Family Road Trip, July 3-9

Be forewarned that this will be THE LONGEST post ever. I plan to publish this blog as a book some day so I want LOTS of photos.
Get your finger ready to scroll...

This year we decided to see some different parts of Utah.
We rented a tent trailer and headed south.
Apparently the road trip was pretty exciting!
First stop: Goblin Valley State Park. This was our first time here and we loved it. We set up the trailer at the park campground and headed off to find the goblins. They were everywhere. We climbed all over them.
We played tag and hide-and-seek. It was impossible to find anyone, but we had a great time trying.
We got back and started dinner. With the generator running, we had power so I started the rice cooker. We couldn't get the stove to light to cook the beef stroganoff so we had to improvise. I had some boiled eggs so we mixed those with the rice. Yum.
(We figured out the problem the next morning.)
Sunday morning we got ready, packed up the trailer and headed south to Hanksville, the closest church I could find. We attended their Sacrament Meeting.
After church we continued driving south to our 2nd stop:
Capitol Reef National Park.
We entered the park, headed for the campground, when suddenly... BLOWOUT.
Luckily John's well prepared for emergencies. He spaced the orange hazard warning triangles properly and got to work changing the tire.
John & Jake put the spare on. Unfortunately the spare was smaller and not in great shape either.
We drove 10 miles to the campground and set up the trailer. John & Jake drove to Richfield (about 90 miles), the nearest big city, to try and find tires.
Sunday + July 4th = No tires.
While they were gone, Jyson & I entertained ourselves: biking,
playing games,climbing trees.
Here we are playing our favorite game: Ticket to Ride.
Monday, July 5th - they were still celebrating the 4th so no one was open to sell tires. So, we spent the day exploring the area.
The boys fed the horses.
We made s'mores.
We played in the river.
We rested.
We enjoyed the scenery.
We explored the Fruita Schoolhouse. (This area was settled by Mormon pioneers.)
A look inside the schoolhouse.
We checked out the petroglyphs on the rocks.
Very cool.
Tuesday morning John & Jake left early, drove back to Richfield, and got 4 new tires. Finally, we were on the road again.

Next stop: Bryce Canyon. I love this place!
John & I have been here once, but we didn't have time to hike. This time, we checked out up close.
So many photo opportunities.

Jakester.
Did I mention I love this place?!
After a peaceful night at the KOA, we drove just past the south entrance to Bryce. Jake, Jyson, & I got on our bikes and rode through Red Canyon while John drove by us.
He stopped regularly and took our photos. Thanks babe. It was a beautiful and fun 8 mile trail.
After the bike ride, we headed south to St. George. We stopped for a friendly game of bowling.

Wednesday night: Tarzan at the Tuacahn.
Getting ready for the show to begin.
We loved the show and wanted to meet the cast members after. Jake told Tarzan to put on his sunglasses. Young Tarzan was adorable.
It was 112 degrees when we got to St. George, so we stayed in a hotel that night. The next morning we rode the Bear Claw Poppy Trail. Here's John in deep thought during our rest stop.
Here's Jake, dropping off Collar Bone Hill.
Here's Jyson on his first BIG downhill.
And here I am, ready to melt in the 100+ degrees.
It was a fun ride though.
Final stop: Mesquite. We said hi to Grandma O and changed into our suits. Jyson's front flips were quite impressive.
We ended the day with dinner at the Panda Garden with Grandma and Dad. (Mom was in Utah.)
Friday morning we were back on the road. Same scene a week later. Zzzz.
It was another great summer trip. Utah is a beautiful place to live.