The Frigid Southwest

We've been exploring our new locale this week. The scenery has changed, to be sure, but it's a little cooler than we anticipated. We must have brought the chill with us. In fact, it even snowed! So much for daydreams of flip-flops and wide brimmed hats!

Ice on the cactus. Those yellow parts are the cactus flowers. They're very waxy.

Snow in the buttes

This is what it looks like when it snows on the buttes.

We've settled back into our homeschooling routine and made sure to get our temporary library cards. If you really want to immerse yourself in a community, always make sure to join the local library. They tend to be the place where you can find great programs and people post event advertisements. Plus, we love books and it's fun to earn about the history and food of where we are.

Another quick resource I've found is children's books.  Most places offer a coloring book made for kids with digestible bits of information. These books come in handy before day trips because they help familiarize you without overwhelming you. Then, when you find a subject you want to explore more, you can get the larger, more detailed books!

This past week we visited a Boy Scout troop. I love this because it really introduces our kids to other kids who know the area and local traditions. Plus, most scout troops do community service projects and they are usually very friendly and helpful. At this meeting the boys took the lead and walked my younger son through knot tying (he is now a pro at tying people up. ;-)) while my older son observed.

They also invited us to join them to help set up a traditional Southwestern holiday event. When they described it to me, I had never heard of the tradition! Needless to say, I'm SUPER excited to participate with the kids and report back to you. You'll just have to wait for the details until then!

My husband and I went out for a drive this past weekend and ended up visiting the Chapel of the Holy Cross. It's a Catholic Church that was commissioned by local rancher and sculptor, Marguerite Brunswig Staude. She worked with architect firm Anshen and Allen and it's very unique. It's also supposedly located within an "energy vortex". As a visitor, though, I can't say I felt any more or less "energized" by being there. Although I was pretty amazed by the architecture and landscape.

We learned that Sedona is not a name that comes from either the Native American or Mexican languages. This city is actually named after Sedona Miller Schnebly. Her mother supposedly made up the name, herself, because "it sounded pretty". Sedona Miller Schnebly was the wife of the first postmaster here. He decided to name the town after her. After reading more about her life, she sounds like a very interesting and hardworking woman.

Since Christmas decorations weren't on our list of things to pack for this trip, we headed down to the local Walgreens yesterday and picked up a tiny tree and some stockings. Now we're all set for the holiday season!

We also searched all over for, but sadly didn't find, an advent calendar. I thought they'd be everywhere right about now! I even looked online for Lego ones and it seems they're all sold out. Wow! During our search, though, we played some of the public instruments downtown. It's really a fun, artsy town.

We're still on the lookout for Javelina!

Wishing you all a wonderful month! Happy December!

- Jen

A New Landscape

We're still here, I promise! It seems that whenever I've had a second to work on the blog this week, someone inevitably needs something. And so, here it is, a day late (almost two), but still full of interesting things! :-)

When we left Washington to return to Idaho a few weeks ago, I accidentally forgot the camera....BIG OOPS- especially with all the scenery we passed on the way to our new "home" here in Arizona! Fortunately, the camera is still in a safe place waiting for my husband to bring it back. Until then, I'm making do with my phone. Great for documenting memories- not so great when driving through spectacular places like Monument Valley where you want to capture the amazing colors and definition. *sigh* Oh well, it will be back soon enough, and until then, I have no complaints. We've had a great time!

The drive from Idaho went well and the scariest weather we encountered was high winds. This can be a problem when you're hauling a trailer. We did see some snow and a thunderstorm, but it was all manageable and, thankfully, we made it safely through.

Along the drive we were able to see some very American-West sights. One was a cattle drive as we were passing through Idaho.

We had fun looking for unique features in each town, like the arch below.

We also noticed a lot of Mormon temples throughout Idaho and Utah, which means they have a large presence there. It will be interesting to see how the churches change as we move further into the South and in the Eastern Seaboard.

Provo, Utah, is the home of Brigham Young University, which we didn't know until we started seeing sweatshirts with "Y's" on them all over the place. Provo is a beautiful, humongous town with a lot of interesting buildings. I could have probably spent the whole day there just wandering the streets looking at the old houses!

