The End of 2016 and Arizona

This New Year weekend marks the end of our stay here in Arizona and the first anniversary of this blog. Happy anniversary to us! :-) I'll try to post an update from the road next week if we have Wi-Fi.

Here in Sedona, we were surprised with snow for Christmas. Inches of snow blanketed the red rocks and surrounding areas. It was really beautiful! Who knew we'd have a white Christmas this year? Not us! That's for sure!

During our stay here in the Southwest, we've found a new appreciation for the desert and colorful rock formations. For the animals and art. For the changes in climate and terrain. For the diverse communities. If you don't already live here, I'd encourage you to learn more about this part of our beautiful country. It's history and future are quite interesting.

Of course, a trip to Arizona wouldn't be complete without a visit to it's most popular natural attraction, The Grand Canyon. On Monday we visited the astounding geology of this site and were able to see for ourselves the gorgeous colors and vast scenery. It was very cold and snow was on the ground all around the canyon. I suspect we came on a slower day, but there was still a wait at the South Entrance.

Our youngest son loved how the Park Ranger spoke directly to him because he was "bringing his family to the park." He is the one with the fourth grade pass, after all! :-)

Word to the wise if you plan to visit. Park in "Additional Parking". It's actually closer to the Visitors Center and you can avoid the circling cars and people walking in the middle of the lane.

When you're there, it's amazing how the canyon seems to change with the daylight. The picture you take in the morning will look completely different from the picture you take at dusk. Here are a few we took while there.

There are fences at most of the viewpoints to keep visitors safe, but not at all of them. So be careful!

The Colorado River runs right through the Canyon and there are all kinds of activities you can participate in during your visit.

The elk and deer wander freely at the sides of the roads. One thing though: If you visit places where animals roam freely PLEASE don't get out of your car to take selfies with them! They may be beautiful but THEY. ARE. WILD!

Plus, you can get shots that are just as good, if not better, from the safety of your car.

You'd think after spending so much time in Sedona, we would have taken an official tour before now. Nope. We finally took one this week, though, with Pink Jeep Tours and it was great! A lot of what the guide had to tell us about the area, we had already learned on our own. So he adjusted the tour to tell us more scientific things he wouldn't ordinarily have covered with a new crowd.

He also engaged the kids and told jokes, which kept things fun! Here's one for you:

Question: If you have seven pinon nuts in one hand and eight in the other, what do you end up with?

Pinon Nuts

Answer: A difference of a-pinon. ;-)

He told us about how the Agave Plant (also sometimes called a Sentry Plant) grows for decades before it sprouts an enormous bloom. The bloom grows so large, so rapidly, that it kills the agave plant. That's how they reproduce.

He showed us some grooves on a prickly pear cactus where a javelina had once snacked. Now our kids can spot the javelina bites whenever they see them.  See that top pad with the bite taken out?

Another botany lesson we learned was about mistletoe. Most people think of mistletoe as the pretty Christmas decoration that you traditionally kiss under. Actually, it's a poisonous, parasitic plant, that can emulate the look of it's host. If the infestation gets large enough, it will kill it's host. Here's what it looked like in the example he showed us. See the clumps?

Here's another example of how they adapt their look to their host.

Our guide took us off road and we were able to get some great views of our current "home". Here are a few shots of the city.

And here are some of surrounding rock formations.

Do you see those black stripes? That's from the waterfalls that form during monsoon season in August.

We hope you've enjoyed the Southwest leg with us. As always, feel free to post questions in the comments and we'll do our best to find the answers. Also, be sure to follow along with our social media accounts to see what we're up to from day-to-day (see top right for links).

We wish each of you a wonderful, adventurous 2017! May it be filled with joy and new discoveries! Thanks for following along. Now, on to the orange groves of sunny Florida!

- Jen

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas...

Can you believe this blog will mark it's first anniversary in just over a week?! Wow! So much has happened in the past twelve months. It's been fun, for sure, and I hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as we've enjoyed writing it.

This weekend is Christmas and we're expecting snow here in Sedona. My Mother-In-Law has joined us and we've been spending time with her (currently) Southwestern cousins. It's been such a treat to hear stories about past generations that we've never heard. Long forgotten memories sometimes bubble to the surface, resulting in peels of laughter. Just sitting and observing their connections and interactions is pure joy. It's a privilege to be able to share this adventure with family we rarely have the opportunity to see.

As for our explorations, last weekend our family drove to Page, AZ to visit Antelope Canyon. This is one of those destinations my daughter and I found on Pinterest that we HAD to visit. The pictures just looked too beautiful and other-worldly to be real! So on Sunday we all hopped in the car and drove to the spot where the Navajo tour guides were to meet us. You can hike there, but we decided this trip would be more enjoyable for everyone if we were able to get there in a reasonable amount of time and have someone who was familiar with the place tell us about it.

It was pretty cold, so the mittens I bought in Alaska were put to good use. Did you know the Navajo and Apache people here in the Southwest are related to the Athabascan people in Alaska? Yep! You can even find similarities in their languages!  

There are also similarities in their beautiful beadwork. This is a hair clip I purchased in Page. So many hours of work! I love the colors and design.

Leo, our guide, met us by the Jeeps and drove us out to the upper canyon. It was more of a very tall, narrow hallway through the sandstone mountain, which is technically a canyon, but it was different from what I had imagined from the pictures I'd seen. Sunlight pours in through the top and spotlights all the colorful layers in the walls. Photographers who know all about light and camera settings are able to capture magnificent pictures of this place. If you happen to be a photographer like me (not a professional), these are closer to the pictures you may find on your camera.

Leo, our guide.

See the fist punching through the wall?

How about the heart?

It's one of those places where you don't want to talk. You just want to take in everything around you. I highly recommend going! There's an upper canyon and a lower canyon and you can visit both. A word to the wise though, do your homework and don't try to go during monsoon season. Everything you see above is filled with strong flood currents during that time. No one is allowed near it.

National Geographic tried drilling holes into the sides of the canyon to set up very expensive camera equipment. They were supposed to capture what happens when the flash floods pour in... Let's just say all that's left of that project are the holes in the wall...Oops. So much for "leave no trace"!

Here are some shots from outside the canyon.

 The landscapes here in Arizona vary quite a bit. These are some shots we took from the car between Page and Flagstaff. Just thought you might like to see some of the variety. In Sedona, we mostly see the red rocks. I'll post about those next week after we take the Pink Jeep Tour.

No matter where you happen to be this weekend, and who you may be spending your time with, the Schmidt family wishes each of you a very merry Christmas!

- Jen