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the bus
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photo map update
Our map got an update today. Some states were filled in. Some states got updated pictures. Oh... New Mexico. You are going to drive me crazy.
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recap
Our summer roadtrip took us through 13 states: South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska and Iowa. Whew! Emma and Olivia visited 7 states for the first time: Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. Braden and I visited 4 states for the
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canyonlands
This is probably our last (and 15th) National Park/Monument/Recreation Area on our summer roadtrip. We are all pretty exhausted at this point, so our visit was a short hike, a couple overlooks, Junior Ranger badges and we called it done. Afterward we had lunch at a diner with
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sand flats
There are two things I am not a super fan of (1) jet skis (2) UTVs. UTVing through the Sand Flats in Moab was something Braden really wanted to do on this trip. Three of the four of us loved it. I gladly took on the role of photographer/videographer
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arches
We almost skipped Arches National Park. I figured once you've seen one arch you've seen them all. It seemed pretty boring. We're staying in Moab for a couple days because Emma and I want to go to Canyonlands National Park and Braden and Olivia want to go UTVing. Since we're
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slot canyon
Tomorrow we leave Southern Utah, but before we go we took an ATV tour to a slot canyon. They are as cool in person as they look in photos. Fun fact for Austin - the height of a slot canyon is at least 10 times more than the width. Because
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zion - day 2
Most of the parks have different ways they try to minimize crowds and traffic, except Yellowstone. Yellowstone was just a free for all. Glacier required reservations to enter the park that you had to purchase two days in advance. Zion only lets you drive on one road in the park.
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zion
Our drive into Zion was not looking promising this morning despite the weather forecast saying low to no chance of rain today. We didn't get to do much before the rain started coming down. One of the hikes we wanted to do was partially closed because potential flash flooding (plus
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grand canyon
Today we made it to the Grand Canyon. I was actually ok skipping this National Park, but I'm glad we didn't. There is a reason it is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Our next adventure of the day (and it was quite the adventure) were the
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farewell las vegas
Our last day in Vegas was filled with laundry, pool, dinner and a show. We ate dinner at a Japanese steakhouse in the Bellagio. The girls were excited to get dressed up. They were also excited about the sushi, steak and soup. After dinner we took the girls to their
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las vegas
We had a bit of a dilemma this week. Do we stay in California and spend a day in Los Angeles, or do we start heading towards Minnesota? After discussing it in length we decided to skip Los Angeles and head to Las Vegas. For the first time in over
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yosemite
We're squeezing in as many National Parks as we can before Emma's 4th grade pass expires. This one was on Braden's list to visit this summer. We took our craziest hike yet to get to the base of El Capitan. On the way back we stumbled upon a group of
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redwoods
Redwoods were on our list of things to see before we leave California. Unfortunately our route from Oregon to California wasn't anywhere near Redwood National Park. Fortunately there are a couple places in California where you can see the redwoods and this one was just over an hour from San
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san francisco
Our legs are tired after a full day of sightseeing in San Francisco. We did it all - Golden Gate Bridge, sea lions, Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, a cable car ride and hot fudge sundaes at Ghiradelli. I think the highlight for both girls was getting to ride on the
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