Four Corners

We left Utah with one purpose… to get to Four Corners and get pictures of the boys standing in four states at once. A few days before we left on our trip a teacher from Lisbon Elementary, Barb Hayes, called to warn us that work was being done at Four Corners and that it is only open on the weekends. Okay, fair enough. We went online and looked it up. The web site only said that they were making improvements and would only be open Thursday through Sunday, May to September. I don’t know about you, but it seems odd to me that the Navajo Nation would close down one of their main attractions half the week during the summer, but whatever. We arranged our schedule so that we would be there on Friday.

In the meantime, as we made our way to Four Corners we passed through Monument Valley. Monument Valley is home to hundreds of free standing giant stones. They’re not attached to any sort of mountain or anything. It looks like God just dropped them out of the sky and they stand where they landed. We didn’t go to the Visitors Center because it was miles away from the road we were on and we were ready to get to Four Corners and then to our campground. Monument Valley also stands in the Navajo Nation. I don’t know exactly how big the Navajo Nation is, but we were travelling through it for hours. So we meandered down the highway, pulling off when we could to take pictures of the monuments we could see from our vantage point.

Then we started to see the signs for Four Corners. I had been talking it up to the kids so they were really excited. Suddenly, there we were, pulling up to the booth. The excitement is mounting. The admission is $3 a person. I can live with that. How often do you get the chance to stand in four states at one time? Glenn pulls a twenty from his wallet; we get up to the booth and see a little sign. “Due to construction and limited access to monument, $3 per car.” Hmmmm. That doesn’t sound good. I got a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach that disappointment was only minutes away. Then I saw the big fences. We stepped out of the RV with trepidation and slowly walked towards the fences. I was still hoping that there was an opening in the fencing and they allowed people to see the monument. Alas, no. Not only were we left staring at ugly chain link fencing, but they didn’t even put signs on the fencing to tell you what state you were standing in. I began to feel $3 a car was a total rip-off. Apparently my complaining was a little on the loud side (I know, it’s shocking) because I was then approached by a reporter from the Farmington, New Mexico newspaper and asked about my feelings on the monument closure. Boy did I let him have it. He finally had to stop me and pull out a tape recorder. I guess I was talking faster than he could write. So, after much venting I got it out of my system, the reporter walked away and I looked at all the Navajo art in the various booths around the site. I even bought a necklace.

I guess this gives us yet another reason to head this way again. Are we disappointed? Sure we are. Are there worse things in life? You bet. It just goes to show you can’t plan everything.

Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon, what can I say? So different from anything I have ever seen before. Do you know what a Hoodoo is? I didn't either. But now I consider myself an expert and am going to have Reid create a Hoodoo for his science fair project next year. A Hoodoo is simply all that's left of a plateau after years of erosion. The plateau breaks apart after years of freezing and thawing, the water is able to get to the sandstone through the cracks and eventually carves away the sandstone so that all that's left are pillars, or Hoodoos. There's more to it, but that’s Sharon's abridged version of what happens. Bryce Canyon isn't truly a canyon. Canyons by definition are carved by a river or stream. That is not the case with Bryce Canyon. It was created by rain and thawing snow infiltrating the cracked surface and eating away at the sandstone. The changes to Bryce are fast and furious compared to the changes of other mountainous regions. Because the area is mostly sandstone and other porous rock it is affected by every big rain. The landscape is constantly changing.

We got to Bryce a little later than we usually choose to go to parks, but we did that on purpose. We knew we would be staying late and we can only entertain the boys for so long. We had an early lunch in the RV then took the 50 mile drive north to Bryce. We hit our peak elevations in and around Bryce Canyon, our highest point being 9115 feet. Every park we have been to in the last week has been spectacular in its own right, but Bryce was the most unusual. This is a must see park. I would like to go back and hike when the kids are a little older and can carry more of their own stuff.

We started our visit at the Visitors Center to pick up our Junior Ranger booklets and watched a 20 minute film about Bryce Canyon. It was raining when we got there, so the Visitors Center was packed. Bryce Canyon has a shuttle service, but it doesn't go to all the stops, so we decided to use our car. Each stop within the canyon has a spectacular view of rock formations such as The Sinking Ship, Thor’s Hammer, The Amphitheatre. Each stop also has a different animal in abundance. One stop had chipmunks, another had ravens. Another stop had Steller’s Jays, yet another had horned lizards. We even saw hummingbirds at another stop. No mountain lions though. I was hoping to see one from a far off distance. Between several stops there were lush meadows where we saw deer and prong horn grazing. A prong horn is a small deer like creature with antlers that come out of the head and turn back towards each other. The only animal faster than the prong horn is the African cheetah. Their only predator in America is, unfortunately, man. I don’t’ know that they are hunted anymore; their death is usually by means of motor vehicle accident. There are also thick evergreen forests between the viewing areas. One area still bears the scars from a forest fire that raged through the park a year ago. The most likely cause of that fire was a lightning strike. We saw lightning all around us while we were at the park but the rangers assured us that unless we heard thunder within 30 seconds we were safe. We were so high in elevation that we could see for 85 plus miles. Incredible.

