We decided to take a road trip this summer with the girls to see family, friends, and explore some of the western parts of the U.S., our destination was Salt Lake City, Utah. My Mom and Dad decided to caravan along with us and join in on the fun. Being the lover of photography that I am, I had over 400 pictures from the whole trip, but I somehow managed to narrow it down to my favorite 150 for your enjoyment ;) You can click on any of the photos to view them in a larger format.
On the road, we started out heading to Coralville, Iowa for our first night.
The girls loved staying in a hotel, and sharing a big bed!
The next day we were up and headed to Alliance, Nebraska where my Aunt Kathy (my Dad's sister) lives. The girls were still happy to be riding in the car, entertained by snacks, toys, games, movies- anything that worked!
We made it into Alliance late at night and got some rest, the next day we were up and ready to explore. First stop, Carhenge; An odd re-creation of Stonehenge. Here John was recreating a photo his cousin had recently taken at the actual Stonehenge just days prior- silly :)
They had all kinds of sculptures too.
Charlotte, Mom, Alicia (my cousin Rob's wife), me, Aunt Kathy, Anabelle
My Aunt Kathy has been teaching dance for 30 years at her own studio in Alliance, we stopped to have a twirl and look around.
Behind me, the brown house, is where we lived in Alliance when I was 2 years old.
And here is the nearby park that we played at when I was little.
My Aunt Kathy and Uncle Larry have a fantastic older home that has 9 bedrooms!! It's one of those beautiful big houses you see with a great big porch that just feels like home when you walk in. Anabelle described their home as a "maze" and it is- you just keep finding more and more rooms. They have a great attic space filled with vintage toys and fun things to explore. Here the girls are playing tea party with a mini Tupperware set- so cool!!
There were lots of doggies to enjoy- here is Charlotte with Mishka on the back porch.
It just wouldn't be right to have dinner in Nebraska without a huge steak and some corn on the cob!
After dinner we walked down to the fountain.
My cousins, Collin and Rob- such funny guys!
Rob, Marie, Alicia, Uncle Larry, Aunt Kathy, Collin, Amanda
Mom, Anabelle, Me, John, Charlotte, Dad
It had been my goal on this trip to get a family photo on a bale of hay. It took awhile, but finally we saw the perfect one. What fun!
We stopped in Sterling, Colorado where my Dad grew up and I was born. We had some important family friends to visit :) Here we are with my Aunt Carol, who is very special to me and I was glad to get to see her and also her daughter Annette and son-in-law Cameron.
Back on the road, Charlotte and Anabelle decided to ride with Grandma and Grandpa!
It was a long day of driving but we made it to our place in Utah, we rented a townhouse for 3 days. It was pretty nice, and had a clubhouse with a pool which the kids loved.
The view of the mountains from our street- beautiful!
We decided to look around Salt Lake City and then take a little hike up to Ensign Peak, where you have a great view of the whole town.
After lunch and naps we woke up ready to explore more, we decided to check out Wheeler farm. It was great- a beautiful farm with lots of animals, a playground, a lake with ducks, and a tree house. Admission to the farm was free and then you could pay $1 to get a chance to milk a cow, well of course we had to try that too!
We were so full from our lunch we decided to skip dinner and go straight to dessert! Only on vacation can you get away with stuff like this ;)
The next morning we were up early to go on our tour of Timpanogos Cave, the hike to get to the cave was quite a workout. You gain 1000 ft in elevation on your way up, so it is pretty steep. We expected to have to carry Charlotte most of the way, but we were not sure about Anabelle's ability. She impressed us by walking up to the cave on her own- way to go Anabelle! I see some hiking in our future :)
The view from the cave entrance was great, here we are about to head in.
We had a wonderful guide, Spencer, all to ourselves which was nice. He told us all about the caves and how they were discovered. It was quite fascinating and I think the girls found it interesting too. Lots of cool formations and stalagmites and stalactites.
After being such a great hiker on the way up, Anabelle was treated to a "free ride" down on Daddy. Charlotte also got a ride. I think this was one of my favorite parts of the trip, the air was so fresh, the views were beautiful and Charlotte was peacefully sleeping on my shoulder as I carried her down the mountain.
Here we tried to wake Charlotte for a photo, but she would have none of it! Smooshing her face against mine-lol!
My Mom arranged for the girls to get medals from the park ranger when they reached the bottom- so cute!
After lunch and some much needed rest, we were ready to check out down town Salt Lake City. Unfortunately it rained big time, so we didn't see as much as we would have liked. Here are the girls at a fountain in the mall.
