Wow! What a week.

    Y’all have NO idea what a crappy week I have had. Well, some of you do and bless your large hearts for all the love and friendship you have shown me! I really don’t want to get into the particulars, but suffice it to say I had a really bad ego week. Just when I thought I couldn’t take anymore, ALL my WONDERFUL friends stepped up and showed me that I really am valued. Thanks to each and every one of you for being you!  Hugs and Kisses to you all!

 

Okay, enough of that…back to the vacation saga. I really am sorry this is dragging on forever. I swear I was planning on being done with this all by now. I should just drop the whole thing, but I’m too stubborn to stop mid-vacation! I promise, only one more vacation post after this one. Hell, at this rate, I’m going to need another vacation by the time I finish this!

 

Okay, so where were we?

 

Road Trip: Days 3, 4, and 5. March 24- 26

(Which are not really road trip days)

 

We spent these days in Phoenix visiting family. All in all a good 3 days: it wasn’t too hot, we got to spend time with my nephew (and his parents), hubby’s aunt, and I got to visit a LYS.

 

My nephew Ayden and his Dad Cliff

 

On the first day Hubby subbed for his brother at Ayden’s swimming lesson.  

 

Not that 3 year olds swim that well, but the whole purpose of these classes is for kids to be comfortable enough in the water and know enough to get them safely out of the pool if they fall in. I think this is a great thing. When I lived in Phoenix so many children fell into pools. In fact, once I was swimming with some friends and we watched a baby just crawl right into the pool! Can you imagine if we hadn’t been there? It makes me shudder just thinking about it.

 

After the lesson, we went out to lunch. I had a rather large, rather potent margarita; the first of what seemed to be a daily ritual in Phoenix. So, I went home and took a nap with my nephew. While we slept Uncle and Daddy put together the soccer set we had got for Ayden. When I woke up the boys were outside kicking the ball around and had already lost one ball in the neighbor’s yard. Boys! Once Ayden woke up his Dad and Uncle were nice enought to let him play a little.

 

 

Ayden scores his first goal!

 

 

The rest is just boring family stuff. We ate, laughed, enjoyed seeing each other, and drank. I drank a lot. Cliff  works as a sommelier at a local wine store called Enotria. As a result, he always has a few nice wine choices for us to enjoy when we visit. The bright side is Phoenix is at sea level, so I have a slightly better tolerance. Thank God! At night, when Ayden got his juice, Cliff would hand me a glass of “Chelle juice” (my family calls me Chelle) Thank God for Chelle juice and my BIL! J

 

On our last day, we took Ayden to his favorite place: the train park. They have an enormous playground and, of course: trains. Ayden loves to ride the train! Although, this year he was a little more into playing then riding the train,  Last year I think we rode the train 3 or 4 times and he still wanted more! This year he was more then happy with twice.

 

 

Ayden and Uncle getting ready to ride the train.

Two cool dudes, ridin the train, checking out the sites.

 

After the train park, I was able to make a quick visit to Jessica Knits, a LYS in Scottsdale. This is a cute little shop with a nice selection of yarns. They even had a fair amount of yarn on clearance. The staff was super friendly and spent a lot of time helping a new knitter. My only complaint is the yarn prices are on the shelves…sporadically. I would say at least half of the yarn was not clearly marked with a price. Although, it is in Scottsdale, so presumably cost is not an issue.

I purchased a skein of Cherry Tree Hill Lace wt. alpaca (on sale for $15) and a skein of Colinette Jitterbug

 

 

I LOVE the colors! I can’t wait to see how these look knitted up.

I only bought 2 skeins, partly because I didn’t know how much some of the yarn was, and mostly because the boys were patiently waiting for me in the car.

 

Well, that’s about it for the Phoenix part of my vacation. Next time: the trip home!

 

OH! I almost forgot: I got a 92.5% on my last Chem. test! WOO- FRIGGIN-WHO! I was totally sweating that one.  I was sick for a week and then I had a bunch of crappy work stuff happen and I couldn’t focus so I really didn’t study…at all. Apparently, I need to not study more often! Hooray for me!

 

Road Trip: Day Two

March  23; Day 2

Mesa Verde:

 

  We left the hotel around 7 on Easter Sunday headed to Mesa Verde. Mesa Verde is famous for its Puebloan Indian cliff dwellings. These dwellings are around 1,000 years old. I am not the best historian so I will not even attempt to get into detail here; suffice it to say the views are amazing, and the cliff dwellings are mind-blowing! If you really want to know all about it, follow the link above. Take a minute, follow the link, I’ll still be here when you get back!  

