That was a short Drive!

Saturday - June 6th

Broken Arrow, OK - Northwest Arkansas

After:

3,385 Miles,

60 Hours in the car,

7 States,

50 Counties,

6 Indian Reservations,

and

150 gallons of gas

we arrived safely back home.

Wouldn't you know that gas would go up just in time for a road trip.

It is good to be home again, although the grass is about 8 feet tall, the mail has to be sorted, and ...you get the idea!

Thanks for joining me and my family as we experienced only a small part of what the beautiful southwest has to offer! I hope that you have enjoyed looking at the photos that I've posted as much as I've enjoyed taking them.

Technology...Good, Bad or Ugly....

Alamagordo, NM - Broken Arrow, OK

June 5th

Today was the longest amount of time in the car so far. Also it was first time I really had a problem with my Garmin GPS (Which probably contributed to it being the longest day in the car)

If you look at the map, you can see that there is a much better way to get where we were going. but that ok, not everyone gets to go through 15 New Mexico speed traps in one day, not to mention Roswell....I dont know what all the hype is about roswell, we were looking for evidence of extra terrestrial life forms, and all we found was a Wal-Mart with a bunch of aliens painted on it.

After a good stretch we piled back into the car and headed for Texas. our next stop was the Cadillac Ranch just outside of Amarillo.

[ The Cadillac Ranch, located along the tatters of historic Route 66, was built in 1974, brainchild of Stanley Marsh 3, the helium millionaire who owns the dusty wheat field where it stands. Marsh and The Ant Farm, a San Francisco art collective, assembled used Cadillacs representing the "Golden Age" of American Automobiles (1949 through 1963). The ten graffiti-covered cars are half-buried, nose-down, facing west "at the same angle as the Cheops' pyramids." ] - http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2220

Dinner was at the "Big Texan" home of the Free 72oz Steak dinner only if eaten within one hour.

Did you catch the fine print. I didnt try it but I enjoyed watching two different guys have their ego smashed at the front of the dining room. If you want to have the same fun I did you can watch the following live feed (no pun intended)

The steak was pretty good, but unless you have deep pockets I'd think twice about going there again! We will just chalk it up as part of the trip and count it as a lessoned learned! At least the kids had a good time!

We rolled into Tulsa about 1am. Many thanks to my sister and Chad for waiting up for us so we could crash at their house for the night!

We came..We Saw..I wanna go back!

Tucson, AZ - Alamagordo, NM

June 4th 2009

Well, today we left Tucson...Its always sad to leave family, but we will see them again soon. Today begins a long drive home. We made a few stops along the way and stayed the night in Alamagordo, NM.

We stopped at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico just before the sun went down. The sunset glistening off of the gipsum dunes is a sight to behold.

There are a few types of plants that can grow fast enough to avoid being buried in the sand as the dunes change shape and form when the wind blows through the valley.

The kids had a blast playing on the sand dunes, and I had a blast watching them!

I made a declaration of my love for my wife in the Sand

Tucson @ Last

Tucson is a wonderful place to experience the Sonoran Desert. Here light takes on a ethereal quality, bathing the sky, desert, and mountains, in rich vibrant hues.

Trails laced with towering cacti, playful wildflowers, and fragrant desert plants invite exploration and adventure. At night, The glittering star filled skies create the perfect backdrop for gazing into the heavens.

We arrived in Tucson on Monday Afternon. Of course we had to stop at Egee's for a frozen treat. (It's a Tucson thing). At this point we were only a few miles from my grandparents house. It was sure nice to see them. We will be staying in town for a few days. But not doing much of anything!

We all went over to my Uncles home and watched the kids swim for a little while before bedtime.

On Tuesday morning, I got up and drove down to the road to have coffee with Grandma and Grandpa. My aunt was there so i got to visit with her for a few minutes.


Tuesday evening, My Aunt and Uncle invited the whole family over for dinner. We had a great time visiting out by the pool. The kids swam and were even joined by my aunts Dog...Hooch.

Chillin' out in the Valley of the Sun

We woke up to a beautiful morning in Prescott Valley and enjoyed a nice soak in the spa before eating breakfest and heading to Phoenix. We will be staying with some good friends of ours for a few days. It will be nice to be in one place for more than a day. Im a little tired after having been on the go all week.

What a difference a hundred miles makes when you are driving downhill the whole way. The temp outside went from mid to upper 60s to 102 in a very short time!

We met our friends in Phoenix @ chase field, They had been given some extra tickets to the D-backs game vs. the Atlanta braves. That worked well because if I were to be into baseball, id be a braves fan!

