Car (oldish). Many Miles (1,500+). Family (C and Hil). Memories (good ones).

That pretty much sums it up, but here is a more detailed review.

After staying in Texas with C and Hil we hopped in their car and made the journey from Texas to Utah. And with the help of our professional tour guides (Clayton and Hilary- let me know if you want their info...) we made the road trip a journey with MANY memorable stops and sights along the way.

Day One

Bryan's Poco Taco. Look closely at the photo. We, of course, had to start off the trip with a real show stopper. Eating at the classiest restaurant Texas has to offer. It was a great beginning to an epic journey.

Up next... 

Carlsbad Caverns

The Caves were incredible. You walk down a paved trail to the bottom of the cave. The cave then opens up into this wide room of cave formations. It kind of felt out of this world. Being so far underground is truly a unique feeling, especially when you ride an elevator back to the top. This is a great stop if you happen to find yourself in New Mexico, just avoid spending too much time in Carlsbad, as the city itself truly is BAD!

Next Stop...

White Sands National Park

These natural sand dunes provided many hours of entertainment. The park rents saucers used for sledding down the dunes. We got in some pretty cool tricks, then the wind picked up. as an alternative to being sand blasted, C and Ty discovered that the saucers turned into great wings. This was the closest I have ever felt to being a bird....

After playing in the sand long into the night, we made our journey onward and found our way to 

Santa Fe.

I loved this city and feel like I could spend much more time taking in all it has to offer. Great art, food, buildings. It all has a very western feel, but I loved the uniformity of the architecture. I am sure this place has some great things to offer. Including some pretty old buildings...

Although we wanted to spend MUCH more time exploring the city, we knew we must trek onward. Our next stop put us at

Mesa Verde.

 We were crawling. Climbing. Sitting. Standing. Gazing. Sweating. and in Awe. All in a place where the Anasazi dwelt. It was pretty incredible. And I felt pretty lucky to be there. I am glad this treasure has not only been preserved, but has been made so accessible for all to enjoy.

While we may have killed many bugs on our trip, the only real casualty we experienced was the tire. Which was quickly replaced by a spare and fixed not much later. Not too shabby for so many days spent on the road. We truly did have the best (cautious and safe) tour guides!

In true road trip fashion, we all felt that our trip was ending a little too soon. So we decided to throw in one last stop. And I am oh so glad that we did.

Arches National Park

We sort of did an, "Arches in 3 hours" tour. Which clearly is not enough time to enjoy it all. But I was again amazed by the natural splendor.
After spending so much time in other states, I think I forgot how much Utah has to offer. And all in all I have concluded that Utah is a pretty great place.

This was a road trip to go down in the record books.
Ty and I were sure grateful that we got to tag along on this one.

Putting things off....

Why is it that the things that mean so much take so long to blog about? I have delayed this post for much too long, I think because I want to do this summer justice. It has been epic. One that will be VERY difficult to outdo. So I have put this off for much too long. I must give our summer justice.

Round 2 of "funemployedness" has begun, which means we have spent our time doing things that we love and avoiding things that we don't love. First of which includes spending much needed time with our family and friends...

Our first summer venture began before summer did. We went to visit Laura and Marty in North Carolina while I still had a week of school left. Best idea ever! We loved our time there. It was beautiful! 

We hopped in the car and headed from Winston-Salem to the Outer Banks. Oh my word, it is my new favorite destination. I am trying to convince all members of my family to visit so we can go back. We stayed in Nags Head. The scenery, the people, the beaches, the activities, the temperature...it was all ideal.

We spent much time lounging on the beach, but we also did a little exploring through Nags Head Forest. We were walking through a swamp-like forest, perfect setting for a book, observing the awes of nature and BAM we were at the ocean. It was a great hike and the ocean never ceases to amaze. 

Not only are there beaches and beauty, the Outer Banks provides a TON of sights to see. We spent one afternoon at the Jockey Ridge Sand Dunes. We had no idea we would spend so much time jumping off the side of a dune, but we were entertained by sand for hours. 

Another must do is the Wright Brother's Memorial. Kill Devil Hills (also in the Outer Banks) was the birthplace of aviation. This is where the Wright Brothers took their first flight. The memorial was beautiful, and for a teacher I was eatin' up the history of these men. It was very interesting and a great reason to travel eastward. 

Not only were the activities marvelous, but we ate the best seafood while visiting the coast. One night was spent at the Black Pelican. It was tasty! But some of our best food was cooked on our own porch with Marty's new portable grill. I LOVED the food and realized how delicious fresh seafood is. Perks of coastal living are definitely racking up. 

We spent four days in the Outer Banks, and it was not nearly enough time. I would return in a heartbeat and encourage any interested to make this their next travel destination. It is a MUST do. 

After leaving the beach, we drove back to Winston- Salem to see the sights of Laura and Marty's home for the past 2 years. Trees! So many trees! The freeways were almost claustrophobic. 

We visited Marty's school.  Wake Forest University has a beautiful campus. I loved the feel of the grounds and the building are meant to look like they all go together. Someone had the grand scheme in mind, and they did well in the construction and landscape of this university.

It's always fun to see where family is living, I love knowing how they get to the store, church, school. I love seeing their neighbors and what their houses look like. This was no exception. The trip was wonderful and memorable and a monumental way to begin the summer.

The travel logs will just continue from here....

I have a minute...

...to just relax! And it is wonderful.

I am sitting at a table under a tree in beautiful Midway, UT while Ty is busy at a writer's conference.

It is just me and the ladybug sitting on my computer screen.

I haven't spent this much time alone in quite a while.

And I recommend spending just a few once in a while in silence.

It is good for the soul.

On another note...

This summer was full of so many great things. I was in 10 states in one summer.

Idaho, Washington, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas and of course Utah.

Here are just a few photographic memories of a wonderful summer.

Truck rides at the cabin with the entire Whitesides family. It is so great when we are all together.

Our journey to Minnesota! Lots of happy people in one van.

It was so fun to make the trip with Molls and Mike and we appreciate their willingness to stow us away.

We even stopped at Mount Rushmore on the way.

A much needed time to stretch our legs and enjoy a piece of American History.

We had such a great time in Minnesota. The weather was wonderful, not too humid. The children were quite enjoyable and hilarious. We still are laughing about the things they said.

The food was delicious. Mike and Molly really know how to treat their guests.

And we even got an after hours tour of the Mayo clinic, where Mike is finishing up his last year of residency.

Mike took us to the pediatric wing where everything was designed with the children in mind.

Even the drinking fountains.

And these three animals.

Love them, even though they call me "Uncle Connie."

Historic Nauvoo

It was amazing. It was not even what I could have imagined. I loved hearing the stories and the history behind the Early Saints of the Church. And being able to experience it all where it happened was unlike anything else I have ever done.

Laura and Marty joined us for a while and we loved spending time with them. They went back to Kansas City and we quickly followed but we stopped  a few places on the way...

The Historic City of Hannibal, Missouri.

The birth place of Mark Twain.

Adam-ondi-Ahman

This picture doesn't even begin to show the vastness of the land here.

Thousands of windmills and corn fields along the way.

Man and nature working together. I love it.

Becoming a real adult (22 years of age) with a real career. That has been quite an adjustment. But it is one that I love.

And to end the summer recap. I can't believe how big these children are getting. I am a proud aunt. And it is good to know that there are genes this great floating around in the McDonald gene pool. It give me hope for one day.

We had a wonderful summer.

We look forward to next June when the fun begins again.

Texas anyone?