National Park Road Trip 2025

 Yesterday, we drove from Moab, Utah to Estes Park, CO. It was a long drive, but we made it to the visitors center at about 4:15pm. The weather was partly cloudy and warm and breezy. This weather was so welcomed! The drive was scenic following the Colorado River and driving through picturesque towns like Vail. I can can see the appeal 😍🌲 We enjoyed the whole drive through Colorado!  When we arrived at the Beaver Meadows visitor center, we were greeted by Aunt Emily and cousins Teddy and Oliver who drove up from Denver to see us. We enjoyed walking around the area and having a little dinner picnic. We were excited to get a few rain drops and hear a little rumble of thunder too!  Stayed: in Loveland at an AirBNB Ate: At Costco for an early lunch. We love how cheap it is to feed all of us. We also had muffins that we made, froze and kept cold in our freezer bag. Side note: We wish we had more time here, at least another day. We just didn’t have the time to see much of Rock...

 We arrived in Moab at 5p. We lost an hour going into Utah and left Flagstaff at around 10:20a.m. AZ time. We had hoped to go to the Moab Giants which is fun for littles going on a dinosaur walk. Sadly, we were 10 min too late for the tickets. After settling into our hotel we walked to dinner at 98Center. It was delicious. The kids ate grilled cheese, with a side of bread (no kidding, their choice instead of kettle chips 🤷🏼‍♀️) I had the Bahn Mi rice bowl with chicken, George had the sandwich version, and Claire had the beef Pho. For the evening, we went to Panorama Point for stargazing. It wasn’t really dark until almost 10p, but we really enjoyed looking for constellations. I recommend having your stargazing app ready to go since cell service is spotty and low. It was a great experience, especially for the older kids ages 11+. The other younger kids were tired and done before it was fully dark, but we made them hang in there. We also saw some shooting stars, which added to the ...

 The car is packed and we’re finally ready to go! It’s hard to believe we’ve made it to this point. First stop, Flagstaff. I’m really glad we chose a short drive for day 1. It gave us time to finish packing in the morning and make sure we had all we needed. Yes, someone still forgot a toothbrush! However, it gave us a more relaxed way to figure out loading, unloading and adjusting where needed for efficiency. After all, we’re on the road a lot and staying only one night in many places. Flagstaff: Stayed: at a family member’s cottage. Ate: Dinner at Pita Jungle         Breakfast: Morning Glory Café $$$ it was yummy, but pricey. We chose the Vegan restaurant due to Claire’s dairy allergies