Back on the road again!!
We left Phoenix, aiming for a boondock spot in Sedona. We love Sedona, but it did not take long for us to realize that a boondock spot there is NOT possible for us. For those who do not know, “boondocking” is camping without hook-ups. We run completely off of our water tanks, solar power and batteries. In Sedona – the area was a little…. rough. So we kept driving….. and driving…. and panicking…. until we finally found a perfect spot near Sunset Crater! (In full disclosure, Sedona has great spots, but maybe at a time when things are less busy!)
We had tons of space and the weather was great. We even got our awesome off-road vehicle (our smart car….. HA!) stuck in the volcanic cinders. And be “we”….. I mean, me. Oops.
My parents also joined us a day or two later, as well as David’s cousin who attends NAU (Northern Arizona University) and we had a party in the woods.
We took a day at Sunset crater to hike around. There are lots of volcanic rocks to look at and a great little hike near the crater to do. The hike provides pretty views of the San Francisco Peaks (a Northern AZ mountain range) and great science lessons for the kiddos.
After our few days there, we left and headed to an RV park near Williams, Arizona.
Here we camped and then drove up to the Grand Canyon for a day. Of course we became Grand Canyon Junior Rangers and we took the South Kaibab trail down for a mile into the canyon. It was easy enough for Benjamin to do, but if you do not like heights, I would not recommend this. Sydnee could not handle it and headed back up with Grandma and Grandpa.
The rest of us took in the views at the look-out (Ooh-Aah Point!) and then hiked back up and up and up!
On our final few days in Williams, Arizona, we said goodbye to David’s cousin and headed over to Kingman, Arizona. But first… Bearizona!
If you have never been – it’s a drive-through zoo. You see the animals from the comfort of your car. And yes, LOTS of bears! We thoroughly enjoyed it!
After we were parked in Kingman, we took a day trip over to the Hoover Dam from here. We all got a great lesson on the Hoover Dam and how it was built. We also did a new thing – we walked across the amazingly high bridge. That was quite an experience! If you are feeling REALLY brave – you have to check that out. Park on the side of it and walk out to the middle. It’s quite a trip.
From here, we parted ways from my parents and began our trek to California! Another post on that soon…
Good bye, AZ!
Until next time,
