I'm not sure whether to label this summer as awesome or ridiculous, so I'll just call it both! Seriously, though. Between this road trip, attending a four-day work training in Anaheim, and my crazy East Coast adventure at the very end, I spent only 3 weeks at home over the entire summer. In all honestly, though, I do realize that I won't always have the opportunity to do things like this and also that many don't have the opportunity to travel, so I really am grateful to be able to see so much of our great big world!
I'm not even sure when I decided to go on this trip and how it all began. All I know is that, immediately after the school year ended, I packed up an enormous bag and...ummm...five other smaller ones (don't judge me!) and threw them in the back of my parents' van and disappeared for nearly a month! Here's a peek at what we did!
We left in the afternoon, so our first stop was in St. George, UT where we spent the night and then got back on the road early the next morning. We headed up to Salt Lake City, where we were planning on spending the night at Diane's house and then having her join us for the weekend. On the way to Salt Lake, we made a couple of stops.
We stopped to walk around the Payson Temple, which was set to be dedicated the next weekend.
Then, we made a stop in Mona, UT, where my cousin, Roanne, and her family lives. Our GPS betrayed us in the middle of nowhere, of course, but Roanne was able to give us directions so we eventually made it! It was great to visit with her; it had been way too long!
We also stopped at Lehi City Cemetery to visit my grandparents' graves and then made our way to Diane's house. The next day we waited for Diane to get home from work and then we drove to Rexburg, ID, where we were able to do some temple work.
The next day we went to Yellowstone. I have always, always, always wanted to go to Yellowstone! I was SO excited and it was cool, but not nearly what I expected! They totally didn't really even highlight all of the amazing things going on beneath the ground and that's the part that's so interesting to me. Also, there was SO much driving in between things to see/do. Call me crazy, but I actually left the park disappointed. With that said, we were able to see some pretty great stuff, like Old Faithful
The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
And a herd of bison walking down the street. No biggie! ;)
After Yellowstone, we at dinner at an awesome place called Buckaroo Bills! It was definitely the underdog. We chose it because it was nearly empty and we had to get Diane to the airport. We were pleasantly surprised to find that it was adorable inside! We got to eat in covered wagons and the food was delicious AND inexpensive!
After that, we dropped Diane off at the West Yellowstone Airport, which is the tiniest airport I've ever seen! On the way back to our hotel in Idaho, we saw this beautiful rainbow! You could see it hit the ground on both sides with a perfect high arch in the middle! The picture can't do it justice, but I want to remember it, so I'm including the picture here anyways.
Th next morning we went to Mesa Falls! It was gorgeous...and mosquito infested! The second we opened our car doors, we were swarmed by mosquitoes. Seriously, we could not apply insect repellent fast enough. I had 3 bites on my legs within minutes. Once we got to the falls, it was worth it!
Next Stop: Montana!
We had some things that we had planned on seeing in Montana, but then my friend, Kathy, who grew up in Montana, discovered that I was in Montana and sent me all kinds of suggestions of really cool things to do! Among them was Virginia City. It's an old mining town with a pretty significant and interesting history! We took a narrated train ride around town then saw a Virginia City Players show in the Old Opera House. The show was really great! It was a melodrama, called Box and Cox, followed by a vaudeville show. Very well-done and highly entertaining!
Next, we went to the Great Northern Carousel in Helena. It's an old carousel with hand-carved animals that are native to the area and adults can ride it as well as kids! I rode it twice and it was awesome! The first time I rode on a wolf and the second time I rode on a buffalo!
My mom rode it too, but my dad wasn't feeling great and didn't want to get dizzy from going around in circles, so he took pictures for us! They also had the BEST ice cream here! So good!
After that, we headed into Alberta, Canada. I've now been to several provinces of Canada and I've liked all of them. Except Alberta. It was pretty, but it was not my favorite place to be.
