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.

Day 2 - Shreveport, LA to Midlands, TX

This was quite a day! We started out heading toward the city of Dallas. As we got closer, we realized due to Aunt Melanie's awesome atlas, that we would be within 6 miles of the Dallas Cowboy's new Stadium! We couldn't just drive by. We hopped off of our route and took a self-guided tour of the stadium. We got to walk on the field, tour the locker room, interview room and cheerleader locker room! Oh, and the Miller Lite Club where the players through on the way to the field. It was really cool to see! We then dined at Subway and headed for 5 more hours to Midlands, TX.

On the way to Midlands we passed many, many large white windmills and many small oil drilling machines pumping away. It was flat with little hills every now and then sticking up out of nowhere. In the morning we saw small bushy trees all along the road, but by afternoon, the trees were mostly little trees/bushes and you could see for miles. The terrain definitely changed during our ride today. No more tall pines or tall oaks at all. The houses along I-20 were just like Texas houses you hear about with gated ranch-like openings and long drives. It was really neat to see it all.

Tonight we ate at a great chain here called Rosa's Cafe Tortilla Factory. They make their own flour tortillas, and you can watch them get made in a window. That was a cool thing to see.

Outside we made friends with 2 Texas Highway Patrolmen. Cole was in love with their police COWBOY hats! Too cool!

Tomorrow we should arrive in Las Cruces, NM and visit with Jason's cousin and children. The drive shouldn't be as long.

Thanks for checking in on us!