Arizona - Sunset Crater

Just 15 min. from Sunset Crater are the remains of a pueblo village. This was also a subject studied by the kids in recent years, so it was neat to see how these were built. It's amazing that this farming community was able to survive in the arid climate.

One side trip that wasn't planned was a visit to Sunset Crater, an active volcano that last erupted 800 years ago. Because the climate here is so dry and windy, little vegetation has grown back. You can still see the blast zone, lava flows, and remnants of that eruption as if it occurred only months ago.

Arizona - Grand Canyon (East Rim)

Before leaving the canyon, we had to take one last picture of the mighty Colorado. Here, you see the beginning of the canyon with the Colorado at the bottom. In the distance on the right is a large, flat plateau called the Painted Dessert.

After the hike, it was getting close to noon so we decided to have a picnic on the rim before heading back to the car. One of the best picnics & views of my life!

As we headed back up the trail, Daddy decided the little one could walk a little. She chatted the entire way down and the entire way up! Not only did she keep us entertained, but the other hikers seemed to appreciate it, too!

On this day, we hiked about 1/3 the way down to a nice viewing point. This particular trail was dry, meaning no water stations. We passed several park rangers that carried extra supplies for those unprepared, and one offered to take our picture.

The older kids (Eric included) decided to climb on the side cliffs of the canyon. I was okay with them climbing along Route 66, but the canyon cliffs were a different story.

While waiting for the bus to take us to the East Rim hiking path, the kids found a natural seat to rest.
The next morning we had a choice to climb Mt. Humphries or hike the East Rim. It was unanimous - hike the canyon again! The East Rim was much less populated and offered a completely different view.

Arizona - Grand Canyon (South Rim)

This was our lowest level in the canyon, which only went about 1/4 the way down. Total round-trip hike took about 3 hours. The weather was unusually cool, and made us yearn to keep going. But without the necessities to sustain a longer hike, we knew it wasn't safe. Plus, it was going to take all 4 of us to get the little one back up.

We decided to hike down into the canyon as far as the little one would walk. She was fascinated with the squirrels, and wanted to stop frequently for chips, granola, & water, but that was okay. It gave us a chance to look in awe again at the majestic view.

This place is amazingly beautiful! The Colorado River may have carved out this natural wonder of the world, but God was guiding that river. Each colored layer takes you back in time millions of years.

We anticipated our long-awaited view from the south rim, the most populated viewing point. Lots of people & buses, but it didn't matter. The view was incredible!

Arizona - Route 66

As a finishing treat, we all shared a coke float at the town's burger joint, still operating from it's original building over 60 years ago.

After driving an hour or so down Route 66 (passing the infamous Berma Shave signs) we came upon this cute 50's town of Seligman, AZ. They had all the decor and charm as if the road is still heavily traveled. The kids enjoyed seeing "Tow Mater" and "Doc" from the movie Cars.

While I was soaking in the historical stretch of highway, the rest of the family decided to stretch their legs and climb nearby rocks. What I see as a beautiful landscape, they see as a playground!

After passing Hoover Dam on the way to the Grand Canyon, we decided to take a more scenic route on Route 66. I remembered my dad's stories about the Old Mother Road, and how it was the only road connecting Illinois to California before Interstates were built. I just had to drive on it, then stop for a picture by the road sign.

Arizona - Hoover Dam

Although cars can still drive over the dam, a new bridge has recently been built to allow interstate traffic to move more quickly through the area. On the dam, the views were beautiful, but very windy.

Called one of the greatest engineering wonders of the world, this dam was built to harness the power of nature from the mighty Colorado River.

My son's choice of vacations this summer was to visit Hoover Dam. They just learned about this in 5th grade, so seeing it in person brought that lesson to life.

As we headed out to leave Las Vegas, we spotted an advertisement for go cart racing. So, Eric agreed to let our son ride. He had a blast! The ride came with an official go cart license, head gear, 30 min of racing on the track, and a detailed lap-by-lap analysis of his time and performance. Very cool!

Arizona - Las Vegas, cont.

The little one was finally glad to be back at the hotel. I guess it was tiring to be carried so far. Being the youngest sure has it's privileges!

