July 2021 Road Trip!

 My Dearest Evan,

July 1-11, we went on a great big road trip, from Tucson to Bryce Canyon to West Yellowstone to Jackson/Grand Teton to Denver/Colorado Springs/Pueblo to Albuquerque and back! It was something like 40 hours of driving in 11 days but we fit a lot of things in along the way!

You were really great in the car for the most part. We enjoyed some movies on the iPads, singing Little Einsteins (remix…….yes, there’s a remix version) – and of course we replace Einsteins with Ev Stein or Bave Stein, playing I Spy With My Little Eye, playing Road Trip Bingo and playing with Pascal. You’ve also done well at napping in the car. You were pretty excited to see the animals and hunt for dinosaurs in the National Parks – you also got a great kick out of the geysers and you were telling everyone we were going to go see them. You enjoyed playing with Avery day and night and no matter who you were sleeping with, they got some great cuddles. You also enjoyed telling jokes on repeat, like “Why did the cookie go to the doctor? Because he was feeling crumby! Get it? Waka waka! Why did the banana go to the doctor?.....” etc.

Some highlights of note:

-          In Bryce Canyon, the pool area was really loud so you didn’t want to get into the pool. I think it overwhelmed you.

-          Also in Bryce Canyon, you thought we were going looking for dinosaurs! We did see Thor’s Hammer but that’s as close as we came to pleasing you – ha!

-          In Yellowstone, you loved Old Faithful and I think you got a kick out of eating lunch with the Bison. You also loved the Fourth of July parade in West Yellowstone.

-          In Grand Teton/Jackson, you really upped your game of I Spy. You got pretty tricky. You also made new friends at a local park and you enjoyed getting out of the car with me a couple of times at some scenic viewpoints. I loved that you wanted to join me!

-          In Denver, you made new friends at the children’s museum and you learned how to pet a sting ray at the aquarium.

-          On the way to Albuquerque, we stopped in Colorado Springs to say hi to Aunt Jessica and your new friend Lucas. We also stopped in Pueblo to say hi to Uncle Bob and Aunt Belinda (dad’s Aunt and Uncle on his mom’s side).

-          In Albuquerque, dad had some alumni board meetings but after that we met up with Grandma Gail and Grandpa John, who you didn’t want to leave at the end of the day!

Here is the trip in pictures:

It was certainly a gamble taking a road trip this size with a seven-year-old, three-year-old and a puppy but we all had a grand time - I'm so glad we got to do it!

All My Love,

Mom