Road Trip - Day 4

San Francisco Peaks

I did not realize there will be a day 4 on our road trip. But, there was. A four hour drive to our final destination proved to be scenic again. The mountains was not as high as Colorado, but it was still beautiful. Still scary, but not as bad.

So this morning, we head back to the canyon as planned. Took a couple of bus rides, which was free, and explored the different sites of the canyon once again. It was a beautiful day. Breezy, cool and the sun was out. Not a lot of people at the park that morning, I guess we were too early for the big crowd, which was good! We left the park at around noon because I was getting hungry. I get crabby when not fed and Rick knows that, so we skipped the third bus and head out. There was a long line of cars by the entrance then. Lucky us! We beat the crowd.

Our final destination - Scottsdale, AZ. We arrived this afternoon and was blown away by the very nice accommodation. Room is a suite. It has a nice kitchenette, dining table, full size couch in the living room area, TV speakers are surround sound, big shower and a hot tub! Plus, get this... a king size Tempurpedic bed! Never had I stayed in such a lovely room. Clean, very spacious and comfortable! The grounds are nicely kept too. Flowers and grass everywhere. The place is called Orange Tree Golf Resort, a timeshare we found on Ebay. Very nice indeed!

We plan to check out campgrounds while down here. We might be heading this way next winter. Rick coudn't handle the cold anymore. Hopefully we will a decent place.

Well, I'm going to try out our bed now! Sweet dreams...

Road Trip - Day 3

We battled the forces of nature today. Wind, rain, sleet and then snow.

We were expecting the drive to be seven hours. But it turned out to be nine. The roads were still winding and high, but not as bad as the Colorado Rockies. We left the hotel early as we were planning to stop at a couple of places. Breakfast at the hotel was a little disappointing. But, oh well, it was free. I felt lucky with our hotel selections, nice clean rooms, plush beds and most of all cheap! We never went over our budget yet. Hope it stays that way.

Our first stop was the Arches National Park, it was already raining and some sleet when we got there. Not bad, we just put on our winter jackets and we should be fine. Or so we thought. Our car crawled on the steep drive towards the arches. Not even a mile of driving, the rain turned to snow. Heavier snowfall and visibility was down to zero! We turned around and head back down. Disappointed but with a promise to return on our way back. Weather permitting.

After we left the park, the weather didn't get any better. Snow was on the road. Visibility was down to a quarter of a mile. So Rick had to drive slower. He was getting cramps on his hands from holding on to the steering wheel, because the wind was getting stronger. I felt bad because I couldn't help him. He refused to let me drive in such bad road condition. The weather got better eventually. We were gonna stop at the Monument Valley but decided against it. It was getting late and besides, it was still raining. The weather in the mountains is very unpredictable.

So we kept going until we arrived at the Grand Canyon. It was really grand! Awesome and unique view. Rick explained to me that it was formed by the Colorado River and millions of years of erosion. It was a monumental proof of how old the earth is. Amazing. Nothing like this in the Philippines! I guess islands are not as old... must have been formed from volcanic eruptions. It was really windy so I was terrified to even hold on to the railing for some pictures. Managed to force a smile just for the sake of some keepsake. The wind calmed down towards sunset and we managed to have quite a few pictures that was worthwhile.

Well, I'm going to get some sleep now. We had a Mexican dinner and it was delicioso! We're heading back to the canyon tomorrow and take the bus rides. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Experienced nature's beauty at its finest today. God is great!