Westward ho!

We got up bright and early Tuesday morning, and drove toward home. It was a long day in the car, followed by a very weird evening trying to get ourselves settled in a hotel. Suffice it to say that the hotel we had reservations at was VERY odd, and we later learned that it is on the list of best ghost sighting hotels in the U.S. Hmm... Let us know if you want more details. We ended up at a Motel 6. This is as close as we got to the Great Salt Lake (the sunset pic above).

Still in the Western landscapes, where rock formation just jut on out wherever they need to!

What a joy to arrive in Denver! We had a lovely time with Jane and Mervin, despite the cool, rainy weather, and even made use of their pool. It was also good to see Kora and Les and Erin and Tim. The boys had fun playing with (and being read to by) their second cousins.

A walk in the neighborhood after supper.

Wow! Foxtails!

Thanks, Erin!

The next day we had lunch with my cousin Paul, and the boys were able to run around while we caught up a bit. Here they are displaying the cool "gold" rings they got in a bubblegum machine a few minutes before (or Theo is doing that, and Adam is doing what Theo is doing, without the rings).

A nice bath in the big "oval tub" was just the thing to get us ready for our overnight drive into Iowa.


My aunt and uncle sure know how to host a tired, hungry family!

Back in Iowa felt like the end of the trip, both in glad and sad ways. Theo had a wonderful day at Crooked Creek Christian Camp with Grandpa Dale.

It was great to have cousin time with Morgan and Adrienne. We even got to play (briefly and under close supervision) in Grandpa's pick-up. It is clear that whatever the older ones do, the younger ones also want to do.

The last part of the weekend was the Rhodes Reunion at IMS. Saturday night there was a talent show which we enjoyed, and it was lots of fun to run around in the big spaces of IMS.

And now we are home again! I guess we really did have a good trip, because we are thinking about when to do it again, and where to go, and how to fit more camping and hiking into our lives. So even if you live far from Goshen, you may be seeing us pull into your driveway someday!