Go West - Day 10

On Sunday, we got on the road as quickly as possible.  We had a 5 hour drive ahead of us and we wanted to be sure to have plenty of time in historic Santa Fe.

When we arrived in Santa Fe, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the 61st Annual Traditional Spanish Market was in full swing.  Downtown was bustling with thousands of people in this open air market.  Artists from all over were showcasing their work and it was amazing to see all of the different styles, mediums and designs.

After visiting downtown, we headed back to our hotel.  By this time, we were hot and tired and honestly... ready to unwind.  We brought the kids down to the pool and relaxed a bit.  Afterwards, we ate at the hotel's restaurant and went to be early!

The next morning, we woke up at 4:45 a.m. (yes, THAT early) to get on the road.  We had a 12 hour drive to get home and by that time... we were ready to get home.  We arrived home by 7 p.m. and it was soooo awesome to finally be home... even though I had this to tend to...

The girls did really well on this entire trip.  They were set up with plenty of things to keep them occupied.

• Audio Books (borrowed from the library and uploaded to the iPod)
• iPods (Games)
• White board w/dry erase markers
• Movies (borrowed from the library)
• License Plate Game (they found 46 states!)
• Road Trip Bingo
• Flip Book Scrapbook w/journaling pages (yes, I required them to journal "field notes")
• Yarn and Thread Crafts

The flip book scrapbooks worked out really well!  They collected brochures from each stop and added each to the ring binder.  It was a genius idea I found on Pinterest.  I created the scrapbook pages several months before the trip and printed them out the week before we left.  I laminated the front and back covers and placed the pages in order of our trip.  They LOVED the flip book and I think we've discovered a brand new way to memorialize our vacations!  (Once home, I printed some of their favorite photos to add to their flip books.  Again... genius!)

All in all, our Go West Road Trip of 2012 was a huge success!  In fact, we can't wait to plan our next trip!

Go West- Day 9

On Saturday, we ventured out on a 4x4 off road tour with Randy's uncle. During the Summer months, he works as a mountain tour guide.  He knows the surrounding mountains like the back of his hand and truly loves his job. Although, admittedly, there were times during our tour I thought we were going off the side of the mountain as he negotiated the switchbacks in the 4x4 suburban, all in all, it was a very interesting and at time, exhilarating trip!

As I mentioned earlier, Randy's parents flew out to Colorado and met us during this portion of our vacation. It was nice having them there and visiting with all of Randy's family.  (Uncle Steve is my MIL's brother.)

On the tour, Uncle Steve brought us to Velocity Basin, where Shaun White has his own "private" snowboarding pipe to practice on.  The girls are standing directly in front of Velocity Basin in the photo below.

The mountain tour was a lot of fun and we went very high into the mountains.  The girls loved the open top suburban and stood during most of the ride up and down the mountain roads.

And yes... it was cold.  (Well, it was in the mid-50's, which for this Texas girl... that was cold!)

After the mountain trek, we brought the girls to the Silverton Old Hundred Mine Tour.  This was neat to see how the original miners worked.  I would have to say that being an original miner was probably one of the most excruciating jobs ever... both physically and mentally.  I cannot imagine how they worked in a mining environment day in and day out.  Makes you think how "easy" we have it now.

Later that afternoon, my mother in law and aunt took the girls into the town and explored the shops.  The shops are in walking distance from Randy's uncle's house.  They literally live in the heart of town... as do most of the residents in Silverton.

Aunt Karla paints porcelain for a living and does incredible work.  The girls were very intrigued by her studio and artistic designs.  Karla has literally painted everything in her home... from the porcelain cabinet knobs, to the tile cabinet inserts in her kitchen to the bathroom sink!  She had these pieces ready for us before we left on Sunday.

Here's her website to check out more of her work. 

 The remainder of the evening was spent visiting with family.  This stop on our trip nice and relaxing!  The next morning, we headed out to Santa Fe, NM... the last stop on our trip.

Go West - Day 8

On Friday, we headed out to Arches National Park in Moab.  Truly, another amazing sight.  It's unimaginable how long ago these arches were formed.

This park was easy to maneuver around with easy to moderate hikes to some of the more spectacular arches.  In fact, we would drive our car to the arch we would want to see, park and hop out for a 30 minute walk or (sometimes) hike.

The picture below shows probably one of the most famous arches... the "Delicate Arch". We did not hike directly to this arch because it was a 3 mile round trip hike and we wanted to make the most of our time.  The Delicate Arch looks comparatively small  to it's surroundings, but if you notice in the picture, the tiny people below it, you realize how amazingly huge it really is. 

We spent about 3 hours exploring Arches Park before we headed out for our next destination... Silverton, Colorado... about a 3.5 hour drive.

Randy's uncle and aunt live year round in Silverton. They built their home right in the middle of town.  We stayed with them two nights and Randy's parents flew in and joined us for this leg of our trip.  More later about our stay in Silverton.

Go West - Day 7

From the Grand Canyon, we traveled to Monument Valley, Utah... 200 miles or about 4 hours.  Monument Valley is a Navajo Tribal Park, which is the equivalent to a national park.

