On the Road Again

Let me be the first to exclaim: "We made it through a family road trip!" Yes, ten days later we are all still alive with bodies, egos and minds still intact! I tried to figure out the best way to blog our trip, so I think I will just blog each day as a separate entry. Hopefully that won't be too tiring for anyone. Maybe it will even keep the suspense going...

A couple Mondays ago the boys, Erik and I set forth on an eastward trip, covering five states in ten days. Most of our trip was planned for Colorado, so that is where most of the action took place. We decided to take Clifford, the big red truck, since it held all of us comfortably (not spaciously, just comfortably). Our first encounter was Hoover Dam and the lovely construction traffic that will be there probably until the boys all grow up. Dad was patient this day as we were able to make two potty/gas stops; one in Kingman, Arizona and one in Flagstaff. We actually weren't planning on taking the business loop in Flagstaff, but that's what happens when you make quick decisions in short distances. Our next stop was Meteor Crater right outside of Flagstaff. This boasts to be "the best preserved and first proven meteorite impact site on Planet Earth" (see website www.meteorcrater.com). As we pulled up to the visitor's center, it was evident that indeed it was a meteorite impact site and that we were probably about to see a large hole in the ground. What we weren't prepared for was the admission to see this hole was going to cost us $35.00/family. So we grabbed a brochure, turned toward the truck and made our way down the road, accumalating various bug splatterings on the windshield (resembling what a crater might look like upon crashing).

Holbrook, Arizona (a.k.a. Radiator Springs) is as far as we got this day. Who knew this town had such character! If any of you have seen the movie, "Cars", you can imagine what I'm describing as far as Holbrook is concerned (check out website www.desertusa.com/cities/az/az_holbrook.html). This town, off famous Route 66, is a small town that receives many motorists just stopping for the night. Not much is open when you arrive at 8 pm, except for Jerry's Cafe and a few motels. We spent the night at a Ramada Inn with pink doors and were welcomed by heavy rain, right as we were unpacking the truck. After dinner we decided to drive up to a hill and watch the lightning decorate the Arizona sky, then splashed in the motel pool and then eventually retired for the night. Normally, I would stop right here and enter the next day's activities, but the next morning's discoveries were uncanny.

The next morning we decided to check out more of the town. The history of Holbrook is quite interesting. We drove across town, down one of the main streets and found the "Wigwam Hotel". If we had found this place the night before, we would have tortured our boys with a night's stay in one of the tee-pee's, right next to the railroad tracks (it's the orange "Cone Motel" in "Cars"). This was just too good to be true! What a similarity! The challenge was on to find the Garage, fire station, gas station, diner and town hall. We even found the tractors that fell victim to tractor tipping in the movie. The kids laughed and we headed out of town towards the Petrified Forest.