The Dry Heat Expedition (Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Disneyland)--UPDATE 6/12 (KSC and DTD)

[Captain_Oblivious]

You're stealing a page out of my book! I usually prefer to do the sit down meals at lunch on vacation. Gets you off of your feet and out of the heat for a while. And you get to avoid the dinner crowds while still enjoying those restaurants.

Plus the menus are usually cheaper for lunch!

And I need to go look for Fed's BS flag. Chicken strips my ...

Why does no one ever believe me?

Way to take one for the team and handle nap time for Drew while everyone else learned about the California Condor. You could have really put that whiner in his place. When he started complaining about being underappreciated, you could have told him you work for the DOT and completely shut him down!

Now you're talking! I can give a clinic on being underappreciated.

I was more stunned by the fact that the guy traveled all the way to the Grand Canyon to have that conversation.

So you were able to mash up a picture of your skinny white legs with one of Sarah standing at the edge of the rim? Cool! (These are the types of comments you don't get when I fall behind on TR.)

Boy, am I glad Barry is back.

Anyway, nobody wants to see my skinny white legs.

Insert "Epcot after Illuminations" joke here.

The judges would also have accepted "Magic Kingdom after Wishes" or "Fantasmic just about anytime".

Does that mean you ordered it well done, so it was more of black (or really, really dark grey) than red?

That sounds like the burgers in Rodney dining hall at the University of Delaware. Rodney Burgers were notorious for being charred black on the outside, blood red on the inside.

"And do you know how much money we paid to come here?! You're going to have fun - or else!" Wow, it's just like a Disney Trip!

And this was just the adults having a meltdown!

Pullest mine finger - from other yonder!

"Pull my finger" jokes never get old, just like dam jokes.

That's my biggest fear about our trip next summer. Mountains, deserts, unspoiled wilderness...and the kid's don't care.

At some point, it will probably happen. The good news is, you and Bambi can enjoy it, and you control where the car goes. And you can tell the kids to shut up and wait in the car.

You can tell him all about it at 1:37am. And at 3:09am. And at 5:22am. And...

 

[KatMark]

I've run out of adjectives for your photos. They are just breathtaking, Mark.

The photo that Sarah took "combining." Yes, I just about passed out after seeing that one.

Great family picture at lunch.

Nice picture of you and Julie.

Drew going after the kids chicken...priceless.

And then Scotty happened. That boy continues to crack me up.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Ahhh… that’s more Disney like.
Another vindication for the concept of Rope Drop.
(and for driving yourself when it’s allowed)

Part of the fun of vacation planning is figuring out how to beat the crowds.

Mention it again, they’re starting to put up a struggle…
You got ‘em on the ropes now.

As you know, it's a Father's Duty to repeat his wisdom ad nauseum. That way, he can say "Told you so" when the kid ignores it later.

So much for the stillness and pervasive quite

It was nice while it lasted.

I’m torn on that one.
I love being on trains about as much as ships, but staying onsite gave you more time to explore.
The price is probably what will determine the choice.

Oh, who am I kidding…
We ain’t getting out there any time soon.

Price and time in the park. There are multiple trains in the country. Only one Grand Canyon.

So it’s like the Grand Floridian…
I can walk through the lobby if I’d like but that’s about the extent of it.

Which is exactly what we did!

Watch that next step…

It's a doozy.

Dark Angle Restaurant just didn’t pull in the masses, so they went with Plan-B

You know, I never thought of it that way. Makes total sense now.

You forgot the Mac-n-Cheese. I know you must of had that along with the chicken.

That's David's choice. I usually stick with the french fries.

Oh, and while my young’en is up in NYC this week, how ‘bout I get him to buy you a bridge or two. Just put the money on a prepaid debit card and send it to me. I’ll see that it gets to where it belongs.

Will do, but you still owe me for that oceanfront Kansas City condo.

Started?

The grand aspiration of all gift shop brick-a-brack…
to collect dust somewhere else.

Either that, or it becomes a hand-me-down.

Wann’a bet that this one is framed correctly?

At least somebody can figure it out!

Nice choice there.

Dang the luck.

I would have been more excited to listen to a condor lecture than Eeyore's whining.

