This was our very first trip as a family of four. Before now we really spent our vacation days visiting family. It was enough, we certainly had exciting places to go. Most of my family is in Nicaragua and clearly that's exotic enough for most American families. We did a lot of exciting things in Nicaragua. We saw volcanoes, fresh water lakes with sharks! We hiked rainforests, my parents live in one for goodness sakes. The adventures we had in Nicaragua will stay with my kids forever. Other fabulous vacations include visits to grandma in Florida, enjoying white sand beaches and summers in Indiana on the lake over the Fourth of July. Nothing feels more American to me than a summer on the lake. However, with it being a trip to family, we didn't always decide our destination and venture out. I was eager for a family vacation going to destinations that none of us had been before. Traveling with my husband and kids and experiencing new things together.
Alas our trip Out West
After a little time googling travel destinations with kids, the National Parks out west were a must. With a little nudge from a friend, we agreed to meet up at Yellowstone and let our kids play hard by running around enjoying nature. Less is more. I aim to remind myself of this lesson learned a lot. It goes a long way. We did a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon. It was grand - Yes, it was expensive - Yes, it makes for great storytelling and envy - Yes...but it was gluten and it was very expensive and it was "more". I find that I feel best long term over the "less", the relax, the enjoy, the laugh out loud, the wonder and the moment. It's hard to plan these things, you have to earn them, you have to find them. The less is in the moment, the relax, the eye contact, the enjoy the moment. I learned "less is more more" on our trip out west and I will take this with me in each future family trip. The trip: In Colorado we visited Denver. Oh I love Denver. We started with Red Rocks (Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a rock structure near Morrison, Colorado, 10 miles west of Denver, where concerts are given in the open-air amphitheatre). It was our introduction to all the gorgeous red colors out west. What I loved about Denver is that when locals ask "What do you do?", they aren't interested in your profession, they could care less what you do for money, they want to know what you do for fun! Are you a biker, climber, runner, skier? Denver is such the outdoor enthusiasts dream and I really respect that. Wyoming is so American. Cowboys and bison and mountain ranges, waterfalls and green and clean and great. We visited the capital Cheyenne, Cody and learned all about Buffalo Bill Cody and then of course YELLOWSTONE! The USA's first National Park. We chose to stay in various parks of Yellowstone because it's so big, we thought it best to enjoy a pocket at a time. I mostly loved the bison and the animals overall. Every so often you see a traffic jam and you know some amazing wildlife has been spotted. Score! The water falls, lower and upper are beautiful. It's the boilng mud that makes you think you're on the moon! Then the geysers and Old Faithful and the gift shops and the guides and the Grand Prismatic Spring, and the snow...and, and Yellowstone does this, that's what makes it a great, big, grand National Park that spans multiple states. It's really the most amazing National Park we have ever visited. Beautiful. Grand Tetons! Oh the Grand Tetons, this is where we saw the most wild life, by far, hands down. Bears, fox, birds, white tailed pronghorns, moose, deer, baby deer! It was wildlife galore. Plus the entire drive down from Yellowstone was one amazing photo perfect sight after another. We eventually stopped just to enjoy the view and eat some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The sights were just too beautiful to not stop and enjoy, soak in and take. Grand Tetons were beautiful. We slept in Jackson Hole, which is a quaint place to visit. Touristy yes, kid friendly certainly and really right up our alley, lots of restaurants to visit and friendly. Great for kids and a nice, comfortable area. Win! In Idaho we wanted to visit Craters of the Moon. Scared of too much driving, we ruled it out. We enjoyed some volcanic rock parts outside of the national park area and got a feel for it. It was enough for us. We enjoyed local breweries in Idaho Falls, saw the man-made diversion dam used for hydroelectric power and didn't venture much outside of that. Utah is fascinating! It won points upon arrival at Salt Lake City. We were upgraded in our Holiday Inn hotel points stay to 2-bedroom accommodations! It was such a trip after traveling together for a week. We had space, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a pool! Yay! In Salt Lake, we just had to visit the Great Salt Lake. At the time of visiting, I read a well written article by a father of his visit to the Great Salt Lake with his kids. The visit was so miserable, talking about the gnats and the saltiness and the terribleness that I just couldn't stop laughing, we all read all terrible it was and decided we wanted to see it for ourselves! We experienced, we saw the gnat intensity and we too laughed our way through the misery. While I haven't been able to re-find this write up, I found this one to be pretty decent. This is a situation where I learned that "less is more". We spent little money, we enjoyed ourselves and we laughed ourselves silly! It was fabulous. Years later (which is now for me) I still remember it fondly. Bryce