While doing a little research before our trip Glenn discovered that Bryce Canyon has an astronomy program every night. We were interested in attending but were getting discouraged by the storm clouds rolling in as the day progressed. We decided to go into the little town of Bryce, have dinner and see what the cloud did. I'm so glad we didn't give up and go home early. Once we were done with dinner the skies were clear and we were back on track to view stars. Because of Bryce Canyon’s elevation, there is very little light pollution. On a clear night you can see up to 7500 stars with an unaided eye. Those of us who live anywhere near a town can only see up to 2500 stars. Those living in a city or the suburbs can see even fewer. I read that as darkness falls on Bryce Canyon the first star you can actually see isn’t a star at all, but the planet Venus. Venus is so bright it will cast your shadow. How’s that for spectacular? We attended a Ranger led astronomy presentation and then followed him to the area where they had four high powered telescopes. Unfortunately, our night sky was a little cloudy so we weren’t able to see as many stars, but we did see Saturn, rings and all and Saturn’s moon Triton. I was amazed as were Glenn and the boys. With the telescopes we also saw a star that they have determined is a candidate to go “supernova” in our lifetime, it’s the brightest star in the constellation Scorpion, as well as a few other stars. With the unaided eye we were able to make out the Milky Way, Ursa Major, Sagittarius, Scorpion, parts of Cassiopeia and many others. We also saw two satellites tracking across the sky. We were told that you can see the International Space Station some nights. Robert was all over that. He really wanted to see the ISS, but had to settle for the satellites. Again, on clear nights they have had reports of being able to see up to 20 shooting stars. That was not the case with us. The longer we stood there looking at the stars the cloudier it became. We finally called it quits about an hour into stargazing.

The drive back to Glendale was nerve-wracking. The deer were perched on the side of the road, just waiting to dart out in front of our car. Both Glenn and I have had deer hits, we weren’t too excited about reliving the experience. The closer we got to Glendale, the more frequent the sightings. I was so relieved to finally pull into our campground. In the backseat we had two boys sawing logs and another on the brink. I tried to carry Sean, but he’s almost as tall as me and the ground was very uneven. I’m lucky I didn’t trip and fall to the ground on top of him. I had to wake him long enough to get him inside. Glenn rousted Reid and got him in the RV. I never would have been able to pick him up. At nine he’s a scant three inches shorter than me. Finally the whole crew was in bed. It was another successful, exhausting day at one of our nation’s beautiful parks. I am already trying to figure out when we can go back and hike some of the trails we skipped due to the weather. I hope my good friend Angela Green and her husband Richard are ready for company; we may be flying into Salt Lake City very soon. I used to feel sorry for Angela when I thought about her being tucked away in Utah, so far from family and friends. Now I’m envious. I had no idea there was so much to offer in one state. We barely scraped the surface of National Parks in the area. Utah is definitely a state worth checking out. We’ll be back; hopefully we’ll have more time to explore.

Zion National Park

Words cannot describe Zion National Park. I could try with words such as spectacular, magnificent, stupendous, glorious, but those words don't go far enough. It was truly an awe inspiring experience. Driving up to the park we were greeted by the Checkerboard Mesa. Checkerboard Mesa is a giant white wall with criss-cross patterns all over it. That was extraordinary enough by itself, but as we continued into the park through the East Entrance we saw a sign for a tunnel. We've been through tunnels before, the kids love them, I usually get slightly freaked out by them, but a tunnel is a tunnel, right? Wrong. The first tunnel was fairly short. We could see the end as soon as we entered. The second tunnel is the one everyone must go through. It is a mile and a half, through the mountain, down hill. At several spots throughout the tunnel they have cutouts, I assume to provide fresh air, but you can see little glimpses of the canyon as you are going through. Just when you think there is no end to the tunnel, finally you see the light. What a feast for the eyes. You are now fairly high up in these gorgeous canyons with sheer cliffs of every color around you. You have to wind your way down to the canyon floor before you can continue your journey to the Visitors Center. The Visitors Center was fairly mundane, but we had to get the booklets for the Junior Ranger Program. Now comes my one and only complaint. You have to buy the Jr. Ranger Booklet. It's only $1 and I have to assume the funds are going to help maintain the beauty of the park, so I didn't complain too loudly, but this is the only time we have had to pay for the Jr. Ranger booklets.

Armed with our booklet and a map, we devised a plan for seeing as much of the park as possible in one day. Zion has a fantastic shuttle system, so we hopped aboard a bus and headed to the Emerald Pools. To see all three pools, the lower, middle and upper you have to hike about 2.5 miles. The first part of it is pretty easy, but it gets slightly more treacherous the higher you go. From the middle pool to the upper pool is only about three tenths of a mile, but it is all up hill over rocks. We all made it without incident and the wildlife was out in full force to keep us entertained during the hike. We saw a garter snake slither out of the grasses right in front of us, deer off to the distance, the boldest squirrels you've ever seen in abundance, lizards, elk, chipmunks, ravens, and an odd assortment of beetles.

