DAY FOUR, part one: Albuquerque, NM to Holbrook, AZ (via the Petrified Forest)

DAY FOUR, part one: Albuquerque, NM to Holbrook, AZ (via the Petrified Forest)


It was cold in this camper last night! And the worst is yet to come, so I’m going to be in trouble! I wish I packed warmer jammies, or Johnny Depp to keep me warm. : )

Another early wake up, and a last shower before camping in the Grand Canyon which might not provide the option of a hook up. I was better able to regulate the temp this time, but I washed in a veritable trickle. By day 15 I should have the hang of this shower thing!

We parked in the complete darkness last night, so it was a wonderful surprise to wake up and see the beauty of the mountains in the distance. I even caught a bit of the sunrise (imagine that!). Coffee is in, and we are prepping to roll towards the Petrified Forest (and yes, Shawn, I spelled it right) and the Grand Canyon. I cannot wait!

As we wait for the propane guy to show up, I open up the GPS/Streets and Trips/Entire-Trip-in-a-File-That-Took-Weeks-to-Create and it WON’T OPEN. I can’t breathe. I call Microsoft for help while John goes to get propane from the filthy dude with a dog. Microsoft needs to connect to my computer, which has now decided it won’t connect to the internet. The filthy dude with a dog tells John he doesn’t have a connector for the propane. He is the propane guy at an RV park. Go figure. But he sends us to the Flying J up the road.

As John moves from one broken pump to another, I struggle to connect to the internet and follow the step Microsoft e-mailed me to fix the issue. As John goes in to find out the Flying J did not have anyone there licensed to pump propane, Norton antivirus continually deletes the download that is trying to fix my issues. Finally FINALLY the software is fixed and we are able to get back on track. Sans propane. But we will find a truckstop somewhere that can help us out.

The day’s negativity is behind us and we drive through amazing scenery and head towards the Grand Canyon. Even with set-backs, this is still the trip of a lifetime, and fixing these kinds of problems beats the grind of the hectic work/house/4 kids daily routine anyday. I am trying to take as many pictures as I can. It is hard to drink in all the beauty around me. I think that my brain will melt at the Grand Canyon.

The drive towards Gallup was filled with breathtaking views of red rock buttes and mountains. We took so many scenery pictures. I actually turned evil and forced the girls to wake up. There was just too much of America rolling past as they slept. It made me happy to see Desirae snap pictures out the window and appreciate what she was seeing.

At the Arizona border we stopped for propane again. This is quite an undertaking it seems. Eventually the tank was topped off and we were back on the road towards the National Parks. But we were now waaaaayy behind schedule, which isn’t a big deal other than it will cut in to our Grand Canyon time. : (

We arrived at the Petrified Forest and the questions began about where the trees had gone. We were offered a National Park Season Pass, and when I rattled off all the parks we were going to visit, the lady assured us it was a deal. Yay to saving money! I wasn’t sure what to expect here, and quite honestly my plan was to simply drive through it, but from the first overlook, when Desirae commented that it looked like God had spilled a can of paint, we knew we wanted to take it all in. The Painted Desert is spectacular. Even under an overcast sky you could see every color imaginable. The mountains literally were purple in places! This was worth every extra minute. We even decided to skip lunch so we could spend more time seeing the beauty of the park.

In Holbrook, we decided to bypass lunch (to make up some lost time) and as luck would have it, the restaurant I had picked wasn’t even there anymore! So it was meant to be. But in a really cool twist, the Wigwam Hotel on Route 66 (you know, the one with all the teepees!) was right there next door to the closed down restaurant! They had parked old cars in front of each of the wigwams and the hotel looked almost frozen in time. I was so excited about this little accidental find!

Now I am just hoping we make it to the Grand Canyon before the sunsets. I want to sightsee a little tonight. But if not, it might just be fate’s way of telling us to get some rest. And I am slowly learning and accepting that you can’t fight fate. : )