Cancer man.

Our last night of this year long journey was in Missoula, Montana KOA.  The trailer ahead of us at check in had its bumper falling off!  They pulled into their campsite and Greg noticed that the man was walking very slowly with a cane and upon meeting him it was clear that he wasn't old, but sick.  His wife had a limp because of knee surgery.  Greg went to help them remove the spare from the bumper and heard their story.  This was their farewell trip together.  He has terminal cancer.  They look like they were maybe in their late 50's early 60's.  Just another reminder of why this year was a good idea and that it is possible to wait too long.

Airplanes and rollercoasters.

Since we drove past it last spring, Leland has been asking to go the the Hill Aerospace Museum.

Part of our timing in heading north is to be in the Salt Lake City area for opening day of  Lagoon Amusement  Park.  Tons of roller coasters and sick scary rides.  I went on the wooden roller coaster that has been around since the 1920's.  Creaking, rattling, banging, up down and turn but no upside down.  Also on this crazy ride that takes you way up high and then you free fall down.  Yikes- my stomach stayed at the top.  Of course the kids and Greg went on way more rides.  One of the called Wicked even scared Greg!

Lone Rock Beach

The road from Flagstaff to Page AZ was washed out in a monsoon rain in summer of 2012 and the detour wasn't great when we were in the area last spring.  This time there is a new paved road through the Navajo Nation that gets you to Page from the south.  We camped at Lone Rock Beach on Lake Powell.  Gorgeous sand and sun.  We had our own tropical oasis.  Kids played in the sand and buried each other.

nice fake cry

We sat in our chairs and read and drank adult beverages.  Walked on the beach, had a barbeque and discussed staying for a week.  Paradise until it wasn't....next morning we are being pelted by a sand storm.  Other rigs are hooking up and moving out.  There is no question that we have to hit the road as sand can be worse than snow to be stuck in.  Also we already have sand in every crevice of the camper- no need for more.  It also looks like rain which means any dirt roads that are great when dry turn to impassable gumbo.  So we just keep driving to better weather.

Paved Paradise...you know the rest.

Sedona is gorgeous.  Should be a National Park.  But way too busy for our liking.  We had a great boondocking campsite outside of town for four days with a gorgeous view of some red cliffs, under a tree, watching the sunsets, just hanging out.  Our second night there, just at dark a car pulled in and a young woman asked if she could camp near us because she was by herself and a guy in a truck had been driving back and forth past her camp and was creeping her out.  Of course, not a problem.  We had a great chat- she had been travelling around the world for the last year and a half and this was her last month before she started a job as an engineer.  Great night for stories but a crappy, creepy man, reason.   When we hooked up to leave on Sunday morning the truck had a low tire- spike in it.  No problem- change it- carry on, get it fixed in town on Monday.  Get to Sedona- busy four lane road, on a hill, we have a flat on the other side!  Totally flat- wreck the rim if you drive on it flat!  In the middle of traffic we chock the trailer and truck, jack it up, put on the semi-flat spiked tire.  Of course nothing is open except tourist stuff.  A guy at a jeep rental place tells us to go a couple miles back up the highway to the Big O tire.  It opens first thing on Monday morning and people have stayed in the parking lot before.  We carefully drive back to the Big O next to a school bus.

Gorgeous view of the rocks- lovely foreground of highway and gas stations and traffic roaring past. Joni Mitchell's "paved paradise and put up a parking lot." is running through my mind.   It all ends well- we meet one of the employees who is checking what we're doing- it's cool to stay the night.  We get two new tires for the back of the truck and head on our way north.

Mission San Xavier del bac

by Leland

March 2014 Saturday

On March15, 2014 a Sunday, me, Mom, Dad, & Anna went to the Mission San Xavier.   The Mission san Xavier was started in 1783 and completed in 1797.  And in 1887 an earthquake in Sonora damaged parts of the Mission and major repairs weren’t started until 1906.  Just to give you a part of its history.    Also, Mission san Xavier isn’t the original Mission the original Mission was started in 1700 by a Missionary from Spain called Kino but was never finished.           

The entire thing was crazy- the art was amazing, but a little weird.  It was so overwhelming.  I loved the paintings, everything had a meaning, and they were not only paintings they were messages- prophesies, to carry the thoughts and beliefs of those who painted it for as long as the paint will last. I think that is the intention of all artists, to express themselves, so that a piece of them will last as long as it can. So when they die, they never really leave you they continue their existence. Just in a different way. So it was pretty cool.         

It turns out we took no photos at the Mission- we were all too overwhelmed- the photo above is from their website.  Haha.

    

Wiley Coyote Cactuses

Was getting too chilly to head north so we zigged and headed south.   I didn’t think we would get to the Sonoran Desert on this trip but with this zig we headed toward Tucson and the Saguaro cactuses.  You know the ones- the iconic arms, the striking silhouettes, Wiley Coyote.   Saguaro (pronounced Sa-waro) cactuses are perfectly evolved for their environment. They start out as a tiny seed near a nurse tree and it takes until 50 years of age before they start to grow an arm which starts out as little prickly bud.  They have ribs that expand and contract depending how dry or wet it is for water storage.  All shapes and sizes and homes to tons of cactus wrens and curved billed thrashers.  

Dying saguaros

    Everything is prickly.

Goofy girl

Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum- amazing.   It is an outdoor- natural history museum combined with a zoo.  Very well done and well worth going to if you are in the area.  Highlights were the artificial cave- Leland loved the bat ears.

and the turtle shell...

The free flight raptors were semi trained to fly over our heads and dive and land on branches nearby.  

and the hummingbird aviary.