This is the last Spring Break before our daughter heads off to college. We offered a few choices of where we might go for spring break and she chose to see 4 National Parks; Kolob Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef and Canyonlands National Park. They were awesome!! So amazing that these places exist....Beautiful beyond belief!! Make sure to see the petroglyphs in Canyonlands at Newspaper Rock. We all loved seeing those. Amazing that they have survived this long!!
We decided to get the America the Beautiful Pass. It's basically a year of unlimited access to any National Park. It was $80, but well worth it. It saved us time when entering the parks and we only had to pay once! If you are visiting enough parks to make it worth buying then you definitely should. They sell them at most of the visitor's centers. I have linked the website to the pass above that you can check out and see where to buy them!!
We did 4 parks in 5 days with 4 kids, 2 parents stuffed into a Toyota Highlander, 24 hrs of driving, 2 stopping places and LOTS of fun!! The kids were great! I prepared ahead of time with some car games. I found some great websites, Landeelu.com and Mum in the Madhouse for some games to play while driving. And of course we played some of the classics..the alphabet game, the name game using the alphabet, and the license plate game, which we found all but 12 states! Everyone wanted Hawaii, but no luck!! We even drove around the outlook parking places looking for different license plates!! We had a lot of fun just being together and seeing all of the beautiful landscapes of the national parks! We had to stop at the Visitor's Center of each park and get a window sticker for our oldest to put on her hydroflask. Of course there was time for sleeping and also for using their electronics. I did like that most of the time there was no cell service. It really gave us a chance to interact and spend uninterrupted time together! Here are a few of the sites.....
Kolob Canyon
Bryce Canyon
Mesa Arch at Canyonlands
Capitol Reef
It was so much fun to hang out with our kiddos and make some memories!! I treasure each family vacation we take. Not only do we get to see cool things, we get to grow closer together as a family and build our family relationships. If you read my blog you know that we are a blended family. It is essential to me to spend as much time together as we can. We only have a few short years to live all in the same place & build our relationships so these times are priceless to me! Love this family of mine!!
Italy has never been on my bucket list...but it should have been!! We had the wonderful opportunity to go to Tuscany this year. We found an amazing deal that we just couldn't pass up!!
I get emails from a website called Travelzoo. If you don't subscribe to them and you love to travel, you really should subscribe!! They have some really great opportunities to travel on a budget. This particular trip caught us by surprise. Next up on my bucket list was England. When the deal for Italy came about I sent it to my husband just joking, but SURPRISE...the joke was on me...he said to book it! So after some research, we did! We did extend the trip by a couple of days so that we could also go to Rome. We ended up visiting Montecatini, Florence, Pisa, Lucca, Venice and Rome in 10 days. It was beautiful. The weather was great. We were a little worried going in January/February as it is their rainy season, but it only rained for a couple of hours one day. I would definitely go again during the off season....less crowds, much cooler and still so many amazing things to see!
We rented a car in Milan and drove to Montecatini, Venice and back to Milan. It was fun to see the actual country and make pit stops wherever we wanted. They drive on the same side of the street as we do in America so that wasn't an issue. They do have toll roads and learning to navigate those was a little tricky since we aren't accustom to them in our neck of the woods here in America, but you can pay either with Euros or a credit card. The city streets are a little harder to get around on as they are curvy and the streets aren't well marked in some parts of the country. We didn't drive into most of the cities in Italy. I would definitely recommend taking public transportation. Their transportation system is superb. We took the Metros, the high speed trains and the buses. Its very easy to navigate & using Google Maps makes it simple to know what form of transportation you need & where to pick it up!
We got some of the passes to see things while in Florence and Rome. The Firenze Pass in Florence and the Roma Pass in Rome. They essentially get you into some museums, skip the lines and allow you to take public transit for less money. They both have time restraints so be sure to plan ahead with the things you want to see & do them according to your passes.
We used Rick Steves ' Italy book ALOT!! He has so much good information and we followed alot of what he says. His maps of the cities were very helpful and just his details of the cities made it much easier to get around and to determine what was a priority to see. I would recommend at least giving it a quick read of the places you are thinking of visiting!!
