July 10, 2010 From hot to cool

We left Cottonwood and headed west to LA! At the hottest point it got to 117 degrees! Maggie declared when we stopped at the rest area in the middle of the desert, that she liked the heat of Florida better than this heat.


In the desert we saw these saguaro cacti all over the place. This was taken from our moving vehicle.

As we got to the California border, we actually had to stop on I-10 for this checkpoint.

In Palm Springs, just outside the greater LA area, we came across these really neat windmills. They were EVERYWHERE!!!


We made good time through the LA traffic....it didn't get too bad, but the traffic and the length of time we were in traffic was incredible! We're not in Kansas anymore...

By the time we stepped out of the van in LA at Steve and Sarah's house it was 66 degrees. People, that is a 51 degree difference...shock to the system!!! But, Oh, such a good shock!

July 9 Hike in Sycamore Canyon and Red Rock Crossing

The guys got up early this morning for some male bonding: hiking in Sycamore Canyon. They enjoyed themselves immensely! The women and children stayed home and just had fun playing, reading, putting on skits, catching ants, playing Skip-Bo and just resting. It was wonderful!

Then, after lunch when the daddies got home, we watched a fashion show by Hannah and Elizabeth.

Then it was time for all of us to get some fresh air so we headed to the Red Rock Crossing where we went the day before for a little rock sliding and swimming! It was perfect!

Ended the day with dinner out at a local Mexican restaurant where the older kids all tried the really spicy salsa with chips! YIKES! Fun times! We'll be sad to leave tomorrow!

July 8--Cottonwood and Sedona, AZ

Well, the sun came up this morning really early AGAIN so when I opened my eyes at 5:30, I couldn't get back to sleep. So, instead of being lazy, I decided to do something and went for a short run up towards Mount Mingus which is right up the hill from the Rutschow's house. It sure was nice out at that time of day! I heard a rooster and a cow all in the span of .8 mile! I also decided that this part of Arizona would not be a good place to own a lawn care business seeing as most people don't have grass....they have rocks! Think of all the time they save having to mow the lawn...

The kids played really well this morning and by around 10:30 we were all up and ready to go on an adventure! So the boys piled into one van and the girls into another. We first headed to a hiking spot near Sedona called Bell Rock. So beautiful but OH so HOT! The kids did amazing though! Jacob was clamoring up the rocks and jumping over small chasms. After being at the Grand Canyon with the severe drop offs, it was a lot more relaxed hiking. Plus he was following his new buddies, David and Mark, who had done this hike many times before. At one point, Pastor Paul asked Jacob if he needed help and Jake's reply was, "No, I'm five." Nuff said! :-)

We were all pretty beat after that short little hike but a trip to the Circle K down the road lifted our spirits and turned the day around for us. A round of frozen slushies for all was enough to cool us all off and enable us to continue on!

The next place we headed for was the bridge on 89A north of Sedona that crosses the Oak Creek Canyon. It was beautiful too!

Then we took a drive up Airport Road to view Sedona from above. Another breathtaking view! On the ride back down David asked Jacob, "So how do you like Sedona?" Jacob answered, "I don't know, I haven't tried it yet." The quotes keep coming!

Then it was on to Red Rock Crossing for a swim in the Oak Creek. We didn't plan well enough to wear swimsuits but that didn't stop the kids from jumping right in to cool off. It was a perfect way to end our day of treacherous heat and no lunch! So, we headed home to make pizzas to finish off the day. Another perfect meal that hit the spot!

We took a tour of Peace Lutheran where Paul is the pastor and admired his great facilities there. Wonderful church library and huge fellowship hall and kitchen. Just a stoney path away from their house. I think tomorrow will entail some exploring the "wash" behind the church property.

For all those Florida people, they have a Beall's Outlet in Sedona! I thought Beall's was strictly a Florida thing! Go figure!

July 7, Grand Canyon

We woke up relatively early due to the sun rising at like 5:30 or something crazy like that! So, we had a little breakfast and went to the Grand Canyon IMAX movie. It was good. I enjoyed the history of the canyon and there was enough of the stomach-dropping flight over the canyon for me. Mark said he would've liked more scenery, but still enjoyed it. From there, we went into the park along with the other throngs of people. We had packed some sandwiches so we found a nice little spot on the edge of the canyon to enjoy our sandwiches and chips. Then, for the girls, it was off to a Canon photography class--it was FREE! They allowed us to borrow a Canon digital SLR camera and memory card and take a nature walk with one of their experienced guides and snap as many pictures as we wanted! So, Hannah got a point and shoot camera and Maggie tried the big SLR. I think she enjoyed it a little too much and will be asking to use mine in the near future! :-) Our guide showed us how to frame our pictures better with layers of trees and canyons. It was definitely informative and very unique. I guess they go around a month at a time to different National parks. They were in Yosemite in June. I'd love to try their more advanced class sometime. I'll have to post some of my pictures on here to see what you think after I can get to a wireless hotspot. (I'm using a friend's home computer right now.) While we were in the photography class, the boys did a little hiking! They hiked down part of Bright Angel trail and here is a picture that Mark took on his phone of Jacob. Sorry, I don't know how to rotate it! The girls and I met up with them and also hiked part of the trail and then it was time to head back to the van via the shuttle. We met a nice woman (from IOWA) on the bus who was like a quality control person, timing the bus stops and making sure the drivers were doing a good job. We got to talking with her and learned a lot from her about the park. For example, she and her husband live full time in an RV in the park like 9 months out of the year. Also, Grand Canyon is the only National Park with a school system! It's mostly for the rangers and other worker's children. Can you imagine LIVING in the Grand Canyon National Park as a kid? What a cool life!

