Arizona Roadtrip

Since I have been on my break from school we have been trying to do a lot of catching up on family activites. One of the things we wanted to do was take the girls on a roadtrip through Arizona. In the past all of our roadtrips have been through California, but this year we decided to take the trailer and head east. We spent 11 days traveling all around the state. We started our adventure on the Mexican border at Saguaro National Park and then headed to Tuscon. Our next stop was Sedona by way of Flagstaff and then we stayed in Williams for our visit to the Grand Canyon. We ended our trip in Bullhead City and a visit with our friends John and Donna Mack. The grand total for miles driven ended up being close to 1,900 (at least 1,500 was spent listening to ABBA and the soundtrack from Mamma Mia - I was ready to pull my hair out). The following are pictures I picked out that I think best describes our grand adventure.

Enjoy!

Our first stop, Saguaro National Park and Organ Pipe National Monument.

Here is a picture of a Saguaro cactus, this is only one of the thousands that filled up the desert landscape. We spent the day off roading on trails that lead us into the middle of the saguaro forests. The girls became official Junior Rangers during our stay here.

We found a really nice campground just outside of Tuscon. Just down the road from the capground was the Arizona-Sonora Dessert Museum. If you are ever traveling through Tuscon you have to stop here, the place is amazing! We spent the entire day walking around, listening to zoologists, digging for minerals and dinosaur fossils, and petting baby desert tortoises. In the picture above the girls and I have found a dinosaur fossil.

Here is a picture of a Gila Monster (he-la). This turned out being one of my favorite desert animals on the trip. They spend 9 months out of the year underground and can be very venomous.

Elizabeth found her favorite animal sleeping along one of the really cool walking paths around the museum. The skunk is behind glass inside its burrow. As you can see on her shirt, they were very proud of their junior ranger badges.

Throughout the museum/zoo the girls collected animal print stamps in a book. This is Emily in front of "her" Mountain Lion.

We were very lucky and got an upclose look!

Jason bought us tickets to the U of A vs Oregon State basketball game. We watched them win through the Wildcat foam cat claws we bought the girls from the team store. A funny side note, President Obama's brother-in-law (head coach for Oregon State) was tossed from the game.

The view from our seats.

Boothill Graveyard - Tombstone

Here is a picture of Jay and the girls in front of the gravesites of the Clanton and McLaury gang known for their famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral with the Earp brothers.

This cowgirl looks like a natural! Her great grandfathers would be proud.

We took a stage coach ride by all the historic sites in Tombstone.

The Cochise County Courthouse

The girls and I at the site of the famous O.K. Corral gunfight. All the movies make the fight so much more dramatic than it really was.

We visited several prehistoric archaeological sites throughout Arizona to learn about Hohokam Indians. Here is a picture of the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. The Hohokams lived between AD (the begining of our modern ear) - 1500 AD at which time they vanished, completely abandoning their communities. They were highly advanced and known for building amazing communities. Pictured above is the three story high main structure, it was surrounded by dozens of smaller mud huts.

Jay and the girls in front of what remains of the three story main structure.

Hiking in Sedona.

We found some more Hohokam ruins just outside Sedona. At this site we were actually able to go inside and see (not touch, which was very hard for Elizabeth). Pictured above is a childs handprint from when the structure was originally built, kind of erie considering we were in a prehistoric house.

A view from the outside of the structure.

Williams

This was our first trip to the snow in the trailer. This is the town where we caught the train to the Grand Canyon.

Rails to The Rim

We spent the day exploring the south rim. I am positive the girls don't understand the majesty of such an amazing natural wonder, but someday they'll appreciate it.

Our last stop was Bullhead City and a visit with The Macks. The first night there we crossed the Colorado River and had dinner in Laughlin at the Saltgrass restaurant. We had a wonderful steak dinner and then dropped off the kids at the hotel daycare and tryed our luck at poker. The next day Jay and the girls got to take a couple of rides in the "Rhino", one of the Macks many awesome toys. Above, John is taking Emily for a ride.

Elizabeth also loved her ride in the Rhino! My next job will be to convince Jay that the girls and I need a Rhino of our own to take to the desert while he rides his motorcycle. Doubtful, but I have to try!