day 9 -Las Cruces, NM to Phoenix, AZ

We were in no rush today, it was just a driving day so we woke slowly and took our time. This hotel, Hilton Garden Inn and Suites, had the best breakfast. We just paid an extra 10 bucks for all 4 of us to have made to order food. It was yummy. The hotel has been a favorite so far and Alicia picked it out. We finally loaded up and continued listening to Gregor book 3. Getting close to Phoenix Ben thought we should use a bathroom at a NP so we started toward it but soon realized we had stumbled down the road the funeral procession for one of the 19 firefighters was on. It was starting in 15 minutes and it wad going to be an hour delay. So we turned around. I think it would have been a neat thing to watch. We made it to our hotel and I will say the only way to visit Phoenix in summer is near water. It is hot. Miserably hot. So hot Ben decided to remove the 3 nights in Sedona AZ for 3 in California. We checked out the waterpark at our hotel-The Oasis. Waterparks sure helped beat the heat. I left a little before the other 3 and started working on canceling and booking hotels so we could get out of Arizona as soon as possible. We still want to see the Grand Canyon but at this late in the game there was nowhere to stay in the park. We will be in a small town outside of it now. We will probably add days in San Francisco. We ended our evening with a late dinner at our first visit of the Rain Forest Cafe. It was fun but the food wasn't wonderful. Also somewhere along the way Alicia picked up a bad rash all over. We think it started when she rolled around and buried herself in the White Sand. It makes her self conscious and in this heat she can't cover up the way she wants.

AN AREA IN OUR RESORT.

ARIZONA LANDSCAPE

day 8 Alamogordo to Las Cruces

This morning we headed out earlyish for Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Ben had wanted to do this and when I originally made our route it was on the way. About a week before we left on our vacation we decided to change some things. We decided we wanted to rest after losing Collin. We took Texas out and replaced it with 2 nights in Phoenix and 3 nights in Sedona. We also took the night in Vegas out and added three days in Disney to the end. So we went to Carlsbad Caverns NP then headed back the way we came through Guadalupe Mountains NP in Texas and ended up about one hour west of where we started this morning. On our 3.5 hour drive to Carlsbad we stopped at a stand on the side of the road. It ended up being a hit with us all. We bought snacks and they had a petting zoo. Goats, a camel, a pig, horses, a cow, ducks and a fish pond. The kids loved feeding them.

But we had to leave and continue on.

We enjoyed the caverns. Our guide was knowledgeable and it was beautiful. But it was also cool and it felt nice doing something that wasn't in full sun. we drove through the Guadalupe Mountains and onto Las Cruces.

we had dinner at our first Cracker Barrel. I really enjoyed it.

We are enjoying this pool. It's outside and even at 9:30 here it's still in the 90s.

day 7- grants NM to Alamogordo NM

We started our morning off with a short drive to Sky City to see the oldest inhabited Pueblo village.

We got on a tour that took us up to the village at 10 and even then we were HOT. The houses were cool but there were cars parked by the houses kinda killing the authentic feel. There were vendors and we bought a few souvenirs. We had not bought the camera pass so I do not have pictures up there. we were happy to get back in our air conditioned Explorer. Off we went to the town of Alamogordo. It was about a 4 hour drive turned 5 hours when we got a tad lost. NM is not pretty. It is ugly. But we did travel a bit on route 66! We checked in, the kids swam, and then we were off to see White Sands National Monument. We borrowed sleds from the hotel and took off about 7:30 pm. We could not believe that in a state that is so ugly was something so beautiful. The kids sled and dug in the sand. We all loved it.

day 6-Moab, Utah to Grants, New Mexico

We left Moab and headed for Four Corners Monument. This was the only thing Ethan asked for on the trip. We made a small unplanned detour and visited Hovenweep National Monument.

It was hot so we only hiked a short ways and not the full 2 hour loop. What we saw was cool. The buildings, or what remained, were over 800 years old. We then continued on to Four Corners.

It was hot here and Ethan didn't want to wait in the line for pictures at the spot but we did anyway. After about 15 minutes we had our turn and then headed for Grants, New Mexico. We soon hit a detour that took us about an hour out of the way but this was where we saw the pretty part of NM.

We can't decide if the part of Colorado around Four Corners or the srea we are in now of New Mexico is ugliest. It is so barren and poor. The animals we have seen are dead dogs on the side of the roads. We finished our first book on CD (Gregor the Overlander) and are now half way through our second book (Gregor and The Prophecy of Bane). I did not bring the third so we may have to find a Borders. As we finally got close to Grants we hit a lightening/thunder storm. The temperatures dropped dramatically and we got some rain. When we got to the hotel we immediately went swimming and watched the storm some more. Finally we headed to dinner at a diner. It had potential because it was cute but I didn't think the food was great and we had to move tables because the roof started to leak. Then we were back to our room for reading and journaling.

day 5-Moab

We were up late last night so we slept in a bit and had breakfast at the hotel about 8:30. We then walked Main St. Moab and shopped. We even got a Christmas gift! Then we headed off to hit a couple National Parks. We went to Arches NP first and took a short hike out to see Delicate Arch, the famous arch on the Utah license or the Visa commercials.

We then went to Canyonlands NP.

Ethan was being a punk so you have to imagine Ben's arm around him.

We made sure to get stamps from both visitor centers so when we get home the kids can cut them out and paste them in their National Park passport books, which we forgot at home. The area around here is gorgeous but there doesn't seem to be any animals! I miss animals! We keep thinking how Yellowstone had buffalo and antelope and prarie dogs. Here-nothing. It was hot so we headed back to the hotel for swimming and laundry. We then rested before our Bar-M Cowboy Chuckwagon dinner. It was hokey but enjoyable. More fir the kids.

Tomorrow we leave Moab. This place has so much to do and we didn't even scratch the surface. I would like to return someday.

day 4- Park City to Moab, Utah

We packed up and headed on to Moab for 2 nights. I had scheduled a stop in Midway Utah at a cheese factory but we were ahead of schedule so we listened to our book on CD for 30 minutes in the parking lot before they opened.

We have all had some problems breathing at this elevation but today seems harder. I had read to expect it to take about a week for our bodies to adjust, we'll see. After some icecream we kept moving on. We love Utah. It is so pretty and we were enjoying the book on CD so the hours went quickly. We checked in at our hotel about 4 PM and then went to find Moab Cowboys where I had booked an ATV tour. This was something Ben had asked for and ended up being a HUGE hit. I think the kids will rank it high when the trip is over. It was a great day.

day 3-Park City Utah

We took our time this morning and headed out about 9 to get spots for the parade. We found a great parking spot and the last free spots on the sidewalk. No joke. We waited about an hour and a half before it started. One of the best parades I've ever seen.

If it hadn't been so hot we would have enjoyed it even more. It was about an hour long so the kids were ready for some swimming. We got lunch at Whole Foods then jumped in the pool. About 25 minutes later the pool was shut down because some kid got sick in it. So we headed up to our room for our coffee drink! After a rest we went back to Park City (we are actually in The Canyons) and we shopped and had a yummy dinner. We decided to skip fireworks in PC and come swim at our hotel but they decided not to open the pool at all tonight! So we watched The Odd Life of Timothy Green which is a fun family movie. We giggled a lot and I cried, a lot. Not a typical 4th but we had a good day. I love Park City. It's got really cool old buildings and beautiful mountains. I'd like to visit again someday.