Mom and Daughters' Adventure

Last summer I went on an adventure with my two favorite girls. My twelve and ten year old daughters....we left my hubby behind.. Not that my husband isn't good company..he is...but there's something about an all girl trip. This was the first time in my life that I completely stepped out of my comfort zone and did something so unlike me. The results.... an adventure of a lifetime..
On June 29,2008 with the car loaded with luggage, DVDs, books on tape, tons of bottled water, snacks, and my new/used GPS we took off for the "unknown"..Okay we were still in the states but you know what I mean... Our destinations were The Colorado Rockies, Family and friends in Colorado, Moab, UT, and last stop Las Vegas.
I am the constant planner. I had every stop planned down to the time we would arrive. I had every motel booked months in advance and every tour and show booked and paid for. I timed my trip so I would only drive six to eight hours and only in the daylight...after all I'm a girl!
The Colorado Rockies are breathtaking, once we crossed over the Utah/Colorado border the Colorado River greeted us. It tagged along with us all the way to Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge. The "Hot Springs" turned out to be the largest natural spring pool in the world. It spanned well over 2 to 3 football fields.. During my research, I discovered a live cam on the poolslide..so I set up a "cam" date with my husband... People walking by must have thought we were nuts waving our arms and jumping up and down in front of a slide..well we'd never see them again.. talking on the cell to Dusty (my husband) and jumping up and down while he is watching us from work was hilarious.. good memory.. While we were in Glenwood we ventured up to Adventure Park. In order to get to Adventure Park, you must take a gondola up up up to 7100 ft. I am afraid of heights so my eyes were closed much of the time. My kids loved seeing the valley below. At Adventure Park there were Cave tours, bungee jumping, mazes, and lots of things for the kids to enjoy... The view was amazing.
Our next stop was friends and family. We had a great visit catching up with my best friend Karen and her family and also spent a couple of days with my favorite Uncle. We left Colorado after a week of visits - great memories...
We headed down to Moab, UT. The drive was spectacular. There were a million different colors of rocks, land, plants, and sky... I am not a good enough writer to describe the majesty of it all.... I had booked a couple of tours for Moab that took us out all day. The first was a jet boat tour on the beautiful Colorado River, by this time, I felt a kinship with Mr Colorado having hung out with him for several days. The jet boat took us deep into the caverns where mighty red walls surrounded us on all sides. From the jet boat tour we headed to the Arches National Park. There we had an off road jeep tour. When I say off road I really mean off road...the jeep climbed over rocks that in my humble opinion seemed to stand completely vertical..on this very bouncy trip we saw things that the average tourist misses. We saw actual dinosaur tracks...very cool. The Arches is a destination I highly recommend to everyone.
Our last stop Las Vegas...me the "always" planner booked not one not two but three kid friendly shows...since they were booked way in advance..our seats were awesome. The first night we went to a Luau at the Imperial Place. We watched many types of Polynesian dancers and fire throwers and had a generally good time..except it was
110 degrees outside..so we kinda stuck to our chairs... The next night was the Tournament of Kings horse show and dinner, and the last night was The Dog and Cat Magic show at Planet Hollywood. During the day, we hung out at the Flamingo's incredible pool. The kids had a great time going on the slides all day and I enjoyed relaxing with a good book. The second to last night.. Dusty surprised the girls by joining us for dinner at Caesar's Palace and driving home with us.
We made some incredible memories the girls and me. We call it "Our Adventure". Before I know it, the girls will be on their way to college, marriage, and their own lives... I want to horde as much of them as I can during the short time they are with me....
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