Grand Canyon

The most memorable trip I've taken has to be to the Grand Canyon....  Hard to believe when I've also been to Italy and Hawaii - both trips I absolutely loved, but for some reason our trip to the Grand Canyon is the one I would do over and over again.  It was a two week vacation with my family - me, my mother, and my stepfather traveling in an RV to meet one uncle in Arizona and another uncle in Colorado.  Along the way we stopped in Albuquerque, NM; the petrified forest, the painted desert, Meteor Crater in AZ, Sedona, AZ where we did a jeep tour of the red rocks, Monument Valley where we did another jeep tour of the rock formations, Four Corners, Durango, CO where we rode the train to Silverton, and at the Grand Canyon we rode the mules into the canyon for an overnight stay.  I remember moments like eating what I consider real sopapillas in Albuquerque - fresh and hot with dripping honey;

  stopping at a welcome center in NM where we met a couple traveling with their horses - wild mustangs they saved and trained;  the high winds at the top observation point at Meteor Crater... being able to see for miles in any direction and wondering at the oddity of this crater out in the middle of nowhere;  taking a walk with my iPod at sunset outside our RV park near Meteor Crater... listening to music to fit the spectacular sight before my eyes - I have never seen a sunset to match it's splendor, and I have never experienced such wonder at one of nature's bold displays of color and composition;  walking along the pathways at the Petrified Forest and thinking about all the creatures that lived during the time of these ancient trees and wondering what it must have been like;  my stepfather's unending patience at my need to stop every few miles to take a photo of something;  the pure joy and thrill of our jeep ride in Sedona - at the time I swore I would quit my job and move there to be a jeep tour guide ( Pink Jeep Tours );  breakfast at the local airport in Sedona - it's on top of a hill and you have a gorgeous view of the town below( Sedona Airport ) ;  driving through Flagstaff and seeing the yellow flowers all along the road sides;  reaching an altitude of over 7,000 feet at the Grand Canyon - I had no idea it was that high above sea level;  spending time with my uncle... he's only 14 years older than me and loves adventure as much as I do;  dinner one night at the Grand Canyon - listening to my uncle play his guitar while watching the stars and satellites travel overhead... the night skies are so clear out west - the sky was full of diamonds;  sitting on a wall overlooking the canyon and reading a book... along comes a squirrel and climbs on my lap ( no lie! ) looking for food - they are quite unafraid of people, but feeding and touching them is discouraged - I didn't feed him, but could not resist his curiosity of me, and of course had to take a photo;  the mule ride was a multitude of memories... too many to go into, but suffice it to say it was one of the best times I've had in my life - my mother, my uncle, and myself went into the canyon and had a blast;  seeing elk and deer everywhere!....  always looking for the elusive condors - once on the brink of extinction and now making a come back - beautiful in flight with wing spans of almost 9 feet ( Grand Canyon Condors );  visiting Indian road side stands... my insatiable desire to own real Indian jewelry must have driven my stepfather crazy;  driving into Durango, CO - one minute desert and the next beautiful hard wood forests....  Colorado is definitely one of my favorite places;  the drive to Denver - how stunningly gorgeous are the Rockies!!!!;  touring The Stanley Hotel - famous for being the inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining....  we had the greatest tour guide - and I swear I got some ghosts ( orbs ) in some of my photos - you would not believe the sight of my aunt and I running down the hallway chasing them down!;  a rainbow in Rocky Mountain National Park - another photo opportunity I must have driven people nuts with - I actually ran down the road chasing it for the best composition possible.....  So many memories, and so many more that simply won't fit on this page.  It's amazing the wonders our own US of A holds in store for us if we just take the time to experience them.  I love this country and wish to travel all of it before I'm gone.  That trip was such an inspiration of hope and marvel....  I can only pray that everyone could experience something like it in their lifetimes. 

What are some of your best travel memories?

        

Grandmother

Learned yesterday that my grandmother was in the hospital over the weekend.  She's fine now, but gave my mother quite a scare....  93 years old and still has her wits about her, I am amazed at her dogged determination to retain her independence.  She lives in an assisted living facility, but believe me when I say she tries her hardest to not need any assistance.  I admire her tenacity, but she is also her own worst enemy when it comes to her medical history.  One of the most important things she needs to do is as simple as eating on a regular basis, however, this is a woman who for the last ten years eats like a bird even on the best of days. 

My memories of her are so different than who she is now.  Both she and my grandfather were gentle forces in our lives - the glue of our family, the rocks upon which we stood in times of trouble.  For my brother and I, they were symbols of permanancy.... our mother had been through three divorces, and our grandparents were married until my grandfather passed away more than 12 years ago.  We all literally believed my grandmother would not be able to live without him - they never fought, were never apart, and relied on each other for strength and faith.  But, she's tougher than we gave her credit for, and she lived on for her family.  It's interesting the roles grandmothers play in our lives - as a grandchild you have such a different relationship with this person then their own children do, and you don't often think of them as mothers until you get older and see them actually mother your own mother or father.  My grandmother was a sweet, gentle, and giving woman in my life - almost an untouchable angel that gave my grandfather his strength and stability.  As I got older though, I discovered the steely side to her.... she is tough and doesn't take crap from anyone who seeks injustice or attempts to harm her family.  She loves beer, and is a huge fan of her local baseball team.  She is not sentimental with material things, but loves her collection of photos showing her family.  She has the patience of a saint, but doesn't let her children take advantage of it.... they know where the line is in the sand, and never cross it.  It would have been wonderful to be a fly on the wall of my mother's childhood.  Seeing my grandparents as parents would be a lesson for all of us who fumble around in life wondering what our purpose is.  My grandparents seemed to know their purpose and pursued it with no doubt and never looked back in regret. 

Today, my grandmother is a beacon of light for my mom and her brothers....  and to lose her will devastate them all.  She is a symbol of something better in their lives - a time when they quite literally lived the life of Leave it To Beaver.  The challenges they've all faced and overcome were not the same as what my grandparents lived through, and it is this difference that defines the times we live in.  Gone are the days of innocence and wonder.... the days my grandparents raised five children in.  They were days when it was still possible to dream of far away places and imagine what they were like, whereas today all you have to do is get on the computer and look them up.  They were also days of opportunities and faith in God and our government.  The media had not yet become the ratings monster it is now.... the shock value not as important as the story and facts.  The troubles of my grandparents' time as parents were wholly different than troubles of today - the country was in a period of change, and to everyone it was a time of discovery - good and bad.  This period of development was hope and inspiration for many, and in this environment, my grandparents raised five kids to believe in other people and not be afraid of challenges in life. 

My grandmother is 93 years old....  what a life she has lived:  born right as World War I ended and living through six more, she saw the US become a developed country.  She saw the beginning of the space program and watched us walk on the moon, she saw JFK become president against all odds and then shot down before his first term was up, she saw, but didn't really care for, the evolution of music with Elvis, Jimmy Hendrix, The Who, The Beatles, and many others who paved the way for today's musicians, she saw women's rights become a major social issue - saw women fight and die for our right to vote and have a voice in the way our country is run, she lived through advances in technology - going from days of radio to days of tv to days of computers to days of 3D and HD.....  the century my grandmother bore witness to was one of change, turmoil, and opportunites - all working together to give us what we have today, and what I believe we take advantage of too often.  We have lost our innocence, but she still holds on to it....