We stayed in Park City, UT for the night, which is where the Sundance Film Festival is held and it was the home of the 2002 Winter Olympics. It's a trendy resort town and we enjoyed it!

Once we moved into lower Utah, we began to see the landscape change. It went from mostly farmland to Suess-esque red rock formations. We stayed in Moab and visited Arches National Park, which was amazing! The arches look like eyes! We also went through Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. The only way I can describe the awe and wonder of that place is the way you might feel going to see the Great Pyramids in Egypt. It.was.that.amazing!

We made a point to drive to Colorado to visit Mesa Verde National Park and see the cliff dwellings of the Anasazi people. Scientists have been able to learn a lot by going through their garbage heap, which is always the best way to get a glimpse of how people live (scary for us, no?). It was really interesting and I especially liked their pottery designs.

I have to say, having a fourth grader in the family has saved us a TON of money when visiting all these National Parks. If you have a fourth grader, I highly recommend you visit Every Kid In A Park and get a pass printed for them. This pass allows your family to get into the National Parks FREE for the whole year!! Be sure to check it out!

Last, but not least, we went to Four Corners National Monument. It's the point where Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico meet. So, you can stand in four states at the same time! My kids always laugh at me about how easily excited I am over things like this. What can I say?! I just love it! I also love that the monument is run by the Navajo people on their reservation. They sell jewelry and souvenirs that they've made, themselves. It reminds me of the Native Heritage Center in Alaska and how they featured artists over the summer. You can really talk to the native people and ask questions. Plus, it's wonderful to buy directly from the artist. They were really kind.

Now that we're all settled in to the house here in Arizona, we've begin to explore a little. Sedona is a beautiful tourist hot spot and has a ton of fun shops to explore. This also means that the traffic can get pretty congested. Apparently we're in an energy vortex (I had to look that up), so there are a TON of new age places here advertising an assortment of services, and selling crystals and the like. We've mostly seen native people, hippies, yuppies, tourists, and snowbirds so far. It's interesting, to say the least!

We're also surrounded by beautiful red rock formations, so there are a lot of outdoor activities, as well. We're planning on doing the jeep tour at some point, but you can also ride ATV's, go hiking, and more. Our house is not far from downtown, but it's also near "the wild" so we've been on the lookout for javelinas, cougars, and scorpions. With the weather as cool as it's been (sweater weather), I doubt we'll see many scorpions during our stay.

Speaking of the weather, I must say that having Thanksgiving dinner while it's bright outside is a little odd for us Seattlites. We're used to having a driveway full of wet leaves and a grey sky! In fact, here in Arizona, we've actually begun contemplating whether or not to decorate a Christmas cactus! I guess we'll see!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have so many things to be thankful for this year, and one of them is you. Thanks for following along!

- Jen

Driving in a Winter Wonderland

Today we woke up to ice. It's 7 degrees outside here in Victor, ID. Thank goodness we followed the Boy Scout motto to "Be Prepared" and bought ice melt for the driveway and chains for the tires! It snowed yesterday so we spent the better part of the morning shoveling to make sure it was as clear as possible for today. Our hard work paid off and the driveway is still clear and dry.  Because today was our original departure date, and it seems to be the only window in a series of snow storms here in the Grand Tetons, it's now or never!

The valley below our house

The trailer before we shoveled

We all pitched in!

A job well done

Both the house in Alaska, and the house here, have these grates outside the front door. It's for getting the snow off your shoes and letting it melt in the dirt below instead of tracking it in the house. The dogs hate it. Like the pajama pants? ;-)

Dealing with freezing temps brings on a new series of things to consider. For example, how did the glass jar of jam I packed in the trailer yesterday fare in the deep freeze? Am I going to have to deal with a shattered mess of glass when I get out there? How will the car handle the icy roads with the added weight of the loaded trailer? Did we bring enough blankets for the chilly RV park overnights until we reach AZ? Things like that.

