:: zion national park, utah ::

After a chaotic few days in Las Vegas, we headed a few hundred miles north to Zion National Park. We had heard great things about this part of Utah since we arrived & were not disappointed! The canyons & scenery were spectacular. The little town of Springdale was artsy & outdoorsy, full of interesting coffee shops, art galleries & adventure companies. The national park was not only beautiful but so well equipped with information, visitors centres & shuttle buses. 

Our only regret was being unable to tackle some of the more adventurous hikes because of our two little ones that do not share their parents love for outdoor adventures. Saying that, we dragged them around in the chariot, on the shuttle buses & up a few small hikes.

We spent a lot of time down by the river, where the boys could paddle & throw rocks & we could drink beer & chill out. Everyones happy, except the water was REALLY COLD!

On the shuttle bus on the way up the canyon Jamin kipped out. They introduced shuttle buses in 2000 to reduce traffic congestion & it was a great move. They hook two together & can even load your bikes on the front if you are planning to ride down the canyon. The boys loved them so much that Jamin wanted one on his birthday cake! Now that is a big deal for a 4 year old!

A short hike up to the Emerald Pools with both the boys in backpacks. Made an easy hike a little bit, no a lot, harder! But they did love getting wet after walking under the waterfalls & the object lesson on why they are called waterfalls was educational for the whole family!

The hike back took a lot longer with our budding artist Kael stopping to draw in the dirt every few steps. His brother joined him & then we had two very dirty boys to carry.

One morning Danny took off on his own adventure, hiking up Angel's Landing. Here's the description of the hike but basically it is a feat of engineering that only the bravest hikers attempt. The drop offs each side of the rock below are hundreds of feet!

Danny stopped for snack at the top & this little squirrel tried to snitch some of his food.

The self portrait at the top.

Looking back down the ridge where he had hiked and had to go back down. Scary!

On our way out of the park on the way to Grand Canyon we got to go through a 1.1 mile long tunnel, built in 1830, complete with windows throughout to view the canyons. Apparently it is another feat of engineering & was pretty impressive & popular with the boys in the family.

Zion National Park did not disappoint, in fact we even extended our stay a few extra days to soak up the beautiful scenery. This is a place that we would love to return to if we are ever back in the area, as there is so much more to explore & do. It gave us some wonderful memories to hold onto.

:: las vegas, nevada ::

At the m&m store - 4 storeys of m&m's!

I was not sure what to expect of Las Vegas... Danny had visited many times before but this was mine & the boys first trip. It was big, loud, bright & busy - and being a city girl by nature, I loved it! It didn't seem too sleazy & 2 nights was just the right amount of time. 

Heres what we got up to...

The famous painted ceiling in The Venetian. It was overwhelming but as you can see the boys were not as taken with it as me. I had to run to catch up with them...

The gorgeous sky & canal complete with gondela rides in The Venetian. We would have gone for a boat ride but the wait was hours long. With 2 boys under 3? Ah, no thankyou!

Our cute Italian dinner place, complete with kisses from 1 of my loves.

Next we took in a Cirque du Soleil show, Mystere at Treasure Island. It was amazing. Jamin spent the show hiding behind the iPad but Kael loved it & didn't miss a second. Here's a naughty picture I took during the finale just for you. 

The view crossing the bridge back to our caravan at Circus Circus. We stayed at the KOA which brought a bit of normality for the boys & was a good way to stay grounded in the craziness that is Las Vegas.  

The next day we took a double decker bus ride along the strip & ended up having an early lunch at The Bellagio. It was a rather grand place.

The balloons were made out of glass. I want some!

The famous Statue of Liberty at New York, New York. It was really odd seeing all the sights that have been apart of movies & culture for so many years. 

That night Danny treated me to dinner at Mandalay Bay, then dropped me off at The Lion King, a show that I have wanted to see for years. It was AMAZING! I loved every minute of it - the songs, the costumes, the production was so wonderful I cannot wait for the next time I can go out to see a show. 

We may just be returning to Las Vegas sooner that I expected...

:: yellowstone national park - part 2 ::

Our 2nd day at Yellowstone National Park was even more eventful than the 1st! As we were driving into the park I was telling Danny & the boys how much I wanted to see a bear. I had high hopes but you can't plan these things... 

Here's the map if you want to have a look at the upper loop that we followed. We went from Madison, up to Norris, over to Mammoth Falls, then on to Tower Falls, Canyon & back to Madison. It was a fantastic drive & here are the highlights. 

