4-26-11

Today was a bit of a challenge from the start. I think the wind might be getting to us all. Grumpy adults and fits from the little ones seriously get to you when you are all in a small space, everyday, always. We are hoping to get out of this wind so that we can spread out a little, but not today. When we drove into the city today the cloud around the city wasn't smog like we are used to, it was dust. My eyes and nose are full of the stuff.

The days activities included taking Lola for a walk along the banks of the Rio Grande river, where someone had carved great statues out of dead trees that were still standing.









We also took a trip to Explora. Explora is a kids museum/science museum. Everything is hands on (like the Exploratorium in SF) with wind experiments, sound experiments, and a giant bubble table. There was even a room for little ones where Lucca got to spend some time just being Lucca. It was great to let the kids just run and play and be silly for a few hours.

Dinner was quick and easy. Then bedtime for the little ones, and back to the car, to escape the dust, for us.

The next couple of days we are heading into the wilderness, so we might not have any connections. We'll be back posting as soon as we can.


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Location:Central Ave SW,Albuquerque,United States

4-25-11 Day 14

Today was easy. Woke up, ate, showered. Then we went to the zoo, Albuquerque Biopark. It was a really nice zoo. It was set up nice, with lots of animals, even a baby orangutan and two baby zebras. There was almost no one there which made it even nicer. We had lunch and fed the ducks. It was a little scary when we had to save jack from the giant rattlesnake...










After naps we headed out to a route 66 highlight, The Route 66 Malt shop. Although in a new location they still had the yummy malts and burgers for which they are famous.







After winding down and getting the kids to bed, we spent the rest of the night huddled in the truck, out of the wind, making plans for the week ahead. Lots of adventure to come...

Location:Albuquerque, NM (or wind tunnel USA)

4-24-11

Happy Easter from the road... The easter bunny found mimi this morning. After a quick egg hunt around the trailer, Jack and Lucca had nothing but chocolate for breakfast.














Soon after breakfast we thought it would be a good idea to get the two strapped into their carseats and drive for a few hours. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. Lucca actually slept for most of it. Our destination was Gallup, NM. When we reached Gallup 1 1/2 hours later, it was raining and we decided to push on to Albuquerque. On the way we took a small detour to the "Ice Cave" for lunch and a tour. The ice cave is a collapsed lava tube on a dormant volcano that remains 31 degrees all year round and has a thick layer of ice in the bottom.








After leaving the ice cave things got kind of bad in the car. To the point of almost throwing in the towel and coming home... Lucca was screaming, Jordans stomach hurt, and Jack was throwing fit after fit. We need to stick to our original plan of only a couple hours driving a day. Today we pushed it with 5 hours. Yikes!!!
When we got the RV park, things mellowed out and we regrouped. The kids played in the park that is literally right in front of our site. All is well now... Good night.

Location:Albuquerque, NM

4-23-11

Wind, wind, and more wind....
After filling up our drinking water in downtown Holbrook, we took the drive out to the petrified forest national park. The park is basically a 27 mile drive through the painted desert with stops along the way. There are old pueblos with petroglyphs, amazing painted rock formations, and of course, petrified forests. And it was windy the whole time, I was seriously worried that Jack would blow away. We drove the entire 27 miles to let Lucca sleep, then we stopped for lunch, turned around, and drove it again. Stopping at the most interesting sites.











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After we came back from our drive and the kids had nap, we went to dinner at a little mexican place on old route 66. Good night!

Location:Lizard Ln,Holbrook,United States

4-22-11

We left Sedona this morning and headed to Flagstaff to start heading east on Route 66. We had to get some food and stuff this morning so we had to venture into town. It was our first time taking the trailer into a city, it wasn't smooth. Paul and I were arguing over which streets we could fit on and where we would park when we did find the store. We abandoned that plan and left flagstaff before we did what we came to do. Next time we will try to have a better plan and leave room for mistakes.

It ended up being for the better, we needed to stop and feed the kids before we left for the drive today and a mile down the road was Walnut Canyon National Monument. It was free day and there were picnic tables! As an added bonus it was one of those places where native americans lived in pueblos in the side of the canyon. Jack thought it was cool and it gave Paul and I a chance to get over our little "tiff".

Our first stop on Route 66 was Two Arrows. It was 2 arrows. Sticking up from the ground. Like ten feet tall. That was it. You couldn't even get close because there was a fence around it. But here is a picture of it anyway.