It was our intention to hike/explore Monument Valley, but the 17 mile driving tour which looped around the valley pretty much required an off road 4x4 vehicle.  Sadly, my poor mini-van was not cut out for the task!  So, the girls hopped out and I snapped a few pictures and we headed back on the road.

About 5 miles down the road, Randy pulled over and I snapped this picture (on the left).  Look familiar?  (Of course, if you look closely, you'll notice the movie poster picture is horizontally reversed.  Hmmm.)

Doesn't this look familiar as well?

The bottom pictures are of the "Mexican Hat" in none other than Mexican Hat, Utah.  The rock formation looks like an upside down sombrero.  Randy's being silly pretending it's balanced on his head!

The 3 hour scenic drive from Monument Valley to Moab was truly beautiful and amazing. 

We arrived in Moab mid-afternoon, checked into Red Cliff's Lodge, changed into our bathing suits and spent some pent up energy by the pool!   Oh, and check out that view from our lodge room.  That's the Colorado River in front of Randy as he's checking out the sunrise with me.  Truly magnificent!

Go West - Day 6

We arrived at the Grand Canyon late afternoon on Tuesday.  We quickly checked into the Bright Angel lodge, unloaded the car and took a quick tour around the Grand Canyon Village, which is considered the historical district of the Grand Canyon.  The Grand Canyon Village is very neat... established in the early 1900's on the South Rim.  We spent the remainder of the day taking in the views, the sunset and the wildlife.  Kyla especially loved the wildlife that was roaming around the courtyard of the El Tovar hotel. 

Our lodge, the Bright Angel Lodge was a nice lodge.  We didn't have a shower, only a sink and toliet, but there were nice (private) community showers available down the hall.  We were only a stone's throw away from the rim of the Grand Canyon and the Bright Angel trail head.  (Oh, did I mention there was no A/C in our lodge?  No worries... it was cool enough (sort've) at night to keep us (sort've) comfortable.

Bright and early the next morning, we set out on the Bright Angel trail hike. Our hike was 1.5 miles down the canyon to the first rest house (a.k.a. fresh water and toilet facilities).  As much as we would have liked to have continued our hike downward, there's always the return trip to keep in mind... so after about a 20 minute rest, we headed back up the canyon (another 1.5 miles).

Y'all, I have to take a moment to mention how awesome the girls did on this hike.  It was not a easy-peasy trail.  The gravel was slippery, it was steep and it was hot.  NOT to mention that there were no railings keeping you from falling down the canyon. (The picture below shows a rock barrier along the trail...  Let me assure you, that is not the case for the bulk of the trail.)

After the trail, we rested a bit, had some lunch and then headed to the shuttle bus to travel to different areas of the park.  We traveled end to end of the developed portion of the south rim. 

The next morning, I was able to catch the sunrise come up over the canyon and it was lovely.

Afterwards, we headed out early toward the eastern entrance of the Grand Canyon, also known as "The Desert View".  We stopped at the Watchtower, snapped a few pictures (that's the Colorado River below) and was on our way.

The Grand Canyon was awesome. I was happy that we were able to spend an additional day there, exploring and hiking.  I think this experience will be much more memorable to the girls and hopefully, one day they will be able to bring their kids back and do the same.

Go West - Day 5

On Tuesday, we made our way to the Saguaro National Park.  I'll be the first to admit... my thoughts leading up to this park were, 'Eh... it's a bunch of cactus's (cacti...whatever)... we'll zoom into this park and then be on our way to the Grand Canyon.'

And, I'll be the first to admit, that the Saguaro park was probably one of my favorite stops.  We hiked a 2 mile loop through the desert.  It was hot!  It was sandy!  But, it was amazing to see!  The Saguaro pictured below with Randy and the girls is over 200 years old.  Wow.

Most of the cacti blooms were closed (since they bloom at night) but every so often, we'd catch a bloom that had not yet closed.  They were beautiful and I truly felt like I was seeing something that not everyone gets to see.

We also saw plenty of wildlife... antelope rabbits, squirrels, woodpeckers, lizards and the EVER popular road runner.

Here's Kyla trying to sneak up on this road runner.  (Side note: We bet Kyla a $100 if she could catch herself a road runner.  She didn't catch it this time, but Randy said it will be a life-long opportunity! Hah!)

 

After Saguaro, we began our 6 hour (or 340 mile) drive to the Grand Canyon.  Along the way, we spotted a Rudy's Texas BBQ!  It was like a mirage... a desert oasis.... and if we hadn't already eaten lunch, we would have certainly visited!

Also along the way, we happened to drive through Williams, AZ.  I would have loved to stop in Williams to check out the historic Route 66 town, but our time was getting away from us and we were anxious to get to the Grand Canyon.

Go West - Day 4

Monday morning, we woke up in Alamogordo, New Mexico, home of the White Sands National Monument.  (What's the difference between a National Park vs. a National Monument?  Click here to find out!)

