Day 6 - Day in Las Vegas

We decided to spend an extra Day in Las Vegas, although it wasn’t one of our more interesting spots, but only being $29 a night made it an economical place, and the fact that it had internet and Laundry facilities made it a good place to stop and catch up on some things. Jeffrey took the kids swimming in the morning while I did our laundry and got some writing done, then we took the kids to the top of the tower to show them the view. Jeffrey asked who wanted to ride one of the rides at the top (yes, rides at the top, this is Vegas after all), and only Rachel wanted to. She and Jeffrey went on the needle that shoots up into the air.
In the afternoon I took the kids swimming while Jeffrey got some writing done, and in the evening we packed up, drove the strip to see some of the Las Vegas nighttime sights from our car.


We came back and put the kids to bed and then Jeffrey and I watched 21, the movie about the college kids who count cards at blackjack tables. Fitting to watch a Las Vegas Movie in Las Vegas. Overall it was a restful day.

Day 5 - The Grand Canyon then on to Las Vegas

We got up and had a breakfast of pancakes (Bisquick makes very good vegan pancakes without eggs and with soymilk), and Jeffrey made bacon and eggs. Because it was Sunday Jeffery did a little devotional on the passage where Jesus spoke about not worrying about clothing, food, or anything, but seeing first his righteousness.

Then we hopped in the car and drove to the end of the trails to go on a long hike at the rim of the canyon. I got a little tense about my kids bravery about getting right up to the edge.

After our hike Jeffrey suggested not spending another night but going on ahead to Las Vegas. I was feeling pretty dirty about that time, so I said that would be fine. It took over an hour to take down the tent and camping areas and we were a little nervous because it kept thundering. I had images of having to stick wet stuff in our cour to sink up the next week of our drive. Luckily we got everything packed up fine.

Going from primitive camping to Las Vegas is a bit of a shock. We got to Las Vegas in the late evening and got something and got the kids something to eat at Carl Jr.'s. They looked like complete ragamuffins with their dirty bodies and dirty clothes. I felt about the same. We had booked the hotel on Priceline, so we didn't know anything about where we were going, but as we got closer to the address we realized that the tall building with the ball on top, the Stratosphere, was our hotel. The kids got really excited and Aidan said, "I want the room on top!"


After we put the kids to bed, and Rachel and Aidan were asleep , we gave Maeve my cell phone, and Jeff and I ate dinner at the restaurant in the hotel. This made me nervous of course, but Maeve was very excited to be thought responsible enough to be left in charge.

Day 4 - The Grand Canyon

We left our hotel late because we had to go to the grocery store to get stuff for primitive camping. I got worried about having enough water because all we would have is what we bring in. Jeff commented that grocery stores were much more primitive and much more expensive on the reservation. They are like slightly larger convienence stores, but not as nice.

The flora changed from scrub bushes to trees, and then to pine trees as we got closer to the Grand Canyon, and the temperature dropped to a comfortable high 70's. We drove up to a 1950's looking Ranger Station at the entrance to the primitive camping sites and Jeff decided not to spend the $10 on the map of the forest service trails. We spent the next hour saying we should have bought that map. We drove along one car (barely) dirt roads that kept forking and coming to unmarked cross roads. With the help of our new car's GPS (hurrah for technology), and our atlas, we made it to Crazy Jug Point, which had a spectacular view. When we drove up to the site I got really excited, because although Jeffrey and I haven't camped very often since we've been married, I have a lot of camping experience from living two summers in tents, and I knew we had found a great site. It had a cooking area with a fire spot that someone had already done the work of ringing with large stones, a sleeping area for setting up the tent, and a privacy clump of trees and bushes just a stones throw away. But the best part was a camping luxury of luxuries not one, but two logs that I got Maeve to help me to roll into an "L" around the campfire.


I spent a happy hour getting everything homey and organized while Jeff and Aidan set up the tent, and then Jeff made a supper of hotdogs (I had a peanut butter sandwich).


The kids sung us campfire songs they learned at Camp Peniel. It was fun all sleeping together in the tent that night.

Day 3 - Four Corners Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado

Day three was a road trip day driving from New Mexico to Arizona to get to the Grand Canyon. We stopped in Taos, and praise God found warmer jackets at the fourth store we tried. I was actually glad we ended up going through Taos, because I really enjoyed seeing the architecture. I never thought I'd like anything in a Southwestern style, but having seen the buildings in person, and not in shmarmy art, I could appreciate the beauty of the stucco, especially with the deeply carved wood doors, and the beautiful courtyards. Of course I was too concentrated on finding coats that I didn't take time to take a picture.

A while after we left Taos we entered the Navajo Indian Reservation and I was transported back to a lot of childhood memories. The summers I was 15 and 16 I went on missions trips to the Navajo Indians, and it was a neat experience to hear Navajo, and see it on signs. That is something I thought I'd never hear or see again. Here are the kids in a traditional Navajo house, a hogan.

The Navajos run the National Four Corners Monument and we stopped so that Jeffrey and the kids could all stand in four states at the same time. I took the pictures, but then realized that the baby might want to know that she had done it too, so I got Jeffrey to take my picture.


