Getting there...
Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 08:00AM Okay. Finally. Here's a recap of the first three days of our "spring break" trip...
DAY 1: Finally finished all the packing and prep and got out the door at about 10:30. As we stepped out the door to load up, Asher loudly proclaimed “we’re going to LegoLand!” I didn’t see, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d jumped in the air and clicked his heels together. ;) We stopped at Eagle, CO for a picnic lunch and some snowball fights then continued on toward Utah. We’d intended to stop at Arches and stay in Moab for the night, but the lovely sleet storm that met us in Utah changed our plans…leading us to continue on to Monticello, Utah. Along the way, we enjoyed trying to look at the rock formations (when the weather allowed). While Noah and Micah napped, Asher saw one that apparently looked “like a giant Chewbacca face.” (The boys have Star Wars on the brain, I tell ya!) Overall, the boys did a great job traveling considering this is, I think, the longest they've been in the car before.
DAY 2: We got an earlier start and headed toward the Four Corners, having decided that the roughly 2 hour detour was worth the stop. Along the way, we theorized about rock formations (I say “land shark” Noah says “giant scorpion” Asher says “land of the Ewoks”) and learned about driving a “responsible speed.” (Let's just say that the boys are fairly safety conscious backseat drivers and that Nathan enjoys playing on this.) Unfortunately, upon arriving at the Four Corners, we were met by this sign...
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Who knew? Micah was so miffed he actually stomped his foot. Sigh. Lesson learned...don't assume places will be open.
Moving on, we drove for a bit and stopped at a McDonalds for a quick snack and to let the boys run off some steam in the play area. While there, completely randomly, Micah asked me “what goes behind ‘ala’?” My reply was a blank stare while I racked my brain trying to think. Asher saved me and piped up, “’docious’!” Of course. ;) Continuing on, we made it to the south rim of the Grand Canyon, took in the view from the Watchtower (having climbed all of its 85 steps to the top), ate a picnic lunch and caught the shuttle out to Pima Point. We then hiked/walked the mile from there to Hermits Point (the easternmost point the shuttles reached), playing in the snow along the way. It was along that walk that Micah asked his first “are we there yet?” of the trip. Upon returning via shuttle, we grabbed some dinner at the Arizona Room restaurant inside the park before finally leaving the Grand Canyon at about 9:20 pm. I asked the boys what they thought of the Grand Canyon. Micah said, “’grand’ means, basically, like ‘big.’” The other two gave similar descriptions of how it was a really big crack in the earth. ;) We stopped for the night just outside the park. Here are a few of the many pictures:
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DAY 3: Since the hotel actually had a decent breakfast, we got a bit later start and started our day of driving around 10 am. We drove through the local airport and stopped briefly at the Planes of Fame museum just south of there before continuing on our way, heading east on I-40. We took a slight detour to drive for a bit on the historic Route 66 (regretting not bringing the “Cars” movie). It wasn’t much to look at but they did have fun red sign messages and Giganticus Headicus. My favorite of the red sign series was “cattle crossing…means go slow…that old bull…is some cow’s beau” and they all finished with a sign by “Burma shave” who apparently was the sponsor. (Unsure if these were vintage ads or replicas) In any case, the boys were unimpressed, with the possible exception of Giganticus Headicus, a random roadside sculpture made to look like an Easter Island tiki face. Noah and Micah even stuck their heads up one of the nostrils. ;)
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Stopped for lunch in Kingman, AZ and then continued on…with another quick jaunt off the main trek to visit London Bridge in Lake Havasu City. We got out and stretched, watched the water birds and walked across the bridge and back.
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(Yes, playing with Photoshop actions by The Pioneer Woman again on that last picture. ;) Fun!)
After that, it was all travel…crossing into California at 4:22 MST and driving through the Mohave Desert and into southern California. We made it to Oceanside around 8:30 pm (PST now) where the boys were happy to see Grandma and Grandpa (who arrived before us, having flown from Washington) and to finally be “home” for the next five days. From Fort Collins to Oceanside (by not the most direct route)…1375 miles.
And that, my friends, was the first three days of our trip. ;) Thanks for reading if you made it this far, lol. I promise one day to scrapbook again. Honest. ;)
Reader Comments (5)
Fabulous pictures! Love the one of you and Micah overlooking the Valley.
LOVE the pics! Can't believe how big the boys are now!
Great pictures. Looks like a great start to your trip, well except fort he 4 corners thing...
What a great way of learning...so much. I love homeschooling for trips like these that are more meaningful learning experiences. I especially like the Grand Canyon pics...want to go there on our next trip out west. And the 4 corners. Last summer we drove from Ohio to Yellowstone and camped along the way.
Sounds like you had a great vacation!!!