A little bit of advice for those wanting to visit the cliff dwellings: I highly recommend 7 A.M. on Easter morning! We only saw a few other people. In fact, for the drive up to the dwelling and much of our visit there we were the only visitors. If you are like me and find crowds a little… um…. trying. It was perfect! It was a little chilly, but worth braving the cool air to visit the park in peace. It really made me feel so connected to the universe.

   This is the view upon entering the park. Isn’t it amazing! We drove all the way up that mountain. Can you imagine how isolated the Pueblo Indians were up there?   

Looking back from the previous picture. 

The view from the first look out spot: Mancos Valley.    

 I don’t know if pictures could ever do it justice. We were there in the first morning light, all alone with the world seemingly stretche out before us. The only sounds we heard were the birds and our footsteps. The way the light was hitting the valley was simply stunning. I was so taken aback by the beauty of it all I actually tired up a little… okay, a lot. Honestly, it was so beautiful and perfect; the marvel of it all really touched me.

  

On our way up the mountain, we were privileged to see a herd of dear (is it a herd?) grazing along the side of the road. Initially it was just us and then another car approached, but the dear hardly noticed our intrusion. We watched silently and took picture for at least 10 minutes. I never saw a buck, but I did see many does and their fawn. There were at least 12 of them, grazing and playing.

   

Spruce Tree House

This was the only house open this time of year. Initially I was a little bummed that this was the only dwelling we could visit, but I quickly got over that! As it turns out, the Spruce house is the only self-guided tour. How nice is that? You get your little trail/house guide and set off at your own pace: perfect! We were able to go into a Kiva and step a little into the dwelling itself. There was a ranger there that we could ask questions off, but mostly we just nosed around in wonder of the construction.

 Main Room and Kiva 

Speaking of the park ranger… he was the most interesting person I have met in a long time! He was a cross between an old hippie and an old Indian. I asked him a question (I don’t even remember what I asked) and he went off for about 10 minutes on the circle of life and the responsibility of females in matriarchal society, how the woman is at the center of the society because she can create life, etc. He was so cool! We started talking about the Kiva and how much warmer it was or could be with a fire and he tells us “sometimes when it’s cold” he and the other rangers will go into the Kiva “before the park opens or after the park closes, and burn some ‘incense’ “. (His quotes, my friends, his quotes!) He then tells us about a ceremony an “Indian friend” of his performed on him to protect him during his journey to work during a blizzard. All of which was fascinating, truly it was. He then told us when he was driving into work he looked over, in a blizzard mind you, and there was a mountain lion running along side his truck! Must have been some good incense! We laughed so hard later thinking about him and his stories. My only regret is we didn’t have more time to talk with him.

 Park Ranger Craig and I 

On the way down the mountain we stopped at all the look out points. Although, the not open for tours, we were able to see the largest of the dwellings: Cliff Palace.

  

Even with the park being partially open, we were there for 5 or 6 hours! I highly recommend it if you have never been and like I said: pick an off peak day and go early. You will be glad you did.

After leaving Mesa Verde, we settled in for a nice long drive to Four Corners. I had never been to four corners before, and it’s kind of a must see if you are in the area. If for no other reason then to say you were in four states at once!

 In my case I was in 4 states and 2 time zones! (Arizona does not practice daylight savings time)   

Here it is folks: the four corners monument

In truth, not at all what I expected. I was a little disappointed; it was very blah. Not to mention, they charge admission now! $3 a person: a little much if you ask me! $1 a person or $3 a car load seems more reasonable. Really, that’s all it is: a raised plaque and some flags in the middle of the freaking dessert! Although, I am glad I was able to see it and I don’t regret $6 to say I was there. After four corners we drove through until Phoenix; we arrived at my brother-on-law’s house at about 7. I didn’t take many scenic pictures because I was napping part of the time and well, it’s the Middle of Nowhere, USA, not very scenic! 

Well, that’s it for day 2. A lot of driving, gorgeous views, dears, cliff dwellings, a hippie park ranger and 4 states all in 12 hours!

And, of course, Penis Rock: the sequel.

 Oh, I almost forgot: I did manage to do a little knitting on the way to 4 corners. I finished the bottom ribbing on my sweater-finally. Now all I have left is the arms. Unfortunately, the temperature in Phoenix is a little warm for having a wool sweater in your lap!