I got to do a session in the first foreign temple I've ever visited! This temple looks like a fortress on the outside, but inside, it was probably one of the most beautiful temples I've ever seen! I was so happy that we got to go here!
Then, we went to Waterton Lakes National Park, which was quite pretty!
After heading back down to Montana, we visited Helena again! This time we went on the Last Chance Train, which is a narrated train ride through the capital city and it was pretty cool! Helena actually has a pretty remarkable history!
We were also able to visit Little Bighorn and explore the site of Custer's Last Stand. I learned a lot here. I love history, but somehow I wasn't super familiar with this battle, even though I'd heard of it my whole life. It was fun to learn the details of it!
The next morning we got to go to the Billings Temple!
After that, we had to kill some time before Diane's flew in. So, we went to some random things in the area. We visited the Western Heritage Center, where we spent a fair amount of time looking around. At some point, I decided I was done there, but my parents were not. I found a place to sit, put on a sombrero (this is totally normal, right???) and texted my sister for awhile. My mom snapped this candid shot and it makes me laugh so hard! I'm thirty years old and I STILL act this way! haha Not sure if I should be proud or embarrassed!
My parents are cute!
The last place we went in Billings was the Moss Mansion. I had never heard of these people, but it was on the attractions list for Billings, so why not give it a try? It ended up being really, really cool! Seriously, if you're ever in the area, go here! Great tour guides, incredible architecture, and endearing family stories! Awesome!
After this, we picked Diane up from the airport and went to North Dakota, where we did the only thing there is to do there: Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It was pretty there and we got to see a ton of prairie dogs being cute, standing on the top of their little mounds! It sounds lame, but it wasn't!
Teddy Roosevelt actually lived in this cabin when he needed a break from life after his wife and mother died. It was his time here that made him appreciate nature and inspired him to create the National Park System to preserve and protect some of our nation's natural wonders.
Beautiful!
Next up: South Dakota!
We spent several days in South Dakota and there was actually A LOT to do here!
We started out by visiting Deadwood, which is where Wild Bill Hickok was shot. I didn't like this place. It was dirty and smelled like cigarette smoke everywhere you went...even outside in the streets. BUT it was cool to see Wild Bill's and Calamity Jane's graves and my dad was really excited to come here since he grew up loving the Wild West culture.
That evening we visited Mount Rushmore, which I've always wanted to see! My expectations were pretty high and, honestly, it was even cooler than I had anticipated! We went late in the day so we could see the mountain carvings in daylight and then attend the evening lighting ceremony and see the faces all lit up! It ended up working out perfectly and, if I were to come here again, I would do it exactly this way! I was able to get a little closer look by going on the trail of stairs that takes you a bit closer to the carvings and lets you see them from a different perspective.
The following morning, Diane flew home very early and then we went to see the Badlands. They were gorgeous, but I can understand that they would've been "bad" to travel over in a wagon, so I agree with the name choice under the circumstances.
These mountain goats were crazy cool! A ton of them came running up a huge hill, across the street, and stood right by the cars. I took this picture from the car and I didn't even have to zoom in to get them that close.
We also visited the Crazy Horse Monument! This was pretty cool and the history of the monument is extremely impressive! I really liked visiting this!
It suddenly got freezing cold and I actually wore my Snuggie in public. I know. Don't judge. ;)
The monument isn't actually done yet, which is kind of weird, considering it's been a long time since they began creating it. Hopefully they'll be able to find the funding to finish it up sooner rather than later.
The next day we did a bunch of little things in the area. We checked out an awesome little store called "Christmas Village" and it was magical! I could've spent hours in that store and still not have grown tired of it. I love all things Christmas, so it was right up my alley! We also visited a dinosaur museum that had life size dinosaur sculptures that looked very real!
It was a fun place for all of us! My mom and I even went through the mirror maze! I've always wanted to do one of these, so it was pretty cool! This one reminded me of something out of Harry Potter!
