Cactus and blow outs...longest day ever!

So, we leave Apache Junction heading for Laughlin on Monday morning.  Along the way we couldn't help stopping for a photo op with the giant Saguaro cactus.

 

 

had to be forty feet high

needles in the sunshine

baby one wants to grow up to be just like papa

don't mess with these bad boys

very scary cactus

close up little fur ball

 

Well, we actually missed our connecting highway (93) because I was too busy chatting with my daughter, Diana, so we had to catch the next small highway (71) to cut back to the 93.  Along the way we had an inside rear tire blow out.  We were in the middle of the desert but luckily had phone service.  AAA was there in about an hour, and we were on our way within two hours.  So we finally get to the 93 headed west, when the second, now left rear, tire blows!  We crawled along the highway 4 miles to get to the next town, Wikieup, to find it was the smallest town ever to have a problem in.  We found a guy open, but he was busy with another truck, and said it would be about an hour...at least four hours later, we had a used tire and 90 more miles to drive.  We held our breathe that the tire would hold, and we finally made it to Laughlin.  Longest day on the road for this whole trip! Now in Laughlin we have a Friday appointment for a new set of tires and we will be on our way Saturday to spend a week in L.A.

first blow out, was dark out by second blowout, so no photo op

In the middle of NOWHERE...

AAA guy got it done...

Finally our Apache Junction / Phoenix visit...

 

 

We arrived in Apache Junction a day earlier than originally planned.  We saw Audrey and David the next afternoon for the first feast.  (Shocker, seems like all we did was eat that weekend!)  Met up with my brother, Andy and Paula the next night for dinner.  Not before lunch with David and Audrey of course.  Then we went to Jacque's house on Saturday night.  Gina was there with her fiancé, Mike, and the kids.  My brother joined us there, too, so we had a great night with a full house of kids and laughter.  It was a blast reminiscing with the girls.  David then had us all over for Sunday dinner of chicken cach and pasta.  Our whirlwind weekend went by too fast but it was the best catching up with our brothers and family.  Here's a bunch of photos from mostly over at Jacque's house...

Andy and Paula

David with Mackey and Papaaaa

Rion and Mackey with giant strawberry

Cute cousins

Nana Audrey with Tegan and Emily making gingerbread men

Emily's masterpiece

Really Jacque, can't you just stir the soup?

Mackey...say cheeeese

gonna be a ball player like his papa

Shelby wanted a pic

Awe, the girls

Tegan's masterpiece

Emily made two



Audrey with her babies

Nice family shot

the whole gang

Gina and Mike

Gina's family

David needed a rest

Audrey looking pretty

Tegan wanted no part of the family pic

Gotcha anyway!

My brother bro

us with Paula

View from David's back yard, could stare at this all day

Saguaro standing watch

David's back yard

David's man cave, all the comforts of home





Our visit to the Carlsbad Caverns

One of our stops was definitely on the top of the wish list, the Carlsbad Caverns.  We have been to several caverns over the years, including on this trip in Ohio, but these were utterly amazing.  Just to tour the "Big Room" is a mile and a half walk that took a couple of hours to explore.  The pictures are hard to give it justice, but here are a few.

Travel days thru Texas and New Mexico

So when we're not painting the town or catching gators, we have pretty basic travel days.  We start by about how many miles west we want to go, then try to find a state or national park to stay at.  Don't get me wrong, I love those KOA's for their familiar facilities, but we have come to find that some of the most beautiful stops have been at state parks.  Here are some memories from our travel days thru Texas, New Mexico and on to Arizona...

Lake Colorado City State Park, Texas.  Great pull thru, but too many stickers for the dogs when they walked :(

On the phone again, catching up with mom

Yes, Ron uses head gear to BBQ, among other things

Meteor Crater Museum near Odessa, TX

This is a spider grass pile up that grew throughout the day.  In the morning, it was a little swirl of these grass seed/weeds and by the afternoon it was almost 6 feet high! 

Black bear at the Living Desert Zoo in Carlsbad New Mexico

Finally saw elk!

Another beautiful sunset at the Circle B Campground in Ruidoso, NM

National Radio Astronomy Observatory VLA  telescope

Caught some weather, snow flurries in Datil, NM

Rest along the road in Arizona

The long, long highway 60, headed to Apache Junction

Now we feel like we're in Arizona, Saguaros standing tall to greet us