Meteor Crater, Train Ride & The Grand Canyon

Monday
June 22, 2009

We woke up at 5:06 because that is when sun came up. Arizona doesn’t change time with daylight savings time. Anyway Gina made a breakfast casserole while I tried to update the blog. It is very hard to update the blog on this trip since we are moving so fast and by evening time I’m tired and not to mention that my air card is slow out here in the middle of nowhere. We have taken so many pictures that uploading them has really taken a long time. The pictures here in the blog are just a few of what we have taken. We did get on the road today around 10:30 heading toward the Meteor Crater. Here are a few pictures from there. A really neat place.

View from about 5 miles away


Rickey posing for a Photo at the bottom of the Crater


Gina & Dana Posing at the bottom


Here We are posing at the bottom


Our First View of the Crater

Meteor Crater


Just another view of the Crater

Once we left the Meteor Crater we continued on toward Williams, Arizona. We got settled in to The Grand Canyon Railway RV park. It’s an ok park just not what we like. The location is great if you’re taking the train to the Grand Canyon, otherwise I would stay somewhere else. The main agenda item when we arrived was to watch LSU and Texas playing the first of three baseball games in the College World Series. This was an issue since the park doesn’t have ESPN so Rickey went to a bar to watch it and they had the game but it was hot and noisy so I tried to get the game on the internet and then they came back to watch it on the internet. Gina and I went to pick up our train tickets and then we all settled back in and watched the baseball game. I grilled hot dogs for dinner. They tasted so gooooood!!! I have not had a hot dog in over two years. Don’t really know why other than they are so high in fat and we have tried to limit our fat intake. The game was great LSU was behind and came back in the 9th to tie it and then won the game in extra innings. It wasn’t long before Gina & I were in bed.

Tuesday
June 23, 2009

Today was another early day since the one thing this trip has centered around has been the train ride into the Grand Canyon and the Pet Day Care Center. So again we woke up at five o’clock right with the sun coming up. I brought Gina her cup of coffee while she was still in bed and we both enjoyed our coffee together. From there it was get ready since we were dropping the dogs off at 7:30 this morning. Well we didn’t quite make it but we were there at a little after 8 o’clock. From there we went to the gift shop to see what all they had. I was surprised to see Gina walk out without any purchases. We were now off to see the gun fight they have every morning before the train departs at 9:30. It was cute but not the way I remember gun fights I watched as a kid down in Tucson and Universal Studios. From there we boarded the train. We were in the parlor class for both the trip there and back. Well worth the money and the train ride in itself was a very unique experience. Here are a few pictures but all of them are in our web album. Just click on any photo and go to my photos and they are all there. Between Dana and I we took 365 pictures today.

Angel & Zoey at the Pet Resort


A Cowboy getting Shot


All of us Boarding the Train


Gina & I getting Settled into our Seat


Rickey & Dana in Their Seat


Sherry our Hostess/bartender/tour guide


Gina & Dana getting some fruit and pastries

(they were free for Parlor Class)


Our Entertainment for the train ride there


All of Us on the Back Observation Deck


Just Gina & I back on the Observation Deck


Gina & Rickey's first look at the Grand Canyon

They were Speechless


The Grand Canyon


Gina & I


Another Shot of the Grand Canyon


I almost lost Gina over the Cliff here

(Just Kidding I was only helping her up)


All of Us Posing


So Majestic


An Amazing Shot of What God Created


All Of Us Back on the Train for the ride Back to Williams


Here we are with Champagne toasting to a Wonderful Day

Just before We Got Back we were Held Up


The Robber wanted to take Gina with Him


Here We Are Enjoying Ourselves

I could have written so much more. I do recommend to everyone if you come to the Grand Canyon by all means take the train from Williams to the Grand Canyon and even though the parlor class is expensive I highly recommend it. It was so nice to go stand at the end of the train outside and watch the scenery pass by. The hostess we had was just wonderful. All in all it was a wonderful day and I’m sure Gina & I will be back to spend more time at the Grand Canyon. We only spent about three hours there and that is not enough time. We could have spent the whole day and we still would not have seen it all but it wet our appetite to want to see more of it.

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

Catching Up on Blog Entries

Saturday
June 20, 2009

Well after a long day yesterday and I mean long day (that will never happen again!!). Gina woke up first and put a pan of homemade biscuits baking and starting frying bacon which woke up Dana & Rickey. We all sat down to eat a good old fashioned breakfast of biscuits & gravy with bacon & eggs and discussing our day. Our whole intent for being in Albuquerque was to see some Indians dancing. We went to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center since they have dances every Saturday and Sunday. We arrived there around 12:30 and toured the museum while we waited for the dancing to start.

Indians doing the Buffalo Dance


Little squaw dancing the Butterfly Dance


Rick & Dana in front of Pueblo Indian at Cultural Center


Gina & Rollie in front of Pueblo Indian at Cultural Center

After that we left and decided to go west about 70 miles to tour the Acoma Indian reservation which was highly recommended. It’s called Sky City since there is a city on top of this mountain which up until Hollywood arrived there in 1920 to make a movie, the only way to access it was by ladders. We took a lot of pictures.

Beautiful and unusual rock formations as you enter the base of Sky City


View from the west side of Sky City, home of the Acoma Indian Tribe


Look closely, the city of more than 500 homes is located on top of this mesa (mountain)


Yes, we go everywhere in the Volvo!


The view back at Sky City.

The rocks looked like they had faces in them.


