The Desert and Zion

The kids were so excited to see the desert.  They talked about it for weeks leading up to our trip.  I don't know where this excitement came from, or why they all shared it, but we thought their excitement would wane once they saw the great expanse of nothingness.  We were wrong.  They thought the desert was pretty awesome.  It was fun to "see" the barrenness through their eyes.

 We had an impromptu lesson on wind energy along the way.  Kian was especially impressed and for the remainder of our trip, pointed out any windmills he saw.

 

 Did I mention we took our kitten with us?

Yep, we're insane.

We're ok with it.

 

 We were very impressed by the LONG desert trains.  This is where we camped on our first night....right by this beautiful train bridge.  Our camper is parked right behind where the kids are standing.  Many trains went by in the night, and coffee was a welcome sight come morning.

 

 Watching trains.

 

This is what a typical pit stop looked like for us.  If we couldn't find a rest stop with a large pull out for trucks, we found large empty parking lots.  Lunch was made in the camper while the kids scootered.  Not all pit stops were as interesting as the hotel surrounded by a roller coaster, but these kind of stops were key on our long travel days.

 

Two LONG days traveling through the desert and then.......

 

ZION

 When a baby lifts his hands in awe of the huge red rocks and gently raining waterfalls, you know you're in a pretty amazing place.

 

 Arrow loved the slimy rock walls where the water dripped down.

 

 Road School.

We are learning how to identify trees.

NOT as easy as I thought!