We walked about a mile on the strip from Lexor to the Mirage before we realized how far we'd gone. At this point, we're carrying the little one, and wishing the bus was a little cheaper than $5 per person to get back.

The water show at the Bellagio was one of our favorites! It's also my favorite on the inside because of their beautiful fresh flowers in the foyer.

The kids love the hotel! Not only did they enjoy the decor, but it was one of the least smokey places we went in. The pools were great, the food was good, and the elevator went sideways! They were ready to set out on foot to explore the great hotels and their themes.

Arizona - Las Vegas

As we approached the city, the kids immediately spotted the strip and all the fancy hotel designs. Little did they know how much walking we'd be doing later on!

The playground was a nice break from driving and provided a good opportunity for the kids to get their energy out. In the background here, you can see Lake Meade. We decided to save Hoover Dam for a few days later so we could hurry to the Luxor Hotel and eat their buffet.

Eric gave the kids a good spin or two on the playground equipment. It was a much funner game than trying not to step in the goat poop.

On the way to Las Vegas, we stopped at a cute park just on the other side of Lake Meade. Some local mountain goats also seemed to enjoy the park, as it was the only grass around for miles. Although the temps were well above 100, it was a dry heat instead of sticky & humid. The only time the heat seemed to bother us was in touching the playground equipment.

Arizona - Phoenix

Arizona's countryside was amazing! Every 30 miles the plants would change from tall cactus to Joshua trees, then cedar, then mesquite, then back to cactus.

After landing in the Phoenix airport, we drove Northwest. The landscape was so vastly different that the kids wanted to stop and see how big the cactus really was.

We started our trip to Arizona with big smiles and lots of excitement! The little one started packing a week before, eventhough she had no idea where Arizona was or what was there. She was just excited to go on an airplane ride!

Europe Trip - Italy, Day 9

Our last day in Italy took us even further back in time. Around 30BC, Augustus had just defeated Egypt and he wanted to bring back to Rome items that were symbolic of his victory. One item he brought to Rome was an obelisk from the Pharaoh Ramses II. You can see the hieroglyphics still on it. Ramses II was the Pharaoh in power when Moses led the Israelites across the Red Sea, so they would have walked right past this same obelisk! There are 13 obelisks in Rome that were taken from Egypt, another one of which is in the picture of St. Peter's Basilica a few posts down.

A few years later, the Pantheon was constructed. This was originally a temple built for the seven planets, but became a Christian church in the 7th century. I've seen pictures of this before in books, but seeing it in person is amazing! The roof is still original, dating from 25BC.

Our walking tour of Rome then led us to the Colosseum. This is probably the most notable building in Rome because of its elliptical arena which held gladiator games. It first opened in 80AD, and seated up to 60,000 guests at a time for over 450 years. Once the Roman Empire fell and Christianity took hold, the Colosseum was abandoned. It's building materials were then used for the large churches and Basilicas, which is why the Colosseum looks depleted today.

As evening began to set in, we enjoyed the walk home surrounded by so much history. Every Roman ruin was a treasure to keep in our memory. But, we missed our kids, and were so thankful that Grandma Linda was able to stay with them so we could enjoy this trip. It was truly the vacation of a lifetime!

Europe Trip - Italy, Day 8

We continued our theme of the early Christian church by visiting the Roman catacombs. These catacombs, or underground burial chambers, date from the 2nd century AD and became the resting place for early Christians, martyrs, and Popes.

This underground area consisted of tunnels and passageways carved out of soft rock, with niches in the walls to lay the corpses.Some theorize that Christians used these tunnels to hide during persecution. However, the air inside would have been toxic due to decaying of corpses. Plus, the location of these catacombs were known to the Romans. Although the stench must have been difficult to breathe, small chapels were carved out of the rock for families to have a memorial service. In one of these small chapels, Father Dan led us in Mass which we offered for all those still being persecuted today for their Christian faith.

After the bodies were laid, the niche was sealed with slabs of tile. Beautiful frescoes were painted on the wet slab that depicted images of Christianity we still recognize today, like the cross, fish, or Mary holding baby Jesus. One of the rooms, on the left, was completely hidden for centuries until archeologists found it. This room was very well preserved, and was probably used by a noble family.