Zion National Park

Well, we finally found summer. It was waiting for us when we got to Utah. And though it is hot and dry here, it is gorgeous! And between the Virgin River and the pool at our campground, we have found plenty of ways to stay cool. We spent all of yesterday and half of today hiking in Zion National Park, which is absolutely amazing! The pictures can't begin to do it justice! We have also enjoyed the little town of Springdale, just outside the park. Tomorrow, we will move on, but this has been a fantastic stop, which has stretched us physically and refreshed us mentally.

Welcome to Zion National Park

Our clan of hikers

Trail Buddies

A feast for the eyes

The Clay Cave

We love Zion!

Views for miles

The Virgin River

Cooling off at the end of the day

It's beginning to look a lot like summer vacation

We woke up to snow this morning. That's right: One week into our SUMMER vacation, it's SNOWING! And, the snow only got heavier throughout the day. This thrilled my kids to no end, and they feel this is now officially the best summer vacation ever. I don't love being out in the snow, but I have to admit, it does give the landscape sort of a magical feel.

We had a late breakfast and then made a couple of fun vacation stops at an RV store and Wal-Mart, which is where everyone ends up eventually, even if they are on vacation.

Since we didn't quite get all the spelunking out of our system yesterday, we headed over to Wind Cave to have a look around. It was a much different experience than Jewel Cave but still very captivating. When we were done there, we took a little drive through Custer State Park, hoping to see more wildlife. We saw some deer, a few bison, and a bunch of turkeys, but what everyone really loved was that our ascent along the scenic route took us right through a snow cloud. The boys were begging to get out for a snowball fight, as they observed the snow piling up nicely all around us.

All the snow put me in a sit-by-the-fireplace-and-drink-coffee kind of mood, so we found a little log cabin near the park, in the town of Custer, to pass the night. This was a win-win, because there was still a little snow piled up around the cabin, and the boys were able to get their snowball fight in, while the rest of us sipped coffee and relaxed near the fire.

Tomorrow, we will leave South Dakota, but we have thoroughly enjoyed our time here and hope to visit again in the future.

Trying to catch the first tiny snowflakes

A snowy drive

They call this room inside Wind Cave "The Post Office"
because it contains so much of what they call "boxwork."
This cave houses 95% of the known boxwork in the world.

Entering the snow zone

Little cabin in the woods

Snowball fight!

Happy summer vacation!

The alternative to snowball fighting

These friends stopped by while we were eating dinner

More fun in South Dakota

There is so much to see and do in South Dakota, and it is so beautiful, despite being near freezing  (literally) in the middle of May. This morning, we got to explore Jewel Cave, which was quite a treat. In the afternoon, we visited the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, which was lovely and made one member of our group especially happy. After that, we headed back to Mt. Rushmore hoping for better visibility than what we had yesterday, and we got it. Apparently we got very lucky, because we heard that there was absolutely no visibility this morning and that some people waited for around four hours and still didn't even catch a glimpse of the stone-faced presidents. By the time we were finished up there, we were all starving, so we headed into Keystone to grab an early dinner at The Powder House Restaurant. Every single thing was so delicious! On the way through the little town, we found out one of the hotels had an indoor heated pool and a hot tub, and since we had not yet planned a stop for the night, our cold bodies yelled, "Do it!" So, that's how we found ourselves frolicking in a pool until almost 10 pm and bedding down in hotel beds at the Mt Rushmore White House Resort (which sounds much fancier than it actually is).

Eager to go into the cave
(Partly because, at 49 degrees, it was warmer than outside)

Jewel Cave

This formation is called "bacon,"
and this particular one is over 20 ft. long

Being a stalagmite

Why do we explore

Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary

The newest member of the herd, at only three days old.

The Sanctuary is absolutely beautiful!

Most of the horses were too skittish to get close,
but a few of them were curious and brave.

Mt.  Rushmore. Check.

Just chilling with some famous presidents

Weston was so hungry, he ordered a whole cow for dinner!

So many things

First: As you can see, I'm experimenting with a new look and name for the blog. I would really love your feedback! Feel free to tell me what you like as well as what you don't like.

Second: A huge piece of my heart just walked out the door to catch a plane to New York. I'm so proud of my girl and excited for the opportunity she has to attend a special camp at Skidmore College during the next three weeks, but the letting-gos are always a little hard on a momma's heart.

Third: Yesterday morning, I published the third Geography Explorer book, Explore Thailand. If you have a kid in your life who might be interested in that part of the world, check it out.

Fourth: Yesterday afternoon, we continued our explorations of the island. We visited the Hanapepe swinging bridge and Glass Beach, which is partly made up of a huge deposit of sea glass. We also popped into the Kauai Chocolate shop, before boarding our Napali Coast tour boat. We spent several lovely hours cruising around the island and taking in the stunning scenery of the Napali Coast. We also had appetizers, drinks, and dinner aboard the boat, and ended our tour with an amazing Kauai sunset.

Hanapepe Bridge

Glass Beach

The less glassy side of Glass Beach

Kauai Chocolate

Napali Coast Cruise

Sneaky Rainbow

Can you guess why they call this Kong Point?

Find the owl hidden in the rocks.

The lovely Napali Coast

There are two sea caves at the base of the brown mountain in the center.
These were created by lava tubes, and they are constantly growing.

The entrance to an awesome sea cave that has no ceiling

Another beautiful rainbow

A mother monk seal and her pup catch some rays on the beach

Sunset at sea

Purangi Winery and Hot Water Beach

This afternoon we finally saw the sun for the first time in a long time, so we divided our time between the Purangi Winery and the Hot Water Beach. The winery is a funky little place, with fun activities, wood-fired pizzas, and a variety of adult beverages to sample. The beach has a hot spring under it, and, at low tide, you can dig holes in the sand to bring the hot water up. It feels pretty much just like bath water and is a phenomenon I have never before experienced. What the kids liked better than the hot water, though, were the huge rocky and forested hills along the beach, with all their caves and climbing challenges and mud. They explored all the nooks and crannies and seriously had to be hosed down before we could let them in the house. In their book, it was the mark of a good day. And, in my book, any day at the beach is a good day!

Purangi Winery

Plants of Purangi

Foosball at the winery

Delicious wood-fired pizzas

Hot Water Beach

I do not ever get tired of watching the waves

All these people are digging for hot water and creating their own little hot tubs

My little mountain goats

Climbing makes this boy so very happy

Peek-a-boo

Ready to explore the cave

Up and up they go

Clay's little rock pony