Next, we visited a place called Founding Fathers. It's a building that resembles Independence Hall and houses a life-size sculpture re-creation of John Trumbull's painting "Declaration of Independence". It was awesome and the only one of its kind in the world!
After that, we went to Bear Country USA, which was absolutely amazing! It's basically a drive-through zoo where wild animals roam free as you drive on a path. You really do get to see the animals up close and personal. We saw reindeer, mountain goats, cougars, several other types of animals, bears. LOTS of bears. They were roaming around and they were gorgeous and majestic. The pictures can't do it justice, but we were seriously in awe as the bears wandered around the cars.
That night we had dinner a Fort Hays, which is where part of Dances With Wolves was filmed. We had a Chuck Wagon dinner and then got to watch a show.
We also got to meet one of the band members who is part of South Dakota's Country Music Hall of Fame. It was such a fun night!
The main attraction for the next day was Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota. It's a site where they've found more mammoths than anywhere else and the mammoth skeletons are all complete. They built the visitor center around the dig site, so you can walk right through it and see the mammoths. I loved this place!
We also got to drive through some crazy, beautiful storms!
The next day was spent driving and driving and driving, and...ya know, driving. Then, we magically ended up in Colorado. I have been to Colorado a couple of times now and, each time, I discover that I really don't like it at all. However, the Olympic Training Center and the Air Force Academy were both very cool!
The Olympic Training Center tour took us through several of the buildings where Olympians train and there were actually people practicing while we were there.
Next, we visited the Air Force Academy. We didn't spend a ton of time there, but we saw a good video that gave the interesting history of the Academy and then we drove out to see the chapel. It definitely has a unique appearance, but was pretty in it's own way.
My dad and I are standing beneath a model B-17, which is the type of plane my grandpa flew in.
My parents outside the Air Force Academy Chapel
Inside the Chapel
Next, we traveled to New Mexico. First thing in the morning we went to the Pecos Historical Site where ancient Pueblo People lived. It was a pretty well-preserved/restored site and had a reconstructed church and LOTS of kivas. There was even a restored one that we could go inside of. I was so excited to be able to explore something that I'd studied so much about when I was in college.
Mom inside the Kiva
Kivas are built into the ground so you enter from the roof and climb down a ladder to get into it.
This is the church they were reconstructing!
After leaving there, we went to the Coronado Historic Site, which wasn't too far away.
We got to explore more buildings and then we got to go into a reconstruction of a painted kiva. They weren't typically painted, so it was really, really cool! They promised the descendants of the original occupants of the site that they would keep it scared by not allowing pictures of the paintings to be taken (they don't even sell pictures on postcards or in the visitor's center), but they have some of the pieces of the original kiva paintings on site that you can look at.
That night, Diane flew in and we got to go to a session in the beautiful Albuquerque Temple!
Beautiful Temple and check out this beautiful sunset!
The next morning, we woke up extremely early and drove a very long way to something that I've wanted to see for a very log time! Chaco Canyon!
This is a huge, ancient settlement and it is awesome! I was amazed that they actually let you walk/climb/crawl through the different rooms in the settlement! I couldn't believe that I was actually standing where the ancient Pueblos lived! Minoring in anthropology with a focus in the southwest made me fall in love with this stuff!
We hiked up the mountain to see petroglyphs!
The wooden posts sticking out of the wall would've supported the second and third floors. It was such a cool day! Well, actually a very hot day, but a wonderful day nonetheless!
The next day was the last day of our trip! We stopped in Flagstaff, Arizona and visited Lowell Observatory where Pluto and the Expanding Universe were discovered! Diane and I visited this observatory last summer when we visited Flagstaff and it was just as impressive the second time around!
Such a great place to visit!
We spent that night in Flagstaff and headed home in the morning. It was an amazing trip in which we got to see so many incredible things, but we were definitely ready to go home and sleep in our own beds! Such an awesome experience and I wouldn't trade it, or the time I got to spend with my parents, for anything in the whole world!
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