Getting Our Kicks on Route 66

With Christine's crazy-filled schedule this summer, and Erik's bishopric responsibilities, we just haven't been able to figure out time to go on a family vacation. The kids really wanted to get away though, especially since we didn't go anywhere last year, due to Erik's hospitalization. So, after a lot of planning, and trying to eek out a week to go somewhere, I finally scrapped all the plans, ordered Erik to take a couple days off of work, and we went for a little family trip.

(Joseph City, AZ -formerly known as Allen's Camp, Allen's City, and St. Joseph - is the place of the oldest Mormon colony in Arizona. It is named after Joseph Smith, as is the boy standing in front of the city's marker.)

We spent some of our time on Route 66 - the kids watching the movie Cars as we drove, and me calling their attention to things of interest that we were passing. We stopped in Winslow for lunch, and took a moment to stand ". . . on the corner of Winslow, Arizona, such a fine place to be . . . "

What was fun, was the little Route 66 shop on the opposite corner that was playing the Eagles music as we visited with Glenn Fry.

(This picture is for you, David!)

We headed north-east into Navajo country. We stayed our first night just out of Window Rock. Window Rock was an amazing thing to see, such an incredibly huge "window" cut out by wind and rain. Window Rock is the capital of the Navajo reservation. We met a nice lady there, who was selling jewelry that she makes. She suggested to us that we travel the backway into Canyon de Shelly, instead of going through Ganado. I will always appreciate her gift of wisdom and experience that she gave to us, for the drive she suggested was wondrously beautiful.

(This memorial is dedicated to the Navajo Code Talkers from World War II)

Canyon de Chelly is a gorgeous canyon where the Anasazi built their homes in the cliff. Much later the Navajo began building their hogans (round houses, with an earthen top) there, and used the fertile land to plant corn, and fruit trees. The Navajo live there still. Though Canyon de Chelly is cared for by the National Park Service, the land still belongs to the Navajo people, many who choose to live in and around the canyon. The canyon was specatacular, and there were many cliff dwellings that remained there in the canyon walls. The biggest dwelling was White House Ruins. We could have hiked down to see it up close, but opted to view it from the lookout point, since we noticed that everyone who came out of the canyon from the hike was quite red faced. We figured that we didn't have quite enough water with us (it was a very hot day), and we weren't sure how some of the little legs in our company would fare.

(It's really quite cool inside the hogan.)

(This is Spider Rock, which is 800 feet tall. The kids were excited to see it, for they remembered learning in Art about the Navajo lore of Spider Woman who supposedly lived at Spider Rock and taught the Navajo women how to weave.)

(White House Ruins.)

(Jalen Andrew didn't really like the heights, and looking down into the canyon, but he sure had fun hiking around with us.)

(Everybody's still smiling - that's a good sign.)

After leaving Canyon de Chelly, we visited the Hubbell Trading Post. It was one of 30 trading posts that Mr. Hubbell set up in the west to trade goods with the various Native American tribes. It still functions as a store, where the Navajo can buy and sell.

(Trying my hand on the Visitor Center's loom.)

(Jalen Andrew's favorite part of the Hubbell Trading Post, was playing in the fine dirt outside, as the older kids filled out their National Park booklets. Did I mention that there was a nice breeze there, and that he insisted on sitting up wind from us?)

(James' favorite part was studying and tracking the grasshoppers that were plentiful there. His patience paid off, and he eventually caught one!)

One of the highlights of the trip, of course, was having the chance to swim in the hotels' pools. Jalen Andrew discovered the joy of jumping into the water, and as soon as he would complete a jump, would begin pointing to the side of the pool and say "Lump. Lump."

Though we didn't stop to tour the Petrified Forest again this trip, we did see many petrified logs as we drove past, just scattered here and there across the landscape. We did stop at this store called Geronimo to check out the massive sample of petrified wood that sat outside their store. Incredible!

We topped off the trip with an impromptu visit to our good friends the Jarmans. It was so good to see them! Way too much time has passed since we've been together. They made us a delicious lunch, and we enjoyed catching up on eachother's lives. When our oldest three (theirs and ours) were young, it seemed that we lived at eachother's houses. The kids really liked playing together back then. They were a little more shy around eachother this time (they have all gotten older), but James and Daphne (she's 3 years old) had the best time together chasing eachother and laughing. Watching them reminded me of the way our older kids use to play with the Jarmans. As we packed everyone into the van to leave, Daphne pulled a leaf off a nearby tree and handed it to James, explaining, "This is for you, so you can remember where I live." Then, she plucked another leaf, and said, "And this is for me, so I can remember where you live." It was a sweet token of friendship.

(Front: Jonathon, Thomas, Jalen Andrew, Christine, Rebekah, Bethany

Back: Aubrey, Joseph, James, Daphne)

Maybe it's because my big brother always told me that Arizona was beautiful, but I am still awestruck by the beauty that is here. The pictures don't even do it justice.

