Orange Grove

Last night we stopped at Orange Grove RV Park.  The cool thing about this place is it is in the middle of an ORANGE GROVE (go figure).  We pulled the RV up between our own little orange trees.  Unfortunately the oranges are not ripe yet.  It is so pretty though!!
There is really nice facilities too!  A nice pool, clean restrooms, and even tidy laundry rooms.  I haven't been inside the store yet though because last night when we went to check it out it had closed!!  We pulled up at 5:45pm ish and the store and office closed at 6!  We made it JUST in time. 

We are on our way home and should be there by 2pm Pacific Time.  Then I have to put all my stuff in the drive way and shake it out to make sure that no ants get in the house if a few survived... Whewt.

Birthday Travels

On this fine day of no longer being a teenager, our ANTS have officially left us!  Yay!  Unfortunately we encountered a new problem... The air mattress has a leak! So sometime last night Daddy slowly started sinking into his bed.  BUT in his attempts to find where the leak was he found a secret drawer! MORE STORAGE!  Its a really large drawer under the couch.  He put his sleeping bag and pillow in there.  We are going to head out to Bakersfield today so that we don't have to drive for 8 hours straight tomorrow. I will update as we go. Later!

Three States Down

Today we started in Amarillo, Texas,  drove completely through The Enchanted State (New Mexico), and now we are in Arizona a little ways away from Flagstaff in Williams.  We have been back tracking and saying "Oh I've been there!" We've passed Meteor Crater, and the road to go to the Grand Canyon and the Carlsbad Caverns.  There is a whole lot of desert, a whole lot.  So tonight we are staying at a KOA in the middle of the woods.  It is the only woodsy area for a long time so we figured it would be a good change of scenery for a while.

Bumper Sticker for the Win

If only all Bumper Stickers were this wonderful.  It is witty and has a great meaning that is easy to understand.  This was a must love!

The Big Texan Steak Ranch

 We just finished up breakfast at the Big Texan in Amarillo.  The breakfast was good and we were surrounded with company (Dead animals on the walls). We are on our way to Cadillac Ranch to see some cars in the road.  Update y'all soon!

Ants

The Ants on the bus go SQUISH SQUISH SQUISH!  As we pulled away from Maw-maw's house we realized our home on wheels had been invaded by ANTS!! There are little ants, big ants, ants ants ants!!  It seemed like every time we were going the ants would hide but when we stopped for gas they came out from every nook and cranny!

We drove by Sam Houston!  The big man was poised but didn't smile or wave as we passed :/


We also passed a pimped out blue car with HUGE rims and Flags!!

We're spending the night in Amarillo and it seems we have the ants under control (Knock on wood).

Emergency Alert System

About two minutes ago they issued an Emergency Alert saying a Severe thunderstorm was on its way.  Ashley, one of the dogs, is going crazy because of course she is afraid of thunder and lightening.  Hopefully it will rain a little because boy do we need it!  Hopefully it wont be anything to extreme.

I'll Keep you updated! Unless the power goes out ;]

Conroe

We ended up not being able to find a parking spot for the bus in San Antonio, so unfortunately we were unable to stop and look around.  In other news, we made it to Maw-maw's house safe and sound.  We unpacked, started some laundry (you know, fun stuff) and are currently watching some Franklin and Bash <3
The Adventure is over for now, but I will tell you, it is good to be on still ground! 

I'll update you when there is something to Update! Stay tuned! And thank you for everyone's support!

San Antonio Day

We're going to San Antonio!!  Right now we're packing up and then we are only about an hour away from great fun!  After San Antonio we're going to head out to Maw-maw's house.  We've been on the road for 7 days so it will be good to sleep in a house, without wheels.

San Antonio River Walk

I'll upload pictures when I get them! :]

The Caverns to Texas

The Caverns were really incredible.  All the stalagmites growing from the ground and stalactites hanging from the ceiling was quite the spectacle!  We unfortunately had to put Mia in a Kennel while we went spelunking through the caverns.  Mia wasn’t happy about being kenneled, but it was too hot to leave her alone in the RV.  We walked a good amount through the tunnels.  Stopping every once in a while to take a snap shot. 
Water (or at least I’m hoping it was water) would drop on us; however, we did find a spot where the “water” was constantly dripping and Mawmaw and Daddy put their hands underneath the dripping.  I dared them to taste the water but no luck. Mawmaw and I browsed the gift shop, she got a shirt and I got a squished penny. 

