Thursday morning (July 29th) we all flew out to Salt Lake City and met up with Mandy at the airport. Our disappointment at being in the very last row of the airplane was made up by quickly getting to the rental car and out of the airport. We had SO MUCH stuff we were lugging around... two car seats, hiker, stroller and enough luggage for everyone. It was a sight to see- but all in all the travel was off to a good start!
Our first night was in Layton, Utah. We had a nice dinner at Roosters Brewery across the street from the hotel and went to bed early. On Friday we started with a walk in Ogden, Utah as part of Mom's volkswalking (she is also trying to do walks in all 50 states). The walk was at Fort Buenaventura Park- the highlights were teepees and cottonwood trees that made it look like snow.
After hiking, we went to the greatest kids museum ever built- Eccles Dinosaur Park! A great museum of dinosaurs and fossils and acres of trails with large dinosaur sculptures and playgrounds. It was fun for everyone involved- who can resist dinosaur robots? It was a really great way to spend a couple of hours before driving to Idaho.
Driving through Utah, we were intrigued by large letters on the mountainsides and found that these symbolize different communities, towns, or schools and are scattered throughout mountains in the midwest.
Our next hotel was Pocatello Idaho. We went and checked in and jumped back into the car and headed to Idaho's Famous Hot Springs- a mineral water swimming pool, diving platforms, water slides and hot springs. Scott braved jumping off the highest olympic platform and we tried out the water slides- one was pitch black and super scary! The weather started to cool off, so we headed to the hot springs- different pools with stone or sand bottoms steaming as it started to rain. We would have spent more time, but it was too hot to linger long, even though Connor "likes it hot"! It was a very busy and fun Friday!!
The next morning (Sat), we did a 3 mile walk at Massacre Rocks State Park and then drove to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. Some very unique sights and adventures.
Connor was such a big hiker and walked most of the three miles until the very end- Scott finally got a workout then! Connor would stop from time to time and say "I'm out of gas" and would start going after a few sips of water!
Then we started the drive to Craters of the Moon in Arco, Idaho- the longest flatest drive full of nothingness (except the first nuclear testing site). At Craters of the Moon, we took turns exploring while the boys slept in the van. This "weird and scenic landscape" is a vast ocean of lava flows with scattered islands of cinder cones and sagebrush. We climbed in underground caves and tunnels and climbed a cinder mountain. We would have liked exploring the caves more if we were better prepared- like water, flashlight, and sneakers!
Remember you can click on each photo for a better view. Check back soon for photos of Yellowstone, more adventures, and those adorable little boys!
