July 31, 2016 - Day 1
Milaca, MN
Six bells, at our home, ready to leave.
Her family drove through Iowa, Missouri, and stopped for a visit with family just over the border, in Kansas. There is a story that Ms. Leom shares with her students, "And to Think that I Saw It On ... (Mulberry Street)". This is the house from her childhood, visiting her family in Kansas that is on Mulberry Street (also the title of the first book written by Dr. Seuss).
August 1 - Day 2
Joplin, Missourri
(Not part of the "Southwest", but the newer "I Survived the Joplin Tornado" book was based on this stop.)
Cunningham Park, Joplin, MO
The site of the widest area of the tornado. Now stands a water park, basketball courts, two playgrounds, walking paths, and several areas created to highlight details from this historical May 2011 day.
These steel beams frame houses, representing the neighborhood that was leveled. Under the shadows, are various information plaques and art remembering and teaching about the events.
Debris from the tornado is one exhibit in this park. Fragments of glass, handles, utensils, and more.
The names of all the people who lost their lives in this F5 tornado.
A koi (think "gold fish") pool with various structures of the main park in the background
Across the road from the park, a major intersection, was a hospital. Behind her in the picture was where the chapel in the hospital was located. A pavilion marks the spot.
A school was also destroyed. Standing in the former chapel area, you look down the hill, and see the newly built elementary school.
Behind Ms. Leom's children, is the intersection. This wide open space was the widest part, over 3/4 of a mile, of that tornado tore through Joplin. Cunningham Park is in the distance.
August 1 - Day 2
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
We visited the site of the Oklahoma City Bombing.
Our children were able to touch remaining fragments of the wall where the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. In April 1995 this building was bombed. (This is all that needs to be said for this tragedy. The focus is on this landmark and how our country built a memorial to move forward.)
Here, these chairs represent the lives lost.
These fences line the outside of the Oklahoma City Bombing site, a showcase of the people who visit, the families, and friends who remember.
August 2 - Day 3 (still)
Texas
The first gas station in the US, in McClean, Texas
Cadillac Ranch, Texas
WindPower in Texas (throughout several states of our trip)
New Mexico
August 3 - Day 4
We enjoyed a day in the Santa Fe, New Mexico. Santa Fe is the capital city.
The Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe New Mexico, home of the "Miracle Staircase". Once a church, now a museum and can be used for weddings.
We enjoyed a day in the Santa Fe, New Mexico. Santa Fe is the capital city.
The Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe New Mexico, home of the "Miracle Staircase". Once a church, now a museum and can be used for weddings.
This staircase was built by one man to access the choir loft of the church. The staircase has two 360 degrees turns with no visual means of support. It was built using wooden pegs (no nails). The railing was added years later. It is a feature of "modern mysteries"-type shows and features.
Just blocks away from the Loretto Chapel, in downtown Santa Fe is the San Miguel Church. It is the oldest church structure in the United States.
The original bell in the San Miguel Church.
The Front of the church. This is a museum and no longer used for church purposes. Parts of the walls and foundation are framed with protective glass in place, so you can see the foundation and original structures of this historic building.
This is a home, across the street from one of the chapels we visited in downtown Santa Fe. It showcases the architecture of the area.
Our next stop in Santa Fe was the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. Georgia was a well-known artist who moved and created in the New Mexico area. Children admission to the museum is free, and they receive pencils and formal sketch pads to sketch as they visit the many rooms of this museum.
Leaving Santa Fe, we headed west. This was the New Mexico landscape.
Next, we visited the Petroglyphs National Monument in New Mexico.
We appreciated the varieties of plants that we don't see in the Midwest.
This was the top of our hike. You can see our car parked below. In the distance, you can see the cones of three dormant volcanoes.
We were thrilled by what we saw.
August 4 - Day 5
Four Corners
Next we traveled to northwest New Mexico to visit Four Corners in the middle of Navajo land.
Four Corners is the place where the four states of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado all meet at their corners. You can stand in this one space, and be in all four states at once.
We were on our way to our next destination ... before we could get there, we had to pass so many amazing landform, carved by erosion ...
Finally, we arrived at Monument Valley.
Monument Valley is featured in many Westerns and other types of movies, including one of Mr. Leom's favorite movies, Forrest Gump. He had to recreate the scene.
