After a short four-hour drive, we arrived at the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest of Arizona.  What a natural wonder to behold.  It is believed that millions of years ago this area was a tree lined bank of a river.  Something caused the river to overflow pulling the trees off the banks into the river and causing a log jam of the largest trees but the smaller trees were able to continue downstream.  The log jam resulted in trees settling to the bottom and being buried in the silt and mud of the water.  As we know from Silver Springs, that prevents the tree from decaying and rotting.  The minerals from the silt and the water then penetrated the wood filling the voided cells and over time, caused the petrification process.

As years progressed and the water receded, the trees became buried even deeper until the process reversed and erosion caused the dirt to wash away exposing the trees in their petrified form.  They are everywhere in this area and very beautiful.  Of course, mankind found a way to cut them with steel blades to expose their inner beauty and polish them to amplify the colors.  The result is commercialized petrified wood.

We spent over 3 hours driving and walking through this incredible area and seeing things we normally would only see in photos.  Unfortunately, it was a rainy day so the sunlight could not brighten the photos to show their true beauty.  I think these will give you a sense of what we saw.

This area is also considered a treasure trove of fossils from previous ages because of all the artifacts and archeological finds made in the area. There are even petroglyphic drawings believed to be 2,000 years old.

One of the artifacts not quite that old is a 1932 Studebaker rusted and parked at the spot where Route 66 once ran through what is now this National Park.

Visiting Rebekah was a lot of fun, even if it could only be for a few hours and then off we were to our next adventure.

We arrived in Page after a short drive and drove to Antelope Canyon Marina to check out the water level on Lake Powell. It’s amazing what a difference two years can make which was the last time we were here. Back then, we walked all the way down the ramp to the docks and back up again. This time, NOT! Halfway was all I was going. When we compared the water levels in the two-year-old pictures to now, it actually looks like there is more water in the Lake now than before. Good news for all those houseboat owners and renters.

Sunsets in Arizona are really pretty so we made sure we got a few good pictures.

Page, Arizona is home to Antelope Canyon where the slot canyons draw visitors from all over the world. Two years ago, we were here and did a tour of the upper slot canyons and scheduled a tour of the lower slots, but it was cancelled because of the threat of rain. All these canyons have been created over many years by the rain rushing along the desert floor causing flash floods, so even rain 25 miles away can be very dangerous. There is actually a story, confirmed to be true, that some visitors from England were unhappy about a tour being cancelled because of rain 15 miles away and decided to go anyway on their own. Within a very short period of time with no warning, they were trapped in the lower slot canyon by the water rushing in and 14 people drowned.

Fortunately, today there was no threat of rain anywhere in sight. Antelope Canyon is on Indian territory, so you have to have a Navaho guide to take you through. We actually booked this tour two months ago because they fill up quick especially at noon because of the position of the sun. Their compacity is 3,100 visitors per day and they get that every day from May through August. Today the reservations said they would have around 2,300 people tour the lower slots. The upper slots are canyons shaped like an A with narrow openings at the top and wider walkways at the base. The sun streaming through the openings is magnificent. The lower slots, however, are shaped like an A and also like a V with very narrow walkways along the base. In fact, our guide told us after each flash flood, they have to manually bring in sand to fill in the floor of canyons to create walkways because of the Vs are so pointed, visitors could not walk on them. These lower slots are more physically challenging than the upper. There are 11 ladders of varying heights because you are actually underground. The first ladder down was a doozy!

There was one ladder that was nothing more than thick steel pipes about 8 inches long attached to the side of the canyon.

They did take pity of the visitors and converted one of the taller ladders to a shorter one by manually drilling an archway that was never there before.

At the end, you have to climb up a steep hill through a very narrow crack in the rock and then walk back to your starting point in the sand.

I am here to report that although we appeared to be the oldest people on the tour, we kept up with everyone else without a problem. Before we started, the guide asked me where I was from. When I told him Florida, he said you are probably in the minority on this tour. I would say 2/3 of the people on the tour were from Europe and several other continents.

