This year we ventured from our soggy northwest weather, to places where the sun didn't stop shining. Seriously, we never saw a single drop of precipitation after we left. From home, we traveled to Billings, Montana, where we just stopped to stay the night. Not much to say, it was Montana, but I did take the family to Fuddruckers for their (not my) first time. They loved it.
From there, we traveled onward, stopping at the Battle of Little Bighorn for a quick history lesson for the girls. They liked the teepee they had set up there and wanted to take a picture in front of it. It was funny because the sun was shining so bright, they couldn't even look straight at the camera!
Continuing on, we drove through Wyoming into South Dakota for our next stop, Mount Rushmore. The girls loved the "big heads." They stood in awe of how much effort it took in creating that national monument. It was an awesome sight.
We stayed the night in Rapid City. I wish we would have had more time there because there were so many museums and fun things to do that I never knew were there. We did however go shopping in the little local stores and we got the girls Black Hills gold jewelry to remind them how special this place is.
The next morning we headed out, this time traveling down into Nebraska, (only to add that state to the list) and back into Wyoming, onto our next destination, which was Salida, Colorado. I had booked reservations for all of us to zip-line. That was so much fun, except for the fact that Andy and Sydney got sick the night before. Poor guys. But, they are troopers and despite them feeling ill, they still zip-lined with us. I was worried Madeline might be a little scared even though she said she wanted to, and as it turned out, I had nothing to worry about. She was practically leading us on the trails to the zip lines. We all had so much fun and we can't wait until we do it again.
We then left, heading this time to Durango, Colorado. While on our way, we drove over a pass called Windy Pass. It was beautiful scenery, and we could tell the name of the place wouldn't let us down, because our car was being pushed back and forth by the tremendous wind. We got out to take a picture and below is how it turned out. I think its my favorite picture of the trip.
You can practically feel the wind, just by looking at the picture! I love it. Anyways, we continued on, into Durango, where we stayed for the next few days. We took a drive out to the Four Corners Monument. The kids (and Andy too) were amazed that they were standing in all four states at once.
It was Easter weekend, so I had booked us a ride on the Easter Beagle Express, a train ride from Durango to Cascade Canyon.
It was really fun. The girls got to do crafts on the ride up, making easter egg necklaces, bunny masks and putting on temporary easter tattoos. Snoopy and the Easter Bunny even came by and read them the Snoopy Easter story.
The train ride stopped up at Cascade Canyon, where we got to get out and stretch our feet. It was beautiful up there. All the snow had melted on the ground by then, so that meant the river was raging. We had about an hour to hike around up there before they told us it was time to get back on the train for the ride back to Durango.
As we traveled back down the mountain, I was stunned by the beautiful scenery that surrounded us. It was truly picturesque. These few frames below don't nearly do it justice. It was a wonderful trip and a lot of fun, as it was the very first train ride for all of us.
The next day, we headed to Mesa Verde, where the cliff dwellers built their homes and resided for a few centuries. It was another fun and interesting history lesson for the girls. Once again, nothing but beautiful views everywhere you looked. Here we are from the top of the cliff.
When we hiked down the side of the cliff we were amazed by the structures these people had created. Magnificent pieces of art and spectacular houses built into the cliff.
Up at the visitors center we had read about the people who inhabited the area and how they had suddenly vanished, leaving no written record of why they lived there or why they chose to leave. It is a bizarre mystery, but amazing nonetheless.
Driving back into town, I remembered a place that another passenger on the train with us the day before had told me about. It was the Durango Discovery Museum. It sounded like our cup of tea, so we headed there next. Oh my gosh, was this place perfect for my little scientists. The girls had a blast there, recalling scientific things they already knew and discovering new things that piqued their interest. We would have never left there, if it wasn't for them closing for the day. Seriously, they had to kick us out, we were having so much fun.
The next morning, we bid adieu to Durango. Sadly, we had to come to terms with it, we were heading home. A fun drive awaited us, however. We got to drive through our favorite state, Utah, via a route we had never traveled before. We drove through Moab, taking in how beautiful and rugged it is, when we immediately decided that we would have to come back and vacation there. We continued on, staying in Twin Falls, Idaho for the night, knowing it was our last night away on vacation. As the sun rose the next morning, we packed up and headed on the long trip home with many new and precious memories banked in our minds. We had a lot of fun this year, and lots of pictures to remind us of the good time we all had. And of course, we can't wait for next year so we can do it all over again.
