The Pit and Homeward Bound

Hi All ...

Well, the trip is over. Here is a quick review: 16 days-15 nights-10 states-4400 miles.

Travel from Cartersville-Jackson (MS)-Arlington (TX)-Monahans (TX)-Las Cruces (NM)-Tuscon (AZ)-Tempe (AZ)-Grand Canyon Park (AZ)-Albuquerque (NM)-Shawnee (OK)-Cartersville.

With stops among others at: Ballpark at Arlington, Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, New Mexico State University, White Sands National Monument, University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Phoenix Zoo, Wildlife World Zoo, Chase Field in Phoenix, Grand Canyon National Park, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, University of New Mexico.

Thanks for keeping up with us on the site! It added to the fun.

If you want to see the pictures in order of the trip, start at the bottom on the right. Click on any picture to enlarge.

Talk to you soon.

View from hotel in Albuquerque

University of New Mexico stadium

The Pit ... Basketball home of the Lobos

"And right down there, Vic watched Benny Anders

and Clyde Drexler dunk ... and to the left Jim Valvano ran

around like a rat trying to find somebody to hug"

Windmills in North Texas ...

pretty country around Amarillo, but I didn't like these

Relaxing in Shawnee OK (about 30 miles east of

Oklahoma City) after a hard day driving

Navigating home as we approach the great state of

Tennessee (home of the next ...

President of the US- Fred Thompson)

Memphis Tennessee ... home of the King

Pyramid in Memphis ...

only 6 hours from home so we drove all the way

Painted Desert

Hi All ... after leaving the Grand Canyon, we headed south to Flagstaff and I-40, then east to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. Here are a few pics.

Beautiful view near Flagstaff

Flagstaff was a very pretty part of Arizona ... elevated with trees

and mountain peaks nearby

Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona ... (had to take this picture)

Beginning of Painted Desert

The "official" Painted Desert is located within the

Petrified Forest National Park, but the previous places were viewable and

accessable from the highway

Petrified Forest

Hi All ... here are a few pictures from the Petrified Forest. I actually said to Susan and Jackson ... "there's no way there can be a forest out here in the middle of this desert - I can't see trees anywhere." They both looked at me like I was not so bright.

"Oh ,,, that kind of trees"

Grand Canyon National Park

Hi All ... below are some pictures of the Grand Canyon ... we went from 100+ days in Phoenix to football weather at Grand Canyon (low 40s at night with 30 mph winds). We finished our trip by visiting the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest national parks before heading home through Albuquerque-Oklahoma City- then a marathon drive home. I'll post some pictures of those spots later to close out the blog for those who'd like to see them.

Enjoy the pics - hope all is well and that you have a great Memorial Day weekend. (Click on any picture to enlarge)

Park Entrance

(we actually took these shots the day we left)

Entering the park, I immediately felt like we had entered Jellystone Park ...

expected Yogi and Boo Boo to pop out with a pic-a-nic basket at any time ...

no bears but did see this Wile E. Coyote

Our first glimpse of the canyon ...

I have some minor issues with heights and there are a

bunch of spots like this one that made me nervous ...

it'd be real easy to fall several hundred feet in spots

We are standing only about 20 yards from our hotel room

at the Thunderbird Lodge inside the park ... strongly recommend staying

inside the park for convenience sake whether you are camping or lodging

There was a big storm overnight and the next morning broke

very foggy ... at times you could be a few feet from the canyon

but not see it at all

Finally the sun came out and it was a beautiful day in the low 60s

(Susan is not holding Boo Boo, but Button ... Jackson's favorite bear

who came along for the trip)

No bad views here

The size of Grand Canyon is overwhelming and the pictures

obviiously only give glimpse of it ... you can drive for hours and see

places just like what is below ... to sound like Dick Vitale ... it's like

Chuck Davis' golf drives baby ... Immense-Imposing-Intimidating