My favorite city was Venice. There is something about a city on the water. Bridges connecting you to everything. Old buildings and the smell of baked goods wafting through the streets. The old architecture of the buildings and the stories of the infancy of the city. Its rustic and charming and beautiful. Oh and it's where I had my first taste of Italian Hot Chocolate...its sooo good! Thicker than American Hot Chocolate...creamy...mmm...delicious!
My next favorite thing to see was the Colosseum! Its exactly what you see in photos. Its old and run down and missing some of the elaborate details that once made it a masterpiece. But, it is also so massive and solid and has stood the test of thousands of years. Its inspiring, a sign to all that you can withstand even the hardest things in life and still be beautiful....Amazing! The Romans constructed some awesome things!! Rome is filled with a lot of things to see...the Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Forum, Palatine Hill (another one of my favorites) and lots of museums and culture to explore. It was more of a city feel than I expected, but the history there runs deep!
Florence is filled with soo many museums and places to shop...and leather...LOTS of leather, very reasonably priced I might add...It's a busy town with lots of wonderful things to see. I loved the stories of the Medici family. They eventually became one of the most influential families in all of Florence, they even produced a Pope...Leo X. Check out the Pitti Palace, which was one of their residences! Incredible!! The other cool place was the Florence Cathedral where you can also climb the Duomo or the Bell Tower. Tickets to the Duomo sell out quickly so check early if you are interested in climbing it. We ended up climbing the bell tower, which is just as exhilarating!! The views of the city are spectacular!! Take a look...
Pisa and Lucca were fun cities as well. Lots of shopping in Pisa and of course the main attraction, The Leaning Tower of Pisa. We climbed the tower, which was fun and gave you a beautiful view of the surrounding city. It was much less crowded than the other cities of Italy. Lucca is famous for their intact Renaissance Era walls that were never breached. It's now a pedestrian walkway which circles the entire city. Its amazing! Lots of families and people using it. Such a quaint little city. We really enjoyed visiting it!
I'm so glad we came across this trip. It was completely unexpected, but so worth it. I loved every second of my time there. 10 days was obviously not enough, but now we have a better idea of what we would spend more time seeing on our next trip there! And since we rubbed the nose of the boar in the Mercato Nuovo we will be returning!!
This year for our end of the summer family vacation we all decided to go to Bear Lake. The kids have never been there and I haven't been since I was a kid! So we packed them up and took a trip! We actually stayed in Paradise, UT because we have a family home there and also because I didn't realize it was Raspberry Days in Garden City and there were no hotel rooms available at a reasonable price! But it was only an hour drive from Paradise to Garden City, so you can't beat free! Even if there is a little more of a drive!!
We started our day off at Minnetonka Cave. We had heard so many great things about this stop.
It did not disappoint! 3 out of our 4 kids had never been to a cave before and they didn't know what to expect. They loved the rock formations and the history of the cave. Our tour guide, Kinzi, was awesome! She answered questions and gave us a great understanding of the cave. Their favorite part was being able to touch the 1 rock that you're allowed to touch in the whole cave! Their least favorite part???...They all forgot jackets and it was a toasty 40 degrees in the cave!! And 888 stairs! And they are slick! We all took our share of almost falling on our bottoms!! Overall, what a great time spent at Minnetonka Cave!
The next stop on our trip was actually on the way down from the cave on the Minnetonka Cave Road, Blue Pond Springs. Its just a little turn off on the main road...if you blink you might miss it!!
It was a fun little shallow pond. It was literally 2 mins off of the road and beautiful. It was clear and clean. Very easy to see the bottom of the pond and fun to skip rock across. We only stayed for a short time. We had heard there was a moose that likes to frequent this pond and bask in the sunshine. Unfortunately for us, there were no moose sightings! But still a nice place to visit.
Next stop...Paris Ice Cave!! We have been told so much about this place too! Some of our friends told us about this quaint little place when we told them we were going to Bear Lake. They told us how much their kids enjoyed it and how cool (literally) it was when they entered the cave. Another friend told me that her Grandfather used to go to that cave back in the day and actually carve ice out of it to take home for his freezer.
