Today is our official day to tour the Grand Canyon National Park after getting into town around dusk yesterday. The weather is definitely getting much warmer even at this high elevation so I can’t even imagine how hot it is at the base of the desert in Arizona. Ava is ready with her sunglasses and hat and even a couple of dandelions as mini-umbrellas for some much needed shade from this heat wave.
A day of climbing up and down rocks really tuckered out Ava as she slept in just a little later than usual this morning. Mila on the other hand found herself in a ripe opportunity to get her hands on some of her sister’s toys.
After dinner in Durango last night we headed west towards Mesa Verde National Park and got a spot at the Mesa Verde RV Resort just outside of the park. We looked long and hard at our options and we crossed our fingers in hoping that the RV Resort had a decent WiFi connection since our Sprint 3G card is hopelessly out of range. So far we are doing alright. The site had hookups and the WiFi signal worked well enough for us to get some work done so we could head out for some sightseeing in the morning.
After 2 nights in Albuquerque we decided that it is time for us to move on. We are so close to being home that a little bit of post trip depression is creeping up on us. Driving a few hundred miles a day is now our daily routine so any place we go from here is basically a weekend trip for us once we get home. The obvious thing for us to do is stay on I-40 and drive towards Flagstaff, Arizona but we decided to squeeze in another state, or maybe 2, before it is all over.
What do you think Mila? Is it a good idea? “Ummmm, me thinks yesss!”
Albuquerque is a quirky town. It is home to the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History as well as the famous international Hot Air Balloon Festival. Aside from all of the popular tourist stops, none was more intriguing to us than this little place up in the hills called Tinkertown Museum.
After a nice night at the Walmart parking lot of Edgewood, New Mexico, we descended down into Albuquerque and began looking for a place to stay for a couple nights.
Our long drive yesterday landed us in a little town in Texas called Shamrock. We are now west enough to be coming across some of the same states we visited at the beginning but just further north. Being a little town right off of Interstate 40, it is a town that was part of the old Route 66. And it is no accident that we decided to stay here last night.
Today is a very special day. It is not only special because we are heading into Oklahoma for the first time but because it is also our 8th anniversary. If you told me on the day we got married 8 years ago that we would be full timing on the road with 2 kids today, I would probably think you are crazy. It’s amazing how much things have changed for the better since then and we are happy to be where we are today.
This time of year, thunderstorms are the norm in this part of the country. And we got a big one this morning. As usual, it came out of no where and it was pouring buckets in no time.
Last night we made it to Memphis, Tennessee from a couple nights in Nashville. It was a long drive and the terrain is definitely getting flatter and less scenic as we continue to head west and away from middle Tennessee.
We went back and forth whether we should go to Nashville or not. After some consideration, we decided to go and check it out. We thought we could help the city out by dropping some money in town. Every little bit counts, right?
Chattanooga well exceeded all of our expectations and we were kind of sad to leave so soon but there is much more of Tennessee we plan to see. We packed up and hit the road this morning headed towards our next destination, Nashville. Just up the Tennessee river.