We’re passing through Loving, New Mexico.  As we were driving down 285 we passed another RV (a rental RV, aka motor home posers), and we waved but apparently they were too good for us and didn’t wave back.  :P 2:30pm

We're in Junction, TX which is a couple hours away from San Antonio.  We will be getting up bright and early tomorrow morning so that we can visit the river walk and then head to Conroe to end the first half of our adventure. 

Carlsbad Caverns

Good Morning Everyone! 
This morning after we all woke up and got our showers in Mawmaw and I had a bowl of sugary sweet Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  Of course right after I decided I wanted a dill pickle!  Daddy took a bite right after brushing his teeth and made the worst sour face you could imagine!!

Right now we're getting ready to pack up the RV and head out to the Carlsbad Caverns.  And after were done there were going to head out to San Antonio, TX.  We probably wont make it there tonight because it is about an 8 hour drive( and we like to take our time looking at everything), but we will get pretty close. I'll keep you all updated whenever we get WiFi!

Tarantula Hawk Wasp

The New Mexico State insect is the Tarantula Hawk Wasp.. We got to see this sucker up close and... it is pretty scary looking.

The wasp not only KILLS Tarantulas but it also lays its larvae inside the Tarantula so that the larvae can feast their way out!  SOOO GROSS!!

Falling

Dirty from the Grand Canyon

Well Daddy knelt in something the other day while we were at the Grand Canyon and we were all joking that he fell at the Grand Canyon.  Earlier he was coming back from the store and he was walking up the steps and trying to pull  the door closed while the wind was blowing it up and he tripped up the steps into the RV.  He's fine but his ego is a little bruised.  So I thought I would let EVERYONE know how silly he is. :P

Roswell and Carlsbad

So after we packed up we went to Sky City Casino to eat breakfast.  It was all very good!

We drove through Roswell, NM.  It wasn't as terrestrial as one would assume.  Roswell just looked like any other town with a few more aliens hidden in windows.  We ended up just driving through.  Maybe if we had gotten closer to "Area 51" it would have been more crazy alien people.  Oh well, it was still a fun ride.

There aren't going to be many pictures from today due to the fact that it was ALL desert!  

We set up camp in Carlsbad, NM for the night.  We're cooking up some chicken and watching King of the Hill on Cable.

I also edited the blog so now everyone can comment! No pressure ;P

Packing up

Good morning everyone!!  We're packing up the RV and getting ready to head out to Roswell and Carlsbad.

The internet here, in Sky City, isn't 100% awesome so I wasn't able to upload all the pictures to our gallery but I will try again soon.  :]

Talk to you soon!

Meteor Crater to Sky City

Meteor Crater

We went to Meteor Crater which was only about 5 miles from the RV Park.  It was pretty amazing.  All in all it was just a big hole in the ground and a lot of speculation about how it was created.  The idea that a meteor could come into the earth’s atmosphere at 11 miles per second seems unreal!  We watched a movie about the impact and it said that it took 10 seconds to create the crater; just ten seconds! It also talked about how when the first person said it was a meteor no one would support him so they said it was a vapor blast from a volcano only to later find out that there was no volcanic rock anywhere near the crater!

Daddy at Meteor Crater

We spent a good amount of time just wandering around the museum, and Daddy and I went down to a couple different look out points while Maw-maw watched us from a telescope!  We bought a couple t-shirts and flattened some pennies at the gift shop.  There were suckers with bugs in them and I kept trying to get Maw-maw to buy one to eat but she said, “Ohhh no.”   Before we left Maw-maw and I got our hand stamped, just in case we wanted to come back.  Now were on the road to Albuquerque, NM.  We were going to head to Roswell but I don’t think we will make it there tonight, but who knows!  12:19pm

Stamp to get back in ;]

I don’t know if you all could tell or not… but we are all having a blast!  Maw-maw gets really excited at all the different places we go and we always have to stop at the gift shops so we have something special to remember our trips!  For when pictures just aren’t enough. :]

There is a lot of dessert driving through New Mexico.  We were going to drive all the way to Roswell but we decided that it was just too far so we are stopped in Sky City for the Night.

