Road Trip 2009 - Recap

Wylie and I are back home now. The past week went so fast. We had so much fun though, I would do it again in a heartbeat. Except for the rain on the first day, we had perfect weather the whole trip.






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOXMy4AaXrc&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eyoutube%2Ecom%2Fmy%5Fvideos%5Fedit&feature=player_embedded




My most favorite thing of the whole trip was without a doubt the Grand Canyon. We went to the national park on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and spent the night there in one of the lodges. Everything was wonderful from the pristine trails to the helpful staff to the great facilities. And of course the Canyon was Grand. We watched sunset the evening we were there and we rose early to see the sunrise on the morning we were there. Both were fabulous. I will definitely go back to the Canyon. Sooner than later, hopefully. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6645tN7251s









We saw buffalo at the Grand Canyon also. So cool! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf37rxzvyhY









I liked Meteor Crater a lot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mloU16g-0tQ



Graceland rocked. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI1rWLmJ9MY





We spent an afternoon in Santa Fe. It was very pretty. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXKcD8atGXg









Monument Valley was spectacular. We got to watch the sun set there and it was gorgeous. One of Wylie's favorite parts of the trip was when the Native American set the French tourist straight. The Navajo tour guide twice asked the tourist not to photograph him. The third time the Navajo explained that taking his photo was like taking something from him and that one is supposed to ask permission before photographing Native Americans. Of course, asking permission and paying is the usual process. And more than once we heard complaints from locals about the poor tipping from Europeans, particularly the French. In any event, Wylie thought it was funny when the Indian stopped everything to explain why he did not want his photograph taken.









In addition to the sights, it was so great to see Tonya's gang, Tomme and Brad. Although I had seen everyone recently at the wedding, it was so much fun to have another visit. Thanks you guys for being a part of our road trip.









We ended our trip in Vegas, meeting Tomme and Brad there for the weekend. We saw two shows: Blue Man Group and Love. Wow! I was overwhelmed by Vegas. The drunks and chaos were a bit much for me. But the shows were fun, the fountain at the Ballagio was amazing, and we had some delicious meals. I can check Vegas off my list of things to do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SydiRMK5i4U

One cool Vegas experience - we stayed at the Venetian and when we got there we walked downstairs to have a look around. Just as we walked into the area where the canal comes into the shopping area, a bride and groom were in a white gondola getting married. We counted at least six brides while we were there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQN0gxC8UIc









We went to Hoover Dam while in Vegas. After sitting in some Dam traffic and parking in the Dam garage we went on the Dam tour. It was Dam exciting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MAVR9hUw5c

So those are some of the highlights. There are other videos in addition to the links in this blog. When viewing one of the videos you will see to the right a link for "More from wylierowe123" and it will take you to the complete list of our videos.

And this link is for our photos along the way. http://picasaweb.google.com/mandywarrington/CrossCountry2009#

Thanks for following our adventure - hope you enjoyed reading about it.