Traveling the Oregon Trail

Well, we had quite a send off the morning of our departure. We are so blessed to be loved so deeply by our family. All of a sudden, knowing we were actually leaving, made me look at everyone and everything through a different lens. I just wanted to hold onto it all and take it with me. Knowing we were leaving everyone and everything the kids had ever know, made me appreciate it so much more. I will say, after having traveled 14,000 miles last year, it helped me understand that leaving Texas was in fact do-able. I used to think our options of traveling were limited because it took a whole day just to get out of Texas, so mine as well just stay in the state. But after all the driving and setting up camp we did last year, we can pretty much go just about anywhere we desire to go!

We decided to head to see Keith and Karen on our way out. They are such nice hosts! Karen always has the food taken care of and so many beds ready to go! I feel like we just come in and have a quick party and leave again. It was nice getting to spend a few hours with them for sure!

Then we decided to split the remaining 1,600 miles into 3 days with 2 nights in between. We headed out about 6:30am and made it to Albuquerque, NM. We found out it takes us about 2 hours to go 100 miles. We made a few stops along the way…fuel, picnic, fuel, potty, fuel etc. Lots of fuel and coffee refills for the drivers! Before we left, Uncle Tommy & Aunt Marilyn gave us $50 to McDonalds and we got 120 McNuggets for supper that night!! What a treat! Thank you!!

The next day we waited for breakfast at 6:00 at the hotel and then headed out. So many beautiful things to see along the way! From some snow capped mountains in Colorado, to Moab, Utah and the huge rocks, to clear blue skys and 70 degrees to snowy weather in the 30’s. Such diversity! We enjoyed our picnic lunch (provided by Keith and Karen) of crackers, cream cheese, and jelly! What a treat! Thank y’all!

Then we made it up into Salt Lake City, UT around supper time and had another set of gift cards to take advantage of! This supper is from the Roland’s. They gave each of the kids a Sonic gift card for Christmas and we cashed in on them tonight!! Another fun eating experience and yummy supper! Thank y’all!

We made it up to Ogden, UT just as a winter storm was blowing in! I ran into Walmart for a few minutes, grabbed a few things and then we made it to the hotel and called it a night.

Since we aren’t too familiar with “winter weather”, we decided to get an early start. We were on the road by 4:30 and thankfully the weather was only snowy in patches and we didn’t have any ice to deal with. It was actually perfect because all the kids got to enjoy some snow and it wasn’t super dangerous to drive through. Thank you Lord for working all that out!!

Another fun treat we had along the way was provided for by Uncle Larry and Aunt Delina. We had some breakfast burritos and French toast rolls and coffee that we grabbed at one of the fill ups. They sure looked and smelled yummy! Thank you for the special breakfast/lunch treat!!

Thank you for those who prayed for us! We are so thankful to the Lord for answered prayers regarding our travels! We weren’t sure how it would be hauling both trailers up here on the “Oregon Trail” with our vehicles, but we made it without breaking down once! Not to mention, no one died from dysentery, or starvation, or broken wagon wheels, or oxen getting stuck 😂. We do have a hub about gone on the suburban, but we made it all the way and will fix it as we have time.