July 8th we left Las Vegas and headed to California! Ed and Larry and family flew out made it home by 7pm Eastern time. We drove towards Los Angeles first stop was the Hollywood sign! It was neat. Afterwards we headed to the Pacific Ocean. Traffic was horrendous. We got to the Santa Monica pier and drove through 4 parking areas trying to find a parking spot but could not find any. So we drove around and saw the ocean but unfortunately were not able to go onto the beach or put our feet in the ocean. BUT we drove from the East Coast to the West Coast and the kids can say they saw the Pacific Ocean! We arrived at Barstow CA at our hotel around dinner time. It was pouring.
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Hello again we are in the world of Wifi again (well at least one that works well enough to get on the website).
Car 2 left Mesa Verde and headed to Four Corners Monument. Stopping at Park Point on the way out and viewing the wildfires in Colorado. We stopped at the store on our way for some supplies (mainly water it is very HOT and DRY). We arrived at Four Corners Monument and proceeded to take the fun photos of standing in 4 states at one time! We then shopped little Miss Unicorn did some heavy damage to pockets today! After leaving Four Corners we headed to a Burger King in Kayenta. The Owner’s father was a member of the Navajo Code Talkers from WW2. We could not take any photos inside the Burger King (there was a note on the door). After leaving Burger King Car 2 and 1 stopped at a laundromat right outside Monument Valley to make sure we have enough clean clothes to make it through at least Las Vegas. The next few nights are all in National Parks. So this will be my last post till we get to Vegas (not sure if I will have time in Vegas to post). There is no wifi in the next two hotels and we are there two nights each at them. We arrived at Monument Valley, checked in The View Hotel and unpacked and then a few of us roamed the hotel and grounds outside. Dinner was planned for 5pm at The View Restaurant to celebrate Jess's Birthday! It was a delicious dinner with an amazing view! After dinner we drove around the loop and saw all of Mesa Verde (while the sun was starting to set). We then came up into our room and watched the sunset behind us but we could see beautiful colors on the Monuments right from our awesome Balcony! Tomorrow we head to the Grand Canyon National Park for two nights and then to Bryce Canyon National Park for two nights and then we head to Las Vegas for a night. Tomorrow marks 14 days and halfway through our vacation. I have had some bumps with the kids and Ed but we have worked it out and are enjoying every moment of this trip of a lifetime.
Johanna I watched the sunrise over the mountains in front of our lodge room today...It was very pretty. Then sitting out on our deck of the room the colors were amazing as the sun came up over the mountains! Pictures do not do it justice. We headed pretty early down to the Cliff Palace. Everyone except Grammy, Poppop and I went down into the cliff. I did it many years ago and did not like the climb back up on ladders on the side of the cliff. After they got back we rode the rest of that loop stopping and walking out to see the Balcony House. We then headed to the museum as we were out of water and they had a water refilling station. We saw the spruce tree house here. We ate lunch at the picnic area which overlooked the side of a mountain. Afterwards we then drove the Mesa Top loop stopping and walking out to see many of the sights. Then we headed back down towards the lodge to drive the last area. On our way towards the area we saw two wild horses!!! Wetherill Mesa was not a fun ride. There were parts where the cliffs dropped on both sides of the road. We finally made it out. The Step House and the Long House are in this area but my kids were done hiking for the day so we did not walk the paths out to either one. We loaded up the five of us and Grammy and Poppop and headed back to the lodge. We hung out for a little and when everyone came back we went to get dinner at the Far View Terrace. We then came back and watched the sunset again at our rooms. Tomorrow we head back towards Utah first stopping to stand in 4 states at one time!
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Kreibick, Schmitt, & Archives |