The hike was worth the effort. The pools were beautiful and refreshing and the boy enjoyed splashing around and cooling off. It was an extremely warm day, so any chance to get wet was taken. The hike down from the pools led us straight to the lodge and since we were all exhausted, hot and thirsty we decided it would be a good time to have some lunch and sit down. Finding shade was a little difficult since the park was busy and, as I said, it was very hot. We finally found a semi-shady spot and parked ourselves while Glenn got our lunch. During our lunch I drank approximately 50 ounces of iced tea, which haunted me the rest of the day. It was hot, I was thirsty and it tasted so good. Once we recharged our batteries we got back on the shuttle and rode to the "Weeping Rock" trail. This trail was only half a mile round trip, so I figured we get up there and back barely breaking a sweat. Not so. I suppose my legs were still a little shaky from the earlier hike, but I was huffing and puffing all the way up, up, up to the Weeping Rock. The Weeping Rock is an area where water falls down from an overhang on a mountain which makes up a cave of sorts to stand in. The mountains and rocks of Zion are made of many layers. One of the layers is sandstone which is high absorbent. The water seeps into the sandstone and continues through the rock until it hits a layer of shale, unable to go through the shale, it rolls over the side of the shale. On Weeping Rock it is a huge area where the water flows continuously, making it's own little eco-system of hanging ferns, moss and small flowering plants, hanging from the ceiling of this cave. They have tested the water coming out of weeping rock and have determined it is over 1200 years old. It's amazing to think that the water we were standing under was from rains over 1200 years ago. Some of the waters in Zion have been determined to be over 4000 years old. Incredible. Sean was sticking his tongue out to catch the water as it fell. At first I told him to stop and then realized this was probably some of the cleanest, filtered water in the world.

We hobbled down from Weeping Rock and got back on the shuttle to "Big Bend" which is an area where the river takes an almost 90 degree bend. So the rock formations also curve around to follow the river. After enjoying that for a few minutes we were back on the shuttle to the Temple of Sinawava. There is an "easy" trail that meanders along the river, and since the boys were chomping at the bit to get wet again, we took the trail. It was truly the easiest hike we had all day, but with tired legs, the easy hike took twice as long as it should have. This is the area where we were practically assaulted by squirrels. For whatever reason, people continue to feed the wildlife even though there are signs everywhere asking that you not. As a result, the squirrels are crazy. They are fat and aggressive. If you stop too long to admire something along the river they are right there, expecting a handout. I have never seen anything like it. We have squirrels in our trees at our house and they are skiddish, as they should be. The squirrels at Zion have forgotten they are on the bottom of the food chain.

We walked to the end of the trail which leads to a beach on the river. The boys were able to get into the river and splash around, get very wet and cool off while I fended off the squirrels. The sun was starting to get low in the sky, so we felt it was time to end our visit. Back on the shuttle to the Visitors Center to turn in the booklet and get the Junior Ranger badges. If you're keeping count, that's six badges for Sean and five for Robert and Reid. We went back through the tunnel and as we were exiting the park we saw a small herd of Big Horn Sheep. That was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

The drive from Flagstaff, AZ to Glendale, Utah should be on the bucket-list of every man, woman and child in the world. It was spectacular. The ride should take about 4 hours, but we managed to turn it into an all day event. Shortly out of Flagstaff we came across Sunset Crater, which is a "new" mountain, only about 1000 years old. It was created by a volcano. We couldn't go up to the top of the mountain to see the crater, but we were able to walk around the area where the lava flowed. It was amazing to see huge fields of lava rock. We also saw a horned lizard crawling around on the lava rocks. I have never seen one of those before, so we watched it for a good five minutes or so. We left Sunset Crater with Sean sporting a new Junior Ranger badge. Robert and Reid opted out of the activities.The area around Sunset Crater still bears scars from last months forest fire, but the grasses are growing back and hopefully the Earth will repair itself.

We got back on Highway 89 and soon were surrounded by the gorgeous red mountains of Marble Canyon. However, nothing prepared me for what lay ahead. The Vermillion Cliffs and the Echo Cliffs. The Vermillion Cliffs are gleaming white cliffs that are on the west side of the highway and the Echo Cliffs parallel the highway to the east. Eventually the rode turns towards the Echo Cliffs and cuts into it So that we end up climbing the cliffs. Once we reached the top we saw a scenic pullover and felt compelled to take a moment to stop and admire the beauty before us. As luck would have it, we were on the Navajo Reservation, so there were tables set up at the stop with articles of Navajo craftsmanship. I picked up a Christmas ornament and Robert got an arrow.