From the Grand Canyon we drove south towards Cottonwood via Flagstaff and Sedona. When we entered Oak Creek Canyon, our breath was taken away....so beautiful! Then as we entered Sedona, I could tell why people say it's one of the most beautiful places on earth! The red rocks towering over the town are so majestic. We arrived at our friends' house and were greeted with a lovely homemade spaghetti dinner! YUM!

July 6, 2010--Hoover Dam/ Grand Canyon

We made our way (much fast this time, thankfully!) to the Hoover Dam again this morning. We stopped on the Arizona side and took in the breathtaking sites from that side and of course, snapped a few more pictures.

It was at this point that Jacob started saying that this was "BOOORING" and that he wanted to go home...needless to say, the four hour trip to the Grand Canyon was full of questions like "When can we eat lunch?" and "Are we in Nevada?" Patience was the key today! Poor guy was worn out! He did make a few funny comments today. He's really into the State Quarter thing...in fact, he has a little red stuffed bear that Mark bought one of the girls years ago from a trip to Minnesota. Well, he calls it "State Quarter". So State Quarter and Chipper (his chipmunk) have been making the treks with us! He also bases his knowledge of the states on what is on their quarter. For example, Florida has lots of space shuttles, Idaho a lot of potatoes, Arizona a lot of cactuses. His little brain is always working!
Car games were starting to get old too. In fact, Maggie said she didn't want to play any game that contained the words "Spy" in them. So, Hannah piped up and said: Wanna play "I blank with my little eye"? Mark and I had to laugh!
We made it to the Grand Canyon, marveling at how the scenery changed from desert to more forresty conditions after we crossed a ridge. It was amazing! We walked along the Rim trail of the Grand Canyon and just kept coming across one beautiful spot after another. Lots more pictures! I have to say, I think I heard foreign languages being spoken more often than English. We went to the "Grandview" section to see the sunset and found an outcropping of rocks overhanging the canyon (enough to make my heart palpatate!) to watch the colors change over the canyon.


Canyon (south rim) at sunset

July 5, Day 1--Las Vegas/Hoover Dam

Jacob by a bolt they used to make the dam

Hannah with a huge wrench

Maggie straddling two states

The whole family inside the power plant part of the dam.

Maggie, trying her best to hold up the new bridge for the Hoover Dam bypass....they hope to have it open by the end of this year, I think. It will certainly help with alleviating the traffic slowdowns...read below for more on this!

DAY ONE:
We got up early in Tampa for our 8:30 flight. Angie got to the gate, sat down, ready to read the last half of "Hunger Games". Well, the book was not in my bag...must've left it in the van back at the hotel. Seeing as that was my plan to read during the 4+ hour flight, AND I had brought the sequel to that as my second book to read during our trip, I NEEDED to get another copy. So, $19 later, I was sitting happily in the terminal with a brand new copy. :-) It's THAT good of a book!

The flight was very nice! Towards the middle of the flight, the attendants did a trivia game and they asked this question: Name the four states that begin with the same letter as their capital city. Between Mark, Maggie and myself (and a few quips from Hannah) we came up with the answer. Well, we were the first to get the right answer and we won free drinks for ourselves. The attendants were very impressed that a rising 4th grader came up with the answers! :-) From the air, we got to see the Grand Canyon and also Lake Mead/Hoover Dam! Pretty exciting! (see if you can figure out the answer to the trivia question!)

Two shuttle buses later and 50 minutes in line at the rental car place, we are driving our rental mini van. We find an old friend of a grocery store: FOOD 4 LESS and we got lunch meat and bread and some bottled water to help us survive the 105 degree oven that we've now plunged ourselves in. Then we start the drive to the Hoover Dam. We see signs saying there would be delays on Hwy. 93 S to Hoover Dam, but we had NO IDEA it would take as long as it did. About two hours later (20 miles) we get to the parking garage by the Hoover Dam! Whew! What an amazing sight! We told the kids that they were very good and patient on the drive there and Maggie's response was: "Well, not on the inside!"

We walked across the top of Hoover Dam and stood one foot in Nevada and one foot in Arizona and I think that confused Jacob because the rest of the night he kept asking where Arizona was and if we were still in Nevada. Poor kid...he's so tired and confused! Tomorrow will be a new day! We're comfortable in our hotel...everyone has a bed and we're hoping to wake up at a normal time for PST.

Girls in a Christmas Service Quartet