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After hurrying back from FL to AR for a mtg, our original plan was to then start the LONG drive to Alaska. However, with the never ending winter this year throughout the Midwest, we were concerned about getting stuck in snow on the way across Canada & into Alaska.

Since we need to be in Anchorage by the first part of May for an airshow, we determined that flying up to AK from AR was our safest option to ensure a timely arrival.

So now we have a week in AR to catch up with friends / family, get some work done at the shop, and explore some of our more local natural treasures – see next posts on Roaring River & Devils Den State Parks.

On our way back to AR from FL, we stopped for a few hours at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial. We had just watched a documentary about WWII and it was very cool to show the kids some of the real history.

After a few days back in AR, we headed back down to FL for the Sun N Fun Airshow.

The first day of the show was rainy so the kids & I stayed in to get school work done. But after awhile, we ventured out to make the most of the rainy day.

Of course, for Drew & the other boys at the booth, it meant a very busy first day cause it brought all the customers inside!

The rest of the week went well… spending the days “helping” at the booth, checking out the many airplanes & airshow, while catching up with old friends.

The kids & I also had fun talking to the customers out on the grounds while the boys stayed super busy at the booth.

Until it’s time to say good-bye again…

We spent the last week in Vegas for an aviation convention. While Vegas wouldn’t be on my initial list of family destinations, we made the most of the time together.

We caught up on school work in the mornings –

Then soaked up pool time in the afternoons – while poor daddy was working at the show 🙃

Our primary activity turned out to be going from casino to casino checking out all of the many fountains 🙂

Now we head back to AR for a few day for final show prep for SNF, then back to FL.

On the second day, we got surprised by some rain as we came into the mountains, but then it stopped before it made it into the valley – as is the usual for the area – which made for some very amazing skies.

As the rain moved out, the wind really picked up! Our first stop was at the Sand Dunes – sooo windy, but such a big sandbox was sooo fun!

And the Academy Award for Most Dramatic Performance goes to….

Needless to say, it took several shake downs to get all of the sand out of everyone’s clothes & hair 😜

After lunch, we did the Salt Creek Trail –

And finished up our Jr Ranger workbooks to take back to the Visitors Ctr.

As a final stop for the day, we hiked up to L… Point –

We had a great time riding through the heart of Death Valley National Park. It was a bit windy that evening as a storm front moved into to mountains above. But it was great to explore some of the trails on horseback.

First ride without a lead rope – Proud boy!

And we love that daddy got to join us on this one!

Much THANKS to our guide Jacklyn – we had a great time and we hope to catch you in Alaska! 😉

This is one of our favorite parks so far – not at all what you would expect! Despite its name – (given by a group of ’49ers who got lost on their way to the coast during the gold rush) – it is a very interesting & diverse place. It IS the hottest and driest place in North America, and it is actually the largest park in the lower 48 states with over 95% wilderness.

More on the park

We started at the Visitors Center at Furnace Creek.

Then hiked the trail through the Golden Canyon –

On to the Badwater Basin – the lowest elevation in the US at 282 ft below sea level.

The many colors of the rocks in the Artists Palette and around the park were amazing.

Love the fun tree that is the name-sake of this park – looks like something out of a Dr Seuss book! It is actually not a woody tree at all, but is part of the agave family.

The amazing rock formations are super fun for climbing too!

We had a great time just spending the day exploring and marveling at this unique part of the Mojave Desert.

And a lil bit of silliness along the way…

We had planned to spend a few days at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, but the weather had other ideas. Snow was forecast to move in for several days, so we opt’ed to cut this part of our stay short – as not to miss the next two parks. The canyon is so big, you could spend several weeks here exploring – better saved for longer stay.

This is also the most visited part of the Grand Canyon which translates into lots of people – not very conducive for taking in the beauty & vastness before you. If we have time later in the year, I’m hopeful that we will make it to the North Rim section of the park. We also plan to return in a few years & do a multi-day whitewater rafting trip down the Colorado River – have to stay on the bucket list til the kids are a bit older though.

I just took a few pics of the kids here. Took more pics with the “good” camera so I could play with the colors & shadows from the clouds in the canyon. Will post soon.

Spent two days skiing in the mountains over Flagstaff. I highly recommend – great rates on lift tickets, large ski school area for the kids, and lots of great runs.

Madi even did her first run down a full green slope with us on the 2nd day before her class started.

However, as you can tell by bundled Madi, it was quite cold the 2nd day. The snow & wind picked up later in the day making visibility more difficult at the top.

When we weren’t on the slopes, we also had a good time goofing around the campground.