Day 23 We’ve officially hit our midway mark! Kind of sad to be on the other side but there is still so much trip left to experience.

Today was the day I’d been waiting for, at least the morning. We traveled to Mona, Utah to visit the Young Living Lavender Farm. We got a distillery tour and learned first hand about the processes used to make the oils.

We were encouraged to walk through the fields and smell the crops and make ourselves at home. We visited horses and the kids (and Tom) even took a paddle boat ride. I got to shop in their store, smell oils I’ve never had a chance to smell, and check out all the products in one place. It was a really cool experience.

We wrapped up the trip with Lavender and Peppermint Ice Cream.

Upon leaving the farm we were hungry for lunch so when we spotted an In-n-Out Burger we decided it was time to stop. We all wolfed burgers in the Trader Joe’s parking lot (no, the irony was not lost on us) and then grabbed groceries for the next few days.

We then set out for the campground – Tom opting for a mountain pass which he assumed would be the “short cut”. Note to self, mountain passes in Utah should never be assumed a shortcut. Also. They are terrifying. Half way through I was sure that my insides were liquified and I’m certain I saw Tom white knuckled at the wheel. We also experienced our first brush with AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) as we were all shaky and out of breath. The Guardsman Pass stands at 9,700ft and although we’d already been at 9,666ft in Wyoming, it was ascending the 6000 feet in 25 minutes that did us in.

It took me a bit to level out my cortisol levels (Tom, too, although he won’t admit it). We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach at the campground. The kids swam and Griff played in the sand.

Then home for some playtime at the playground while Tom cooked dinner – Chicken Apple Sausages with Baked Beans.

Griff went to bed easy; Penny and I read books; Tom and Tucker sat by the fire watching lighting as a storm approached over the mountains. Both big kids drifted off to sleep, even as a storm barreled down.