They even have a place alongside the road, so you don't miss your chance to recreate the scene. I guess he is not the only person running down the middle of the road with Monument Valley in the background.
From Four Corners, we continued into Arizona toward our next destination, the Petrified Forest National Park.
Sitting on a piece of petrified wood
Our first stop at the Petrified Forest National Park was a visit to the Painted Desert.
The pictures do not even do justice to the colors and textures.
In the Painted Desert, there used to be a hotel where people could stay. Now it is part of the Park Service. It is another example of the buildings found in this region.
Our family enjoyed more hiking.
The iconic Route 66 used to travel through the Petrified Forest. Made famous for children by the movie, Cars, it was fascinating for our children.
The telephone pole pictured in the background of this picture line the former Route 66. This car invites visitors to remember the "Highway of Dreams".
In the Petrified Forest National Park, you also learn about archeology and details from the ancient people who lived in this area.
We also saw more examples of petroglyphs.
Then we made it to what we were most excited to see, the Petrified forest area of the park! Our first stop, a "natural bridge" made of petrified wood.
Finally, the forest itself.
"THEE" Petrified Forest. It was buried for thousands of years under sand. The trees were buried. Mud seeped into the wood. The minerals replaced the living matter. Buried, over time, the trees turned into rock, "petrified wood". This is what remains.
My children had the opportunity to become Junior Forest Rangers. They completed a learning packets as we traveled to the different locations throughout the park. Then they were sworn in and given Junior Ranger Badges.
A polished example of petrified wood in the visitor's center.
This day was a doozy! From northwest New Mexico, to Four Corners, the Monument Valley, and ending in the Petrified Forest National Park, we crammed a lot of activity and driving into one day!
August 5 - Day 6
Arizona
Today, we traveled through the Sedona Forest where Ms. Leom was giddy with excitement over seeing "real saguaro cactuses". She was driving, so she passed her cameras to the back seat and trusted her kids to snap pictures.
When we arrived in Phoenix, the temperature was 114 degrees. Too hot to visit the zoo or other activities we considered. We needed air conditioning. Really. It was the start of school in Phoenix, and people were being advised to stay indoors.
So we visited the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix.
It hosts instruments from EVERY country around the world. You walk around with headphones, and as you pass different points, different music and information plays. It was overwhelming all we didn't know about music.
Had we known, we would have started with the many artists we know. They had set up displays. This was the piano that John Lennon composed, "Imagine".
This day was spent having lunch with Mr. Leom's cousin and supper with one of Mr. Leom's high school friends.
August 6 - Day 7
Flagstaff, Arizona
We visited the Lowell Observatory, home of the Lowell Telescope. This is where Pluto was discovered.
This is the pictures (white paper on the bottom, under glass) that is the first sighting of Pluto. A man took pictures of the night sky over time, and then would spend his days comparing the pictures. In this simplistic explanation, he was able to discover Pluto.
We learned more about the discovery of Pluto in this learning classroom.
Here was our guide and teacher.
Then we visited the Lowell Observatory itself.
We saw a "real" sun dial.
We were able to look into a telescope and view the sun.
We had a "little" trouble with our brakes in Flagstone ... smoke from your tire and the smell of burning rubber is never part of the "plan" ...
Finally, we made it to the Grand Canyon. In the words of my twelve year old, "It is more than a crack in the ground!"
To think the Colorado River traveled over this area for thousands of years, and with the aid of wind, cut, deepened, and widened this canyon.
We returned to the park to spend some more time and explore.
We watched clouds form before our eyes within minutes ...
We could SEE the effects of time and erosion for our very own eyes!
The scent of Ponderosa Pines was amazing. These trees have stood the test of time.
Then we were on the road. I thought our day to Four Corners, Monument Valley, and the Petrified Forest was a long day on the road. We were about to test our limits.
Our first stop after the Grand Canyon, was California. Originally, we hoped to spend a day or two in Death Valley. We had a death in the family, and suddenly, this was our last day of vacation.
One of our children completed a state project on California in second grade, and her goal on the trip was to visit. We spent less than two hours in this great state, but it was enough to say, we went to California.
As we drove from California to Nevada, we took in the scenery and our views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
We passed a solar farm.