Meteor Crater

We're at Meteor Crater RV Park. We're going to head out to see the big hole in the ground then we're going to head off to Roswell, NM. I'll update the pictures and Blog when there is better internet access.

From Vegas to Meteor Crater

Mia looking at the reflection

The Oasis RV Park was very nice. Our spot didn’t have grass, but we were very close to the dog run so Mia got a good walk in. She loves sitting in the front of the RV and looking out the big windows!! She’s a cutie!

While we were gassing up the RV (3.42 per gallon) Daddy was outside the RV but Mia could see his reflection in the store window so every time he would get closer to the RV she would get closer to the window looking at his reflection!! She almost hit her face on the window; Poor puppy!

Viva Las Vegas!

We drove down the strip several times trying to catch the fountains at the Bellagio, but we didn’t have much luck. As we drove down the strip we saw Mario and Luigi running around. We also saw Elvis! The King of Rock and Roll is alive! ;] There are so many sky scrapers in Las Vegas and they’re building more!

We just left Las Vegas and are heading towards Boulder City. We’re going to go to the Grand Canyon!! I’ve only ever flown across the Grand Canyon, so it will be awesome to get an up close and personal look at the beauty nature has to offer. 11:40am

Sign for Lake Mead

In Boulder City and closing in on the Hoover Dam! Only 11 miles away!
We crossed the new Hoover Dam Bridge. It was a little disappointing because you couldn’t see anything! And it basically just looked like a two lane freeway over a deep river, but now we are in Arizona, the Grand Canyon State. We’re on our Way! 12:00pm.

136 miles to flagstaff! There isn’t too much going on, just a lot of dust and dirt. There are some mountains but really there isn’t anything except long stretches of desert. 1:23pm

Rain

Raining in Arizona! It is pouring cats and dogs!! The windshield wipers are on full blast! We’ve also seen a few lightening strikes. The rain cleared up a little after we got over the mountain, but we’re still getting a little wet. 2:08pm

Spoke too soon!! Coming down in big drops now!! 2:11pm

Mawmaw, Daddy and Mia at the Canyon

Went to the Grand Canyon and boy was it GRAND! It was so beautiful with all the different colors and the shadows from the sun. We could see bits and pieces of the Colorado River too! It is so amazing how the earth works and all the amazing creations that happen in nature. The view was so indescribable that you will have to look at all the pictures to understand and even then it isn’t the same as being there in person. All the vast beauty that the Canyon had to offer and the wild life was great too! Birds would perch up on a tree branch then take flight across the vast canyon! It was remarkable, to say the least!

Mawmaw, Mia and I at the Canyon

After the Grand Canyon we went out to dinner at The Grand Hotel. It wasn’t nearly as ‘Grand’ as the canyon but they made some excellent food. Daddy is still complaining about how full he is! “I’ll be sleeping and snoring like a baby tonight,” His exact words hehe. Mia was jumping up in the window so we had to put her in the crate but don’t worry when we got back to the RV we brought her some steak. Boy was she in heaven! She and Maw-maw are relaxing on the couch now.

The Grand Hotel

Were on our way to Flagstaff to check out their KOA (Kamp … …), which is where we will probably stay for the night. If we don’t like their KOA then we MIGHT keep going out to Meteor Crater, but that’s a few hours away and I don’t think any of us want to drive that long. Especially since Flagstaff is just 54 miles away. 7:41pm

We are cruising down the freeway listening to iTunes about 20 minutes out from Flagstaff and to our right we can see lightening dancing across the sky. Huge bolts hitting the ground for barely even a second but sending light across the sky! Wish I could take a picture because it is just so beautiful but my camera isn’t that sophisticated. :P 8:19pm

No room for us at the KOA in Flagstaff so we are heading out to Meteor Crater. It should only be about 30 miles away so it shouldn’t be too bad of a drive.

