It's all about the Journey

 On our way to Utah for my grandpa's 90th birthday celebration, we decided to make a few memorable stop offs along the way to break up the long (21 hour) drive. Each time we make the drive to Utah, we try to mix it up and take different routes. This trip proved to be eventful.

 

Out of all the places our kids have been, I think Storybook Island is close to the top of their list.

I spy the monkey cage!

The fire truck was one of Kyler's favorites.

Snow White's house was surrounded by five little dwarfs. I can't stop laughing at Teyah trying to wink in this picture.

Storybook Island gave our kids a well-needed re-charge before driving through the backroads of Wyoming -- where we dodged antelope and deer on an almost a minute by minute basis in the dark. I grew up in Wyoming but this was like nothing I had seen before. It was insane and scary! We felt so blessed to finally arrive at the last hotel room in Casper that was extremely overpriced and extremely ghetto! But at least we were safe.

Not long after driving again the next morning, we saw a sign on the side of the road that said: "Martin's Cove." We immediately pulled a quick U-turn to check it out since this site has a sacred history within Mormon history. It was at this location, 500 pioneers who had trekked across the country in wagons and pulling handcarts faced the grimm reality that they might not make it to their destination due to severe blizzards and lack of food. After five days of desperation, the group was discovered by a rescue party from Utah who had brought food, supplies and wagons. Needless to say, this area carries a special place in our hearts and nearly brought us to tears as we experienced the special spirit in this part of the western frontier.

Ellie and Teyah enjoyed pretending they were pioneer children during our short stop but were glad to get back in our comfy Honda Odyssey for the remainder of the trip to Utah.

Perhaps, our kid's most memorable experience was hearing the story of the "prairie diamond ring" and being given a necklace made of the wood of a wagon wheel. This stop off was not in our plans, but was such a pleasant surprise. I loved that our road trip could be flexible.