I picked Dave up from his meditation course and we were off for more adventures in Joshua Tree NP
The temps were cool enough for some great hikes and solid sleeping in the tent.
Enjoyed all the prickly pear cactus as well as Joshua Trees, Ocotillo and Teddy Bear Cholla
Petroglyphs in Joshua Tree NP
We drove to Las Vegas to meet my parents for a week of fun! One of our first stops was the top of the Stratosphere to get the lay of the land.
Mom's favorite: the Venetian. We walked miles and miles enjoying the beautiful interiors.
Took a trip to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon, and along the way, we chanced upon a dense grove of Joshua Trees, so Mom and Dad got to photograph them too!
It's been years since Dave and I had been to the Grand Canyon together. This was both our first time on the West Rim, as we had only previously visited the South Rim.
Grand Canyon and river view! On Hualapai Reservation.
This is the glass walkway that we went on, a sheer drop off to the bottom of the canyon and some exciting views!
We stopped to see the Hoover Dam at night on our way back to Vegas. Such a marvel!
The Bellagio fountains are always a delight! Tibor and Dora treated us to the Cirque du Soleil O. Best show I've ever seen; with a water stage.
Christmas flowers at the Bellagio.
A carnation polar bear.
We had cappuccino & croissants at the Paris. And I got my 40th Bday gift there from Mom & Dad, beautiful Swarovski earrings.
Took a lovely day trip out to Red Rocks. Some great hiking there, and petroglyphs!
Family photo in front of the Venetian.
View of New York New York.
We flew on Christmas Day up to work, but Christmas Eve was still in Vegas!
Our next time off we drove our car from the Las Vegas airport to Tucson to meet up with Dave's parents for some sunshine and desert landscapes.
One of our first days was visiting Art Galleries.
And then we drove up a mountain and stopped for some hikes and views! Didn't turn around until we saw snow.
Saguaro National Park view from our picnic table.
Hike in Saguaro National Park.
Incredibly beautiful place that I've wanted to visit for years!
These cacti weigh tons! We had a great time catching the sights together.
We saw two sunsets in the National Park.
Loved our day at the Desert Museum photographing all the animals, hummingbirds and plants.
San Xavier Mission south of Tucson, built in 1692. We took a day trip here, ate some delicious and authentic meals and got to play some cards too!
Organ Pipe National Monument was one of our favorites! It's near the Mexican border and we decided to head there after Dave's parents left as neither of us had seen that part of Arizona before.
We went on a long and scenic hike there.
Saguaro cactus
Side of a Saguaro cactus
Flowering Ocotillo.
It was one of the only places that was warm enough to camp; that and southern Texas.
Beautiful hike straight up in Organ Pipe to an arch.
Artist rich town of Bisbee, Arizona.
We went to Tombstone! Where all the old westerns were filmed.
A stormy day hike in Saguaro NP before returning to work.
I celebrated my 40th Bday up at work. They ordered a cake and made a banner, which is sweet. Dave came over after work, which was the best part. We ate cake together, I opened gifts and then we played ping pong with the professional grade paddle that Dave got me. It's truly awesome! Thank you everyone for the kind Birthday wishes and gifts, and for all the love! Love the Chilean hat, comfy travel pants and the two pounds of chocolate!
Our first day back from work, a nice stroll in Petrified Forest NP.
These are ancient huge conifers that have turned into colorful quartz rocks.
It's the way they get buried in silt, falling into rivers from riverbanks that preserves them.
They're huge, as you can see with Dave in this picture for scale.
Petrified Forest NP
We took lots of wandering hikes, totally off of trails, walking from one pile of quartz trees to the next.
We were absolutely blown away by the sheer beauty of this place, and the magic of walking around with gorgeous quartz rocks in the shape of tree trunks everywhere. Like a big treasure trove!
Canyon de Chelly National Monument.
This was one of many beautiful viewpoints in the Monument. We also started a hike from up top and went all the way to the bottom to see the river and White House cliff dwelling.
White House cliff dwelling in Canyon de Chelly.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park in Southern New Mexico
Loved this Park as much this time as when I first visited, it's massive. We walked for miles and hours and didn't get to see the whole cave.
Lots of huge stalagmites as well as a variety of different types of formations, including straws, cave bacon and those lion tail formations in one photo up.
This cave was much bigger than the one outside of Tucson that we visited, Karchner Caverns.
Check out Dave in this photo for scale!
There was even a snack counter and restrooms down in the cave. We had lunch there!
Finally in Texas and hiking in shorts!
We drove south, very far south to the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park.
It was cold up in Northern Arizona, and not too hot in Southern New Mexico either, but just right in Southern Texas, which as it turns out, is a stunning place with beautiful mountains and canyons.
View from our campsite.
One of the gorgeous two canyons. We went on a long hike, sat in a hot spring after breakfast, and enjoyed some beautiful sunsets in the park. Would love to return and do some more hikes and also ride bikes on the dirt roads.
Would love to raft this river someday!
Marfa, Texas, a breakfast stop on our drive north up to Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
A long desert hike in Guadalupe Mountains NP in Texas.
It was too windy to set up our tent, but just right for a long scenic hike.
View from the top.
Guadalupe Moutains NP
White Sands National Monument, in New Mexico, was awesome!
This place had been on both of our lists since Suntrek.
See Dave on the left and his footsteps? Lots of fun runs and jumps down, playing like kids in a sandbox.
Dave on the upper left dune jumping.
It was white sand in every direction.
We went on a 5 mile barefoot hike and it felt like being in a different world. Dave is on left. And in the picture below, footsteps which quickly get blown over by the wind.
Our whirlwind tour of the Southwestern National Parks was a huge blessing. It was one beautiful sight right after another. And I do think that somehow we saw the best of the best. I can spend hours admiring the beautiful photos, and in fact at breaks at work I flip through them everyday. We had a wonderful time with both sets of parents and are very happy that we got to see them both and vacation with them. We're wrapping up this rotation at work, and will be heading to Isla Mujeres and Isla Holbox in Mexico, then Atlanta so there will be beach pictures next time. Thank you for looking and hope you're having a great spring. We LOVE you guys!
