Saturday, October 17, 2009

Fall Break--A little loop of the West

Fall Break was a spontaneous little roadtrip around the West! We didn't know exactly where to go, so we got in the car and drove. This is where we ended up, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Prescott, AZ (pronounced Pres-cut), where we are now, and perhaps a jaunt over to the Grand Canyon. Pictures later, the cord didn't quite make it on our spontaneous trip!
It was great to get away and enjoy time together. I told the boys and T it was beautiful to get to know them again! It is therapeutic to leave regular life behind for a few days. We are all so busy with all various duties that is was the first time since June that we spent that much quality time ALL together. We got close-knit again, it was wonderful.
First, we went to Vegas for a few days. We took the twins shopping for their birthdays. They turn 17 on Tuesday. WHAT????? Oh man, that was 17 years ago? It is incredible how fast time flies. We called Treasure Island on the way and the rooms were fairly cheap, so we sprung for it. We took the boys on the NY/NY roller coaster and also to a show, comedian "Frank Caliendo" the impressionist. . . It was hilarious.
THEN, we went to the Hoover Dam on a dam tour. (haha) It was something we've always wanted to do. It was actually
shocking to hear all the amazing details of how the dam came to be and how its purposes are life changing for the West. 56 million people in SoCal depend on the electricity and water. We walked into the deepest tunnels, looked out one of the "vent" doors on the wall of the dam, the one Harrison Ford leaps out of in "The Fugitive", (does he leap out? I forget), saw the stairs that take you from the bottom to the top, (whoa, that was eerie) and just appreciated seeing that after years of wanting to.
Now we are in Prescott, Arizona. WHY? haha. Well, IDK. !!! T wanted to investigate this town. We think it would be a good place to retire. It is always about 20 degrees cooler than Phoenix. Cheap real estate??--haven't seen that yet. It is 5,000 ft. elevation. . .
At home we're 4200 ft. elevation,which is surprising. It is very arid, desert terrain. Charming, though. It is located southwest of Flagstaff.....check it out on a map. We think it's a pretty nice town. It has a Wal-Mart, Costco, all the restaurants, shops. . . I wonder what the LDS population is here? With B & R moving to Phoenix, it could be a good place to meet up for the holidays. I dunno.....it prob. won't happen. We're just dreaming and taking a look at a lovely town.
Tomorrow we will drive home and get back to the Monday "grind".
I hope we can swing a stop at the Grand Canyon. We'll see, it's a pretty long trip home.