Day 9. We were all awake right after Jordan left for sunrise shot in Zion, so I began packing up and got the kids bathed. The three of us went across the parking lot to grab breakfast. The temperature was somewhere around 20 degrees but it did not appear to have snowed through the night.
Jordan made it back and we got loaded up and headed into Zion NP for one more loop before moving on. I am glad we decided to circle through again, because the sun was peeking through the clouds and the clouds actually parted for bit so we could see the tops of the mountains. The red rocks, dusted with white snow, against the blue sky was a very pretty landscape!
We ate sandwiches in a parking lot for lunch and then left Zion to head to Bryce Canyon NP. Bryce had received a lot more snow and was significantly colder! A large portion of the park was closed while we were there. We stamped our passport, got our ornament, and drove the open section of road. We tried to walk to a viewpoint that was about 75 yards from the parking lot, but it was too cold for the kids. The wind was blowing and the temperature was in the teens. I stayed in the car with the kids that evening while Jordan got sunset photos. We had phone service so we made a FaceTime call to Mimi and Poppa and the kids were elated.
–a new hotel means a new microwave to push buttons on and a new bed to jump on– also means another phone for Momma to hide! 😂
We had already checked into our hotel and unloaded so that made the evening easier.
We checked out the gift shop and needed to buy milk at their grocery store. The gift shop had the largest selection of Spirit toys we’ve ever seen. Spirit is a kids horse show on Netflix that our kids love. Jackson was glued to the toy area and when I tried to get him to come with me to the other side of the store I had my first experience with “Ouch, Momma! You hurt me!” hollared across the store. 😳 After another failed attempt to get him to listen, he ended up nose in the corner of the gift shop. I was kind o thankful there weren’t many people in the shop and no one very nearby when he accused me of hurting him, but at the same time, I kind of wish someone would’ve been close enough to see that the accusation was false! 😂
We grabbed the dinner buffet at the hotel and then went to our room. This was the neatest place to stay, I wish we would’ve had more time and warmer temperatures while there! They had activities such as ice skating, horse drawn sleigh rides, snowshoe rentals, and other things, too!
Tip for the day has nothing to do with toddlers and has everything to do with Google! Turns out, Google does not know everything! 😂 so, if you see what might possibly be a gas station, and you need gas, go ahead and stop just to check. And if it is a gas station, go ahead and fill up, even if Google is mapping you to a gas station 4 miles down the road. Because, it might be that the gas station Google is taking you to is actually no longer a gas station and then you will have to turn around and backtrack 4 miles to get gas for the car. 😁 I’m just glad we had enough gas to make that 4 mile turn around! 😂
Day 10. We had been keeping a close watch on the weather and knew we needed to be out of Bryce Canyon area by 12 noon the next day. Jordan got up for sunrise, and the kids were up shortly after. I had the room packed up and we were ready to grab our complimentary breakfast buffet on the way out! I was so nervous about the roads, but the route was just fine. It started out less plowed but was fine the majority of the way.
–don’t forget the water cups in the car overnight when the temp drops to -16! It took a while under the floorboard heater of the car for that thing to thaw out!😂 —
We stopped through Capital Reef NP around lunch time, stamped our passport, grabbed an ornament, and made sandwiches for the road since we were in a hurry. We drove through the park and stopped at a few points of interest. It was so hard for both me and Jordan to stay awake during the travel that day! We were driving through a whole lot of nothing and we had had so many early mornings that were catching up to us.
–if diapers must be changed while traveling (and they sometimes do!) try to use the side of the car that is not getting the cold wind! I prefer leaving a space in the back open for diaper changes, but on a two week road trip, space in the back of the Tahoe is not realistic! 😂
While we’re on the topic of diapers… this tip has worked well for us! We brought a box of 132 diapers. We go through a couple of these a month so one box was a good place to start for a two week trip. But we don’t want to bring that box in and out of the car all day everyday. So, we have a diaper bag that is actually just for diaper changing gear. We have diapers, wipes, and powder in the bag. It is so easy to access and and always helpful to have everything needed in one place. We restock the bag as needed with diapers from the box that stays in the car.
After what had seemed like forever, we finally pulled into Arches NP, near Moab, UT, about an hour before the Visitor Center closed. Arches had been closed the day before due to snow amounts on the road, but thankfully they had reopened when we were there. We did the regular NP routine…stamped passport, got ornament, and then went to explore! We planned to do the Delicate Arch hike but the snow was coming down pretty heavily and the temperature was in the upper teens so we decided not to get the kids out in that weather. It was super cloudy so Jordan did not take the hike for pictures at that time either.
We went into Moab, got pizza and got checked in and unloaded at the hotel. We are staying at a Springhill Suites and we love it! This is the second time we have stayed at this hotel chain and both times they have had a huge closet that easily fits the pack n play! It was so nice this morning that she was not disturbing Jackson since she was shut off from the main room.
It was a long day overall, but it still had plenty of fun and funny moments. Jackson decided to try to calm Emmy down while she was crying by means of distraction. So, while driving through Arches NP, Emmy (aka Bubba to Jackson) begins to cry. Jackson starts yelling, “BIIIIIG MOUNTAIN! BIIIIG MOUNTAIN, Bubba!”. And it worked! We got the biggest laugh out of that. It was a disappointing evening in the photography world, but we ended up having a laid back, enjoyable evening anyway.
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