We didn't even know we'd be crossing Hoover Dam, so that was a nice little surprise. Just another thing to add to our list. Come to find out, the Hoover Dam supplies power to L.A. Hence, the enormity of it.
Finally, our first look at the Grand Canyon-something I've wanted to see for a long time. It's one of those things that can't really be captured in a picture partly due to the vastness of it and partly to due the fact that it is absolutely majestic and a picture just doesn't do it justice.
We caught it just as the sun was going down, so the colors of the sun reflecting off the canyon were amazing.
We decided that we would wake up and catch the sunrise the next morning. Since we had moved on into Mountain Time once we crossed into AZ, we set our clocks 1 hour ahead. We set our alarm for 4:30am, so we could be sure and make it for sunrise. We headed into GCNP and waited...and waited...and waited. Finally a good 2 hours later it started getting light. Come to find out, AZ is the only state that doesn't have daylight savings time, so we were still in Pacific Time Zone. So we ended up waking up at 3:30am. Nice. To top it off (as you can see below) it was cloudy and there was no sunrise. There was, however, a thunderstorm in the distance which was almost as cool.
We caught it just as the sun was going down, so the colors of the sun reflecting off the canyon were amazing.
We decided that we would wake up and catch the sunrise the next morning. Since we had moved on into Mountain Time once we crossed into AZ, we set our clocks 1 hour ahead. We set our alarm for 4:30am, so we could be sure and make it for sunrise. We headed into GCNP and waited...and waited...and waited. Finally a good 2 hours later it started getting light. Come to find out, AZ is the only state that doesn't have daylight savings time, so we were still in Pacific Time Zone. So we ended up waking up at 3:30am. Nice. To top it off (as you can see below) it was cloudy and there was no sunrise. There was, however, a thunderstorm in the distance which was almost as cool.
This is lightning striking in the distance.
We drove around the park for awhile and pulled off to check out the Grand Canyon from different pull out points. Next time, we're going to hike down to the bottom, but we didn't have time for that this trip.
I like this pic. It looks like the clouds are just sitting on top of the canyon.
See the Colorado River winding through the canyon?? Pretty cool.
After we checked out the Grand Canyon, we headed on into Flagstaff-my parent's old stomping grounds. It was a cute little town. Not a whole lot there, but downtown was fun to walk around.
And here's mom and dad's old house-512 Zuni Drive. All they remembered was that it was on Zuni Drive and it was yellow. Since there were 3 yellow houses on Zuni Drive this was a pretty good guess. I mean, what are the chances that 30 years later, the house would still be yellow?? According to my dad, this was the place where Laurel was conceived. I'm glad I could see a little piece of family history :)
Dad recommended a restaurant called La Bella Villa. It was still here 30 years later. Him and Dennis used to play music here for payment in french fries. Supposedly they were breaded french fries and incredible, but unfortunately they weren't on the menu anymore.
After Flagstaff, we headed on down to Sedona. On the way, we drove through Oak Creek Canyon, which is absolutely beautiful. It's crazy that only a few miles down the road, it turns into stark desert.
Coming into Sedona, this is the landscape that you start seeing-equally beautiful.
When I was little, I used to get so excited when I saw this light shining through the clouds because I thought Jesus was coming back :)
Saguaro Cactus. This is one of those things that you know are real, but when you see them you realize that you actually thought they only existed in a cartoon.
They are absolutely HUGE. I just couldn't get over how enormous these things were. It also looked like a great place for a rattlesnake habitat, so I made Dustin carry me up next to the cactus on his back :)
This is probably a more accurate dipiction of just how big these things are. Dustin next to it instead of me...that makes more sense.
And they're all over the place!
Coming into Sedona, this is the landscape that you start seeing-equally beautiful.
When I was little, I used to get so excited when I saw this light shining through the clouds because I thought Jesus was coming back :)
Saguaro Cactus. This is one of those things that you know are real, but when you see them you realize that you actually thought they only existed in a cartoon.
They are absolutely HUGE. I just couldn't get over how enormous these things were. It also looked like a great place for a rattlesnake habitat, so I made Dustin carry me up next to the cactus on his back :)
This is probably a more accurate dipiction of just how big these things are. Dustin next to it instead of me...that makes more sense.
And they're all over the place!
And now for the grand finale...After Sedona, we left for Scottsdale where my Aunt Betsy (dad's twin sister), Uncle Jimmy and the Clark Cousins live. We absolutely had a blast spending some time with them. With all of the gourmet meals and desserts, the G&Ts, the theological discussions, and just an all around good time, they were lucky we ever left :)
Betsy and Hilary inspired me to be a good cook. They pretty well have it mastered.
Their house was beautiful-including the backyard...
...which is complete with a grapefruit tree.
Betsy modeling her house :)
Betsy and I on our shopping day. She took me to my favorite store...Anthropologie. She knows my love language. Pretty fun aunt, eh??
While we went shopping, Hilary slaved away on this lemon meringue cake. I think it took her about 6 hours to make, but it was well worth it (well at least to those who didn't spend the 6 hours making it).
One of many theological discussions. Dustin ate it up. By this point in the trip, I'm sure he was bored with me and my simple, shallow mind :) These boys were a treat for him...
Group pic
Another group pic.
Betsy, Jonathan, Hilary
The girls. Since everyone says I look like my dad, it would make sense that I might look like my dad's twin sister...never thought of that.
We got home on August 21st-1 day later than our itinerary showed. 21,000 miles and 16 states later our trip was over. It was kind of bitter sweet for us. As we were driving home, we were trying to decide where we'd rather be than on our way home, and both of us concluded nowhere. So, I guess the trip ended at the perfect time. We were excited about seeing friends and family and sleeping in a bed, but our trip of a lifetime was over. Since we've been home, we've decided that the real world is over-rated :)
Betsy and Hilary inspired me to be a good cook. They pretty well have it mastered.
Their house was beautiful-including the backyard...
...which is complete with a grapefruit tree.
Betsy modeling her house :)
Betsy and I on our shopping day. She took me to my favorite store...Anthropologie. She knows my love language. Pretty fun aunt, eh??
While we went shopping, Hilary slaved away on this lemon meringue cake. I think it took her about 6 hours to make, but it was well worth it (well at least to those who didn't spend the 6 hours making it).
One of many theological discussions. Dustin ate it up. By this point in the trip, I'm sure he was bored with me and my simple, shallow mind :) These boys were a treat for him...
Group pic
Another group pic.
Betsy, Jonathan, Hilary
The girls. Since everyone says I look like my dad, it would make sense that I might look like my dad's twin sister...never thought of that.
We loved hanging out with the Clarks so much, that we decided to stay an extra day. We came to the conclusion that we weren't all that ready to go home yet. Why not drag it out a little longer? Real world can wait...
Thanks, Clarks for such a great time!!! You can bet we'll be back :)
Oklahoma City-first and last stop of the trip. We just stayed for the night and afternoon, but we had a great time visiting Dustin's grandparents (below) and Grandmoi and Stan too!
We got home on August 21st-1 day later than our itinerary showed. 21,000 miles and 16 states later our trip was over. It was kind of bitter sweet for us. As we were driving home, we were trying to decide where we'd rather be than on our way home, and both of us concluded nowhere. So, I guess the trip ended at the perfect time. We were excited about seeing friends and family and sleeping in a bed, but our trip of a lifetime was over. Since we've been home, we've decided that the real world is over-rated :)
