Hello! We are still in Arizona having the most incredible time! I have logged over 1100 miles on the van so far, and the kids have not complained at all! No "are we there yet?" or "how much longer?" whining! It is unbelievable how well these kids travel!
I had a pretty thorough itinerary, but we have managed to mangle it up a bit. We drove over to Williams AZ on Saturday. We got a later start than we had planned, but with 10 people traveling together, that is to be expected. I just stressed the importance of flexibility under these conditions, so nobody seemed to get bent about it. I chose to stay in Williams versus Flagstaff for one main reason - - the trains! Williams is about 40 minutes west of Flagstaff. You can get a "cheap" motel and not have to hear a train every twenty minutes, like in Flagstaff. We drove into Flagstaff for breakfast, then we drove south through the center of Arizona via the scenic highway that takes you through Sedona. We detoured to a river area called Slide Rock park, or something like that. I let the kids get wet because I don't think there's anything as fun as swimming in a river. We drove through Sedona but didn't stop until we went to a pottery/gift shop just on the outskirts. It was huge. Viv chose a wooden snake, and Ivy fell in love with a dream catcher. We made it all the way to Tucson, passing several electrical storms in the Phoenix area. The weather has been great. Some rain and thunder, but not nearly as hot as we had anticipated. Very comfortable. Our hotel in Tucson was great. It was a Best Western Inn Suites, so the rooms were large, and the amenities were very nice. The kids loved the pool and we loved the free breakfast! $110 for two nights was a great deal! I would definitely stay there again the next time we come this way. Oh, funny thing - - I recognized one of my city council members (the vice mayor), and he's my new best friend. Just kidding! But he sure was very chatty!
The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum was much better than I expected. I thought we could do it in two hours, but we ended up spending a good five hours there. The javelinas were so adorable. They had a hummingbird aviary, and the hummingbirds would fly right in front of your face and buzz all around you, so close you could feel the little breeze from their wings. It was so neat! We also saw a venomous reptile demonstration, with a live gila monster, a live rattlesnake, and a live western diamondback. So you can tell there was something for all of us! John wants to plant ocatillo in our yard.
We are in Sierra Vista now. We went to Kartchner Caverns today and I will tell everybody I know that they must see this place at least once in their lifetime. It was so beautiful, I nearly cried. I can't even describe it. Just trust me. Go!
Tomorrow, I plan on going to Bisbee and taking a mine tour. Then, Tombstone. We will start towards home on Thursday afternoon, spend the night somewhere off the I-10, and get home Friday evening. I can't wait to upload pictures. This has been a wonderful vacation so far. The only difficult part was putting my mom on a Greyhound bus in Tucson so she could get home in time for my cousin Yvonnne's memorial services. The services were moved up a day sooner than we had originally been told, so we had to scramble to get her out. I never realized how unreliable our bus transit it in the USA! Scotland has a very efficient bus system (we learned last year), but Greyhound sucks. They were so late, my mom ended up missing the services. So we miss her because she is home. But Pepito is very happy.
Okay, I'd better get to bed now. Big day tomorrow.
Hugs, y'all!
~Lisa
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