You have heard people say, "Location! Location! Location!" when it comes to real estate. Well I am saying, "Vacation! Vacation! Vacation!" Our country has some of the best real estate to visit while on vacation. David and I are on a 2.5 week road trip. Our first stop - Albuquerque. Well, there is better real estate than Albuquerque, but when it takes a whole day to get out of Texas, what do you expect?!!! The hotel there was under renovation, but comfortable enough. From there, we headed toward Williams, AZ about 60 miles from the south rim of the Grand Canyon. On the way, we stopped at the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. That wasn't on our itinerary, but since it was on the way, we decided we may as well do it. It was a great idea since the temperature was only 92 or 93 degrees.
It was well worth the time off our schedule. After the night in Williams, we took the Grand Canyon Railroad train to the south rim. It was lots of fun. We were in a car with an observation dome.
Snacks came with both the trip up and back. There were sweet rolls and fruit and drinks on the way there. I had a glass of wine prepackaged in its own cool glass. We also had entertainment - singing songs with a guitar player named John Carpino. We bought his CD because he was really good. I think David knew the words to every song!
The tour of the Grand Canyon was really good. We only made two stops but got lots of great pics.
The canyon is so huge and thinking of how it was carved out over millions of years by the flow of water - the Colorado River - is mind boggling.
Coming back to Williams on the train, we had cheese and crackers and vegetables with dip and drinks. Coming back, David and I both had a drink called a "Woo-oo-whoo!" Imagine the sound of a train engine when you say that. "Woo-oo-whoo!" This was followed by two glasses of complimentary champagne. The car attendant made the cheers. "May all your pains be champagne!" Believe me, I was feeling no pain by the time we returned to the hotel.
The next morning, we ate a quick breakfast and hit the road. We made it to Sequoia National Park in California around dinner time. We stayed in the Gateway Lodge in Three Rivers, just outside the park. The restaurant there is really good. For an extra $5.00 you can split an entre and have all the same vegetables and salad. A great deal! I don't remember the name of the dessert that first night, but it was heavenly - some kind of sweet cheese inside a fried flour tortilla, topped with ice cream and whipped cream.
Sequoia National Park is unbelievable. The sequoias are huge AND ancient. Many of the larger ones were living when Christ was walking the earth! Can you imagine a tree that is 3,000 years old?
Two of the trees are named after Union Civil War Generals - Grant and Sherman. Sherman is referred to as America's Christmas tree and is now a national monument. Grant is the largest tree by volume and Sherman is the third tallest tree in the world. The other two are also Sequoias in this National Forest. Go figure that the sequoias are not listed among the 7 wonders of the world!
Here is a fun photo of David between two sequoias. He's pretending to be Samson, I think!!! LOL
Our second day at Sequoia National Park, we also visited Kings Canyon National Park right next door to the East. It is a beautiful canyon - huge with waterfalls and more sequoias. A couple of short hikes took us to two waterfalls.
My mom would have loved it! Every time we went camping when I was a kid, we had to stop for any waterfall or cave within 50 miles of where we were staying. That's a great memory! David and I are making great memories together too.
It was well worth the time off our schedule. After the night in Williams, we took the Grand Canyon Railroad train to the south rim. It was lots of fun. We were in a car with an observation dome.
Snacks came with both the trip up and back. There were sweet rolls and fruit and drinks on the way there. I had a glass of wine prepackaged in its own cool glass. We also had entertainment - singing songs with a guitar player named John Carpino. We bought his CD because he was really good. I think David knew the words to every song!
The tour of the Grand Canyon was really good. We only made two stops but got lots of great pics.
The canyon is so huge and thinking of how it was carved out over millions of years by the flow of water - the Colorado River - is mind boggling.
Coming back to Williams on the train, we had cheese and crackers and vegetables with dip and drinks. Coming back, David and I both had a drink called a "Woo-oo-whoo!" Imagine the sound of a train engine when you say that. "Woo-oo-whoo!" This was followed by two glasses of complimentary champagne. The car attendant made the cheers. "May all your pains be champagne!" Believe me, I was feeling no pain by the time we returned to the hotel.
The next morning, we ate a quick breakfast and hit the road. We made it to Sequoia National Park in California around dinner time. We stayed in the Gateway Lodge in Three Rivers, just outside the park. The restaurant there is really good. For an extra $5.00 you can split an entre and have all the same vegetables and salad. A great deal! I don't remember the name of the dessert that first night, but it was heavenly - some kind of sweet cheese inside a fried flour tortilla, topped with ice cream and whipped cream.
Two of the trees are named after Union Civil War Generals - Grant and Sherman. Sherman is referred to as America's Christmas tree and is now a national monument. Grant is the largest tree by volume and Sherman is the third tallest tree in the world. The other two are also Sequoias in this National Forest. Go figure that the sequoias are not listed among the 7 wonders of the world!
Here is a fun photo of David between two sequoias. He's pretending to be Samson, I think!!! LOL
Our second day at Sequoia National Park, we also visited Kings Canyon National Park right next door to the East. It is a beautiful canyon - huge with waterfalls and more sequoias. A couple of short hikes took us to two waterfalls.
My mom would have loved it! Every time we went camping when I was a kid, we had to stop for any waterfall or cave within 50 miles of where we were staying. That's a great memory! David and I are making great memories together too.
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