Early October - Train Show

We went to the Lion's Club train show in October - it was so cool! I had no idea how fascinated I would be with the scene sets - one of the displays had a working sawmill / pulpmill, it was crazy! Now John want to upgrade from Thomas the Tank Engine - I think he needs to get a job first...I kind of want one too :). The kids really loved the train ride also. All the money went to charities...

This was the largest-scale trainset. Most of the sets were run by train clubs, lots of older men mostly, and their wives were there drinking coffee. We got to vote for our favorite set - there were over 30 (it was set up in the fair grounds triple barns)...we voted for the one above that had a section at kid height, which I really appreciated after lugging Thomas for hours.

Artwork by Kids

Yes, we are still alive out here...It is raining, Nikki, Courtney and Thomas are playing downstairs...John and Cameron are at school. Dwight and Leshia and Cody are at the hospital...Mom is somewhere up in the sky :)...I am sitting in my chair after a week of banket and Sunday School and am too tired to do any real blogging, but here are a few artsy pictures Thomas took with my camera (he took over 50 pictures while I was in the shower, including the entire interior of my Maxima, the garage doors up, the garage doors down...) (he's pretty good, isn't he :))...and some chalkwork by John. Hee hee. Rain rain, go away, little Johnny wants to play!

Home Again, Home Again!

Okay, so I'm a little mental, but I just want to say that Phoenix / Scottsdale have incredible land/hardscaping along their freeways. Here's a few photos that turned out clear...We got home late Saturday afternoon, got reaquainted with our little people, and then picked up their little friends Jada and Mason. We enjoyed watching them for 4 days while their parents were on a 10-yr. anniversary trip to...Phoenix and Sedona :)! Here is a look at our extended family - poor little Mason probably thought he's been dropped off at the funny farm!

Late September - Sedona, AZ

Here is our hotel. The view from the balcony was sweet -

and we got to listen to a bunch of Frenchies around the pool...

I hope we get to go back to Sedona again!

The airport is on a mesa (?) right in the middle of town. So it is the perfect sunset spot.

...after that he pretty much ignored my camera-happiness.

I decided to take a "romantic couple" photo for posterity...Calvin was moderately amused...

Looking back at Bell Rock - there's the moon!

One of my favorite shots of the whole trip...

One of my favorite shots of Calvin...

A non-red rock...wow!

The trail was relatively flat, we saw lots of zippy little lizards,

and the foliage was amazing!

This is our first glimspe of Bell Rock from the road...I am very calm,

I know weare only going to do the base hike!

Here's a shot on the way down. Ask Calvin about the cacti...

They were so pretty!

...this picture! Calvin is standing in that "saddle" looking down @ me to take it.

Then this other girl that was up there did this, so I had to be brave and do it to.

I chunnelled down a crevice toward the front of the mt. so that Calvin could take...

Here I am trying to look brave and adventurous...

I took this picture to try to show how narrow the "saddle" is we were sitting on.

If all else fails, enjoy our shoes...

Here is the view "behind" the mountain, looking back over the little cliff we

climbed up to get here. It took me awhile, but the beauty of it calmed me down.

Calvin relaxing and checking out the rocks above our heads.

This is all worth it to him, even having me along :)

This is looking forward in the direction of the parking lot.

It has it's own little finger spire. I was having major height fright when I took this.

Here's Calvin on the last few feet to the special spot

- laughing at me bc I'm freaking out about heights...

This is what is supposed to be the summit...It is like a bridge between two spires.
Calvin paused to enjoy the view.
All I was thinking is, "Oh my word, we have to go higher?!?!"


Finally we can see what is on the other side of the mountain!

Almost there!

This is getting towards the top...

I forgot to get a picture at the very bottom, but this'll have to do...

