Today we decided to skip our last stop and drive straight home from Rapid City, SD. It was about 9 hours, but worth sleeping in our own beds tonight. The kids were not happy our trip came to an end, but we had a really great trip and made lots of great memories.

Claire and Ethan start kindergarten and 2nd grade on Wednesday. Getting back to a normal routine will be good for Chloe, but she will miss them during the day. I’m glad we were able to get this trip in before the end of summer.

Today we drove to South Dakota. We visited Custer State Park, saw Mount Rushmore, and drove through some tight tunnels. As we approached one tunnel, the sign warned us the width was only 8’0”. I told Matt we needed to turn around, but he insisted we’d fit. People on the other side had their jaws to the floor when our shuttle bus emerged. Some were even taking pictures of us lol.

Today we left Glenwood Springs and headed north into Wyoming. We drove through some very mountainous areas and stopped at a river and a lake to get our feet wet. Chloe enjoyed throwing rocks in the water and playing in the sand. Ethan and Claire had fun looking for specs of gold in the river.

Today we drove through eastern Utah and into Colorado. We found a dinosaur museum along the way, which was a big hit with all three kids. We also found a large arch to explore. You can’t quite tell from the pictures but it was quite a hike to the top. Ethan and Claire did an amazing job climbing. Our hotel tonight is in Glenwood Springs. Our pool is filled with hot spring water which felt great!

Today we left Arizona and headed into Utah. We stopped to see the Moenkopi dinosaur tracks. We were able to walk right along the footsteps of dilophosaurus and raptors. We are staying the night in Bluff, Utah which is incredibly beautiful.

Today we explored the Grand Canyon some more. We found some lesser travelled trails in the woods. Ethan and Claire made arrows with sticks and rocks along the way so we could find our way back.

We started our day off with a visit to Rock Slide State Park in Sedona. The water was ice cold, but felt refreshing as we slid down the rocks.

We stopped at Flinstones Bedrock City. The kids got their faces painted, slid down the big dinosaur and checked out all the “prehistoric” buildings.

We also had time to visit the Grand Canyon this afternoon.

We started the morning by visiting Saguaro National Park. Even at 10:00am it was intensely hot. Tucson reached almost 100 degrees by the time we had left town. The park was so beautiful. There were so many cacti in every direction, we spotted several lizards, but luckily no snakes.

We are staying in beautiful Sedona tonight. We plan on visiting Rock Slide State park in the morning before heading towards the Grand Canyon.

Today we drove from Las Cruces, NM to Tucson, AZ. We made a stop at Shakespeare Ghost Town before crossing into Arizona, and I’m so glad we did. I called ahead to arrange a tour since it is not open to the public. We got a private tour of the old mining town with some really cool history. The owner had just killed a rattlesnake before we got there so Ethan was able to get an up close look at one (minus the head which he had already buried).

Our hotel tonight is in the Catalina Foothills which is absolutely beautiful. We spent a lot of time in the pools and on going down the water slide, then finished off the night with dinner on the patio.

Today was HOT! Our first stop was to tour a pistachio farm in Alamogordo, NM. We learned a lot and got some ice cream and some pistachios for the road. Our second stop was White Sands National Park. The sand was so white it looked like snow.

Today we visited Roswell, New Mexico. The town is full of alien statues which the kids enjoyed spotting as we drove down Main Street. It was an incredibly hot day in the 90’s with a scorching sun. We checked into our hotel, got our suits and sunscreen on and headed down to the pool only to find it was completely empty. You can’t even imagine the disappointment. I hopped on google quick and found a park in town with a splash pad! The day was saved 🙂

Today we left Pueblo and header farther south into New Mexico. We stopped around Taos to put our feet in the Rio Grande. Then we visited Bandelier National Monument. The kids really thought it was cool climbing the ladders up into the cliff dwellings.

Today we left Ogallala and headed to Pueblo, Colorado. We explored the Pueblo Reservoir. The kids had fun skipping rocks on the water and finding treasures along the shore.

We got to our hotel pretty late last night, but luckily the pool was open until 11:00! Ethan, Claire and Chloe all enjoyed the water slides before bed.

We had our longest drive today over 6 hours through South Dakota and into Ogallala, Nebraska. We stopped to drive some go karts and bumper boats before heading off to dinner at Front Street Steak House.

Somehow Matt came across this shuttle bus, and it came home with us. He got it running, took the wheelchair lift out, and cleaned up the body. Now we have a road trip bus! The kids each have an entire row to themselves, and I don’t have to worry about cargo space.

We’re loaded up and heading out! We have 4.5 hours ahead of us on our way to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.