Finally back! The trip was absolutely amazing..couldn't of asked for better weather and besides Kansas kicking our butts, there were 0 issues!
Also, I have to brag and say I can count the number of times Tucker cried on one hand!! He was soooooooooooo good!! Even on the days were we spent 8+ hours in the truck he never cried!! So proud of my little boy :)
Left NC, went thru Tennessee, spent the night in Mississippi. They had the best pool..both ends were 2 1/2 feet deep so it was perfect for Tucker to be able to walk out a bit and try out his swimming skills. So proud :)
Left Mississippi and went to Arkansas for the night. The campground there was kinda rough but we had fun getting lost (even with TWO GPS) on the way to Walmart and Sonic (can't live without their milkshakes!!)
From Arkansas, we went through Oklahoma, Texas and into Albuquerque, New Mexico. (PS...I had never been past Knoxville, TN before) I could not believe how far you could see and the wide open fields. Plus, from watching TV, I always assumed all you see out west is cows, beautiful ranches, etc....I could be wrong and just didn't visit the right parts, but this is NOT true. I saw MAYBE five houses that would be considered "nice" and NO ranches and very few cows. Like I said, maybe I was in the wrong parts but it was not like the movies! But all the views were incredible!
After a cold stay (ok, maybe cold is a bit drastic..after a chilly stay) in New Mexico, we were off for destination # 1..Arizona!!
Arizona is beautiful. Once again, I was expecting deserts of cacti and such..WRONG! I saw a grand total of: 2! That was it! But its alright..I'm not real into sand that doesn't mean beach anyway.
In Arizona, we went fourwheeling, shopping, to the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert, to the Grand Canyon, to Bearizona, to the Grand Canyon Caverns and to the Walnut Canyon Wupatski Pueblo Indian Reserve. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!
The Grand Canyon is just such an amazing place to visit. I could spend weeks there!
(By the way...I have over 5000 pictures, so I am trying to post only a few!)
The Grand Canyon Caverns...beautiful and scary deep looking down! Coolest hotel room ever down in it.
The Painted Desert and Petrified Forest were pretty cool. The forest was really neat. Signs were posted everywhere with penalties listed for even touching a piece of the wood. I'm pretty sure they would of arrested you for even looking at it wrong. Super strict..But the best part of that was the Painted Desert..beautiful colors.
I HAD to visit an indian reservation. I found this one online and it was incredible. These people were very driven and unique. They built all their dwellings in cliffs and "caves."
After Arizona, we headed north to Moab, Utah. Also a beautiful place lacking the green colors I am so use to. But a fourwheeling heaven. Spent a few days doing nothing but shopping and fourwheeling.
From Moab, Utah, we headed to Colorado for whitewater rafting and some more views, especially the wonderful views from Pike's Peak, Manitu Springs.
After Colorado, we were headed back towards the NC mountians...
Butn like I said, Kansas kicked our butts!! Dad bought a new truck 3 weeks before we left on the trip. A BRAND NEW truck. When the truck would reach 1/2 tank of gas, we would start looking for a diesel station...then the "50 miles till empty" came up on the dash...still not worried. Truck stop 35 miles ahead (ding ding 50 miles to empty). Truck stop 25 miles ahead (ding ding 40 miles to empty). Truck stop 15 miles ahead (ding ding 30 miles to empty). Truck stop 6 miles ahead...truck dies on the interstate! Despite what the message was STILL FLASHING on the dash, we were completely out of fuel...
Lucky us! We have 10 gallons of diesel in a tank in the back!! So we quickly refuel and make plans to go to the truck stop to completely refuel and now refill the spare tanks.
Keys in the ignition...and it does not start. Prime it just like the owner's manual explains (let me add, both Dad and little brother know their trucks) and like everyone both boys talked to said, they continue to try to try to prime and start the truck. Oh wait! What's that sound? Sounds like the battery is almost dead! Sniff sniff..what's that smell? Oh yes, that is the starrter burning up!
Well the truck is brand new, only 4ish weeks old, right? Let's call the Ford Roadside Assistance and get their help. Needless to say..that alone took awhile. The man finally arrives and hands over 5 gallons of fuel. Not only had we spent awhile explaining to the operator that the problem was no longer no fuel, but a burnt up starter and dead batteries, we now had to explain it to him. However too small his shirt was, he was incredibly nice. He tried to do what he was trained to do to prime and start the truck. Guess what? 2 dead batteries and a burnt up starter! After several more hours, it was dark. So he said lets tow it to the next exit until tomorrow then I can tow it to the closest Ford dealership. Problem: how do you tow a full sized truck...that has a 38 foot camper/toy hauler attached to it? Oh yes, thats right! You illegally tow it using only a single fraying rope!! After being towed to and left in an abonded brown rock field for the night in the middle of nowhere, he came back for the truck the next morning. Truck and Dad: towed to town. Camper and everyone else: still in the abonded rock field. After a few short hours, the truck was repaired and we were back on the road (ps..you'd think they would include in the owner's manual/tell their mechanics that after running out of fuel, you need a special tool to prime the new trucks...). What were we doing not even a whole hour after finally being fixed? That's right!! We in fact were once again pulled off the road, truck unattached and this time, the camper on jacks..to fix a blown tire. An hour later..the camper was fixed and we were on our way. Thank God Kansas ended shortly after that. Kansas kicked our butts. However, the towman did compliment us by telling my dad that we were all amazing sports about everything. But by this point, you kinda had to laugh..what else could you do!?
Kansas is literally completely flat with miles and miles and miles of nothing but wind turbine farms.
At least the other 5 states on the way back to NC had pretty sites!
And we're back!
Oh the wedding plans :)
WOW! Seems like you guys had a terrific time...This would be my dream thing to do also and hope that one day I will have enough saved to and the time off from work to do it! We'll see!!! Who would have expected trouble from a NEW truck, but the unexpected pops up occasionally, right?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Tucker was good for you as that always makes for a better trip.
I look forward to some more pictures soon!
Michelle