Traveling Home from Rocky Mountain National Park 2026

Sadly, our trip had come to an end, and it was time to go.  I was not ready to leave!!!  Much to my surprise, when we walked outside to go to breakfast that morning the ground had snow on it.  It was like a sweet goodbye gift to me. 

 

morning snow at the YMCA of the Rockies 

 

 

our morning view 

 

We love to stay at the YMCA! 

I took this photo on the walk to the dining hall for our last buffet meal. 

 

 

Snow falling as we loaded the car. 

 

 

For the second time we stayed in the Wind River Lodge.  We love it! 

 

Wind River Lodge at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park 

 

 

 leaving the YMCA

I cannot wait to return!!!

 

 

We had snowfall all the way out of town.

 

Checkout was at 10:00 am.  We had an overnight flight that didn't leave Denver until 12:45 am (Wednesday morning).  We had to be at the airport to drop off our vehicle by 10:00 pm.  That meant a twelve hour day to kill.  We left Estes Park that morning and made the 1.5 hour drive back into Denver.

 

 

We killed most of our time walking around stores.  The boys insisted on stopping first at Bass Pro Shop.  

 

We had lunch at In-N-Out, which is a family favorite. We do not have those in the South so it was a must on our list to do while in Colorado. 

 

a lovely Denver sunset

We ate supper at Raising Cane's and then hung out at a Starbucks until time to drive to the airport.  

 

 

driving back into the Denver airport

Like I said on our arrival, I love this airport view, especially at night! It's so pretty!

 

It is hard to sum up this trip in words.  It was incredible and perfect in every way.  If I could do it over again, I would not change a thing.  The memories it provided, we will never forget.   

Starting Our Stateside Assignment June 2025

On Monday, June 23, we arrived in the U.S. to begin our fifth Stateside Assignment (furlough).  We will be here a few months before returning back to Guatemala for a new term.  We are so thankful for this much needed break! We plan to soak in every minute of it!

 

We took this photo at our house in Guatemala before heading to the airport for our overnight flight to the U.S. 

 

 

We enjoyed an early morning Chick-fil-A breakfast in the Houston airport. 

 

Seeing the sun rise in Houston. 

 

taking a nap in the airport while we waited on our connecting flight to Jackson 

 

 

When we landed in Jackson, our friends were there to greet us.  That was a fun surprise. 

 

me and my friend Malinda 

 

Malinda and the boys 

 

our dear friends, the Browns

Reagan, much to our surprise, had left work just to come greet us.  That made us feel very loved! 

 

 

The boys wasted no time reconnecting with friends.  Soon after we got home, they enjoyed a sleepover and then a day of fun at a trampoline park. 

 

We got a family membership to a local gym. 

 

 

On every trip home, my family gives the boys a combined birthday celebration party at a local Mexican restaurant.  This year we did it just a few days after we returned home.  They get cards with money so they can go shopping. 

 

us with my mom 

 

 

David's hometown (Crystal Springs, MS) has an annual Tomato Festival the last weekend in June.  We were excited to be home to attend it. On Friday night they have a street party with food, live music, and fireworks.  We spent the evening walking around with our friends, the Browns, and also enjoyed seeing many people we love and have missed.

 

Lastly, our first Sunday back in the States was a fifth Sunday, so our home church was having a potluck meal after the morning service.  It was a fun and delicious way to get back into U.S. church.  Here are Cruz and his friend Jude during the Sunday lunch meal.

 

Next, I'll share photos from the month of July. 

Traveling Home from Colorado

Well, as they say, all good things must come to an end.  We returned to Guatemala after one of the most incredibly amazing vacations we have ever taken. Everything about it was phenomenal! I wish we could back up and do it all over again! I doubt there is anything I’d change or do differently. It was perfect, timely, and everything I hoped it would be. We were all a little sad to leave that stunning state. The beauty there was just indescribable! Colorado will always hold a special place in our hearts!!! It was the best vacation ever! 

On our last full day there we enjoyed a slow morning and took our time checking out of the hotel in Colorado Springs. We drove from Colorado Springs back into Denver where we stayed overnight near the airport.  We enjoyed lunch at Raising Cane's, made another visit to Bass Pro Shop, went to Wal-Mart, had our final supper at Chipotle, and then tried our best to get a good night's rest.  Here are a few photos I took before we left. 

 

We love Turo and had another wonderful experience with them.  Turo is a car-sharing marketplace where private car owners rent out their vehicles to individuals. It's often described as the "Airbnb for cars".  On this particular trip we had a Jeep Cherokee and absolutely loved it! The car was waiting for us as the airport, and we dropped it back off at the airport.  It was quick, easy, and convenient. We have used Turo multiple times over the years and never had an issue.  Check them out for your car rental needs. 