Rick & Dana,Gina & Rollie with Sky City in the background


Oops! I think I'm falling! HELP!!!!


The four of us after our tour of Sky City. It was awesome!


Gina & Rollie. I want this rock in my garden!


I guess this one will have to do.

We finally made it back home at eight o’clock and I grilled two pork tenderloins while Gina cooked some bake beans along with a bake potato for each of us. We finally made it to bed around 11:30.

Sunday,
June 21, 2009

First, I hope everyone had a wonderful Father’s Day. The goal was to be on the road by nine o’clock this morning. However, by the time Gina & Dana was finished looking in the gift we got on the road at 9:45. Not too much later than our goal. We headed into a head wind the whole way west. Our intent today was to take a drive through the Petrified Forest National Park then stop for the night in Holbrok, Arizona.

We had to make a stop for diesel (162 gallons to go 1,241 miles). Right before we got out of New Mexico there was a Northwest New Mexico Visitors Center so we decided to stop. Now I want you all to know that the real reason for the stop was Gina had been seeing all these black rocks and she wanted one and I wouldn’t stop on the side of the interstate.

Rick & Gina 'stealing' (just kiddin') volcano rock from New Mexico.


I'll do anything for a picture! What a view!

While we were there we learned about Red Rock State Park which was about 30 miles away. We decided to stop and see what was there.

One of the many red mountains at Red Rock Park.

Now we were off to the Petrified Forest National Park. We stopped at the welcome center and learned that it was a fee free weekend so that was a welcome surprise. If you can imagine the looks we got from everyone seeing our truck and camper going through the park. People would stop and turn around and take pictures of our truck and camper. Anyway here are some pictures.

The Painted Desert, you can't imagine how beautiful the many

different colors were. It was breathtaking!


Yes, we drove the truck AND our home through the Petrified Forest!


The Agate Bridge, a petrified log that formed a bridge across the mountains.

I wonder how many hands have touched here!?


Our favorite part of the Petrified Forest was the Tepees. There were hundreds of them that would appear around ever twist & turn as we drove through them.

From there we were unsure where we were staying the night since there was a free parking (no hook ups) right as you left the park or we could go about 20 miles to the KOA in Holbrok. We are not KOA people but we wanted hook ups so that is where we went.

We arrived around six o’clock and decided for an easy meal of grilled hamburgers and sausage with french fries and tater tots. While we were grilling Dana was downloading some songs from Itunes. After we ate we just chilled outside and then we all got silly and Gina started dancing outside and before we knew it we all were dancing outside and having the time of our lives.


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

Our Trip Out West Begins

Friday
June 19, 2009

(Just a note that I had computer difficulty Saturday Morning when I was trying to post this entry, otherwise this would have been posted)

Wow, it’s been thirteen days since my last entry. Well to say the least Gina and I have been busy. After she finished with all her corn she went to Gulf shores, Alabama with all the girls of our extended family. I have been extremely busy at work in trying to get a lot of stuff done before we left on our vacation out west. Well that is where I want to start this entry. I’ll have to do a follow up entry about Gina’s trip to Gulf Shores.

I got off of work at noon on Thursday and helped Gina do laundry and then we got everything packed away for an early departure on this morning. Rickey & Dana arrived in Aransas Pass at 8:15 and we all sat down and ate this wonderful meal Gina had cooked all day. We had roast & gravy, broccoli, some of that fresh corn, with fresh hot bread. We were all hungry and there was just a little of the roast left over. We sat up late talking about the trip but finally went to bed around 11:30. Gina & I decided to let them have our bed and we would sleep in our truck. Our goal was to leave by six in the morning heading toward Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I got up at 4:30 and had a cup of coffee then jumped into the shower. Gina had gotten up by then and then did all her stuff inside while I got everything outside ready. We were all hooked up and in the truck at 6:15 and pulling out of the campground a few minutes later. This was going to be a very long and hard day since we knew we wanted to make it out of Texas at a minimum which was the reason for the very early start. Here we are getting started.

Go West Young Man!!



Rickey & Addison Enjoying the Scenery


Zoey needed some Loving

We made it to El Paso by five o’clock and I asked them all what they wanted to do, either we can stop for the night and drive to Albuquerque on Saturday or we could continue driving to Albuquerque today and not drive at all on Saturday. They all decided to continue driving so down the highway we continued. We did stop at the New Mexico welcome center for the traditional picture and picked up a few brochures before we continued down the highway.

Rickey & Dana


Here We Are With Our Babies


All Of Us


Angel & Zoey in Time Out


Addison asking What Do I Do now??


Gina is Unaware of the Sign

We made it to the campground at 10:30 but we got off the exit for it at 9:30. The campground is less than a half a mile away but me being the driver that I am got turned around and got back on the freeway and then had to do another 8 miles before I could turnaround and come back to the same exit that I had just got off at. The wind was blowing 35 to 40 miles per hour when we arrived and sand / dirt was blowing everywhere. We finally got inside around 11 o’clock and Gina made us all leftover roast sandwiches. We were all hungry and I believe anything would have tasted great but the roast was better tonight than last night. Just my opinion. Why is it that we learn these lesson in life and we say we not doing that again but then we do it again anyway. Gina & I know better than to travel in areas that we have never been at night and we always pull in somewhere while it’s still daylight but here we go again not learning our lesson but we got here safe and we had a nice long drive.


Total miles driven today 1007 miles, 7.8 miles to the gallon. The best thing about today was we didn’t have to stop for diesel and I was very happy to get 7.8 miles to the gallon.


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