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This will be edition one of our trip from Phoenix, AZ to Casper, WY, and back again. Oh the places we saw! I have debated how to best tell you about our trip in a way that would be of benefit to you. We took 2 weeks to travel, visit and see the sites. But, many of the places we went are great destinations to go see for just a fun day outing or weekend trip, depending on your place of departure or your mode of travel. Some are places you may never have heard about, but you won't be disappointed if you go.
To begin, the main reason we planned this trip was because my granddaughter, Jayda, was getting baptized. This is a big event in her life and we wanted to be there for it. The timing was pretty busy for her family because my son had just started a new job in a town about 4.5 hours away from Casper. His wife deserves a giant shout-out for her strength and ability to get their home all packed up by herself, take care of their 5 children and prepare for this baptism with company (lots of family) coming all at the same time. She is an amazing woman.
Sites to Visit Around Casper, WY
As you can see, we did a lot and had so much fun! I am going to make a list and some highlights of the sites we saw in Wyoming.
Ayers Natural Bridge: Near the city of Douglas, and less than an hour from Casper, this is a beautiful park nestled in a red rock canyon. It has camping areas and a playground and the bridge and water are beautiful. Our grandchildren played in the pool right under the bridge. The best part is, this beautiful park is totally free to use! Another fun thing is that the caretakers have made the park even more magical by adding little fairy houses and animals on the trees of the park. My granddaughter was captivated.
Martin's Cove: This is one of 3 historical sites very close to each other along the road between Casper and Kemmerer. This site commemorates the Martin Handcart Company, one of the pioneer groups from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, better known as Mormon Pioneers. The Martin Company left too late in the season and as a result lost many of its members to disease, cold and starvation. In Martin's Cove, a rescue party was able to meet them and help save the remaining members of the company. One of my favorite stories from that rescue was of 3- 18 year old boys who carried the weak pioneers across the freezing Sweetwater River multiple times to safety. At Martin's Cove, you can pull handcarts around a short interpretive walk, or borrow one for a longer trek of your own. We did that with our grandkids, took a picnic in our handcart and hiked about 4.5 miles. It was a great day, the kids were troopers and it was amazing to remember what those brave pioneers must have gone through. *WARNING: Wear mosquito repellent!
Devil's Gate: The Sweetwater River flows through this natural gorge. The Pioneers often traveled through this spot into the Martin's Cove area. Again, wear repellent!
Independence Rock: I found out this giant rock with so many pioneer names carved on it was so named because the pioneers had to reach it by Independence Day to be able to have safe travel before winter hit. Unfortunately for the Martin and Willie Handcart companies, they didn't arrive there until November!
My husband climbed up to the top of the rock. I stayed below to take his picture. Yeah, that's why.
Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area: This beautiful red rock area along the Green River is magnificent! There is boating, hiking and camping available.
Have you been to any of these places? My husband and I really enjoyed Wyoming, It
We didn't want to put a lot of miles on our own cars for this trip, so we rented from Enterprise. We rented a Nissan Rogue that was extremely roomy and got such terrific gas mileage! It was really nice.
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Last summer I went to visit my nieces up in Wyoming. My original intentions were to bring them back down to Phoenix for a girls week, but the drive between Phoenix and Casper was one I did not want to have to make 4 times. Once I got there I thought, “I know, I’ll just look to see what I can do with them locally!” Turns out… there’s not very much to do locally in most of the Midwest… unless you make the drive to South Dakota! Rapid City, SD ended up being our vacation destination. It was only a 4-hour drive and there were plenty of things to do to keep the three of us occupied for a week! What first caught my eye when looking for activities was actually the hotel we stayed at. It was attached to an indoor water park! Watiki Water Park is an indoor water park with an upstairs arcade, attached restaurant that will deliver to you in the park, and attached hotels. The girls had so much fun with this! We ended up going there for two of the days. It was perfect for the hotter days and so easy to just walk down the hallway from our hotel room to the entrance of the water park. Another destination we made the trip to twice was Mount Rushmore (Or Mount Smushmore as the girls called it). Since it is a national park, you can buy a pass and go as many times as you want. There is a trail you can follow down to get right up next to the monument, with different viewpoints set up. The drive through the town on the way there was fun too. We stopped and walked around, window shopping and stopping for lunch. The drive between Rapid City and Mount Rushmore is full of fun activities and sights to see. My favorite? Cosmos Mystery Area. It’s a very intriguing play on the mind. Is it real or is it a trick? I don’t know, but I do know it was a lot of fun and the whole tour group we were a part of loved it. One of the girls even got to be used in a demonstration! There were plenty of sights we didn’t get to see along that drive as well. A petting zoo, Bear Country, a lizard emporium, and more. Bear Country looked especially fun! It's a drive through range that allows you an up close look at bears! We spent one afternoon just walking around downtown Rapid City. There are plenty of cute little shops and boutiques and historical landmarks to check out. I also took the girls to a salon to get their hair done. Just a short drive from downtown was Dinosaur Park. Several dinosaurs set up on a hill, perfect for climbing and taking pictures- free of charge! There is a gift shop across the street with a little restaurant inside so you can grab lunch as well. There was also the county fair in town that week, so we went over for a day filled with rides, funnel cake, animals, and balloon swords. Overall, Rapid City was a surprising little nest of fun and activities in the heart of the Midwest. There’s plenty to do for a whole family to enjoy and fill up a fun summer vacation. If you’re wanting to plan a summer family trip, I would highly recommend adding a trip to Rapid City to your list!