This Trip Was Too Much Fun

We ended out 2008 by taking a little family trip to New Mexico and Texas. We had a great time, although we were 2 hours off schedule the entire time. Hey, no one is a perfect planner. After a family prayer, voiced by James, asking that our van would work and asking that we could all be nice to each other in the van, we were all packed and ready to go. However, our battery had died. We jump started the thing and were on our way. We had no more problems with the van for the rest of the trip. Thursday morning, we arrived home at 11:30 p.m New Year's Eve - Wednesday, when I went to start the van, the battery was again dead. Erik took it to get it checked out, and out of a charge rating of 500, it was only a 99. You better believe we dropped to our knees and thanked the Lord for the way he answered James' prayer. It was a miracle! And with that . . . here is our trip. City of Rocks State Park in New Mexico was awesome! It just cropped out of nowhere, these huge boulders, grouped together like a city, with these natural roads between them. We had a great time hiking around, climbing on the boulders, exploring the little cave dugouts that were there. Jalen Andrew's favorite part was stooping down, picking up a rock, dropping the rock, walking 3 steps, and repeating the whole thing again. Take only pictures - leave only footprints. Joseph found his prehistoric "sole" mate.Hitching a ride. Christine and Rebekah hugging their snake rock. Beauty is in the "eye" of the beholder. The fam. The man. I found myself my own little thinking spot. This place was a dream come true for James. It was the perfect place to climb, run, and pose. Monumental. Best buds (at least for the moment). ___________________________________________________________________________________ I was really worried about how Jalen Andrew would do, going to sleep in a motel, but amazingly enough, it all went well. The first night he lay in his pack-n-play, in the dark, running his fingernails across the netting, and kicking his legs over and over again. That was it. No crying, and he went to sleep soon after the novelty of the new crib wore off. The next night he fell asleep on me, and then I put him down in his crib. He didn't even wake during the night, either night. He loved the motels, especially pushing around the luggage dolly. The kids enjoyed swimming in the heated pools and watching Disney channel. James just bounced around the place, and giving his mother extreme anxiety. As he fell asleep the first night, he rolled over and asked me, "Is this our new home?" The whole concept of vacation was so exciting for him, and as we drove, he would often ask, "Are we at vacation yet?" We put the girls in the backseat with Jalen Andrew, and that worked really well (don't ask their opinion though). There was very little fighting during the drive, and Jalen Andrew slept a lot. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Our Junior Ranger adventure began this trip at Chamizal National Monument,El Paso, TX, a place that celebrates the agreement made between Mexico and the U.S. over the much disputed borderline between the two. ____________________________________________________________________________________ No offense to the cameraman, but the pictures can't even do this place justice. Carlsbad Caverns was an amazing place, one where we only scratched the surface of - we only toured The Big Room Cavern. I would have loved to live there for awhile, to really explore, study, and enjoy, but it was closing, and we had only planned on one day for it. Rebekah was enthralled with the stalagmites, stalactites, soda straws, columns, popcorn, and drapery, and was able to see the wonder and beauty of it all. Jalen Andrew, whom I carried on me in a baby carrier, enjoyed hearing his voice echo in the cavern. James would have climbed on every outcropping, and jumped from every pinnacle if we would have let him. He actually did very well, in resisting the touching of any part of the cave. But oh boy, did he have energy; one could see the desire to run free in there, shining in his eyes. Joseph was much less impressed with the place, and was worried about falling down in the seeming less endless pits. There was no concern for that happening, but the dark, the strangeness of features, the large pits, and the not quite steady feel of the ground beneath his feet, coupled with the thought that one of those stalactites might come crashing down, made it a very apprehensive experience for him. Christine was also less enthused about the experience; her attitude came from being a teenager, being hungry, having to walk 3 miles instead of taking the shortcut, having a hard time breathing (not sure if this was actual, or because she saw a sign at the beginning saying that some people have a hard time breathing in the cavern), and a feeling of cluster phobia. Regardless of the complaints, it was an amazing place to be, and I would go back in a heart beat (but I would plan for a longer stay there). ____________________________________________________________________________________ White Sands National Park in New Mexico. Incredible place! This was so much fun, that when we got home, we started talking about turning right around and going again. There was a little bit of snow on top of the sand, but mostly the white you see is the gypsum sand. It was amazing! It looked like snow, we could sled on it like snow, but it acted like sand. Way cool! Rebekah had a love/hate relationship with the sand. She loved playing in it, and sledding in it, but when she tried running in it with her bare feet, well, the cold won out, and she was done with the trip. Jalen Andrew had a great time playing in the sand, crawling in the sand, throwing the sand, throwing snowballs with Joseph, and even did some sledding. Though the picture doesn't do it justice, this was one of my favorite moments, for Joseph was so lost in his own play. He was drawing pictures in the sand as he talked aloud, re-enacting the movie Indiana Jones. He was so happy, without a care in the world.A little less carefree, but oh, so brave! James is the true Sandman, and was absolutely in love with sliding down the slopes, either on the sled, or on his bum. Christine was a dare devil (she and James both), and was sailing down every bank she could find. This was her kind of place!Christine, being a true beach girl, removed her shoes, and enjoyed the sand between her toes. She inspired me, and I too became one with the sand - it was a little cold on the toes, but worth it! Kind of a funny contrast - bare feet with a winter jacket.