On the Road to New Mexico

"Mexico? I thought that said Texaco."

Our big idea of getting an early start on the road didn't work out as planned. Since we spent a great deal of washing clothes, packing, and re-packing the night before, we were exhausted by morning. We did manage to get on the road before noon though!

My eyes teared up as we drove away from Tucson.  It was as if I was the one moving instead of Mike.  I had developed a great fondness for the scenery and beauty of this place.  I couldn't wait to see New Mexico and say goodbye to the AZ heat.  How exciting to add add another state to my list of visited states.

AZ Heat!

However, I was not impressed with New Mexico.  Although there were some views, the majority of the scenery was dead. We made a quick stop in El Paso for mexican food at Ay Caramba.  "Ay Caramba" is right! Bluck! The food was not what we anticipated at all. Perhaps we expected the usual Tex Mex style but instead was treated to something strangely different.  I have eaten at many Tex Mex restaurants and taquerias, but the food here was horrid!  It would be great getting back to Houston where our restaurants are the best!! No Joke! Houston has like 40,000 restaurants. :)

We finally made it to the hotel in Carlsbad, NM where the hot tub and jacuzzi was THE BEEEEST!! I was tempted to leave Mike behind as he never wanted to leave the hot tub.

Tomorrow we see aliens and caverns....Cool!!

Welcome to El Paso TX



Dust Storm in New Mexico



Moving Day

Where did all this stuff come from???

Packing up the van with all of Mike's stuff was a lot harder than we both anticipated.  After all, when he said that he did not own a TV, microwave, or any furniture other than his desk and bed, how much more could he possible have other than clothes?

We soon discovered that the van was much smaller than he thought.  The more we packed, the more the stuff accumulated.  Fortunately, we were able to pack nearly everything he had planned to take with the exception of a futon and mattress, bed frame, computer desk, bookshelf, and a few other small items. On a brighter note, Mike's leftovers went to a wonderful cause.  The landlord said a newcomer was moving in but owned nothing other than a few clothes. What a great blessing Mike's stuff would be.

After hours of packing, we managed to grab some yummy pizza and hummus at Renee's Organic Pub where I had the Best pizza Ever.  We also grabbed a tub of hummus and went shopping for some more snacks and goodies for our road trip.  Next item on the agenda....heading to New Mexico bright and early!!!



Packing the Van




VERY Packed Van



The Best Pizza EVER!



Fresh Hummus and baked Pita bread

Some friends are going with us

Saguaro National Park and Gates Pass

Cactus, cactus, cactus everywhere!


Me and the cactus!


For miles I could see the Saguaro cacti growing like tall trees throughout the landscape. The Saguaro National Park is a safe haven to protect the Saguaro cacti which only grow in a small portion of the United States.  How amazing to know that they can live to be up 200 years old.  It's a long process though as they only grow a few inches the first few years.

After taking some cactus pictures, we headed on up to Gates Pass to check out the view from the mountaintops.  As we turned the corner, I had no idea that this place would suddenly feel so much like home. The peace and quiet was so serene that I never wanted to leave!! I could have camped out and stayed on the mountains for days.

Although I was shaky at first, we managed to climb a few rocky cliffs and watch the sunset. The rock climbing made me homesick for KY.  As a child, I always loved climbing to the highest mountain I could just to see if I could make it to the top. I loved looking out down the holler on Fugate's Fork from the mountaintop. But climbing as a child was a lot easier!!

Coming down off the mountain was harder than going up as I didn't want to leave.  My feet slide on the graveled rocks a few times but my pride would not let me fall in front of Mike! LOL  :)  As we drove away, my heart sank a little.  My vacation was halfway over and we would be saying goodbye to Tucson in a couple of days.  Almost time for packing the van.....oh boy.

I made it to the top!



Mike just hanging out.




One more cliff to go..?



Mt Lemon and San Xavier Mission Musuem

What time is it??

