We Took The Left Turn At Albuquerque And Ended Up In Detroit

After breakfast and a little more visiting, we left the Chapmans and headed to Albuquerque.  I wanted to make sure we had time to get settled in and repacked for our flight back.  Our flight started boarding at 5:55 a.m.  We figured we would have to leave the hotel at 4:30.


We got to our hotel, and I turned in the rental car.  Adri and I went to the pool and hot tub.  We ordered pizza and then headed to bed a little early.  Day eleven was really just getting us ready to head home.


Our twelfth day started at 4:00 a.m. Mountain Time.  We figured we should leave about 4:30, but the first shuttle wasn't until 5:00.  The Albuquerque airport is not very big so having a little shorter time before we boarded was fine.  Our connecting flight in Houston was not so fine.  As we touched down we heard them say it was 9:35 in Houston.  Our boarding pass for our connecting flight to Detroit started boarding at 9:35!  Our terminal was on the opposite end of the airport.  We kicked it into high gear.  When we got to the gate, the gate attendant said, "Load 'em up. You have 47 seconds to spare."


We got in to Detroit about 2:30 local time and made it home by 5:30.  It was a great trip, but I think we were all glad to be home!  

Santa Fe With The Chapmans

Day eleven was family time.  We wanted to see a bit of Santa Fe, and Kristi's Aunt Mary and Uncle Kevin were great tour guides.  Santa Fe is a very art-rich area.  We ended up going to a gallery and a little place where they did glass blowing.  I have seen glass blowing before, but this place really did classy art work.  We watched for quite a while.  We looked at some of the pieces that were in the shop.  They were very expensive, but everything was done right there.  The shop was run by Charlie Miner.  He had been working with glass since 1975.

We had a brief thought it would be cool to have a piece from this shop as a souvenier, but everything was so expensive.  Uncle Kevin commented about how it would be really cool to actually buy a piece you saw being made.  Now our interest in purchasing something was raised a little higher.  We watched him make two pieces.  One was a wine class and the other was a vase.  We didn't really want to spend money on a wine glass, and the vase wasn't really a good color for us.  We thought about it for a while and decided it would really be cool to have something to remember our stop in Santa Fe.  Kristi asked one of the workers if Mr. Miner would do a custom piece that had colors we wanted.  They said he would be happy to, but when he did custom pieces he liked the people he was making it for to help make it.  So, this event turned out even more cool than we thought it could.  The kids got to help him make what became "our vase."  It is sitting in our living room as I write this.  It has a very special meaning to us.  Mr. Miner signed the vase or piece of art, but he insisted on adding Alex and Adri to the bottom of the vase, too, since they helped him make it.  If you stop by our house, don't forget to ask to see it.

From there, we went back and just had some family time and conversation.  As I said, it was very nice to see family and make this a part of our trip. We had one more night to spend with the Chapmans.  The next morning we were heading to Albuquerque to spend the night before we flew home. 

From the Grand Canyon to Santa Fe - Hitting a New State

One of my goals in life is to travel to all 50 states.  Though I had been to 44 of them and many of them several times, there were still a few that I hadn't hit.  This goal has become somewhat of a family goal now.  We have a big map of the US on a wall in our house, and each of us has a colored star.  When we visit a new place we record it on the map by placing our star on that location.  This road trip was a way for us to visit more states.  I had already been to Texas, California, Nevada, Arizona, but I had not been to New Mexico.  The kids were able to add all of those states to their lists.  Kristi was able to add Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico.

The nice thing about having a goal to get to New Mexico was that Kristi's Aunt Mary and Uncle Kevin lived in Santa Fe.  This would provide us with an opportunity to see family that was far from our home.  The main plan for day nine was to sleep in a little and head to Santa Fe.  It would be a long day of driving, and we didn't have anything else planned for the day.  With most road trips, we found a couple of surprises.
Our first surprise was a sign that advertised the site of the Arizona  meteor crater site.  We had heard about this on TV.  The sign told us what exit to take, but we didn't know how far off the expressway this landmark was.  We decided to exit and see.  It was only about six miles so we decided to check it out.  It was a little pricey.  It was $15 for adults and $8 for the kids and we knew we weren't planning to stay long.  But, it was hard to be right there and not see what it was really like.  Kristi decided to read in the car while the kids and I went into the complex that led to the viewing area.  We were able to see the crater, hear a presentation from a guide and watch a brief movie about the crater.  They also had a small museum.  There wasn't a lot to it, but it is another of those things where you can say, "Oh, I have been there and seen that."



