On our way back from The Grand Canyon we stopped at the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. We didn't really know what to expect. Another amazing place! Goodness, the desert is so very hot.
It looks like wood, doesn't it? It's rock! Very cool.
The desert = being able to see for miles. This isn't Ohio!
Surviving the heat!
I'm thankful for headphones and DVD players!
The rest of our time in Albuquerque was nice and laid back. The girls played, we visited John's Aunt, took the tram to the Sandia Peak, went out to eat & just loved being together.
View from the Sandia Peak. I learned from this experience that trams are not my thing.
Dinner at El Pinto. It had a great outdoor space.
Saying goodbye is such a bummer
We started the trip back to Ohio on Wednesday. We stayed in Amarillo, Texas our first night and stopped to see the Cadillac Ranch. It kind of grossed me out.
We drove through the Ozarks on Thursday evening. Our timing didn't work out because it was dark and rainy. We did get a couple glimpses of it's beauty, though :)
My babies around 11:00 PM, when we arrived in Branson, MO on Thursday night. The scrapes on Payton's face are from her fall on the pavement in NM, by the way!
Everyone was awake when we arrived, so we took a midnight swim in the pool & hot tub :) fun memory! We are crazy!!
I had never heard of Branson before we mapped out our trip back home. Super friendly place! We did a zipline & walked around some stores before heading to Indy.
July 4th! Happy Birthday, Nana! This was our last stop before heading home.
Happy to be home, but sad for the vacation to end!
I was joking around with someone about Branson, MO lately. Tried to explain that it was a HUGE tourist town, and they looked at me like I was crazy.
ReplyDeletePoor Payton!
Love all the great pictures!!!! Looks like such a fun trip! If you DO go through Branson again, you have to take your kids to Silver Dollar City--my favorite place to go when I was a kid. It's a theme park, but it is modeled to be from the late 1800's and the workers are in costumes, etc. I have great memories from there as a kid, though Branson itself is way commercialized like Gatlinburg. Again, fun to see all your pics!!
ReplyDeleteLoved all the pics. The one of the girls and the birthday cake is typical of our family. There is always one child who cannot take their eyes off of the cake during pictures. It used to be Janine's brother, then John, now it seems to be Payton,
ReplyDeleteAnd the odometer picture. . . now that's a visual testament to the vacation saga.
Aaaahh!! You were right here in our backyard! Wish we could have seen you guys!! Loved seeing all the Grand Lake/RMNP pics. Between Adams Falls, Holtzworth and Coyote Valley, you hit all of the spots that are perfect for kids...our family has spent lots of time on those trails!
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