We left very early in the morning every driving day of our trip. My plan was to get the little kids in the car while they were still sleeping so I could have a teensy bit of peace and quiet for a few hours. Leaving early also put us at the campgrounds in the early afternoon so the boys could run around, swim and play to burn off that energy they built up in the car.
First things first, the boys were ALL awesome passengers. Bo was probably the best, believe it or not. He was such a great sport. He handled being in that car seat like a boss. He never cried, he never complained.
We also learned that Jack gets VERY carsick. Poor Jack puked his guts out for the first couple of traveling days. He handled it like a champ though, he didn't complain a whole lot, and he slept a lot, which was a good thing.
How did they pass the time? Looking out the window. Ok, so it didn't start out like that, but when you get a prompting about something, it's always in your best interest to follow the prompting.
The night before we left on the trip, the portable DVD players broke. Right after that, Jack and Bo's car charger for their tablets broke. I couldn't believe it. How in the HECK was I going to keep them entertained all day long? Really, what are the odds that ALL the electronic devices broke the night before the trip? I went from panic to "somebody must be trying to tell you something…" and by the time I woke up the next morning, I had decided not to replace either thing. My original plan was to stop at Walmart on the way out of town the next morning and get a new DVD player and new charger for the boys. But nope, I changed my mind and I'm so glad I did. They would have missed so many neat things if they would have been watching cartoons.
The first day, we went through Arkansas, Oklahoma, and ended up spending the night in Amarillo Texas. Justice wanted to take pictures of every sign when we passed through the states. I think he missed a couple, but in his defense it was because he was fooling around with the atlas.
Hey look, the big Texas cross. The boys thought it was pretty neat. I have seen it so many times I almost forgot to point it out. But then again, you really don't have to point it out. It's pretty much all in your face for miles.
This is Jack, taking care of his "Golden Corral baby". Yes, Jack ate way too much at dinner. When we left on the trip, I promised Justice we would eat at a Golden Corral. We found one the very first night and I figured, why not. Let's just go on and get it over with. Jack ate bacon, steak, sausage, pizza, and had nacho cheese sauce on ALL of the meat. Seriously the grossest meal I think I've ever seen. He earned this baby, LOL.
The campground in Texas was perfect. Plenty of grass, big sites with little bunnies running around everywhere. The boys swam for hours and played with the bunnies till it got dark.
I was thinking I wouldn't sleep well while we were camping. I was SO wrong. I slept like a rock. So did the boys.
For the record, we all slept on the ground. No, no air mattresses. That just added a level of set up and break down that I didn't want to deal with. Letting the air out of a mattress takes forever, and I wanted Justice's set up and take down to be quick and easy so we could get on the road in minimal time in the morning. No, my back didn't hurt. My hips were a little sore the first morning after we woke up, but that's it. I adjusted very easily to sleeping on the ground, scoliosis and all.
We drove through New Mexico the next day, and a funny thing happened. Justice pointed out a guy at a gas station and asked me what nationality the guy was.
Me: "Native American"
Justice: "Like Indian?"
Me, confused: "Uhhh, yeah?"
Justice: "Oh cool, I've never seen a Native American before. Are there a lot of them here?"
That opened up a huge discussion between us about my childhood, how Native American's live, and equality. It was a fantastic conversation, and one I'm so glad we were able to have. Awesome day.
The boys were completely in awe of the terrain. Beautiful red rocks, large plateaus. I take it for granted I suppose since I grew up in the southwest, but it was a new experience for them.
Then we headed into Arizona. I haven't been back to my hometown in over 20 years.
We spent a few nights with my Aunt Cyndie and Uncle John, and all her grandkids were there. The boys had so much fun playing with them. They caught frogs, made s'mores, played around her koi pond, and we went to the Hualapai mountains to climb on the rocks. We had a home in the Hualapai Mountains. It was a log home that my Dad built, and it was beautiful. The scenery was amazing, I took it for granted when I was a kid, but I was happy to be back.
I love My Aunt Cyndie and Uncle John to pieces, and they took such good care of us while we were there. I hope to go back and visit soon, she means the world to me and the boys.