Hopefully the dry weather will stay with us and the lightening storm stay in the distance!! Stopped to get Gas at circle K for 3.45! 9:19pm

Made it to the Meteor Crater! Set up camp and relaxing! 10:37pm

Sorry about the late update! There wasn’t any WiFi Access last night.

The internet here isn't very good so I am going to have to update the pictures later. Sorry Guys! I will update them as soon as possible!

In Meteor Crater

No wifi access so I will update todays adventure in the morning. Good night everybody!!

Good Morning!!

It's a beautiful day in Sunny Sin City!  Everyone was worn out last night so we didn't head out to the strip, but we are going to make a trip through on our way out!

I'm not uploading all the pictures on here so if you would like to see more pictures from our adventure you can  CLICK ME!!

We're going to head out to the Grand Canyon today and maybe hit the Meteor Crater too.  We will see how it goes.

More posts and pictures on the way!!

On the road to Las Vegas

Right now were traveling up the road leaving San Diego, so we have about a 5 hour drive to Las Vegas ahead of us.  We woke up this morning took our showers to get all squeaky clean then had some breakfast and packed everything up.  We spread some rose petals at the Oak Creek RV Resort so a little bit of Mom will be there.  She would’ve really loved the place.  11:57am

The super cool plane
Picture from Google

Just saw a super cool airplane! It had two propellers facing upwards.  It flew by too quickly to get a photo so I will Google it for an image! 12:12pm

Osprey Aircraft

Arched Bridge

There are so many hills! But tucked away behind each little hill is a town. It’s cool how people will build their homes anywhere. We’re coming up on Old Highway 395.  I love how they label the “old” highways.  It is like a little piece of history peeking out from around the freeway corner.  We just passed this HUGE arch bridge.  Daddy took a couple pictures of it... WHILE he was driving!! He is pretty talented that man. 12:42 pm

Purple Car!

 Ruh Roh! Just hit traffic! And of course what do you see in traffic? Tricked out purple cars! 1:00pm

Crazy driver at 1:19pm!! All over the place! Got in front of us then slowed down and swerved around between lanes!! And people wonder why driving scares some people.

“Life is a trip in your RV!” RV Expo on the outskirts of LA. 1:38pm

Bologna Sandwich time! Plus side to having an RV is you can make Samiches as you ride! There is also a great view of the mountains from the left side of the RV.  There’s just a big rock in the middle of the mountains… it looks totally different from the other rocks around.  Crazy! 2:00pm

Desert. 2:37pm

140 miles to Sin City!!

Big Boy Approved Giant Thermometer

We just passed the world’s largest thermometer.  It is kind of a disappointment though because it isn’t actually a mercury thermometer it is just a large structure with digital screens and a screen at the top that shows the temperature.  Still pretty shnazzy though!  4:07pm

They want us to turn off our air conditioner… Did I mention were in the middle of the dessert? RV overheating my rear!  Going to keep that AC on!

  

We just passed through Primm.  Crazy little town with roller coasters, shopping malls, and a Whiskey Petes, which is some sort of hotel. Still a ways away from Sin City, but we’re on our way! 5:00pm

 

 Big Resort at Buffalo Bills

  

Roller Coaster

Just arrived at the Oasis RV Resort!  We’re super close to the amenities so YAY!!

More Pictures coming soon!

California

Quigley RV under the San Diego hills

Mama on the Picnic table at Oak Creek with her Rose Petals

July 7, 2011

Mia

LA Traffic

LAX Airplane Landing

Beautiful Coastline

Neal and Mia "Potty Break"

Sunset over the Coastline

On our first leg of our journey we drove from northern California almost to the border of the Sunshine State.  For most of the way down I5 there was nothing but fields but after we got to LA there was nothing but TRAFFIC! EEK! Airplanes were flying right over us on the freeway! Got a few shots for the album. The fuse for the AC blew out but we got it fixed! Just in time too because it is so sunny and beautiful down here!! There was a giant pyramid but every time Sam tried to take a picture of it the Wall from the freeway popped up!  While we were driving we could look out to the right and see the gorgeous coastline! We went to pick up Sam's stuff in San Diego then found a nice little RV park, Oak Creek RV Resort, tucked away in the hills.  We set up and got some shut eye!