Day Five - Heading North

Once again, I don't have long to write this entry and will most likely write it on the road and finish posting later but here goes nothing.

With the excitement of the day before carried over, we were able to leave on time and, with my father being a speed demon, we even got to our first stop a little early - Walnut Canyon. Once home to native Americans, this canyon is now a national monument with many of the dwellings still preserved. We hiked down about 15minutes, with Jazmyn reading us the facts along the way, and then made the hike back up. I thought those stairs would never end (I think climbing stairs is worse than just hiking up a hill).

 

  

 

Our next stop, just 15 minutes away was meteor crater. When I was planning the trip, I wasn't sure if our "America the Beautiful Annual Pass" (which covers the entrance fee to all national parks for a year) would cover the $16/person fee. When we got there, dad checked it out for us and, unfortunately the crater wasn't worth the $96 it would cost to check it out. Besides, the landscape around the crater was just as pretty to look at, especially with my father the photographer capturing it's beauty.

 

 

 

 Our next stop, still checking out some route 66 stuff, was Winslow, Arizona. This city was once one of the largest cities in Arizona but quickly began to fade. Made popular again by the Eagles with the song "Take it Easy", Winslow began to build itself up again. With a group of volunteers they were able to commision artists from around the US to design and build this unique park modeled entirely off of the song. We snapped our pictures, checked out the nearby souvenir shop, and were back on the road in no time.

 

I found this in the shop and, as I have done many times, thought, "I can make this"

Next up was lunch but not before spotting the wigwam motel, a model for the cozy cone in the Cars movies.

 

 Oh Yelp, how you have helped me find some good meal spots. Lunch today was at Joe and Aggie's Cafe which, as you can see, was Mexican and American food. It took a bit to get our food but we were easily entertained with the books that were available.

To ensure that we would get to the four corners monument on time, we sped ate and were back on the road. This became especially beneficial when Jaz requested we stop at the Painted Desert National Park (we were driving by it but hadn't planned to stop). Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to her expectations.

 

Today was a lot of driving, which meant a lot of sleeping in the car for those of us who weren't driving or afraid of the driver (love you dad).

  

 After the Four Corners Monument, we stopped again at the Utah border. While stretching, Blake came across this - a little bottle with paper and pencil inside, last signed a year ago.

 He signed the paper and dated it, then we got some photos with this fun shaped rock. Can you guess which Disney movies we were trying to replicate?

Now I must be off, now a 45 minutes behind schedule (not that big of a deal since we have a long rode ahead of us). So long Salt Lake City, UT and hello Yellowstone. Until next time, live long and prosper!