Day 2--More Zion...

Officially Jr. Rangers

Enjoying the cold river

We went back to Zion this morning to do some more hiking and wading in the river. We did several short hikes:  the Grotto to the Zion Lodge, Lower Emerald Pools, and Pa'rus Trails. Along the Grotto hike we saw several deer right next to the path. The kids loved that! We went wading and swimming in the river. It was very cold, yet definitely refreshing in the 100 degree heat. We took a little break from hiking at the Zion Lodge, where we sat in the shade on a bench and drew pictures of the scenery. The kids became Zion Jr. Rangers, complete with the "swearing in". In the early afternoon, we got back on the road and drove to Provo, Utah, where the kids are once again in the pool. Tomorrow is a long drive to the Grand Tetons.

Day 1--Zion National Park

Beautiful!

Well, we have started our big road trip. We left at 4:30 this morning, and arrived at Zion National Park without any problems. Zion is simply beautiful! The kids got started right away with the Jr. Ranger Program. We went to a Ranger talk on "Amazing Animals" where we learned all about the Black Bear. We went on several hikes in the 100+ degree weather. One of the hikes was the Riverside Walk. It was a nice hike along the Virgin River to the "Narrows". It was amazing to see God's handiwork in the sheer, straight up cliffs. We did a little wading in the river to cool off. We drove back to St. George, Utah for dinner and our hotel. The kids and Dan are enjoying the swimming pool right now. Tomorrow is back to Zion for the day.

Where in America are you going?

Everyone has been asking us, "Where are you going on your vacation?" We will be making a big loop across middle America. Here are some of the places we will be visiting: Zion, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, Little House in the Prairie "stuff", family reunion in South Dakota, Missouri, Arkansas, Dallas, Carlsbad Caverns (New Mexico), and Tombstone, Arizona. We will be gone 24 days! Here is our map of the main route we will be taking. Keep us in your prayers, please, as we leave Friday morning at 4am! I will try to post every day--some days we will not have internet access, so we will just have to leave you hanging, and catch you up when we do have service. We would love for you to comment too. The next post will hopefully be Friday night from Zion! Here is a link to the route: https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Rancho+Palos

Flat Stanley and Flat Suzie

Some of you may recall that we always take Flat Stanley and Flat Suzie with us on our road trips. This year we will only be taking Flat Suzie. Kyle decided that it was time for Flat Stanley to stay home! I guess he decided that now that he is in middle school, he is too old for Flat Stanley. I'm sorry Flat Stanley, that you will miss out on this family adventure, but we are glad that Flat Suzie is going with us.

What is this all about?

I have been wanting to do a monthly, family blog for a long time, but never got around to it. The only time I have ever blogged was when we went on road trip vacations. Well, we are once again going on a road trip, so this blog was created. This time I'm hoping to continue it after the trip--we will see if I do!