Road Trip, Day 6

 Day 6 was a definite driving day. We left Scottsdale early, drove through Phoenix...checked out the UOP Arena (holla at Adam's alma mater) headed south through Tucson and on to Tombstone to set up camp at The Wells Fargo Campground deep inside the 6 block town of Tombstone :) Below is dinner...we smelled like hot dogs for weeks afterwards...something about he stench was deep routed into our clothes after the camping trip.

Road Trip, Day 3 & 4...The Grand Canyon

 We made it after 3 days, to The Grand Canyon...that huge thing in the middle of America that many dream of seeing. We have arrived! The first thing we did was head to the camp site to set up camp. Across the street from our camp site was a deer...just hanging out. There was snow on the ground in most of the camp sites, but we found one that had a nice clearing for our tent.

 After a brief setup, we got really good at setting up the tent, we headed out to hike around the rim (not the whole thing...only about 3 miles) of the Grand Canyon. The one bad part about the time of year we chose to hike was the early setting of the sun. It seemed to give us not as much time to play, earlier bed times and much colder temperatures.

 Early in the morning of day 4 we hiked out on the Southern Trailhead down the slippery ice and into the canyon. We only descended about 1500 feet, (the Grand Canyon is like 7000 feet or something ridiculous like that) but the view was incredible.

 As we trekked down, we wolfed down trail mix and stripped off the layers... oh and took a ton of super model poses.

 At the bottom of our trek, there were mules and their  cowboys in chaps...which I just couldn't help but stare :)

 We took our Apple & Eve juices with us for energy and rejuvenation.

 Adam took a scary spill (similar to Jeff's in Japan) (HINT: the ground is 1 foot down)

On the trek up we counted steps and took breathers, I am just not nearly as physically fit as that stud muffin husband of mine.

We finished the day and the hike with a nice Grand Canyon brew, an excellent night camping and more days of adventure ahead. We also wanted to add a very cool note about the water at the canyon. One very easy way for the National Park to make money would be to sell water to all  the guests and hikers. But, instead you bring your own water bottle and can fill up at any of the billboards with faucets on it around the park...very yummy tasting and crystal clear.

Road Trip, Day 5 Sedona, Mesa & Scottsdale

We packed up early and headed South out of the Grand Canyon towards Phoenix. Just outside of the park grounds we came across a huge Fred Flintstone. Like a 30 ft tall Fred. We pulled into Bedrock and got .05 coffee, used their bathrooms and toured around the gift shop. Only paying guests were allowed to go down the huge Dino slide and see the rest of the city behind the cafe. (Kata we know you would have loved it!)

 Heading further south down beautiful 89A highway, which at first is not such a site, but about 30 minutes in, watch out for the scenery that will take your breath away, we headed into Sedona. Sedona is a very earthy town with their vortexes and natural spirits of the people living there. The town itself is a little touristy but very quaint and nice to walk around. I would love to stay at one of the road side inns at another time. Adam tried to find his inner cowboy, I think he is mighty hot with that 10 gallon on.

This video is the nice block of downtown Phoenix.

We met my Cousin Saul in Mesa for some yummy Mexican and sight seeing. Although for some silly reason, we did not take a single picture with him.

Afterwards, we spent a good 2 hours looking for a deal on a hotel in the area. We ended up never finding a hotel in Phoenix. The area was not so settling and so we headed out to Scottsdale for the night. We decided after 4 nights camping, a hotel and hot shower were due.

 Scottsdale reminded me a lot of Winter Park. There were tons of art galleries, restaurants and cacti (which you can't find in Winter Park) The downside was that at 8:30 on a Saturday night we headed out into the town and everything was closed.

 The best part of Scottsdale per Adam would be that the hotel served free continental breakfast, he had fourths.

Attack of the Grand Canyon Ravens

a view of Arches

Road Trip Day 2

On Day 2 we packed up freezing cold Arches and headed south to The Grand Canyon. Utah is by far the most beautiful state as of yet to drive though. On our ride south we came across a crystal blue water with the snow capped mountains in the background. We drove off the road with a must to take pictures

 Along the route there was "Hole in the Wall' which is very similar to the hype for South of the Boarder in the Carolinas.Once we got there, it was really just a little store, but the hype had us wondering for miles.

 As always, a huge staple of course Adam made us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on our ride.

 Heading south on the highway there were all these signs for Mexican Hat, I thought it was a city, Adam had no idea what it was... well, this picture above was Mexican Hat. It is a stone structure in the middle of nowhere.

 Heading further south was Monument Valley, in Arizona. This was on the cover of our travel book and Adam was determined to get a better shot. We lucked out that an RV was traveling in front of us making this the truest Road Trip picture possible.

 We set up second night of camping in Arizona behind a Conoco gas station. It was not nearly as cold. We made delicious Stroganoff and steamed veggies on the fire....along with a bottle of vino, not a bad night at all!

Road Trip! Day 1

We left on a "who knows what lies ahead," camping trip. We rented a most fabulous Ford Fusion, packed up our camping gear, a few coolers, grabbed a map and hit the road. We headed south west towards Arches National Park in Utah.
The landscape changed non stop as we traveled out of Colorado and into Utah.

 After a few hours of hiking we set up camp...the temperature, a whopping 24 degrees. Freezing. I can't even begin to explain how uncomfortable we were. But, we survived and had a most memorable night.

At Arches, we hiked and set up camp. It is incredible to think that all of these beautiful structures were made from the sea that existed millions of years ago...the salt and weathering from the sea has created these amazing Arches and formations.

Daddio's Visit

 A few months ago already (my gosh how time flies) Daddio, Natasha and Kata came to visit.  We had a ton of family time, deep conversation, laughs and wine. Kata was truly the star of the weekend...full of hugs and love for everyone.

Shawn and Kata spent many hours loving each other and making funny faces.

Coffee is always a must with Daddio. Here we are sitting outside in Cherry Creek, enjoying the sunshine and a great cup of joe.

 We took a trip to Red Rocks to see the great amphitheater, do some cliff jumping and see the old dinosaur bones.

 In Boulder, we roamed Pearl Street and took in the fall leaves.The kite store was by far our favorite.

 With the exception of some Haagen Daz...which was probably in Katas top 10.

 My favorite day was Sunday, we headed to Cheeseman for a picnic, some football, kite flying and scooter riding. The weather was perfect and I think none of us wanted the sun to set.

We can't wait for a return visit, more memories and of course time together. XOXOXO