We headed toward Lake Mead.
We visited the O'Callaghan-Tillman Memorial Bridge
We were on TOP of this bridge!!
Our next visit was the Hoover Dam visitor's center. It was too late in the day for us to take in a tour of the dam itself. There was so much to learn, it was incredible.
I LOVE how what we are learning in fourth grade science, about electricity and magnets, is something applied in the real world to create electricity in the Hoover Dam!
Finally, we were able to STAND ON the Hoover Dam. We could see the bridge we gained our first views.
Looking over the other side of the dam, we could see Lake Mead. The lower water level was apparent. The white exposed rock just above the water shows what used to be under water. We could see boats and recreational use on the lake.
Our family, standing on the Hoover Dam.
Our next stop, Las Vegas. We visited the M&M store (one of Ms. Leom's FAVORITE candies) and walked a few blocks of the strip, people watching.
Our family has watched Pawn Stars a few times, and we drove by the site of this tv show.
It was 100 degrees at supper time as we were leaving Las Vegas.
We grabbed supper and drove through the night. Ms. Leom tried not to get to sad as she drove through all the national parks and landmarks she had planned to visit in Utah and Colorado. As we rushed home.
Sunday August 9th ... we watched the sunrise at the Grand Canyon and twenty-four hours later, we were at the higher elevations of Colorado's Rocky Mountains, once again watching the sunrise, in the mountains.
We would travel the rest of the day, again past sunset, into the night, to make it home. We traveled through Colorado, to part of Nebraska, into South Dakota, and back to Minnesota. The following day, Monday August 10th, we would celebrate Ms. Leom's grandfather's 89 years by attending his wake and funeral. Not quite how we wanted our vacation to end, but a journey is its own experience.
Finally, we arrived at Monument Valley.
Monument Valley is featured in many Westerns and other types of movies, including one of Mr. Leom's favorite movies, Forrest Gump. He had to recreate the scene.
They even have a place alongside the road, so you don't miss your chance to recreate the scene. I guess he is not the only person running down the middle of the road with Monument Valley in the background.
From Four Corners, we continued into Arizona toward our next destination, the Petrified Forest National Park.
Sitting on a piece of petrified wood
Our first stop at the Petrified Forest National Park was a visit to the Painted Desert.
The pictures do not even do justice to the colors and textures.
In the Painted Desert, there used to be a hotel where people could stay. Now it is part of the Park Service. It is another example of the buildings found in this region.
Our family enjoyed more hiking.
The iconic Route 66 used to travel through the Petrified Forest. Made famous for children by the movie, Cars, it was fascinating for our children.
The telephone pole pictured in the background of this picture line the former Route 66. This car invites visitors to remember the "Highway of Dreams".
In the Petrified Forest National Park, you also learn about archeology and details from the ancient people who lived in this area.
We also saw more examples of petroglyphs.
Then we made it to what we were most excited to see, the Petrified forest area of the park! Our first stop, a "natural bridge" made of petrified wood.
Finally, the forest itself.
"THEE" Petrified Forest. It was buried for thousands of years under sand. The trees were buried. Mud seeped into the wood. The minerals replaced the living matter. Buried, over time, the trees turned into rock, "petrified wood". This is what remains.
My children had the opportunity to become Junior Forest Rangers. They completed a learning packets as we traveled to the different locations throughout the park. Then they were sworn in and given Junior Ranger Badges.
A polished example of petrified wood in the visitor's center.
This day was a doozy! From northwest New Mexico, to Four Corners, the Monument Valley, and ending in the Petrified Forest National Park, we crammed a lot of activity and driving into one day!
August 5 - Day 6
Arizona
Today, we traveled through the Sedona Forest where Ms. Leom was giddy with excitement over seeing "real saguaro cactuses". She was driving, so she passed her cameras to the back seat and trusted her kids to snap pictures.
When we arrived in Phoenix, the temperature was 114 degrees. Too hot to visit the zoo or other activities we considered. We needed air conditioning. Really. It was the start of school in Phoenix, and people were being advised to stay indoors.
So we visited the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix.
It hosts instruments from EVERY country around the world. You walk around with headphones, and as you pass different points, different music and information plays. It was overwhelming all we didn't know about music.
