Noting altitude levels spanning from 300 below sea level to 14, 500 above sea level
Breaking our eating out record forever
Living with our cameras attached to us….
WE ARE FINALLY HOME!!!!
We have been blessed beyond measure to spend such an unbelievable amount of time as a family, seeing sites that will be forever etched in our minds and building memories that will last a life time!The Westward Bound Elliott’s indeed went out west as far as we could, to then turn around and travel east far enough to find the place that is by far the most precious place on earth, and that is truly Midland, NC…our Home, Sweet, Home!!
By the way, for whatever it is worth, we never spotted license plates from New Hampshire, South Dakota or West Virginia.It’s been great sharing our trip with you…thanks for following us!
What a wonderful time we had spending time with family. Living so many hours away, we were thankful to be able to work that into our planned vacation out west! After a great breakfast of Nana’s mouthwatering oatmeal pancakes, we gave hugs, said our good-byes and were on our way again!
Short and sweet…we drove, saw fuller, thicker trees, a quick lunch, and more driving. There was a lot of traffic today. I am not sure if it is normal to have so many semi trucks along I-40 East or not but we sure had our share of them! The girls had picked up a series of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, so that seemed to fill up a good chunk of their day. I am beginning to realize life back home with commitments to attend to. I spent a bit of my morning touching base with details at home. Whenever I spotted a license plate un- accounted for, it went in our record book. We need 3 more before covering all 50 states…we’ll see what tomorrow holds!
We sat down for a good dinner in West Memphis, and made it to our last night stay in Nashville, TN at a Country Inn and Suites. Catch up tonight…thanks for your patience. We weren’t able to post for a few days, as some things have needed to come 1st at times!!
On the 18th day, we drove for most of the day through AZ, NM and then got to our grandparents house in OK just in time for dinner.We enjoyed an evening of just catching up on life and getting a tour of their new house.It is in a really neat setting, because they live right outside of an animal reserve on some property that is on a mountain.We got to meet their kitties, who Sophie quickly hit it off with : )
After having breakfast together on the 19th day, we went for a drive with my grandpa, sisters and dad.We drove around a town close to them, up to a mountain with great views, as well as around the reserve.We saw a neat variety of animals including: buffalo, prairie dogs, deer, longhorns, and snakes…just to name a few.My personal favorite was the prairie dogs.The reminded us a lot of the meerkats that we saw at the zoo….so cute : )
Our aunt Cleeta came over with some yummy pizza for lunch.We got to spend the day with her and our grandparents.Some of us did some hiking around their property, with my nana leading the way.There is a lot of beautiful views from where they live!
Dinner was an interesting and yummy experience.We went to what looked like an ‘old dive’.It had been in this little town near their house for years and years.They pretty much only sell burgers, but the cool thing about it is that all of the burgers are made from Longhorn cattle that the store owner personally raises.Longhorn is very favorable, much lower in fat than your average burger, so it’s actually pretty good for you.Anyhow, I just found that pretty interesting.Wish that restaurant was around us in NC, haha.
Once again, after coming home from dinner, we talked some more.We hadn’t seen my grandparents in almost two years and when we only are spending a day and a half with them, there is a lot of ground to cover ; )
This was written on Monday evening, May 24th, but never got a chance to send it before we left our Albuquerque motel…
We awoke to a sunny Monday morning and the freezing cold weather was gone. We grabbed the shuttle and headed down to see what we really couldn’t see the night before because of the unbelievable cold. The views of the Grand Canyon this morning deserves a HUGE, ‘Oh my goodness!’ I can truly see how it got its name, as it is truly one of the grandest sights ever! We saw a California Condor tucked inside a tree a long ways down into the canyon and a snake along a walking trail look-out. We spent a couple of hours, before leaving the park and lodge check-out time of 11am. I know there are a few things I’ve consistently said but what God has created in the beauty of what we’ve seen over the past 17 days, requires more praise to our Lord than I can even begin to mention.