Canyon! Bryce became my favorite of the National Parks. The weather was delicious. It was cool in the nights and warm during the day. We camped and the weather was great camping weather (in June). The park is small enough to hike your way into the canyon and back out in a short day. The voodoos (that's what they call those stacked rock structures) are fascinating! How does that happen?! The whole park is picturesque! Zion! Zion was Steve's favorite and the boys, because they love their father so much,...it became their favorite. We visited Zion in late June and the heat, OMG, the heat! It was so hot, the wind was hot. It felt like a blow dryer was blowing on you when the wind would blow. The Snake River in Zion was a favorite, the kids played in it...while Mom and Dad enjoyed some down time and it was refreshing, remember the heat! Let me back up and tell you about the drive into Zion. We drove in from the north side where you stop at a tunnel and wait your turn in. Traffic is blocked because it's only one way into the tunnel....so we waited, then drove in slowly into the tunnel, I wasn't prepared for "how long" we were in the tunnel, then you get a glimps of light and Holy S&*t you get a glimpes of Zion, then at the end of the tunnel comes the light...and AHHHHH The doors of heaven open as you drive into the greatness that is ZION! It was unreal, you're at the top of the canyon driving zigzags as your drive into the Canyon! It's just beautiful and big and wow, and oh my goodness, this is a national park! In short, we loved Zion (minus the heat, maybe don't go in June or July or August)... The Grand Canyon was a big destination for us. The trip really was revolved around visiting the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone, so to finally make it to the Grand Canyon, marked an important destination. The drive from Zion to the Grand Canyon was long and desolate. It was certainly shorter to the North Rim, but I wanted the family friendly, busier south rim to have access to things and to do the Grand Canyon big...so we circled around it through deserts and deserts. There are hours that you drive without seeing a soul, no rest stops, no gas stations, no restaurants, don't drive through here hungry or thirsty! While we had a lot of junk food in the car and water, we didn't have much substantial and hunger, discomfort and family tension built up! Alas, we reached the Grand Canyon area...and the road-side stands started. We found a gas station with suffice make-a-meal type food and then I got a stop for some jewelry! There are plenty of jewelry stands with handmade Navajo Indian beauties. Necklaces, bracelets, key chains, galore. I adored it. Eventually we made it to the South Rim and set up camp. We camped at Mather Campground. There were plenty of families and the kids quickly made friends. We enjoyed hiking the Bright Angel Trail with the switchbacks...well maybe I can say I enjoy it, now that I'm no longer on the canyon. While "on" the Bright Angel Trail, I was a nervous wreck with my kids and getting to close to the edge, and exhaustion and heat exhaustion and the heights and going to fast and going to slow. Yes, I was a nervous wreck. But it was beautiful and I can enjoy that and now that it's over, I'm really, really glad we did it! The Trail of Time is leisurely and gorgeous, plenty of viewing platforms, lots to enjoy and much less intimidating. Loved this one. The campgrounds were clean, with showers, overall a fabulous stay! The less is more that I can look back and say was "unnecessary" was the helicopter ride. It was expensive and Aiden got quesy and well so did it. It was fabulous in that I had never been in a helicopter before and yes, it came with great bragging rights, but it was so expensive and short and we felt sick, that it was a "more" that we could have done without. Live and learn. We also enjoyed Sedona in our trip to Arizona. Here the weather was cooler, just a tad and the rocks amazing. Bright red colors, and a nice hotel! We were very ready for a nice hotel after three back-to-back National Parks of camping. We swam in the hotel pool and all enjoyed long, long showers. At Sedona we fished at a Trout Farm and really love Slide Rock State Park. It was a hot, hot day and this water is freezing. The slippery rocks serve as a slide as you go down the river. The water was freezing, so it took a bit to acclimate. The kids loved it here. It was lazy, inexpensive, we picnicked and it was a successful "less". A win! In route to New Mexico we did Root 66. So many scenes reminded me of the Disney movie "Cars". We visited the Cozy Cones and ate at diners. We did Winslow, AZ. This made, Steve, the music lover, very happy. We visited the Painted Desert, while lovely, it was a bit of a disappointment to all the other grand National Parks that we visited. The gift shop is AMAZING and we got some great souvenirs there. Onward...we drove straight to Sante Fe. What a gem! At its high altitude the weather is delicious. Even in the middle of July, the weather was outstanding and chilly in the evenings. We visited with Steve's family and enjoyed home cooked meals. I learned what a ristra was and had to get one. It didn't quite work though, back in Atlanta. The humidity created mold on these beautiful dried peppers. Bummer! The food is so good with a fusion of Mexican and Indian. Picking red or green sauce on anything was right up my alley! We ate well, enjoyed the cool desert and mostly hung out with family in New Mexico.What I learned
Colorado!
Wyoming!
Idaho!
Utah!
Arizona!
New Mexico!