There’s just something about a road trip.

Something that takes me back to childhood… piling into a wagon or van and hitting the road with my Dad driving, and my brother and I in the back singing songs and doing our best to annoy the hell out of each other, and ultimately our parents.

But what I remember the most is hitting the great wide open… leaving the familiar buzz of the cities I lived in and ending up somewhere quiet and expansive.

As the kids have gotten older… I have vowed to continue this tradition, and to take them places nearby (we are so lucky to have so many national parks, beautiful coastlines, and deserts and mountains… accessible within a ten hour drive or less!).

And so on the verge of my wedding anniversary, with a long weekend ahead (Parker had a day off from school and I took him out for one more day), I informed my husband that we were going to take a drive to southern Utah and visit Zion National Park and Snow Canyon state park with an amazing family that we had only met in person for thirty minutes in a park one day! Sound romantic?

Erynn Montgomery (Tropic of Candycorn) and I were connected through Instagram, (yes… a true Instagram friendship!), and through a few phone conversations where we seemed to have known each other for a lifetime…  made a vow to hook up and travel at some point with our two families.

Two years in the making… and we finally made it happen!

We decided to stay in St. George, about forty minutes from Zion, and only a few minutes from Snow Canyon.

From Los Angeles, it was a six hour drive.

We stayed in an AirBnb, because we needed the space (Erynn and here husband John have FOUR girls… Cora, Hero, Minerva and Philippa!), and the complex had a pool, which gave us extra options for playtime.

Both parks (even Snow Canyon, which is a state vs. national park) are breathtakingly beautiful!

… with wildly different terrain!

Each park had trails that were easy enough for the kiddos…  but brought the oohs and aahs from caves, and pools, and waterfalls and such.

We spent one full day at Zion, and one day at Snow Canyon.

Here we are at Pioneer Rock, where early settlers etched in their names during the mid to late eighteen hundreds.

I mean…

Ew…

This family was just so much fun…

They even have a UNICORN VAN!!!

Parker and Avery each had a side kick…

… and maybe even a little crush 😉 .

Utah… 

You rock!

We’ve only got four more national parks to go!

… I’ll see ya on the road!

A big thank you to John for so many of these amazing photos! And to the entire family for really making this trip so special!

We not only hope to meet them back in Utah…

If I have my way… we will also be joining them in South America next summer!

Cheers to adventuring!