Condor repopulation is sounding more enthralling by the moment.

Exactly. You know what would be better than this? ANYTHING!

And you were expecting…

I know I wasn't expecting a kid photobombing himself.

0 for 3.
In “Dad” terms that’s actually equivalent to batting 1000.

To mix sports metaphors, it's definitely par for the course.

Just wanted you to know, this is my favorite page so far.

I have a 21" monitor and slow internet at work. So this page takes awhile to load with all the pictures.

As it loads, I get a ... and then Scotty happen.. moment every time.

I knew somebody would appreciate that photo!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I've run out of adjectives for your photos. They are just breathtaking, Mark.

Thanks! And don't worry, we'll leave the canyon behind shortly and get back to much crappier photos.

The photo that Sarah took "combining." Yes, I just about passed out after seeing that one.

(evil laugh)

Great family picture at lunch.

Because it's so dark you can barely see me, right?

Nice picture of you and Julie.

Drew going after the kids chicken...priceless.

He was pretty interested in whatever the chef was doing.

And then Scotty happened. That boy continues to crack me up.

He's a mess. I'll leave it to you to decide which side of the family that comes from.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

I never liked the phrase "the early bird gets the worm". I mean, who wants worms? But the idea is correct.

I always liked the addendum to "the early bird gets the worm" - "the second mouse gets the cheese."

Then there's the flip side of that cliché:

"The early worm, on the other hand, gets eaten."



Better to be the bird.
Better still to sleep in when possible.
(just not while traveling)

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I always liked the addendum to "the early bird gets the worm" - "the second mouse gets the cheese."

Mmmm...cheese. Spoken like a true Sconnie.

Then there's the flip side of that cliché:

"The early worm, on the other hand, gets eaten."

Better to be the bird.
Better still to sleep in when possible.
(just not while traveling)

I'll stick with Rope Drop, since we've pretty much destroyed these other sayings.

 

[KatMark]

Mark, although a little early, I just wanted to stop by and wish you and your beautiful family a very Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[dgbg100106]

Breathtaking, the sunset is amazing, and I have taken note of the different areas that I hope to visit, thanks for being my pre trip....

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Mark, although a little early, I just wanted to stop by and wish you and your beautiful family a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Thank you Kathy! I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well. Ours was pretty great, especially since the Eagles destroyed the Cowboys.

Breathtaking, the sunset is amazing, and I have taken note of the different areas that I hope to visit, thanks for being my pre trip....

Thanks! I hope it helps.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Captain’s Log: Friday, 25 July 2014.

1:10 a.m.—He Who Never Sleeps is…well, not sleeping.

3:39 a.m.—Not sleeping at this point, either.

6:37 a.m.—The day begins, as it must, with David whacking the baby with a pillow.

It’s Departure Day, but we plan to linger a bit before leaving the Grand Canyon behind. Breakfast is, once again, Pop Tarts and in-room coffee, also known as the Breakfast of Champions. Because it sounds better than Crap In A Box.

8:17 a.m.—We head over to the Bright Angel Lodge again, so we can a) pick up a few Christmas presents from the gift shop, and b) get one last look at the canyon before we go.

Once inside, we find that even if you are not at Disney World, gift shops all over the country give you a chance to pay tribute to KatMark with Stupid Hat Pictures®. I think I posted this on Kathy’s Facebook wall at the time.

Meanwhile, we’re finishing our shopping. Our purchases may or may not have included an incredibly adorable junior ranger outfit for Drew that looked like this.

8:42 a.m.—We go out back to the overlook to take in the view one more time. Scotty has brought along Buddy Bison, whom we had first bought at Mammoth Cave National Park on our Rust Belt Road Trip a few years ago. He was part of a National Park program where you were supposed to carry him around on your travels and take photos of him at different locations and upload them to a website or something. I don’t think we’ve ever uploaded a single picture, but Scotty steadfastly takes him along on our travels and forces us to at least take the photos. Thank goodness for digital cameras.

Naturally, since we’re leaving, the air looks much clearer over the canyon today.

