Day 49
Thursday, August 29th 2013
It would be a long drive through Texas.
Everything was very dry and hot, with many miles of flat land.
As we approached New Mexico, Texas got greener and there were more hills. Then we passed into New Mexico and entered Mountain Time Zone.
We found a Walmart in Carlsbad, New Mexico. It was a rough night as it was so hot out and the trailer was even hotter. The generator didn't want to start up. It was late and we hadn't had any dinner.
I threw together some sub sandwiches and headed into Walmart with the girls. Caleb stayed back to work on the generator. Finally, he got it working and we came back to a slightly cooler trailer. We could only run the AC for so long but it was some relief for the night.
Day 50
Friday, August 30th 2013
Even though it was hot that morning, we put on pants, socks & shoes and held onto our coats.
We were more than excited to arrive at the Carlsbad Caverns and descend 750 feet underground to the welcoming cooler temperature of the cave.
The towering ceilings were adorned in needle like stalagmites and the ground wove around giant columns and beautiful displays of stalactites.
We were blown away by the beauty of it all. And since we could take it slow, I actually got some pictures to turn out. =D
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On the way back to our car, I found this butterfly on the road and it let me pick it up. It was content to just sit upon my hand for a long time. Super cool!
Afterward, we drove through the Guadalupe Mountains National Park on our way back into Texas. It was faster to drive back down into Texas and then cross over again into New Mexico then to drive from Carlsbad further into New Mexico. Go figure.
So we drove through the mountainous part of Texas that jutted right up against the US/Mexico border in El Paso. We even got to see the wall dividing the two countries.
It's so crazy to see how fast the landscape changes! From wide open plains to rolling hills to mountains in the distance with palm trees dotting a more arid climate.
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| Our girls got very efficient in using their feet while confined to their chairs, lol |
Another Walmart served as home for the night, this time in Las Cruces, New Mexico. It was another late night so we walked over to an Applebees to grab some dinner. Much nicer than cooking in our toasty little trailer.
Day 51
Saturday, August 31st 2013
Another big day of driving.
Along our way, we saw another setup very similar to Wall Drug except this time it was for a place called Old West.
Signs every few feet encouraging us to stop at this “amazing” location. We had fallen for the marketing scheme last time so we didn't feel so inclined to give in this time around.
As we passed some old rundown looking building claiming to be “Old West”, we were glad we did so. There's no place like Wall Drug. Sorry New Mexico.
A little further on, we came upon a border inspection station. What??? We weren't even near the border anymore. All vehicles were required to pull off the freeway and drive through the inspection station. 
We crawled through the line and smiled for our pictures (you know that's the real reason for this right?!?). The border agent asked us where we were from, where we were going, are you on vacation, ok have a nice trip and sent us on our way. Strange.
It wasn't long before we passed another sign. This one said “USE EXTREME CAUTION”.
Ok...
Everything seemed just fine.
Another sign cleared it up for us. “Dust storms may exist next 10 miles.” Good to know.
We left crazy New Mexico behind and crossed into Arizona. It was surprisingly green with lots of hills and mountains in the distance.
We drove for awhile and Caleb began to get distressed. “Where the heck are all the cactuses?” (Cause cacti just sounds weird) “There were supposed to be cactuses!”
I heard this for a good long while...
Until finally, the cacti arrived!
Arizona was cool again.
Actually it was very hot, but I at least didn't have to hear about how lame the drive was without any cacti. ;D
AND Caleb finally got to hug a cactus... that's one to scratch off the bucket list.
We arrived at Grandpa Les & Grandma Betty's (my grandparents) house around 6:30. Grandma Betty fed us dinner and then we spent some time sharing pictures and catching up. So glad we could spend time together!
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| Thanks... we really needed that friendly reminder... lol These road sides crack me up! |
Day 52
Sunday, Sept. 1st 2013
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| Grandma & Grandpa Witt's new home! |
We got to spend all day with my wonderful grandparents. Grandma is a crafty person and showed me how to make scarves and beaded bracelets. Grandpa showed us his cool wooden hand-carved flutes.
I discovered where I got my love for red hots from! My Grandma brought out a big ole bowl of them and even had the good brand. =) Until now, I hadn't known of anyone else who liked to gobble red hots up like I do.
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| My grandma made this continuing family tree and I just loved the idea! |
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It was a great day visiting and I even got caught up on Mt. Neverrest again.
Thank you so much Grandma Betty & Grandpa Les! We love you guys and are very grateful we got to stop by and spend some time with you both.
Day 53
Monday, Sept. 2nd 2013
We said goodbye to my grandparents and set off towards the Grand Canyon.
We made a small detour to check out Montezuma Castle. Now when I think of the word "castle", I had imagined something a bit... bigger?
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| The tree bark on these sycamores was beautiful! |
So when we saw the buildings carved into the side of a cliff, it was not what I expected. Don't get me wrong, dwellings made right out of the face of a mountain are super cool, just... where'd they get off with calling it a castle?
Because of the unstable conditions, we couldn't climb up into the castle, but they had a display of what it looked like back in it's glory days.
A lot of neat history about the people who lived there and all just in a short walk - perfect for a hot day like today.
We drove through Kaibab National Forest and climbed up into about 7000 feet elevation. After pulling into the park, we found a place to park and headed off on foot. 
All you could see where trees and desert land till suddenly, the landscape cleared and there it was.
The Grand Canyon! Two hundred and seventy seven miles of canyon stretching as far as the eye could see.
The layers in the rock and the beautiful reds, yellows and browns formed a stunning monument. It bears the title of "Grand" well.
Ellie and Juliet loved the walk along the canyon.
Juliet would hold out her hand until Ellie would grab it and then the two of them would swing their hands back and forth, laughing all the way.
They were adorable and everyone we passed couldn't help watching them. 
We headed back to the RV park, relishing the grand memories we had just made.
Day 54
Tuesday, Sept. 3rd 2013
The rest of the drive through Arizona was just beautiful. The landscape so rugged and vastly open.
Random rock formations towered alone along the empty plains, and then suddenly, colorful mountains would appear.
We drove for hours until we reached the Four Corners Monument. Of course we couldn't pass up the opportunity to be in four places at once.
The monument was just a metal circle on the ground with the states names around it, but it was cool to get pictures!
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| Ellie & Juliet wanted to get in on the action |
We put Juliet in Utah, Ellie in Arizona, Caleb in New Mexico, and I hung out in Colorado. We still kept in touch though. :D
Afterwards, we drove briefly through Colorado and then we went into Utah. The sun had set by the time we reached Moab, Utah.
There was hardly anything in town so we crashed at an RV park for the night.
We were 7 minutes from Arches National Park and there were a few other national parks nearby as well.
Tomorrow would be a full day of sightseeing.
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