The Johnsons in the Desert

Driving further into the desert when it is already 110 degrees outside is a daunting task. When we know we have already covered over 3,000 miles of distance between us and home, we sure hope that we will make it before melting. Do we have enough water in the car, just in case?

By the way, did you know that the Mc Donald's in Tusayan has a pretty nice gig being the only fast food in town that serves breakfast? Prices are 3x more than they are in a normal Chez McDo. That's the last time we pay $2 for a hash brown! What that town needs is a little competition. I suggest a Starbucks so there could be a decent cup of coffee to be had before entering the park. They would make a mint!

On our way west we could see another forest fire in the mountains near Kingman, AZ. I don't know if we have gone a day without seeing evidence of forest fires on this trip!

This was our plan...we wanted to drive along Route 66 to Oatman, AZ. It's a little ghost town that was once a mining area but now caters to tourists. They have tours of the area, a Wild West shootout and even a cowboy cookout for little cowpokes to get some grub. However, after only 2 miles on this famous byway we hit a sign indicating "ROAD CLOSED TO OATMAN". Well, that ended our little sojourn down Route 66. At least we got a photo op.

Our next stop was Hoover Dam. We decided to cross the dam via car, turn around and go back just to show the girls that we crossed the AZ/NV state line. It is still a marvel to look at and hasn't much changed since I was a kid (except for the white line around the reservoir edge to indicate a severe drop in the water table over the last twelve years and the dam parking ramp). Hoover Dam is a testimony to our country's ability to construct monolithic projects in the midst of adverse conditions (the Depression and in desert conditions).

Quite a change in the water table over time. Las Vegas is in serious trouble if this drops any further!

Driving over the dam.

No doubt!

After parking in the dam lot, we went to the dam visitor's center. However, the dam security guard wouldn't let Jennifer in due to her Swiss Army knife in her purse. So she doubled back to the dam parking lot and left it in the car. Upon returning to the dam visitor's center, Chris and the girls got dam hot dogs for lunch and ate them in the 115 degree heat. We made a stop in the dam gift shop before returning to the dam visitor's center. We decided not to take any dam tour, but instead walked through the dam exhibits. Emma had a great time taking dam pictures (see the dam model above) but Nora was getting a bit antsy. We finished by going to the dam observatory before we went back to the dam parking lot. We decided not to try hiking up to the new dam bridge to take a dam photo since it was too hot. So, on the way back to the car we got the girls dam Slurpees to try to beat the damn heat!

Only a half an hour away from Hoover Dam was our final destination! Vegas baby! However what happened in Vegas won't stay there. It will all be documented in the next post. So stay tuned...

 

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Johnson update - The South Rim

You can tell that this part of the country is going through a heat wave when park rangers volunteer information about how hot it is. What I didn't know is that at the Grand Canyon, it gets much hotter as you travel down into the canyon. The first day we visited the South Rim, it creeped up to 97 degrees. Which meant that the canyon floor at Phantom Ranch was a broiling 127 degrees! Yikes! That's even too hot for the poor mules!

The view was awesome, in its most literal sense. It's too bad however that the colors were obscured by haze, which according to rangers came from a variety of sources...from pollution from Flagstaff to smoke from nearby forest fires. The subtle colors and striations you normally see on the rock faces blended together in more of a blue mist. But still a sight to behold. We told ourselves that when we go back one day we will save our pennies to take a helicopter ride through the canyon to really see the canyon walls, Colorado river and wildlife that we just couldn't quite see from the rim.

Beautiful!

Junior Rangers being sworn in! Nora is now a Raven Junior Ranger and Emma a Coyote Junior Ranger. They take this swearing in seriously. And of course reminded us just afterwards that we shouldn't feed the plague-ridden squirrels in the park. Good advice girls!

Don't lean back too far!

The drop-offs are a little unnerving!

The girls were pooped after two full days of hiking. We ended our second day at Hermit's Rest on the western edge of the south rim. It was perfect for the girls because they had a great gift shop where they could spend the "points" that they earned along the way. Nora purchased a stuffed white-tail deer and Emma bought her first pair of dangle earrings. They both were very excited! Even they looked exhausted in the photo. The heat was just taking it out of us! Good thing the park has spring water sites where you can refill your own water bottles (they no longer sell plastic water bottles in the park due to environmental reasons).

