Day 11 (500 miles)

Today we got up at 5:30 A.M. (Mountain Standard Time) which was 4:30 A.M. Arizona time. I did not want to be driving through the mountains in the dark at the end of a 500 mile drive. After getting everyone up and in the car we packed up the camper and hit the road (it was about 6:30 when we left).

After driving for an hour (just as everyone fell asleep), I came over a hill and two deer were standing in the middle of the road. I slammed on the brakes (nothing really happens when you slam on the breaks and you are towing a 2,000+ pound camper). One deer ran left the other right. I thought everything was going to be OK, until the deer on the right decided it needed to be with it's buddy on the left and it ran right in front of the van. I only missed it by a hair. Now that everyone was up we decided to find a grocery store.

Here is August shoving a donut in his mouth.

We took highway 160 from Mesa Verde through Wolf Creek Pass at an elevation of 10,850 feet. There were several scenic overlooks along the way. We drove by Treasure Falls and I did a U turn on the highway to get back to it. It was worth it.

I was able to set the camera on a rock and use the timer to take a picture of our family at the bottom of the falls.

Just a little further down the road we stopped and ran down a hill, crossed a little stream on a fallen tree and we were in the snow. This time I wedged the camera in a little tree to take the picture.

Here is another picture of the snow as we approached 10,000 feet. There were several times that I had the gas peddle to the floor and we were only going 35 mph.

Here is a picture of the van and camper. We all thought this scenery was more impressive than the Grand Canyon. Well after driving up the mountains and down the mountain around the deer, back up the mountain and down the mountain, we made it to Denver. When we drove through Denver Alyssa was my navigator and I had to get off of Interstate 25 and on to highway 36. I had been driving for 8-9 hours and I was totally stressed out. I did not want to miss the exit, but all Alyssa wanted to do was finish her book. I would tell here the exit was in 2.5 miles help me look, she would say I have a couple of minutes let me read. ARGH! We made it through Denver and then on to Boulder and then the final ascent.

Boulder is at 5,400 feet and our campground (Moraine Park Campground) is at 8,150 feet and that was the last 30 miles of the trip. I am so glad we got up early and it was only 5:00 P.M. when I started going up this crazy mountain.

Day 10 (300 miles)

After we got up we had a nice big breakfast of pancakes, fruit, toast, and eggs. Then we packed up the camper and headed back to the canyon. We drove along the south rim of the Grand Canyon and took the 25-mile drive from Grand Canyon Village east to Desert View. Here are some pictures we took along the way.

This was the only way Colleen would look at the Canyon clutching a tree and peering over the edge.









Here is a view of the Canyon.































Look at the nice big ledge to keep us safe.



With all of the stops we made along the canyon we did not end up leaving until 3:00 P.M. Our next stop was Mesa Verde Colorado. Once again we did not arrive until after dark. We pulled up to the park and it was pitch black. I knew we had to get up early the next morning to drive to the Rocky Mountains, so we bailed on Mesa Vede.

Mesa Verde is one of the premier archaeological preserves in the U.S. park system and a walk-in time machine. Strolling among these once-thriving settlements will transport you to another world.

Instead we ended up staying at A&A Mesa Verde Camping (a big gravel parking lot). The nice part is we were in by 10:00 P.M. and out by 6:30 A.M.

Grand Canyon Pictures

Ashley headed into the camper with her Care Bear pillow.

Dad and Ashley on a walk.

August eating a snack.

An Elk right by our campsite.

The Hohman's by the Grand Canyon.

Ashley coloring and Alyssa reading (there was a lot of this going on).

A view of our campsite. One of the best sites on our trip.

Everyone around the campfire.

Arizona Pictures

Here is a picture taken on the road to Arizona.

Another picture from the road as the sun was setting.

Here is a picture with Colleen's Dad's dog Toby.

In Arizona we saw F-16 jet performing touch and go's.

This is Colleen's favorite flower the Mexican Bird of Paradise.

A cactus from Colleen's Dad's yard.

The kids in the pool.

We finally saw some desert on the way to the Grand Canyon.

No Service

There is no cell service in the Rocky Mountain National Park we came to Estes Park to update the blog. I am going to try and add some pictures, so check back soon.

Day 9 (220 miles - 2300 total miles)

Today we drove to the Grand Canyon. We started the day at an elevation of 1100 feet we went up to 8046 feet and ended up at 7000 feet. When we were going up the mountain to Flagstaff AZ the van started to heat up. I had already turned off the AC, but the temperature was still climbing. We got stuck behind a truck that was only going 30 mph, so I turned on the heat. There is nothing like going up the mountain when it is over 100 and you have the heat on. I was able to switch the AC and heat off and on and I kept the temperature under control. We did see several vehicles on the side of the road. Once we were in Flagstaff everything was fine and the rest of the drive was uneventful. This was the shortest distance we had to travel, but somehow it took us 6 hours. Colleen’s Dad came with and he had Alyssa and Alexis in his car (that saved us a whapping 140 lbs).

We got to our campsite around 4 P.M. and got setup. I did not realize it when I was unhooking the camper, but our campsite was on a hill. The moment the camper came off the hitch it started to roll away OOPS! Luckily Colleen, her Dad and I were able to grab it before it got away. Hey Tim next time put something behind the wheels before you take the camper off the hitch. After that we needed a snack we had apples cheese and crackers. Finally we went to the canyon. Colleen’s fear of heights did not go well with the canyon. As long as the kids were not near the edge she could muster up enough courage to peer over the edge (especially if there was a tree to hold on to). Colleen just told me she did not know she could shake like that.
Back at the camper we cooked diner. We had red beans and rice, apple chicken sausage, fruit (cantaloupe, watermelon, strawberries, and raspberries), green beans, and bread. After diner we started a fire, and roasted marshmallows. The campsite was great it is too bad we couldn’t stay longer.

Day 6-8

We got to visit with Colleen’s dad who lives in Sun City. We got a tour of the area, the whole region is a retirement community, everyone there drives a golf cart and there are no schools. June in AZ is hot, and I think we arrived during a heat wave. The daytime highs were 112 or higher. Apparently it cools off at about 2 A.M. and it is nice until 10 A.M. We would get up at 5:30 A.M. and have breakfast on the screened in porch after that the porch turned into an oven. We went swimming every day, which the kids loved. One nice thing about swimming when it is 112 out is that you don’t need a towel. I was completely dry 10 minutes after I got out of the pool.