We continued up Highway 89 and stopped in a little town called Page, AZ. Page is the largest town around Lake Powell, where I understand people rent houseboats during the summer and spend a week or so cruising around the lake. That sounds like something we may have to look into for another summer. Anyhow, the Page Sonic had parking for RVs if you can believe it. So we had to reward them by stopping and having lunch. More chili cheese tots for me. Yum!

Once out of Page, we crossed a bridge with a giant dam off to our right. It was the Glen Canyon Dam. We decided to stop at the Visitors Center and take a look around there and let the boys earn more Junior Ranger badges. All the tours of the dam were sold out, much to Sean's dismay, but the Visitors Center provides you with a wonderful view of the dam and Lake Powell. We spent about an hour at the dam and made the final push to Glendale, Utah. We crossed the Utah border shortly after leaving the dam and about an hour and a half later we were at our campground. We are surrounded by mountains, so we have absolutely no cell phone reception, and our wi-fi is incredibly slow, but we step foot outside the RV and are treated to magnificent views. It seems like a fair trade-off.

The kids were very disappointed that there is no cable at this campground, so therefore, no "Wipeout". I tried to make it up to them by letting them watch "Sitting Ducks" during dinner and we played Spoons until it was time to get ready for bed. The boys had never played Spoons before, and they loved it. It is a great family game and even the six year old got the hang of it really quickly. The only trouble he had was holding the cards. Glenn fashioned a card holder for him out of a clothes pin. Necessity is the mother of invention. Soon they were having so much fun playing the game that they forgot all about TV. Definitely a successful parenting moment.

I have to say, this was one of my favorite days so far on this vacation. Nothing compares to the Grand Canyon, but the scenery on our drive comes very close. I've never heard anyone mention Highway 89 from Flagstaff to Glendale before, so I'm going to spread the word. Definitely worth the drive. Do it and you won't be disappointed.

Petrified Forest and beyond

It's hot. Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot. We got up early this morning so that we could see the Petrified Forest, Painted Desert and Meteor Crater. The drive was about two hours East of our campground. The Petrified Forest and Painted Desert are National Parks, so you guessed it, the boys earned their Junior Park Ranger badges. I'm amazed by the difference in requirements to get the badges from park to park. For instance, Gettysburg has a giant, multi-colored book that takes hours upon hours to complete. One of the requirements for the Grand Canyon badge is that you attend a Ranger led program. Petrified Forest had none of that. It took about 20 minutes to complete and Sean needed very little help.

We walked around the Petrified Forest for maybe an hour. It is amazing that these rocks, beautiful, multi-colored rocks, were once trees. They range in size from teeny tiny to massive. It is obvious that this part of Arizona was once a beautiful, lush, forested area. There aren't just a couple trees, they are spread out for miles. It is a sight to see.

The Painted Desert is right there just a few miles from the Petrified Forest. The landscape in the Painted Desert is harsh. I wouldn't want to be stuck out there without water or shelter, but if I was, I could marvel at the beauty around me. The mesas and hills are red, yellow, purple, blue, black and white. We were there in late morning, so the colors weren't as vibrant as I've heard they can be in the early morning hours and late evenings. There is also an area known as "Newspaper Rock" that contains hundreds of petroglyphs. Petroglyphs are similar to pictographs except that petroglyphs are carved into the rock whereas pictographs are painted onto rocks. It looked like Native American graffiti. Truly fascinating.

On the way back to the campground we stopped at Meteor Crater. Meteor Crater is not a National Park, so you have to pay a hefty admission to get in. It was interesting, but a little pricey for a hole in the ground. The boys loved the impact simulator. You got to choose which object you wanted to hit, the Earth, the moon or Venus. Then you got to choose the size and density of the iron-nickel meteor, asteroid or comet, velocity, and angle of impact. Reid wanted me to mention in my blog that he created a meteor that would destroy the planet earth. He's very proud.

Now we are driving back. It's only 5 p.m. so we can finally get Sean to the pool. Honestly, if he asks me one more time if he can go to the pool today I'm going to run screaming off the nearest cliff. That wouldn't be too hard to find around here. I'm going to fix spaghetti for dinner. It will be nice to have a sit down meal with the family tonight. I'm glad we're going to be in early. Tomorrow is going to be a re-grouping day. The kids will get to enjoy some of the activities at the campground, I'll get some laundry done and head into Williams to do a little necessity shopping. We're starting to run a little low on a few provisions.

We've been on our little adventure for a week now. It has been fun. Other than a skinned knee, scrapped hand (both on Sean) and a smashed finger (me), we've not had any problems. We haven't had to deal with large crowds anywhere, my meal planning has served us well and we've had an opportunity to see things that we wounldn't otherwise be able to see and enjoy. We're already looking forward to our next adventure in August. We're planning on going to Boston and possibly Nova Scotia depending on Glenn's work schedule. You know I'll keep you posted.

