I am sorry that I didn't blog yesterday. We didn't get to the hotel until 10, Mountain Time!!! I wanted a shower and bed!!! So here are the last 2 days.... We left Dallas Saturday, 8am, 90 degrees. Along the way, we spotted this restaurant. Mmmmm, steakfingers.... So, yes we stopped and ordered 2 dinners with fries, salad and guess what... GRAVY!!!!! Can you say artery clogger???? But we split 2 dinners... Then we drove thru the desert and ended up at Carlsbad, New Mexico. We headed to the caverns to watch the 400,000 bats fly out of the cave at dusk. However, because of the drought, there are only 4,000. But it was still amazing.
8am Sunday morning... we are in line to enter the caves. They were amazing, a constant 56 degrees. It felt a little cool compared to the 105 outside.
(A little out of order) This is our hotel. Thank goodness the inside looked A LOT better. Rachel said she was NOT sleeping here, but she didn't move all night and the breakfast was terrific!!!
The 3 of us in the caverns.
The Family in the caverns. 
After touring the caverns, we were back on the road by 11 and of course we HAD to stop at McDonalds in Roswell, NM. How many people get to eat in a UFO shaped McDonalds????? Sorry, no aliens spotted this time.
We found the old Rt. 66 and drove on it for a few miles. Here is one of the old bridges. It was fun to see all of the old hotels lined up along the side of the road. Most of them are all boarded up. Our hotel rule- our minivan can't be the best looking car in the parking lot. If it is... we stay somewhere else!!! 
The drive from Carlsbad to the Arizona state line was amazing. We started out in the desert with 105 degrees and ended up 8 hours later in temperatures of 75. We ALMOST camped... but the LaQuinta won. (Too many thunderstorms!!!) Those of you who keep asking when we are camping (and you KNOW who you are...KD)it's coming.... We are going to try to make it to the Grand Canyon tomorrow. Most of the campgrounds are first come, first serve. I don't know if they have internet access, check Facebook for a quick update. Two special thanks... First, thanks to Aunt Jane in Dallas for entertaining us for 4 days. We were having soooo much fun, that Russell said we could stay an extra day. The girls loved hanging out with Jane and Cousins Liz and Katherine, cooking, shopping, swimming, Ft Worth Stockyard, dinner, and of course, playing with the ipad!!!
Second thank you to one of my oldest friends, Julie. She surprised the girls and sent a package to Dallas. She sent some Planet Earth and Blue Earth DVD for the girls to watch. But most important... An envelope for me labeled "Open in case of emergency." Inside.... a giftcard for McDonalds for an emergency sweet tea for mama!!!!!!!! YEA JULIE!!!!! FYI... I had an emergency today!!!!!
In case you are wondering... 2200 miles so far and everyone is getting along sooooooo good...most of the time!!!
Thanks for reading!!!!!
Mere
I am enjoying your blog immensely. Lots of great ideas for when we head that way. :) About the blog, if you are too tired to post, save it for the next day. I found that sometimes the best time to write what we did the day before is while you are driving the next day. It is a lot of work but it is also supposed to be fun. Can't wait to hear about the Grand Canyon.
ReplyDeleteHi to all the "Posts". I too am enjoying your blog. How far are you planning to go? California?
ReplyDeleteWho in the world keeps asking you about camping in a tent??? Don't they have better things to do than worry about whether you are sleeping in the wild with bears, snakes and cougars lurking about? hahahaha The pictures are fantastic! Please keep updating! Love to you all!
ReplyDelete- KD :)