Sedona was about two hours south on the way back to Phoenix. Spectacular red rocks and canyons surround the town, which is a bit of a tourist trap. But there are hundreds of hikes around there and we only did two, so I would love to go back there again. Our biggest hike was past the top of Cathedral Rock. I say past because we met this New Age couple who told us to go a bit further than the summit, around a corner to a special spot where we would be invigorated by a (gasp) charted vortex! I don't know about the vortex (they are waaay into those around there!), but the view was breathtaking. We went way up behind the spire on the left. This was my favorite hike. Mainly because I made it and LOVED it even though I started out super duper hot (it was in the 90's) and super duper CRABBY and was starting to wonder if Calvin was trying to get rid of me...The Grand Canyon trail is a freeway comparatively; here you have to pull yourself up now and then or slide on your bottom when going down. Pretty high but not technically difficult. After that we walked around the base of Bell Rock and that is when we felt our legs get tired for the first time. So we went and watched the sunset, had a nice dinner at a brewery, and fell asleep the minute we got back to our hotel :). Sedona ROCKS (he he)!!

Late September - Grand Canyon

Final look at the canyon...note Angel Bright trail on the plateau below -

I hope to hike out of the Canyon on it some day!

Sunrise...

Sunrise the next morning...

We had to take a bus to get out to the most famous sunset point. The best part wasn't the

sunset really, just listening to all the different languages around us...

We saw this guy on the way back from Desert Point - we also saw three elk, two more deer, and hundreds of the most dangerous creature in the canyon - the finger biting canyon squirrel!

Dwight, this one's for you!

Grandview again...

This is Grandview point, right above an old copper mine.

They got sick of lugging the stuff out (ya think??) and it's all still down there.

We caught up with the Dutch bikers here. They were hilarious.

One last look...

I praised the Lord that the architect did too!

The inside of Desert View tower was COOL and covered with Indian paintings (like rabbits jumping over the moon and little Indian maidens with baskets of food on their heads) and Hopi furniture that Calvin looked really hot lounging in, but sadly they all turned blank :(

View eastward from the tower looks out at the painted desert.

This is the farthest east the road goes in the National Park

Lipan Point looking right (east)...if you look carefully (and I do mean carefully :))

you will see a flotilla (?) of rafts hitting a rapids.

Lipan Point (my fave cuz you can see so much of the river), looking left (west)...

Yaki Point

Look carefully and you will see the switchbacks

up to the top of the ridge - how the mules do it, I'll never know!

The view from Cedar Ridge. Next time we are going all the way, baby!

This blog would not be complete without a closeup of my super cool headgear :)!

Looking back up the trail we had come down on...very well maintained!

Calvin at Oo-Ah Point (yes, that's the name, and no, I did not dare)

Looking down at the trail ahead...

My hot hiker husband - on the phone with work!!!

When we started down the S. Kaibob trail, it was still in shade - nice!

My first time at the Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon from the Plane

Calvin called from work one day with super cheap tickets, so off we went to see the Grand Canyon and the red rocks of Sedona, AZ. It was the best trip ever! I even loved the hiking! We flew down to Phoenix on Wednesday and drove about four hours north to sleep just outside the park. On Thursday morning we saw the Grand Canyon for the "first" time (Calvin had been to the North Rim), and then hiked about a third of the way down to Cedar Ridge on the South Kaibob trail. This is a very steep trail but has the most amazing views. When we turned around to hike back up I thought I was going to die after the first two switch backs but after that it was no problem and I was able to keep up with Calvin pretty well. It sort of helped that he stopped and talked to other hikers :)! After that we drove along the rim stopping at all the lookouts. It is amazing how different the views were - at my favorite spot we could see rafts entering the rapids. The whole area just cries out the majesty and glory of God. I can hardly wait to go back and climb all the way down to Phantom Ranch! That night we watched the sunset and then took in a ranger talk in the dark woods - I have never seen so many stars! The next morning we got up at 4:45 (yes, me) to watch the sunrise. Then we went back to our hotel, ate breakfast, and drove to Sedona. It is true - the canyon is so amazing you simply cannot wrap your brain around the awesomeness of it!

ng