The lucky bell at Hermit's Rest.

We found the hermit! Nope, that's just Chris with his new Grand Canyon orange water bottle and his new hiking pole. It really helped him get around a lot more easily.

Poor Emma's feet after hiking two days in the GCNP. She was eager to get off of her feet and eat pizza in the hotel room while watching a movie.

We said goodbye to our hotel (and the statue and pond in the lobby) at Tusayan and started heading south and west, further into the desert. Let's hope the Pacifica can keep up with the heat! Wait, what's that noise coming from the passenger rear door?

 

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Johnson family update...heading north to Tusayan, AZ

Yesterday was our day to check out of Cibola Vista and leave the Valley of the Sun. The Johnson girls had a hard time saying goodbye to the "most wonderful pool in the world" but are looking forward to the continuing adventure we are all having. Jack Hanson called with an update about Petrified Forest and talked about the minerals and colors that were found in the petrified wood and the cool patch he received from his work as a Junior Ranger in that national park. We all said we missed him and we hope that he continues to have a wonderful time.

As we were driving north of Phoenix, we found many signs indicating we should shut off our AC while we make the incline out of the valley to avoid overheating the car. Needless to say these didn't give us a lot of confidence as we made our way to the Grand Canyon!

On our way north to Tusayan, we caught glimpse of a forest fire burning in Prescott, AZ. The conditions are ripe all over the Southwest for these forest fires to erupt: not enough snow over the winter, not enough spring rains and high summer temperatures PLUS an epidemic of pine tree die out due to the pine beetle leads to extremely high chances of a fire starting and burning quickly. It looks as though all SW states are under an extremely high alert for fires, so much so that camping areas are banning any kinds of fires. Even propane stoves aren't to be used in camp sites! Let's hope a little respite from the heat and more rain come to these dry areas soon!

 

We stopped at a deer farm on the way west from Flagstaff to Tusayan. The girls had a marvelous time feeding the deer and watching the wildlife! Although these girls at first wanted to use all of their points in the giftshop, they decided to bank them and save up points to use later at the Grand Canyon or Vegas.

Finally arriving at the Best Western Squire Inn at Tusayan meant quickly changing into our swimwear (not Chris however since he didn't pack his) and heading out to the pool. It proved to be a quick and disappointing trip however since the other guests had the same idea and the pool was the size of a postage stamp! Nora, being our temperature sensitive litmus strip, decided that the unheated pool water was "too cold". We decided on an evening of dinner and a movie in the hotel room instead while Jennifer and Chris planned out the next few days at the national park. Good thing the suite was roomier than the pool!

 

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A Week of Bliss, then...

We had such a glorious time here at Cibola Vista in Phoenix even though Mother Nature tried to thwart us day after day of rising temperatures. We fought the good fight with plenty of water and pool-time. After talking with many of the natives, temps of 113-117 are reaching record high. For us Minnesotans, we just thought that it was natural. We picked up Chris last night at the Phoenix airport and he indicated that although it was hot, it was a "dry-heat" and would take 113 degrees here any day over 85 degrees and humid that we normally see in MN.

As yesterday was Jennifer's 45th birthday, she was rewarded with a massage at the spa (thanks to the generosity of the Hansons) and came back to the room to a surprise of cards and monkey bread for breakfast. Yes, the otters were busy in the morning, all with the help of Laura and Al. With a blissful day of relaxed muscles and more pool-time ("swim them until their eyes bleed" was our motto) and a discovery of the bar at the adult pool (which Al found out was a lot more serene than the enormous kids' pool) it turned out to be a good day! On the way back from picking Chris up at the airport, Jennifer also picked up more Joel Gott (paging Dr. Gott - we need a 750 ml, stat!) and surprisingly more gin. Having three adults can take its toll on the limited bar in our kitchen. Thank goodness for BevMo!

