Not-So-Grand Canyon

Family vacations.

Ahhhhh.

Here is an outline of our latest adventure:

Saturday:

Debate on which vehicle to take

Decide on van for comfort and space

Drive to St. George

Stop at In-and-Out for lunch

Meet up with Amber and Nick

Visit Zion NP

SWEET- it's free admission day

Go to In-and-Out for dinner (I actually opted for tacos next door- burgers once a day is enough)

Stay in motel

Sunday:

Leave St. George

Visit North Rim of Grand Canyon

OOOOOOh, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Hike around

Picnic lunch

Drive to Flagstaff

Stay in motel

Monday:

Drive to South Rim of Grand Canyon

Walk around

Ooooooh, Ahhhhhh

Drive back to Flagstaff

Say goodbye to Amber and Nick

Tuesday:

TRY to drive to South Rim again

Van overheats, radiator issues

Regrets form about not taking car

Try to do a quick-fix on van

Barely get back to Flagstaff

Hang out at Auto Zone

Buy a little of this and a little of that

Sleep in motel in Flagstaff

Worry

Pray

Wednesday:

Leave Flagstaff

Pray more

Hope

Van makes it to Page, Arizona

Van starts losing power

White smoke from tail pipe

Pull into Glen Canyon Dam

Take tour

Boys earn Jr. Ranger badges

Try out van

Not good

Drive back to Page and straight to mechanic shop

Stay in motel

Thursday:

Find out the bad news

Head gasket blown

Costs more to fix than what van is worth

Debate on how to get home

Kids going crazy stuck in motel

Swim at motel

Try to rent vehicle

Nothing available to rent out of Page

No way to get home

Stay at motel

Friday:

Visit Ford Dealership

Say GOODBYE to van

Say HELLO to a new Ford Escape

Escape Page in an Escape

Breathe

Stop in at Zion NP

Hike around Narrows

Stay at motel in St. George

Get really tired of staying in motels

Saturday:

Sleep in!

Drive home

Kiss ground

Prayers of thanks; we made in home alive and well.

North Rim. Douglas was a little nervous at first to look over the edge or even pose for the picture near the edge. Warm and a bit windy. It was the first time I've ever seen the Grand Canyon. It is really amazing!
Kira loved Amber's dog and kept calling it baby. By the end of the trip, she could finally say puppy.


South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Hot weather, but cool views.

We enjoyed hanging out with Nick and Amber at the Grand Canyon. It was nice that we could all fit in the minivan.We stopped at a place called "Cliff Dwellers" between the North and South Rim. There were some really cool big rocks with little shacks and things built off of them, and holes carved out. They boys had fun climbing around in the rocks.

TJ at the South Rim. He loved visiting the Grand Canyon and was a great helper with his siblings during the crisis.The edges of the canyon made Douglas nervous (thank goodness), but he climbed on this rock and wanted to pretend that he was on the edge of the canyon. He's pretending to be freaked out. I love it!
The boys worked on earning a Junior Ranger badge at Glen Canyon Dam. We tried to have a little fun admist our looming disaster. This was a highlight of the trip for the boys. I highly recommend doing the Jr. Ranger thing at every national park you visit.

Baby was a pretty good sport through this adventure. She usually napped well during travel and went crazy running and yelling in the motels. She was really sick of the carseat after a few days.

Our Escape. So, I like the new vehicle and all. I just wasn't planning on a new car payment. It may cause some issues with the house plans. We'll see how it goes. The dealership in Page was great to work with. They even gave us a $2000 credit for our dead van, 0% financing, and a good deal. It's a good time to buy new I guess. I'm going to miss my momma minivan. Troy's really glad they didn't have any used minivans in the lot. ha ha.