9:02 a.m.—We’re back in the van and on the way out. We drive past the Grand Canyon Railway station, which affords us this view from the road:

Our next stop is the city of Flagstaff, Arizona, where we need to pick up more essentials like diapers, wipes, water, and Cool Ranch Doritos. We can either take the main road to the interstate through Williams, or the scenic route past the San Francisco peaks (highest point in Arizona). I hope you know us well enough by now that we opt for the scenic route.

11:14 a.m.—And a couple of hours later, we’re driving a short distance on a familiar road.

You’re singing the song now, aren’t you? Admit it.

11:32 a.m.—We make a stop at America’s Glorious Shining Capitalist Beacon of Hope, where a friendly voice inside exclaims, “Welcome to Wal-mart.”

Hey, we have 4 kids and one income. We shop at Wal-mart. Stop judging us.

The plan is for Julie to nurse the baby in the car while I go inside with the boys and our handy-dandy shopping list that Julie has drawn up for me on the back of some napkin she found in the car. I’m supposed to grab the aforementioned necessities, plus PB&J supplies, Gatorade if it’s on sale and a box of something called Fiber-One bars.

Before long, the boys and I are aimlessly wandering the store looking for all this stuff. It’s always in the last place you look. It takes way longer than it should, and I catch myself far too many times thinking, “Where the #$%@ would you put Fiber-One bars?”. At least, I hope I was thinking it and not saying it out loud. We finally get the cart fully loaded and head for the checkout line, when inevitably, Dave announces he needs to go to the bathroom.

Sigh.

So we check out as fast as we can, I schlep everything down to the van, where Julie has been sitting there wondering, “Where the #$%@ did Mark go?” (hopefully not out loud), and then inform her than I need to take Dave back up to the bathroom. She is very thrilled to hear this. I trudge back up through the parking lot with the boys (Scotty decided he has to go, too).

The bathroom is way, way, way in the back of the store. We reach it, and the single stall is taken.

There’s a little Taco Bell in an alcove in the front of the store. We head there, because it also has a single bathroom. This seems appropriate, given the scores of people who have eaten here and then needed to make a run for the border over the years. With only one bathroom, it takes a while for us to rotate (yes, me too), but eventually, the border run is over. We start to head outside.

And then I realize—I forgot the wipes. Back into the store we go.

When we reach the van, Julie and Sarah are all rainbows and unicorns as they greet us. We’d talk longer, but now they both have to use the facilities.

12:30 p.m.—We finally leave the Flagstaff Wal-mart behind. Let us never speak of this place again.

We eat our PB&J in the car.

12:40 p.m.—We’re on our way to Sedona, a town south of Flagstaff famous for its location among red-rock canyons and formations. It’s yet another place Julie and I had previously visited on our honeymoon and 10th-anniversary trips and wanted to show the kids. We also had thought it would be a good place to break up the drive, not knowing that the Wal-mart parking lot would also do that for us. The best way to approach Sedona is from the northeast, because you get to drive down through Oak Creek Canyon. There’s an overlook just before you begin the descent. Drew is asleep in the car at this point, so I stay behind while Julie takes the kids to check it out:

It’s a pretty spectacular drive.

1:07 p.m.—Before long, we’re in downtown Sedona. It’s grown a great deal over the years and feels a little over-developed now, but you can’t beat the surroundings.

Why is Dave out of the van? I’ll give you 3 guesses, and the first two don’t count.

We stop at Red Rock Crossing State Park, southwest of town. Driving down from Flagstaff and through the canyon, we’re at a much lower elevation now, and we’re back into blazing-hot desert heat. It doesn’t take much convincing for the kids to kick off their shoes and wade into the stream in the shadow of Cathedral Rock.

2:00 p.m.—Of course, once the kids get into water, they never want to get out. Eventually we convince them that we need to get on the road. On the way back through town, I point out some of the formations to the kids.

Coffee Pot Rock:

Snoopy Rock:

Bell Rock:

It’s been an all-too-brief stop in Sedona, but I’m glad we at least had a little bit of time. It’s a beautiful location with a lot of good memories for us. And there are no Wal-marts in town.

