This was actually on the flight home, but we were all ready to hit the skies. And thankfully we faced no delays in out travel.
Happy travelers enjoying the heat and sunshine in Mesa.
We first stopped at Aunt Donna's for a night before heading out on the road. We had to buy some groceries for the trip and of course take a golf cart ride! And this time, Aunt Donna had a new dog--Lucy the Chihuahua. Timothy and Teresa enjoyed playing with her.
The next morning we set out for Holbrook, AZ. We stopped at Petrified Forest National Park and did a few short hikes. We were thankful for cloud cover that kept the temps down a little bit. The hikes gave us some great views of the wood that was turning to stone after millions of years. Timothy picked up perhaps his favorite souvenir there--grow your own Triops. Not mom's favorite, but will give it a try later this summer.
Our first hotel had a nice big orange Adirondack chair out front perfect for pictures! It also was the first of the many pools that would be enjoyed each night.
The next day we headed to Cortez, Colorado. On the way, we stopped at the Four Corners Monument. This is where Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico all meet. We got to stand in four states at once!
In Cortez we went to Mesa Verde National Park. We signed up for a tour of the cliff dwellings. It was a drive up to the start of the tour and we stopped at a few view points on the way. The tour was neat and informative. We learned a lot about the Native Americans who built these homes in the side of the cliffs.
On our way home from the tour, we stopped briefly at the visitor's center. We hoped to get some reception to order pizza for dinner. No luck, but happily we did get the call in later on the drive. We had a yummy dinner of Pizza Hut before heading out for the night's swim.
Next we journeyed on to Moab, Utah and Arches National Park. On our travels we had many a picnic lunch either in the car or at the various parks. Timothy and Teresa were troopers putting up with all the driving we did.
As we approached Arches, we stopped at an Arch along the highway and hiked to the top of it.
At Arches we did some mini hikes to see Window arch and Double Arch. Timothy and Teresa enjoyed climbing on the rocks and watching others climb around. We did a little longer hike to get a view of the Delicate Arch.
In Moab, we found a Mexican fast food place with yummy food for Troy and I with a great salsa bar. The kids liked the chicken nuggets too. We stayed in the Apache Hotel which has the claim to fame that john Wayne stayed there. Troy was happy to get a picture with him at breakfast!
Before straying too far from Arches, Troy stopped at a big sand hill. Timothy really wanted to climb up it and he did just that!
We were on our way to Tropic Utah and Bryce Canyon, but mid way through the drive we stopped at Capital Reef. We did a good hike to see a natural bridge. It was hot and a little tiring for the kids. The hike back was easier and our minds kept occupied by talk of silly clubs.
Tropic, Utah was the location of the Bryce Pioneer Village. We had a huge room that looked more like a living room than a hotel room.
It was father's day so we treated Troy to a nice dinner at the restaurant at the Village. It had a fun western theme and delicious food! The pool that night was cold, but it did not stop the kids. We met another family that was also hitting some parks with a 4th grader.
Our morning destination was Bryce Canyon. We went for a nice long hike of 3 plus miles! It was easy on the way down and pretty tough on the way up. The views were wonderful! Teresa was especially tired on the hike up, but a good lunch soon after helped everyone's spirits. We also stopped in the gift shop where Teresa bought her mountain Lion stuffed animal.
We drove that afternoon to Hurricane, Utah. We got a peek at Zion Park as we drove to our hotel. We only stopped at the Visitor's Center to get some info for our hike the next day. That night Troy and the kids swam and I did laundry.
Our main hike in Zion was in the Narrows. We were happy to get a parking spot in the visitor's center, but the wait for the shuttle bus was a long one. But soon enough we were on our way tot the north part of the park and the Virgin River to hike in. It was a mile hike to the river and the first few steps in the water were so cold, but it was all worth it. I think this may have been one of the favorite hikes! Thankfully we all walked steadily and had no falls!
We had the only two night stay in Hurricane, Utah, and then it was back to Arizona for a stop at the Grand Canyon.
Once we arrived at the Grand Canyon, it took awhile to actually get to see it. We had tired, hungry kids and all they longed for was the gift shop. So gifts it was! Then bathroom breaks. Then a picnic lunch with the savage squirrel who almost hauled of a little boy's sandwich and hungry little mice. We ate that meal mostly standing up! Finally we walked the short distance out to the viewpoint that was busy with people. We got a few pictures and then took a shuttle to a hiking spot. We hiked one mile down to Ooh Aah point. It was hot and sunny, so we took breaks in the shade as we could. The view was really great, so we hung out a bit. Then it was the long hike up. It took some encouragement, lots of resting and the promise of full water bottles and potato chips at the top, but we made it.
We drove an hour south after our Grand Canyon time to Williams, AZ. The reward for some great hiking and little complaining...McDonald's for dinner! They sure look happy.
We altered our plans a little to sneak in a trip to Bearizona. The change also added one more night with a pool and a free breakfast. Got stick to our priorities! Bearizona was a wildlife park where you drive through and see bears, wolves, reindeer, mountain goats, big horn sheep and bison. We were there close to when the park opened and got some good views of the animals being active in the morning.
There was also a section to walk around. The kids got to pet some critters, but the highlight was seeing the jaguar. It was a black panther and he was moving all around his cage! Usually the big cats just sleep! We also saw some active bobcats. In the gift shop here, Teresa bought a pretty necklace.
Then it was back to Mesa for one more overnight with Aunt Donna. Our flight out was the next afternoon. We hung out at Donna's for the morning then went to the airport for lunch and more waiting. Everything was on time and we made the 3 hour drive home that same night arriving at 12:30am. Thankfully both the kids fell asleep for the end of the drive.
It was a wonderful trip with many memories made! I think we all wish we could go back enjoy certain parts of it again!
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