sedona

8 p.m.- We arrived at the Bell Rock Inn & Resort. Location was great & clean but I would not recommend.  Straight to bed the kids went.
Next morning Helena assisted bro with his treatment. "i massaged the med-sin so you can brief better" 

We feasted at Red Rock Cafe. Breakfast tacos. Blue corn tortilla, eggs w/ (housemade) chorizo, jack, avo, green onion and roasted (housemade) salsa! Very tasty and inexpensive we made plans for the next morning.
And here's what we saw and did:

We drove thru beautiful Oak Creek Canyon on our way to Slide Rock.

Slide Rock is actually a state park. We got our hiking gear (snacks, h20, diapers & inhalers) and off exploring.

And silly me thought that 70* was not ideal for swimming...I will say that it all began with Helena accidentally landing on her rump in a shallow pool with a "oh my gracious, HELP!" Max howled at her misfortune, slipped, slid and ended supine. Once they were back on their feet we removed their wet shorts. Of course, they found it all so funny and twice more did the sorta, almost, halfway and then slip & splash! All along, these two older ladies sitting on the rocks above us, kept alternating between giggle and shriek. Helena not so quietly informed us "I want to take off my diaper" and.......

On our way to the car Helena said " I feel much better when I'm naked and just look at All the miracles of Jesus" pointing to the amazing sights we beheld.

And that's my fave side of Bell Rock. It was 5 p.m. when we got to our hotel, washed up and napped. Or maybe watched some of the presidential debate. Three and a half hours later we were on our way to dinner. The only places open were the gas station, a pub, a cafe recommended by the hotel with awful yelp reviews and subway. We definitely weren't in the happening part of town and were the only car on the road. All of a sudden...... there were 10 javelinas sauntering across the road towards the creek!! We just stopped and stared. We could hear more snorting and grunting from where they crossed. And saw a bunch of mama and young ones. Like any responsible parents, we pulled into the parking lot adjacent the bushes, with no attempt to truly park, ran out with flashlights and an iPhone! The Great plan was for Papi to shoo'em towards the creek and I would capture it all on the iPhone. It might of worked, had I not heard, in the midst of this crazy scheme a little voice "mama, where are you guys?"-Helena. oh, We left the kids with the engine running and doors wide open to chase some wild pigs WITH LONG SHARP TEETH!! AHhhh. Even though we assured them we were safe and didn't have plans to abandon them EVER, Max & Helena were NOT impressed!
"the law says parents should NEVER leave their children"-Max

And now back to the task of finding dinner. Downtown was dead. The Hilton Resort was the only place with life and they had a real trendy bar & grill. We felt it wouldn't be wise or nice to kill people's buzz like that. Papi went in to ask for suggestions. And someone's friend worked at the Red Planet Cafe and they were open until 11 p.m. And so there we went. Who knew there is gf liver & onions!!

And our question as to why everything closes at dark was finally answered. We were told it was Something to do with javalinas looking for food & drink at night as well as their predators. Oh you know; wolves, mountain lions and bears.
Sweet dreams, alright.

hmmm

http://instagr.am/p/Qqc-qQje55/

flagstaff

After the canyon, JR called and invited us over for dinner. So we headed over to flagstaff.
Driving to flagstaff was a pleasant surprise. Didn't fit our preconceived ideas of Arizona. It was gorgeous and ...well see for yourselves.

JR and his sweet wife had a spread. Baby back ribs, beef riblets, chicken, corn on the cob, rice and beans, fruit salad, bread, cookies and pie. All done in 3hrs with 4 boys! (Ages 6,5,3,1) Yes I was impressed. The boys were intrigued with Helena and her ability to get them to play her games by her rules, sweetly of course. Max had fun stacking wood, playing indians and chasing dogs and squirrels. It was a fun, good 'ol red neck time! We drove down to our hotel in Sedona. Obviously Max had a little too much excitement and needed a breathing treatment. And that was day 1...

grand canyon

(9:15a.m.) 7hrs and 14mins later we are in Arizona. We stopped in Ash Fork for....GAS @$4.19!!
And we drove....

We grabbed lunch in Williams. Also, Papi called JR (previous co-worker and countrified hunter who sold us our house) letting him know we were in town.

Because we were raring to go, first on the list was the canyon and so we drove.

Heights tend to make me uneasy, this did not whatsoever. We enjoyed the flat little paved walking trails all along the view points. Max & Helena had fun refilling their kanteens with fresh spring water and we had a couple of restroom visits as a result.
One big, Big advantage for fall traveling besides beautiful weather is the lack of tourist buses and all that entails! :)

road trip...the beginning

First there was an earthquake! And then, at 2:01 a.m. we were on the road with two very much awake kids. Sissy won the most chatty award, if you can imagine what that might have been like with Max as a contestant. They were SO excited about the trip......Or maybe it was the fun bags from Grammie, "dbds", toys and candy from Tias. The buzz quickly died when they were informed it was still night time. Max closed his eyes and was fast asleep. Miss Helena on the other hand.....
"I really cannot go to sleep I need to make sure One of You does not get scared"
"my eyes can not go to sleep soooo I can not do that"
"I have an idea how about.....we sing All the songs of the bible"
Much, much later she konked out with the assurance that "papi please make sure I do not get killed by a bad robber".

We stopped in Barstow for and because of Gas. yeah, $4.89/gal

Then we drove and drove and drove through Nothing.......ok maybe it's called Needles.

We woke Max, per his request to see his first sunrise. And that was Something in the middle of Nothing.

Mcdonald's for breakfast and more driving.
The kids all awake and very excited. Everything was "amazing" most especially the 7 looong freight trains and roadkill. "Someone made a big dent in the coyote and ruined it's body"-Max

Next stop Williams, Arizona ...

buckle in

Hi! ..thanks for stopping by. While I'm under no illusion that this blog is of general interest, we are making it public so feel free to share. It is here primarily to keep a little record of these special family times. And to spare the 10 contacts on my phone the play by play texts of where & what. Thus creating a perfect landscape for the second middle names of my littles. Maximillian & Helena. After all, we enjoy our anonymity.

There will be no tales of faraway exotic travels. Our travel agents Tim(e) and Mone(y)... well, they're just not coming through.

But if you want some free entertainment with the opportunity to truly know us, then buckle in. 'Cause this Subs got a full tank @ $4.67/gal and our bags are packed!

So, here's to no more unpublished shutterfly photo books!!

s