Next stop was a meteor crater. A big hole. That was made by a meteor. This one you could get close to and it was windy at the edge. Jack thought it was pretty neat. After telling him all about it and seeing it he said "its just like in Toy Story when Buzz had a meteor fly into space" Ahh movie education at its finest. We got a snack and some rocks and off we went.



The next 60 miles on Route 66 were uneventful, except for being right behind a big rig tire blowout. Oh and earlier today I opened the car door on the side of the freeway and a piece of important paper few out of the car across the freeway. Well, we are kind of in the middle of nowhere on a two lane road, so Paul ran across and got it. Our Hero!

If you were waiting to see the sign for the Jackrabbit Trading post...


We made it to Holbrook where we will stay for two nights. Its a Rv park that is in the middle of nowhere so it is very quiet and peaceful.

Here is where we sit, blogging and chillin for the night. Not too bad:)

Location:Flagstaff - Route 66

4-21-11

Today we hiked. The camp host told us about a 4 mile hike that crossed the creek 26 times. It was so beautiful and calming, even though it was packed. We only made 20 creek crossings but Jack walked the whole thing and it only took us 4 hours! We didn't want to carry him on the first hike so that we could set the tone for all hikes to come. He didn't start to complain until the last hour and we could have turned around earlier but he wanted to make it to the end! It wasn't a loop so after the tenth crossing we knew we had to turn around before the kids started to lose it so we told him we made it to the end so that he could feel success. unfortunately he didn't fall for it because some people came from the end of the trail. Oh well we all enjoyed the hike and we learned what he can do.

After the hike we were all tired so dinner and bed for all. The kids were asleep by 7 and Paul and I by (don't laugh) 7:40.

Lucca enjoying playing in the dirt. She is so dirty even her snot is black.


Right at the beginning of the hike there was a old house with this "fridge" behind. Jack is really interested in this stuff so far, he likes to figure out what the rooms were for. It is really fun to watch his imagination go.



Of course, the perfect walking stick.


Lola





The trail kept changing from one beautiful scene the next.

Location:Flagstaff,United States

4-20-11

Today we lounged around the campsite all morning then went into Sedona, hoping for some sort of data signal so that we could post to this blog and make some phone calls. We had lunch in the tourist section of Sedona which ended up not such a great idea. The kids need a little refresher on restaurant etiquette. After lunch we found a little park with a playground. The kids played and Lola got to run around the grass for a while. The plan for the rest of the day is to find Jordan some water shoes and have an early night so we can go on a hike tomorrow. I'm posting now because we don't know when we will have a connection again. Sorry for those who worry if we are ok, we will post as often as we have a connection. (love you mom)


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Location:Sedona

4-19-11

The morning started off a little rocky. Everyone is very excited and the RV is a mess so it is taking a long time to get things done. We need to organize so that we don't have to move things to get to other things. After breakfast we played around the camp site and relaxed, or at least tried to. Lucca fell off a chair and got a mouth, nose and eye full of dirt, Jack just could not find something to do and stop whining. Finally we settled in and played catch while Lucca napped.


After nap we headed over to Slide Rock State Park where we rock hopped and admired the beautiful red rock mountains.









Checking out the cool places the water comes through the rocks.



Paul jumped off of the rock in to the freezing water!


We watched the people sliding down the rocks for a while then it was Pauls turn.



After that we had naps and hung out at the camp site for the rest of the day.

4-18-11 Day 7

Today the real adventure began. After going to Trader Joes (for the last time in who knows long) and hitching Mimi back up we said goodbye to the Sonoran Desert. But not before snapping a great photo of Lucca on a cool dead cactus.



The drive to Sedona was 2 1/2 hours, just the right time for us all! We pulled into a great campground, Cave Springs, and plan on staying for three nights.

Location:Sedona

4-17-11

Tired! That was the theme for today. We have been so busy that the kids are starting to lose it. Kind of like the Giants at the baseball game tonight.






After the game we went next door to Cooperstown, Alice Cooperstown the restaurant.



Jack got Alice eyeblack!



Ahh, bath time. (The last real bath for a long time.)



It has been great to see all of our family! We are very excited to head out to the open road tomorrow and see where the road takes us. Rock on!

Location:N 60th St,Scottsdale,United States