OUR SUMMER ADVENTURE 2011

We DID It!!! We arrived home safely and it felt great to be back in our house. We were gone for 1 month and 1 day, traveled to 11 states, 2 countries, and drove over 5,400 miles!!! We had a few picture problems at the end, so we didn't get a Nevada or California sign picture. Next time :)

June 25, 2011 – Rocklin to Hume Lake = miles
June 25 – July 9 = Hume Lake
July 9, 2011 – Hume Lake to Kingman, Arizona = 479 miles
July 10, 2011 – Kingman, Arizona to Grand Canyon = 172 miles
Grand Canyon to Flagstaff, Arizona = 79 miles
July 11, 2011 – Flagstaff, Arizona to Moab, Utah = 323 miles
July 12, 2011 – Moab, Utah (Arches National Park) to Denver, Colorado = 371 miles
July 13, 2011 – Denver, Colorado to Grand Island, Nebraska = 383 miles
July 14, 2011 – Grand Island, Nebtraska to Fargo, North Dakota = 480 mil
July 15, 2011 – Fargo, North Dakota to Winkler, Mantoba, Canada = 200 miles
July 15-July 21 = Winkler and Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada
July 21, 2011 – Winkler, Mantoba to Bismark, North Dakota = 375 miles
July 22, 2011 – Bismark, North Dakota to Billings, Montana = 410 miles
July 23, 2011 – Billings, Montana to Yellowstone =
July24 – Yellowstone Park = 60 miles
July 25, 2011 – West Yellowstone to Jackson, Wyoming = 127 miles
Jackson, Wyoming to Elko, Nevada = 412 miles
July 26, 2011 – Elko, Nevada to HOME in Rocklin, California = 400 miles

Grand Tetons & Jackson Hole, Wyoming

July 25….We drove through the Grand Tetons and enjoyed a picnic lunch in the park. The Tetons were awesome and so beautiful. We drove to Jackson, Wyoming where we met Uncle Jesse and Aunt T.T. We spent a few hours walking around Jackson with them. It was a very cute town and would be a fun place to visit for a couple days. We were feeling ready to get home so we decided to bypass our hotel in Jackson and drive a bit further that evening.

Yellowstone National Park

July 23-25….We LOVED Yellowstone. We took a longer way into the park and we were so thankful that we did. We were able to see so many animals. We even saw a grizzly bear, which was very exciting. As we drove through the park we would stop at different locations to check out the sites. We ended our afternoon in the west side of the park at a ranger station where the boys took a class to earn their Junior Ranger Badge. After their class we headed for our hotel in West Yellowstone. West Yellowstone was a cute little town filled with shops and restaurants. We walked to Buffalo Bills for dinner and then daddy decided it would be fun to drive out to the rodeo, so we did!! It was a small town Wyoming rodeo, but the kids thought it was great fun. On Sunday we had a lazy morning and then headed to see Old Faithful. Seeing all the geysers and mud pots was amazing. We hot to Old Faithful in time to see it erupt. After watching Old Faithful the boys completed all they needed to do to earn their Junior Ranger Badges. They went to the Ranger Station and got sworn in so they could get their patches. They were very proud of themselves. On our way back out of the park we stopped for a picnic lunch along the river. The kids thought it was great fun to run through parts of the river and feel the water rushing against them. We were very tired on Sunday so we headed back for rests, a swim, and then dinner. It was time for a good night’s rest. On Monday we woke up and headed to the park early. We went to see some of the mud pots and small geysers. This was a place Andrew really wanted to go and it was definitely worth the walk because it was very interesting to see. The mud pots were a bit stinky though, especially for Miss. Allie. After our stop we headed to the south end of the park to make our way to the Grand Tetons.