Road trip con't...

Day 8:
Headed out to more church sites, Hill Cumorrah was our first stop. So beautiful and green there.

We camped out that night around Seneca, NY I think it was called the finger lakes. Awesome area! Richie cooked us up some hotdogs that night and we hit the sleeping bags and had a good sleep.
Day 9:
Set out to Palmyra, NY.

Palmyra Temple in the background.


We walked through the Sacred Grove. So peaceful.
While we were in this area we were able to tour where they printed the first Book of Mormon.
Then, we headed off to find Niagra!
Arrived there and rode the Maid of the Mist. Talk about intense, WOW!! It was really cool. Took my breath away!

Here we are in our lovely blue slickers! Hunter and I ended up getting our hair soaked! After we got off the boat Hunter said, "I don't want to ride that boat again" It was cute!

View from the Canadian side.

So windy, I had to put my hoodie on!

Here we are fat and sassy after our yummy dinner! This was a super fun day. Really neat area.
Day 10:
Headin for Kirtland, OH. First, had to make a pit stop and get an oil change. Found Wally World in PA. Got an oil change and a few groceries. Then drove a couple hours and made it into Ohio.
We took the Kirtland Temple tour, and N.K. Whitney area. The Bronzed Statues were on display at the Kirtland visitors center. The artist is from here in Gilbert. Really awesome work.

Found a park and ate lunch before we hit the road to Illinois. Drove most the night, slept in the car only an hour or two. Rough night for mom and dad.
Finally arrived in Navoo, Il at 8am. Had a big day ahead of us.

Got to take a wagon ride with real Oxen pulling us.

Here we are at the brick making house.

Learning how to make rope.

Taking a wagon ride around Navoo area. Navoo Temple in the background. We really loved this area. So fun to see how the early saints lived and did things. We could have spent another day or two there. We stayed at a wonderful Inn that night. We didn't want another night in the car!!! The Navoo Inn had a great indoor pool. The kids had fun splashing around while I did some laundry. Really wanted to stay another night!!! We have to go back.
Day 12:
heading to Carthidge, Il. Toured where our prophet Joseph Smith spent his last days. Dad has pictures on his cell phone I need to download on the computer.
We hit the road hard that afternoon. Drove through Missouri and Kansas.
Had dinner at 9pm that night. We were tired and hungry. Slept at a campground I got so scared and hardly slept a wink that night. There was a raccoon trying to snap open our tote on the back of the truck ALL night long. Didn't realize it until 5am when I woke Rich up and said lets pack it up and GO! He had to get out and start the car up to scare the dang critter away! I felt safe enough to go to sleep, we all slept in until 8:30 that morning.

He would flick the corner of the tote.

We left him a treat the next morning.

He left us something to remember him by!
Day 13:
Drove most of day again. Two long days in the car. We were all going stir crazy! Stopped for lunch in Durango, CO We made it into Hooper, CO at 5pm and found a great Hot Springs pool. It was SOOOO fun and exactly what we needed after spending two days in the car.



It was chilly outside with snow capped mountains around us. The water was a wonderful 100 degrees or so. We spent a few hours there and then headed back into town to stay the night and head for Mesa Verde, CO the next day.


Our afternoon at Mesa Verde, CO. The kids really liked this tour.
We had a nice pic-nic after and started getting SILLY!!





The last stop on our journey was Four Corners!


Home Sweet Home!!!
We will remember this trip forever! 15 days on the road together cooped up in our trusty Yukon! Can't wait to do it again in a few years, maybe the same trip or a trip across the southern states! We have many stories to tell and experiences we will always remember.