I compose this after spending the day at the Grand Canyon. Glenn has taken the boys to the arcade, so I have the RV to myself and my thoughts. The only word I can come up with the describe the Grand Canyon is majestic. I have obviously seen pictures through the years and have often been told that pictures don't do it justice, but I never imagined anything like the beauty I saw today.

We got a late start this morning. It was tough to get going after being on the road for the last few days. We are staying about 50 miles away, so immediately the boys started complaining about being cramped into the back of the car. They are so spoiled by traveling in the RV. I thought the terrain or topography would change as we got closer to the canyon, but it remained the same throughout the drive. We found a parking space at the Visitors Center, took entirely too long on our potty break and started the trek to the Rim Trail. They are doing construction around the Visitors Center, so paths were blocked off and fencing made the paths that were there more narrow. Then we finally got the the Grand Canyon. I looked out over it and the mom in me started to panic slightly. The last think I wanted was for one of my boys to get too close to the edge and topple over. There are no guard rails where we were standing and I was imagining the worse. It only took me a few minutes to get comfortable with the idea of getting closer to the edge. I had a heart to heart chat with Sean about how important it was that he listen and only step where mom or dad step. He was nervous about being so high up that he gladly complied. Soon we were scaling our way down the side of the canyon to an offshoot below. There is something exhilarating about being on a rock overlooking the Grand Canyon. We took lots of pictures, which don't do it justice, and stood in awe of the beauty of the landscape.

I haven't mentioned my mom and her husband Herb yet. They joined us this morning with their little dog Scruffy. Having a dog with them limited their ability to do much of anything, though I doubt my mom would have been scaling down the canyon wall. They hung out up top for a while before they got bored and decided to head back to the campground. I'm not sure when we'll cross paths with them again. They don't want to go to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest with us tomorrow, so maybe we'll see them on Monday. They're enjoying their time camping, so I guess that should be good enough. I was hoping they were a little more interested in spending time with my boys since they only see them a couple times a year. Oh well, I have to let that one go.

Back to the Grand Canyon. After spending a few hours on the Rim Trail we desperately needed food. We brought plenty of water with us, so fortunately that was not an issue. We boarded a bus to the lodge and found a cafeteria. It was great to sit, relax and refuel. After lunch we went to the Visitors Center and talked to a Park Ranger about the Junior Ranger Program. The Grand Canyon program doesn't require any crazy stuff like the Gettysburg program. The main part of the program was having to participate in a Ranger led activity. There was a program starting in a few minutes so we got back on the bus and went to the Shrine of the Ages so the boys could do a fossil program. They had a great time and Glenn and I were able to sit back and enjoy the fresh mountain air. They completed the program, did a few written exercises and received their badges. Have I mentioned how much I love the Junior Ranger Program?

Next we drove over to the Verkamp Visitors Center so that we could walk more of the Rim Trail and end up at Bright Angel Trailhead. If we were crazy enough to want to hike to the bottom of the Canyon, that is where we would start. We aren't. The sun was starting to go down at the point, so the shadows on the canyon walls were gorgeous. Truly breathtaking. Reluctantly, it was time to leave.

I am so grateful I was able to experience the Grand Canyon first hand. It has been an item on my "to do" list for at least the last 30 years. I would joke with Glenn that if I died before I got to the Grand Canyon I wanted him to have "...and she never saw the Grand Canyon" put on my headstone. Now I have to come up with a new catchy line for my headstone. How about "...and she never saw Tahiti"?

Yesterday was a travel day. We drove from Carlsbad, NM to Benson, Arizona. Shortly after we hit the road we noticed an unusual rock formation on top of a mountain. We suspected it was El Capitain. We stopped at the Guadalupe National Park to have a look around and to confirm our suspicions. We were right and after talking with the Park Ranger for some time we were back on the road.

The rest of the drive was uneventful. Desert, desert and more desert. It was interesting to see terrain so foreign to us. This has been an unusually wet summer so the desert was actually quite lush with lots of greenery.

We were unimpressed with the KOA in Benson, but they did have a pool, so the boys were thrilled. Sometimes I think if we spent the money on a pool we could forego vacations all together. I accompanied Glenn and the boys to the pool and we got into a rousing game of Marco Polo. Soon another family joined us at the pool and the boys invited them to join in. The parents declined, but their son Brad joined in and had a great time right up to the point I heard thunder in the distance and decided to make everyone get out. I was well trained by the signs posted all over Howard County parks "When thunder roars, go indoors". I had an unhappy crew but we were able to sit down and have a nice dinner while watching "Wipeout". The motivator was in fine form last night and the boys got a huge laugh out of it.

We got up this morning, ate breakfast, unhooked and drove down to Tombstone, Arizona. Tombstone is most famous for the gunfight at the OK Corral between Wyatt Earp, his brothers Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp, and friend Doc Holliday against Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury, Ike Clanton and Billy Clanton. Wyatt Earp and his crew all survived, the only survivors from the other side was Ike Clanton. I found the information on the gunfight to be very interesting. Now that I've been to Tombstone I'll have to take the time to watch the movie and see if the accounts match up.

