Road Trip Part 4!

From warm, sunny Palm Desert we headed north...

Avoiding I5, Dad took us through lots of snowy mountain passes where the "view" was prettier.

While driving through Carson City, NV, we stopped at a children's museum.

Then we headed up to Oregon (yep, I'm really whippin' through this) :) and stayed with a couple different friends that live around the Portland area. Next stop: Seattle, where we stayed with another friend, who had a great little house on the water in the Ballard area. The view from the window at night was wonderful, as you could look out across the water all the lights of the houses on the other side...

We stopped at our cousins house again while in Washington. On our last day of vacation before getting on the ferry, we went skiing on Mount Baker. Emma hadn't been feeling well the night before, so Mom stayed with the little kids while Dad and our uncle took Paul, Carrie and I.

gearing up
the ski lifts up were half the fun! :) :)

It took a while to get used to the skiis, but after a while Paul was going as fast as everyone else. (I was a little more on the cautious side, but of course I had to keep up with him!)

the view from the mountains was amazing!

We got on the ferry the next afternoon and had a good ride back to Ketchikan. Some of the people that worked on the ferry knew Dad from Sea Piloting stuff, so we were very well treated! :)

we all had a great trip... but we were ready to come home...

...goodbye red rock and outdoor pools and farms and cows and amusement parks and big cities and all our friends/relatives that live in the "lower-48"...

Road Trip Part 3

...back on the road again...

Dad took us over to the Hoover Dam, and we drove across it. The water level was very low (as you can see!). We got there about twilight, and the lights of the dam were very pretty!

We didn't drive over this bridge, but it was near the dam, and looked pretty neat.

Palm Desert at last!!

The first thing we did when we got out of the car? Jumped into the pool! The house we stayed in had a "neighborhood" outdoor pool. It was dark by the time we got to Palm Desert, but the pool lights were on and the moon was out. It was a good evening swim. (And the hot tub felt SOOOO good after a long drive!)

We stayed in the desert for a little over a week. One of our favorite things to do was play in the neighborhood tennis court.

...and of course, the pool...

We went on a walk in park area that none of us can remember/agree-on what it was called. Something to do with Thousand Palms or Earthquake Park or Something-Preserve or Something-Oasis. :)

Thanksgiving at our grandparent's house

Dad took us to Knotts Berry Farm in LA (a couple hours from Palm Desert). We've been there once before and we all wanted to go back. It was a little crowded, and Dad strongly dislikes standing in line :) but we had a good time anyway.

Emma and I on a ride called the Sierra Sidewinder.

This was our favorite ride, called the Silver Bullet. Paul and Emma stuck with Carrie and I and went on all the crazy upside down rides with us. :) They were fun to hang out with. There was only one ride they refused to go on, the Extreme Scream, which was a large chair that takes you waaaaaayyy up, drops you, pulls you up again, and drops you again. (Note: I only went on that one once and I won't be doing it again.)

....Leaving Palm Desert.... There were windmills as far as we could see in every direction. I still have a few more pictures (and believe me, I've cut this waaaayy down!) that I'll get to later.

Road Trip Part 2 - The Canyons

...driving towards the canyons...

We had been driving for a long time "out the middle of nowhere" looking for the cabins we were planning on staying the night in. We were starting to wonder if we were ever going to get anywhere and if we had taken a wrong turn, when we rounded a corner and there they were! These cabins are in Kodachrome Canyon.

...Happy to get out of the car!

Carrie, Emma and I got to share our own cabin. :) They were VERY nice, like hotel rooms (nothing like the kind of "cabin" we're used to!) and such a welcoming sight after a long day of driving!

so much red rock!

the next morning we walked around Kodachrome

Carrie got this fun picture of our shadows on a rock across from the ledge we were standing on. ...Good times...

The next canyon we stopped by was Bryce Canyon. It was amazing and BEAUITFUL.

hiking into the canyon (an easy hike down... not so great coming back up)

It was cold and windy as we stood at the caynon's edge and looked down. What a breath-taking sight. ...More pictures tomorrow...

Road Trip Part 1

We planned our road trip in our usual last-minute fashion. On the day we were going to take the ferry to Bellingham, we were still 4th on the waiting list! We got on, though (in our usual lucky-fashion). :) Actually, as it turns out, it is typical for up to 10th on the waiting list to get on... It's a strange system.

We requested the largest stateroom the Malaspina had, which was still only four bunks, but had more move-about room. It was fun to watch the expressions of our fellow-passengers as we hauled all our luggage up from the car deck, set it down in the lobby, and went back down for a second load. :) The ferry ride was enjoyable, but we were all glad to see Bellingham.

Our first stop was at our relatives house in Washington. (Our family photographer... ehem... was slacking that day, so we didn't get any good pictures). We were on the road the next day. Here, we stopped for dinner at Arbys... we had a lot of fast food this trip!

After visiting some friends in Yakima, we stayed the night in a little town in Oregon. Some friends of ours from town offered us to spend the night at the house they own there.

...enjoying the countryside... the fall colors were beautiful!!

...driving toward the canyons...
We stopped by Bryce Canyon and I have lots of great pictures, but I still have to weed through them... I'll get to that tomorrow *yawn* :)