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GCRT Day 5: Phew! Today Was a Big Day!

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Today began like any other day on this trip.  .  . with Logan not wanting to really leave the hotel room :-).  But then we fed him and downloaded Pokemon Go and all was well. 

We lugged that poor little boy who exclaimed yesterday that he did not like nature to THREE national parks today.  THREE!  Today we visited the Petrogplyph National Monument, the El Mapais National Monument, and the Petrified Forest National Park.  I may or may not have bribed him with 50 cents and my iphone to have a good attitude (be looking for my parenting book Jami's Guide to Parenting:  Whatever Works and Doesn't Cause Their Permanent Teeth to Rot Out Is OK).  

The Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque was really cool.  We chose to do two short hikes (because NATURE), and I gave each kid an iphone to snap as many petroglyphs  (carvings by Native Americans in the lava rocks) as they could find.  It was not a strenuous walk, and we got to see dessert plants, lava rock, and tons of petroglyphs (and no rattlesnakes--thank goodness!).  Oh, and Brad finally found a tumble weed.  I really should have planned two days for us in Albuquerque.  You really could spend a whole vacation there.  It is so beautiful and interesting.  And you know what they say about dry heat?  It is so true!  We hiked a good mile + in above 90 degree heat, and it felt like it was in the 70s.
Brad's tumble weed

a petroglyph.  maybe a squirrel??

searching for petroglyphs

imitating a petroglyph

my little photog



 After the petroglyphs we headed for our next stop, the Painted Desert.  This was poor planning on my part because it was over three hours a way from the petroglyphs, and then I had planned on us leaving the Painted Desert and driving two more hours to Sedona.  That is too much sight seeing and driving in one day (we also stopped at El Malpais National Monument briefly to break up the trip).  We did not make it to our hotel until after 9 PM and that is way too late after a day of sight seeing.  The only thing that kept my family from throwing me out of the car at the end was that we got to eat at Pizza Hut :-).  I asked Logan to forgive me since we still had a two hour drive after our pizza, and he said he did.  I am not so sure if Brad and Emma have forgiven me yet.  Maybe I'll ask them tomorrow after they have slept.

HOWEVER, the Painted Desert was so worth it.  There is no way my pictures can capture its beauty.  We were kind of gripy and tired when we entered the park, but when we crested the ridge and saw the Painted Desert, we all (even Logan) were awestruck (and there were two Pokemon there).  I can't imagine how the Grand Canyon will top the Painted Desert.



And I'll end the blog today (it is 2 AM here--we had to play Yahtzee! when we go to the hotel room because we promised Logan we would) with some of the scenery we have seen today.  This trip has been such a whirlwind.  At each stop, I wish that I had a week just to sit and observe.  God truly loves diversity.   Each state we have visited has been so different, so unique, and so wonderful.  I loved New Mexico because it is so different from anything I have ever imagined.  I can't even describe how magical and quirky and unique the entire state was.





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