July 18, 2009

My apologies for not keeping everyone informed. I had trouble connecting the last couple nights. Uncle Bill brought me to the campground shelter house and I was able to connect easily. He said I had to give him credit.

On Friday, we rode the train from Williams, Arizona, to the Grand Canyon. It was a 2 and half hour trip each way. They gave us about 3 hours to look around and get a bite to eat. Because of the time restraints we didn't get to see much. We plan to get up early tomorrow (4am) and be at Grand Canyon to see the sunrise. We will probably spend most of the day there. It was suppose to be our day of rest, but we wanted to experience more of the canyon.

Today we went to Sedona to see the red rocks. We thought we would see huge cactus, even after a little Indian lady told us there were no cactus here. We should have listened. It was still a pretty ride.

We stopped in Williams after the ride to shop. Aunt Marie I found the quilt shop!!! We are finding lots of good ideas.

Tonight we will attend mass here in Williams. They actually have their Sunday mass on Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Baba, Uncle Bill and Aunt Marie are all stuffed up. Aunt Marie has been giving Baba his allergy shots every Thursday, but he is still suffering.

Well, I'll try to update tomorrow if we get back to camp in time. By the way this campground is outstanding. We even have key cards to use the facilities. The only problem is the train goes through about 6 am. It is only about a hundred yards from our sites.

Grand Canyon National Park

This a view of the Grand Canyon. The picture does not do it justice. No wonder it is called one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Wow! Wow! Wow!

Grand Canyon

Here you see Baba and Nana and Uncle Bill and Aunt Marie posing before the beautiful, fantastic, unbelievable, breathtaking Grand Canyon at Powell's Point.

Sedona

These are pictures from Sedona. We didn't see the large cactii we expected, but did see many of these smaller ones. The s econd picture shows the beautiful red rocks in Sedona. Even Aunt Marie (who collects rocks Says she's seen enough rocks.

July 15

Today we took the train from Durango to Silverton, Colorado. It took four hours to get to Silverton and four hours to return to Durango with a two hour stop over in Silverton.
We had enough time to grab lunch at the Handlebars Saloon.

The trip was long, but awesome. The train took on 6 tons of coal. We made 3 water stops on the trip up and one on the way down. There was a lot of soot- on our clothes, arms , legs, faces, in our eyes, and in our hair.

Again the scenery was beautiful.

The residentsin Silverton said they had 200 inches of snow last winter.

Tomorrow we leave for the Grand Canyon and another train ride.

I actually finished my second book- The Quiet Game by Greg Iles-very good.

Train Museum in Durango

Baba and I pose in front of a locomotive in the railroad museum in Durango.

All Aboard

Uncle Bill, Baba, and I board the train to Silverton. We rode in an open-air car, similar to a cattle car, but with seats.

Train Ride

You can see the train we rode to Silverton and the soot.

Handlebars Saloon

We had a great lunch at the Handlebars Saloon after a four hour train ride from Durango to Silverton, Colorado.

Train Ride

We rode this train high into the mountains about 13,000 feet. It was an old fashioned train . It took 6 tons of coal to get us up the mountain and back down. Look at thtat drop off!

We rode this train up into the mountains. At times we were at 13,000 feet. It took 6 tonsof coal to get us up the mountain and back down. Take a look at that drop off!

July 14, 2009

Today we visited Mesa Verde National Park. We visited the museum. We then purchased tickets for tours down to see the cliff dwellings. There were many warnings before we started the tour: don't go if you have health problems, drink plenty of water, be sure you have eaten, etc.

We started down very, very steep steps. The park ranger was very knowledgable. We had to climb three wooden ladders and many stone steps to get out. It was not an easy climb, especially for someone who is still babying her ankle. Everyone was huffing and puffing when we got to the top. Uncle Bill's pulse was 160 !! We decided that we would pass on the second tour even though we already had tickets. We would not only have had to climb up and down, but crawl through tunnels.

I am glad we did it,but would not do it again. Baba liked it a lot more than anyone else. Go figure.

Tomorrow we will take an all day train ride to Silverton.

Back at Camp

Everyone visits after a day of sightseeing.

Aunt Marie

Aunt Marie taking in a little sun.

Baba

Baba relaxes at camp.

Coyote

While visiting Mesa Verde National Park this skinny little coyote came right onto the road. This picture was taken from the truck. Aunt Marie wanted to geto out and take a picture. But Uncle Bill put his foot down.

Mesa Verdes

This a picture of the cliff dwellers homes. Native Americans lived there over 800 years ago.

July 12 and 13

July 12 was spent in the car. We visited Valley of the Gods (17 mile loop). We went to Monument Valley, but the road was so rough we looked at it from the hotel. We also drove past Mexican Hat. We ended up on a road up into the mountains (over 8,000 feet). There was no guard rail and the road was washing away. About half way up we saw a car that had gone over the side of the road. Baba and Uncle Bill loved it. Aunt Marie was scared. I was terrified.

We will be spending the next 3 nights near Mesa Verde. The campground is beautiful !

Arches National Park

More great views ! Arches was beautiful, but another long ride.

Valley of the Gods

We saw many beautiful rock formations in the Valley of the Gods. We took what we thought was a 1 mile loop. It turned out to be a 17 mile loop. We were exhausted. Some even were a little short tempered.

Bull in a China shop

About 2 minutes after we entered the first roadside stand in the Navajo Reservation, we heard a crash . Then Baba said, " I think I'll buy this canoe." Of course, if you break it you have to buy it. We are now the proud owners of a chipped pottery Indian canoe. No discount !

When we got to the car, Baba said he always wanted a canoe. He is now required to keep his hands in his pockets when shopping. He can only take them out when I need cash.

Open Range

For miles we saw signs warning "Open Range". Well, this cow and some friends were on the highway. Baba took this picture right out the truck window.

Four Corners

Baba and I are standing on four states at one time: Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. Who said you can't be in 2 places at one time?

Jewelry Bonanza

Aunt Marie is admiring the Indian jewelry she bought. She found the bargain of the day. We all did a lot of shopping at Four Corners. The Indians had booths with jewelry, sand art, t-shirts, rocks, arrows, etc. Uncle Bill, Baba and I enjoyed Indian flatbread sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Mm-m-m good.

Relaxation

Today we stopped after travelling near Mesa Verde. Everyone was relaxing with cool beverages. Aunt Marie is busy crocheting dish cloths.