RV-in' it across 4 states

We had a great time on our RV vacation to the 4 Corners area these past 9 days! We left Tucson for Queen Creek and then headed to Monticello, Utah for a Hansen reunion and 24th of July celebration. It was wonderful seeing all the relatives that were there. Go Big Four Tractor! From there we drove through Cortez, CO and onto Lake McPhee where we spent the night and then on to Durango which is where the first picture is taken. We went swimming and enjoyed seeing/hearing the Silverton train go right past our RV park several times a day. Then, on to the lovely city of Farmington, New Mexico (cough, cough). We met some missionaries in our RV park and learned that this was part of the Albuquerque mission. We had fun exploring a children's museum there and tired Bryn out completely! Then, on the way to Shiprock, we got a little lost and had to backtrack through the rez about 20 miles. . .but we did get to see the rock (or shipwreck, as Craig calls it) and made it to the 4 Corners monument. We droveto Canyon de Chelly in Chinle and spent the night really roughing it with no hookups at Spider Rock campground. It was a beautiful campground and Weston built a lovely 2 story red sand castle that he topped with a cactus and got needles on every finger on his right hand! He won't do THAT again, I'll bet! Then on through the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest and some cool photos and then to a KOA in Flagstaff where our camping neighbors were a cross country track team from Mountain View High School in Mesa!! Small World! Nat and Leesy kept peeking out the windows at them---I wonder why?! Then on Friday, July 31, we drove back to Queen Creek and Sat. we turned our vacation home on wheels in. We were glad to sleep in our own comfy beds Saturday night and use a REAL flush toilet! Good Memories, Good Times!

This is our Cruise America RV parked in a beautiful spot in Durango, Colorado. It was a 30 footer that seated 9 and had the possibility of sleeping 8. With 7 adults + a baby for 2 of the nights and 6 adults + a baby for the rest of the trip, we were pretty crowded! We all loved the fact that we could use the bathroom while traveling (especially Natty!) and we didn't have to make any potty stops! We also enjoyed being able to cook our own meals in it although we did eat out a couple of times. We all even showered in it even though it only held 6 gallons of hot water at a time. I don't think anyone had to have a cold shower though!

This is the Blue Spruce House at Mesa Verde, Colorado--an ancient Anasazi ruin that we hiked down to (a vertical descent down and heck to climb back up!) and got to roam around in. That is rare that people are allowed in the ruins--usually we just had to look only, but we got to explore this one and it was way cool!

At Lake McPhee in Colorado, Natalie cooled off by reading her book IN the lake!

Leesy took Bryn out into the cold, but refreshing lake where Bryn promptly bit the dust and fell into the water and scraped her knees up on the rocks! It took her about 15 minutes before she would step foot in the water again, but she did!

Some of the gang at the Petrified Forest sitting on a petrified log/rock. Notice the happy smiling faces even though this is the 3rd National Park we visited! Kelli and Bryn stayed in the RV and enjoyed some 1 on 1 time together while everyone else traipsed to all the sights.

We took lots more photos, so if you want to see them, you'll have to come visit us in St. David!