I saw my Mom's cousin while I was in town. I think that's a first cousin once removed, right? I am so bad at identifying the proper familial relationships. But anyway, I hadn't expected that, it was a nice surprise. He had a pool and we went to his house to swim. It was good to see him, he was really genuinely happy to see me and that felt great. I "disappeared" 20 years ago after the falling out with my parents, and I'm fairly certain most people didn't think they'd ever see me again. It was great to be able to take my boys "home" and introduce them to my family, and to have them welcome them and me with open arms. Times have changed, thank God most people have changed with them. I missed my family terribly, all of them. I truly wish my Mom's other cousin BK was in town, but she is out enjoying all that Mexico has to offer. I'm happy she's found such a wonderful place to retire, but I do wish I could have seen her.
Justice, Jack, Bo, Emily, Tristan, and the one and only Clementine.
I wish I had taken an extra day and was able to see my friends from home… but I was on a schedule to get to Washington so I could see my brother's kids. His visitation schedule is set in stone and I would have missed them if I'd stayed longer. But what an awesome person to have just bumped into at the grocery store!
This is my best friend Samantha. I could write a million words about her, but I can't because I'll cry and I'm not going to do that today. I love her with my whole heart. Definitely was meant to be that she was the person I saw while I was there.
The view from Aunt Cyndie and Uncle John's house was spectacular. I'd bet they have the best piece of property in Kingman. The Hualapai's are in the background.
When we left Aunt Cyndie's house, we went directly to the Hoover Dam. I would have to say this was the best sightseeing part of the trip.
Did I mention I feel like we were protected and guided throughout this whole trip? I don't want to sound like a whack-job, but seriously. It's the truth. Every single detail worked out perfectly, as if we had an invisible tour guide that controlled the weather and traffic and gave me the ability to make awesome decisions regarding our stops.
We were warned that the dam had changed a lot since I had been there last. It's closed to through traffic now, and in order to visit the dam you have to park at the Visitor's Center and walk across. The pedestrian traffic sucks and it was going to be a pain in the neck and a mess. I was prepared, that's why we left early.
But wait!
We got to the dam at 6 AM. Yes, 6 AM. In Arizona it's bright and sun-shiny at 6 AM, so that wouldn't be an issue. We crossed over the bridge of death (I'm terrified of heights, this bridge nearly exploded my head with fear) and went directly to the place where they search your cars. Here is where things get awesome. After they searched the truck at the checkpoint, they told me this…
"You couldn't have picked a more perfect time to come. The visitor's center is closed still, so you can DRIVE ACROSS THE DAM. You can park on the Arizona side and walk back across if you'd like, take as many pictures as you want. There isn't ANYBODY ELSE ON THE DAM BUT YOU GUYS."
Really?? Yes, really. And we did just that. We drove across the dam, parked and walked back across. And yes, we were the only people on the whole dam. Best experience I've ever had at Hoover Dam, and I've been there a hundred times.
Here's the bridge of death. Please note the real name is the Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge. Not the bridge of death.
Wow is the water low. Like I said before, I've been to the dam a hundred times but I've never seen the water this low. You can see the water line to tell how high its been.
These are the spillways that take the pressure off of the dam if the water is too high. In the late 1980's it got to its highest point and water overflowed the spillways. It was an amazing sight. To give you some perspective of the size of just the spillways, that "bridge" going over the top of it is a two lane road with two wide sidewalks. Like highway 51 or 14 wide plus sidewalks. It's HUGE.
Again, these are just the spillways, not the dam itself. The size in absolutely incredible. It's definitely a sight to see.
No kidding. Ha. Arizona is hot folks.
The backside of the dam.
The state line runs right smack dab in the middle of the dam. There are clocks on each side with the different time zones, depending on what side of the dam you are standing or driving on.
Looking down from top to the bottom of the backside. I mentioned I was scared of heights, right? Walking across the dam does not bother me. It's obviously solid, and it's wide enough for two lanes of traffic and two pretty wide pedestrian sidewalks on each side. I pointed the camera over the side and clicked, hoping for the best.
Jack looks a mess. Poor kid was SO carsick getting to the dam. The roads are narrow and winding.
What a wonderful experience for the boys, to see Hoover Dam alone at that time of day.
Thank you virtual tour guide for a perfect trip.
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