This trip we took involved A LOT of driving (if you couldn't tell from the title). The number of states are states that we stopped in for some reason or another. Some to stay for a little bit, some to just get gas, and others to see sights or visit people.
We started out by going to Las Vegas, NV. We stayed in this super fancy hotel, which was surprising because it wasn't that expensive at all. I have wanted to go to a Cirque Du Solei show for a very very long time, and I finally got to go! We went to La Reve The Dream (a cross between gymnastics, contortion, dance, comedy, and synchronized swimming). It was pretty cool. We were sitting in the "splash zone" in the front row. Got a little wet, but we were dry by the time it ended. This picture was taken before the show started. Sorry it's so dark. We were surrounded by people that didn't speak English (or Spanish in my case), so we did a lot of gesturing and this is what we got. Didn't want to go through that again. My favorite part: when they took the guy up past were we could see (at least 4 stories) and then dropped him into the pool. Absolutely crazy!
Then we stopped at the Hoover Dam on our way to the Grand Canyon. We went on the tour through the bottom, which was pretty cool.
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| I totally love Scott's hat. |
Then finally on to the Grand Canyon! It was mind blowing, seriously. Simultaneously Scott and I both said, "Oh my gosh," upon our first glance of the canyon. Pictures do not do it justice! It really looks like something painted on the sky.
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| Our first outlook. So pretty! |
We went on a hike of the Kaibab Trail. Lots of great views, and Scott was brave and climbed to the top of this rock (yes, he made me do it too).
Then this big guy wandered into our camp.
We were at the Grand Canyon for two days. Then we went on to Mesa Verde. Stopped at four corners monument, where I had the best fry bread I have ever tasted. It was fantastic. At Mesa Verde National Park (it's kinda small, in Colorado) we went on tours of the cliff dwellings there. It was really really cool! People actually lived in these about 800 years ago, and abandoned them after about 80 years being there. Seems like a lot of work for such a sort period of time. There are around 600 dwellings in the cliffs in the area. You can see most of them from the roads on outlooks, and there are a few you can walk through.
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| Getting into balcony house. It's about a three story ladder. |
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| Crawling through a hole to see part of the dwelling. |
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| Scott climbing out of the dwelling. |
We even went on a twilight tour of Cliff Palace, the really big one, with a guy acting like the original explorer of these ruins.
Then it was on to Kansas. We always stay with the Ross family when we go to Kansas, and I totally forgot to take a picture with them. The Ross' are this awesome awesome family that took me in after my house burned down. We got together with my brother's family while we were there of course and tried a new BBQ place (K&M). I thought it was pretty good (the onion rings, mmmm), but Scott likes Oklahoma Joe's better. BBQ is a required stop in Kansas City. So good.
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| Salena on the left, Nathan in front, and Justin next to me. |
I normally try to take my nephew on some sort of date when I'm in town. He remembered from last time I was there (a year and a half ago, seriously!) that I told him we could go to Lego Land. They only let you in if you have a child with you, and Scott wanted to go too, so we went. This is from the section where you make cars on race them or see how far they'll fly on a ramp. Nathan just wanted to take one and make it go over and over again. Scott wanted to make a cool looking car (he built the engine). I didn't make one until the very end so that I could race Nathan. We had a lot of fun.
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| I even put a spoiler on the back. |
And then was the excuse we had to go to Kansas (which we didn't really need one, but grad school got in the way) was Megan Duffy Field's wedding! It was totally beautiful, had the most fantastic cake that I've had since my wedding, and great food. She looked absolutely beautiful and I'm really happy for the new couple (her husband's name is Jamie Field). Megan, Jen and I were connected at the hip in high school. We did everything together, so it was great to get together again at her wedding.
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| Jen on the left, Megan in the middle, and me on the right. |
So that was our vacation. It was really great, and I was super sad to leave Kansas. Cried as we pulled away from the Ross' house, but we're happy to be home. Sorry this post has so many pictures in it, but it was worth it!
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