 

Road Trip: Day One

So…. we were so busy I never had a chance to get a memory card reader, let alone post! As a result of our extreme fun, all posts will be waaaaaaay later then I had hoped for. Anyway, at long last, I present to you my spring break road trip, day one:

 

Saturday March 22 2008:

We left Thornton at the butt crack of dawn: 6:15 to be exact. Hubby was kind enough to stop by Star-Crack to get me my morning fix for the journey.  So, sleepy and with a honey latte in hand we headed towards our first destination: the Sand Dunes.

Along the way we watched the sunrise light up the Rockies. These were taken from the car around Colorado Springs.

 

You can see Pikes Peak in the distance. 

 

 You gotta love the Rocky Mountains!

 

     I had heard there was a little yarn shop along the way, in a town called Walsenburg. I had not-so-subtly hinted to hubby that maybe we could stop and check it out. Unfortunately, I forgot to write down the address or any directions! Duh!

    We arrived at Walsenburg around 9 in the morning. Hubby was pretty sure that even if we found the store, it wouldn’t be open so early on a Saturday, but I remained optimistic. He humored me and we decided to look on Main Street. After driving up and down the street a couple times, we gave up, I pouted a little and we decided to resume our journey. Just then, as we turned back onto the road that leads to the highway, the shop appeared! Halle-freakin-lujah!

 

   

   Hubby still wasn’t sure if the shop would be open but he stopped so I could look. As fate would have it: they opened at nine! It was a few minutes before nine, so we drove across the street for gas. By the time we were done, the shop was open. J

   I am thrilled I was able to visit Edla’s Yarn Shop. Edla is super nice and she has a very wide selection of yarns and notions at reasonable prices. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend stopping in. The shop was larger then I expected and very cozy. Here’s the stash enhancement:

 

   Now, back to our trip. We arrived at the Sand Dunes at a little after 11. All I can say is wow! The dunes are so amazing: not only are they beautiful, but it’s unbelievable that they are there in the middle of nowhere, nestled up against the mountains. The sand is like beach sand. I am at a loss for any adjectives that would accurately describe the beauty of the dunes, so I will let the pictures speak for me.

You can see the Dunes nestled up against the base of the mountains.

 

What a beautiful sky!

 

I love the contrast of the sand, sky, and the snowy mountain top. 

 

See the people? The dunes are huge!

After climbing a few of the smaller dunes, we found an isolated picnic area and enjoyed our lunch that we had packed. It was so quiet and peaceful, the perfect place to have a picnic lunch. So far, the first day of our trip was awesome!

We left the Dunes around one,  on our way to Durango.

 

Headed into the Rockies

Penis Rock (the first of many…)

I enjoyed a little nap along the way (the first of many!) and we arrived at our hotel in Durango at about 4:30. After checking in, we changed and headed out to main street Durango.

Looking back on Main Street. Such a cute, typical mountain town.

I love how Main Street ends at the mountain.

We shopped a little and had dinner at Farquahrts, a cute little-bit-of-everything restaurant. Hubby had the pizza, I had the “local” burger (the menu said the meat was local and hormone, etc. free), and we sampled the local micro-brews. The pizza and burger were fantastic! Honestly, one of the best burgers I have ever had. I wish I could say the same for the brews. Unlike most Colorado micro-brews, they weren’t any better then anything you can find that is mass-produced.

On the way back to the car we stopped at a candy store and bought some desert. We happily ate our purchases at the hotel, watched some bad TV, and went to bed: content, tired, and full.

 

Thank God it’s Spring Break

 

On Friday we set out on our annual spring break vacation. For the last 3 years, we have flown to Phoenix to visit with family. Those that know my strong dislike of heat are probably questioning our choice of Phoenix as a vacation spot. Normally, I would never consider going to Phoenix to be a vacation, but Hubby’s brother, his wife, and our adorable nephew live there and we rarely get to see them. This year we decided to do a road trip instead of flying. Our plan is to visit the Sand Dunes and Durango on Saturday; on Sunday we will go to Mesa Verde and Four Corners on our way to Phoenix. We will be in Phoenix late Easter Sunday and stay in Phoenixfor 3 days with family and, most importantly, our nephew Ayden. On Thursday, we will head out to the Grand Canyon. After the Grand Canyon we will drive until we can’t (by we I mean hubby!), stay in a hotel overnight and in the morning head home stopping at Moab along the way. I am so excited! Not only does the trip sound awesome, but I desperately need the time off work/school.

 

Because we are driving and because I’m a slacker, and because my nephew is a handful, I will post as I can, but my post will not necessarily be on the day (as evidenced by this post). Also, I have some really great pictures on my camera and of course I forgot the adapter for my laptop- duh! Fortunately, hubby has some nice pics and I am going to try to find an adapter here in hot-as-hell Phoenix.