The Grand Canyon

More of The Grand Canyon

Wow...what a view!

Completing work to earn park ranger badges

Discussing some questions with the ranger

Awesome views!!

Day 9 - The Grand Canyon

We made it! The boys were impressed with the size of the canyon and all seemed to enjoy each view point we visited! It was quite a day to remember! We were amazed at all the many different languages we heard at the Canyon. In fact, we have encountered many different languages during our whole trip. We have talked with people from Australia, Germany, Italy, and Norway!

Night 8 - Williams, AZ

We spent the night in the BEST town ever - Williams, Arizona. It was quite a day since we left a very busy metropolis - Vegas - and drove in to a small town with a very small town feel. The people were so friendly and the town was really quaint. When we first got checked in, we headed down to eat at the recommended Pine Restaurant. As we were parking, we saw a gun fight show starting on their main street : Route 66. Right in the middle of the street were 5 to 8 men fully dressed in western attire. They put on a funny and entertaining wild west shoot-out show with jokes and had everyone laughing instantly. After the show, we moved on to the Pine Restaurant to chow down. I don't think we had had anything close to this good for food on the whole trip. Everything was AMAZING! Their pies were almost 5 inches thick, and we all had good intentions to get some pie before leaving. However, once our dinners were served, we had to give those dreams up as we were full of country fried steak, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, grilled chicken and Hendrix's amazing, and huge, cobb salad. WOW! We must have been starved! It was yummy! We then set out to shop as we were RIGHT ON ROUTE 66! Everyone was very friendly, horses were giving buggy rides, the Grand Canyon Railroad was unloading and the air was crispy cold and very breezy. We all loved this town and wanted to spend at least another night here. If you ever head to the Canyon, this is a great town to stay! We all agreed we would LOVE to come back to this town one day!

Day 8 Las Vegas to Williams, Arizona

The Hoover Dam

Inside the power plant at the dam

Walking through the inside tunnels

Generators

Had to post one last sign of Vegas that wouldn't fit on the other post. ;)

Our first stop today was the Hoover Dam! Words can't describe this amazing man-made creation. I think we will all remember this experience as one of the most impressive sights we have seen. We agreed that seeing what they created in the early 1930's gave you a great patriotic feeling and a sense of wonder and respect for their workmanship and their dedication to such a huge undertaking.

Day 7 - Las Vegas

New York New York Casino

We spent the day touring Vegas by visiting Caesar's Palace, the Mirage, and Treasure Island. The shops at Caesar's were amazing even though the boys didn't recognize most of the names. :) We then set the GPS and made our way in our Honda Odyssey to the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop. This is the shop featured on the History Channel show called Pawn Stars. The boys were excited to be there and bargained for some poker chips they had for sale. In the afternoon, we dined at the huge buffet before enjoying the large pool. We then set out for the strip once again in our Odyssey. We parked at the Mirage and got settled in to enjoy the volcano and pirate show at the Mirage and Treasure Island. Unfortunately, we were all disappointed when the shows were canceled due to high winds.

Day 6 - Tucson, AZ to Las Vegas, NV

We traveled today from Tucson to Las Vegas. Vegas was...VEGAS! The boys were amazed at the lights and huge hotels and casinos. We checked in The Excalibur and headed to the Hard Rock Cafe to eat dinner. Pops stayed back at the Excalibur to turn in early.

Day 5 Tucson, AZ PIMA - Air and Space Museum

We toured the PIMA Air and Space Museum in the morning. The boys saw airplanes from all the different armed services and other space and aircraft. It was a cool place to tour.

Day 5 - Tucson, AZ - Old Tucson

The boys riding the coach in Old Tucson

Panning for gold!!

The Smith men and the ladies of Old Tucson

The tall Sequoia of Arizona

Day 5 - Afternoon: We toured Old Tucson and saw where over 300 westerns have been filmed. The boys enjoyed the gun fight show and seeing the western town. We turned in for the night since we were driving to Vegas the next morning. Enjoy the pics!

Day 4 Las Cruces, NM to Tucson, AZ

The Honda Odyssey in the White Sands of New Mexico

The Smith boys at the dunes

Cole running in the sand

A dust devil traveling across from New Mexico to Arizona

The Honda Odyssey in Arizona - check out those rocks!

Today we started out headed out for White Sands National Park in New Mexico. This was a really cool thing to see. Millions (interesting theory) of years ago, this particular area was a small sea. Over time the sea left behind gypsum which was or turned into the white sand. 275 sq miles of this area is covered with white sand dunes. The White Sands Missle Range is also nearby. The US government and space program test missles, rockets, etc. there.

The boys loved the sand dunes and we had a hard time getting them off. They ran and jogged up and down in the pure white firm sand. I don't think the pics can do it justice. Beautiful western mountains surround the white sand dunes. However, the sun was getting hotter and hotter and we could feel ourselves getting ready to be baked. :) It was time to ride some more...

After we left the White Sands gift shop, we headed to Las Cruces to get lunch at WhatABurger. It was delicious!

We then traveled 4 hours to Tucson. The drive was nice with great weather. The scenery? Well, more brown desert looking terrain. We did see many dust devils (sands storms) funneled all along the route. Since yesterday we have met many long, long trains with the cars doubled on top of each other. We then crossed into Arizona and finally saw civilization when we got closer to Tuscon. Thank goodness! I, for one, was ready.

Day 3 - Midland, TX to Las Cruces, NM

Oil drilling machines were all along the drive today

Jay found a welcoming sign in New Mexico

Hendrix and Cole Relaxing after checking in

Tommy and his family in Las Cruces

The Smith Clan

Today we traveled from Midland, TX to Las Cruces, NM. The drive was nice - no rain and good temps. We took Interstate 10 and we were very close to the Mexican border a good bit of the way. We passed mountains and went through El Paso. At one point, we could see right across the Rio Grande river to the houses in Mexico up close.

We arrived in Las Cruces around 2:00pm. Hendrix and Cole went swimming in the indoor pool at the Hampton Inn and Suites. We then headed to Tommy's. We got to see Evette, Zachary and Chris - age 16, Kimberly - age 13 and Jacob - age 11. We decided to go watch part of Jacob's basketball game and then headed back to Tommy's house to visit and grill out. When we got back, we found Ray at the grill and Chris assisting. We lucked out and Ray did a great job on the boneless ribs. It was great to see everyone and for the boys to get to know their relatives in Las Cruces. Las Cruces was a beautiful city and we loved our hotel!!

Tomorrow we will head to White Sands National Park.