After our quick stop, we hit the road again.  We didn't get too far down the expressway when we noticed a sign for the Petrified Forest National Park.  Again, we wondered how far out of the way this would take us. We really didn't have a time schedule so we decided to check it out.  It looked like it was relatively close, and we had purchased a National Park Annual Pass so we wouldn't have to pay to get in.  We were glad we made this little side trip.  The petrified pieces were very cool.  They also have the Painted Desert in this national park.  We mainly drove through and snapped some pictures.  It was a good side trip, though.  

We didn't have any other jaunts from then on.  We ran into a little traffic issue, and we lost an hour going from Arizona to New Mexico (Arizona does not follow daylight savings time) so was got in a little later than we had hoped, but we were at the Chapmans' by about 7:45.  They had dinner all ready for us and welcomed us very graciously.  We spent the evening visiting.  It was nice to be in a home after so many days in hotels.  Our initial plan to was stay in a hotel in Santa Fe, but Kristi's Aunt Mary had offered to have us stay with them.  We didn't want to impose, but decided to accept their generous offer. We were so glad that we did!

So, day nine ended in the comfort of home, surrounded by family, and eating a delicious home-cooked meal!

The Grand Canyon - Day 2

We were fortunate to be able to get settled into our room earlier enough to do some exploring the night before.  We saw some great views of the Grand Canyon.  So, on day nine, we were able to check out a little more of the Grand canyon and get a head start on our travel to Flagstaff.

I woke up earlier than the rest.  I decided to do a little walking around.  From the map, it looked like the rim of the canyon was just 0.4 miles behind our lodge.  There was a little trail behind the lodge that looked like it headed in that direction.  After we packed the van, we decided to head in that direction.  That really wasn't a good idea without a compass.  Once we got into the trees and brush out of view of our lodge, we realized there were several such paths criss-crossing all over.  We decided to head back in the direction we thought the lodge was in, but quickly found out we weren't sure which direction that was.  Kristi got out her phone to see if the GPS would give us any help.  We listened and heard vehicles.  We knew we would be okay if we got to where the vehicles were.  We ended up on the road that we had reached earlier, but didn't know where on the road. Adri saw a sign that gave us directions.  It was a little longer walk than we had planned, but it could have turned out worse.

We decided to just drive to a few spots along the rim and head out a little early.  We weren't going to do any hiking or excursions, and we had seen what we wanted to see in our short visit.  On the way out we were able to see some more elk.  There was a little group of them just laying beside the road.  There was a walking path right by them so I decided to pull over and see if I could get a little close.  I snapped a bunch of pictures and walked along with one who was eating weeds and walking along.  I got as close as I thought I should.   I wonder how close I could have actually gotten.  I felt like I could have stepped up and smacked the elk on the butt.  It was very cool to see the animals in the wild.

Our next stop was Flagstaff.  We picked this location because it so expensive to stay at the Grand Canyon.  That actually worked out well because we ended up leaving earlier than we that we would.

Actually, we could have gotten further down the road, but it was too late to cancel our reservation, and we had some trouble with our rental van.  We had no brake lights or turn signals.  We called Thrifty and after some back and forth on the phone, they decided to trade us vehicles in Flagstaff.  I had actually called them in Las Vegas, but there were no minivans at the airport there so we just just kept it.  They had an auto shop in Flagstaff with a Thrifty minivan they had just fixed.  So, we just hung out and the kids swam.  A laid back afternoon never hurts! 

To The Grand Canyon And What Find On The Way

Today, we left the Golden Nugget and drove by some of the famous casinos that we had seen on TV, notably the Luxor, Treasure Island, MGM Grand, Bellagio, Circus Circus, New York New York, and more. It was interesting to see how enormous these places were!  From there, we headed back into the desert to work our way toward the Hoover Dam.

