We spent our first night in Amarillo..uneventful. Then woke up and drove to Santa Fe. We spent the afternoon in downtown browsing shops, art galleries, and street vendors. Nat was in hog heaven in the art galleries. And all the "Arties" were just in love with her and her love of art! She was sooo in her element!! Matt had a good time chasing birds in the courtyard and picking what ring he HAD to have...that is now no where to be found now??!?!? :) Brayden just took it easy in the stroller.
The next day Bradyden wasn't feeling to hot so he and I stayed at the motel. Jim and the big kids went to Bandelier National Park (http://www.nps.gov/band/photosmultimedia/index.htm). The kids had a great time hiking up to and into the cliff dwellings. And checking out the petroglyh's on the rocks.
The next day we did a LOT of driving. But it was beautiful...even when we were driving thru a BLIZZARD!! ..really!
Welcome to Colorado :)
It's just flipping gorgeous!!
Brayden still didn't feel to great. So this is his shot with the Colorado snow :) (sorry..picture came out kinda dark).
Welcome to UT! (Told you we did a LOT of driving...well Jim drove, we rode :))
The first town we came to was Monticello, UT and it had this beautiful backdrop! It's not much of a town, but the scenery sure makes up for it! This picture doesn't do it justice...but it may look even better if you click on it and enlarge it. You'll see that the clouds are creeping over the top of the mountain. So beautiful!
The first arch we came to was just outside of Moab, UT. It was called Wilson's Arch( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson's_Arch ).It was on the side of the road so Jim and the kids hopped out and up the side of the hill they went!
Brayden and I hung back so I could take pictures. Brayden (still not found of having his picture taken) was making me feel as if I were his paparazzi! :)
We stayed in Moab 3 wonderful nights. The first day we headed out to the Arches National Park (http://www.nps.gov/arch). This all day adventure was fantastic! We saw the 3 Gossips, Big horn sheep (rock not animal), and this rock below...Balanced Rock...all in the first section of the park.
I call this "Balanced Brayden" :)
Since he was feeling better, he decided to test his strength and move this rock... bummer, it didn't budge :)
As we progressed into the park the arches got bigger and bigger...and the hikes longer and longer. Here you see that Brayden is still bound and determined to move rocks...and size wasn't going to stop him!! This is at the Double Arch, which I didn't find a good picture of...must be in Nat's 300+ pictures...that I have yet to go thru.
I can't remember the name of this arch, but it was just to the left of the Double Arches. You see me taking a breather on a rock down below and in the upper right corner there's Matt in a grey jacket and Nat in a pink.
That afternoon we came back into town and had another fun time of browsing, shopping, and check out more art galleries. Then we got up the next day and headed to Canyonlands (http://www.nps.gov/cany/photosmultimedia/photogallery.htm)
Why is it called Canyonlands you might ask :)? Well THIS is why!! Once again, the picture JUST doesn't do it justice. It's the beauty as far as you can see. And the picture just doesn't allow you to see the depth, colors, and distance. It's just breath taking!
At this section of the park I was a bit nervous. There are NO railing just a path that they tell you stay on with one side...dirt...other side cliff and a LONG way down! Yowza! The kids had fun...but I was on pin and needles barking for them to STAY BACK!
The kids haven't gotten along this well in ages. We will definately be doing this again :)
After our fun time in Moab, we headed back to Colorado to go to Mesa Verde (http://www.nps.gov/meve/index.htm). If yo know the areas that we have been going you might wonder why we were backtracking to go to Mesa Verde...when just 3 days prior we'd driven right by it. Well, remember me mentioning that we'd driven thru a blizzard?!? That was while we were passing the Mesa Verde entrance! We could see more than a few feet in front of us at that time and if you have ever been to Mesa Verde you'd know that the drive up to the park can be treturous (sp?) even on a bight shiny summer day!! Plus, it was closed off due to the weather. There was still a considerable amount of snow on the ground, but the roads were cleared and they had to of the cliff dwelling areas opened for us to go see.
After leaving Mesa Verde we had our longest segment of driving yet. That night we stayed in Socorro, NM. Again, uneventful...except for the mass of people walking along the interstate for Pilgrimage. And this was at around midnight that night. And when we got going the next morning...they were still walking! We headed out to White Sands (http://www.nps.gov/whsa/photosmultimedia/index.htm) and got there a little after lunch. Never in my wild dreams would I think that the kids would enjoy this soooo much!
By far one of Jim and I's favorite pictures!
The kids came across a young couple who were leaving the park and gave them their "sand" disk. They were stoked!
Matt was first to try it...of course. And he HAD to find the steepest drop off!
After watching Nat and Matt sled...it was little guys turn.
They did this for at least a good hour!
White Sands was such a hit! Not so much for me after wards...cause there was no where to wash all the sand off...and I'm such a freak when it comes to having cleanliness! :) We then headed back into town and headed up the mountain to go to Cloudcroft. I love this little town. We hit a few shops before everyone started closing up for the day. Then hoped back into the Suburban to make the nice long haul to Carlsbad. The first 1/2 of this trip is beautiful! So scenic. Then when you get about 60 or miles from Artiesa...the not so beautiful sets in. Man, what a change :(
The last day of out of state travel landed us at Carlsbad Caverns (http://www.nps.gov/cave/photosmultimedia/index.htm). This is the only picture that really came out since all the interior pictures have to be taken without a flash. Not everyone abided by that rule...but we did :) Jim took a picture of us after exiting the cave...but we were (well I was) pretty mangled looking :)
After finishing up in Carlsbad we headed back to TX! The following day was Easter to we drove to my parent house to meet up with our family and have a wonderful Easter! It was so great to see everyone again and to share the stories of our super fun vacation!
I left out a lot of stories and pictures, but I just could get that into a blog! Anytime any of you come to the house, we can share more pictures and stories with you one on one. And maybe let the kids fill you in on their take of it all :)
Now, if you enjoyed this blog...please be a sweetie and give me some love by commenting :) Have a great week