I have always wanted to have one of those "Old Time" pictures made and today I got my wish. Glenn dressed as a sheriff, the boys were bandits and I was a saloon girl. The picture is hilarious. I am so glad we did it. The guys had a great time dressing up in western wear and getting to hold pistols and rifles. The ham of my family, Reid, was making the best face in the picture. Once I have an opportunity to get to a scanner I'll have to scan the picture and post it. I guess I should check out copywrite regulations first. Don't want to get into trouble.

Seeing all we could see in Tombstone we got back in the RV around 2:30. As I type this we are on our way to our next campground outside of Flagstaff. It is getting dark and the clouds are quite ominous. We have been treated to some amazing lightening as we drive further and further north. I guess we are in for another thundstorm. We have already driven through several today. I thought Arizona was supposed to be dry. That hadn't been our experience so far. I didn't research monsoon season but always thought it was in the early fall. We will wake tomorrow in Grand Canyon country. I have waited my whole life to get to the Grand Canyon. Soon my wait will be over. We are spending four nights there, so we plan to take in the sights of the whole area. My mom and her husband Herb will be meeting us so I should have some interesting experiences to blog about.

We're about an hour out now, the kids are getting antsy, Glenn is getting tired of driving and I'm hoping we don't hit any wildlife. This is what travelling is all about.

What an amazing day we had at Carlsbad Caverns. We started off in the Visitors Center getting the boys signed up for the Junior Ranger Program. I cannot stress enough what a good program this is for kids ages 6 to 12. They learn so many interesting facts and they are encouraged to talk to the Park Rangers, who are always very knowledgeable about their parks. Then we bought our tickets to tour the Kings Palace inside the Cavern. There is a nominal fee associated with the tour, but we were able to tour a part of the cavern that is closed to the general public. The Kings Palace used to be open to all, but too many people started taking pieces of the stalactite as souvenirs. So as a result, you can only go to that area now in a guided tour. It was spectacular.

Let me back up a little bit. The caverns were discovered in the early 1900's by a 16 year old boy named Jim White. He saw bats coming out of a cave and realized there was no way that many bats (he estimated eight million, a slight exaggeration, most experts estimate the number of bats living in the cave to be between two hundred and four hundred thousand) could live in small cave. So he started exploring and soon discovered the huge expanse that is Carlsbad Caverns. The "Big Room" alone is 600,000 square feet, or approximately the size of 14 football fields.

Okay, back to our day. Most of Cavern that is open to the public is free with your admission to the park. You can get the 750 feet down into the cavern one of two ways, an elevator or through the natural entrance. We did both. For our morning tour of Kings Palace we took the elevator. It takes all of 60 seconds to drop the 750 feet. The temperature is roughly 56 degrees, so being the good mommy that I am, I schlepped everyone's fleece jackets and sweatshirts in a backpack. At first the boys were reluctant to put their jackets on, but soon realized they were getting chilled. The tour of Kings Palace takes about an hour and a half and includes stopping several times for historical facts and to take in the awe of the massive stalactites, stalagmites and gorgeous draperies. After our guided tour of Kings Palace, we took the self-guided tour of the "Big Room" which is a mile and a quarter loop. Between the Kings Palace and the Big Room we had walked close to 3 miles. I was very proud of Sean. He only started complaining at the very end, and only because he was hungry. He didn't once proclaim "I can't feel my legs" which is his usual refrain when he grows weary of walking.

We took the elevator back up to the Visitors Center and much to our delight discovered they had a restaurant. After getting some lunch the boys finished up the activities for the Junior Ranger Badges, turned in their workbooks and received their badges. I wanted to take a look at the natural entrance, so we headed out the door and down the path. We met up with a couple Park Rangers and told them of our plan. They knowingly laughed and warned us that once we started walking down the path we wouldn't want to walk back up. Glenn assured them that there was no way we were walking the 750 feet down into the cavern. The Park Rangers were right. We started down a little ways, just to have a look. Then we went a little further because it was so fascinating. Pretty soon we were at the point of no return. It was going to take more effort to climb back up than to continue our descent. There are several signs as you head into the natural entrance warning of exhaustion and weak knees. I had both come upon me at approximately the mid-way point. There was no use complaining, what was anybody going to do about it. All we could do was keep on heading down. And down we went, a mile and a quarter. I don't know how long it took, maybe an hour, but I was so happy to see the elevators. Up we went, 60 seconds later we were back in the Visitor's Center. We got information about returning for the bat flight that evening and headed back to the KOA. As we were driving down the mountain Glenn noted that if we hurried we could make it to Sonic before Happy Hour ended. That became my one goal. I wanted a Cherry Limeade and was not going to be deterred. We made it, screaming in on two tires at 3:58. Whew! I got my Cherry Limeade at half price. Oh I love Sonic.

