The Trip: Day 4 and 5

As rainy as it was in Portland and cold as it was in the Sequoia National Park, it was HOT as we drove from Bakersfield, CA to Las Vegas. My original itinerary has us going straight to LV so we could rest up some and enjoy all that is Sin City. We changed our plans when we found out the Mojave Desert has HUGE sand dunes. Meg has always wanted to see some of these landlocked dunes and because it was her birthday, we obliged. So that you know what was on our minds, Meg and I have always talked about a trip to go sand sledding. Picture this…riding up to the top of a massive dune on a 4 wheeler and then gliding done on a sled of some sort. Sounds fun, huh? This picture does not include a 7 month old nor 100 degree temperatures or a sun so bright it can blind you. We’re not even going to talk about sand so hot that you need to be a fire walker to touch it. Reality did include all of the latter and none of the former. National park, so no all terrain vehicles allowed to destroy the habitat (understandable, but disappointing), and sledding down…ARE YOU KIDDING? These dunes were the size of mountains and it was a 3 hour hike to the top.

The only way I would be coming down (if I made it up) would be in a body bag. We slathered everyone up with 50 sunscreen, grabbed our bottles of water and took off, for, oh, about 10 mins. We took pictures and then Meg and Eddie headed back to the car with the baby to sit in the AC. We walked a little farther and Byron did get to run down some dunes, but I wasn’t going to risk falling and searing my skin the minute it touched that sand. Did I mention that we were told by the Park Ranger to watch for scorpions and sidewinder rattlesnakes? We cut the adventure short and headed to hedonistic fun.

The biggest "dune". The smaller ones in the front are as tall as a house.

My kids have never been to Las Vegas. Their eyes were as big as Reid’s when we walked into the casino/hotel. Something told them we weren’t in Kansas anymore! We cked into the rooms and rinsed off some of the protected national park sand out of our crevices. After finishing that, we were off to find what our family dreams of: food. My son, when asked to pick one thing he wanted to do/see in LV, answered in a way that made his mom proud…go to a buffet! We not only buffeted that evening, they buffeted the next morning for breakfast. The next morning, we took a swim and then started the drive to the Grand Canyon.

My first dessert plate. #2 had a similar set up!

Some people like a drink when they relax by the pool, others are more self sufficient. Check out those thighs!

No one in our family had been to the Grand Canyon, or not recently enough that we could recall. Kenny said he went when he was about 8 or 9 but had no memory of it. I would swear that I had never been but, strangely enough, had a weird sense of déjà vu when passing the Flintsone Village near the entrance of the Grand Canyon. I feel certain I have been to that place. I remember sitting in Fred’s car, if not in this life, then in a previous life. Why in the world would I remember Fred and Wilma’s house and not the GRAND CANYON? I’ve gotta talk to my parents about this.

Anyway, back to the canyon. I, and everyone else, was awestruck. There are no words to describe the magnitude if its beauty, none. Huge, glorious, massive, majestic in a way that makes you want to apologize to God for setting the bar so low in your own life. My goal was to see the sun set over the canyon. We made it in plenty of time, but the clouds (little "c" clouds, not big "C" Clouds) didn't cooperate. It was still nice, though and even if the pics weren't what I had planned, the memories more than made up for it.

We finished the day with a really late drive to Phoenix. Eddie headed to the airport to go back to work. Byron's plane didn't leave until a few hours later. His girlfriend from high school just graduated from Arizona State and hadn't moved back yet, so we met her for lunch. I feel pretty sure that very few people still see their high school sweethearts, but fate played a crazy trick on them. Their parents became good friends. We travel together, have "Glee" nights together and generally love each other to pieces. So even though they may not have the same feelings for each other as they did in high school, they are generous enough to let us maintain ours.