Our ten day drive to Evanston took 48 hours and we drove 2,879 miles. We drove through eight states including: California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois! 
We definitely took our time as we traveled so we wouldn't feel rushed and so we could feed Morgan and give her time outside of the car seat. She did really well on the drive and only cried for probably an hour and a half total. I was so impressed! Thankfully we won't be doing a drive that long for at least another two years, but it will be an entirely different experience then with a two year old!!The picture in the upper right corner was our first stop in Auburn. Growing up my family would always stop in downtown Auburn to gas up and we would go check out the large miner (see behind me).
One night we had a family reunion on Westin's side at their property up in Hobble Creek Canyon. Over thirty people came including all of Westins aunts/uncles on his dads side and cousins. Morgan is with cousin Allie on the left and cousin Emily on the right.
Cousin Lauren and Addison couldn't get enough of Morgan while she was here! Morgan discovered the fan at Jenna's town home and was mesmerized!! (See photo below)
We spent more time with Westin's Aunt and Uncle and cousins on Thursday for dinner. Morgan enjoyed meeting Aunt Deb (lower left) and hanging out with Grandpa Richard (lower right).
Then on Friday for lunch we went to the new JDawgs on University Parkway. Cousin Amy held Morgan for a little bit and Morgan couldn't get enough of Amy's soda cup.
After lunch we went to visit Grandma Sue in Springville and brought her some beautiful flowers. Our last night we went to Macaroni Grill with Jenna/Drew and the girls.
We continued on our way to Evanston and went to Wyoming. We stopped in Little America for brunch. I had eggs, pancakes and bacon. Westin got french toast.
Later in the day we stopped at Martin's Cove for a few hours. It's part of the Mormon trail in Casper Wyoming.
On Sunday we visited Devil's Tower in the lower right part of Wyoming. Surprisingly many people have not heard of this gorgeous monument. It really is amazing. I highly recommend a visit it if you have the chance.
Following Devil's Tower we stopped off at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. We made it just in time before the sunset and were able to see a special program about the monument and they lit up the mountain at the end and played some patriotic music.
Tuesday morning we started the day by visiting Winter Quarters in Nebraska. This is another church historic site where the Mormon pioneers spent some time on their journey out west. We continued along the Mormon History trek and stopped in Nauvoo Illinois later that day. We stayed in a hotel right across the street from the Nauvoo temple. It was absolutely gorgeous!
On Wednesday we spent half of the day touring around Nauvoo and then made the final four hour drive up to Evanston to our new home!
Very cool trip, Rachel! I think road trip as a young family builds so many great memories. I hope you're doing well. Morgan is adorable. :)
ReplyDeleteAWESOME! That sounds like a historic drive! That's so cool that you're so close to Nauvoo. Take advantage of that and visit often. See you in the spring!
ReplyDeleteSorry but I'm just getting to this. But WOW! You're trip really was action packed! You saw so much along the way. What an experience. Glad you had so a great time. Love you guys.
ReplyDeleteHow fun Rach and Westin- and Morgan. Morgan is changing so much- her smiles are huge! I love her little blue swimsuit a few posts back. Nauvoo is pretty cool- that's where I took my first road trip by myself with Emily and Annette, some close high school friends. Yep, it was the dangerous we could get:). But it's a pretty cool place to go to...lots to learn.
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