We went inside the Mormon Temple grounds to the community center. A large building filled with many statues and beautiful paintings, telling the history of the Mormon religion. Here Anabelle requested to have her photo not taken with the "big statue" (Jesus), but rather with the painting of Earth. :)
Eventually the rain cleared up and we were treated to a beautiful double rainbow!
The next morning we took a scenic drive, stopping to take photos along the way, to Park City.
Main St. Park City, Utah
The Egyptian Theatre
Just the day before it had snowed in Park City!
Snowballs in June!!
We went up to Park City Mountain Resort to let out our inner child and try out some rides. Here are John, Anabelle, Dad, and Mom on the Alpine Coaster. A speedy ride up the mountain and back down- weeee!
Everyone loved it!
Since I had stayed back with Charlotte (who was too little for the Alpine coaster) Mom decided I needed to accompany her on the zipline. I have never done one before and actually wanted to when we were in Hawaii, but we never did. Well that was 9 years ago and since then I have developed a healthy fear of heights. Of course to get to the top of the mountain you have to take a ski lift, something else I've never done and wasn't too excited about. However, we did it! and maybe had a little fun in the process, thanks Mom ;)
Charlotte napped and then was a good sport and watched everyone without complaint. When she woke up she got to ride the carousel, which sadly I don't have a picture of. Anabelle decided to try out the bungee trampoline, she had done this at the Wisconsin State Fair and couple of years ago and loved it. Well she still loved it- and had a great time jumping and doing flips.
That evening Mom and Dad watched the girls while John and I were treated to a fun baseball game with some friends of ours -Josh and Lisa. The Salt Lake City Bees are a fun team to watch, here Lisa and I got to snap a photo with the Bee himself :) It was great to set to see our Utah friends!
Sadly, it was time to head out town, back on the road again we were heading to Denver, Colorado. We decided to stop and see Arches National Park on our way. So glad we did, what a beautiful park, that we could have explored for days. We decided to see "Double Arch" on this trip.
John did some research and climbed up to see how difficult it was to sit on the edge of the arch. We decided Charlotte needed to wait with Mom and Dad but that we could take Anabelle up.
Getting up there is not that easy, but we did it! This is one of my favorite photos ever! Anabelle was so proud of herself and her smile says it all!
Hmm... now getting back down was a little harder :( turns out I get a little panicky when it's time to come down. Who can blame me? I have NO upper body strength to rely on and I am short, reaching for toe holds is scary. Don't worry John came to my rescue- good husband :)
Ok, enough fun, time to drive to Denver. Along the way we drove along the Colorado River- just beautiful! Saw this place- Red Cliffs Lodge, adorable little cabins along the river. John promised me we'd stay there some time :)
Some of the mountains were crazy colors, here are some that are brown, green and red all in one!
We had a quick overnight stay in Denver and we were back on the road the next day headed to Kansas City.
Driving through lots of wide open spaces, where there is nothing in sight for miles and miles- gotta love Kansas.
Once in Kansas City we got to stay with and visit our good friends Marena and Adam and their sweet little guy Everett. We had a fun time checking out a local Jazz festival and catching up.
The kids had fun too :)
Time for a bedtime story.
Bye Kansas, we are off to St.Louis!
Our final stop of the trip was Six Flags in St. Louis. We stayed at the Holiday Inn right next to the park which was a great idea. Getting in later in the day we were able to eat dinner, swim, and then head over to the park for the evening hours when it was less crowded and cooler. We had fun taking the girls on all of the little rides. Anabelle was a little disappointed, just missing the height requirements for some coasters by just an inch or so. But we still managed to have a fun time and get in lots of rides and of course visits with Bugs Bunny!
Being so close to the park, we were even able to go over for a few hours in the morning before it was time to head for home.
Meanwhile, Mom and Dad stayed a little longer in Denver to visit with our good family friend Aunt Kris. They took in the sights from Mt. Evans- breathtaking!
Well 3,500 miles and we had a great time! Both John and I were surprised at how well the girls traveled. Away from home for 12 days and we only had one major meltdown- that it really pretty good. Anabelle was a great helper and entertainer to her sister, was very flexible, and willing to try almost everything. Charlotte was very easy going most of the time, flexible and patient as she was unable to participate in some activities- but that never seemed to bother her. We were also happy to have my Mom and Dad along to join in the fun and lend a helping hand, I hope they had a good time too! Given how well everything went, John and I remarked that we may have some more road trips in our future! See you on our next adventure :)