Since our Flagstaff hotel had thick dark curtains, I never realized how early the sun rose in the morning.  I quickly learned once we were back in Tucson.  Waking up to bright sunshine at 5:30 a.m. was not fun and made "sleeping in" a little difficult.

Mike decided to show me around his hometown of Tucson.  Our first stop was to sightsee the Mt Lemmon Mountains.  Unfortunately, the majority of hiking trails and even the shoulders on the highway were closed for wildfire precautions.  I was able to get a few pictures in but I would have loved to hike a few trails.

Since our hike was cut short, we decided to visit the San Xavier Mission Musuem and grab Indian fried bread. The bread reminded me of a funnel cake without the swirels and powdered sugar. At least I finally got to see the inside of the church and grab some photos of the paintings.  I felt a little lost in time with all the rich artifacts and statues.

Our next stop, Saguaro National Park and Gates Pass for some rock climbing...


Mt Lemmon



Mt Lemmon



Closed hiking trails

Mike admiring the Last Supper painting

 San Xavier Mission Musuem

Grand Canyon

"I thought I read somewhere that the Grand Canyon was man-made...I'm pretty sure its man-made" - Ethan, Due Date movie

Grand Canyon (southside)

There are moments when the words will not come out to express the beauty or magic that you may feel.  My moment was seeing the Grand Canyon. As soon as we approached one of the hiking trails, I was blown away by the magnificant beauty of the canyon.  Miles upon miles of red rock and canyons below lay before my eyes. Again I felt lost as if I was on another planet.  I couldn't imagine that something this huge and extradornary existed on Earth.

I quickly grabbed my camera to take some pictures only to realize I had left the battery elsewhere.  Oh no! The best part of the trip and I've lost the battery? We walked back a few blocks to the parking lot to search the van.  Suddenly I remembered that I had placed the battery in Mike's backpack that he had been carrying the whole time. Thank goodness.

Our original plan for the Grand Canyon was to walk along the Sky Walk. Unforunately the park ranger informed us that the sky walk bridge was about 400 miles west on the northside of the canyon, close to Las Vegas. We were only viewing the southside. Amazing! The walk on the Sky Walk would have been awesome but our schedule was hectic enough.

 We trudged along with other tourists snapping photos.  We had to tackle a few just to get our picture taken at the Grand Canyon park sign. However, I was wishing for a moment of quietness just to relish in the beauty of the canyon.  A quiet moment seemed impossible when you are visiting one of the many natural wonders of the world during the hectic tourist season.


Mike and I at the Grand Canyon sign.

Even the animals get in on the act. We came across a squirrel who was relishing in all the attention from the tourists.  The park ranger had to drag him away from the guests as he refused to leave the hiking trail.  What a camera hog!





Mr. Showman Squirrel

 I am grateful that I got a lifetime chance to see God's amazing creation of the Grand Canyon. We now had to head back to Tucson and start packing Mike's stuff.....oh joy. :)

The Beautiful Sedona Mountains

What worth has beauty if it is not seen? - Italian Proverb 


I have a confession.  I didn't know much about the Arizona Sedona Mountains until earlier this year.  Mike had provided me with a link as a suggestion for sightseeing.  Once I got a glimpse, my heart leaped with joy. This was a final confirmation as to why I knew I had to see Arizona. This was my destiny.

Part of the Sedona Mountains

We finally made it to Flagstaff by 3 a.m. Flagstaff is a good area to be at since Sedona is right down the road and the Grand Canyon is just a few hours away. Although we were disappointed that the hotel's hot tub was closed at that time of the morning, it was a nice treat after sightseeing the Sedona mountains.

The time change threw me off a bit so I was still up and leaping out of bed by 9 a.m. even though we had blabbed for most of the night. I made a few "check in" phone calls with my family and was quite surprised of the coolness of the air.  It reminded me so much of summers in my KY home.




