We definitely didn’t stay home during the past year. We made several trips, some lengthy, some rather short.

The drive we’ve made most often this year is the 55 mile drive between our home and Soda Springs, spending time with dad and with mother. During this time the road between McCammon and the Iron Bridge towards Lava Hot Springs has been under construction (which probably won’t finish until sometime next summer). We’ve enjoyed watching the construction and have been very impressed at how well it has gone with very minimal traffic impact. In any case, these drives can’t be considered “trips”, so they don’t qualify for the “best”.

Because of dad’s condition, we spent most of the spring somewhere between Pocatello and Soda Springs. Nina’s niece Ashlyn got married, which took us to Rexburg and Logan. My nephew Bryan’s newborn daughter died, which necessitated going to that funeral. Again, these don’t really qualify for the “best”.

In April we made a day trip to Yellowstone National Park. This was the opening day for vehicular traffic in the park. We had a delightful time … and this one does qualify for the “best”.

We made several trips to North Salt Lake and Heather’s house. Most of the time these were because Heather’s house is a convenient place to spend the night while we’re doing something else. We did go down a couple of times just to be with Heather and her family, with the time spent over Thanksgiving being a highlight. I think the Thanksgiving trip does qualify for the “best”.

In June we made the Really Big Trip out to Connecticut and back with several stops along the way. We got to see (although sometimes very briefly) family whom we’ve not seen for quite a while. This trip definitely qualifies for the “best” category.

We got home in time for another funeral, this time Aunt Marj. That required a trip to Tooele, Utah, which is definitely not a garden spot (sorry, Tooele fans). This trip probably doesn’t qualify for the “best”.

In September we made another visit to Yellowstone National Park. We stayed in the park and took very nice trips outside the park to places like Cody, Wyoming and Red Lodge, Montana over the Bear Tooth Highway. After all the activity involved with dad’s death and funeral in August, this trip was a very nice, relaxing time and qualifies for the “best”.

We went to Chandler, Arizona in October to spend some time with our daughter Jaelene and her family. We had a great time with them and really enjoyed the time we spent there. This trip definitely qualifies for the “best”.

And there’s yet another trip in our near future. We’ll leave on Sunday, December 20th to make our way to Pennsylvania to spend Christmas with Dawnmarie and her family. We’ll come back in early January. This trip would also qualify for the “best” (and perhaps the most exciting, depending on the weather).

However, since we haven’t made that last trip, I’m not sure I can pick the “best trip” of the year just yet. Of the trips we’ve taken so far, they’d probably line up in this order:

1. Trip to Yellowstone in September
2. Trip out east in June
3. Trip to Jaelene’s in October
4. Thanksgiving with Heather’s family in November
5. Trip to Yellowstone on opening day in April

I may update this post after we get back from our December trip across Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio and back. It should be a great time!

Ta ta for now….