Coming Up Next: Cliff Dwellings! Meat! Storms! And our first bad Park Ranger experience.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Another great update Mark, well, with the exception of the no sleep, shopping at Walmart for supplies and the pit stop. The pictures of Oak Creek Canyon and the winding road captured in them are neat to see. I bet that was one heck of an interesting drive.

I saw in one of the pictures that you and July have taught the kids another life skill...the art of skipping rocks. Good parenting on your part 'cause everybody knows that rock skipping skills are a necessity. What a beautiful backdrop for a picture of the four kids and baby Drew was wide awake and smiling in it too.

I thought of you over the Thanksgiving holidays when we hiked in the Smoky Mountain National Park. My fear of heights did not stop me from hiking right past the sign that said DANGER and warned that people had fallen to their deaths on the trail and a hiker had been attacked by a bear. I even thought about recreating the picture of you "hanging" of the cliff and onto the rock but figured that I better just stick to the mountain wall side of the trail.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

6:37 a.m.—The day begins, as it must, with David whacking the baby with a pillow.

Maybe it's not that he doesn't want to sleep, but it's that he's deathly terrified of pillows and bedding. Just a theory....

Breakfast is, once again, Pop Tarts and in-room coffee, also known as the Breakfast of Champions.

Ummm..I'm pretty sure that's cold pizza and warm beer.

Scotty has brought along Buddy Bison, whom we had first bought at Mammoth Cave National Park

Because of all of the buffalos in the cave?

You’re singing the song now, aren’t you? Admit it.

I actually started singing it when you typed "Flagstaff, Arizona" a few paragraphs ago. (Don't forget Winona, Kingman, Barstow, San Bernandino...) Which never really made sense to me, because when I think of Winona, I think of the one in Minnesota. Which is no where near route 66.

Um.

Back to the trip report now. I'm done.

Before long, the boys and I are aimlessly wandering the store looking for all this stuff.

Why didn't Julie send Sarah in to supervise? Would have saved a lot of time.

12:30 p.m.—We finally leave the Flagstaff Wal-mart behind. Let us never speak of this place again.

We had a similar experience with a Walmart is Rhode Island. I'm not going to speak of it either.

Why is Dave out of the van? I’ll give you 3 guesses, and the first two don’t count.

1.
2.
3. Did he at least write his name in the red sand?

And our first bad Park Ranger experience.

I hope it's not Drew in his little Ranger outfit.

 

[KatMark]

Captain’s Log: Friday, 25 July 2014.

1:10 a.m.—He Who Never Sleeps is…well, not sleeping.

3:39 a.m.—Not sleeping at this point, either.

6:37 a.m.—The day begins, as it must, with David whacking the baby with a pillow.

Do I get a turn too?

It’s Departure Day, but we plan to linger a bit before leaving the Grand Canyon behind. Breakfast is, once again, Pop Tarts and in-room coffee, also known as the Breakfast of Champions. Because it sounds better than Crap In A Box.

8:17 a.m.—We head over to the Bright Angel Lodge again, so we can a) pick up a few Christmas presents from the gift shop, and b) get one last look at the canyon before we go.

Beautiful lodge.

Once inside, we find that even if you are not at Disney World, gift shops all over the country give you a chance to pay tribute to KatMark with Stupid Hat Pictures®. I think I posted this on Kathy’s Facebook wall at the time.

Yes you did...I remember it well and was very proud of your son!

Meanwhile, we’re finishing our shopping. Our purchases may or may not have included an incredibly adorable junior ranger outfit for Drew that looked like this.

I like.

8:42 a.m.—We go out back to the overlook to take in the view one more time. Scotty has brought along Buddy Bison, whom we had first bought at Mammoth Cave National Park on our Rust Belt Road Trip a few years ago. He was part of a National Park program where you were supposed to carry him around on your travels and take photos of him at different locations and upload them to a website or something. I don’t think we’ve ever uploaded a single picture, but Scotty steadfastly takes him along on our travels and forces us to at least take the photos. Thank goodness for digital cameras.

Awww...he's cute.

Naturally, since we’re leaving, the air looks much clearer over the canyon today.

Beautiful!

9:02 a.m.—We’re back in the van and on the way out. We drive past the Grand Canyon Railway station, which affords us this view from the road:

Very nice picture.

