Monday morning, slept in until 8.30, which was good for me I really needed it. It’s the second week of the kids summer holidays. They chilled out; Justin and Jeremy were there so Paula could get some work done. I continued to pack and Bruce tried to catch up a little before we left again. Bruce and Paula left to get the RV around 12.45 and 2-3 hours later they arrived back. As you can imagine the kids were getting really frustrated by this time, but they arrived and we spent the next hour putting everything in the RV and we were off at around 5.00pm, two hours later than scheduled.
Bruce got the first shift, he drove for about 4 hours then it was my turn. Of course I got the hills and boy were they HILLS!!!! I got through it and Paula took the next shift about 3 hours later. You couldn’t sleep in the back bed cause you literally just jumped around from the bumps in the road. Over the night we drove over the state line from California to Nevada. We decided to make a change in plans and miss Vegas and try to make it closer to Grand Canyon; we would do Vegas and Hoover Dam on the way back. Paula pulled into a Rest Area at around 2.30am and we all tried to get some sleep, Bruce and I must’ve of dozed off, but I think an hour or so later Paula got up jumped into the drivers seat and off we went again. We stopped for gas at around 5.00am and the kids all woke up, and you guessed it….. “Are we at the Grand Canyon yet?” You have no idea how hot is was, at 5.00am in the morning, I thought to myself, we are in trouble if this is the weather we are going to be having. We stopped in a Kmart car park and all cleaned up a little and had some breakfast, it was still warm but had cooled a little. Then we jumped in the RV and drove down Route 66, the scenery was not too bad in the stretch that we drove on, but we’ve driven on Route 66, Yeay, and yes we had the song on and the rest of The Cars Movies soundtrack. We drove over the state line into Arizona at some stage during the day.
We arrived at the RV Park at around 10.30am. All the adults were exhausted to say the least. We went for a swim with the kids in the park pool and all sat around the picnic table and had some lunch. It was warm and overcast but not a hot day, it was a good day to be out and about. After lunch I pulled the Bad cop and told the kids that the adults and kids were having a sleep for an hour and then we would go to The Canyon.
Well, 2 hours later we were all awake and off down the road to The Grand Canyon National Park, Wooo Hooo! We were driving into the park and you could see it as you were driving and even in the RV it was very impressive. We parked the RV, jumped on the bus and made out way to the visitors center to get the boys books to get their Junior Ranger badges. Then off to see the Canyon, it was phenomenal, Bruce was VERY impressed. We sat there looking at it for a while, the kids had a snack and we got some gorgeous pictures. We stayed until after dark, the boys had to do a Ranger program as a part of the Junior Ranger Program, so we went and heard Ranger Bob tell stories in this really gorgeous Amphitheatre after dark. We heard river stories about the Canyon and then he told hiking stories, they were really cool, it was a great experience. We got back to the campsite and had a quick dinner then the kids had a quick run around and off to bed at a fairly reasonable time, we (adults) were all exhausted!!
The next day we were all nice and fresh and ready for what was next. We had some breaky and packed up everything to leave. We were off back to the Grand Canyon to get the boys their Junior Ranger badges; it was a cooler day (for summer anyway). The sun was out which was nice and made for some gorgeous pics. The boys got their Junior Ranger badges with Ranger Keith. Then we got some more pics and got to see the Colorado River running through the Canyon which we didn’t see the day before, it was really cool. Then it was before lunch and we were on the road again, next stop, Four Corners. That’s the point where four states meet, it’s just a photo opp but it was really cool. I was driving and we drove into the Four Corners and it was windy and of course dusty too. We were in Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado & Arizona. We met some nice people and had a chat, and then jumped into the RV and off to the next RV Park,
Cortez, Colorado. It was nice to get there at a reasonable hour and had some dinner, the kids got to run around. Although Jeremy was out to it, exhausted, he was asleep and out for the night. The boys went out and played with the glow sticks I bought them and later they came in and watched a movie in the back. We all got the laptops out and connected to the real world, there was some alcohol had and we were all in bed before midnight for a good nights sleep. We had decided that to get back we were going to have to miss Vegas and go the other way, shorter way home. So the new route was to continue across the state line into Utah and up to Salt Lake City.
