We are officially still on break, but we have had some great learning this week. My husband is off work and we took a two day trip to Salt Lake City. We visited the zoo (they have a new exhibit area since we were last there), Temple Square (we are not Mormon, but enjoy the history and beauty of the area, especially at Christmas), the Olympic Museum at Park City, and The Leonardo (http://www.theleonardo.org/landing) to see the Dead Sea Scrolls and play at the other exhibits. So much fun and so much learning, for all of us.
What fun! My kids are begging for the zoo, we are going to DC the end of May with Reagan's cub scouts and we can choose to do what we want... my kids will be torn between the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and the Zoo. I think we may need to go another time as a family to do the other.
Oh, I don't know how you would pick between the National Zoo and the Smithsonian. I would love to go to both of those some time. But I think I would need several days. Then there are the historical sites. I love living in the west, but I would sure love to take a nice long trip east to visit.
We spent 2 days there a few years ago and it was no where near enough time! I really would love to live within an hour or two of it instead of 4. We would be there all the time if we could get a metro into the city at any time we wanted.... even if I am terrified of cities..lol The history places are what get me excited but more the ones near DC like Jamestown and Williamsburg. I plan on heading west when Cameron is old enough to remember it. I was born in Reno and even though looking on google maps has me feeling like the little area I lived in is in a horrible state, I want them to see where my roots lie (and I want to take them to Circus Circus even if I have heard that too is run down now).
Dealing with the huge cities would have me twitchy, but it would be worth it to see things. We are studying Jamestown right now and I would love to be able to take my kids there. So many cool places in the world and I can't live near them all, or probably even see them all. We live 3 hours from Yellowstone and get there several times a year, my boys treat that practically like their backyard. Overall I prefer to live closer to nature than to big cities.
Once we were in DC and had parked for the day (we parked at Grand Central Station each day) it wasn't too bad to navigate. Almost everything was in a straight line, and it was "cleaner" than I expected. There were no scary people I had to explain to my country living kids or anything like that, they must be kept on the other side of the city...lol Yellowstone sounds wonderful too! Can you camp there?
We saw some interesting people in Salt lake this weekend. We live in a railroad town and have had some interesting interactions with travelers even in our smallish town. I lived in ignorance of how many people ride the rails and panhandle until we moved here. We tent camp in or near Yellowstone or Grand Teton National Park several times a year. You can make reservations in the parks. National forest campgrounds outside the parks are cheaper, but more rustic and first come. Fall is the best time to visit in my opinion. The crowds are better and the scenery is amazing. The weather is unpredictable we have been snowed on in June and in September.
Really??? Railriders in todays society?? I never would have imagined! We are pretty happy with rustic camping... really I'm only ok with the lack of a shower for a few nights then you get beyond wipey baths..lol We tent a lot, not as often as we would like but several times a year. We are "snowed in" right now... though hubby just went to work. Snow doesn't scare us too much but the thought of a storm in June when I might be camping is a tad unnerving lol
Yep, we have a couple that come to our church when they are in town and they educated me about the topic. She hopped a train when she was 8 months pregnant. It's wild! I hear you on the shower. We did 10 days in Utah's National Parks a few years ago. I insisted on a motel a couple nights when I couldn't stand myself any more. That trip we had temps that ranged from 30 and snowing (at Bryce Canyon) to 104 (at Arches). The kind of trip memories are made of. Usually it is just flurries in June in Yellowstone, but it is a shock to a lot of people who come expecting summer. High altitude weather is never boring.