Further east we headed! As we drove we spotted a coyote crossing the road.There is never a dull moment and always a reason to have your camera ready!David didn’t feel so hot this morning when we left the Grand Canyon so he took a break and napped while I drove for a change.In fact, we stopped in Flagstaff, AZ for lunch and he stayed in the van and slept right through it. I think the ‘stopped’ vehicle not moving through the winding canyons, mountains and valleys, did him wonders, as he was feeling much better when we stopped at Meteor Crater a few hours later up the road. We were thoroughly impressed with what we saw but even more of how this place was a family run business, being run like a national park.For those of you that don’t know of this, check it out @ www.meteorcrater.com
We made our way another hour or so up the road to our final site seeing destination at the Petrified Forest.On the miles of land that covers this site, we were able to walk along trails and get up close and touch the findings.It is really something how these huge trees had turned into rock.We thought the logs would look more like actual rock but were amazed at how they looked like real wood.We were basically in an area called the ‘Painted Desert’.
We found ourselves on historic Route 66 a time or two throughout the rest of the evening. It ran parallel with the new Interstate.I have such wonderful childhood memories of trips from MI to CA, that seeing so many trains traveling in the west was a welcomed view!Another common thread throughout our travels west, was seeing Indian Reservations, which made for a very unique terrain as well. We ended our evening in Albuquerque, NM.
Sedona was a great little town to visit! It was nestled in the beauty of the red rock mountains. Being on the road for 16 days, it still amazes us that we continue to see something different and unique in every place we go! As good as it was in Sedona, we had a couple of hours of driving to make it to Grand Canyon yet today.
It was an easy drive for us. It’s been difficult to not stop on the ‘scenic pullout’ spots along the way to snap a few pictures (or to hunt for my bear along a river that I have still not spotted). Right outside of Grand Canyon we stopped to have lunch and to see the IMAX Grand Canyon Movie. It was the perfect introduction to what lied ahead.
We had reservations at one of the Grand Canyon lodges. After check-in, we began making our way around several different look-outs to spot some of the most amazing views! Having never been here before, it is amazing how accessible it really is…like right off the road or trail is the canyon, without hardly any guard rails. We jumped on a few shuttles to get around due to the dropping temps, much different than anyone visiting Grand Canyon is late May would have expected. It all of a sudden had a major drop in temperature and was just freezing cold…maybe 40’ish, with a pretty hefty wind as well. We think we saw snow flurries before we were finished with our getting around, just after dinner.
Bundled up in our hoodies, relaxing again in our room earlier again tonight. Things are winding down for us ‘Westward Bound Elliott’s’, that’s for sure. What an awesome display of God’s creation that we had such opportunity to see today! We have given Him thanks from day one…and don’t plan to stop quite yet! Morning comes early tomorrow for any brave soul willing to peak at the sunrise over the Grand Canyon….we’ll see what transpires, as 5:17am is awfully early for all of us vacationers!! Easier said than done…
Posted by: Cheryl
P.S. we're having some issues getting pictures up...we'll have them up ASAP!
Not knowing which day of the week it is doesn’t always matter when you’re on vacation but one thing for sure about our day today was, no matter which one it was, we made it known that we didn’t really have a schedule to keep.It was a perfect day to have the most leisurely day yet.Staying in Yuma meant that we had just left CA and were just one exit over the AZ border.
Okay, time for a few random pieces of life we’ve experienced while on vacation…
Well, for those of you that really know me, you’d know that I am a ‘detail’ person.It would be my desire to capture every moment of this trip.One of those things that has mattered to me (but not necessarily to others), has been making sure we get a picture as we enter the state…you know the ‘welcome to such and so state, city, Yosemite or whatever’.Spending most of the time in the front passenger seat, I do my best to fulfill that task.However, I’ve had many times that I’ve failed to catch the welcome signs but have noted it right afterwards.So, not on every occasion would I ask but this morning david was kind enough to circle back around one exit to catch the welcome sign to CA.It had never been present when entering CA from the Death Valley side days before.
Another thing…we have got to be the most efficient family getting in and out of hotels every night.It has been like clockwork in so many ways….5 suitcases in, 5 suitcases out!Getting ready has been unbelievably pretty smooth!
Now for the day’s activity, we basically left Yuma by 9’ish, had lunch in Phoenix and arrived in Sedona by 3pm.We were amazed at the huge cactuses along the way.It wasn’t long before the red rocks of Sedona that we had heard about, started filling our view.The town of Sedona was a neat place to end our short days drive and relax a bit.We found a neat place to stay with some extra space, got a little nap in, did a little shopping, had dinner at a western cowboy place and had a taste of cactus, buffalo and python.After dinner, we hit the outdoor hot tub under the stars and hung out in the room much earlier than we had been able to up to this point.
God knows what we need, all the time…forever grateful for this unforgettable time spent together as a family!!
