of the NBA playoffs on TV while we were there, er Blake and I did anyway.