Oregon=Green, Nevada=Brown, Utah=Red

We’ve been hanging out in Nevada and Utah over the last couple of days. We had a day in Reno that was pretty much all errands: we got our oil changed, went to Costco, stocked up on new books at a thrift store, and got lots of groceries. The next day we headed to Lake Tahoe, a giant lake that rests on the border of Nevada and California. Tahoe was gorgeous. The water was a blue like I’ve never seen before in the deep parts, but as it got shallower it was emerald green, like the waters of the Caribbean. It was so clear, too. You could see right to the bottom even if it was 30 ft. deep. We rented a boat for an hour so we could get out on the lake, and enjoyed the gorgeous sun beating down on us as we drove around. If the water hadn’t been quite so frigid, we probably would have rented a wakeboard as well. At the end of the boat ride, Kai and Soren were completely passed out.

Our handsome tour guide on Lake Tahoe.

How would you like to have your cottage here??

After Tahoe, there wasn’t much else we wanted to see in Nevada, so we zipped along the state to Utah. We did get to see a beautiful desert sunset as we drove, and some coyotes running across the road in front of us.

We crossed into Utah, into the salt flats. It is literally white on the ground because of all the salt. This is where the fastest speeds ever recorded on earth took place, when a man rode a rocket-powered car over 600 mph across the salt flats. Our first day in Salt Lake City was amazing. We went downtown and took the kids to a place called ‘Discovery Gateway’.  It was the best children’s museum/indoor play place I have ever seen. They loved it so much, we couldn’t convince them to come eat lunch at 2:30 p.m. The only way we got out of there was promising we would come back. We did a little shopping in the outdoor mall, visited the planetarium, Sawyer had a nap in the RV, and then we headed back to Discovery Gateway until it closed for the night. We were definitely one of the last to leave.

This guy took his job VERY SERIOUSLY.

The water play area. Sawyer LOVED it.

Planetarium.

What?? You didn't know that people on Mars scratch their bums, too?

We walked over to see the Mormon temple and where the famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings. We came out un-converted. I loved the city of Salt Lake. It was so quiet and slow-paced for a capital city. It had beautiful fountains, green grass (which they must pay a fortune to water), and amazing mountain backdrops.

So strange...a church without crosses.

Going to check out the inside.

After Salt Lake we spent a day at Thanksgiving Point which is in Lehi, Utah. It has a ton of attractions, but we were too cheap to pay for each one. We did a quick visit to the children’s garden and then spent a lot of money going to Cornbelly’s, a play farm. It will forever make us disappointed with places like Chudleigh’s or Springridge. It was amazing! There were endless amounts of playgrounds, inflatables, pig races, pumpkin guns, haunted mazes, wagon rides, etc. We went back to the RV for dinner, then came right back so we wouldn’t miss the pig races. Andy shot pumpkins and the kids fired corn cob guns. Once it got super late, Andy and I reluctantly left to put the kids to bed.

Andy, not as good on the horses as he thought...

Hilarious fun. Look how filthy my feet are.

Andy and Annika on the inflatable pillow.

Soren, on the wagon ride.

The next day we went to Arches National Park. The red rock formations were amazing. Unlike anything I have ever seen. We had a couple great hikes, but the park was getting dark and we didn’t feel we were done, so we came back the next day to see more. 

Can you see the little Wilson's way down there?

How awesome for a kid...endless tunnels and climbing.

Windows Arch. Very very beautiful.

Annika, Junior Ranger times 3.

Arches is located in Moab. Moab is like Utah’s version of Squamish…it’s a recreation paradise. The city was insanely busy with weekend warriors from Colorado, Nevada, and California. We went mountain biking at Slickrock, a very famous mountain bike area where you get to ride on the rock cliffs. It was very technical for me, but amazing. I pushed myself until I almost puked-it was THAT fun. Andy’s bike broke, so we went back to Slickrock 3 days in a row for him to bike it. Finally he ended up renting a rear wheel so he could do the whole loop. It is supposed to take first-timers 4-5 hrs. to complete it. Andy did it in under two. Not to brag or anything…but he’s awesome.

Daddy, mountain biking on Slickrock.

Tow Mater.

 I went on an amazing 30 km. bike ride this morning, sandwiched in between gigantic red rock cliffs and the Colorado River. I even saw ancient Indian petroglyphs on the rock. Very cool. Oh, and about 50-60 bolted climbing routes that I would love to climb some day. Moab is definitely a repeat destination for us. The kids were not quite as enthralled with Moab, but we still did lots of playgrounds, went for 2 family swims (one indoor, one outdoor), ate dinner at Denny’s, practiced dirt-biking, had a campfire with chocolate cake, earned another Jr. Ranger badge, saw a real live Tow-Mater, and played in a wonderful little creek.  So, they weren’t exactly bored, either.

Tonight we’re in Colorado (our 7^th state visited on this trip) and tomorrow we are going to another national park, Mesa Verde.