Part of the Sedona Mountains



Before long we were on our way.  As we drove along the small two lane road, my eyes could not have imagined such beauty of the red mountains.  I think I scared Mike a few times with my "Ooo"s, "Aaaah"s and "Oh my Gosh!" sayings. My Sony Cybershot camera took some great photos of it all.



We had a quick lunch that afternoon in the small town of Sedona before heading up to see the Church made into the  mountains and the fantastic view.  Unfortunately we weren't able to do any hiking as the heat was horrible. I didn't care.  I finally got to see the mountains I had been dreaming about for months.  God's beauty was unimaginable!! Next stop...Grand Canyon!!!

Mike and his sweet tator fries!



Me having a yummy tuna avocado salad 

Flagstaff Bound

Don't trust the GPS!!

Whew! I landed in Tucson.  Now what? Gulp!! I was relieved to see Mike, dressed in khaki shorts and sandals, waiting for me near the luggage.  He looked the same as when I saw him 10 years ago. :) Cool.  We didn't have a problem spotting my bright pink luggage rolling by. It was a "gift" from my Mommy...ok! LOL

Of course the first order of business was to find food but I was much too excited to eat.  So Mike suggested that we check out the San Xavier Mission musuem, before it closed.  We tried to get some fried bread and other Indian food but we were too late.  Maybe another day.  In any case, I got some nice photos and a chance to see the Holy mountain and the cave above the beautiful ancient church.

After hours of blabbing, we decided to make a go for it to Flagstaff.  This would give us an advancement on time so we could tour the Sedona mountains on Sunday. I was a little tired from the flight but my excitement kept me awake most of the way. 

The Sony laptop and our MP3 players came in handy with a large array of music and games to keep us alert, but I think my blabbing with excitement did most of the trick.  However, the MicroSoft Street Maps GPS software was a "little" off.  What was originally to be 3 hours to Flagstaff according to Street Maps turned into 5 hours. Somewhere in there Mike stopped for gas, but I was snoozing!  Whatever the case, don't trust MS Street Maps.  Some roads don't exist.




Tucson AZ



Mike & the  "van" - melting in the 110 degree Tucson heat! 



Landing in Tucson...Yikes!

What planet am I on again?

"OMG...what have I done?" was the first thought that came into my mind. I had actually done it - flew on my own, alone, to another unknown territory.  Ok, so I maybe I wouldn't be totally alone--um..as long as Mike didn't change his mind and forget me at the airport.


Mountains in AZ



I tearfully stared out the window in amazment as my eyes caught a glimpse of the mountain ranges. The beauty of the scenery was breathtaking!  I finally could imagine what early settlers must of felt like as they traveled into the west.  Too bad they didn't get the awesome view that I was experiencing from above. The dark brown and "orangy" mountain horizon looked so similar to pictures taken from the Mars Rovers that I thought I might be on Mars. With the many pictures that I had seen from Mars, it was hard to tell.  Out of the corner of my eye I spotted round circles that looked like fields of grass or wheat.  Crop circles?? They DO exist!

Crop Circles?

 

Before I knew it, the captain announced that we would be landing in Tucson momentarily. Gasp! Oh Gosh! I knew this hillbilly KY girl was a long way from home.  My relaxtion suddenly went into fear mode. My heart pounded with anxiety and my hands shook with nervousness. "What will happen? Will my luggage make it? What do I say to Mike?" On and on the thoughts ran until the plane touched ground.  Oh man! No turning back now.  Here goes nothing....



Mountains in AZ



Mountains in AZ



Heading West - From Dallas to Tucson

Running out of patience.

Obviously the lesson of the day would be patience, patience, patience - a very small attribute of mine. Once I got into Dallas I hopped on the train, which must have been built by Six Flags, to find my gate. With all the twisting, turning, and shaking of the train, I would not have been surprised if we dropped 10 feet and did a loop-de-loop. Once off I ran to check in at the gate for the 2 p.m. departure.  The stewardess chuckled at me when I asked if this flight would be on time. That should have been a warning sign.