Much like many of the other things that we encountered on our trip, we were amazed by the enormity of the Hoover Dam. We wanted to hit this national landmark since we were going right by there on our way to the Grand Canyon. We drove around and were able to get a pretty good view of the water side (north side), but had to hike up to a bridge in order to see the south side. Alex and I made the trek up. Though it was hot, it was the type of thing that we didn’t want to miss. I really wanted to see both sides of the dams, and it was worth the hike.

One of the things that’s fun about a road trip is that you can just pull over and do whatever you find to do. Heading down the expressway, we decided to make a bathroom stop in a little town called Saligman. What we didn’t realize is that we were stumbling on what they called the “birthplace of Route 66.” The street was lined with shops, motels and restaurants that looked just like I would expect to see based on what I have seen in movies and heard from my older relatives about this famous route. We decided to take advantage of this step back in time and eat at the Roadkill Café. Kristi splurged on a buffalo burger, which was fun to try. The restaurant was full of stuffed animals, as one would expect, based on its name. They were really busy so it took quite a bit of time for us to eat there. After dinner and some pictures of the area, we were back on our way.

Once we were back on the road, we made our way to the Grand Canyon. On the way into the Grand Canyon National Park, we saw female elk in the wild. After going through the ranger station, we checked in at the registration desk for the Yavapai Lodge. Our room was small but comfortable and was stocked with eco-friendly products and a great view out the window of the woods between us and the Grand Canyon. We looked at the Visitor’s Guide and saw information about the sunset over the canyon and decided to check into that. We went to the Yavapai Geological Museum and overlook area, which was a good place to start our hike along the rim. We spent probably an hour and a half enjoying the breathtaking view, snapping pictures, and worrying about the many people who we thought were way too close to the edge of the canyon! It was beautiful to watch the color changes in the canyon as the sun lowered in the sky. We waited and watched the anticipated sunset time pass by and decided to head back to our room. It was then that we realized that we were somehow off by an hour, which we think might mean that Arizona doesn’t follow Daylight Savings Time. We drowned our sorrows over the missed sunset in pizza back in our hotel room.

When we were in town getting the pizza, we saw a commotion on the side of the road. It was a full-sized elk with huge antlers casually grazing right beside the busy road. He did not seem at all bothered by the many spectators, and I was able to get a number of good pictures. Seeing this wildlife, like seeing the bear, was a highlight of our trip! So, day eight was done in "grand" fashion.

A Day In Las Vegas - On The Slow Side

Though the road trip was continuing, we were going to stay in Las Vegas for the day and spend a second night at the Golden Nugget.  So, on day six, we woke up as early as we could get ourselves going to visit the Silver and Gold Pawn Shop, which is where the hit TV series Pawn Stars is filmed. This was something that both of the kids really wanted to do. It was a 15-minute walk from The Golden Nugget.  

The walk was very hot, even relatively early in the morning, but we were able to get right in to the store when we arrived. Kristi had read online that they may charge admission and that people had to wait outside in the hot Nevada sun for a long time to get in. We didn’t have to pay, and we did have to wait in the heat. It was really busy, but we still had a great time looking around. Alex bought a “Chum-Lee for President” t-shirt. I was interested in a couple of guns they had that were similar to a 25-20 that has been in my family for years and dates back to the early 1890s. Though they were different caliber, they had two hexagon barrel guns like ours from 1886 and 1887. The one that needed some work and was not in as good of shape was close to $1,000. This made me wonder what our 25-20 would be worth! Kristi looked at jewelry but wouldn’t let me buy her anything, especially not the 3.3 carat diamond ring that was $54,000. It makes me wonder why people had to sell these things, especially a ring like that! It was also interesting to see items in the shop that we had seen pawned or sold on the show. Alex was able to identify and explain to us about the “death clock,” the Lindbergh propeller, the mortar, and the Virtual Boy.