There was a stand selling traditional Navajo Fry bread. Imagine a tortilla shaped piece of bread that is about and inch thick loaded with beans, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and cheese. I started jumping up and down when I found out that without the cheese it was vegan. I get very excited these days about being able to eat things, and especially about being able to try fry bread again.

Arizona, land of neat rocks. We kept pointing out interesting rock formations until the kids would barely lift their heads from their books, or whatever they were doing in order to look at them. Yea, Dad. Another rock. I hope that won't be their reaction to the Grand Canyon! This first on is called Shiprock because it looks like a shipwrecked ship.


If you haven't had enough of looking at rocks, how about living in one? This is a house from1927 built from one huge rock.

Day 2 - Red River, New Mexico

Day Two 6/26

Today we just get to relax and go hiking in beautiful Red River.

I got up and made pancakes for everyone, and then we played the board game Risk as a family.


Rachel was bored and decided to make up our pack lunches.


We took the lunches to The Palisades, a beautiful rock formation, and then we went on a hike. Part way through the hike it started to rain, a cold rain with big fat raindrops, and I made a bee-line for a rock that had a little cover. We snuggled there as a whole family when the rain turned into sleet. Maeve said, “God provided us cover just when we needed it. Sure enough I didn’t see another rock outcropping like that the rest of our hike. The rain only lasted a few minutes, so we soon resumed our hike in a forest that smelled wet and clean. I realized that this city girl had never smelled the smell of pine that wasn’t in a candle or on a cutout cardboard tree meant to hang in a car. It was heavenly.


I had a very hard moment that night when I stepped out of the cabin and finally understood what forty degrees felt like, and realized that I had not packed the kids warm enough jackets for camping the next night. It's June, right? That means summertime. Jeffrey was upset too because that meant a delay the next day going to the biggest town in the area, Taos, which isn't that big, and the added expense. I got in a big funk, so to cheer me up Jeffrey made me come outside and look at the stars. I hadn't seen so many stars since I was 17 in Papua New Guinea, and those were Southern Hemisphere stars. We could even see the hazy band of the Milky Way. I think I was most impressed by the fact that we could actually see the stars twinkling, and it made me think that although every child knows the song "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", not that many of them have seen them. I had a brief temptation to wake the kids, but knowing we were getting up in 6 hours killed that impulse quickly.

Day 1 - Travel from Abilene to Red River, New Mexico

Day One of Vacation 6/25

We left early Wednesday morning before G & G were awake and as we drove away from Abilene I felt like we had finally begun our trip. It felt like a scene from a movie (or at least a car commercial) the kids were asleep in their seats, Jeffrey and I were comfortably quiet, melodic traveling music was playing, the early morning magic hour was breaking over the farmland and the old run down farms, and all the sudden Jeffrey breaks the moment by saying, “You want to live in Hermley?” which cracks me up.


We breakfasted on our packed breakfast (croissants, muffins and juice) at the sweetest 1950’s playground.




The kids got to watch one movie.

Images around Abilene:
Gas prices got you down? Try pumping your own:

Windmills, a promise of prosperity for a land in which wind is one of its few natural resources.



We got to the cabin at Red River early in the evening, ate at an Italian restaurant, and then got a few groceries at the little grocery store.

Day 0 - visiting grandparents in Abilene, TX

Abilene, TX

Granddma and Granddad and Grandmother are doing well. The highlight of Tuesday was potato peelings going down the disposal soon after we got there, and the rest of the day was spent with Drano, a trip to Lowes for a sink snake, and then a $180 plumbers bill. I told Jeffrey that I thought Grandma and Granddad were glad to see the backsides of us after that visit. Jeffrey disagreed and said that we still had a nice visit with them, but I know they are happy to return to their non-chaotic lives.

Our 1950's Road Trip - Austin to California

This blog is dedicated to my brother, who after hearing our plans for our trip simply said, “You should write a blog.” With that the anti-blogger was converted.

Preparation
The craziness began only two weeks ago when we not only decided to take an eight week trip to California, but also to put our house up for rent to pay for our stay. With that decision I dropped out of my life (apologies to all my friends) and began a frenzy of preparation. Our plan was to be completely finished with all preparations Saturday June 22, and then to have Sunday to relax, see people at my good friend Jodi’s wedding, and then get up and leave early Monday for Abilene, TX to see Granddad and Grandma and Grandmother. But obviously not having filled our quotient of craziness we spent a lot of Saturday debating about whether or not to buy a new car for the journey because our Suburban had started to give us trouble, and as Jeff put it, he’d been thinking about it now for two years and there wasn’t any better time to have a reliable car than before starting a 10 day treck to California. So instead of spending Sunday night celebrating with my friends I was in a car dealership making an offer on a new-to-us Suburban. Jeffrey said, "You are supposed to get a little excited. We are getting a new car." I'm glad we did, but I was sad to miss the wedding. We spent all day Monday cleaning house and packing, and got up Tuesday for Abilene.