Our Arizona Spring Break, Part 2

All the locals told us that getting to see the Grand Canyon with snow was a rare gem to behold.  But it's strange, no one mentioned anything about seeing it in the fog...?!  That's right, we saw one of the iconic Seven Wonders of the World not once, but twice during our trip.  Sort of. ;)  We made the first two-hour trip up to the canyon only to find we could see about ten feet in front of us due to the thick fog that had settled over.  I think my favorite part was wandering around a bit (because we had already driven two hours!) and seeing hundreds of tourists still taking pictures!  Ha!  

Now stuck at a crossroads of whether to stay for the remainder of the day to see if the weather would turn a corner, or attempt the trip again the following day when the weather looked much better, we killed a little time on some pretty good pizza, a historical IMAX movie about the canyon, and some laser tag and hatchet throwing with the kids.  And the sweet babes said the laser tag afternoon was one of their favorite parts of the trip.  Aren't kids amazing like that?  Give them a cozy new place to spend a few nights, time together as a family, and an hour or two of laser tag and they're the happiest travelers.  Beau and I got quite the chuckle out of this, thinking we could have forgone the flights and saved a little money with a cabin closer to home!

We headed back to the cabin later that afternoon.  We decided we would try the Canyon again the next day, and sweet Beau had the idea of getting up there for sunset.  We got up well before dawn, loaded the car, and headed back up on I-40 in the pitch dark.  After a few miles down the road, my phone's GPS starting rerouting me to a different exit but didn't say why.  After many failed attempts on poor Siri's part to reroute us, we soon discovered why when we came to a sudden halt on the interstate.  There we were, a little after 4 am, stuck in a packed rental car sandwiched between miles upon miles of semi trucks.  And we did not move for FIVE HOURS.  Yep, five hours.  We still aren't sure if there was a big accident that stopped traffic that long, or continued cleanup from the snow storms the following day, but we have never experienced a traffic stop that horrendous.  I bounced between trying my best to be the cool, calm and collected mom to absolutely losing my mind and waving my white flag on the entire trip.  Fortunately, the wifi was spotty enough that I couldn't actually get through the airline, nor could I see that parts of I-40 were closed for 12 hours the day before, leaving people literally stranded.  I'm pretty sure we would have said goodbye to our luggage and hiked to the nearest gas station at that point!

I know we'll forever laugh about that five hours stuck in a car together - watching Yes Day from my phone propped on the dashboard, reading chapters of Harry Potter in all the voices, and making and rating food creations with the leftover groceries in the backseat.  Again, Cruz and Mila proved to be more patient, present and positive than the adults and we said more than once we were just thankful they weren't babies.  And that Mila and her mama have large bladders compared to the Jorgensen boys who peed on the highway four times in five hours. ;)

After five hours, plus another two once we got moving, life turned a corner and we arrived at the Grand Canyon National Park under a bright blue sky.  It was an adventure to get there, but worth it in the end.  

I think!

Our Arizona Spring Break, Part 1

One of my favorite stories Beau tells from his childhood is about an epic trip his family took via Amtrak train to Seattle, Washington.  He was ten years old, in a full leg cast after breaking it sledding a couple weeks before, but his parents were so excited to show the boys some of our beautiful countryside on the way to see their Aunt Marge.  But then the Amtrak train broke down somewhere between here and there, the pipes froze, the toilets filled, and the dining car was unable to make food with no water.  They were stuck for three nights on a broken down train.  And all Beau remembers is getting cold KFC delivered on the train and a couple of honeymooners sitting directly behind him with a blanket over their heads reading erotic romance novels to each other.  By the time they made it to Seattle, he's pretty sure they had to turn around and fly home shortly after.  They still talk about that trip!  Not the trips to Disney or Canada, but their epic trip to Seattle when it seemed everything went wrong.

If every family is due to have one vacation you talk about forever, our quick Spring Break to Arizona may just be ours.  We booked cheap tickets to Phoenix after cancelling our original planned trip to Palm Springs just after the new year.  Instead of balmy Phoenix, we wanted to check off a National Park bucket list and get some adventuring in, so we landed on the Grand Canyon and Sedona.  Being the researcher I am, I discovered Sedona has an average temperature of mid-sixties in March, which we thought was perfect for visiting the Grand Canyon and doing some hiking.  

As Spring Break grew closer, the weather forecast for all of Arizona looked cooler than average.  But after talking to several people far more familiar with Arizona than us, we figured an inch of two or snow that would melt by afternoon tops.  I begrudgingly packed winter gear on a "just in case" basis, but had no intentions of needing it too much.  

We flew into Phoenix mid-afternoon to sunny skies and fair temps.  We grabbed some In-N-Out burger before hitting the road up to Munds Park, Arizona, our halfway point between Phoenix and the Grand Canyon, as well as home to our cozy airbnb in the woods.  I was pretty unfamiliar with the state of Arizona (had never been before) and couldn't believe the geographical changes witnessed in a short two hour drive.  We started with brown dirt and countless cacti and as we climbed 7,000 feet in a short amount of time, our landscape soon resembled that of Lake Tahoe instead of the desert I was expecting.  And it was cold!

