Road Trip Highlights

ByBecky Wade
15 Comments

In a prior post, I mentioned that I was about to head out on a family vacation to Utah and that I’d share highlight pictures when I returned. In this post, I’m doing just that!

Due to their work schedules, my husband and oldest daughter were only able to join us for the last three nights of the trip. My son, my youngest daughter, and I had a more flexible schedule and were able to spend more time traveling, so the three of us flew from Dallas to Las Vegas. We picked up our rental car, did some shopping, ate a great dinner, and saw Mystere (a jaw-dropping Cirque du Soleil show). Then after one night at the Bellagio, we hit the road.

Our first destination after leaving Nevada and entering Utah was Zion National Park. My sister–who lives in southern California–brought her three daughters and met up with us there!

We knew ahead of time that the midday heat would be brutal at Zion, so we stayed ahead of the hot temperatures (and the crowds) by hiking early, eating lunch in air conditioning, resting in our hotel room and/or the hotel pool during the afternoon, then returning to the park after dinner.
My sister and I had a ball traveling together.

Our next stop–Bryce Canyon National Park.

This picture does not even begin to do Bryce Canyon justice. It’s incredibly distinctive, with its spires of rock called “hoodoos” and its palette of every shade of orange.
The colors and rock formations inside the canyon are awe-inspiring

I was so proud of our national parks during this trip! Visiting Zion and Bryce reminded me of the astonishing beauty of the land protected within the boundaries of our parks. It was wonderful to hear people speaking an array of languages and to know they’d come to experience and enjoy our parks from far-off nations.

Our next stop–Park City.

As you can see, totally different geography in this northern part of Utah.
Walking through this forest on a cool misty morning, with its wildflowers and aspen trees, felt like walking through a fairytale
After the climbing section of our hike, we were rewarded by the views at Blood Lake
Everyone in my family of five eventually made it to Park City. Isn’t it crazy how grown my kids are now? (They’re 24, 21, and 16.)
Our entire group (including my mom and dad)

Have you visited any of these destinations? (If not, I recommend a trip there!)

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Becky makes her home in Dallas, Texas with her husband and three children. She absolutely loves writing funny, heartwarming, and inspirational contemporary Christian romance.

15 Comments

  1. Utah is SO gorgeous. Ken and I did almost this same trip (minus Las Vegas) with his whole family ten years ago, and he and I have been back several times since. I have almost that exact picture of Bryce Canyon so I think I know right where you were standing. So wonderful that you got to experience it with your whole family and your sister and her girls. Memories you will all treasure forever.

  4. So fun, Becky. We traveled through Utah on our way home from a west coast trip about 12-15 years ago. We visited Bryce Canyon where we took a mule ride into the canyon. My daughter was a bit traumatized at first and didn’t trust her mule to stay on the trail, but she eventually relaxed and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery. We also stopped at the Arches national park. It was a last-minute addition on our way to Colorado. We only had time to stop for a couple hours, but it ended up being one of our favorite places since the kids could actually hike through/over/inside the arches themselves. I’d love to go back and visit Park City. It looks so beautiful in your photos!

  5. We’ve had a conference for hubby’s work in Park City for the past three years. We’ve come to love it so much that last year, many of our extended family came up to join us after the conference. Sadly, the conference will move to another place next year, so I soaked in the glorious nature at Park City a couple of weeks ago, not knowing when I’ll make it back there again!

    Glad y’all had a great trip! And what fun to do it with your sister and nieces!

  6. My husband and I visited Utah a few years ago and we have nearly that exact same view of that valley in Zion. In fact, it is my wallpaper for my iPad! I love that view. The way the sunsets bathed the mountains made me thank God for his incredible creation each time we watched the colors changing in the landscape.

  7. I have the blessing of living here. Our National Parks are a treasure and I’m so lucky to have 5 in my state. Glad you were able to enjoy!

  8. Yes, I have been blessed to visit all of these places.
    So glad you were able to visit them.

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