I consuming the time by talking with my mom and texting. Finally 2 p.m. was close.  I glanced at the departure screen and saw that the 2 p.m. had changed to 2:25 p.m.  Oh no! Not again.  My fear rose up again.  The once chuckling stewardess reassured me that this was only a "slight" delay and they had some small problems. Uh..huh..right..!

Soon the flight delay kept moving up from 2:25 p.m. every 20 minutes and as it did, everyone let out distressful sighs as if that could change things.  I felt my blood pressure rise every 20 minutes.  For the past several years I have made quite a few flights to KY.  None of those flights had ever been delayed or even late.  I couldn't understand why both my flights had been delayed. American Airlines was definately off my list of flying next time.



Stranded in Dallas. This was the store next to my gate.
I should have worn my Houston Texans shirt!



The noise from other angry customers, babies crying, and golf carts beeping was about to get to me. Tired from being up at 6 a.m., I wanted to run away from the noise but I was too frightened to leave the gate. I finally allowed my eyes to close and drift away for a second, saying a silent prayer.  I remember many times in my life when I was thankfully for these little stalls and hiccups in my plans.  However, they didn't seem like they lasted this long.  Funny how we dismiss the long wait time once we have overcome the trial.

After my prayer, I began to feel thankful for this experience of the delays and to be able to escape for the moment to just "be".  God reminded me yet again that regardless of my plans, He was still in control.  I could trust Him no matter what.

Finally at 4 p.m. they made the long awaited announcement that we would be boarding at a differente gate on a different plane as the other one could not be fixed. I almost ran to grab my Starbucks until I saw everyone lined up at the new gate.  I quickly texted Mike and was on the plane within minutes. 

How awesome! I knew God was in control. My heart and my life belongs in His Hands.

Heading West - From Houston to Dallas

Things don't always go as planned. 

Butterflies in the stomach. Yikes! Today was the BIG day! Flying to Tucson.  No turning back now.  I got to Hobby airport super early.  I was able to check in my bags and go through security with no problems.  How excited and geared up I was until....

....the departure time on the screen at my gate kept changing. My flight was delayed. Delayed? What does that mean exactly? Change? A change of plans, a change of scheduling, and fear. Fear of change has always been an issue for me. Let's not change things but stick to MY plan!!!

The original departure time was at 10:20 a.m. but eventually the time got changed to 11:30 a.m. and the stewardess asked those who had connecting flights in Dallas to check at the desk. I quickly lined up. It seemed as if every passenger seated at the gate had connecting flights.  There must have been 20 people in front of me.

My hands shook with anxiety as so many thoughts raced through in my mind. "What if I miss my flight to Tucson? Will I able to get another flight? I hope they don't make me fly to somewhere like Colorado and then to Tucson."  This was another reminder that this vacation was on God's timing, not my own.

Finally I made it through the line.  Obviously I would probably miss the connecting flight in Dallas.  Thankfully the stewardess was able to put me on the 2 p.m. flight from Dallas to Tucson.  That wasn't so bad.  I was able to text Mike to let him know of a "slight" delay of landing time plans.  :)

Stuck at Hobby waiting to head west

American Airlines wasn't making a good first impression but it was all good. We finally boarded to Dallas around 11:45 a.m. So off  to the beginning of allowing God to show me things that I needed to see and learn....Yah!

3 More Days!!!

Wow, 3 more days and I will be off flying into the west.  How awesome but scary this is as well. The closer June 25th gets, the slower the time seems to be ticking and the hotter Arizona seems to be getting.  Yuck! Tucson's temperatures have been ranging in the low 100's so far.  Hmm...well it is the desert afer all.

