Day 12 (A Day of 2's)

Today was a day of twos. The two kids each had two plates of pancakes, we went through two parks, two states, and if you were to look inside our camper, you would see two sleeping kids, and two adults on coffee in the cab. It has to mean something... but what? Is this vacation TOO good TO be true? I'm sure it has some significance... I'll get back to you on that guys. Well anyway, TOday we visited Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Parks on our way from Arizona to Colorado, via New Mexico, which calls for nothing more than a good old state map update. Tonight we sleep in Cortez, CO.

Day 11 (From Grand Canyons to " The Eagles")

Today was a good day. For Mom, Dad, Carly, and Me. It was even a good day for Mom, Dad, and Carly's water bottles. But not my water bottle. My water bottle is somewhere down in the Grand Canyon. That's right. I accidentally DROPPED MY WATER BOTTLE IN THE GRAND CANYON! Not down a small ravine that is easy to retrieve. The GRAND CANYON. I know, I know, you are all VERY surprised that it was MY water bottle. Right in the middle of a hike, just up and dropped it down, down, down. It was a nice steep, invigorating, hike, down about 600 feet into the canyon, and through two tunnels, the view was amazing. That was it for our stay in Grand Canyon National park. We headed out, and made our way through Flagstaff, AZ and on to Winslow Arizona and Route 66. And yes, we stood on the corner, "Taking it Easy". Unfortunately for me, no girl in a flatbed Ford pickup slowed down to take a look at me... Oh well. 

And now we find ourselves in Holbrook, AZ for a night, preparing to go to Painted Desert and Petrified Forest tomorrow.

Best Mexican EVER! Great find on Route 66.

Day 10 (Of Monuments and Canyons)

Today we woke up in Utah and ended the day in Arizona. First stop, Monument Valley, which is in the Navajo Nation and borders Utah and Arizona. There was a whole bunch of rock formations, jutting out of the desert like a, um, well like a giant rock formation jutting out of the desert. It seems that a lot of movies were filmed there, but the only one I heard of was some old John Wayne movie from Grandma's youth. Off to the Grand Canyon! It was huge. It was vast. It was Grand (mom's corny joke). IT WAS AWESOME! It was wider then Carly's Butte (get it? Butte? oh western jokes).

Day 9 (2 Parks, 1 Day)

Sort of similar to the two birds one stone concept, right? Today we visited Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. Lets see... to point out the obvious, there were a bunch of arches and canyons, but beneath the surface, there was some more things too. Like Plateaus, and Buttes (Carly's new favorite word because it's spelled like "Butt"), and A GIANT DESERT IN THE MIDDLE OF UTAH!!! This is not what I expected guys! I hadn't mentally prepared myself for deserts yet! I'm still stuck in mountainous pine forests! I am not ready for this! Oh jeez... Anyway, I'll let our pictures tell you the story.

Day 8 (Lost in Utah)

I'm just kidding, we didn't actually get lost in Utah, I just figured that the title would grab your attention a bit better then just plain old "Day 8". Today we arose from our slumbers (except for Carly) and left Idaho bound for Utah. We passed through Salt Lake City (thanks to a wrong turn) and finally ended up in Green River. The flies here are bad, but we bought a fly swatter along the way, so we are prepared for that battle. To cap off the day, we updated our state map (its getting nice and full) and are relaxing.

Day 7 (And We're Out)

So we leave Yellowstone, right, and the very first thing we get is cell service. I swear, that park has like a barrier around it that prevents any 3G from getting in. I know you all missed me so so much, but its okay, you can dry your tears, I'm back. In the park, we got our dose of wildlife and scenery. It was truly breathtaking. I think our highlight was yesterday: While we were taking pictures of a female moose, mom spotted a grizzly on the other side of the river. When asked about her encounter, Mrs. Fernandes had this to say: "I just started shaking, I was so exited." I don't blame her, considering the bear jumped in the river and started to swim in our direction. Time to go! We saw beautiful mountains, and overlooks, and a whole bunch of animals we hadn't seen back home. These included Grizzly Bears, Bison (up close for that one), Bald Eagle, Pronghorn, Elk (male and female and baby), and a female moose. We also saw bubbling mud pots and A GEYSER ERUPT! It was a crazy couple of days, and it was a great time, but we've got to keep going. Next stop, Utah!