Later in the day we went to the Glen Canyon Dam which is second only to Hoover Dam in size and importance. The dam was started in 1956 and finished in 1963 providing electricity to much of the western central states and also assuring water to many of those same states. If Page is not on your To Do List along with Zion and Bryce, you need to put it on. Worth the time.

This posting may not be interesting to you, and you may want to skip reading it because I am writing it for me. Ultimately our blog is for us to read and reread when we can no longer travel as a way of reliving our adventures so if you are not interested in the musings of a grandparent, you may want to just skip this one.

Yesterday, we met Rebekah, our granddaughter, to see her dorm room, meet roommates and have dinner all squeezed in-between her busy class and extracurricular activities at Emery-Riddle. As we visited, I was overtaken by the realization that she has developed into an intelligent, caring, young lady who knows who she is and is not afraid to stand up for her values. Her parents have done an excellent job of raising her and she will become a valued member of society someday. Recently spending several days with the other three grandchildren, I realized they are all headed in that same direction, thanks to their parents.

You can’t help but remember when they were babies; just blank slates waiting for direction and some of things they tried to get away with. Remember the terrible twos and that precocious period when you had to bite your lip to keep from laughing at something they said but probably shouldn’t have. Those early school days when they were just getting started learning how to interact with all the other kids who did not think or act the same as they were taught. Preteen years when maybe awkward was the best way to describe them. Although we may try to block it out but remember the teen years, when you kept wondering, who is this stranger and what have you done with my grandkid? Then suddenly one day, they graduate from high school and become young adults with responsibilities and decisions to make that will help to direct the rest of their lives. How gratifying to know we will be leaving this world in the hands of young people like these. I wish I could say that I did something to make them this way, but all the credit belongs to the parents.

Thank you, God, for all the parents who take their parenting job seriously and produce great kids for we grandparents to enjoy.

It was wonderful to finally get to temperatures that were more our speed. San Diego was overcast, cloudy and low 70-degree highs the entire time we were there. We wore jackets most of the time and were glad for them. In Vegas the high temperatures are expected to be the mid 90’s with very low humidity and we are really looking forward to sunshine again.

Our Vacation Club room is actually a one-bedroom suite with a washer and dryer in the room so we could do our much-needed laundry and write the blog at the same time. We were hoping Las Vegas would not be too crowded since it was early in the week and not a weekend. WRONG! I guess this place is never slow or not busy. We have two favorite places to eat when we come to this crazy city, so Sunday dinner was at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel where they have La Creperie. They make crepes to order, and we each had a Monte Cristo crepe with turkey, ham, Swiss cheese, strawberry jam, and sugar and ate sitting in an area made to look like the streets of Paris with the ceiling painted like the sky.

At its best, Las Vegas is actually always rated PG (from early morning to around 5 p.m.) and then as the evening goes by it goes to PG-13 and ultimately, R, so we try to get back to the hotel before 9 p.m. After spending the day at the hotel, using the pool, resting in the room we ventured out again for dinner. This time to New York New York hotel where the interior of the casino is made to look like the streets of New York City and is even divided into boroughs. The Brooklyn Bridge sits outside the casino and Brooklyn’s Delancy Street is off to the side in the casino where Greenburg’s Deli serves the best corned beef and pastrami on marble rye bread you have ever eaten. Actually, one sandwich feeds us both more than sufficiently.

More pictures of the Las Vegas Strip

After our stay this time, we decided unless someone gives us a really good reason to come back, this is probably our last trip to Las Vegas. The world has gotten crazy, and Vegas didn’t need more; it was already crazy enough. Tomorrow, we leave for Prescott, AR to stop and see our Granddaughter Rebekah at Emory-Riddle University.

After spending two LOONNGG days driving, we arrived in Colorado Springs at our friend’s new vacation home to spend some time with Ralph and Kandie. Their home is near the Garden of the Gods, and they have a beautiful view of Pikes Peak from their living room and deck.

While we sat on their back porch getting caught up on events, two large bucks came up to have their supper of leaves and grass. Kandie said they help to keep the shrubs trimmed so she is always happy to see them. It was amazing how unafraid they seemed to be of being that close to people.