We got back to the RV and Glenn and the boys changed into swimwear to check out the pool. I pulled another of my delectable freezer meals out and started dinner. We had Mandarin Orange Chicken and Jasmine rice. It was tasty. Much better than the Teriyaki Chicken we had the other night.

After dinner we piled into the car again and drove the 45 miles back to Carlsbad Cavern to watch the bats take flight out of the cave. There are very strict rules for viewing the bat flight. No electronic devices whatsoever. No cameras and no cell phones. They also want you to remain quiet and seated during the flight. Once he got the rules out of the way he answered bat questions, gave us bat history and generally kept us entertained until the bats took flight. He was the opening act and the bats were the main attraction. I suppose I was expecting the sky to be blackened by the bats, that is not the case at all, however it is still amazing. The bats come out of the natural entrance, flying in a counter-clockwise pattern until they clear the cave, then the head off to do their nighttime feeding. These Mexican Free-Tail Bats are tiny. Their bodies are only about the size of a man's thumb. If I didn't know they were bats, I would have assumed they were little birds. Their exodus from the cave can take up to two hours. We didn't sit there for the whole two hours, we roughed it out for about 15 minutes before the boys were bored with the bats. Truthfully, once they start out and you've seen the counterclockwise movement, there's not much else to see. It was still an awesome sight and I'm glad we did it. I don't know that I will ever get to see something like that again and anytime you have the opportunity to see something out of the ordinary, you should take it.

Then it was back to the RV for showers and to tuck three sleepy young men into bed. Carlsbad Caverns may have seemed out of the way on a trip where the main focus is the Grand Canyon, but what a day we had. Is it out of the way? Yes. Was it worth it? You bet. Experiences like these are going to be the memories our children will take with them into adulthood and can shape their futures. The whole reason we are on this odyssey is because Glenn wants to recreate some of the memories he had as a child. Will our children fondly look back on this trip and tell their children about it? I hope so. Maybe one of the boys will want to be a National Park Ranger, maybe one of the boys will want to study bats or geology. I don't know, but I know I'm glad were out here on the open road together, enjoying this beautiful country.

July 20

It's been a long day for the Anderson family. We left Texarkana, Texas around 7:15 this morning and made it to Carlsbad, New Mexico around 7:30 tonight. With the time change that made for a 13 hour day on the road. Once we got past Fort Worth there was a whole lot of open space to see. One interesting spot along the way was Sweetwater, Texas. Sweetwater is the wind energy capital of the US, and we saw giant windmills for miles upon miles. It was fascinating. If I can figure out how to post pics to my blog I'll attach a picture or two.

We wanted to get a picture of the boys with the Texas sign that is on the main roads into Texas. We didn't see one when we got into Texarkana last night, so we were on the lookout as we neared the Texas/New Mexico border. There it was. Fortunately we were on a lightly traveled road, so there wasn't any problem turning the big rig around and snapping a few shots of the kids with the sign. Glenn has a similar picture from his family RV vacation when he was 11.

The highlight of our day was a trip to Sonic. Don't laugh. Most Americans can go to a Sonic with very little effort. Not so in Howard County, Maryland. It wouldn't be so bad if we didn't get the commercials, but we do. It is like torture to an Oklahoma girl who used to go to Sonic daily in her high school days. As the old adage goes, "You don't know what you got 'til it's gone". I made the most of our trip today. I had, get this, chili cheese tots. That's right, tater tots covered in chili and cheese. It was like a little bit of heaven. We'll have to make a few more trips to Sonic before we end up back in Maryland.

We got to the Carlsbad KOA too late to make it to the pool. I had three sad boys to deal with. Oh well. We're staying here two nights, so hopefully we'll have a chance to swim tomorrow. Our first priority tomorrow is to go to Carlsbad Cavern and then to make it back to the cavern in the evening to see the bats fly out. That should leave us with a few hours to relax in the pool.

So that's about it today. We're beat and I'm ready to get to bed. Tomorrow promises to be interesting. I feel like our vacation will finally be starting in earnest.

Texas - July 19, 2020

We made it to Texarkana, Texas, not to be confused with Texarkana, Arkansas. They're side by side with barely a bump in the road to separate the two. I don't get it, I really don't.

We left Maryland yesterday about an hour and a half late. So far I realized I've forgotten my cell phone charger, the air mattress and sleeping bag, ketchup, mustard, salt, and pepper. Robert insists I also forgot the games he wanted to bring on the trip. However, I told him several days ago to pick out the games and put them in the living room, so I'm not taking credit for leaving "Battleship" behind.