Had we known, we would have started with the many artists we know. They had set up displays. This was the piano that John Lennon composed, "Imagine".
This day was spent having lunch with Mr. Leom's cousin and supper with one of Mr. Leom's high school friends.
August 6 - Day 7
Flagstaff, Arizona
We visited the Lowell Observatory, home of the Lowell Telescope. This is where Pluto was discovered.
This is the pictures (white paper on the bottom, under glass) that is the first sighting of Pluto. A man took pictures of the night sky over time, and then would spend his days comparing the pictures. In this simplistic explanation, he was able to discover Pluto.
We learned more about the discovery of Pluto in this learning classroom.
Then we visited the Lowell Observatory itself.
We saw a "real" sun dial.
We were able to look into a telescope and view the sun.
We had a "little" trouble with our brakes in Flagstone ... smoke from your tire and the smell of burning rubber is never part of the "plan" ...
Finally, we made it to the Grand Canyon. In the words of my twelve year old, "It is more than a crack in the ground!"
To think the Colorado River traveled over this area for thousands of years, and with the aid of wind, cut, deepened, and widened this canyon.
We returned to the park to spend some more time and explore.
We watched clouds form before our eyes within minutes ...
We could SEE the effects of time and erosion for our very own eyes!
We saw a LOT of wildlife on our hikes and visits in the Southwest, but this might have been the most magical of our entire trip. We were walking along the south rim, when we saw elk in the distance ... or not so far away ... We used excited "sign gestures" to quiet and share the experience with other families hiking along the rim. They didn't speak English, so good thing our gestures were able to communicate, and we could share the magic.
The scent of Ponderosa Pines was amazing. These trees have stood the test of time.
August 9 - Day 10
Grand Canyon at Sunrise
We got up to watch the sunrise over the Grand Canyon. It was breath-taking.
Then we were on the road. I thought our day to Four Corners, Monument Valley, and the Petrified Forest was a long day on the road. We were about to test our limits.
Our first stop after the Grand Canyon, was California. Originally, we hoped to spend a day or two in Death Valley. We had a death in the family, and suddenly, this was our last day of vacation.
One of our children completed a state project on California in second grade, and her goal on the trip was to visit. We spent less than two hours in this great state, but it was enough to say, we went to California.
As we drove from California to Nevada, we took in the scenery and our views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
We passed a solar farm.
We headed toward Lake Mead.
We visited the O'Callaghan-Tillman Memorial Bridge
It is a "little" higher than Ms. Leom and her fear of heights "prefers" ... This bridge allows you to look over the Hoover Dam and see past to Lake Mead
We were on TOP of this bridge!!
Our next visit was the Hoover Dam visitor's center. It was too late in the day for us to take in a tour of the dam itself. There was so much to learn, it was incredible.
I LOVE how what we are learning in fourth grade science, about electricity and magnets, is something applied in the real world to create electricity in the Hoover Dam!
Finally, we were able to STAND ON the Hoover Dam. We could see the bridge we gained our first views.
Looking over the other side of the dam, we could see Lake Mead. The lower water level was apparent. The white exposed rock just above the water shows what used to be under water. We could see boats and recreational use on the lake.
Our family, standing on the Hoover Dam.
Our next stop, Las Vegas. We visited the M&M store (one of Ms. Leom's FAVORITE candies) and walked a few blocks of the strip, people watching.
Our family has watched Pawn Stars a few times, and we drove by the site of this tv show.
It was 100 degrees at supper time as we were leaving Las Vegas.
We grabbed supper and drove through the night. Ms. Leom tried not to get to sad as she drove through all the national parks and landmarks she had planned to visit in Utah and Colorado. As we rushed home.
Sunday August 9th ... we watched the sunrise at the Grand Canyon and twenty-four hours later, we were at the higher elevations of Colorado's Rocky Mountains, once again watching the sunrise, in the mountains.
We would travel the rest of the day, again past sunset, into the night, to make it home. We traveled through Colorado, to part of Nebraska, into South Dakota, and back to Minnesota. The following day, Monday August 10th, we would celebrate Ms. Leom's grandfather's 89 years by attending his wake and funeral. Not quite how we wanted our vacation to end, but a journey is its own experience.
