We went on an epic drive across several western states over the past two weeks. I’m behind on going through all the photos, so decided that this time I would share the report first and then do photos in batches. Our adventures included:
- Flight to Denver
- Visit with Bryan and Ally’s family in Fort Collins: We stayed at Downtown Artery in Old Town, above a café featuring live music into very late hours. The room included bowls of ear plugs for folks who hoped to sleep.
- Attend church in Fort Collins and head back to Bryan and Ally’s place for yummy ribs
- Erika and I went for a fun 3-mile “stroll” with Bry and Al on our first night with them. The kids stayed behind to shoot arrows, throw hatchets, shoot airsoft guns… as one does. I carried the fixed-blade knife as Bryan was already carrying the pistol we might need to protect ourselves against bears. Fun!
- Walk around Old Town, visiting many fun shops buying a birthday gift for Milo, eating at an interesting bistro for lunch.
- Hike in Rocky Mountain National Park with B & A’s family and eat delicious pizza in Estes. We returned to their home afterward for indoor smore’s cooked in the fireplace. Bryan is a frame builder and had a lot of cool projects going on in the garage. We love their family so much and really enjoyed our time with them.
- Drive to Provo, UT, where we stayed at a place full of BYU football art and memorabilia (all our beds were found via AirBnB and VRBO)
- Tour of BYU complete with art museum visit and ping pong in the Wilk
- Hike to Bridal Veil falls
- Visits to our old apartment in Orem, a yummy Italian restaurant for dinner, the Provo Library, and both Provo Temples.
- Drive through gorgeous American Fork Canyon, stopping to look around Sundance
- Explore Thanksgiving Point, focusing on the petting zoo
- Tour of Temple Square, complete with a walk on the roof of the Conference Center. Camden was impressed by the three enormous organs on display at the venues there
- Smith reunion at Uncle Stan’s home for everyone in town that evening. It was great to see them all.
- Drive to Joseph, OR, near the Wallowas, via Boise. We stayed in a lovely country home with a lot of animals on the property. The kids had a blast, and I hit a deer in the driveway 🙁
- I deserted my family that Saturday and hiked up to Aneroid Lake. This may be the most beautiful place on Earth. I was surprised at how fast I was able to hike without kids and a heavy pack. Not nearly as fun though, of course 🙂
- Stroll around ‘downtown’ Joseph
- Attend church in Elgin on our way to Portland
- The home we stayed at in Multnomah, outside Portland, was fantastic, complete with eggs from the chickens living in the yard
- Family reunion kickoff in Portland, starting at the Rose and Japanese Gardens
- Epic lunch was comprised of Sushi and Voodoo Donuts
- Met Jennifer Ward’s family in Albany for Pizza at the park on our way to Roseburg, where we’d stay the rest of the week
- Whitewater Rafting on the North Umpqua, possibly everyone’s favorite activity of the vacation
- Hike and boat tour of Crater Lake. So amazingly beautiful! The bluest water you can imagine
- Sailing at Klamath Falls Lake
- Beach visit in Charleston. Had so much fun here. Cold water, but had our own cove with great rocks to climb on and explore. Kids fed mussels to the sea anemones
- Wildlife Safari visit, where we got to feed deer, and a young cheetah was walked by me while I made a call in the parking lot
- Jet boat tour and dinner. Twin 450 cc Chevy engines pushed us up and down the river at around 50 mph, complete with 360º spins along the way
- Visited Cordell’s place and Grandma’s new place. Cordell and Sarah have a fun compound complete with goats, rabbits, dog, bird, and bees. The kids didn’t want to leave
- Flight back to RDU from PDX
We had such a great time with everyone here. The kids had a blast playing with cousins all week. Can’t wait for the next reunion in 2017!
