10th Anniversary trip!

 We really wanted to do something special to celebrate this huge milestone and like everything else Covid made this so tricky to work around but the end result really was epic. We planned a 10 day adventure and split the kids between both of our moms to make it happen. The real documentation of this trip is in the incredible video Evan made but I wanted to save some pictures here too! Day 1 we headed out from Bountiful and spent the night in Wyoming on our way to South Dakota- just a driving day but let me tell you a road trip without diaper changes and water bottle spills and constant fighting is so delightful! Day 2 Our first stop was Martin's Cove and then Independence Rock and then we camped at Custer State Park in the Black Hills which was an amazing campsite- free nice showers, glitter mountains and a gorgeous lake to kayack in. Day 3- We hiked Black Elk Peak- a hike Evan did as a missionary, and then went out in the kayacks; a cold front came in quick so we didn't last as long as I had hoped! Day 4 we spent in Badlands National Park which was a drastically different landscape and felt like something from another planet. On the way home we went to Rapid City to visit some old missionary landmarks and Mt Rushmore which was actually way cooler and more inspiring than I expected it to be- although there were Trump stands everywhere. It's sometimes painful to think of how divided our country is right now particularly when you look at our history and see how much people have sacrificed to keep it together. We saw some cute sister missionaries set up with a stand there too! Day 5 we went on a bike ride up Spearfish Canyon and drove past Devils Tower on our way to Glacier.  We spent the night in Montana in a Marriott to have a real bed and real shower to break up the trip. Day 6 was much more driving- turns out there's not a whole lot in Montana but made it to Glacier to set up camp for the night and holy show stopper that place is a stunner. Day 7 we got up early to go hike the Highline trail. A huge portion of the park was closed due to its proximity to Native American reservations and the shuttles weren't running again due to social distancing so the only way to see the glacier was to hike 15 miles! It was an unforgettable hike, just a new breathtaking vista around every turn. Day 8 we decided to take it a little easier and hiked Avalanche Lake trail and had a picnic there- the color of the water is unreal. Day 9 we kayacked Lake McDonald and shopped in the gift shop. Day 10 was the drive back home! The best part of the trip was adventuring whenever and wherever we wanted and doing all the hard things that little kids can't do and not constantly worrying about nap times or life jackets. Doing outdoor things with our kids is delightful in all its own ways but it was fun to break out of the restrictions that naturally accompany small children and just be us again for a good little while.


























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