We got up and had some breakfast, the kids went out running around, we all showered which was SOOO nice!! We were on the road again at around 9.00 am and off to Mesa Verde National Park. It wasn’t far away; although once we were through the front gate it was still 15 miles UP the mountain to get to the visitors center to pick what we would like to see. We parked the RV and bought tickets to go and see the cliff dwellings at 12.30. So we went to the Museum and got the kids books for the Junior Ranger badges and start researching through the museum. We had some lunch and the kids got to run around and yelling, which they did a lot of. They had some big fun though which is always a good thing, they lost their minds for a little while.
It was a warmer day so all the caps came out, we drove down to the where the cliff dwellings were and parked. We hydrated a little and were off with the rest of our tour group. Paula (scared of heights, did really great, she was clearly petrified over a couple of the bits coming down but worked through it and made it down great.) We saw this amazing civilization they built their homes under the shelter of the overhanging cliffs, complete with storage it was truly amazing. We also learnt about how some of the other civilizations that lived in the area around the Mesa Verde national park. We actually got to go down into one of the pit houses to see where they actually stayed which was fantastic. The boys got their ranger badges and from Ranger Stacey and then we had a snack and were on the road again heading for Salt lake City, Utah.
Bruce drove; we crossed the border into Utah and stopped at this roadhouse on the way. I have to say, the scenery was PHENOMENAL!!!!! and that didn’t even do it justice, it’s something I think you just had to be there to experience it. It was definitely up there with one of my favorite things from the trip. The kids all played out and around the place, got rid of some energy and we had some dinner, took video and pictures of the GORGEOUS sunset and a couple of hours later we were back on the road. Bruce, god bless him he drove for hours, he stopped at a stop in Provo, 20 mins from Salt lake City. It was about 2.30am and he was exhausted. We all slept in till round 7.00 and were up and had some breakfast, it was warmer, which is what happens in the desert.
We all woke up around 7.30 and had some breakfast, cleaned up at the truck stop bathroom and Bruce drove into Salt Lake City. We stopped and checked out the city, which was pretty, lots of what you think are buildings but are really churches and church buildings. We drove down John Stockton Blvd and Bruce took us to the Olympic center place in town. There is this really great water fountain, the kids played in it and we had a break, it was HOT so it was a nice relief before spending the rest of the day on the road to Reno.
Bruce drove out of the City and we stopped at this disgusting place called Skull Valley where we changed drivers and I jumped in. I drove for the afternoon, we stopped at the Salt Flats, which thank goodness we had sunglasses on, cause without them you squinted beyond belief, Jamieson had to wear a pair of my glasses. It was stinking hot too, we stayed, got some pics, went to the bathroom and back to the van with the air-conditioning. The scenery on the way to Reno was not too bad, lots of mountains which was good considering when you say you are driving thought desert you think of flat and nothing. The kids did so well, Bruce and Paula had naps, then Bruce played brain quest with the kids, Paula read her book and I continued down the road to Reno.
The kids took some time out each at the back of the RV; all needed alone time. We had a poll going as to what time we would be getting to Reno. The adults started playing a game Bruce bought called Chat Pack; it’s a game of questions you all answer. It’s lots of fun and does certainly get you talking.
I drove into Reno just after 8.00pm. We parked to RV and went into the El Dorado Casino and had some dinner, we all kind of just sat there and didn’t really eat a lot, I think the week was finally catching up to us. We walked around and Bruce realized how blah the place was, got into the RV and drove to the RV Park to see if there were any spots for us.
We chatted about whether to go home or not, Jeremy wanted to stay in the RV another night. So we kind of fibbed and Paula said there were no spots left.
We pulled into the petrol station and the kids got to run around with glow sticks, Paula make Smores, they ran around and we piled them into the RV. Bruce said he was fine to drive, he grabbed a coffee and off we went. He did really well; 2 hours later we were home, 2am. Paula and the kids slept in the RV and Bruce and I went inside to our own bed…
Here are a little bit more than a few of the 600 pictures that we took. (My mother would be proud)
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