Back in the spring Marc threw out a crazy idea of vacationing out west in an RV. It is something we said we'd always like to do, but it was not anywhere on my radar this year. We have family in Colorado, and we know they may only be there for a few more years. Marc had enough frequent flyer points for us all to go out there, so why not! And it turns out that renting an RV for the week was cheaper than hotels. The planning took A LOT of work, but we had a great time! Because we were visiting my aunt and uncle in Colorado we asked my mom if she wanted to join us on this crazy adventure of ours and then visit her brother.
We started packing early, and this little critter didn't like it one bit. She doesn't do well with changes like this, but she was going to stay with Marc's parents while we were gone, so she would be just fine. They were gracious to offer to keep her the entire time.
Because we were looking for the flight that would use the least number of miles possible, we left Georgia at 8:30PM. This put us into Phoenix at midnight our time. We then took a 30 minute ride to pick up our RV. By the time we were done we decided we were going to go ahead and make the 2 hour drive to Payson, AZ for the night. It was very hard to find an RV park in Phoenix that wasn't a 55 and older community that would allow us there one night with our kids. Then I found out that Walmart allows you to park overnight for free! We had to get out of the surrounding area because city ordinances trump Walmart policy, but this allowed us to be halfway to our first stop, plus the plan was for Marc and I to run into the store in the morning and stock up on supplies while the girls and my mom slept. Well, there were two early birds ready to shop way earlier than we planned. Marc did end up calling me in for reinforcement.
And this is what a week's worth of supplies and groceries look like. I'm proud to say we only ate out 3 meals in 7 days. There was very little that we threw out at the end of our week.
Once we were stocked up we hit the road. It had been a tiring night before, but I'm glad Marc had some practice driving this 35' vehicle when no one else was on the road. And we learned quickly that you never get anywhere as fast as google maps tells you that you will.
Our home away from home for the week. I can't tell you how wonderful it was not to have to pack up from a hotel room every night.
Before we left I printed off as many Junior Ranger books as I could for the parks we would visit. I wish they were all online because it allowed the girls to work while we were driving on the parts that didn't need you to be inside the park.
Two and a half hours later we arrived at the Petrified Forest. I remember my grandparents talking about going here when they visited my uncle who was stationed in Arizona. All three have passed away now, but it was special for me to be able to visit a place that was talked about often.
I am so glad my girls understand that the world is not millions of years old. Every time they see a reference to that they just blow it off because we stand on the truth of God's word. I thought it very interesting that all material states that these trees fell in a catastrophic event and were covered with water and sediment so they could not oxidize. That is how the wood changed to stone. Clearly the flood in the Bible was a catastrophic event that would have covered the trees with water and sediment. It is just more proof that the Bible is true. My prayer is that my children will continue to see things in this world from a Biblical perspective as the world places absolute truth on a theory that is anything but truth.
The girls completed their books, but at the last minute Macy decided she didn't want to take the pledge. She was so excited about becoming an Junior Ranger again, and I finally remembered what might have caused her to have a change in heart. When they worked on their books at the Statue of Liberty, the ranger there was a little rough and corrected a couple of her answers a bit gruffly. Marc spoke to this ranger in private, and she was so sweet to help Macy overcome that fear. She doesn't like to have errors pointed out, but she has grown so much over the last few years in this.
We headed back to RV for some lunch. It wasn't without a few mishaps, but we figured ourselves out quickly in how to travel and eat at the same time. :) While the girls ate we drove through the Painted Desert and then made a stop at the Blue Mesa to walk around a bit.
Someone is always testing the limits...
The wind on this trip was crazy. I gave up quickly on having pictures without windblown hair. Besides, some days were so hot that the lack of breeze would have been miserable. I'll take crazy hair (since that's nothing unusual with curly hair anyway) in exchange for air circulation.
For most of our trip we were at the top of the canyons looking down. The landscape is so different out west than it is here at home.
We took a short little hike and we weren't disappointed with the views. The Blue Mesa was beautiful in person. One of my fears coming out here was taking my children (especially an adventurous little one) out where there would be no railings. I can't count how many times I reminded them to only walk, to face forward and not step backwards, or to stay on the side of the path with the rock wall. It makes my mama heart feel better to say those things, and they were great about obeying and being aware of their surroundings. That didn't stop me from repeating those words all week long, but they didn't seem to get annoyed with me saying it either. :)
This little bookworm was always looking for a place to read. And no, she didn't lay up here when we were driving. She just thought it looked like a comfortable place to relax.
Perspective.
A late night of travel + an early morning wake up = one tired little girl. This 10 year old actually fell asleep on me while we were driving to Moab, Arizona. I thought my days of here sleeping in my lap were long gone. I cherished every moment of this until we had to wake her up for dinner.
After dinner this one joined me up front and fell asleep too! What a memorable ride! I think I apparently dozed off a little bit too. :)
We made it to Moab shortly after dark. We were hoping to arrive when there was still some daylight for Marc to hook up the RV for the first time, but instead he got to use a headlamp while nearby campers looked on. Talk about pressure! He did a great job and became very efficient by the end of the week! The girls were excited to have their beds fixed up for the first time. The night before everyone just crashed where they were. Marc and I even shared a double bed with a 12 year old. That would explain why I was so tired in the picture above...
She was so excited to have this space all to herself.
And with that, our first full day out west was complete. We were all looking forward to sleeping that night. Tomorrow we were headed into Arches National Park!
.JPG)