We started off our visit with a wonderful dinner at the Rabbit Hole in downtown Colorado Springs which is a basement location that was once the city morgue. The place showed no signs of its previous use and was very lively with great food.

Next morning, we were off for a hike up to Helen Hunt Falls (no connection to the actress), with lots of beautiful scenery and some physical exertion to make up for all the days we spent sitting in a car. Ralph was telling us about a trail up to Pikes Peak they call the “Incline” that is 900 steps almost straight up, that he did one time and promised himself he would not do again. Parts of our hike felt like we were on the Incline, and I made myself the same promise.

At dinner time, we met some friends (neighbors) who had recently moved from Rivendell back to Colorado. The Club at Garden of the Gods is often host to weddings and this particular day was no exception. The bride and groom had perfect weather for their ceremony overlooking the mountains and, although we had to remain quiet during the procession, once all 14 people in the wedding party were in place, we were able to visit unincumbered with Rob and Deb. During dinner, along came more deer to drink from a water feature right next to where the wedding had taken place. First a buck with at least 9 points and then the doe and fawn followed within a short time. Again, no real concern on the part of the deer to be in close proximity to people and they actually seemed to enjoy the music being played by a solo female singer with a guitar. When she stopped, they would walk away and come back when she returned.

The next day, Ralph took us to the Cave of the Winds. Jim and I have been in several caves since we started traveling including Carlsbad Caverns, but this particular cave was less adapted for visitors with narrow pathways and low ceilings. A real adventure.

We ended our visit with a birthday party for Ralph that Kandie put together with several of their new neighbors. Of course, Kandie had a wonderful spread of food, and she even made him a three-layer German Chocolate cake.

This morning we left fairly early because we only have two days to travel over 1,100 miles to get to San Diego for Ryan’s graduation. We are so excited to see him and celebrate what he has accomplished.

After leaving Chattanooga, we spent most of the day driving through beautiful Tennessee and Kentucky mountains but actually drove through no less than five different states to finally arrive in St. Louis, Missouri. We didn’t stop to see the arch again, because once you’ve seen it three times you’ve seen it enough. We did take a picture for anyone who hasn’t been there.

After driving all day, we wanted to get out and walk some to get our legs moving again. We found the Mississippi Greenway Park with walking trails that run along the Mississippi River. The area along the river seems virtually untouched and reminded me of a scene from one of those Western movies with Indians paddling along the river in canoes made from hollowed out logs and settlers watching from the banks.

Of course, Jim was drawn to the barges as usual.

Today was a long drive from St. Louis through endless corn and soybean fields. There are 90 million acres of corn fields in the U.S., and we saw at least 45 million acres today.

To be honest, we went more than a little out of our way to stop in Walcott, Iowa at the Iowa 80 Truck Stop. In 1964 this truck stop opened, and it has never been closed since. Every day and night for 59 years and it is the largest in the world. It has 75 developed acres out of a total of 225 acres that offers everything a trucker could want or hope for. The retail building is nearly 100,000 square feet and they currently serve an average of 5,000 customers a day. They have a movie theater, dentist, and even a chiropractor available for drivers. Unbelievable!

We decided to eat a late lunch/early dinner there because one of the retail options is the Iowa 80 Kitchen Restaurant. This is in addition to a food court with lots of fast-food options, and all the convenience store retail options as well. I could not believe my eyes when they brought out my meatloaf dinner and the meatloaf was a 4x4x4 cube that I could have eaten on for a week. Jim’s pot roast had to be a pound of meat with carrots and potatoes weighing in for another pound. Not wonder some truckers look overweight.

After we ate, we walked over to the truck museum that is also part of the Truckstop and free. I have never seen such a complete collection of trucks starting in the early 1900’s up to some of the most recent unusual trucks of modern times. There was one that was used as a mail truck in 1930 and they made it into a snowmobile.

This was a very worthwhile stop even though it made the trip longer. We are stopping in Ames, Iowa for the night and there is already a bit of a chill in the air.