We left the game early because it wasnt holding the kids attention . The braves had a solid lead so that was fine with me, but i found out after getting to our friends house that the D-backs won in the 11th inning. What a game to walk away from!!!

On Sunday evening we met with one of Sarah's Aunts for dinner. We went to Rawhide in Chandler, AZ (just outside of Phoenix) Its a old west town mock up that has everything from a jail to a gold mine and of course a steakhouse. The kids panned for painted rocks (aka..GOLD)

I was questioned by the town DEP U. T. ~ and got suckered into having my Carachature drawn - For 10 bucks I was pretty bummed. It was more of a sharpie drawing. Nothing like I expected.

I tried fried rattlesnake for the first time. Guess what it tasted like ~ yep, you guessed it - CHICKEN!

BEFORE
AFTER

Heading south...for the week

Grand Canyon - Tucson (May 29 - June 1)

We left the Grand Canyon after watching the sunset. We left the park on a different road than we entered , but by that time it was to dark to see anything but outlines on the horizon. We drove to Prescott Valley, where we stayed the night.

Do Nothing to Mar Its Grandeur....

The sunrise was beautiful, especially as it began casting light on the canyon walls. I was told by a few others that were there for a few days that it was not the best because of the clouds, but I'll take it!




After I got back from my sunrise excursion, we went to the gift shop and did a little browsing before heading off to spend the day on the canyon's rim trail.



The kids completed another Jr. Ranger program, part of which was a 1/2 mile walk along the trail led by a Park Ranger. It was very interesting to learn so many facs about the grand canyon...For example did you know that if you hike from top of the canyon all the way down to the river you will experience climate and surroundings the same as if you were to go from Canada to Mexico.. And it all because of the elevation change!





It did rain for a little while shortly after lunch, which was ok because it gave us a good chance to sit down and work with the kids on their Jr. Ranger booklets. plus it was nice to just sit and smell the rain. The clouds that form over the canyon are also very interesting because they change so rapidly.


We ended the day by sharing a pizza @ the Canyon Cafe and watching the sunset from Desert View. The watchtower @ desert view is the highest point on the south rim and provides stunning views of the Colorado River and canyon walls. You can even see parts of the Painted Desert from the top.

I will warn you (and if you have ever been to the grand canyon, you know) these pictures and any other picture you have ever seen of it can't even come close to the expreience of being there.

Thats why Teddy Roosevelt said in 1903

"......It is the one great sight that every american sould see"

That last step is a doozy!

Well we did make it to the Grand Canyon (Finally)! .... I havent updated this blog in a a few days because...well quite honestly..I've enjoyed not being in front of a computer.

We Traveled up I-40 to Flagstaff and then took 180 into the south entrance of the South Rim. The drive long but the scenery was amazing. The San Fransisco Peaks near flagstaff are still covered in snow at the top.













It was almost dark as we arrived at the Grand Canyon, so we didnt have much time to look around. We got checked into out lodge and went to watch the sunset at Yavapai Point. The clouds were pretty thick which made the colors less vibrant, but it was still very beautiful.

After the sun went down we went and found some dinner (which was overpriced and not very good) but I will admit, I was getting pretty tired of PB&J!

We saw a coyote on our way back to the lodge. I set my alarm for 4:30am so I could watch the sun rise. A grand canyon sunrise is one of the very few things that I'd be willing get up at 4:30 in the morning for!

One Days Ride to Zuni

Today was by far the most interesting on the trip so far. We made it to Arizona as last!

So....... Arizona happens to be a big state as well. We have covered quite a few miles here and the landscape is always changing. Around every corner is something new and beautiful.

We stopped at the Welcome Center and learned about what kind or critters live here and how to look out for them so you dont get in a tangle with them.

I think I can probably handle these particular species though. They can be easily tamed with a video game or DVD.

We visited the Petrified Forest National Park and also saw the Painted Desert. The kids completed activities and were sworn in as Jr. Park Rangers!

I really enjoyed the Petrified Forest. We took a guided tour with a ranger and were able to go "off trail", We were able to see lots of petrified wood as well as fossils. Its unfortunate that most if not all of the rock has been taken from along the the trail by visitors.

Ranger Rita was really cool. She spent a lot of time talking to the kids even after the tour.

The painted Desert is a beautiful place which details the layers of earth that form the surrounding Mountains and provides a glimpse into the history of the planet we have been blessed with. God is an amazing artist and the universe is his canvas. With all the exploration and discovery missions we read about, I think that we have the best of it all right here on our planet. God put it here for us to enjoy.

We learned how to identify a fossil and also how to tell if it is a bone or not, by sticking it on your tounge..if it sticks, its a bone!