 

We passed this road sign on the drive to Denver from Colorado Springs.  We are definitely looking forward to our time in Mississippi later this month. 

 

sunset mountain view from our hotel in Denver 

 

snow mountain view on the drive to the airport  

 

dropping off our car at the Denver airport 

 

 

I saw this sticker on another car parked at the airport and smiled. I am already researching our next national park trip. 

 

 

leaving the Denver airport 

 

flying over the Rocky Mountains 

 

view of the Rocky Mountains from the plane 

 

View of Los Angeles as we landed.

 

View of the freeway in Los Angeles as we landed.

 

We flew into Guatemala later that night.  It was around 11:00 pm by the time we got to our house.  We were completely exhausted but also completely filled with many wonderful memories that will last us a lifetime.  It really was the best vacation I think we will ever take as a family because I'm not sure we'll ever be able to top this one.  

Back in Vegas (Road Trip out West Post 12)

 

Our time at Zion National Park had come to an end.  We left our hotel in Springdale, Utah after breakfast with the goal of arriving back in Las Vegas by mid-afternoon.  I took one last photo from our hotel before we left. 

 

back on the road

 

We made a stop at Wal-Mart in Hurricane, Utah to pick up a few snacks to fly back with us to Guatemala.   These were Ben's choices.

 

On the drive back to Vegas we crossed into Nevada, then Arizona, and then back into Nevada again.

 

 

We arrived in North Las Vegas just in time for our 3:00 COVID test appointments.  We did them at a Walgreens drive through.   Thankfully only three of us had to be tested.  Guatemala only requires it for everyone ten and up.  Ben was happy about that.

 

We spent the next two days in Las Vegas awaiting our results before flying back home to Guatemala.

 

I had done some research on "free family friendly activities to do in Las Vegas with kids".  I compiled a list of things I thought would be fun and that is what we passed the time doing.   Two websites that I found most helpful were lasvegaskids and familyvacationcritic.  Here are all the free things we did-

 

We enjoyed walking through the Venetian to see the gondolas and shops.

 

 

It was funny to see the Statue of Liberty with a mask on.

 

We visited the famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada sign.

 

The line to take photos in front of the sign was extremely long so we just walked over to the side and took a quick selfie.

We drove about ten miles out of town to see Seven Magic Mountains.  I had seen others post photos of it and I was eager to see it for myself.

 

It is just these large painted rock pillars but the colors really pop against the desert backdrop.

 

On this particular day they were pressure washing them so they had a barrier around the area. Normally you are able to walk right up to them and take photos.

 

The colors were just as beautiful as I had imagined them to be.

 

On the way back into the city we made a stop by Speed Vegas.  This is the place where you pay to drive a fancy sports car around a track.   You can still enter for free as a spectator.  You first have to register everyone in your party and wear an armband.  That lets you pretty much get to explore the whole place.  We got to watch the cars race by as well as walk through the parking area to see all of the cars up close.  The boys thought it was super cool!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite things we did was tour the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens.   Everything was very pretty!

 

 

 

Our favorite activity of all was the fountain show at the Bellagio.  It was simply amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

We visited the flamingos.

 

We also watched the volcano eruption at the Mirage.

 

 

We visited the Ethel M Chocolate factory and cactus garden.

 

They were not making many chocolates that day so we didn't get to see a lot of action.  It was still fun though just to walk around.

 

Just outside of the factory was the cactus garden.  You just walk through at your own leisure.

 

 

 

A highlight of our time in Las Vegas was getting to have a meal with Ms. Kathy Kelly and Mr. Harry Watson.  Ms. Kathy is a former IMB trustee who visited us back in 2008 when we lived in Coban and worked with the Kekchi.  That IMB Trustee trip was a lot of fun! She is a precious lady and has been a great source of encouragement to me over the years.  Mr. Harry is the Director of Missions for the Southern Nevada Baptist Association.  It was great to hear from both of them about the work taking place in their area.

 

 

We had an overnight flight back to Guatemala.   We dropped our rental car off at the airport around 5:00 pm and then checked in for our 8:00 pm flight. Here is Cruz soaking in the last views of the city before entering the airport.

 

Our family waiting to board our flight.

We saw a beautiful sunset as we left Las Vegas.

 

 

We had a short layover at LAX.  Our next flight left around midnight and arrived in Guatemala City at 5:30 am.

 

We had a beautiful sunrise to welcome us back home.

 

 Hello Guatemala City!