First off we stopped at Gibbon Falls...

...and the boys used up some energy climbing the rocks.

Then as we were driving onto Mammoth Falls we were held up by a "Wildlife Jam" (a technical term used for when all the tourists stop to look at an animal & create gridlock).

There was a bear just down the embankment from the road! So we got out, had an amazing close up view of a grizzly bear walking around down by the creek digging for food. It was AMAZING! He was totally uninterested by all the people standing there with cameras. Kael learned to say 'bear' & he kept on signing 'more, more'. After about 10 minutes we decided to move on & as we were driving away a ranger was coming down the road to create some order of the chaos.

A beautiful view as we were driving over the ranges. 

We came to Mammoth Hotspring Terraces & did a small drive through them while Kael had a short sleep. 

Then we drove on down to the town & spotted a family of deer. The fawns were so small & I loved their spots!

We went for a short hike up to the terraces.

They were spectacular & quite steamy too.

There was something beautiful about the formation & colours of them. 

After lunch we drove onto the Tower Falls & on the way were held up by another wildlife jam for 2 bears meandering along the river. The ranger here is trying to get the traffic flowing. 

Then we drove over Mount Washburn at 3122m & there was still a lot of snow beside the road.

On the road between Canyon & Norris we spotted a elk from the roadside. These people looked a bit too close & the boys were done for the day so we kept driving.

Nb: We recommend iPads for any parents driving long distances with children. They WILL save your sanity!

Another Bison spotting, this time meandering along the road. 

The next day we were packed up & ready to head off home through the South entrance of the park. Over the 3 days that we were in Yellowstone we had a great opportunity to see pretty much all of the park & its spectacular wildlife, scenery & natural wonders. It was such an amazing experience & worked so well for the stage our family is at. 

A beautiful early morning picture as the sun was rising in the sky over the river.

Another Bison! & this time he was just walking in the middle of the road, totally ignoring the traffic that was carefully driving alongside him. It was great to get such a close up view of one!

We drove home through the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. It had a different feel & look to Yellowstone but the Teton Ranges were just spectacular. 

It was a long day in the car, starting at 7 o'clock & not getting home until 8 o'clock that night. But we had some fun stops along the way to break up the day. Check out our 4th July Festival in Jackson, Wyoming here. 

:: yellowstone national park - part 1 ::

This last weekend we made the grand trek to Yellowstone National Park. This iconic American park was everything & more than we could have imagined. I would have to rate it as one of my favourite parts of our time here. 

We drove all day Friday to reach our campground just 7 miles from the West Entrance to the park. From there we settled in the for the night & were raring to go Saturday morning. 

Heres a link to the main map of the park in case you want to follow along with the photos. We did the bottom loop on our first day, from Madison past the Lake & the canyon, then back to the West Entrance. The boys loved being able the get in & out of the car, spot the wildlife, look at interesting things & have a run, then another rest in the car. 

We stopped in at Madison first off because we thought there was a visitors centre. No centre but there was a huge Bison scratching himself on the picnic tables. I was blown away by the size of it. There is a video at the end to show you a closer look plus some amusing commentary. We were probably a bit close to him considering that they can be quite aggressive but he was very uninterested in the people around. 

We drove past some small geysers on the way to the famous 'Old Faithful' geyser.

The visitors centre had a great kids area explaining how a geyser works & lots of other interactive things.

The entrance to the world famous "Old Faithful". In true Danny & Al fashion we totally fluked being in time for the next eruption of the geyser & only had to wait 30 minutes. They can now predict the eruptions give or take 10 minutes & the occur every 90 minutes or so. 

The boys found their own front row seat.

Old Faithful shot water about 130 feet in the air - impressive! There's a video further down.

Next we headed over to Yellowstone Lake which was beautiful & blue. It also had a few steaming pools  from the active volcano that erupted 640 000 years ago.

Stopping to look at some rapids alongside the road. Kael wanted to go swimming. 

Jamin spotted a flower field so we stopped to let them have a run. It was gorgeous & a lot of fun.

This video makes me laugh.






We made our way past some more Bison.

Then on to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

On the way back out of the park we spotted some deer grazing next to a bridge so we got out to have closer look. They didn't take much notice of us.

Here's a video with a few highlights. The Mud Volcano's were very smelly from the sulphur but rather cool as well.




Check back here for Part 2 of our Yellowstone adventure tomorrow.