My plan was to save a little more money for the trip.  However, unforseen doctor visits, vehicle registration, and a sudden dire need for summer clothes, that plan is not working out too well.  In addition, the one and only camera I had (besides my crappy phone camera) suddenly disappeared. This gave me a great exuse to buy a new one as my mom had given me the other one as a birthday present.  Oh well.  The Sony Cybershot seems great so far even if my only pic is of me - naturally! :-)

My first pic with the Sony Cybershot

Hiccups along the way are natural.  I learned that from my pastor.  When we step out in faith to try to obtain our dreams and goals, the enemy will place hiccups and bolders along the way. It's important to not give up hope and place our dreams in God's hands.  Regardless, I will continue on this path, praying for God's protection and leadership along the way.

A while back, Mike sent me a pic of our new friend, the "van" (Uhm..a long story of hiccups and bolders there...) that will be holding us hostage for many hours! May the "van" be kind with the A/C and get us to where we are going! Ha!

Until Saturday...I'm counting down the hours! Aaaah!

Our friend the "Van"!

Arizona Wildfires

Our world has definitely had its share of experiences this year starting with the major tsunami back in March that hit Japan killing thousands of people.   From killer tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes, and major flooding, I won't be surprised if Houston doesn't experience a major hurricane this season. So far we have had a dry summer down here so we are begging for rain.  Unfortunately, so is Arizona.

For the past month, Arizona has been in a battle of their own - wildfires. One post documents the wildfire as the largest in history. Sadly, the wildfire has consumed thousands of acres and has destroyed many lives and wildlife.  What is even more sad is that the fire was started by human error.  I've been keeping the firefighters and the wildlife in my prayers.  May God keep them safe.

• Huffington Post - May be the Largest Wildfire in History of Arizona
• Fox News - Crew battling Wildfire
• CNN - Firefighters Catch a Break

Gee...great! Just what I need on my vaca - battling a wildfire. Seeing a wildfire wasn't exactly an item on my bucket list.  But then again, I am sure God has quite a few more items that He will be freely sharing with me on this trip.

One Way Flight

"A one way ticket to Tucson, please!"

After a few weeks of planning, Saturday, June 25th seemed like a good travel day to AZ. After a little convincing from Mike, I nervously clicked the "Submit" button for my one way ticket to Tucson! Eeek! No turning back now!!

Normally when I travel to KY,  I usually connect in Atlanta, GA.  Atlanta has one of the biggest airports in the United States, so I don't know why I am nervous about connecting in the Dallas airport. At least I have an hour lay over.  Plenty of time to find my gate and a Starbucks!  

After reviewing the itinerary, I had to laugh...my flight leaves Dallas at 12:45 p.m. and I arrive in Tucson at 12:55 p.m.! Wow. What a fast plane!

Ok..ok...Yes, I now realize the two hour time difference from Arizona and Texas...Duh! Now what to pack..? Hmm - sounds like a good reason to go shopping!!

~ Welcome ~

Welcome to my "bucket list" blog!!! 

I thought this would be a nice addition to my "I found me" blog as I an in the process of taking my first vacation Ever! Ok, so maybe its not my first vacation but its definitely one outside my realm. 

If you are kinda like me,  a lot vacations are usually spent with family or just hanging out at home finishing those annoying little tasks or just watching TV all day.  Many of mine are spent reliving memories in a KY holler and visiting family there.  This year however, I have come across a great opportunity.  I am deciding to "scratch" something off my list that I have always wanted to do -- to see the desert in Arizona.

Earlier this year I reconnected with a good friend of mine, Michael, on Facebook. Everyone seems to find you on Facebook! We had known one another when he lived in Houston.  Currently he lives in Tucson, AZ but coincidentally is in the process of moving back to Htown!  Naturally I offered to help in the move...and at the chance to see Arizona.  After all -- it will be a long drive from Arizona to Texas....why not have company?? Thankfully, he agreed and I haven't annoyed him yet - I don't think....so the planning began... Woo hoo!