The Drive to Utah

Last July, during our first summer here in Georgia, I was particularly lonely and miserable.  I also realized that half of our ward was out of town, and was informed that there is a mass exodus to the west every year.  Once I realized it was socially acceptable in our ward to be out of town for several weeks during the summer, I vowed that I would never spend another July in Georgia ever again!  Once this summer rolled around, I wasn't feeling nearly as lonely or miserable.  But we still decided to make the trek out west and spend the month of July in Utah and Colorado.  Flying our family of 7 wasn't really an option, due to the expense and the fact that we would need our car while we were in Utah for a month.  And of course, Sam would always prefer to drive everywhere we go -- just an excuse for a road trip.  In fact, I think the only reason Sam agreed to my plan to spend a large chunk of our summer out of town was because it meant he could plan the drive out to Utah.  And he planned quite the trip for us!

We left on Friday afternoon, June 28th, and drove to Oxford, Alabama to spend a night with dear Mina and her kiddos.  It had been too long since our families had been together and we loved being with them.  Of course Mina was the ultimate hostess and served an amazing dinner.  And Calvin LOVED Cooper.  We realized on this trip that Calvin loves people around his size.  Cute to see him hugging and hugging and hugging Cooper -- too bad Coop didn't think it was very cute.

We woke up EARLY Saturday morning and started out on the first of a couple very long days.  We actually drove through 5 states that day -- Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, stopping for the night in Oklahoma City.  We pretty much drove straight through, except for a couple of stops that were very important to Sam.  First and foremost, Sam was so excited to go back to Mud Island in Memphis again.  We visited here when Campbell was a baby, and Sam LOVED it and couldn't wait to come back again.  

It was a hot day, and the kids were anxious to burn off some energy, so they didn't hesitate to immediately start waded in the water.  Cal particularly was loving it.  He had his shoes on, but got right in and moved down the paths.

 Sam loved stopping occasionally and pointing out the features on the map of the Mississippi River and its path.

 Near the end of the model, the river dumps into a big fountain/pond area that represents Lake Ponchartrain.  Cam asked if she could wade in the water, and Sam said yes, but instructed her to not get her clothes wet (Cal had already fallen in the water and was soaked, and we didn't want to have to change multiple kids clothes once we got back to the car).  We turned around a minute later to see this -- Cam swimming in the water, completely submerged.  So strange, especially since the kid hates water supposedly.

 Family pic at the end of the model.

Our one other stop that day was some obscure spot in Arkansas where Parley P. Pratt was murdered.  We did enjoy stopping and stretching our legs, and we sang a hymn together which was nice.  But this is definitely not a church history site that many people know about or visit, that's for sure!

After our nights rest in Oklahoma City, we woke up the next day and drove the rest of the way through Oklahoma, through Texas, and ended up in New Mexico, close to Four Corners in Shiprock.  It was a fairly uneventful day, and the kids were great in the car.  The scenery changed dramatically that day -- we definitely weren't in the green, green South anymore.

We woke up the next morning and headed right to Four Corners.  We tried to go there a few years back when we went to Mesa Verde with my parents and Brighton, but we were told it was under construction and that you couldn't actually get the right spot.  So it was fun to be able to finally visit.  We took a lot of pictures -- everyone wanted a chance to straddle four states at once!

 It was great being back in Colorado, even if it was brief!

Then it was on to Utah.  But Sam planned for us to spend some time in Arches National Park before we headed to Provo.  It really is a beautiful place -- I couldn't stop taking pictures of the rock formations.

Sam did some research and planned for us to hike to Landscape Arch.  It wasn't too long of a hike -- about a mile each way, but it was SO hot.  We started out and the kids were in fairly good spirits. . . .

 But that was pretty short-lived.  We didn't have a baby backpack or carrier for Cal, and he insisted on walking most of the path so our pace was slow.  But it was too hot to loiter and linger, so the kids would walk as fast as they could while the path was sunny, and then find some shade and rest for a bit.  By the time we made it to the arch, every single one of our children who can talk had asked that we just leave them on the trail to die.  Everyone was sure they couldn't make it a step further, let alone all the way back to the car.  We forced everyone to be in a picture and to pretend like they were having fun.  Reagan isn't very good at faking emotion.

Then Sam carried Campbell and Reagan and I carried Cal and we got back to the car as fast as possible.  So, so hot. Midday and 110 degree weather are not the best combo for Southern Utah.

 The hike took a bit longer than planned, but we all survived, and stopped for one more picture before we drove out of Arches.  Cutest little roadtrippers/hikers ever if I do say so myself.  Which I do.

More pics as we left Arches -- I really couldn't help myself.  And these were all taken with my phone since we forgot to bring our nice camera on the trip.  Pretty nice for phone pictures, huh?

After several more hours in the car, we saw a wonderful and familiar sign:

Yay for BYU and Provo and Northern Utah.  It was SO, SO good to be back.  I have been back to Utah several times since our move to Georgia (March 2012 with Elle and Bennett for Grandpa Yarn's funeral, December 2012 with Calvin for Caroline's baby shower, and May 2013 by myself for Women's Conference), but Sam and Reagan and Campbell haven't been in Utah since late 2011.  It had been too long.  Love Utah, and excited to post pictures of our time there -- it was all I hoped it would be and more!