My Life in Curls: Trip to Nevada Day 1

Well...we're back and we survived the heat! Barely. It reached 111 degrees F on Saturday and roughly 115 degrees F on Sunday. It was crazy brutal. Since there are a lot of photos from the trip, I'm going to break it up in several different posts so that one post isn't clogged up with a million photos. (And just in case you didn't see it, check out my post from yesterday evening wishing my grandpa a happy birthday!) Day 1 of the trip was Friday when we got up early and hit the road for Nevada. We started with some Starbucks and then headed into the Rocky Mountains on our way to western Colorado and then to Utah and then drive for about six hours from central Utah to southern Utah and then into Arizona for about twenty miles and then into Nevada for about an hour before we entered crappy Las Vegas (words cannot adequately describe how much we despise this place - the nature of the city and the geographical area in which is located are both less than desirable). Basically a 12 hour drive, but a little longer with a toddler in the car.

This was our first time into western Colorado and my first time in Utah (excluding the Salt Lake City airport). This was also my first time in Arizona for longer than the three feet I was in it last time I visited Hoover Dam...however, this time it was only twenty miles. But definitely more! :) We didn't have any opportunities to spend any money in Arizona in that tiny strip, but we were resolved to not buy anything in Arizona regardless, because we do not support their recent legislation (racial targeting) regarding immigration. It is a pretty state...however the politics are the part that is lacking. Utah was gorgeous however! We really enjoyed looking at all of the rock formations and even the hilly parts of the state on our way from central Utah south and down through the southwest into Nevada. St. George, Utah was a really nice city too. Instead of playing the "Slug Bug" game (a favorite in my family), we played "Spot the Mormon Temple" since there were so many of them. It was kind of fun, especially when there were three or four in a two block radius.

Somewhere in western Colorado Johnny got bored. And when Johnny gets bored, apparently he enjoys putting his fist into his mouth and pretending to make himself gag and freak us out and then laugh hysterically. Until the gagging isn't pretend and he actually makes himself throw up all over himself. Gross orange puke from the sun chips he ate minutes prior. Lovely. Even more gross when he decided to lick some of the puke off of his face before we could find a place to stop and clean him up. I wish I could say this was our only incident involving Johnny throwing up on this trip...alas, it was not. *sigh*

I do have to give Johnny credit though...he is an awesome traveler! He has spent so much time spending many hours in the car between all of our trips in the last year, and he does really good for having to sit still for that long. He is really good at entertaining himself with toys and talking in the back seat, watching movies on his DVD player, and just enjoying the scenery that at times I forget we are traveling with a toddler. And that is a good thing. :)

We stopped for lunch at a Red Robin in Grand Junction, Colorado and then hit the road again. We still had a really long drive ahead of us. We ended up getting to Boulder City, NV (where John's parents live) a little past Las Vegas and right next to Hoover Dam around 8 or 9pm. It had been extremely hot all day, and even after dark in Boulder City, it was still ridiculously hot as well. After unloading the contents of our car into our hotel room - we stayed at a historic hotel called Boulder Dam Hotel - we went over to the in-laws to visit. John's grandparents from Oregon were also there and we spent an hour or so visiting with them and his parents. Johnny had fun chasing around their cat and playing with toys. It was definitely an exhausting day and we saw a lot.

Now here are some pictures from Day 1 of the trip. Enjoy! :)