Relatives....

We left Sedona and headed to Kingman via Prescott.  I am now convinced that Tim could and would take this RV just about anywhere.  We went through a small alpine town called Jerome.  It is all on the side of a mountain.  Really, you should only go on this curvy, mountainous highway on a motorcycle.  Maybe a (very) small car.  But no...we have to plow through in a 38 foot beast!  I was a nervous wreck going through there.  People were stopping on the sidewalk to stare at the new "happening" in town.  Some were pointing; some just stared with their mouths open.  Steep.  Narrow.  And hairpins and switchbacks just don't describe it.  There were several places where we drove in both lanes.  If we stayed in our lane, we would take out someone's porch or stairs that hung out over the road.  Or we would hit the mountain wall where huge boulders jutted out over the road.

Like I said...a bit nervous.  We finally made it over the mountains....no problems.

We arrived in Kingman and went to Tim's cousin's house.  Our kids had never met their kids.  Second cousins, but didn't know each other.

We visited for a while, then Brady took Abe for a ride in his dune buggy.  I had ridden with him a year ago and loved it.  I knew Abe would like it too. Thanks for the ride, Brady!

At one point, they were going 75 mph on a rough gravel road like this.  Abe SAYS he never screamed, but I'm not so sure.....

I believe the words were, "That was awesome!"

Conni got a ride too.

  We were there for their "green" time.  Blooming cactus is so pretty!

Conni and Melanie had fun on the quad.

And from Kingman, we headed on to CA.  It was long and torturous.  I got to the point I wanted to go bury my head under my pillow until we got to something green.

In California!  Literally across the continent from VA!

Looking forward to this week...sightseeing, meeting relatives, visiting, shopping, etc..

Beautiful Sedona, AZ

 Two days in Sedona was just not enough.  We were parked beside the creek in Oak Creek Canyon.  Beautiful stream; so peaceful and relaxing.

It was a bit overcast and the water was really cold, but Conni still spent quite a bit of time in the creek.

Abe had to go get a fishing license, so he jumped on the bike and rode into town.  Unfortunately, it was raining..... He finally showed back up looking like this:

NOT a happy camper!  He was soaked clear through.  He rode about 3 or 4 miles total and the first half was very uphill!  But, this was his reward:

 Tim got up early one morning and rode into town.  He discovered the Wild Flower Bread Company...(http://www.wildflowerbread.com/) bought some fresh bread and brought it to us for breakfast.
The Bear Claw was delicious, and so was the pretzel, but the multi-grain bread was the best!

During the rainy-ness, I cleaned house.  It felt so good to scrub everything and tidy up.  My remaining VA apples died a happy death in the form of apple crisp...Mmmmm.  Smelled so good in here!  I also had all the ingredients for clam chowder, so I made a double batch of that.  Along with the yummy bread Tim brought, we had a killer dinner.

Conni used her inside time wisely.

Trying to stay caught up with Algebra....

If you are ever in the area south of Flagstaff, we can highly recommend Rancho Sedona RV park, and the Wild Flower Bread Company!  I would go back again in a heartbeat.

Traveling on!

Canyon so Grand

Ever hear of Four Corners?  It's not a town.  It's not a county.  It is the only place in the US where 4 states share the same corners.  It's actually in the middle of Navajo country, which translates to Nowhere.  Barren, ugly, dry.  No town; just a big landmark.

Here we are.  A family standing on 4 different states.

Abe's way of being in 4 states at once.

Conni on tiptoes smack in the center.

  Of course, Bear gets a walk/potty break every time we stop.

Abe's thinking of taking up dance.  Looks like a natural, huh?

Our next destination:

This is similar to Carlsbad Caverns; words can't do it justice.  I've seen pictures, I've read about it.  I expected it to be massive, spectacular, grand etc.  And yet, I was still struck with awe.  You just can't really understand it until you see it.  And still, I can't comprehend it.  The scale is just unfathomable.

Again, we managed to hit a National Park during the week they don't charge admissions.  

We're not there 5 minutes before Abe has to try this.  Such a guy thing.....

Why do they have to do this?  Dumb question.  I'm sure my brothers and sisters and I would've done the same thing.  Anything to freak out Mom.

When I hear Conni holler, "Mom!" and I turn around and see this....yeah....  The old heart steps it up a bit.

Dork.

I love the river.  It looks so calm and peaceful, but I know it has some pretty serious rapids.

Abe, Conni and I climbed up the lookout tower (along with 6 buses worth of folks from a different continent).  It is 85 steep, narrow windy steps up.  Abe put a quarter in the telescope and was rewarded with seeing 4 white water rafts going down the Colorado.  Pretty cool.  I would LOVE to do that.  Some day....

I love this verse.  So fitting.  I was kinda surprised they had it posted.

As we headed out to a point that the kids wanted to climb out on, we saw this gum tree.  Rather disgusting, but at least it's all going in one place.  Unfortunately, I didn't have any to contribute.

We started climbing down...all 3 of us in flip flops.  Abe was in front.  I maneuvered myself down a steep place, rounded a corner and came upon this caveman sleeping.

This point is as narrow as it looks.  Sheer drop off.  I think I was a bit of a Nervous Nellie watching, but of course I had to get it on the camera.  Tim watched from a ways off ...speaking of Nervous Nellie....!

Kinda makes your skin crawl if you look down.

Tim stayed behind with the pooch.  I think it's more nerve wracking to watch from a distance than to do the climbing yourself.

Again....(Don't look Grandmommy!)

We headed back to the RV.  Abe obviously had not used up enough energy yet.

The next time we go to the GC, I want to do one of the guided tours.  One that we looked at was a 1 day tour that started at 6:00 a.m. and ended at 8:00 p.m.  You got to do everything:  off road in a jeep to a certain point, then hike to another point, then ride mules to the bottom.  Then you raft for a while on the Colorado, get out and hike some more, then get picked up by a helicopter and fly out.  I bet it would be exhausting but so much fun.   It cost $600 per person!  Yikes!

I highly recommend seeing this amazing canyon God created.  Put it on your "must see" list.
Happy weekend everyone!  Go enjoy a National Park - it's free through the 29th!

Morning adventures on the river!

The river is gorgeous.

 Unfortunately, it is VERY cold! I went down to the river yesterday morning to check it out and watch Abe fish for a little while.

When I got down there though, this is what I found;

Abe was up in a tree, untangling his line while mom 'helped'. ;)

They managed to get it out though. 

I found a different tree to climb...

Abe was talking about a spot on the other side of the river that would be a good spot for him to fish, so I decided to see if I could get there easily. 

I got across to the spot.. and then, well, I just couldn't resist. The water was so beautiful, so powerful, and I really think it wanted me to come in ;) so...