slow morning, took the girls over to the awesome store from yesterday, before making our way through the south entrance of Petrified Forest National Park. incredible sites along the way, eventually making it to the Painted Desert portion of the park. finally back into the car and off to Gallup. ended up going to dinner at Cracker Barrel for some reason, which the girls seemed to enjoy. back to the room for a swim, then played games until midnight, and welcomed the new year.
up early for the drive to Grand Canyon National Park, even spotted a coyote along the way. arrived to super snowy and cold conditions, which has been a common theme. walked to the overlook at Mather Point, only to find the canyon socked in by clouds – wah wah…. drove back through Flagstaff to Holbrook and checked into a hotel. solo trip to possibly the coolest store ever, full of petrified wood, fossils, and similar treasures. dinner at a shockingly crowed Italian place, and another swim before bed.
back to Blanding early and able to get the tire fixed. back again through Monument Valley to get the girls, then drove into Kayenta for a nice lunch. stopped outside of Tuba City to see the dinosaur tracks, then on to Cameron where we planned to spend the night at the Trading Post. turns out the Grand Canyon area had been hammered by a snow storm, so Desert View Drive to the south rim was closed. this made staying in Cameron pointless, so drove on towards Flagstaff for the night. took advantage of civilization and had a nice sushi dinner nearby.
held off on cake and presents for Лена’s bday, as we skipped bfast. started to drive toward Natural Bridges National Monument, but a pothole-filled state road along the way changed our plans. stopped in Blanding to try and get the flat fixed, but couldn’t do it until the next morning. drove south to Monument Valley and snapped countless photo along the way. checked into a cabin at Goulding’s, and grabbed a mediocre dinner in their restaurant. presents and cake back in the room, and another swim with Mira before bed.
later start, driving through Cortez and up into a snowy Mesa Verde National Park. drove to the end of the park, first seeing the pit houses, then onto the amazing cliff dwellings… so cool! drove back into Cortez and picked up a bday cake on the sly. local pizza place for dinner, then a swim with Mira before bed.
off to Bandelier National Monument mid-morning, excited to hike. started on the loop trail behind the visitor center, and fascinated by the countless Pueblo homes carved into the cliff face. Mira was all about climbing the ladders and exploring. finished off with the hike and climb to Alcove House, then drove into White Rock for lunch. late afternoon hike at Tsankawi, then made the long drive to Farmington for the night.
early flight to Albuquerque on xmas morning. collected our bags and a car and drove into Santa Fe. everything closed for the holiday, so poked around the downtown/plaza area snapping pics.
took Mira to gymnastics early, then picked up a truck to drop Лена’s new carpets off at the gym. rushed to get back home in time to have Mira ready for pick up to join a friend for some holiday lights.
morning drive out to the ‘burbs. first time seeing the new L4 routines – excited! great showing by the team, and Mira brought home another handful of medals, including 1st in floor. proud dad…
morning gymnastics, then off to the park to listen to the 3rd graders singing xmas songs. finally able to go home after a prolonged playground detour.
