To Albuquerque: Day 2

We made it to Albuquerque!

This morning we enjoyed breakfast with Jesse's Aunt Carol and cousin Miles. We were so grateful they were willing to get up bright and early and meet us before we headed out on day two.

I can't remember whether this was before or after Bud knocked over Miles' full cup of coffee on the hearth.

Then we headed up to the Grand Canyon, just an hour and a half up from Flagstaff. Here we are at our kids' first visit to the rim!!

Nutmeg: "Where is it?"

It was totally, completely fogged in. We stood at the edge and the picture above shows the farthest out we could see from anywhere we walked. We didn't stay for very long. It did start raining, and we skipped back to the car (well, I did, and maybe Wombles). The kids seemed relatively unfazed that we had spent an extra three hours in the car only to see the kind of fog bank we see in our own backyard with some regularity. Bless them. If any of them had pitched any kind of fit, I don't know what we would have done.

Once in the park we did see a couple of elk; after maybe 100 miles of signs for "Elk Crossing" that was pretty gratifying. And we drove through beautiful valleys up around 8000 feet of elevation; it was fun to hear the kids play "spot the aspen grove" and rejoice in the blooming lupin.

Otherwise our day was pretty uneventful, but for the half gallon of water dumped in the floor of the van and getting to spend more time watching thunderstorms from a distance. Maybe Nutmeg will be totally used to lightning before she has to contend with thunder...

Did I say uneventful? What was I thinking--today's reading aloud was the Siege of Gondor.

Tomorrow we're looking forward to another breakfast with (semi-local) family before our travels take us to Texas. TEXAS!