Epic Road Trip

My mom talked me into a 2 week road trip over the summer.  She & I and the kiddos to visit Kerry and Jeff in California with stops on the way there and back.  I will admit the thought scared me quite a bit in the beginning, but in the end I decided it would be a fun adventure.  I'm very glad we ended up making the trek out.  It was well worth it to spend quality time with my awesome sister and her equally awesome husband.  And we got to see some of God's beautiful creation along the way too.  Things you just don't see in Texas.  I think mom would agree we could have done with less car time, but hey, that's what was required & the kids actually did really great in the car and overall.  Memories were made that will last a lifetime.  So here are some pictures from our epic trip west.  (Disclaimer: Joel was not on this trip with his great camera and photography skills.  It was just me and my little point and shoot.  In no way are these pictures anywhere close to the level he would have been able to capture.  In a way it's sad because we saw such beautiful places, but they'll have to do.)

 

First stop: Carlsbad Caverns.  Here we are before we make the descent that ends more than 800 feet underground.  It was a long hike & not easy, but so very beautiful down there.  Katherine kept up and was a real trooper!

 This is the rest stop at the bottom right outside the big room.  Water and resting our feet a bit before seeing the last of the cavern and heading back up to the surface.

 Jon especially loved to ride the luggage carts at the hotels.

Stop 2: White Sands, NM.  The hotel let us use sleds for free to slide down the dunes in.

The pattern the wind made in the dunes was too nice not to document.

Stop 3: Kerry and Jeff's place and relaxing in their awesome pool.  The kids LOVED hanging out with their aunt and uncle.

We spent an afternoon at Pismo beach.  It was quite chilly - only in the 60s when we arrived.  We pretty much hung out in the sand & avoided the icy water.

 Stop 4: The Grand Canyon.  Seeing it in person is pretty awesome.  Just doesn't compare to the pictures and video.  It's breathtaking how big it is.

 

Joy bear made it out sporting a Grand Canyon shirt my grandma gave me when I was a baby.  She was very happy to be there, as you can see.

 

We stopped by the Grand Canyon Deer Farm on the way back to the hotel.  The deer knew there was food in the cups we had and were prepared to take it at any cost.  They were quite aggressive.  But, after our cups were empty they just followed us around and let us pet them.  It was fun.

 

Stop 5: Sedona, AZ Pink Jeep tour.  So, so fun.  The kids loved the bumpy, adventurous ride through the terrain.  And the red rocks were stunning.  So very beautiful there.  

 

One of the stops on our tour.

 

Katherine especially loved the crazy ride and laughed and squealed through it - especially the most intense parts.  She kept asking to do it again the rest of the day and even cried when she saw other jeeps leaving for their tours.

 

Kat would play with all the condiments on the tables whenever we stopped to eat.  I think she just really wanted to play with something, anything after being in the car for so long.

 

And this was our last night in Amarillo, TX before driving back home.  The drive and time change wiped us out and we all slept hard that night.

It was a very memorable trip.