Phx - Omaha
May 2024, our family set out on a forty-eight hour drive from our home in Phoenix to my husband’s hometown in Iowa. Along the way, we stopped at two children’s museums, the top zoo in the nation, and an alpaca farm. I’m sharing the highlights of our trip and offering a copy of our hour-by-hour itinerary so you can recreate the whole adventure!
Scroll to the bottom to find an hour-by-hour itinerary.
My husband’s twenty year high school graduation anniversary coincided with his youngest cousin’s high school graduation this summer. He was invited to be the school’s commencement speaker at the ceremony, so of course we had to pack up the whole family to drive out and attend!
I spent quite some time perfecting our itinerary for the trip. I was sure to include all the things that were important to my husband (getting there in a decent amount of time and spending a lot of time with extended family) and things that were important to the kids and me (exploring new parks and museums, spending as much or more time playing as we did driving, and free hotel breakfast.)
Although some of the driving stints were a bit long for our three-year-old, the trip was overall successful and the kids had a ton of exciting memories to tell grandma and grandpa when we got back home.
Days 1-3
We started the trip with a nine hour drive from Phoenix to Grand Junction, CO. Yep, nine hours was rough, but we wanted to just get it out of the way and get as far out of the Arizona heat as we reasonably could in one day. We made the usual stops for bathroom breaks along the way, but our main get-out-and-move stop was in Bluff, Utah. We found a cute little historic site at Bluff Fort where we got to explore small one room cabins, tour a real teepee, and learn to make a button spinner. We’re currently learning about early American pioneers in our homeschool and reading through the Little House series, so this was a great hands-on experience for the kids. The volunteers at the site were dressed in full, authentic pioneer garb and were really friendly! We politely passed on hearing about the LDS history of the town and got on our way.
Our second day took us from Grand Junction to Denver. The four hour drive felt brief compared to the nine hours the day before. Not to mention, this was the most beautiful landscapes I have seen yet! Our drive took us through the longest mountain tunnel in North America - 1.7 miles! The Eisenhower Tunnel was certainly a cool experience, but the winding roads along the Colorado River really stole the show.
We arrived in Denver and spent the entire afternoon at our favorite children’s museum. We went to the Denver Children’s Museum a few years ago with our older two kids and knew we wanted to go back with the whole gang. Each of our four kids had a favorite exhibit inside (the grocery store, the workshop with real tools, the firetruck, and the balancing kayak), but the outdoor portion of the museum is the real MVP. We could easily spend an entire day out there. Be prepared to get wet and have a change of clothes in the car.
After wearing the kids out at the museum, we drove another six hours to Grand Island, NE. We were planning on stopping a couple of hours earlier, but booked hotel rooms forced us to keep going. It worked out though because that gave us more time the next day to visit our next stop - Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium.
This zoo is ranked #1 in the nation and it was obvious why. The exhibits are so well thought out and each one takes you into the animals’ natural habitats. The indoor rain forest was the highlight of the visit. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and didn’t get to see the whole zoo. We were getting hangry and hot and my husband was eager to get moving to the next destination - his hometown. I can’t blame him!
By the end of day three we had arrive in small town Iowa. We spent eight full days here, soaking in the perfect summer weather and time with family.
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
This zoo has made our list of top five favorite road trip destinations!
Days 4-6
After celebrating my husband and daughter’s birthday with our Iowa kin, we headed out and started our trek back home. Our first stop on this route was in Lincoln, NE. We visited Lincoln’s Children’s Museum and stayed at a beautiful swanky hotel.
Along the route, we always stay at Marriott hotels. We applied for the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card a couple of months before this trip and, after we were approved, charged all of our hotel stays and gas to the card. Marriott purchases are worth 6x points (and gas is 3x) so we have quickly earned enough points to stay at least seven nights for free on our next trip. I’m new to the world of travel points, but I am so glad that this was our first card - we’ve quickly seen the benefits! If you decide to apply, my best tip is to make sure you treat it like a debit card so you aren’t racking up credit card debt!
In Lincoln, we stayed at the The Scarlet, Lincoln, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel. It was beautiful and close enough to the Husker’s stadium for my husband to run there and back in the morning before the rest of us woke up.
From Lincoln, we drove back to Denver and spent the afternoon at the Denver Zoo. I know what you’re thinking, two zoos in one trip? You betcha! The closest zoo to us at home is the Wildlife World Zoo and honestly, it’s just sad and dry and too spread out. Maybe I’ve just been there too many times, but anytime we get a chance to visit another zoo - we take it!
We spent another night in Denver and then woke up early the next morning to start our drive back through the Rocky’s. We stopped in Vail because it’s absolutely beautiful, and we let the kids play at the park there.
We got to Grand Junction just in time for our tour of the Alpaca Farm. Now, you have to understand that alpacas are the only animal that I like. I’m not a dog or cat person, but alpacas - yes please. Our family was assigned to four male alpacas and we led them with leashes around the peach orchard. It was fabulous. Then we got a tour of the mill on site. Of course we left with some alpaca goods and gifts!
Our last day of travel was another long drive from Grand Junction, back home to Phoenix. We stopped at a delicious Native American restaurant in Tuba City and powered through the rest of the drive.
Getting home from a road trip like this is always bittersweet. We’re grateful to be in our own home and beds, but the kids and I really thrive when we’re on vacation mode! Who doesn’t?