**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. But, all opinions expressed are my own.
Oh My Goodness! You Guys! We have been having the BEST rain here in Phoenix because of Hurricane Rosa and the weather feels amazing! It actually feels like we might get to have Fall! AND, this weather is just in time for Frugal Fun Day, which is tomorrow, October 6th. So, for Friday Faves we are asking:
What do you love to do for fun on the cheap?
At Home:
1. For a nice romantic choice, Letters to Juliet looks so good! You can rent it for 1.99 or purchase it for 7.99! I think I am going to talk my husband into this one for us to watch together.
2. If you have kids who love horses, The Silver Brumby stood out to me as reminiscent of The Man from Snowy River. You can rent it for 1.99 and buy it for 3.99. We just rewatched The Man from Snowy River on Netflix for free. 3. When Maddy and I were in Disneyland last Spring, we saw some Pixar movie shorts in the theater in California Adventures. One that was super cute and perfect for younger children was called Piper. This cute film about a baby bird learning to provide for himself is now on Prime for just 2.99.
Now, let's do some things that get us out of the house!
Besides roasting marshmallows and making s'mores, you might enjoy making and using Stuff 'em Sticks, something that we told you about here.
Frugal Fun in the Phoenix Area
Phoenix, where the weather is sometimes hot but never snowy, lends itself to many activities for everyone that are pretty inexpensive! *In the hot weather there are many pools available in the city parks, as well as splash pads and there are Water Parks available as well. Pioneer Park and Rio Vista Park's water pads are two that we have been to and they are both fun and free! *There are lakes in the city that are stocked for Urban Fishing. Kids under 14 can fish for free, just the parent needs a fishing license. One day a year there is a free day when you don't need a license at all and some parks offer fishing instruction. *The libraries offer nice places to relax from the heat and they offer story times and other activities. Phoenix libraries also offer passes on a first come first served basis that will get you into city attractions like the zoos (We have 2), botanical gardens and museums. *If you aren't able to get a pass to the Phoenix Art Museum, you can attend on Weds from 3:00-9:00 pm, On First Friday (discussed farther down), or second Sundays when prices are reduced to a voluntary donation. *There are two super fun and free factory tours that are popular in Phoenix, for all ages! The Stuffington Bear Factory teaches the history of teddy bears and those who attend the tour can even purchase and stuff their own bear. And, Cerreta Candy Company takes you on a chocolate tour and demonstration and ends with an opportunity to make and purchase a chocolate pizza! *There are tons of trails in all of the desert mountains, such as the White Tanks, South Mountain, North Mountain, Thunderbird Park, Camelback Mountain. Phoenix and the surrounding areas are a hikers paradise. Just remember to always carry water! *In the Spring, there are multiple teams who come to Phoenix for Spring Training at the various sports complexes! That is a great time to take part in the Great American Pass Time at a reasonable price! It is called the Cactus League. Here is the link to find the teams, stadiums and schedules of the games. Bookmark it because the 2019 schedule isn't up yet. *The Arizona State Capitol Building Museum is an amazing and FREE place to visit. One of the most fascinating things within its walls is the exhibit of artifacts from the USS Arizona. *First Fridays in downtown Phoenix is one of the nation's largest self-guided art walks. There is also a complimentary trolley tour to the various hubs. There is music playing and there are food trucks! I know that my young adult children have enjoyed this event at various times.
Wow! The more I write, the more I realize how much Phoenix has to offer! So, if you come to visit, bookmark this list to get you started! It is funny how when you live in a place you forget about the hidden gems that are there. I have been to most of these places, but it has been years for some of them. I told my husband that we need to start going back and revisiting some of these. HEY FAMILY! Come and visit! I have a list of places to take you!
For a nice list of frugal Fall fun, you can print off this bucket list we made last year! I hope it gets your own ideas flowing! Be sure to comment and let us know what your idea of frugal fun is.
Thinking of starting a blog of your own? We recommend Weebly! They are now teamed up with Square and really going places!
This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for any purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support! You may have been expecting Alicia's International Food post today. This month she has been featuring Belgium. Well, you will be getting that post in a round about way. You see, her family is at Disneyland currently and she asked me if I would talk about whatever Belgian thing she shares with me from Disneyland! You are not going to believe what she shared! French Fries! That's right! French Fries though Belgian, are called French fries because in WWI the soldiers who ate them didn’t know what they were called and named them after the language of the people who ate them. So the French in French Fries is actually about the spoken language and not the country France. And, of course French Fries are available in Disneyland! Disney With Toddlers: Alicia and her husband Adrian are able to go to Disneyland fairly often. But, they often are going with friends and extended family. On this trip they decided to enjoy some time with their family on their own. It is funny how your Disney experience will change depending on who you are taking and the ages of those people. You may think that going with little ones wouldn't be as much fun for you, as an adult. After all, the thrill rides aren't very doable with little ones who are sometimes afraid of the Carousel. But, over the years, I have been to Disneyland with all ages of children and had a blast every time. You have to understand in advance what your experience is going to be like and plan to enjoy the park through your toddler's eyes. Alicia has kept us updated on their trip and I am happy to say that they seem to be letting the fun evolve at the kid's pace. The pace with toddlers will be slower and you may not go on as many attractions, but then again, you may get to enjoy some of the smaller, hidden places that you might not have noticed before. It is a great time to take in the shows that are geared to the little ones, rest when they need rest and eat snacks when they need snacks. (Maybe French Fries?) Watch the joy in their eyes (or sometimes help them get over the fear) as they see the characters! They usually are fascinated from a distance if getting close is more than they can handle. One of my favorite things to do with little ones is to let them dance when the bands play around the park. I've seen this so often and it is always so cute. Here are 3 things to do to help you prepare for a trip with toddlers:
If you would like more Disney tips, check out Maddy and My investigative report Here! (Tongue in cheek.)
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Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
April 2024
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