I have time to write this short update because we've decided to wait until the sun is completely out and it warms up a smidge before leaving. We'll head out around 10am mountain time and will probably be in Utah tonight. Next time I post, we'll be all settled in at the new house in Sedona, Arizona! Until then, it's so long, Idaho (or more accurately where we've been, Driggtor, Wydaho)! Thanks for the memories! And a very special thank you to the family who runs Daydreams Espresso for the best chai, breakfast burritos, and muffins around! Keep spreading the good news! :-)

Have a fantastic week!

- Jen

An Update From The Kids

Next Friday we leave for Arizona and the third leg of our adventure (didn't we just get here?!). I'll try to post an update from the road. As for today, our family sends a big thank you to all the veterans who have served our country!

Since we left home we've received a lot of support, and also a lot of questions. One question we get often is "But what do the kids think?" Good question! Let's ask them. After our presidential election this week, I think we're all ready for something new to read.

Everything from here on out is all them. They like to keep it real. ;-) Also, keep in mind this is their first time away from the traditional school environment.

Enjoy!

- Jen

Oldest son (15- Freshman): "I am not a big fan of the trip in most ways, however I'm glad I got to fly a plane in Alaska. I am looking forward to going to Disney World in Florida in a couple of months. What I'm really looking forward to is going to high school in Washington when I get back because so far I've noticed that normal school is more fun than homeschooling. Plus, I get to see my friends."

Daughter (13- 7th Grade): "At first, I thought this trip was awful! Then we went to Chena Hot Springs in Alaska, which was exciting. Now this trip is tolerable. Chena Hot Springs was probably the best part of the trip so far because I rode a horse named Coby on a trail.

Since we had a family emergency while here in Idaho, we haven't seen everything. But if you do come to Victor or Driggs, here are places we went that I would recommend:

- The Corner Drug Store- It has a soda fountain.
- The Spud (I think that's it's name)- It's a drive-in theater.
- The Library
- Wildlife Brewing Company- It has awesome food!
- Or just going for a drive- The houses on the way to the dump (Yes, the dump!) look really cool and I think you would like them too!"

Youngest son (10- 4th Grade): "We've sort of been having fun in Idaho. We had fun at the Museum of Idaho. We went to the movies to go see Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children in Idaho Falls. We went to Driggs for groceries (my brother calls it Drugs). We also went to Blackfoot to drop off our dogs while we were in California. The house here in Victor seems like part of a mansion."  

We took the 101...

Okay, so that blog title is mostly a joke. ;-) We really did grow up in California, but unlike the SNL skit, have never used "the" when talking about freeways, highways, interstates, or any other roads. Then again, we grew up in Northern California so that might be a regional difference. SoCal's, any insights? On that note, we did take 101 and it was a beautiful drive!

Last week we joined my husband in California to finish settling the estate of my Father-in-law. Then we caravanned to Washington for work and to bring a few things home. It was a long drive, especially with no relief driver in the car, but we made it! It ended up being fun in spite of the pouring rain. The kids were especially excited when we went over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Fun fact: My husbands grandmother marched across the Golden Gate with her school band when it opened in 1937! Their family has a long history in California.

San Francisco also has a lot of cool murals and beautiful architecture.

We made sure to visit Chandelier Tree (the drive-thru tree) and stamped our Parks Passport at Redwood National and State Park. Close to the Oregon border you will see gorgeous coastal views. I definitely recommend going if you're ever nearby!

Fortunately for the kids, we were able to get home in time to go trick-or-treating, which was exciting. A big thank you to our wonderful friends for taking them while we sorted everything out! This week has given us a chance to visit the orthodontist and to get a few other things taken care of. Mostly though, it's just been nice to visit with friends and be home for a tick.

Our unexpected detour ended up adding three states we weren't planning on visiting this year- California, Oregon, and Washington. Who knows? We may need to hit all 50 now just to say we did!

Tomorrow we head back to Idaho. I'm sure the dogs will be excited to see us again! They've been at a kennel while we've been gone. Then we start preparing to head down to Arizona for the next leg of our trip in a week or two. Is it really almost time for the third leg of our adventure?!? I guess what they say is true, time flies!

- Jen