And....away we go!

Monument Valley!

We made it to the day before vacation! Whoo hoo!  I swear, yesterday I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to make sure I had everything ready to go.  I think I may have actually done it, though.  I’ve been to the bank, the post office is stopping our mail as of tomorrow, the neighbors are watching our property and watering the plants. I even stopped at Wahoo Toppings and got a bunch of stuff for gifts for people we’ll be staying with on the trip.

I just have some last minute vacuuming of dog hair to do today, that’s a never ending chore, anyway.  We have a Chamber luncheon today at the Occidental so I don’t even have to make lunch! Rob has already asked for spaghetti for dinner tonight so that’s even already decided. We’ll be taking off at 5 am tomorrow with our first stop at the Invasion for breakfast in Kaycee.

Rob has a really nice itinerary planned for us so we don’t hit any major cities in Colorado, thank goodness. We’re staying completely away from Denver. I always thought the Baltimore area was ridiculous with its drivers, but Denver really takes the cake. For those of you back east, think of the traffic jams on the Baltimore beltway with everyone bumper to bumper, only they are going 75-85 mph.  It’s no picnic.  We are going a back way that will have us spending our first night in Grand Junction, instead.  That should be fun, as I’ve never been there before.

Our second and third nights we should be in Moab, Utah for lots of great scenery and photographing of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.   Sunday, we’ll leave Moab and travel on to Monument Valley, Utah, where we have reservations at Gouldings Lodge. It’s one of those resorts where your room actually faces right at the wall of the valley. It was pretty darn expensive but we decided this was a once in a lifetime trip and we may as well do it up right.

On Monday, we’ll leave Monument Valley and arrive at the Grand Canyon around noon.  I’ve only been there once and it was dark and it was many years ago when my mom and I were moving from California to Maryland.  So, we’re going to spend all Monday afternoon photographing that, staying long enough to get some nice sunset photos, hopefully.  Then, we’ll overnight in Williams, Arizona.  Tuesday, we’ll head into Sedona, AZ and stay with my friends, Wing and Laurie.  I just can’t wait to finally meet them.  We’ve been emailing back and forth for about a year on facebook, I can’t even remember how we first got introduced.  They own a health spa in Sedona called The Eye of the Vortex and Wing is the drummer in a spiritual band called Amitabha.  I know we are going to have a blast with them showing us around that magical place.  Rob has already decided, without even having stepped foot in Sedona, that he wants a retirement place there.  The pictures we’ve seen of the area are amazing! Wish we had a big pile of money right now because the properties are going for a song there right now!

After we leave Sedona on April 18^th, we’ll hit Wickenburg, AZ to visit our friends Don and Judy.  I’ve mentioned Don before, he used to run his brother’s motel here in Buffalo and his wife was my best friend before she died in 2006.  We’ll spend the night there and have dinner and cocktails with them. 

Saguaro National Park at Sunset!

On the 19^th, we hit the grand part of the trip, Cortaro, AZ, which is on the western side of the Saguaro National Park.  We’ll be staying in and around the national park for the next several days as it’s a huge park and probably switching hotels depending upon which area of the park we want to photograph.  We shouldn’t have any trouble finding places to stay as this is all around the Tucson area.  I haven’t been to Tucson since I was a little kid, I bet it’s a lot bigger now!

On the 22^nd, we’ll be back in Sedona for another overnight there.  We decided to just retrace our steps on the way back instead of taking another route.  You just never know what the weather is going to do, so this way, if we hit any rain, we have a second chance at pictures on the way back.

Whew, and we’ll be back home on the 24^th!  Sounds like a great trip, doesn’t it?  As soon as we get back, we only have two days before we have to leave again to go to Thermopolis for a WYOPASS conference.  That’s always a great time.  Every spring Rob’s planning group has their spring conference there. Thermopolis is the world’s largest mineral hot springs and it’s only about 2 ½ hours from Buffalo.  I like it because while Rob’s in conferences for the two days, I’ll be soaking in the hot springs.  The hotel where they have the conference is right on the river and it’s just beautiful this time of year.

Anyway, I’ll try to write here on my blog while we’re on vacation but I can’t make any promises.  Rob gets pretty antsy when we’re traveling and likes to get moving early and I’m not sure what kind of internet connection we’ll have at the various hotels.  I’ll have my laptop, of course, so hopefully, I’ll at least get to write something in the evenings when we’re laying around, exhausted. 

Well, have a great next two weeks, my friends!  Keep up those smiles and remember that life is nothing but a series of magnificent adventures, if you let it be!