Our next stop is the city of Flagstaff, Arizona, where we need to pick up more essentials like diapers, wipes, water, and Cool Ranch Doritos. We can either take the main road to the interstate through Williams, or the scenic route past the San Francisco peaks (highest point in Arizona). I hope you know us well enough by now that we opt for the scenic route.

Id' expect nothing less.

11:14 a.m.—And a couple of hours later, we’re driving a short distance on a familiar road.

You’re singing the song now, aren’t you? Admit it.

Darn you!

11:32 a.m.—We make a stop at America’s Glorious Shining Capitalist Beacon of Hope, where a friendly voice inside exclaims, “Welcome to Wal-mart.”

Hey, we have 4 kids and one income. We shop at Wal-mart. Stop judging us.

I never judge.

The plan is for Julie to nurse the baby in the car while I go inside with the boys and our handy-dandy shopping list that Julie has drawn up for me on the back of some napkin she found in the car. I’m supposed to grab the aforementioned necessities, plus PB&J supplies, Gatorade if it’s on sale and a box of something called Fiber-One bars.

Before long, the boys and I are aimlessly wandering the store looking for all this stuff. It’s always in the last place you look. It takes way longer than it should, and I catch myself far too many times thinking, “Where the #$%@ would you put Fiber-One bars?”. At least, I hope I was thinking it and not saying it out loud. We finally get the cart fully loaded and head for the checkout line, when inevitably, Dave announces he needs to go to the bathroom.

You should have called me as I could have told you where to find them as I have one for breakfast every morning.

Sigh.

Oh Dave!

So we check out as fast as we can, I schlep everything down to the van, where Julie has been sitting there wondering, “Where the #$%@ did Mark go?” (hopefully not out loud), and then inform her than I need to take Dave back up to the bathroom. She is very thrilled to hear this. I trudge back up through the parking lot with the boys (Scotty decided he has to go, too).

The bathroom is way, way, way in the back of the store. We reach it, and the single stall is taken.

There’s a little Taco Bell in an alcove in the front of the store. We head there, because it also has a single bathroom. This seems appropriate, given the scores of people who have eaten here and then needed to make a run for the border over the years. With only one bathroom, it takes a while for us to rotate (yes, me too), but eventually, the border run is over. We start to head outside.

And then I realize—I forgot the wipes. Back into the store we go.

When we reach the van, Julie and Sarah are all rainbows and unicorns as they greet us. We’d talk longer, but now they both have to use the facilities.

12:30 p.m.—We finally leave the Flagstaff Wal-mart behind. Let us never speak of this place again.

We eat our PB&J in the car.

12:40 p.m.—We’re on our way to Sedona, a town south of Flagstaff famous for its location among red-rock canyons and formations. It’s yet another place Julie and I had previously visited on our honeymoon and 10th-anniversary trips and wanted to show the kids. We also had thought it would be a good place to break up the drive, not knowing that the Wal-mart parking lot would also do that for us. The best way to approach Sedona is from the northeast, because you get to drive down through Oak Creek Canyon. There’s an overlook just before you begin the descent. Drew is asleep in the car at this point, so I stay behind while Julie takes the kids to check it out:

It’s a pretty spectacular drive.

1:07 p.m.—Before long, we’re in downtown Sedona. It’s grown a great deal over the years and feels a little over-developed now, but you can’t beat the surroundings.

Why is Dave out of the van? I’ll give you 3 guesses, and the first two don’t count.

Stunning photos! BATHROOM BATHROOM BATHROOM

We stop at Red Rock Crossing State Park, southwest of town. Driving down from Flagstaff and through the canyon, we’re at a much lower elevation now, and we’re back into blazing-hot desert heat. It doesn’t take much convincing for the kids to kick off their shoes and wade into the stream in the shadow of Cathedral Rock.

Great kid picture (and such a happy baby!).

2:00 p.m.—Of course, once the kids get into water, they never want to get out. Eventually we convince them that we need to get on the road. On the way back through town, I point out some of the formations to the kids.