We settled into our cute cabin our first night and loved the details of this place.  It had the most comfortable beds, a record player with so many of our favorites, coffee and s'mores and popcorn waiting for us, and baskets of faux fur blankets everywhere.  And we needed every one of them!  As big flakes fell outside, it got cold inside!  We kept that fire stoked big, warmed up with lots of hot cocoa, played Cribbage, and ate s'mores for breakfast.  

And when we woke up the next morning, we couldn't believe how much snow we got.  There was at least a foot on our back deck and Beau wasn't too happy about having to shovel a three-foot drift at the end of our driveway.  But you know, the snowy scene made for a pretty great backdrop to soak up our cabin and some uninterrupted time together.  While it may not have been what we were expecting to see, we took advantage of our space and enjoyed reading books, making s'mores for breakfast, watching the snow avalanche from the Pine trees that towered over us, and grabbing some cheap barbecue with the locals Friday night.  

Pictures of our cozy A-frame in the woods on our first snowy day in AZ...

South Dakota Adventures || Day 6

We had one last day in South Dakota before it was time to head home to start thinking about school again.  And we made the most of it by getting up with the sun.  The Custer State Park Buffalo Safari rides were highly rated on all the travel sites and rather than driving through Custer hunting for the bison herd ourselves, we thought it might be nice to let someone else take the wheel.  Then Beau could gawk out the window as much as me!  And sunrise seemed like the perfect time to do it.  We got up when it was still dark, conveniently walked just across the parking lot, and set off in search of some wildlife with our wonderful guide, Randy, who we kind of wanted to adopt as our South Dakota grandpa by the end of our morning.

Randy informed us that since we were the first jeep out, we were tasked with finding the herd from the previous night and reporting back to the rest of the guides that would leave soon after.  Their typical plan of action is to start around the same place the herd was spotted the night before, but it's really anyone's guess as buffalo don't really sleep at night and can move at speeds of 35 mph at times.  The guide promised us wildlife on our drive, but also said they can't always guarantee an up close look at the bison.  So as we drove on the quiet roads in the early morning hours, we admired the gorgeous sunrise and kept our eyes open.  

It only took us about fifteen minutes before we saw them in the distance.  They looked like tiny ants from where we were, but soon enough our guide took the back roads we would have never attempted without him.  And before we knew it, we were parked smack dab in the middle of a huge buffalo herd!  It was one of the neatest experiences of my life.  There had to be over 300 of them, grazing as far as our eyes could see.  And they weren't the least bit concerned with sharing the road with us.  They got so close at times I swear they brushed right up against the jeep, which made us hold our breath a few times!  We saw lots of mamas and their babies, running and playing with their friends, and even got to see one of the big king bulls that roam around out there.  They are fascinating creatures who get to call a pretty beautiful place their home.     

We saw lots of these little pests, too!  Farmers may hate prairie dogs, but I thought they were pretty cute!

Any guesses on which of us didn't find the bison hunt as fascinating?!

We definitely got our money's worth with our jeep safari ride, and returned back to the lodge so excited about our experience.  We packed up our things and headed to Sylvan Lake for our last afternoon of the trip.  

We spent the rest of the day at Sylvan Lake, known as the "crowned jewel" of Custer State Park.  The lake is in the heart of the Black Hills, is bordered by the most gorgeous sandstone cliffs, and includes hiking trails around the lake and off the beaten path if you choose.  The first thing we did was rent a canoe and take to the water to explore our surroundings.

Beau and I said it more than once but this place was so pretty it almost looked artificial.  The giant bolder rocks up against the bright blue sky and blue green water looked like something Disney pays millions of dollars to recreate.  It's no wonder this place was the backdrop to movies like National Treasure.  We took our time hiking the path around the lake and discussing that it is the perfect backdrop for an action movie.

And apparently the perfect place to find Big Foot.  Evidence number one...

The influx of bikers for Sturgis made the environment busy but fun.  There were several roadside stands selling grilled bison burgers and cold beer, and we loved grabbing burgers by the lake for lunch.  Then we all took a polar plunge in the icy cold water before heading up the lake to our third and final home for the week.

For booking everything in less than a week before we left, we really hit the jackpot with our lodging choices!  It was fun to stay in three completely different places and locations and we loved every experience.  We camped, we stayed in a lodge, and our last night, slept in a quaint little cabin just at the top of Sylvan Lake.  

Our last night in South Dakota was one of my favorite nights of our whole trip.  We had a fantastic dinner at the Sylvan Lake Lodge restaurant, then stopped at a general store for a few cocktails and s'mores supplies.  We lit a fire, changed into our cozies, and enjoyed one last night in the great outdoors under the thickest blanket of stars.  It was quiet, we were all so content and happy, our lungs filled with fresh air, and our hearts full of memories.  It was a pretty wonderful way to end such a long chapter of home, knowing we would be ready to return to school with lots of adventure and lots of together.  Two of my very favorite things.

And we can't forget the Badlands!  We hit them on the long way home Saturday and were happy to check another National Park off our list.  It was a great week!