The Wild Goes West Part 1

How do you plan for an eleven day trip with temperatures that range from freezing cold to blazing hot for a family of four with multiple hotel stays?  I wish I knew the magic answer to that, because I spent days preparing for our Wild West Adventure with the Summar and Artley families.

Day 1: Nashville to Phoenix

Billy took us and our 3 large suitcases, 3 backpacks, 2 coolers, 1 Matilda Jane weekender bag and 2 car seats to the airport.  I knew once we made it in and checked those bags, that we could handle anything on the trip!  The girls were wonderful on our 3 hour flight to Phoenix, and Chesley only had a mild reaction to the turbulence.  Getting to and loading our 15 passenger van was a whole ordeal that I really don't want to re-live, but Carter crashed and was so ready for bed by the time we checked into our first hotel.  Thankfully we sweet talked Sean at the Homewood Suites into letting us leave 2 of our van seats there for the duration of our trip, so we could actually have a place for all of our luggage in the back of the van.

Day 2: The Grand Canyon 

Loading the van on the first morning was a challenge, but we became professionals at it by the end of our trip.  We made two very important stops before leaving Phoenix, and had breakfast at Chick-fil-a and shopped for supplies, particularly snacks and drinks, at Target.  A Robinson trip wouldn't be complete without buying a portable DVD player, since ours didn't even make it in working condition to Phoenix...I'm pretty sure that is the 6th or 7th one we have purchased over the years...ugh!  But it was definitely necessary for Carter!  We took a slight detour on our route to the Grand Canyon to have lunch at In-and-Out Burger, and it was so worth it!  

One of Carter's sass fits for the day

photo cred: Carter Robinson

Let's talk about the Grand Canyon.  I went with one objective...to mark it off my "must-see" list and never think about it again.  I did not expect to be moved to tears by it's grandeur, and that is exactly what happened.  Not at the more touristy spot, but when we were away from all the crowds, I could not control the tears.  All I could think about was how someone could see something so beautiful and not believe in God.  His magnificent work was on full display throughout the west, and the Grand Canyon was just the beginning.

While the beauty of the Grand Canyon was breathtaking, the lack of rails were nerve-wracking for all the Mommas.  The kids wanted to see the edge, and the husbands thought they were professional rock climbers, but of course they had no gear, semi-appropriate shoes and zero expertise.  I felt a sigh of relief when we finished touring those areas.  However, it did produce our favorite quote from the entire trip.  Grant was trying to live on the edge, literally, and Andy said, "Grant...you're trying to be  cute, but you're gonna get dead!"  We all lost it!  Carter is still saying, "gonna get dead!"

Day 3: Antelope Canyon in route to Moab, Utah

I had zero expectations of Antelope Canyon.  All I knew was that Chesley had said it was the most photographed canyon in the United States, and Josh said we needed a reservation.  Basically I had no idea what I was getting myself into until we had paid, waited for our tour time and started following our guide into a hot, windy dessert.  Actually, I still didn't know what we had signed up for after waiting in the long line or really what we were waiting for...until the guide said, "the first thing we will do is climb down flights of stairs and some flights are more like steep ladders."  I should also mention that Carter was ticked about being worn on this tour, so she SCREAMED the whole time the guide was talking.  In hindsight, the tour should have had some type of warning or age limit, because 2 was not age appropriate, but some how we made it.  I mostly wore Carter, but we let her walk for a little bit.  Charley loved exploring the twists and turns of the canyon and posed around every corner.  The whole tour lasted a few hours, so when we finished we were super hot, sweaty and covered in sand...but gosh, it was a beautiful experience!