Coffee Pot Rock:

Snoopy Rock:

Bell Rock:

It’s been an all-too-brief stop in Sedona, but I’m glad we at least had a little bit of time. It’s a beautiful location with a lot of good memories for us. And there are no Wal-marts in town.

Coming Up Next: Cliff Dwellings! Meat! Storms! And our first bad Park Ranger experience.

Oh no...a bad Park Ranger experience?

 

[MEK]

I love these pics!

Our next stop is the city of Flagstaff, Arizona, where we need to pick up more essentials like diapers, wipes, water, and Cool Ranch Doritos.

Because what is a road trip without Cool Ranch Doritos ....and pb&j????

You’re singing the song now, aren’t you? Admit it.

Get your kick.....oops! Ok, I admit it!

We make a stop at America’s Glorious Shining Capitalist Beacon of Hope, where a friendly voice inside exclaims, “Welcome to Wal-mart.”

Hey, we have 4 kids and one income. We shop at Wal-mart. Stop judging us.

No judgement here!

12:30 p.m.—We finally leave the Flagstaff Wal-mart behind. Let us never speak of this place again.

My lips are sealed.

Why is Dave out of the van? I’ll give you 3 guesses, and the first two don’t count.

1. Bathroom 2. Bathroom and 3. did I forget to say BATHROOM??????

[
Coffee Pot Rock:

Snoopy Rock:

Bell Rock:

BEAUTIFUL!

Great update Mark! You totally had me LOL'ing!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

I love the National Park version of Flat Stanley

Don't worry when the Fiber One bars are in the last place you look, worry when they aren't

Stunning pictures as usual!

 

[Dugette]

Ah, beautiful last view of the Grand Canyon.

The Buddy Bison thing reminds me of what we did as kids – we’d select a few of our Pound Puppies to go on each trip with us and take pictures much like that one. (Well, our puppies also wrote trip journals too…I guess that was my intro to trip reports…)

Wow, cool to see the red rocks of Sedona from the ground. I actually saw them from a plane a couple months ago – they were neat from above, but not the same.

Ooooh, cliff dwellings! Awesome! I remember thinking that was so cool on one of my childhood trips out west!

On that note, as someone who took a lot of road trips as a kid, I think you are doing a great thing for your kids by making these memories and exploring these new places together. I'm 37 now and it's clearly stuck with me all this time and I'm so glad for the experiences. Your kids may not always be super into things, but they will look back fondly at these trips.

 

[Leshaface]

Scotty and his Bison totally reminded me of my brother and his teddy bear, Kevin, that he would bring along on all family trips and photobombed most of our photos. It got kind of scary when he would still take him on trips at the age of 13

I'm not judging that you shop at Wal-Mart. I do too...online...where no one sees me

How in the world do you get Drew to smile in every picture? You guys are professionals!

Wow Snoopy Rock! Super cool!

 

[WDW2012]

We need to see a picture of Drew in that adorable park ranger outfit. Am I the only one half expecting Lightning Mcqueen to appear on the road next to you?

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Another great update Mark, well, with the exception of the no sleep, shopping at Walmart for supplies and the pit stop. The pictures of Oak Creek Canyon and the winding road captured in them are neat to see. I bet that was one heck of an interesting drive.

Julie and I have done that one a couple of times now, and it's pretty cool to wind your way down the sides of the canyon and then drive along the bottom.

I saw in one of the pictures that you and July have taught the kids another life skill...the art of skipping rocks. Good parenting on your part 'cause everybody knows that rock skipping skills are a necessity. What a beautiful backdrop for a picture of the four kids and baby Drew was wide awake and smiling in it too.

Absolutely! Skipping rocks is an art form!

I thought of you over the Thanksgiving holidays when we hiked in the Smoky Mountain National Park. My fear of heights did not stop me from hiking right past the sign that said DANGER and warned that people had fallen to their deaths on the trail and a hiker had been attacked by a bear. I even thought about recreating the picture of you "hanging" of the cliff and onto the rock but figured that I better just stick to the mountain wall side of the trail.

Good for you! I knew you could just look danger in the eye and laugh. And I'm also glad you didn't get attacked by a bear!

Maybe it's not that he doesn't want to sleep, but it's that he's deathly terrified of pillows and bedding. Just a theory....