So far so good. We didn't have plans for last night, we just wanted to get as far as we could before stopping for the night. The original plan was to make it past Knoxville, Tennessee. We actually made it past Nashville, Tennessee. Yea for us. Since we didn't have reservations at a campground, Glenn wanted to try staying in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Turns out quite a few of the stores allow overnight parking. I'm not sure where he learned this interesting fact, but when Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas takes his RV out, he frequently stays in Wal-Mart parking lots. I have always resisted this idea based on my disdain for Wal-Mart, I boycotted the store over 5 years ago, but I was in no shape to argue the point at 1 am. Glenn found a Wal-Mart, thanks to our new Garmin GPS, and wonder of wonders, they allow overnight parking. So our first night of our Westward vacation was spent at Wal-Mart. Fortunately, we are self contained, so the RV stayed a comfortable 68 degrees thanks to our generator and two air conditioners.

We hit the road around 7 this morning and made it to Texarkana by 3:30 this afternoon. We are staying at a KOA, which we have found to be very kid friendly through the years. They usually have a pool, which is a must with my crew. As soon as we pulled in the boys were clambering to get into their swimsuits. The pool is tiny and the water was lukewarm, but we had it to ourselves, so that's a plus. I hung out and swam with the boys for about an hour then decided to head back to the RV to start dinner. I spent the better part of last week making freezer meals so that we could have nice, home cooked meals while on the road. Tonight's fare, Teriyaki Chicken. It was okay, a little salty. I'm hoping some of the other meals I made will be better. It was a lot of work for mediocre results.

Our biggest upset of the day, other than the missing "Battleship"... no ice cream in the little store at the KOA. I know, I couldn't believe it either. I've never heard of such a thing. We're in Texas for heaven's sake. Texas. It's hot in Texas. Sean was inconsolable until Glenn tracked down a Hershey's bar. It's not quite the same, but it will do in a pinch.

I have to give a shout out to my good friend Elizabeth Thompson who I was talking to when I remembered I could check out books on CD at the library. I told her I would give her credit for the idea. I, Alex Cross by James Patterson got us through yesterday, and we started Valkyrie by Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager today. Should finish it tomorrow.

So that's it for tonight. I'm beat. Hopefully once we start the actually fun part of our vacation I'll have more interesting things to share. Depending on our timing we may get to Carlsbad, New Mexico in time to see the bats fly out of Carlsbad Caverns tomorrow night. That should be fun. I'll keep you posted.

I’m a girly-girl. That’s just who I am. When I was little, I always preferred wearing dresses to pants. I preferred playing with my baby dolls to playing in the dirt. I played with my Barbies until I was 14 and I was a Girl Scout until the day I graduated from high school.


Whenever I pictured myself with children there was always at least one girl in the bunch. Somebody to share my love of dolls with, somebody to tap dance with, somebody to lead in Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes and Seniors. My little girl was going to wear frilly dresses and bows in her hair. I was going to finally learn to French braid, and darn it, her hair was going to be long and beautiful so that I would be able to spend hours brushing and braiding.


I knew my first child was going to be a boy from the start. Before I even knew for sure I was pregnant I sensed that I was, and that I was carrying a boy. Sure enough, child number one, boy. No problem, I was planning on have at least three, possibly four children, I’ll get my girl.


My second pregnancy seemed promising. I had horrible morning, afternoon and evening sickness. Everybody assured me that meant I was having a girl; something about double the female hormones in my system. I wanted to believe them, but deep down I knew I was carrying another boy. Sure enough, at my 20 week sonogram it was confirmed, child number two, a boy.


After my second son was born I thought I was done having babies. Two left me over-whelmed and exhausted. When number two was about two and a half years old, we had a big yard sale and sold all the baby stuff. No less than a month later I began to get that “I want another baby” twinge. Whenever I saw a pregnant woman, I was secretly envious. I volunteered in my church nursery so that I would have the opportunity to hold babies. I finally broke down and told my husband, and he was surprisingly on board with the idea of having another baby. This was my chance to have my girl.


The minute I found out I was pregnant with number three, I knew it was a boy. I just knew it. I can’t explain it. The crazy part; I wasn’t the slightest bit disappointed. I was the mother of boys. I loved my boys and all their boyishness. I loved holding a Wooly caterpillar and letting them pet it. I loved catching toads in the back yard. I loved the way they got so tickled whenever somebody passed gas.


I am never going to be a Brownie leader, but I have spent hours helping design and paint Pinewood Derby cars for Cub Scouts. We don’t have a single Barbie in the house, but I get an odd sense of accomplishment whenever I figure out how to put a Transformer together. I have never had the chance to shop for tap shoes or tutus, but I have cleats in every size and soccer pads in every closet.


There are no frilly dresses in my future, and I don’t know that I will ever learn to do a French braid. I’m okay with that. My boys are the best thing that has ever happened to me. They have taught me how to be silly. I am learning the rules to soccer and lacrosse. I have also learned, no matter what you have, the first time a child climbs in your lap and says “I wub you mama,” you melt.


Girls smirls, I'll take my three boys over a bunch of silly frilly, doll playing, tap dancing, French braided, cookie selling girls, any day.