Have you every visited A Slot Canyon, or Horseshoe bend? Just the other day I went on a tour to see both of these magical places. My family and I got on a big tan bus trailer, with open sides and a cloth roof that blew in the wind. The road was super bumpy because it was made of only dirt and gravel, but the view was amazing! A Slot Canyon gets it’s name because of it looking like a coin slot. It often gets very narrow and dark inside, with curved layers of rocks twisitng in and out ( it makes for the perfect picture ). The one us Hedgepeths visited was only  5 million years old. Water and wind had helped shape and deepen the canyon, but what strated it, before all that? You guessed it: ice! Snow would melt in the heat of the day and seep into and on top of the rocks. Then, in the cold of the night, it would freeze- and since that ice would be fragile, it cracked- creating the start of A Slot Canyon. Pretty cool, huh? Anyways, on to horseshoe bend: imagine a giant canyon, 1,000 feet down and nearly a mile across. It’s shaped like a horseshoe, and flowing through the bottom is the Colorado River. Be carefull! the rocks are softer than you think and easy to break. I did feel kind of scared when our tour guide announced that there were up to 12 types of deadly rattlesnakes, scorpions hiding under rocks, and multiple lizzards that were posionous to the touch. Not to mention that the nearest anti-venom treatment being three hours away ( most likely you wouldn’t survive that long ) and the nearest hospital being two hours away. It’s all good, though, if you compensate the amazing view of the mysteriously colorful island, decked with boats- something you might only see once in a lifetime.

An early morning departure has us leaving the land of fossils.  Sun coming up over Dinosaur, CO as the circus in the backseat fades to hushed tones and excitement gives way to a fact it is still only 6am.

Good Afternoon! I hope everyone is enjoying their day. I certainly am. Today, we toured the Hot Springs and Geysers of Yellowstone National Park. But before we got into the park, we had to have breakfast. At the log cabin we were staying in (Paradise Gateway Guest Cabins in Emegrint, Montana), they left us some amazing fresh bread, fresh eggs, and some homemade strawberry-rubarb jam.

The cabin we stayed in was beautiful, right out of the tv show Heartland. It was picture-perfect, with stunning views of the mountains and a stunning river. The service was exceptional, and the cabin was well-stocked and extremely comfortable. I highly recommend. If you are a smaller group than us 6, they are also a bed and breakfast, which is also supposed to be great. The owners are friendly and very helpful.

After making some toast with jam, we made some eggs. But Mom and Dad wanted some more coffee, so we decided to stop right outside the Yellowstone sign. We stopped at a small coffee/gift/ice cream shop called Yellowstone Perk. They were well-known for their Ice cream, but Mom and Dad just wanted coffee, and of course, so did all of us kids. Dad sent me in to tell Mom our orders, and one of my sisters came with me. We entered the store, and when Mom saw us, she out-of-the-blue asked us if instead we wanted ice cream. Reminder, this was 9:45 in the morning, and Mom doesn’t normally let that kind of thing fly. But she said it looked amazing and it was.

The shop, Yellowstone Perk, was peaceful and adorable on the inside. With good prices, and amazing food for a cheap price, I decided it was well worth the review. I had the flavor Moose Tracks, and I highly recommend it. It is a chocolate-vanilla swirl with tiny peanut-butter cups mixed in. Two of the other kids had a flavor called Montana Moose Moss, and they said it was so good. It compares to mint-chocolate-chip ice cream, except 10x better. It was a mint version of Moose Tracks. Dad had sea-salt Carmel truffle and he claims “It was superb. Best breakfast so far.” My other sister had Huckleberry, a popular flavor in this region for a lot of things. She says the actual ice cream was good, but the actual berries mixed in were hard and sour. But overall, the coffee, the ice cream, and the service is good.

Have a wonderful rest of the day! Oh, and go follow our new Instagram account! Follow us @6seizingtheworld !!!!!!!!

Hi again! You gotta remember me, right? Ha ha, today’s blog post isn’t about memory… it’s about traveling! We all know airplane flights can get a little bit crazy, but I’m excited to be heading for Glacier Park in Montana. I packed a couple of things to keep me entertained on the oh so long plane ride ( eh, it could be worse ) like my phone, headphones,a fidget spinner, a book, and more. I feel a tiny bit cramped by the window seat, but it’s not that bad once you take a look at the view! I think it’s so cute with all the cars, buildings, and streets looking like toys below me. I can’t wait to see the home we’ll be staying in, and I hope it is nice and cozy. You know, I bet my hamster Gingersnap would love this view! I miss him so much. Unfortunately, we had to leave him at home in the care of some friends. Anyways, I wonder if by the end of this trip I’ll have a favorite national park. Probably. I don’t know which one it’ll be, but I’m soon to find out!

Things I’m looking forward to doing on our trip:
– White water rafting
– Hiking
– ( hopefully ) swimming
– Seeing my grandparents
– The Grand Canyon!
– Seeing wild fox/ deer
– Staying at hotels
– Glacier bus tour
– Los Vegas!
– Being by the lake

A bit of background is likely required.

We are a family of 6, intent on giving our four kids the experiences we know will help truly shape them into the young people we’d like to see them become: confident, inquisitive, open-minded. Not only “not afraid” of experiencing new places, people and things – but openly looking for opportunities to adventure and experience new places, people and things.

This blog is a place where we hope to engage them and allow them to showcase their thoughts, opinions and experiences – and hopefully provide some helpful advice and insight to others as they do so. Without meaning to be cheesy, I’d offer the POV that we could all learn a lot from the perspective of the young people around us. They see the world differently and have much to add to the conversation and perspective surrounding any given experience. While I am a former editor (now corporate business woman), I am not editing these posts – with the exception of some guidance here on there on 1) sharing their true thoughts and feelings, vs. trying to write what others might like to read (we’re working on this – be patient with us as we get our feed underneath us in the blogging world!); and 2) a bit of grammar when my (somewhat) anal nature in this space requires me to speak up. What you see is a reflection of what they choose to share. I hope you will find it both engaging and somewhat different than other blogs.

Our overall theme/topic for the blog is “seizing the world.” It’s an ambition , a hope, a  mantra. We’re holding ourselves accountable with this blog as much as sharing our adventures; it’s a call to action to plow forward and experience whatever we can, whenever we can. With our oldest daughter entering high school in a few weeks, and our youngest going in to grade 2, we are all too aware that the years fly by quickly and the chance to experience adventures together (easily) is now. So push us. Leave us comments. Challenge us to think bigger. We’re up for it.

Thanks for sharing the journey with us.

– Dawn

Ready to go on the adventure of a lifetime? We are! It’s time to head to the national parks for amazing views and fun at its best. 2 adventurous parents and 4 excited kids will make for perfect tour guides on this trip of a lifetime.  I’m excited not only for this upcoming trip but to be blogging every minute of it! In my opinion, experience is the best way to live life. And I can’t help but say it looks like for a little while hiking, rafting, and the backseat of a car will be fast and familiar friends. All part of the fun, right? I wonder if the Grand Canyon or Glacier Park ever thought about taking an airplane. Anyways, you should probably know that packing light is a great idea. Unless you want your car to roll off the edge ( no pressure ) of one of the biggest canyons in the world!