So it's all David's fault, is what you're saying.

Ummm..I'm pretty sure that's cold pizza and warm beer.

Is that the only allowable choice? No wonder I'm not a champion.

Because of all of the buffalos in the cave?

Well, yeah. You didn't see them?

I actually started singing it when you typed "Flagstaff, Arizona" a few paragraphs ago. (Don't forget Winona, Kingman, Barstow, San Bernandino...) Which never really made sense to me, because when I think of Winona, I think of the one in Minnesota. Which is no where near route 66.

Um.

Back to the trip report now. I'm done.

Done getting your kicks?

Why didn't Julie send Sarah in to supervise? Would have saved a lot of time.

That'll teach her. I try to do grocery shopping poorly enough that I'm never asked to do it again.

We had a similar experience with a Walmart is Rhode Island. I'm not going to speak of it either.

Oh, but now we all want to know.

1.
2.
3. Did he at least write his name in the red sand?

I am very certain that he tried.

I hope it's not Drew in his little Ranger outfit.

No, Drew's not the problem. This time.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

The day begins, as it must, with David whacking the baby with a pillow.

And all is right with the world

Breakfast is, once again, Pop Tarts and in-room coffee, also known as the Breakfast of Champions. Because it sounds better than Crap In A Box.

Iced Canyon Turnovers and Bright Angle Brew

Once inside, we find that even if you are not at Disney World, gift shops all over the country give you a chance to pay tribute to KatMark with Stupid Hat Pictures®.

I believe they’re a moral imperative in dump shops the world over.

Our next stop is the city of Flagstaff, Arizona, where we need to pick up more essentials like diapers, wipes, water, and Cool Ranch Doritos.

The bare necessities (but you have them listed in reverse order )

And a couple of hours later, we’re driving a short distance on a familiar road.

Proof that a theme song (or film) in important.
Especially when paired with an early demise.

Hey, we have 4 kids and one income. We shop at Wal-mart. Stop judging us.

Oh I understand, but being as I work for one of their suppliers and have endured their “business practices”…
I just can’t bring myself to set foot in one unless there really is just no better option.

The plan is for Julie to nurse the baby in the car while I go inside with the boys and our handy-dandy shopping list that Julie has drawn up for me on the back of some napkin she found in the car.

The mark of an experienced traveler.

It takes way longer than it should, and I catch myself far too many times thinking, “Where the #$%@ would you put Fiber-One bars?”.

In the same aisle as the corrugated boxes and packing peanuts…
They have similar flavor profiles.

At least, I hope I was thinking it and not saying it out loud.

It’s a Walmart…
You wouldn’t even have broached the threshold of standing out in that crowd.

When we reach the van, Julie and Sarah are all rainbows and unicorns as they greet us.

I don’t believe I’ve ever seen the words “rainbows and unicorns” used quite so profoundly.
I’ll make sure they credit you on that entry on the Urban Dictionary.

We finally leave the Flagstaff Wal-mart behind. Let us never speak of this place again.

What place?

The best way to approach Sedona is from the northeast, because you get to drive down through Oak Creek Canyon.

I’ll keep it in mind. The place certainly photographs well.

Why is Dave out of the van? I’ll give you 3 guesses, and the first two don’t count.

1) There’s a name that needs writing…
2) There’s territory that need marking…
3) Ummmmm… OK, I got nothing else here.

We stop at Red Rock Crossing State Park, southwest of town. Driving down from Flagstaff and through the canyon, we’re at a much lower elevation now, and we’re back into blazing-hot desert heat. It doesn’t take much convincing for the kids to kick off their shoes and wade into the stream in the shadow of Cathedral Rock.

That’d be a cool experience.
And bonus: no alligators or water moccasins to worry about.
(rattlers and gila monsters, maybe, but that’s a different set of problems).

Coming Up Next: Cliff Dwellings! Meat! Storms! And our first bad Park Ranger experience.

Hummmm, that teaser needs fixing…

“Coming Up Next: Cliff Dwellings! Meat! Storms! More Meat! Our first bad Park Ranger experience and of course…
Even More Meat!”


There, that’s more like it.