As we began driving through White Sands National Monument it seemed as if I was looking at snow drifts out in the middle of the desert.  I could not believe how white the sand was and how pure it looked.  For fun, we bought a sled for the girls to slide down the dunes and they had a blast!  Mom and Dad even slid down those dunes a time or two.  Elisan declared that White Sands was her absolute favorite stop along the way!

 

On the way out of Alamogordo, Randy spotted the White Sands Missile Range and noticed there was an accompanying museum, so we made a unscheduled stop to the missile range.  It was very interesting.  It's amazing the technology that was being developed in the 1950's and up until the cold war.  We could have stayed there a lot longer, but it was so stinkin' hot (desert remember?)

Heading out of White Sands, there was virtually NOTHING but desert and dirt devils (dust storms).  We arrived in Tucson, 5 hours later, checked into our hotel and scoured the internet for some local Mexican food.

We decided upon  El Charro.  It was established in 1922 and offered some of the best Mexican food I have ever eaten in my life.  (That is saying a lot, since we live in Central Texas where there is a Mexican joint every two blocks.)

Go West - Day 3

On Sunday, we traveled from Fort Davis, Texas to Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico, about 170 miles (or 3 hours).

At Carlsbad, we completed 2 self guided walking tours - about 1.5 each.  We scheduled a Ranger guided tour of the King's Palace for 3 p.m.  The King's Palace used to be open as a self guided walking tour, but due to the overwhelming damage the tourist were causing to this particular area, it is now a Ranger guided tour only.  (Kind of sad to think about.)

After 3:00, access out of the cave is restricted to elevator use only.  They don't want a bunch of people trying to hike the 1.5-2 hour hike to exit the cave at bat departure time. So, around 4:00, we got in line to ride the elevator up (77 stories) to the main level.  We waited in line for 1.5 hours.  Ugh! 

Once we were safely on land, we quickly got on the road to our next destination, Alamogordo, New Mexico... another 170 miles... through winding roads in the mountains... in the dark.  Needless to say, we collapsed in our beds once we arrived at the hotel!

Next stop... White Sands National Monument.

Go West - Day 1 & 2

I've considered how to sum up our family vacation all in one blog entry, but I decided that it would be one big ol entry that no one would read until the end.  So, in effort to memorialize our vacation for future generations AND make it reader-friendly, I've decided to post about each day/event.  I know, I know... blah, blah, blah... this won't be the most fascinating material I've ever written about, but my kids read my blog now and I want them to be able to recount the memories as well.

Our first stop was Big Bend National Park in the Chisos Mountains of Texas.  The drive to Big Ben was nearly 8 hours (from Central Texas) so you can imagine how BIG Texas really is!

We arrived in Big Bend with time to squeeze in a quick hike up the "Lost Mine" trail.  The girls did awesome.  As we were approaching the top of the mountain (see photo for the spectacular view!) a late afternoon thunderstorm was approaching.  Let's just say, being on top of a mountain during a thunderstorm is not my idea of fun!  So, we made a bee-line down that mountain pretty quickly... still about an hour hike!

 The next day, we set out on the "Window Trail" to the point where all of the rainwater drains out of the canyon (a.k.a. waterfall).  Unfortunately, there was no waterfall while we were there.

 All over Big Bend were warning signs for aggressive mountain lions.  Back in the Spring a little boy was attacked by a mountain lion and the father fought the lion off with a pocket knife.  Incidentally, the family was from Leander, a small town about 20 minutes from here.  So, as you can imagine, Randy and I were on high alert the entire time.  We did not spot any evidence of a mountain lion, but we did see some bear tracks (see photo!) Big Bend is also bear country!

The hike to the window was downhill. It was long and it was hot - nearly no shade.  The window view was amazing.  The rocks were very smooth and it was kind of terrifying!

On the way back, I became inordinately exhausted and over heated, nearly lacking energy to complete the trail.  But, with lots of long rests, I was finally able to finish.  (A quick sugar shock to the system - an ice-cold fully loaded Dr. Pepper - and I was good to go again.)

After the window trail, we loaded up the car and headed out to Fort Davis, Texas.  We had tickets to the Star Party at the McDonald Observatory.  The star gazing was amazing.  We were even able to see Saturn through a high powered telescope!  Very neat!

"Go West" Road Trip

We're taking a "Go West" summer vacation this year!  We'll be joining the thousands of families across the U.S. as we make the road trip to see the Grand Canyon, Arches National Park, Monument Valley, etc.

Yep, that's right... a road trip!  As in many, many, many hours in the van.

I have a list of stuff that I want to put together for this trip and one of those things was a "on the go" scrapbook for the girls.  I saw this idea online and I think it will be a great idea for the girls as they collect brochures, postcards and other knick-knacks along the way.

I created a starter scrapbook for them which includes a map of each state we'll be traveling through, along with state facts, a questionnaire and a field notes section.  We'll use a hole punch and a ring binder to connect the pages and then when they want to add to it, they will simply punch a hole and add it to the book.

We'll be traveling through New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado.  Here are the scrapbook pages for Colorado.

I think this turned out cute and I know the girls will be excited to gather up fun stuff for their books!