Today, June 27th, was a sad day. Jennifer took the Hansons to the Mesa airport to meet Grandpa Jack and the Hanson/Johnson portion of our road tripping has come to an end. The Hansons will make their way northwest to the Petrified Forest National Park (staying overnight in NM) then head to Utah, Wyoming and finally South Dakota before finally returning home by July 4th in time to see fireworks. The Johnson clan will head north to Tusayan, AZ tomorrow and spend 3 days at the Grand Canyon before heading even further in the desert to finish their trip in Las Vegas, NV. The temperature and fun are sure to be on the rise for both parties! Let's hope the water supply, AC and pool time still hold strong for the days to come. Bring on the heat!

 

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A Day at the Heard Museum

This resort is proving to be the best thing in the middle of a road trip! It gives us time to unwind, time and space to unpack, facilities for home cooking and an enormous pool for swim time. The otters are on dry land this morning and earning "points" for swim time. Al has joined the group and has found the fitness facilities every morning during this scrapbooking time. Everyone has delighted in the pool and kitchen! Plus, we can do a little laundry to make sure everything gets at least one cleaning before hitting the road once more. Once we have a little time indoors, we will be heading out to the Heard Museum in downtown Phoenix to see a wonderful collection of Native American art.

All otters busy at work! These books will be a treasure of memories.

Emma's scrapbook pages of Cave of the Winds and Pike's Peak.

Kate and Nora hard at work on their Mesa Verde and Four Corners pages.

Once at the Heard Museum, the kids found a lot of hands-on activities from doll making to bead stringing. We even had an opportunity to create a tipi and some tissue paper flowers. All of this before our guide took us on a tour of the Native American art collection.

Jack admiring the blown-glass cacti fence.

The incredible collection of Kachina dolls.

Playing house in the Navajo hogan.

The incredible craftsmanship of the Navajo jewelry collection.

Navajo weaving

The Tree of Life

The Tree of Life, Angry Bird style!

After a wonderful lunch at the museum (and some time spending points in the gift shop) we were all ready to beat the heat out by the pool. As Al said, today was a perfect day; well-balanced with activity (the museum) and pool-time. Considering that the mercury has been reaching record high temperatures in Phoenix, pool-time is fast becoming a necessity. I guess when the Hansons get their retirement home in AZ, those of us visiting will have to insist on the installation of a pool! Don't worry Hansons...the Johnson retirement home in CO will be near ski runs!

For now, the pool awaits!

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3 outta 4 ain't bad...

There is travel....and then there is vacation....we have reached the vacation portion of our journey. The bags are unpacked, we ate non-restaurant food for the first time since Monday, and of course the kids swam like otters and fell asleep watching The Princess Bride.

 

By 3:00 this afternoon kids were in the pool. Like the good mamas were are, we knew where they were at most times...at least we knew where most of them were at most times....3 outta 4 ain't bad! Considering we left them in four different states simultaneously yesterday, it's an improvement. Today was blazing hot (still is 97 degrees at 9:40 pm) so everyone was eager to be out of the car and into some water. Thanks to the Hanson generosity, all four kids had swim shirts that were rated 50 SPF. So that meant only slathering on additional lotion-style sunscreen on face, neck and legs only. They were well protected and swam like otters! Jennifer got to try her enormous hat at the pool which shaded her head, face, neck and shoulders. More of a "I'm not wearing no freaking fascinator" style or a "real women wear really big hats". While Jennifer watched the otters, Laura did some grocery shopping to pick up some necessities; food, ice, snacks and of course alcohol. It's not vacation without a cocktail and/or wine with dinner!

Our biggest trial and tribulation of the day was that the nearest Starbucks to our hotel in Monument Valley was almost 3 hours away in Flagstaff...and when we got there, they didn't have the Arizona Starbucks mug I was looking for! I'm already on a quest for New Mexico...now I gotta get Arizona as well! Wish me luck! (The nearest Starbucks is already located for tomorrow morning).

For now, we are off to bed. Almost 1,300 square feet for 6 people (seven tomorrow night) to spread out upon means not sleeping with kids tonight. They have their own sleeping arrangements! Much better than our previous arrangements (however thank goodness Laura packed a blowup mattress for those hotels that had two double beds in a small room)! Tonight we dream of extinguished forest fires and smooth, paved highways. Who knows what adventure tomorrow will bring?

Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.

Ernest Hemingway

 

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