I honestly wasn't expecting that there would still be snow there, BUT there was! And it was definitely cooler in the cave. There are 2 parts to this cave...the first one is the room you walk into from the outside, which has a big opening in the rock so its only a partial "cave". You can then make your way around some other rocks to a small opening where it then opens up to another room with more ice and snow. Keep in mind if you are going to do that, be sure to wear clothes you don't care if they get a little dirty and wet. And its slick! There is still a lot of ice covering the unsteady rocks ( and this is August people!!) so BE CAREFUL! I loved this place and knowing a little bit of history of the cave. It isn't a guided tour cave so it made it a little more fun to be able to see it at our leisure! The drive to it took about 45 mins up Paris Canyon and not right off of the main road, but it was worth the drive. The top of the cave was covered in wildflowers and grasses. Very pretty!
Next on our list, and my favorite part of the day, was Bloomington Lake. This fun place is about 12 miles up Bloomington Canyon. The road is very rough and is dirt the entire way. It is a popular spot to go so there was a lot of traffic & the roads are narrow. It took us about an hour to get up to the trailhead, but it was Raspberry Days so I am sure there were many more people than normal. It was about a half mile hike into the lake. The trail is fairly easy though & our 7 year old made it with ease! But check out this view.....
It was so beautiful...this picture does not do it justice! The rock cliffs behind it..the clear water...all of the green grass and wildflowers. And snow!! It was so amazing! This is quite the place for kayaking, paddle boarding, swimming, cliff diving...and there is even a rope swing. Although there were many people there, it didn't feel over crowded to me. There was plenty of space to enjoy some time with your family. I could have spent all day there. It was really fun!!
Last stop of the day was Garden City. We took advantage of being in the place with the world famous Bear Lake strawberries and ate at the Quick N Tasty and of course had the raspberry shake! Then we walked around the town days booths and stopped at the beach to take in some of the lake! Because, that is what we came for!!
It was beautiful, peaceful and relaxing! The kids had a blast just playing in the water & sitting around talking after a long day of exploring! I had forgotten how blue the lake is. And I seem to remember it being very cold...but not so much this time! It was perfect!
This was the perfect getaway for a quick trip! I definitely want to come back to Bear Lake! Its so close and well worth the time to take in all of the beautiful scenery and fun small town feel. I have so much fun with this family of mine and I can't wait to plan the next trip! He's having fun...I promise!!
We are officially only seeing each other and we decided to take a trip with our kids to Moab. We know it's only February and we were probably insane, but it all worked out!!
The weather was almost perfect & not very crowded this time of year!! We walked right into every arch and didn't have to wait for any people. The kids got along and there wasn't any fighting. Rex's youngest is 5 & she got tired of walking during certain parts, but we tried to help her and carry her some so we could see the things we all wanted to see. We ended up getting a condo instead of 2 hotel rooms. It was cheaper and more comfortable to everyone. I would definitely recommend doing that if you have a big family. Everyone can have their own space and enjoy the trip. Also, cooking is ALOT cheaper than eating out for every meal. Since we went over President's Day, entry to Arches National Park was free. However, its only $25 for a private vehicle with up to 15 passengers, so still really affordable!
Here are some pictures of Arches! Did I mention, its absolutely beautiful!!
This is Double Arch
This place was really cool & the kids LOVED it! Especially Ceceila! You hike into it and then there are sand dunes to play in and an arch...hence its name, Sand Dune Arch. Really a fun place if you have smaller kids!!
Landscape Arch is in the distance. The kids think they are so cool in this pic, (and lets be honest...they are!!) they got the perfect photo bomb! But we LOVE it! I think this is one of my favorite memories of Arches! I love that they did this!
Yeah..it snowed! We tried to get out and walk around and see the visitor's center and the outlook points, but it was just plain too cold and wet! So, we didn't get to see as much of it as we had hoped. We also had plans for Canyonlands, but it was in the same proximity and was getting snow as well so we bagged that! I will say that the snow falling around all of the red rock made a beautiful sight. We'll have to make that trip again!
Rex's sister and her family also came out for a few days too and it was fun to get to spend some time with them and get to know them a little bit better. We were also able to see his parents for a little while. They were on their way to serve their mission in New Mexico. I'm really glad that we decided to take this trip together and get to know each other better. It was a great way to spend President's Weekend!
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