Summer Vacation Day 5: GRAND CANYON SUNRISE!

Well, we managed to leave the hotel in Flagstaff at 3:30 AM this morning so we could see the sunrise at the Grand Canyon.

It was an exciting trip over - there were huge ELK along the side of the road! We were all extra vigilant as we drove. Once we arrived, everyone could relax a little as we waited for the sunrise, which was officially 5:24 AM today.


it was a little chilly! Mommy and Deacon, waiting...


5:24 AM - ready for some sun!


There it is! We approve of the sun's choice to pose for pics with our kids.






Deacon has turned into quite the photographer since he got his phone...


SO GLAD he didn't drop it into the canyon. I wonder how many phones are down there??


Here's one of Deacon's sunrise pics.


And... a selfie to send to his buddy Jason.


Here is that selfie.


One of Mommy's phone pics - it's amazing how the colors change as the sun illuminates the layers of the canyon.


A sunrise family pic. Derek managed not to step on Maren's foot this time!


it was quite a photo-op, so we took lots of pics. Here are a few...






So many good pics of Maren, I had to post a bunch.




This could be our official 20th anniversary pic! Except I hate my shoes.


More of the kids...




Deacon enjoyed pretending Daddy's tripod was a bazooka.




Maren didn't want to leave; she and Daddy went to one more rock outcropping for a pic.


OK, so here is one of the HUMONGOUS elk we saw in the dark on the side of the road on the way there. And we saw a few on the way back to Flagstaff; at least the sun was up, and there were other cars on the road by that time! In fact, Deacon spotted this one, and two big vans on the other side of the road pulled over at the same time to take pics, blocking our view. But Derek got this one after they left.


An elk-ette! She's a beauty!


One last family pic as we left the park.


Breakfast at the Pine Country Restaurant in Williams, AZ, right outside the national park.


It was delicious - we recommend it!


On the way back to Flagstaff... sleepy kids.


And sleepy Daddy!


(He was just kidding.)

I think that brings us up to date here on the AFB. Tomorrow we leave Flagstaff and head for Phoenix. We have no plans in Phoenix, so we'll see what adventures await!

Summer Vacation Day 4: METEOR CRATER!

Welcome to Day 4 of our Summer Vacation: July 16, Meteor Crater, AZ!

We had planned on going to the Four Corners Monument at the intersection of Utah, AZ, Colorado, and New Mexico.


But the kids weren't crazy about the idea of the 7-hour round trip, so we decided to visit Meteor Crater about 40 minutes from Flagstaff instead.

Very impressive! We didn't take this aerial pic. You can see how large the crater is, compared to the size of the Visitor Center, which is toward the lower right of the frame!


It turns out that Meteor Crater is the best-preserved and first-proven meteor crater on earth. It was the first time that scientists across the globe agreed that it came about as a result of a meteor, NOT a volcanic eruption. It has led to many more land formations being classified as meteor strikes.


There were very exciting thunderstorms in the area. Glad we grabbed a few jackets on the way out the door as we left home! We thought all of Arizona was really hot all the time, and we wouldn't need any cool-weather clothes. What did we know?? Anyway, here are Derek and the kids in front of the crater!


Maren and Mommy.


Maren and Daddy are somewhere in this pic...


Ah, here they are, overlooking the crater!


Maren LOVED climbing on the rocks around the crater.




Maren brought these rocks back to Flagstaff with her; they were one rock until she stepped on it, and it split in two. Now she will have to find a spot in her room for "Splitrock".


Daddy and Maren took one last pic back up at the Visitor Center entrance after a great adventure, while Deacon and Mommy hung out in the gift shop.


We spent the rest of the day eating and swimming, and looking forward to our next Grand Canyon adventure, which was today, Thursday, the 17th. I hope to have that blog entry up in the next few hours!

Summer Vacation Day 3: THE GRAND CANYON!

Continuing our Arizona Odyssey... yesterday, July 15th, we went to the Grand Canyon. It didn't disappoint!

Here's Derek and friendly park ranger Janet, who gave us some literature and advice. She said she's on social media all over the world because everybody takes pictures of her! It's been awhile since we've had a celebrity here on the AFB, so thank you, Janet!


Derek didn't waste any time setting up his tripod for pics.


I'm sure this cell phone pic Deacon took does the Grand Canyon justice! Actually, it's not bad.


Derek wanted to have a little fun with the gang back at the office, making sure to convey the grandeur of this beautiful place with a low-resolution selfie.


The Grand Canyon with our kids in front of it?? Maybe the ULTIMATE photo op.






The random tourists waiting for our photo spot said, "This could be your Christmas card this year." I don't know, is the Grand Canyon wacky enough to be in our Christmas card?? Do we NEED to do wacky cards every year? Maybe I'll take a poll.


Derek loved this outtake; when taking these timer photos, he has to set the timer and then run to get in the picture. This time he stepped on Maren's foot. Maybe this could be the Christmas card.


Then we had to take one for my mom, in which we're falling back into the abyss...


This was a great spot, because it looked like Maren was right on the edge, but there was a big flat ledge underneath that rock outcropping.


At least that's what Derek told me...


Derek & Maren at the Tusayan Pueblo ruins. A worthwhile stop for our resident Pueblo expert.


And... what trip to one of the most majestic and awe-inspiring places on earth would be complete without a trip to the gift shop? Yes, he got the bird thing.




And Maren got this coyote puppet.


In the Visitor Center. A little light on this map showed us where we were.


Well, I guess those are all the pics fit for the AFB. I think we're going back to the Grand Canyon to see the sunrise tomorrow morning. That means a 3:30 AM departure! Stay tuned to see if it happens or not!

Tomorrow's post: hold onto your meteorites; we visited METEOR CRATER today!

Summer Vacation Days 1 & 2: LAS VEGAS and Kingman, AZ!

Well, it seems the kids are tired of California. "Why can't we ever go to another state, like everyone else does?" Because, you know, there's just NOTHING to do in California.

All right, we thought, let's go to the Grand Canyon.

By way of Las Vegas! I'd say that would meet the criteria of being different from Burbank. So we surprised the kids on Sunday afternoon, July 13th, by telling them we were leaving for the Grand Canyon a day early, and would be spending our first night on the road in Vegas.

It was 115 degrees on the way to Vegas, according to the World's Tallest Thermometer in Baker, CA! We didn't get a pic; this is the best one I could find online.


Our cautious boy Deacon was apprehensive, and didn't want to get out of the car at any point before we reached the hotel. But Maren loved it - here she is, ready to OWN this town!




Maren & Daddy, high rollers.


Vacation Day 2: swimming at the BEAUTIFUL Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel!


The Wave Pool was awesome.


After we checked out, we hit the road. Wow, everything in Kingman, AZ looks just like the movie Cars!


Sorta like Flo's V-8 Cafe.




Next post: Day 3. The Grand Canyon!