Road Trippin': We're re-entering civilization!

If there is anyone still out there reading our blog - We're Back! I can't believe it's been next to impossible to post since Sunday. And, so much has happened since then that we're going to have to recap through a couple of posts, at least :) Also, still not much luck on the picture front - the places we've been camping/sleeping at night don't have the best Internet access so pics are still difficult, even sometimes impossible, to upload. I'm going to try interspersing a few throughout this post one at a time to try and get them to work. I'll try to go in order as much as possible!

So, I think we last left off the night of our big adventures at the "Big Texan Steak Ranch" which still remains one of our best memories of the trip. After that night we proceeded through New Mexico and Arizona without much in the way of adventure. The girls enjoyed the changing landscapes as we entered New Mexico and the more "desert" environment. Sadly, no giant cacti were spotted :( That's been a major disappointment as we were sure we'd see them. I didn't realize until I thought back on a trip we took about 9 years ago that the giant cacti didn't begin until after Phoenix which is a bit further southwest than the Grand Canyon. Bummer! But, the beautiful desert scenery of NM and AZ sufficed!

As mentioned earlier we stopped at some cool landmarks along the way and finally rolled into Flagstaff, AZ at about 10:30 on Monday night. We checked into the Flagstaff KOA and got a good night's rest. This was definitely one of the nicer places we'd stayed and, since we arrived much after dark on Monday night, when I went for a morning run on Tuesday it was the first real glimpse of the beauty of the AZ mountains I had a chance to get. Being out in the chilly, early morning, clear Arizona air among the mountains and landscape was breathtaking. And to think we hadn't even yet seen the Canyon!

After breakfast and packing up we headed out to the Grand Canyon which was about another hour's drive. It was more desert scenery and great anticipation as we rode along the trail to the Canyon!