Tucson and Tanque Verde Dude Ranch

Just about the best state park anywhere....Catalina State Park, Tucson.  We stayed two nights at the Catalina State and that was not enough.  We had 50 amp!  And the comfort stations were cleaner than our bathrooms!  Joe and I were on a bike ride and saw a bobcat and a coati.  Next day we saw an antelope jackrabbit.  The coyotes howled all night. 

One of our best fieldtrips ever....Arizona Desert Museum.  Yes, I said museum!  We planned on a few hours, and it turned into all day.  We learned about tarantulas, rattlers, cactus, birds, mountain lions, and coyotes (just to name a few).  We battled the 99 degree day and would highly recommend this "living" museum to everyone.

Teddy Bear Cholla

why its a large ear bat!

future archeologists

forgot the name??

Coati, this is what Joe and I saw on our bike ride.

action shot of an antelope jackrabbit

forgot the name??

The best creature of all....black widow.  This black widow was in our bathtub at Tanque Verde Ranch.  My mom's room had a nice addition to it, a giant wolf spider.  Nana, Papa, Mimi, and Annie met us at the Ranch.  It has been 24 years since I've been back to the Tanque Verde Ranch, and it is still awesome!  We all passed our loping test.  Michael and Keith went on mountain biking tours with Casey as their tour guide.  Mimi and Annie did water aerobics with Nancy leading the way.  Rick the snake man helped us identify our roomates, ie. black widow and wolf spider.  Sarah and Joe took tennis lessons in between their trail rides.  After the BBQ one night, we all took dance lessons with Wranger Johnathon.  Papa even took a watercolor class and painted a beautiful Kokopelli.  One of the many highlights was our "breakfast ride".  We were all on horseback up the mountain for a real cowboy breakfast.

Our roomate, the black widow

Nana's roomate, wolf spider

Wrangler Mike, Michael, and Mama

Joe with his best friend Whiskey

Sarah Rose on Chivo

Daddy passed his loping check!!  Yay!!

Roping lessons with Wrangler Mike

Thank you Nana and Papa for introducing me to Tanque Verde Ranch 27 years ago!

To quote Nicholas Gold, General Manager of Tanque Verde, "It was fabulous!"

 

Sedona

Hard to believe 15 years ago we were here honeymooning, and now we are here with our kids!  Our little rv park (Rancho Sedona) is perfect.  It is located right along the Oak Creek, only one mile from "uptown".  Even with the great location, we did need to rent a car to access the trailheads.  I think its a 1986 Chevy Impala with 150,000 miles on it....oh well, it runs ok :)  We hiked Fay Canyon and Cathedral Rock, both are strenuous.  The kids now think that strenuous is too easy!  We had such a great time in Sedona that we are planning on a second trip here after Tucson.  On our second visit we will mountain bike at Bell Rock and hike West Fork.  Keith and I even had the opportunity to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Shugru's.  We found a new excellent restaurant called The Hideaway ( excellent Italian food).  We visited Enchantment Resort which is where we honeymooned, it is still beautiful.

hiking Fay Canyon

Keith and Joe

hiking Cathedral Rock

Can you tell we like hiking!

 

Grand Canyon and the Big Rescue

The best story from our Grand Canyon visit was the Grand Canyon Rescue.  Did you know that over 250 people are rescued from hiking the Grand Canyon every year?  I am so proud of my men (Keith and Michael) because they rescued a man who was suffering from dehydration and couldn't make the final 1 1/2 miles up.  This man had spent four days at the bottom and while down there he became sick with a stomach bug.  We met him on the trail and he was green and looked terrible.  Keith offered to take his 40 lb pack up and Michael said he would take Keith's backpack (10lbs) in addition to his own.  So, up we went and Sarah Rose said, "That is really nice of daddy to help that man".  A random act of kindness on steroids!  I am pleased to say everyone made it out alive and well.  Our other highlight came when the kids participated in the Ranger Program and Joe volunteered to be a "dead animal" for the California Condor presentation....I think he received a standing ovation! 

Our journey started at the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park.  We took the train to the Grand Canyon and stayed at the Yavapai Lodge which was perfect for our family.  Chloe of course could not come on this excursion so she stayed at the rv park's kennel :(  The train was entertaining and efficient.  Great buffet at the train depot too!

My little hikers

our little friend we found on our hike

Joe playing a dead animal for the Ranger Program

Lake Powell

For fifteen years Keith and I have been  dreaming about houseboating on Lake Powell; well, our dream came true.  We rented a houseboat out of Wawheap Marina in Page, AZ.  It was everything we thought it would be and more.  The kids LOVED this experience!  For three nights we had our own island and some amazing views.  Our last night we tried to be closer to the marina so our beach wasn't that great.  Chloe became a certified beach bum and in the process became very sick from all of the junk she ate on the beach.

The campground there at Wawheap Marina was wonderful.  I would stay there again even if I didn't rent a houseboat.  Its actually a full-service resort with hotel and restaurants.