Excited to see cacti everywhere!

These imposing figures lined I-17 from Phoenix to Tucsan.

Petrified footprints found

We heard about these footprints in rock so Matt took the boys hiking to find them. I went to the hot tub which was barely warm - not fun. I cooked eggs and bacon with oatmeal muffins brought from home.

Camper mimics mountain

We're staying at a really nice RV park. It's very close to
Montezuma's Castle. I did laundry today and Matt cleaned the camper windows and took the van to have the brakes checked. We bought some stick-on hooks and battery lights to ease camper life. The last campsite charged 25 cents per minute for showers and it wasn't good. Here, you get a full bathroom, private, locked, and cleaned immediately after you turn in the key. There's a fitness room and community room with a large TV and movie collection, plus games and many books, and a computer for us to use! There's even a pool and hot tub! For the same price as the last place. $25. This is our 2nd night here in Camp Verde, AZ, and we'll be visiting old friends in Tucson tomorrow! It'll be about 4 hrs drive.

Boys playing outside

The boys happily entertained themselves by making roads, falling down a dusty ravine, and climbing up. The campground worker that took them for a ride last night in his golf cart stopped by to show us the tracks of a MOUNTAIN LION that came close to our site!! Another resident who has lived here full time since it opened 5 yrs ago said he saw one walking nearby with a (feral) cat in its mouth. I walked around the grounds with the boys, admiring all the huge rigs, and one nice lady showed us her Mercedes RV... and her 4 cats. The weather is very pleasant!

Parking spot

On our last day at the Canyon, we decided to drive along the eastern stretch of the rim road and stop and park at the viewing locations. Great views today and convenient parking for RVs. Shame you are not allowed to stay overnight; what a view to wake up to!

Next stop Sedona and brake check

Wonderful rock formations and a glorious sunset but the camera didn't do it justice. One of the rear hubs was hot tonight as we descended 1000 ft through the Oak Creek canyon and we have heard some clicking when braking once in a while. Later the hub was cool again, but I'm going to get the brakes checked tomorrow. I wonder if one of the brake shoes is sticking.

Breakfast in the camper

Group shot!

Beautiful weather brought crowds of people which we didn't expect, from all countries, especially S. Korea.

How we nearly got stranded

We happily hiked on and on, planning to take the free shuttle bus back to the parking lot as we did the first day. We noticed lots of cars with "lazy folk" driving from one viewpoint to the next, and few hikers, the further along we went. I saw a giant tour bus and asked the driver about the shuttle service, and he said there wasn't any! Oh no, sunset was drawing near and we'd have to walk back in the dark! We were thirsty and there had been water along the way, but the driver said those stations stopped way back. It was getting cold, fast. Thankfully, he was so kind to let us join the tour (free) and we embarrassingly gave him a tip of all the cash we had, $2.

Grayson likes using the binoculars!

I'm glad we brought them. We forgot our Nikon battery charger so we're using the iPod and a 35mm Canon Sure Shot pocket camera. The on-site General Store is amazing and sells everything, including film.

All he wanted for Christmas was...

....His two front teeth! Gabriel's front tooth came out while riding in the van. He is full of quantity questions, asking how many of everything, i.e. How many plastic bags did we bring?

Snow. Looking almost straight down

South rim looking North

The camera froze the propeller blade... Weird!

The plane we flew in

Colorado river

This is next to impossible to see from the rim because the canyon is so deep

Another canyon view

Canyon view

Gabriel

Flight pic

Splurge

The next few pics are from a sightseeing flight we took over the canyon. We did some math on the state of our finances while driving and discovered that the expensive treat was within our means. It still felt strange splurging! We don't get much practice!
So we booked a 45 minute flight over and around the Canyon. Well worth it!
Wow!

The Grand Canyon State welcomed us with this sign!

BIG rock formations

On a beautiful Christmas Day in NM close to the Arizona border.

Passed by big cliffs on I-40

Video of snow in NM

We listened to The Horse and His Boy (Narnia) on audio.

New Mexico desert - different from TN!

View from the south rim

Made it!

We made it, and what a great sight. Clear blue sky, great visibility, about 1,000 other tourists, and the awe-inspiring canyon. Wow!

Arizona

Yay!

Christmas day on a reservation

We are passing through many Native American reservations. We stopped for gas and I heard a sales assistant talking in their native tongue - cool! - and asked him about any special food or anything to see. This town, called Santo Domingo Pueblo had a special Christmas day dance with drums. So we took a short detour.

Rest stop in New Mexico

Thanks so much to Dan

My old friend and Michael for hosting us last night in Santa Fe!!

Signs of previous snowstorm

The level of snow varied from nil to 2 feet.

Pretty car

Probably someone's Christmas present being delivered!

Crossing into New Mexico

I love crossing state lines! There were very few cars on the road and the weather was perfect for driving all day Saturday.

Snow and windmills

Weather has been great since the first rainy day In TN. Not as cold as predicted and no snow yet. The camper is towing well, we keep it between 55 and 60. Some rain came in through the front window on the rainy day, only when towing though, I guess it's just driven in by the speed. The windows are two pieces of glass that tilt to open and the seals were probably never very good and are now dry or missing. We have a lot of warm bedding and a space heater that keeps us toasty. Set up and leaving is easy because we have no water (risk of frozen pipes) or septic and because we are only sleeping in the camper we don't use the jacks. All we have to do is plug in the power cord, fill up a large pitcher of water from the campsite bathroom, sleep, unplug and drive off. We packed in a hurry and don't usually camp so the van and camper are cluttered and we already bought something - an iPod charger- only to find ours an hour later under some snacks.

Texas

This afternoon we are crossing the panhandle of Texas. The boys are napping in the back. We just passed through Amarillo and we have 95 miles to go till New Mexico. Tonight we are staying in Santa Fe.

Merry Christmas!!

Julie making curtains for our camper!!

 

Our friends the Shidells

Matt in Shaun & Julie's camper with Grayson. Our kids loved running with their kids outside in the cold

Matt says goodnight

In Oklahoma from our camper

Made it to OK Fri. night

Enjoyed supper with the Shidells. We knew them from church in Chicago. About to have French toast now Sat a.m.!

Friday morning when we left Memphis

A short video of a big moment (to me).

Grayson at the state park (T. O. Fuller)

In Memphis after a good night's rest. Taken Friday A.M. after we ate eggs, bacon & toast.

To the Barlow's for dinner

Janna's old friend Steve from college at MBI lives near Memphis with his wife Anastasia and sons Zephyr and Zair. It was fun to see them for the first time, and 20 yrs since Janna had seen Steve.

Daddy gives directions

Jack showed us the ethanol-free gas in Chattanooga and pointed the way out of town on Thursday. We had a good time celebrating an early Christmas the night before.

Rest stop

Half way up a steep hill on the way to Chattanooga. The towing is going well, loaded up with everything but the kitchen sink. The boys have been staying with their grandparents and will soon join us.

Grand Canyon or Bust!

Almost Christmas and almost ready to embark on our second traveling adventure of the year. This time we plan to tow a 1965 camper we bought a few months ago out West to see the Grand Canyon in the snow. Visiting friends and family and camping on the way.