June 2023

 Ahh...June.  June brings many things: warmer weather (usually), camping galore, paddle boarding, and summer vacation!!

June 4th: We ventured to Main Street for the Park Silly Market.  This crepe is the size of Abigail's head!

June 5th: We went to a BBQ for the bike team.  It is such a great group of kids and families.

June 6th:  The bike team went for a ride at Soldier Hollow, and got caught in a storm. Let's just say they came back a tad bit muddy.

June 10th:  Abigail had her last soccer game for the spring season.

June 11th:  Today we left on our road trip to Joshua Tree National Park, with stops along the way.  Our first stop was Meadow, Utah where we dipped our toes into some hot springs.  

We spent our first night at the Virgin River Recreation Area in Arizona.

June 12th:  We got back on the road and headed towards Joshua Tree National Park.  We drove through Las Vegas (but we'll be back there in a few days).  

This was pretty much our drive...not too much to see.

On the map, this was actually a lake...not anymore.

In Joshua Tree National Park, we stayed at the Jumbo Rocks Campground for 3 nights.

These signs were at every campsite.

From our campsite, we did a hike to Skull Rock.

The sunsets were gorgeous!

June 13th:  Today we explored the park and did a few hikes.  The hikes are not long so we were able to see a lot of the park.

Hike #1 = Barker Dam 

gopher snake

petroglyphs

Hike #2 = Hidden Valley

Hike #3 = Cholla Cactus Gardens

other random photos from Joshua Tree National Park

Abigail found that she actually enjoyed doing the dishes while camping.

And Emma has been enjoying making dinner...

June 14th:  Palm Springs is only a 45-minute drive from Joshua Tree so we spent most of the day there.  We did a beautiful hike through a palm tree oasis.  

Then we explored Canyon Drive, had lunch at The Sandwich Spot, and visited a few of the shops.

June 15th:  Today we said "good-bye" to Joshua Tree and made our way to Las Vegas.  On the way out, we did one last hike and then stopped at a place called Pioneertown.  It is a replica of an old western town and has been used in various commercials and TV shows.

Pappy & Harriet's was the perfect lunch spot.

The drive to Las Vegas...

 

In Las Vegas, we stayed on the Sam's Town KOA.  We could not get to the pool soon enough!

After a few days of hiking, sweat, and heat, a shower never felt so good!

Right across the street was the Sam's Town Casino.  We decided to spend our time in the arcade instead.  There is just something about air hockey and skee ball.

June 16th:  This morning we drove to Hoover Dam.  What a sight!

Later that afternoon, we took an Uber to the Strip.  The last time Emma was there was when she was 2, so she has no memory of it.  It was...interesting.  We at dinner at Guy Fieri's restaurant and then headed to our show--The Beatles Love Cirque Du Soleil.  It was such an amazing show; one of those that holds your attention the entire time.

June 17th: We took the scenic route to Valley of Fire, through Lake Mead Recreation Area.  Stunning.

We found a campsite at Valley of Fire and it was hot!  So hot, in fact, that hiking was just not comfortable.  We did have some fun visitors at our campsite.  We decided we would get up early the next morning and do some hiking.  We also decided to stay only 1 night, not 2, due to the extreme heat.

June 18th:  Our first hike was Mouse's Tank Trail.  

Afterwards, we hiked White Dome Loop.

On the way back to pack up our campsite, we stopped to admire some petrified logs.

Finally, we walked up a few steps to view Atlatl Rock.

Our intention was to stop and camp along I-15 but there was a wind advisory all along the interstate so we decided to just head home.  It was such an awesome trip.  I had been wanting to visit Joshua Tree NP for quite some time.

June 23rd:  The Utah Olympic Park had an Olympics Day so we decided to check it out.  The girls got to try laser biathlon, adaptive bikes, a fun zone (only Abigail was able to do this one; Emma was too old), training exercises ski jumping, and the skeleton.  Oh, and we chatted with a bunch of Olympians, as well!

June 25th:  We dropped Emma off at YMCA Mill Hollow for a 5-night sleep-away camp.  She seemed to have a great time (at least that is how it seemed coming from a teenager).