Making Memories

Talk about being behind on blogging. It was nice for Gina to cover two days of it for me but she didn’t like writing about what we did. She said it was too difficult. I understand but this is the easiest way for our family to know what we are up to. So I’m sure I will miss a few items but I want to get caught up.

Monday
June 29, 2009

We woke up and got on the road heading toward Tucson. I wanted to see the Saguaro cactus which it only grows around southern Arizona. Our goal was to drive through the Saguaro National Park and take a few pictures before we continued our trek east. We made it through all the traffic in Phoenix and I missed the exit for the Saguaro National Park west but I knew there was still the Saguaro National Park east. We continued going east and finally saw the sign for the exit to the park. It was only about eight miles off the road. It was nice to get out and stretch a little and see all the cactus.

Me and Gina in front of a tall Cactus

A Beautiful Teddy Bear Cactus


Here We are at the Saguaro National Park


Dana & Rickey with a Saguaro Cactus


I just couldn't Pass up this Blooming Cactus


Gina is at Peace with Her Rocks!!

We spent about an hour there before we headed back down the interstate. I was unsure where we were going to stop but finally we stopped in Cohise, Arizona. It was starting to rain and we all just wanted to stop and eat. We grilled hamburgers and sausage and pretty much called it a night.

Tuesday
June 30, 2009

We woke up and got on the road around ten o’clock this morning. Our goal was White Sands National Park. We made it there and then drove the truck and camper through the white sand.

This Picture should Remove all Doubt Where Our Truck can Go


Our Happy Family


Rickey, Dana and Addison in the Sand


Rickey and Addison Relaxing

Recalling Childhood Memories

Took a few pictures and then found a Wal-mart in Alamogordo, New Mexico. While Gina and Rickey were shopping I found us a campground to stay at just a few miles down the road. The campground itself wasn’t great but the owners were great and I’m sure we will stay here again. Gina loves pecans and they gave her some from there pecan orchard. They were just a wonderful couple.

Wednesday
July 1, 2009

On the road again pretty early since we wanted to see Carlsbad Caverns today. However, on our way there we were just too close to Roswell not to stop. I will admit that it was a bigger city than I expected. I finally found a place to park the truck and camper and then we went into the Roswell welcome center.

Group Photo with the Martians in Roswell


Oh No, They're Trying to Take Me

It was kind of like a mad house since they were getting ready for the UFO festival that was beginning on Thursday.

From there we made our turn and began heading south toward Carlsbad. It seems like all the campgrounds were north of town and the Cavern was south of town. We decided that we would stay as close as possible to the cavern since we wanted to see the bats fly out of the cave and I didn’t want to drive far in the dark. There is a campground seven miles away. I would never stay there again unless I was going to the cavern. The location was perfect since we didn’t arrive there until two o’clock. I got the camper unhooked and the AC on and off we went to Carlsbad Cavern.

Gina is Just Amazed


Dana & Gina


I'm Still Amazed at the Size

I'm Trying to Show Gina a Rock

Dana & Rickey

We spent three hours down in the cavern and then rode the elevator up around 6:30. We were all thirsty so we went to the snack bar to relax until it was time to take our seats at the entrance to the cave and wait for the bats to fly. They finally decided to fly out around 7:40 and it was such an amazing thing. Thousands and I mean thousands of bats flew out. We never did see the end but after thirty minutes it was just time to leave. They just kept flying out. We made it back to the camper and had dinner. We took the dogs out around eleven o’clock and startled a skunk which caused Rickey to almost jump out of his shorts. A little too close for comfort but he went on his way and we just sat outside watching a few bats eat insects that were flying by the security light in the campground.

Thursday
July 2, 2009

On the road again, we had originally planned on spending the fourth in San Antonia but with great regret we were unable to find a place to stay for the weekend. So Gina and Dana discussed about meeting up together on a future weekend to see San Antonio and go sightseeing. With that decision made we found a Passport America Park in Junction, Texas and stopped for the night. We grilled some chicken breasts and made quesadillas for dinner. Today was a long drive through west Texas. However, the best part of the day was this beautiful sunset in the hills of Texas.

A Beautiful Sunset

Friday
July 3, 2009

We got on the road around ten o’clock this morning and arrived back at the campground at three o’clock. We got the camper parked and set up and then it was laundry time. I’m not sure what was hotter today Tucson or Rockport. Two different types of heat but both were very hot. One felt like a convection oven and the other was feeling like a sauna. We didn’t have anything planned other than Rickey & Dana repacking their suitcases and loading up their car for an early departure toward Louisiana. They still had 500 miles left to drive before they could say that their vacation was over. We did drive to HEB and the seafood market to buy some fresh shrimp. We were having a shrimp boil tonight as our final meal for this vacation. The shrimp, corn, and potatoes tasted great and it was a great finale to a wonderful trip.

Saturday
July 4, 2009

We all woke up around seven o’clock and Rickey and Dana got on the road a little after eight. I will admit that after 15 days it was nice to wake up and know that I didn’t have to drive. Total distance that we towed the camper was 3,372 miles and we drove the truck 344 miles sightseeing for a total of 3,716 miles driven. We used 475 gallons of diesel for an average of 7.8 miles per gallon. We stayed in ten different campgrounds over the course of 15 days. We were definitely in vacation mode. We covered a lot of miles and created a lot of memories that we will cherish in our hearts forever. We had a wonderful time with Rickey and Dana and look forward to more vacations in the future with them.


Until tomorrow, Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.