After that, we were all starving and decided to look for a place to eat. Nothing was open on our walk back down Fremont Street, so we ate at a restaurant in the Golden Nugget. The food was really expensive, but the portions were large. With our tummies full, we all decided to relax in our room during the hottest hours of the day. Kristi, Adri and I napped while Alex watched TV. This was especially nice after the long day of driving yesterday!

Once we got up, we all put on our bathing suits and headed down to the pool. The kids tried out the water slide that went through the shark tank and liked it. I did it, too! We went too fast to see the fish and sharks in the tank that the tube went through, but it was still fun. Kristi soaked up some sun and relaxed in a pool chair in the shallow end. It was insanely busy, but we all managed to have a really good time.

For dinner, we ate at Lillie’s Asian Cuisine. We sat in the part that was a Japanese steakhouse and had our food prepared in front of us. We always enjoy that type of thing and weren’t really up for much else. This allowed us to build in our entertainment with our dinner. 

After dinner, Adri had a chocolate craving, so Alex, Adri and I walked down Fremont Street to find some dessert. Along the way, we saw some things that surprised the kids, like street performers and dancers on tables. There were lights everywhere, and a lot of activity. They also saw what they claimed was the world’s biggest “big screen,” which is a canopy over at least a block of Fremont Street. There were advertisements, a show about video games of the 80s, and a constantly changing stream of lights and entertainment. We weren’t out there very late, but there was a lot to see on our short walk between the Golden Nugget and the Walgreens where we bought our chocolate.

It was a quick visit to Las Vegas, as it was with the rest of our stops on this trip, but we were able to hit some highlights while we were there.

From Forest To Dust To An Oasis Showered In Lights

We got up early to get to Sequoia National Park.  This plan had more to do with knowing we had a very long day of travel ahead than anything else.  But, it did work to our advantage.  As with Yosemite, Sequoia was very busy, but this time we were there early enough to get ahead of the big crowds.  We were able to stop when we wanted to and wander around.  We even had time to open the foam cooler we had bought and filled with sandwich fixin’s and other snacks.

The forest was amazing.  The Sequoias were so big the view of the forest was surreal.  It made us feel like we were on a movie set.  Adri said the trees reminded her of the Ents from the Fellowship of the Rings Trilogy.  That is Treebeard for those of you who might have read the book or seen the morning.

Our main destination was to get to “General Sherman.”  This Sequoia is considered the largest tree in the world by volume.  We saw many huge trees on our way there, but this one had a huge base.  The sequoias are very interesting because they grow so straight and so tall.  Apparently, their longevity has a lot to do with their bark.  It protects the tree against insects, fire, and disease.  These trees can have a base that is 30 feet in diameter.  Imagine this compared to how big one of your rooms is in your house!

On our way out of the park, we had an exciting thing happen: we saw a bear in the wild! He was just lumbering across the road, taking his time and minding his own business. None of us had ever seen a bear in the wild before, so this was just one more highlight on a truly breath-taking drive through the Sequoia National Park!  We tried to get a picture was it was hard to do because it was such a surprise to us.

From there, our next hotel was the historic Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.  If you look at a map, you will see what a long drive that is, and we were going to make it a little longer by avoiding the expressway and going through Death Valley. 

It was a long and very desolate ride to even get to Death Valley.  Just before we arrived at the park our thermometer read 116, and that was at 4:30 in the afternoon.  I wonder what it was earlier in the afternoon.  Death Valley, unlike the others, was not so crowded.  Actually, there were very few places to even stop along the road we were taking through.  It was just interesting to say we were there.  There were several places that were actually below sea level way out in the middle of nowhere.  We stopped at Furnace Creek, which was a resort oasis in the middle of rock, dust, and heat.  The kids picked up an ice cream bar, and off we went.

All of this drive was just interesting.  We saw things that we would not see anywhere else.  Traveling in such desolate areas was interesting.  We stopped a couple of times and stepped out into the heat.  It almost took your breath away.  I think it was good for the kids to see these places. It was an exciting surprise to see the lights of Vegas after driving for hours with virtually no signs of life. 

Golden Nugget, here we come.  Day five - done!